ADÈLE & SIMON
written and illustrated by Barbara McClintock
ISBN: 9780374380441;
As a little girl and her brother wander home from school past Parisian landmarks in the early twentieth-century, the boy absent-mindedly discards his belongings one by one. Readers search the lively, detailed drawings to uncover his castoffs.

AGGIE AND BEN: THREE STORIES
by Lori Ries
Charlesbridge;ISBN: 9781570915949;$12.95;
Watercolor and ink illustrations grace the gentle humor of this beginning reader. The trio of stories starts with the day Ben’s dad takes him to the pet store and ends with a happy hug.

AN EGG IS QUIET
by Dianna Aston
illustrated by Sylvia Long
Chronicle;ISBN: 9780811844284;$16.95;
Detailed watercolor illustrations of eggs of all kinds—from birds to bugs—and sizes—from eight-pound ostrich to jelly-bean-sized hummingbird—will spark the interest of young naturalists.

BEBÉ GOES SHOPPING
by Susan Middleton Elya
illustrated by Steve Salerno
Harcourt;ISBN: 9780152054267;$16;
Spanish and English blend as Mama takes Bebé to the supermercado. Vibrant cartoon illustrations and an easy-going rhyme scheme add up to a high-energy book for bebés and their mamas.

BLACK? WHITE! DAY? NIGHT!: A BOOK OF OPPOSITES
written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Roaring Brook;ISBN: 9781596431850;$16.95;
Single-word questions cleverly illustrated with brilliantly colored, die-cut pages create the concept of opposites. Lifting a flap turns the black bat into a white ghost and the sun-filled day into a starlit night.

CHUCK'S TRUCK
written and illustrated by Peggy Perry Anderson
Houghton Mifflin;ISBN: 9780618668366;$16;
A duck named Luck, a chicken that goes “cluck.” a burro called Buck, and two dogs Nip and Tuck, pile into Chuck’s truck for a boisterous ride to town. Action-filled illustrations and predictable rhymes will attract new readers.

COUNTING OVEJAS
by Sarah Weeks
illustrated by David Diaz
Atheneum;ISBN: 9780689867507;$17.99;
Children can practice counting and colors in both English and Spanish as they read this luminously illustrated tale of a sleepless child trying to remove the sheep overtaking the bedroom.

DOWN THE BACK OF THE CHAIR
by Margaret Mahy
illustrated by Polly Dunbar
Clarion;ISBN: 9780618693955;$16;
When Dad loses his car keys, little Mary says, "I lose a lot, but I find a few—down the back of the chair." Dad's search uncovers an increasingly extravagant series of objects ending with the one that saves the day: Uncle Bill's will.

FANCY NANCY
by Jane O'Connor
illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser
HarperCollins;ISBN: 9780060542092;$16.99;
Nancy adores the color fuchsia, thinks lace socks improve her soccer, and wishes her family understood how to be fancy. But she discovers that plain can be just right, too, in this exuberantly illustrated story about individual differences and familial love.

FOR YOU ARE A KENYAN CHILD
by Kelly Cunnane
illustrated by Ana Juan
Atheneum;ISBN: 9780689861949;$16.95;
Neighbors, friends, and animals in a young Kenyan boy’s village distract him on his way to watch grandfather's cattle. The color-saturated illustrations and a sprinkling of Swahili words vividly create his world.

LIBRARY LION
by Michelle Knudsen
illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
Candlewick;ISBN: 9780763622626;$15.99;
“RAAAHHHHHHRR!” Lion loves the library, but roaring—even for a good reason—is still against the rules. The seamless unity of this well-told tale plus alluring illustrations form a read-aloud that Lion would love to hear.

LILLY'S BIG DAY
written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes
Greenwillow;ISBN: 9780060742362;$16.99;
When Lilly’s favorite teacher announces that he’s getting married, Lilly assumes that she will be the flower girl. Even though Mr. Slinger selects his niece Ginger, Lilly’s indomitable personality humorously saves the wedding in this satisfying saga.

LOOK AT THE ANIMALS!
written and illustrated by Peter Linenthal
Dutton;ISBN: 9780525475828;$6.99;
Bold black and white illustrations and bright orange-yellow words invite babies to "look" at an array of animals in this simple board book.

MINNIE AND MOO: WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
written and illustrated by Denys Cazet
HarperCollins;ISBN: 9780060730109;$15.99;
In this beginning reader, two cows decide to help their poor farmer by getting a bank loan, but their hilariously ill-advised choices of clothing and a violin case for carrying the money misidentifies them and causes considerable chaos.

MOVE!
written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Houghton Mifflin;ISBN: 9780618646371;$16;
Captivating collages complemented by active verbs woven into the text will entice young readers to act out the movements of these twelve animals.

MR. PUTTER & TABBY SPIN THE YARN
by Cynthia Rylant
illustrated by Arthur Howard
Harcourt;ISBN: 9780152050672;$14;
In the latest installment of this beginning reader series, Mr. Putter tries to be Mrs.Teaberry’s good neighbor by serving tea to her knitting club. Frenzy and fun ensue when his cat Tabby arrives.

OVERBOARD!
by Sarah Weeks
illustrated by Sam Williams
Harcourt;ISBN: 9780152050467;$14;
Bright, bold illustrations coupled with a simple rhyming narrative demonstrate the pleasures of tossing toys from a crib or highchair. Lap-sitters and early readers will delight in joining Baby Rabbit’s exclamation, “Overboard!”

SO SLEEPY STORY
written and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz
ISBN: 9780374370312;$16;
Blues and grays shift to soft yellows when household objects sway and come alive, and a sleeping child awakens in the night as music drifts into a “sleepy sleepy house.”

SUPERHERO ABC
written and illustrated by Bob McLeod
HarperCollins;ISBN: 9780060745141;$15.99;
Twenty six turbo-charged do-gooders display their super powers in alphabetical order (“D is for DANGER MAN. HE DOESN'T HAVE A DOG but he DOES DARING DEEDS EVERY DAY”) on over-sized pages that barely contain the explosive comic book illustrations.

THE ADVENTURES OF POLO
written and illustrated by Regis Faller
Roaring Brook;ISBN: 9781596431607;$16.95;
An imaginative dog named Polo leads readers on a wordless journey around the world. The format varies panels and full-page illustrations to create a lively and engaging “graphic novel” for younger readers.

THE NEW GIRL...AND ME
by Jacqui Robbins
illustrated by Matt Phelan
Richard Jackson;ISBN: 9780689864681;$16.95;
Mia’s friendship with the new girl Shaketta begins after they sit on a playground bench together to tie their shoelaces. Soft watercolors invite the reader into this warm, funny story.

THELONIUS MONSTER'S SKY-HIGH FLY PIE
by Judy Sierra
illustrated by Edward Koren
Knopf;ISBN: 9780375832185;$16.95;
Thelonius Monster and eleventeen other monsters relish his fly pie recipe, a sticky sweet creation composed of prey from a dumpster, a sewer, and a pile of manure. Impeccable rhymes and exuberantly scruffy illustrations produce a delightful read-aloud.

WELCOME TO ZANZIBAR ROAD
written and illustrated by Niki Daly
Clarion;ISBN: 9780618649266;$16;
In five short chapters, Mama Jumbo (an elephant with a big heart) builds a house for herself out of scraps and invites Little Chico (a chicken) to live with her. The South African setting adds color to a warmly told family story.