our favorite kids' books http://zbooks.wordpress.com our favorite kids' books Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:15:59 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ en hourly 1 http://www.gravatar.com/blavatar/5eb0d7a487e85f7f73c7030967bfe309?s=96&d=http://s.wordpress.com/i/buttonw-com.png our favorite kids' books http://zbooks.wordpress.com Wonder Bear http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/wonder-bear/ http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/wonder-bear/#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 03:56:13 +0000 Carol Spector http://zbooks.wordpress.com/?p=173 ]]>

wonderbearAuthor and Illustrator: Tao Nyeu
Publication Date:  2008

Surreal wordless adventure story. Beautiful illustrations.

Posted in adventure, amazing illustrations ]]> http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/wonder-bear/feed/ 0 Carol Spector wonderbear Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/billy-twitters-and-his-blue-whale-problem/ http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/billy-twitters-and-his-blue-whale-problem/#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 03:36:07 +0000 Carol Spector http://zbooks.wordpress.com/?p=162 ]]>

billytwittersAuthor: Mac Barnett
Illustrator: Adam Rex
Publication Date:  2009

Great story about personal responsibility. Set in San Francisco. Dry humor. Excellent illustrations. Surprise ending.

Posted in amazing illustrations, funny ]]> http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/billy-twitters-and-his-blue-whale-problem/feed/ 0 Carol Spector billytwitters McFig & McFly : a tale of jealousy, revenge, and death (with a happy ending) http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/mcfig-mcfly-a-tale-of-jealousy-revenge-and-death-with-a-happy-ending/ http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/mcfig-mcfly-a-tale-of-jealousy-revenge-and-death-with-a-happy-ending/#comments Mon, 18 May 2009 18:28:35 +0000 Carol Spector http://zbooks.wordpress.com/?p=155 ]]>

mcfig and mcflyAuthor and Illustrator: Henrik Drescher
Publication Date: 2008

Two neighbors become obsessed with competing to build the biggest best house. I love the Seuss-like fantasy architecture.

Posted in amazing illustrations ]]> http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/mcfig-mcfly-a-tale-of-jealousy-revenge-and-death-with-a-happy-ending/feed/ 0 Carol Spector mcfig and mcfly Pssst! http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/pssst/ http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/pssst/#comments Mon, 18 May 2009 18:14:43 +0000 Carol Spector http://zbooks.wordpress.com/?p=152 ]]>

pssst Author and Illustrator: Adam Rex
Publication Date: 2007

Funny quirky book about a girl that goes to the zoo and gets ensnared in the animals’ collective scheming. Great illustrations. 
Posted in adventure, amazing illustrations, funny ]]> http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/pssst/feed/ 0 Carol Spector pssst Sector 7 http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/sector-7/ http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/sector-7/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:56:22 +0000 Carol Spector http://zbooks.wordpress.com/?p=137 ]]>

sector-71

Author and Illustrator: David Wiesner
Publication Date: 1999

Clever and humorous fantasy about a boy that discovers a cloud factory over NYC. Wordless book, and the illustrations are amazing.

Posted in adventure, amazing illustrations, funny ]]> http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/sector-7/feed/ 0 Carol Spector sector-71 Rainstorm http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/rainstorm/ http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/rainstorm/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:43:29 +0000 Carol Spector http://zbooks.wordpress.com/?p=129 ]]>

rainstorm1

Author and Illustrator: Barbara Lehman
Publication Date: 2007

A mysterious sweet story about a lonely boy who makes some friends. Very inventive. Wordless book.

Posted in adventure ]]> http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/rainstorm/feed/ 0 Carol Spector rainstorm Drummer Hoff http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2008/12/23/drummer-hoff/ http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2008/12/23/drummer-hoff/#comments Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:24:59 +0000 Carol Spector http://zbooks.wordpress.com/?p=117 ]]>

drummerhoffAuthor: adapted by Barbara Emberley
Illustrator: Ed Emberley
Publication Date: 1967

Based on a folk song. Amazing illustrations. Cumulative text that’s fun to read aloud. Surprise ending. Love it.

Posted in amazing illustrations ]]> http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2008/12/23/drummer-hoff/feed/ 0 Carol Spector drummerhoff Richard Scarry’s Biggest Word Book Ever! http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2008/10/16/richard-scarrys-biggest-word-book-ever/ http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2008/10/16/richard-scarrys-biggest-word-book-ever/#comments Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:57:20 +0000 Carol Spector http://zbooks.wordpress.com/?p=110 ]]>

Author and Illustrator: Richard Scarry
Publication Date: 1985

This book is HUGE. 2 feet tall, sturdy board book. The pictures are so immense and detailed, you could almost get lost. I like to imagine living in Lowly the Worm’s apple house and driving his apple car around town.

Posted in amazing illustrations ]]> http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2008/10/16/richard-scarrys-biggest-word-book-ever/feed/ 0 Carol Spector lowly The Sailor Dog http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2008/10/12/the-sailor-dog/ http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2008/10/12/the-sailor-dog/#comments Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:34:49 +0000 Carol Spector http://zbooks.wordpress.com/?p=98 ]]>

Author: Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrator: Garth Williams
Publication Date: 1953

Takes you on an exciting adventure with a scruffy pup named “Scuppers.” Also includes a song at the end (“I am Scupper the Sailor Dog…”). Gotta love a book that ends with a song. Authored by the prolific Margaret Wise Brown, whose narratives always leave me wondering weather she was smoking something funny when she wrote.

Posted in adventure ]]> http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2008/10/12/the-sailor-dog/feed/ 0 Carol Spector scupper1 The Teeny Tiny Woman http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2008/09/22/the-teeny-tiny-woman/ http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2008/09/22/the-teeny-tiny-woman/#comments Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:15:24 +0000 Carol Spector http://zbooks.wordpress.com/?p=88 ]]>

The Teeny Tiny Woman

Author: folktale
Illustrator: Margot Zemach
Publication Date: 1972
A surpisingly creepy little book with the most charming illustrations ever. I wish I lived in the protagonist’s teeny tiny house. The book itself is quite small, which adds to its appeal. I’ve seen other versions of this folktale, but they’re not nearly as endearing.
Posted in adventure, amazing illustrations ]]> http://zbooks.wordpress.com/2008/09/22/the-teeny-tiny-woman/feed/ 0 Carol Spector teenytiny