Share
A A A

Picture books

BOOK AUTHOR DESCRIPTION
GENERAL HEALTH
Even More Parts Tedd Arnold Arnold’s funniest book yet reintroduces the nervous hero from Parts and More Parts while also depicting more than 100 body-part idioms. Kids won’t be able to keep a straight face as they enjoy this clever, wacky, boldly illustrated book.
Inside Your Outside–All About the Human Body Tish Rabe(The Cat In The Hat’s Learning Library) The Cat in the Hat takes Sally and Dick for a ride through the human body where they visit the right and left sides of the brain, meet the Feletons from far off Fadin (when they stand in the sun you can see through their skin), scuba dive through the blood system, follow food and water through the digestive tract and a whole lot more!
Me and My Amazing Body Joan Sweeney What is under your skin? Why do you have bones? What do your muscles do? Where does the food that you eat go? Me and My Amazing Body can show you! From your head to your toes and everything in between, this playful introduction to anatomy explains all the important parts of your body. Easy to read and easy to understand, Me and My Amazing Body helps children appreciate everything their amazing bodies can do.
More Parts Tedd Arnold A young boy is worried about what will happen to his body when he hears such expressions as “give him a hand,”“laugh your head off,” and “hold your tongue.”
Oh, The Things You Can do that are Good for You! Trish Rabe(The Cat In The Hat’s Learning Library) With the help of the staff and equipment at a Seussian spa, the Cat in the Hat explains the basics of healthy living, from eating right and getting enough exercise and sleep, to having a positive body image, to the distance and speed of atypical sneeze!
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Big Bear Ball Joanne Ryder The sun sets, the moon rises and here come the bears, arriving on foot through the forest and in brightly coloured hot air balloons. “A broad-beamed caller, “Howdy’s all. Welcome, friends, to our Big Bear Ball.” The music plays, the bears begin to dance and a rip-roarin’ good time is had by all. Joanne Ryder’s engaging text begs to be read aloud. It is filled with rhythm, rhyme, energy and motion and is complemented by Steven Kellogg’s bold, vibrant and expressive artwork.
Barnyard Dance Sandra Boynton Boyton’s story has a cadence that captivates even the youngest audience and that flows easily from the reader’s tongue. Essentially it is a square dance. And not only do the animals in the story follow the riveting directives of the square-dance “caller,” the students can participate with movement, too.
Caillou Learns to Skate Marion Johnson Caillou is thrilled when his parents teach him how to skate for the first time.
Children on the Move–An Active Living Alphabet June E. LeDrew and Kim A.Anderson This book shows activities that can foster a healthy lifestyle. While they learn to read, children will also learn what active living is and be encouraged to live actively themselves. Available through Region of Peel, Peel Health.
Emily Loves to Bounce Stephen Michael King Emily just loves to bounce. She makes high bounces, low bounces, springing bounces and boinging bounces. She can spring like a frog or bounce like a dog. Emily bounces right through her day.
From Head to Toe Eric Carle Are you ready? Here we go! Move yourself. From head to toe. I can do it! That’s what kids will say when they wiggle, stomp, thump and bend through the pages of this book. Laughter and squeals of delight will abound as boys and girls participate in the action.
Hattie Hippo Christina Loomis Four funny stories showcase Hattie at her best—just being Hattie. A perfect read-aloud for loads of fun. Hattie Hippo pirouettes on teensy, tiny toes. In dazzling, pearly, perfect teeth, she holds a pale pink rose. She whirls, she twirls and she leaps on high. Two rhinos, waiting, smile. Oops! Teeny prima ballerina misses by a mile!
Nose to Toes Marilyn Baillie Young children pretend to be different animals. Colourful, uncluttered illustrations accompany the text, each spread showing an animal in action, mirrored by the child’s imitation on the opposite page. The effort to stimulate children’s imagination and nudge them to a realization that all living things are interrelated makes the book useful, as does the handy page that explains in a few brief sentences some facts about a specific attribute of each creature.
Shake My Sillies Out Raffi As night falls in the forest, all the animals settle in for a good night’s sleep—all except for a fidgety bear, a wiggly squirrel and a restless rabbit, who just can’t sleep unless they’ve shaken their sillies out.
Tennis, Anyone? Shane McG Seven-year-old Tom Foley receives a lot of great gifts for his birthday. They all crash or whirr or beep, except for one–a tennis racket. It doesn’t do anything. Tom’s father convinces him to try the game, even though the boy has never heard of tennis and doesn’t know of anyone who plays.
