Miss Ashley's Staff Picks

This picture book explores the many types of quiet a child may encounter in their everyday lives. Quiet can be cozy and nice, shameful and remorseful, or shocking and scary. Liwska portrays these different types of quiet experiences with furry woodland friends that are drawn with a beautifully detailed hand. Children will relate to many of the examples of quiet, especially “bedtime kiss quiet.” A great story for bedtime.

A little brown bunny and a little blue bird become friends one spring and play with one another until it is time for the bird to fly south. The friends miss each other through the long winter months until they are reunited again the following spring. This book showcases the theme of friendship with a beautiful message that distance can’t hinder friendship. Berger’s illustrations are the showpiece of this picture book, containing backdrops of loose-leaf and graph paper, newspaper clippings embedded in objects, and illustrations that look textured.

The Village Garage is a story about the hard work that the Village Garage crew does each year. In spring, the crew must clean up the streets from the fall and winter. In summer, the crew patches holes in the streets and cleans up from storms. In autumn, the crew cleans up leaves then waits patiently for the first big snow storm to take out their snow plows in winter. Children, especially young boys, will love the illustrations filled with tools, machines and construction equipment.

Fear is a natural part of growing up. Parr recognizes that sometimes children are scared because they don’t understand something. In his story, he recommends that children tell someone why they are scared and maybe after, they won’t be so scared anymore. The book touches on many prevalent childhood fears like being afraid of the dark and monsters or scary first-time experiences like riding on an airplane or being separated from a parent for the first time. Each fearful experience Parr writes about includes a positive result or answer to the fear. A great bibliotherapy read for children experiencing fear.

How to Hug is a complete hugging manual for children. It includes instructions on how to properly hug both humans and animals in a comical approach. It is the perfect story for those that hug too long, those that hug too tight, or even those that try to hug the cat! Christy’s humorous illustrations supplement proper hugging techniques on each page. So prepare children for the many impending hugs they will receive this holiday season by sharing How to Hug.

Jasmine & Tai-Tai’s grandfather Agong comes to live with their family from a faraway land. One day he tells Jasmine that she is ready for magic. Agong asks Jasmine to make a wish and then he puts his hand over hers and they dip the brush and touch it to the paper. The two tell the story of Jasmine’s wishes through Chinese characters, which can be found in each dreamlike illustration. Jasmine & Agong practice their calligraphy all spring until Agong becomes ill in the fall and passes away. Jasmine is sad until one day Tai-Tai wanders into Agong’s room during naptime and Jasmine tells him he is ready for magic. The Magic Brush is a beautifully written and illustrated story. The back of the book includes a pronunciation key, a short history of Chinese art and a description of some of the Chinese treats Jasmine mentions in her wishes.