A few cute Picture Books I spotted last week.

"Hedgie Blasts Off!" by Jan Brett is about one of my favourites...hedgehogs. I miss them here, in the UK they can be found in your garden (yard) sniffling around for bugs at night. As children we'd often put out a saucer of milk with broken up bits of bread floating in it. They loved that and you could clearly hear them slurping it up. Couple of times we kept one for a few days in a cardboard box, the only bad bit is that they were often covered in nasty bugs, making them unpopular with parents.




"Jack and the Beanstalk" by E.L. Nesbit, is the classic story but the illustrations by Matt Tavares caught my attention.




"So Few of Me" follows the popular "The Dot" and "Ish" books by Peter H. Reynolds who is also known for his Judy Moody and Stink fame.




The Snow Globe Family by Jane O'Connor, and illustrated by S. D. Schindler caught my eye as these adorable ornaments hold many fond childhood memories. I wish I had one, and this book reminded me that every house should have at least one, especially around xmas.



"Flat Stanley" by Jeff Brown is now also available in Picture Book edition, very cute. Lumpy, like a lot of school kids here in the US, brought home a cardboard Stanley in 1st grade. He ate with us, rode in the car (with seat belt!!) and went to watch L play soccer. This was all taken very seriously by said child, photographed and documented in Stanleys special Journal. Each child in his class took it in turns and it was a delight to read what each child of 6/7 yrs old had to write and comment about. Poor Stanley was quite dog eared & tatty by the end of his travels.



"G Is for One Gzonk!: An Alpha-number-bet Book" by Tony DiTerlizzi is well known for his illustrations in "The Spiderwick Chronicles" series of which I'm a huge fan. This interesting new book he has produced reminded me straight away of Dr. Seuss's ABC book. Once I got home and read his blog on Amazon I found out it was deliberate and a homage to Seus and Edward Lear. Phew...had me worried for a second, it's not a style I particularly enjoy but I did not grow up with it and I know it will defintely hit a spot for many Seus fans here in the States. It will be a great read aloud for parents to young children as Zeus's ABC was to Lumpy and many others.



"Moongirl" by Henry Selick is a Collector's Edition Book and includes a DVD short film (I would love to know how long it runs for but could not find the info anywhere ) The illustrations to this book are to die for, adorable and wonderful artwork by Peter Chan and Courtney Booker