We’re Going On a Bear Hunt Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury Have you ever gone on a bear hunt? Come along on this one with a brave young family—four children (including the baby) and their father. They’re not scared. With them you will cross a field of tall, wavy grass (“Swishy swashy!”),wade through a deep, cold river (“Splash, splosh!”), struggle through swampy mud (“Squelch, squerch!”), find your way through a big, dark forest, (“Stumble, trip!”), fight through a whirling snowstorm (“Hooo-wooo!”) and enter a narrow, gloomy cave. What’s that? You’ll soon learn just what to do to escape from a big, furry bear! This book can be chanted aloud and acted out.
A Perfect Picnic Sesame Street It’s a perfect day for a spring picnic and everyone on Sesame Street is invited. But, oh, no, the beautiful flowers make Bert sneeze! Ants march off with some of the goodies! A baseball lands (splat!) in the dessert and some bicycle racers zoom through, making a mess. And of course it begins to rain. But that’s okay, because, as Bert points out, without rain it just wouldn’t be spring! A rollicking, rhyming romp from start to finish.
Apples Sesame Street It’s a perfect day for a spring picnic and everyone on Sesame Street is invited. But, oh, no, the beautiful flowers make Bert sneeze! Ants march off with some of the goodies! A baseball lands (splat!) in the dessert and some bicycle racers zoom through, making a mess. And of course it begins to rain. But that’s okay, because, as Bert points out, without rain it just wouldn’t be spring! A rollicking, rhyming romp from start to finish.
Apples, Apples, Apples Nancy Elizabeth Wallace It’s a blue-sky autumn day and Minna, Pop, Mom and Dad have decided to go on an outing to Long Hill Orchard. This charming story is filled with fun facts, activities and an applesauce recipe.
Bread and Jam for Frances Russell Hoban The irrepressible badger Frances, now an older sister to baby Gloria, decides that she likes the predictability of her favourite meal, bread and jam, and refuses to eat anything else. In a gentle way, Mother Badger shows Frances just how boring life is when you
D.W. The Picky Eater Marc Brown In an amusing portrayal of a common problem, D.W. tries to avoid eating food she does not like through various plots, schemes and spy missions.
Eating the Alphabet Lois Ehlert While teaching uppercase and lowercase letters to preschoolers, Ehlert also introduces fruits and vegetables from around the world.
Food ABC an Alphabet Book Amanda Doering Learn about your favourite foods and the alphabet. This book will tell you about different foods and what they are like.
From Seed to Plant Lizzy Rockwell Jam-packed with fascinating facts, Good Enough to Eat is uniquely designed to satisfy kids’ love of food and their curiosity about how their bodies work.
Gregory, the Terrible Eater Mitchell Sharmat Gregory is a very picky eater, especially for a goat. Instead of the usual goat diet of shoes and tin cans, Gregory prefers healthier food. He likes to eat fruits, vegetables, orange juice and eggs.
Growing Vegetable Soup Lois Ehlert The bold colours hold children’s attention and the book fits well with lessons for younger children on what seeds and plants need to grow and the growing process. It also includes a recipe for making your own vegetable soup. For early childhood teachers, it can become an early science, social studies or math lesson and a parent and child activity.
I Want my Dinner Tony Ross After a little princess learns to say “please” and “thank you, “she teaches the same etiquette to a Beastie.
Little Pea Amy Krouse Rosenthal If Little Pea doesn’t eat all of his sweets, there will be no vegetables for dessert! What’s a young pea to do? Children who have trouble swallowing their veggies will love the way this pea-size picture book serves up a playful story they can relate to.
Lunch Denise Fleming It’s lunchtime for one hungry mouse. But Mouse isn’t just hungry, he’s ravenous! Readers follow along as Mouse devours every green pea, orange carrot and red apple insight. Preschoolers can point out their favourite colours and name the foods they love the most.
Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! Candace Fleming After years of dreaming of planting a garden, Mr. McGreely finally takes a hoe and watering can in hand and makes his dream come true. Unfortunately for him (but luckily for readers), this is not the happily-ever-after part of the story. Late one night, three hungry bunnies appear: “Tippy-tippy tippy, Pat!, Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!” The next morning, our farmer is gnashing his teeth over the gnawed sprouts. So he builds a small wire fence. That night, “Muncha!Muncha! Muncha!” So Mr. McGreely builds a tall wooden wall. You get the idea. Young readers will hang on every word until they find out, once and for all, who will win the battle of the broccoli.
No Nuts for Me Aaron Zevy No Nuts for Me is an engaging story told by a very active little boy who doesn’t let his nut allergy get in the way of having fun. Introduce your readers to Noah, who carries on a conversation throughout the story, and explains, in a matter-of-fact tone, what it’s like to be allergic to nuts.
