Attention safari fans! It’s a jungle out there, literally, and you’ve got to know just how to behave to avoid major obstacles, like those presented by the titular character of What to Do if an Elephant Stands on Your Foot.

In this playful tale by first-time author Michelle Robinson, an androgynous safari guide (expertly and emotively drawn by acclaimed illustrator Peter H. Reynolds) demonstrates how to navigate in the wild with varying degrees of success—and a lot of hilarity.

Great pacing and suspense-inducing text will pique young readers’ interest to see what happens next. As the story progresses, the tension and silliness mount, and soon kids, like our protagonist, will be jumping around like monkeys and flailing as if in crocodile-infested waters. The ending brings us back to the beginning, with stern but helpful warnings for our next safari.

Reynolds’ illustrations are always lively and clever; his pictures here of the hapless guide and uncooperative animals are no exception. As one might expect after being stepped on by an elephant or chased by a rhinoceros, the guide reacts with fear, frustration and eventually relief, all delightfully captured in Reynolds’ portraits.

The cacophony of animal sounds and the safari guide’s frenzied exclamations make this title ideal for preschool storytime—but be warned, it could get loud!

Vernon the frog was very happy. He spent his days in the mud, searching out interesting things. Then one day, he finds a friend. Bird may not say much (or anything, really), but as Vernon says when he introduces his new friend to Skunk and Porcupine, “Bird is shy… but also a very good listener.” After Vernon and Bird spend more time together, Vernon begins to worry that Bird may be sad—after all, he still isn’t talking! And that’s when things begin to get interesting.

In A Home for Bird, the newest picture book by Philip C. Stead, author of the Caldecott Award-winning A Sick Day for Amos McGee, Vernon is determined to find Bird a home in which he will finally be happy.

However, it’s not always easy to find a home for someone who doesn’t talk. With help from his friends, Vernon creates first a boat (from a teacup, drinking straw, napkin and spoon) and later a hot-air balloon (from the same teacup, some string and a large red balloon), all in the quest to find Bird his home. The satisfying ending of the book is foretold from the dedication page, but will still bring surprise to some children, and the excitement of being able to “figure it out” to others.

A Home for Bird is a stunning book. In his usual way, Stead creates a story that is commanding in its simplicity. Never one to use too many words, Stead builds strong characters and powerful relationships with never more than five lines of text on a page. Stead is also able to create a vivid peek into the world of Vernon, Bird, Skunk and Porcupine with his unique scribbled illustrations. The humorous details in every picture make this book perfect for story time and group reading, and the compassionate characters make it perfect for reading cuddled together. Vernon is the type of caring, wonderful friend everyone wants to spend more time with.

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Meet Philip C. Stead!
Find out more about Philip Stead's workspace and how A Home for Bird was created.

“The pup with the pencil, the mutt with the marker, the dog with the drawing pad, the chap with the chalk.” Charlie Muttnik is a persistent pooch who has gotta draw. Just like his real-life counterpart, author-illustrator Bruce Degen, Charlie constantly searches for a place to draw in his family’s cramped Brooklyn apartment. He manages to find ways to draw in his neighborhood until summer ends and school begins with a strict new teacher, Miss Rich.

Now that his days are spent sitting in class with hands folded, Charlie has little time left for drawing, so he scribbles where he can, on spelling tests and fractions, until Miss Rich can’t tell his numerators from denominators. With exasperated parents and suffering grades, the young dog turns in a visually detailed report that gives his teacher a change of heart. Soon Charlie is allowed to draw during the school day while calling out his spelling words. The effect spreads until all the children become artists and participate in an art show. And Charlie’s grades not only improve, he finally earns respect for his drawing passion.

Adorable as ever, Degen’s mixed-media illustrations intensify with color as art is welcomed into his classroom. The beloved illustrator of Jamberry and the Magic School Bus series incorporates plenty of humor and expression to highlight both Charlie’s enthusiasm and dilemmas. As a reminder that abilities come in all forms, parents, teachers and librarians alike should keep the delightful I Gotta Draw on hand to encourage creativity and simple fun in our increasingly structured world.

At one point or another, all children will have to say goodbye to their mothers for the first time—whether for hours (nursery school) or days (a business trip for mom). In Meet Me at the Moon, Gianna Marino captures the pain of parting with a parent, and the comfort that comes from remembering that parent’s love while she is away.

Little One is an elephant on the African plains. During a drought, his mother “must climb the highest mountain to ask the skies for rain.” Little One is upset at the prospect of being alone, but his mother tells him that he shouldn’t worry. She says, “You will feel my love in everything around you.” The baby elephant needs only to listen to the wind, feel the warmth of the sun and seek out the brightest star in the sky. He will hear, feel and see his mother’s love all around him in nature. Besides, while Mama is away, Little One isn’t really alone, since friendly giraffes and zebras look after him.

