It’s back to school time, and for parents and teachers who want to inspire a love of reading, there are some fabulous new picture books for children of every interest and age.
“Simpson’s Sheep Just Want to Sleep” by Bruce Arant is a fine picture book about animals as well as animal and human behaviors. Farmer Simpson is up at dawn working the farm and caring for the animals. But he has a problem — the sheep won’t wake up. He does everything he can think of to wake them. He bangs pots and pans, blows horns and pops balloons. Nothing wakes the sleepy sheep. Finally, the clever farmer has an idea. He goes to the rescue pound and adopts a puppy. He tells the puppy that he will be barking and waking up the sheep. But the puppy has a different idea. Sometimes, a gentle touch works when force does not. The language is lovely, the rhyme and meter fabulous. Perfect for sharing thoughts and morals about friendship and behavior. And for promoting the adoption of animals. (Peter Pauper Press)
The first page of information is “Family Matters,” and Roy explains that African elephants are “one of the species on Earth that live in permanent social groups.” She compares what a baby elephant needs to learn to what a baby human needs to learn. Readers learn about how elephants walk with their huge bodies and what makes their nose so important and powerful. It’s fascinating! Included are diagrams that clarify the text and make it visually appealing. The life-like sketches almost seem to move at times as Roy shows a baby through different stages growing up and learning to behave. Kids will really enjoy this book as a read aloud and later as a book to peruse and learn from. (Roaring Brook Press)