One Potato, A Counting Book of Potato Prints Diana Pomeroy Beginning with one potato, Pomeroy provides numbers of fruits and vegetables for counting one through 20, moving by tens up to 50 and finishing with 100 sunflower seeds. The counting is clear and progressively more challenging, and the botanical prints, made with potatoes, are luscious and lovely. Pomeroy gives directions for making potato prints (“children can tell the grown-up what to carve, choose the colours and do the stamping”), along with suggestions for things to stamp, such as greeting cards and gift wrap.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Nadine Westcott A peanut butter and jelly sandwich à la Westcott. With the help of elephants and a baker, two children create atable-sized sandwich from scratch. The rhythmic text is a traditional song and it is made all the more delightful with Westcott’s watercolour illustrations in pastels and muted tints. Each scene prompts giggles and is enhanced by the sideline actions of a pet cat that looks shocked by the entire escapade, a dog that licks his chops in anticipation of snatching a morsel, and finally, the mother who faints in the kitchen doorway after witnessing the crowd. The book’s large, humorous, colourful spreads make it conducive for group sharing. Instructions for the accompanying hand and foot motions are appended. A real treasure with potential use in any library’s programming, especially story times.
Pie in the Sky Lois Ehlert This engaging story with gorgeous artwork opens, “This tree was here when we moved in. Dad says it’s a pie tree.”Readers watch as it changes from bud to flower to fruit bearing. Each spread is an amazing work of art on its own, filled with beautiful birds, lush cherries and vividly coloured scenery. Each spread includes a piece of the ongoing story(in large, bold font) and an “I spy” section that details items for children to look for (in smaller type, using more extensive vocabulary). This book can serve independent readers at several levels and makes a wonderful read-aloud as well. It also supports curriculum units on different types of birds, seasonal changes and cooking. An easy-to-follow recipe is also incorporated into the story. The attractive cover has actual steam holes cut into the pie, making it a visual and tactile treat.
Stone Soup Ann McGovern Three monks journey along a mountain road as they try to understand what makes man happy. At once they encounter frightened villagers who lock their windows and darken their homes. They have long been ravaged by harsh times and their hearts have grown cold toward everyone they meet. But when the monks cleverly entice them to make soup from stones, the villagers discover how much they have to give—and how much more comes back to them in return.
Strega Nona Shari Halpern Two young sisters watch in fascination as their apple tree changes, from bare in winter to bursting with pink blossoms in spring, and as robins build a nest. When autumn comes, the small green apples have grown big enough for picking—and for pie!
The Bernstain Bears and too much Junk Food Stan and Jan Bernstein Mama Bear lays down the law when she notices that Papa and the cubs are getting too chubby. With the help of Dr.Grizzly’s slide show on how the body works, the Bear family makes healthful adjustments to their diet and fitness habits.
The Boy Who Loved Bananas George Elliott Matthew laughs himself silly one day as he watches the banana-crazy monkeys at the Metro Zoo. That evening, bananas become Matthew’s favourite food—and he refuses to eat anything else! Over the next two weeks, he eats so many bananas that he starts to feel funny. He itches and scratches and itches and scratches until—KABLOOEY! Suddenly, Matthew is swinging from trees and shinnying up flagpoles! His parents try everything to stop his monkey business: doctors, veterinarians, herbalists, chiropractors, animal trainers, psychiatrists and even a psychic. But nothing seems to work. Has Matthew gone completely bananas?
The Carrot Seed Ruth Krauss The Carrot Seed is a delightful story about a little boy who plants a little seed. Everyone, except the little boy, believes that the seed will not grow into a carrot. The little boy cares for the seed by weeding and watering. He is persistent, even though the ground continues to be bare. Then, a carrot appears. The last page is a precious illustration of the little boy wheeling about with a gigantic carrot.
The Little Red Hen Paul Galdone This book teaches kids how they should not be greedy and they should help someone if they want something in return. This book is about a hen that plants, cuts, beats and takes the wheat to the mill all by herself and bakes some bread. Then her friends want some when it is done, but since they didn’t help the hen eats it all by her self.
