This is not just a classic Christmas story, it's a clever idea that is packaged to allow grandparents (who are miles away) or parents (who travel a lot) to read this classic storybook aloud for young listeners even if you cannot be there in person. It's a book with a built-in recording machine that you can personalize for the children in your life. You need to open the recording box on the side of the book to unlock the recording mechanism.  Then record the text on each page. By the way, we have read online about folks having a problem with doing this, but honestly, if you follow the simple directions on the back of the first page, it works like a charm!  When you are done you open the battery box and lock in your recording. What a charming keepsake! It might also be fun for older sibs to record this for a younger sibling, as a special gift. The sturdy cardboard pages are nicely illustrated and look like they will hold up. This is one of a new series of books kids can listen to again and again. True, this is not the same as sitting with the child in your lap or side by side and looking at the pictures together--but it is a memorable gift that has a kind of magic quality. 3 & up.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Stunning new art accompanies Kipling's classic tale of Mowgli and his upbringing among the wolves. It is from them that he learns the harsh laws of the jungle. This volume is one of a handsome collection of affordable classics for the family library. Also in the series, Tales of Hans Christian Anderson.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Meet two friends who disagree on most things, other than their continuing friendship.
Gollie, the tall bossy one knows she is right and Bink the smaller, more childlike one, who cares what Gollie thinks but not enough to give in. Bink has a mind of her own. Told in few words, each small adventure takes place partially in the imagination of one of the two girls. Beginning readers will appreciate the humor and limited words on the page. This looks like the first of a series of easy reader friendship stories. 6 & up.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Totally original and great good fun, this is the story of two artists--one experienced and accomplished--the other aspiring and eager. What happens when the creative moment takes charge turns into a fantasy that is full of humor, suspense and delight in seizing the moment. A book that is really about the process of daring to try new things--of throwing off the old ways and being willing to try the new. 5-8.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Newest in a wonderful series of art books that encourage children to look closely at the many details in paintings. Using both famous and less familiar works of art from the Met's collection, these 20 images all center on scenes from American history. There is no story as such, yet you can spin a story about such scenes as the classic image of Washington Crossing the Delaware or simply search the handsome reproduction with your child to find the three horses, fringed scarves, one bandage, four fur hats, and other details. Like other books in this collection, the art is beautifully reproduced and the concept of looking at more than the whole painting is built into the experience. Getting children to look beyond the first impression can become a way of looking at the book and on future visits to the museum. 7 & up.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

It is not an exaggeration to say that this is one amazing pop-up book. Each page has a working machine that becomes a play setting with moving parts. The text folds out and tells what the machine does. It's hard to say which of these is the mast awesome—the dump truck, bulldozer, tractor, forklift or tower crane. There are extra play pieces in pockets and even directions for making each machine work. They say 4 & up, but we’d say you will need to supervise the way this is handled to avoid tears over broken machines. This is a work of paper engineering art!

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Bear needs absolute quiet in order to go to sleep. He has a lot of other rituals that are a must. So, Bear must have been dreaming when he invited Mouse to visit overnight. When Mouse arrives with a suitcase Bear tries to be pleasant, but does not know how in the world he will get to sleep. In a series of hilarious scenes, Mouse tries to discover just how small a sound Bear can hear as Bear becomes more and more exasperated. It turns out that bear has such keen hearing he even hears sounds that are not there. A big time entertaining read aloud for bedtime--but don't overdo the theatrics or it might turn into a wake-up story instead. Wry illustrations add to the humor of an oversized scaredy-cat bear and a wee small fearless mouse. 5-7.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Welcome back Swamp Angel! Or as Bad old Bart would say—Pee-yip! In this long overdue sequel to the award winning classic, Swamp Angel, the larger than life size heroine has moved to Montana, where there would be enough space for her gigantic self. But when great storms blow up in her new territory, Swamp Angel rides a cloud of dust and tames her own mighty steed, Dust Devil. Soon after that, the Angel and her dusty sidekick are faced with the villain, Backward Bart and his gang. These bad guys ride giant mosquitoes, since no self-respecting horses would carry such ornery Desperadoes. Bad old Bart only speaks backwards, so there is a hoot of good read-aloud fun in Anne Isaacs’ word play. This imaginative tall tale just gets funnier as the good guys triumph. In the process, the Grand Canyon and all those geysers and buttes are the work of - you guessed it - none other than our heroine. As for the bad guys—they just might show up again—or at least the gold fillings from their teeth were last sighted headed for California. Did somebody mention the Gold Rush? Let's hope we don't have to wait as long for the next amazing saga

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Kids of a certain age love being grossed out and this is one of the best of that genre because it isn't merely yucky, it is full of fascinating information about old and gross sounding cures that have been used through the ages. It is set up in a true false format asking readers to speculate on the effectiveness of rubbing moldy bread on your leg, putting mustard on your head or tying earthworms around your neck. The art is as gross out as the ideas of using mummy powder or a dead man’s skull or maggots to cure what ails you. A thought provoking book that combines science and history in a picturebook for older readers. 7 & up.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Just when you thought you had seen all the old nursery rhyme books ever, comes this gem of stitchery. Each classic rhyme has its own fresh image created with needle and threads and marvelous appliqués of three dimensional people and objects. This is a book you will enjoy looking at together and saying "Ooh, look at that!" Mavor has created mini-worlds in fabric that give new life to the familiar rhymes. In fact, her art is sure to interest slightly older children than the usual preschool set. It's a book you can use as a resource for poems you have forgotten and will want to recite to your toddler and preschooler. Beginning readers will enjoy the details on the page and being able to read some of the familiar rhymes they will have known such as Jack & Jill, Little Miss Muffet, and others while enjoying your reading some of the less familiar rhymes to them.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.