Author/Illustrator: Serge Bloch

I discovered the books Butterflies in My Stomach and You Are What You Eat by Serge Bloch accidentally. I found the combination of simple sketches and photographs appealing, so I picked them up.

These books are full of idioms that adults use in conversation regularly but kids might take literally, such as "cool as a cucumber," "the world is your oyster," and "we're all in the same boat." Bloch uses photographs of items (such as a cucumber) and then sketches around them to indicate the idiom's meaning. The main character is puzzled when the people around him use these phrases.

My daughter thoroughly enjoyed these books and asked me to read them again and again. The pictures make her chuckle, and she requests that I explain some of them to her. She's now begun accurately using these confusing phrases in regular conversation.

I hope Bloch considers writing more of these books. To my knowledge, these are the only two books he has written and illustrated, although he has illustrated countless more books. Both titles would be great to pick up the next time you want to enjoy a humorous book with your child.

Brand New Readers Series

I think the "Brand New Readers" series from Candlewick Press has been around for a while, but it's new to me. This series includes a variety of books (and even some familiar characters, such as Sesame Street) and is ideal for a child who can't read yet but recognizes letters, letter sounds, and maybe some words and names. (For instance, my child can't read the word "Elmo" necessarily, but she knows his name starts with an E and can pick it out if asked.)

Each book includes four short stories, and each story has a little introduction. The stories are very simple, just one sentence per page and illustration. This enables the child to start to predict what each word will be, which then might lead to recognition of the words. My child was very willing to do this exercise with me and asked me to try and find more books in the series. There are occasions when she's not in the mood to try and do the "reading" herself, but that's OK. She's still watching as I read the words.

This series is suitable for a very specific audience, but I think it fulfills that need very well! I much prefer it to the books that occasionally substitute a picture for a word.

The Imaginary Garden

The Imaginary Garden, written by Andrew Larsen and illustrated by Irene Luxbacher, is a truly beautiful and inspirational book. A little girl named Theo (short for Theodora) enjoys visiting her grandpa, and one of the highlights is his beautiful garden. Grandpa has to move to an apartment with a balcony, and Theo misses the garden. She suggests that they have an imaginary garden, and Grandpa implements this by setting out a huge blank canvas and providing paints and brushes.

Grandpa and Theo treat the canvas just like a real garden, constructing a stone wall and preparing the soil. Then the first signs of spring begin to surface: crocuses, and the first robin. Eventually Grandpa goes on a trip and Theo has to paint the next phase of the garden herself, so she adds tulips, daffodils, forget-me-nots, and a couple chairs for her and Grandpa to relax in.

The best aspects of this book are the warm relationship between Theo and Grandpa, the bright colors, and the inspiration to create something even when it seems impossible.

What If Everybody Did That?

What If Everybody Did That? is written by Ellen Javernick and illustrated by Colleen M. Madden. I knew just by looking at the title and the cover that it was my sort of book. It briefly and humorously helps us imagine what would happen if everybody did a variety of things that seem so insignificant when just one person does it. One obvious (but great) example is throwing a piece of trash from the car window. A funny one that is likely to resonate with kids is just reaching out to take one little sample of frosting from a wedding cake. It's easy for kids to think it would be no big deal if someone would allow them just one little taste, but the illustration of the cake that many of the wedding guests have sampled helps show why that's not a good idea. I also enjoyed the one where the child didn't hang up his coat at school -- the opposite page shows how that area would look if all the kids just dumped their coats in a pile. This book is a fun way to encourage kids to pause and think about how little actions can add up, for good or bad (in the end, the boy comes home and gives his mom a hug and says "What if everybody did that?").

Mary and the Mouse, the Mouse and Mary

One of our favorite recent discoveries is Mary and the Mouse, the Mouse and Mary, by Beverly Donofrio and illustrated by Barbara McClintock. Mary is a young girl who lives in a big brick house, and one day she bends down to pick up a fork and notices a little mouse doing the same thing in a hole in the wall. Mary and the mouse start doing the same routine each evening so they can catch a peek at each other.

The illustrations are detailed, colorful, and show many parallels between the lives of Mary and the mouse. It's fun to ask your child to find some of these, such as the furniture being in the same configuration in the house and the mouse house or the both families wearing the same colors and having the same number of children.

The mouse and her family end up living with grown-up Mary and her family, and their daughters find each other by dropping a book each night and have many of the same parallels between their families. In the end there is a fun little surprise when they finally interact more directly.

This charming book doesn't have an obvious moral or anything like that, but with such a heartwarming story and warm, thoughtful illustrations, I didn't care. My child and I both enjoyed it equally. I only wish the author and illustrator would collaborate on some more books!