Picture Book Frenzy

In between road trips Groovy Girl and I have spent a lot of time at the library this summer.  It is one of our favorite places in our quaint downtown area.  We love to browse and talk to the librarians about what we are reading or plan to read or are thinking of reading.  It is a great thing to surround our children with this book talking, especially over the summer.

The last time we were browsing I went crazy down the new book shelf of titles.  While Groovy Girl searched the new chapter books I picked up picture books galore.  I even added one into the pile that i thought my handsome husband would enjoy.

1. The True Stories of an amazing all-brother baseball team; Brothers at Bat by Audrey Vernick and Steven Salerno (2012) :

This is a great family story with very retro artwork. The book shares the story of the Acerra brother; 12 brothers, 1 baseball team during the 1920's, 30's, and 40's.  We love a good baseball story and through this text we learn more about life during this era.  The 12 brothers played ball for years; their high school team had an Acerra on it twenty-two years in a row!   The story shares the troubles the family experienced as well as the many good times they had together.  Eventually the 6 older boys get pulled away to WWII.  The very lucky thing is that they all come back alive! This is the book I brought home thinking my husband would like it; and he did!  I found him one morning, eating his breakfast, reading through the pages.

2.  No Ghost Under My Bed by Guido Van Genechten (2010):

While not so new this is a charming little book that reminded me exactly what it was like to have a little one struggle with bedtime.  Jack is ready for bed, all tucked in but he hears a sound coming from under the bed.  Dad comes each time to calmly check it out, assuring Jack that ghosts do not exist.  The father penguin is calm each time and checks to make sure that all is secure.  Very sweet story with beautifully subdued pictures in tones of gray and peach.

3. The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit by Emma Thompson and Eleanor Taylor (2012):

I adore Peter Rabbit and think Emma Thompson would be the perfect person to imitate her in person or in writing.  This story takes Peter on a new adventure to Scotland where he meets Finlay McBurney, a large black rabbit, and his clan.  This book also included a CD with Ms Thompson reading the tale to us.  Very, very sweet!

4. If waffles were like boys by Charise Mericle Harper and Scott Magoon (2011):

A very simple book that takes me back to my own dear son, now a teenager, and definitely not the rambunctious young lad he once was.  Now more shy than bouncy I remember easily how he went from activity to activity and that inanimate objects were incorporated into play.  This book celebrates that which makes boys, well boys.

5. Hello My Name is Bob by Linas Alsenas (2009):

Bob is a bear.  He thinks he is boring.  He likes to sit.  He likes to hum or count toothpicks.  He is quiet. Lucky he has a friend, Jack, who is a bit more thrilling, according to Bob.  Jack likes to do wacky stuff like surf, and paint.  This story is endearing and brings out the best part of friendship; it is often the differences in each of us that bind us together.  This one was a Groovy Girl favorite and really the only one in the stack she was interested in.

What are you picking up at the library?