The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza Philemon Sturges A funky rendition of the classic tale. Hen, having decided to make a pizza, discovers that she lacks certain necessities, such as a proper pan. “’Cluck,’ she said. ‘I need a pizza pan.’”When she asks her neighbours to help her out, she gets the expected response: “’Not I,’ said the duck donning her swim cap and tube. ‘Not I,’ said the dog wearing a box of dog biscuits and a party hat. ‘Not I,’ said the hip blue cat playing the saxophone.” So off the Little Red Hen goes to the store to buy the things she needs—along with others she surely does not need, such as a guide to sink installation. When she finally gets her pizza made, the three unaccommodating friends change their tune. The plot takes two nifty twists at the end and this Little Red Hen is not quite as punitive as in the original story. There’s a keen sense of the absurd here, and the hilarious cut-paper illustrations are right in-tune with the zany plot. This version can be pored over again and again as much can escape the eye the first time around.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle The story tells of a ravenous young caterpillar that’s eating lot so he can become a beautiful butterfly.
Today is Monday Eric Carle Featuring the artist’s familiar bold and colourful style, this song was originally illustrated as a frieze in 1977. Now adapted as a picture book, it is a joyous invitation to “all the hungry children” (shown at a multi-ethnic banquet at the end of the book) to “Come and eat it up!” Each double-page spread shows a line from the song, with a different animal for each day of the week, eating a different food. Most of the animals are eating a predictable food (a fox with a chicken, a pelican with a fish), but there are some nonsensical scenes (a snake with spaghetti, an elephant eating “zoop”). Overall, the verse has a catchy, cumulative rhythm, but it’s the dazzling illustrations—gorgeously displayed with a mastery of design and form—that make this a simple, yet memorable, picture book.
Too Many Pears Jackie French Pamela the cow loves pears and will do just about anything to get them. But will anyone else ever get to eat a pear again? Certainly not until she’s had her fill and moved on to something else!
EMOTIONAL HEALTH
ABC I Like Me Nancy Carlson Introduce children to the alphabet and reinforce positive self-esteem with the lovable characters of ABC I Like Me!
And Here’s to You David Elliott Here’s to the birds and the bears and the bugs! Here’s to the weird and wacky, the cute and creepy! From toothy fish to let-you-when-you’re-sleeping cats to lick-lick-lick lick-lick-lick dogs, every creature is unique and lovable—especially you!
How are You Peeling? Saxton Freymann and JoostElffers Whatever your mood, you’re bound to feel 48 times as good after looking at this astounding new picture book. On each page, laid out in signature, crisp style, are wild food sculptures that embody each emotion more fluidly and expressively than any human face could. The text is simple and funny, designed to start a conversation between adult and child about feelings—call it eggplant empathy, call it laughing at limes.
I Like Me Nancy Carlson By admiring her finer points and showing that she can take care of herself and have fun even when there’s no one else around, a charming pig proves the best friend you can have is yourself.
I Like Myself Karen Beaumont High on energy and imagination, this ode to self-esteem encourages kids to appreciate everything about themselves—inside and out. Messy hair? Beaver breath? So what! Here’s a little girl who knows what really matters.
I’m Gonna Like Me–Letting Off A Little Self-Esteem Jamie Lee Curtis Celebrate liking yourself! Through alternating points of view, a girl’s and a boy’s, this book shows kids that the key to feeling good is liking yourself because you are you.
Smile a Lot Nancy Carlson A frog explains how smiling is a great way to get through life’s ups and downs.
Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon? Patty Lovell When Molly Lou has to start in a new school, Ronald Durkin makes fun of her height and her buckteeth. But Molly Lou has learned a lot from her grandma and knows just how to put him in his place—In a very satisfying way.
The OK Book Amy Krouse Rosenthal The world is just full of things to do. And it’s fun to give them all a go. But what if you’re not good at everything you try? What if you’re just OK? What then?
Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day Jamie Lee Curtis Silly, cranky, excited or sad—everyone has moods that can change each day. This story helps kids explore, identify and even have fun with their ever-changing moods.
What I Like About Me Allia Zobel-Nolan This is a great book for younger children. It looks at adverse set of children who all have unique qualities. This book is a good illustration of students learning to like themselves for who they are. The book is interactive and a lot of fun.
When I was Little Jamie Lee Curtis When I was little, I could hardly do anything. But now I can do lots of things, like braid my own hair, paint my toenails bubble-gum pink and go to nursery school. I’m not a baby anymore. I’m me! The story captures a little girl’s simple, childlike celebration of herself, as she looks back on her childhood from the lofty height of four-and-a-half years.
Who are you, Sue Snue? Tish Rabe Will Sue Snue be a farmer and grow things to eat? Or will she be president? Hail to the chief? What Sue winds up telling us is that she’s got plenty of time to decide, but in the meantime, the best thing she can be is herself!
The Affirmation Web—A Believe in Yourself Adventure Lori Lite A sad, lonely young girl follows a group of animals in the forest as they weave a web of positive thoughts and statements about themselves, making her feel special as well.