Book picks similar to
Oh, Were They Ever Happy! by Peter Spier
picture-books
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Bedtime for Frances
Russell Hoban - 1960
And then there are tigers and giants and ominous cracks in the ceiling to keep her up. Will Frances ever go to sleep?
Magritte's Marvelous Hat
D.B. Johnson - 2012
Johnson writes and illustrates the surreal story of famous surrealist painter Rene Magritte and his very mysterious (and mischievous!) hat. While the art reflects some of Magritte's own work, the text sets readers on a fun and accessible path to learning about the simpler concepts behind Mr. Magritte's work.This delightful picture book captures the playfulness and the wonderment of surrealist art. Four transparent pages add yet another level of surrealism to the illustrations as pictures can be altered with the turn of a page.
Everywhere, Wonder
Matthew Swanson - 2017
From a lost balloon to an endless road, there are stories to discover, to dream about, and to share.Everywhere, Wonder explores the wonder in the world, while encouraging young minds to discover the extraordinary in the ordinary, and creatively share their stories with others.“Open your eyes and open your window and let your story out into the world. It is a little gift from you to me.”
Bob, Not Bob!
Liz Garton Scanlon - 2017
His nose is clogged, his ears are crackling, and his brain feels full. All he wants is his mom to take care of him, but whenever he calls out for her, his stuffed-up nose summons slobbery dog Bob instead! As Louie tries and tries to make himself understood in this funny picturebook, kids will love calling out with him, "Bob, not Bob!"
If You Give a Dog a Donut
Laura Joffe Numeroff - 2011
. . Dog is off on a backyard adventure!The exuberant dog who first appeared in if you give a pig a party is now the star of his very own book. Written in the irresistible “If You Give…” tradition, if you give a dog a donut is another home run from the beloved team of Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond.
Madeline's Rescue
Ludwig Bemelmans - 1953
One day on a walk through Paris (a "twelve little girls in two straight lines" kind of walk), Madeline slips and falls off a bridge right into the Seine. Everyone feared she would be dead, "But for a dog / That kept its head," saving her from a "watery grave." What choice do Madeline and the girls have but to take the heroic pooch home, feed her biscuits, milk, and beef, and name her Genevieve? Sadly, when Lord Cucuface gets wind of the new dog, he decrees that no dogs will be allowed in the "old house in Paris that was covered with vines," and kicks Genevieve out on the street. Madeline vows vengeance, and the girls scour Paris looking for the pup: "They went looking high / and low / And every place a dog might go. / In every place they called her name / But no one answered to the same." As we've come to expect from Bemelmans, all's well that ends well chez Clavel, and young readers will be tickled by this heartwarming, quirky dog story with a surprise finale. (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin Snelson
Bad Dog
Mike Boldt - 2019
but gets a cat instead!"Look what I got for my birthday! A pet dog!" says a little girl holding a... cat? Rocky doesn't listen or obey like all the other dogs. (Because Rocky is a cat.) And Rocky hates her leash and doesn't seem to like other dogs. (Probably because Rocky is a cat.) And rather than play fetch, Rocky prefers to... lick between her toes? Ew. Rocky is a bad "dog"! BUT Rocky doesn't bark, and is so cute when she sleeps in sunny spots. Maybe Rocky IS a good dog? (Or, you know, maybe Rocky is a cat.)Cat lovers and dog lovers alike will howl with laughter at this little girl's willful insistence that her cat is a dog. The hilarious ways in which cats and dogs are different are brilliantly illuminated with each turn of the page and will leave young readers and their grown-ups giggling.
Song and Dance Man
Karen Ackerman - 1988
in full color. "In this affectionate story, three children follow their grandfather up to the attic, where he pulls out his old bowler hat, gold-tipped cane, and his tap shoes. Grandpa once danced on the vaudeville stage, and as he glides across the floor, the children can see what it was like to be a song and dance man. Gammell captures all the story's inherent joie de vivre with color pencil renderings that leap off the pages. Bespectacled, enthusiastic Grandpa clearly exudes the message that you're only as old as you feel, but the children respond--as will readers--to the nostalgia of the moment. Utterly original."--(starred) Booklist.
On Beyond Zebra!
Dr. Seuss - 1955
So wrong. Leave it to Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell (with a little help from Dr. Seuss) to create an entirely new alphabet beginning with Z! This rhyming picture book introduces twenty new letters and the creatures that one can spell with them. Discover (and spell) such wonderfully Seussian creations as the Yuzz-a-ma-Tuzz and the High Gargel-orum. Readers young and old will be giggling from beginning to end . . . or should we say, from Yuzz to Hi!
Piggies
Audrey Wood - 1991
Don Wood’s oil paintings explode with mirth and magic and will engage all young readers."Trying to describe these luxuriant, witty pictures doesn’t really work, however; seeing is believing, and what luck for us there’s so much to see."--Booklist
I Am the Boss of this Chair
Carolyn Crimi - 2018
You may look at it, and you may walk by it, but you may not sit in it. Because I am the boss of this chair, and that’s that.” Oswald Minklehoff Honey Bunny III has always been top cat. Then Pom Pom the kitten comes along and suddenly Oswald isn’t the boss of everything anymore—not the toilet paper, food dish, back door, toy mouse, or even his own special chair. Will Oswald realize that life is more fun when you have a friend—and that, really, there’s plenty of room on the chair to share? A fun picture book with a comforting message for any kid with a new sibling.
Yes & No
Elisha Cooper - 2021
It's time to wake up!Join a cat and puppy pair through their day—the ups of being fed and romping through grass, and the downs of days that are too short and things that don't go as planned—as they realize that sometimes the very best thing that can happen is just being together.
Monster Trouble!
Lane Fredrickson - 2015
Winifred constructs clever traps, but nothing stops these crafty creatures. What's a girl to do? (Hint: Monsters HATE kisses!) The delightfully sweet ending will have every kid—and little monster—begging for an encore.
This Book Is Gray
Lindsay Ward - 2019
But the other colors are always leaving him out. So he decides to create his own project: an all-gray book. Once upon a time, there lived a wolf, a kitten, and a hippo…Gray just knows it’s going to be perfect. But as he adds page after page, the Primary and Secondary colors show up…and they aren’t quite so complimentary.A book within a book, this colorful tale explores the ideas of fitting in, appreciating others, and looking at things from another perspective and also uses personality and wit to introduce basic color concepts.
Puddle
Hyewon Yum - 2016
His mom comes up with a way to keep him entertained--by drawing a picture of herself and him going outside, playing in the rain, and splashing in a giant puddle. They have so much fun drawing themselves that they decide to venture out and make the most of the rainy weather.