Marino’s quiet story of separation is sweet and relatable, although it is her gorgeous illustrations, vivid and textured, that will have young readers eagerly turning pages. The gentle animals loom large on the page—loving and expressive—and the African landscape is pictured in bright colors. After Mama leaves, children will be able to feel her presence through the swirling wind—depicted as a stream of dots—and the warm beating sun. They will especially feel Little One’s relief when he remembers to sing out the calling song after the rain has come and gone; Mama suddenly reappears on the plains, and the small family is united and overjoyed. After all, while it may be reassuring to have reminders of a loved one, there is nothing better than saying “I love you” in person and getting a big hug from mom when she finally comes home.

Any bibliophile will tell you that a book is wonderful just for being a book. If the story inside is captivating too, well, that’s icing on the cake. Beautiful and oft-read books in particular are loved by all readers, and it’s not hard to imagine those books having lives of their own.

In The Lonely Book, Kate Bernheimer imagines how a children’s book would feel when it is placed on the New Book shelf in a library, fast becoming popular and in high circulation. Over time, as with all books, the Lonely Book finds itself checked out less and less until eventually it doesn’t circulate at all.

A young girl named Alice finds it quite by accident and is immediately enchanted by its cover. Alice takes the book home and borrows it again and again. The Lonely Book (whose “real” title is never revealed) is no longer lonely and is happy to be with Alice. As readers, we feel the book’s anguish when it is separated from Alice and left with the library’s books to be discarded. We also feel the elation of both the book and Alice when they are reunited in the end.

This is a sweet story with beautiful, dream-like illustrations by Chris Sheban. Any booklovers who read it will be inspired to find a forgotten and once-treasured book for themselves.

With the ease of buying milk at the grocery store today, many children now know very little about where milk comes from. Recalling her own delightful memories of growing up on a Minnesota dairy farm, Phyllis Alsdurf lets children vicariously experience the hard yet joyful work in It’s Milking Time. The blend of her poetic text— with “cuds a-chewing, / tails a-swatting, / hooves a-pounding”—and the accompanying paintings in soft, muted colors gives a nostalgic feel to this gentle story.

After a young girl leads a parade of Holsteins into the barn, she helps her father feed and prepare them to be hooked up to the milker. As each one of the alphabet of cows (“Alphie, Bertha, Cassie, Di . . .”) finishes, Dad empties the milk into a pail and carries it to the milking house, where the milk is strained and ends up in a milking can. Finally, it’s stored in a cooler until it can be picked up the next day, taken to the creamery and made into butter and cheese or placed in bottles for stores.

When the cows head back to the fields, there’s still more work to do, such as shoveling manure into gutters to be used later as fertilizer and scrubbing the milkers and strainers. Although milking requires never-ending diligence, it’s not all drudgery. The girl relishes the responsibility of feeding the cows; petting and giving milk to the calves; and spending time with her father. And in the morning, after her mother skims the cream off the top, there’s fresh milk to drink with her pancakes.

Fans of Jane Yolen’s Owl Moon, with its quiet father-daughter bond, will adore this equally beautiful and loving book—and learn more about their favorite drink in the process.

Ever wonder how authors and illustrators work together when they make a picture book? Well, if you read Chloe and the Lion, a smart and hilarious new book by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex, you’ll get an idea of what the process might be like if the author and illustrator collaborate a little too closely.

The setting for the story looks like an old-school diorama, giving it a delicious 3-D feel. The narrator is the author, Mac, and he appears to be made of plasticine clay and roughly sewn cloth. Adam, the illustrator, is drawing the story that Mac is writing. And that’s where the trouble begins.

Chloe looks for loose change, and, when she has enough money, wants to spend it on a ticket for the merry-go-round. After the ride, she is walking home dizzily when a dragon jumps out at her. This would all be well and good except that Mac’s words say a “huge lion leapt out.” At this point the author breaks the wall between reader and creator to address the illustrator directly. "Adam, could you come out here?" he asks. As in the brilliant Interrupting Chicken, the reader watches the process as author and illustrator get into an argument over the relative coolness of dragons vs. lions. Mac and Adam duke it out, with Adam drawing unflattering illustrations around Mac’s body—turning him into a package with a pink bow on top, a cowboy and, finally, a lavender gorilla. Eventually, Mac fires Adam and has to find a new illustrator, a search that doesn’t work out too well.

There are many wonderful images in the book, but my favorite might be when Mac decides to be both author and illustrator himself. At that point, he dances across the gutter, breaking a cardinal illustrating rule and showing the reader that he has no idea what he’s doing. Two pages later, the spread is all white except for a tiny bit of the bereft Mac saying, “I give up.”

