You can’t help but have fun with this trio geared to little ones.
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Any parent or grandparent who has shared a picture book with a very young child knows about the calming effect it can have — especially at bedtime. But some books do the opposite: They energize both the reader and the listener with a rolling sense of fun. Check out three such titles especially suited to the three-to-seven-year-old crowd:
Hungry Crocodile
By Eija Sumner
Illustrated by John Martz
TundraBooks
It’s impossible to read this book aloud without changing your voice to a growly tone that suits the crocodile’s abbreviated speech pattern as he looks for a meal. A fridge he finds in the forest is filled with stuff too hard to open, so he heads to the farmers’ market.
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But people scream at the sight of a crocodile (“Market ruined,” Crocodile says) so he tries a grocery store (“Cart handle too high. / Crocodile performs acrobatic feat / to reach cart. No applause. / Everyone screaming”), followed by an equally-unwelcoming community garden.
This makes Crocodile angry, and then sad. He cries enough tears to fill a pond around him and to attract a flock of flamingos. Toronto’s John Martz does a great job of illustrating the lively text, and the surprise ending will amuse both reader and listener.
I Can Make a Train Noise
By Michael Emberley & Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick
Neal Porter Books/Holiday House
Another great read-aloud, this book in the hands of the right adult will spark the imagination of any young listeners and teach them that words have the rhythmic potential to create mental images.
The authors/illustrators begin by showing an elevated train as it crosses a bridge above a bookstore and café, just as a young family enters the café. Inside, the little girl tries to tell her parents that she can make a train noise, but they’re busy looking for seats in the crowded coffee shop so she repeats the headline comment to people around her. No one pays attention, until she yells “Now!”
Repeating her sentence rhythmically eventually evokes memories of train travel for everyone in the café. The repetitive text, in varying font sizes, is accompanied by illustrations even the youngest children can read for themselves. If the adult reading aloud is up to the task, those youngsters will inevitably join in. Especially when the little girl, on the last page, asks them if she THEY can make a train noise.
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cat-dog
By Mem Fox
Illustrated by Mark Teague
Beach Lane Books
This book ends with a challenge to the listener too, but that challenge has more to do with plot development than with rhythmic sounds.
The text is brief, presented in the form of a question followed by a response on the next two-page spread. The scenarios are clearly and dramatically illustrated in such a way that even very young listeners will be able to come up with a response to each question — and should, after several read-alouds, be able to recognize the words “No!” and yes!” in print even if they’re still a bit shaky on the alphabet.
Mark Teague’s brilliant depiction of the three characters in this book (a dog, a cat and a mouse) will appeal to all ages.
—Bernie Goedhart