If you give a pig a party

by Laura Joffe Numeroff

I've read so much of Numeroff's work for story times, that I was really excited to go out and get the Kohls Cares for Kids animals (Numeroff's mouse, moose, pig and cat) this season. In fact, I made the theme for the first week of December's story times all about Laura Numeroff's books. We had a lot of fun.

Somehow, I'd missed this title in the past. It was fun to see characters from previous books come back as the friends invited to the party. As usual, Numeroff has a series of crazy requests that come from the title animal and the all cycle back to the first thing the child offered, in this case a party. I have to say, one child was scandalized, as only a giggling three-year-old can be, by the "naked" moose before the pajama party began.

Sleepy little alphabet

The sleepy little alphabet by Judy Sierra

An absolutely fun new picture book. It has been compared to the now classic "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom." There's great attention to rhyme and alliteration. Earlier this week, Trisha and I had the opportunity to meet the illustrator, Melissa Sweet, at the American Library Association's national conference in Chicago. It's really fun to find a lesser recognized author or illustrator and say, "Hey, I already know your work, and love it." Some of the illustrations include images of fabrics to give the letters some depth. Ms. Sweet was very excited when we recognized one of the prints because the designer is very distinctive.