This is not the first time that Barnett and Rex have created havoc and hilarity together (they have also done the Brixton Brothers mystery series and the picture books Guess Again! and Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem) and I, for one, hope they make their peace, respect each other’s gifts and make many more books together. Children find their brand of humor irresistible and will return again and again to Chloe and the Lion, looking for the small details left behind as visual gifts for the reader.

Laura Vaccaro Seeger has a special gift, a gift I do not have but one I deeply appreciate. She can take a simple idea and turn it into a book that moves and changes and takes the reader’s breath away. Her newest, Green, might be my favorite. I have to say “might” because I am drawn to every book she has created.

First, the cover. The word "green," printed in mottled white, yellow and blue, rests on a bath of thickly textured green paint. It begs to be touched, and I imagine children will be surprised when the paint does not come off on their hands. Second, the title page. The green title now rests on deep brown, and the brown is a signal that this book is about color in its most saturated form.

Seeger’s love of die cuts must be an engineering challenge like no other for her publisher and printer. Each cut is a surprise, and many of them are impossible to see until the page is turned. On the first page, the words are “forest green.” A small white bunny distracts the eye from the largish green leaves but the page turn reveals the die cuts which have magically morphed into brownish fish in the ocean scene on the next page. And so it goes: Fish bubbles turn into a lime skin and the lime section becomes a spoon, and so on.

I have read this book at least 10 times, but each time I have to actually run my hand over the page to find the next die cut. It’s that sneaky and well constructed. Even when the cut is easy to see—on the jungle/khaki pages—the reader is rewarded with a hidden clue in the frame. I can imagine art teachers exploring this book with students of all ages—both for the use of color and also for the perspective changes, use of texture and line, and the joy of dark and light.

In a world where the word “green” is politically charged, I am grateful that Seeger has created a joyful, comforting book that assures us the world will be “forever green.”

Robin Smith, who teaches second grade at the Ensworth School in Nashville, was a member of the 2011 Caldecott Committee.

With their distinct patched eyes and adorable, roly-poly bodies, it’s no wonder that pandas cause a frenzy at any zoo lucky enough to house them. But you might be surprised to learn that until 1936 very few people in the world had ever seen one of these shy, beloved animals. In Mrs. Harkness and the Panda, author Alicia Potter presents a daring and nearly forgotten story of one woman’s journey to find a panda and bring it to the United States.

Ruth Harkness was a New York socialite; Mr. Harkness was the true explorer. When her husband died in China while searching for a live panda, Mrs. Harkness decided, against her friends’ admonitions, to continue the expedition. After taking a ship to China, having her husband’s explorer clothes tailored to fit her, and taking on a young, dashing companion named Quentin Young, she was nearly ready. With 22 pieces of luggage and hired help along the way, she set off on the long, arduous adventure through rugged mountains.

Melissa Sweet’s mixed-media illustrations, created with watercolor, decorative papers, old postcards, block prints, calligraphy and real-life objects, lend a scrapbook feel to Harkness’ journey. The effect continues with her discovery of a baby panda, which she names Su Lin and holds in her arms as she returns to waiting reporters in the United States. Recreated newspaper clippings show the instant and widespread “Panda-monium!” The endearing story concludes with the placement of the panda at the Brookfield Zoo and an actual photograph of Harkness and Su Lin.

Although Harkness’ methods would probably be criticized these days, she’s credited for showing a pluckiness rarely seen today and drawing attention to the endangered panda’s survival. This snapshot of her thrilling find will secure the panda’s place as a favorite animal for youngsters everywhere.

Angela Leeper is director of the Curriculum Materials Center at the University of Richmond.

Elliot is a quiet, reserved boy who likes to dress in tuxedos while his equally quirky father always sports chartreuse green plaid suits. At the aquarium’s Family Fun Day, Elliot sneaks off from the crowds and becomes amused by the penguins, which resemble him with their own black feather tuxedos and proper posture. When he asks his father for a penguin, of course, his father assumes he means a stuffed animal and gladly hands over 20 dollars.

After stowing a penguin he names Magellan (after the explorer, who happened to be another dapper guy) into his backpack, Elliot stealthily tries to replicate Antarctic conditions in his bedroom with an inflatable swimming pool and an air conditioner set to freezing. The hilarity continues to mount as Elliot attempts to hide the penguin around the house from his absentminded father (who has a hidden exotic animal of his own).

In outstanding picture books, the text and illustrations work in tandem to tell the story. In One Cool Friend, Toni Buzzeo’s sharp writing and Caldecott Medalist David Small’s expressive illustrations, rendered in pen and ink, watercolor and colored pencil, brilliantly blend to set up the comedy. The mostly black-and-white illustrations resemble the attire of Elliot and his penguin, with splashes of color adding effect and highlighting their instant bond.

Observant readers will find plenty of clues about the father’s traveling profession and his rare pet. Both Buzzeo and Small have outdone themselves in this sure hit.

Angela Leeper is director of the Curriculum Materials Center at the University of Richmond.