Picture books

All posts in the Picture books category

The Widow’s Broom, by Chris Van Allsburg

Published November 15, 2012 by Dagmar

widowsbroomMy favorite Halloween book for older listeners comes from one of my favorite children’s authors, Chris Van Allsburg.  Like all of his books, The Widow’s Broom has wonderfully detailed sepia illustrations.  There are magical elements and sufficient “scariness” for 3rd and 4th graders to really enjoy the book.

Synopsis: A witch falls out of the sky when her broom wears out.  She leaves with another witch but leaves her old broom behind.  The Widow Shaw inherits the broom and finds it to be very useful.  Not only does it sweep (it’s favorite activity), but it also chops wood, fetches water and plays piano.  Neighborhood children tease it as it’s sweeping.  The broom makes short work of their dog (flinging it into a tree) and scares the children.  When the neighbors hear about the broom, they tell Minna Shaw that it is evil.  She and the broom hatch a scheme that sends the neighbors away and leaves them in peace.

Ghosts in the House! by Kazuno Kohara

Published November 15, 2012 by Dagmar

ghostsinthehouseAnother Halloween favorite for very young listeners.  Ghosts in the House is sweet and funny with simple illustrations.
Synopsis: A girl moves into a house that’s haunted.  That’s no problem, because she is a witch and likes ghosts.  In fact, she finds them very useful.  After throwing them into the washing machine and hanging them out to dry, her ghosts become curtains, a tablecloth and finally blankets for she and her cat.

Room on the Broom, by Julia Donaldson

Published November 15, 2012 by Dagmar

roomonthebroomWhile I’m still remembering my Halloween read alouds, I want to mention one of my favorites.  Room on the Broom combines great rhyming with enough repetition to keep even the youngest listener engaged.  The illustrations, by Alex Scheffler, are great and the story funny and sweet.  I read this to my pre-k and K classes.
Synopsis: A witch is flying on her broomstick with her cat and drops her hat.  A dog finds it but asks, “Is there room on the broom for me?”.  As the story progresses, the witch drops a stunning number of things and gives a ride to many different creatures.  When the witch’s broom snaps in half, all her passengers fall into a bog.  She flies into a cloud, only to meet a fierce dragon who wants to eat her.  All of her animal friends gather themselves together.  Covered with bog slime and stacked one on top of the other, they look so fearsome, they scare the dragon away.  Left without a broom, the witch and her friends make a brew and create a spectacular new broomstick with room for everyone.

The Perfect Nest, by Catherine Friend

Published November 13, 2012 by Dagmar

the perfect nestWhat a funny and fun read aloud with a very satisfying ending.  This is your chance to accents and animation.  If you do, you’re sure to get lots of laughs.  Perfect for 2nd grade read alouds.
Synopsis: A cat named Jack loves eggs and omeletes.  So, he makes the perfect nest so that birds will come and lay their eggs.  When the birds find the nest, they love it.  In fact, Jack finds that the Spanish-speaking chicken, the French duck and Southern goose love it so much, they argue about who will get the nest.  Jack solves the problem by telling them about another “perfect” nest at the next farm.  The birds race to claim the next nest, leaving their eggs behind.  When the eggs hatch, Jack has a whole new problem to deal with.

Sing, Sophie, Sing! by Dayle Ann Dodds

Published November 10, 2012 by Dagmar

Sing, Sophie, Sing! by Dayle Ann Dodds never fails to get laughs when I read it aloud.  I think it works best with kindergarten and 1st graders.  There are lots of funny phrases.  If you can sing and pull off a southern accent, all the better.

Synopsis:  Sophie’s singing and guitar strumming bothers everyone in her family until a big thunderstorm scares her little brother.  When Sophie stops Baby Jacob’s tears, everyone finally appreciates her singing.