Odd Velvet, by Mary E. Whitcomb, illustrated by Tara Calahan King (Chronicle Books), ages 3 to 8Velvet brings a milkweed pod for show-and-tell at school while the other girls bring dolls. Her orange flyaway braids, gigantic glasses and secondhand dress (hurray for reuse!) add to the aura of odd that surrounds her. But through adorable, whimsical artwork and a non-preaching tone, odd translates into unique and wonderful. The light-hearted, yet deeply important, lessons in non-materialism and … [Read more...]

Little Ruth Reddingford and The Wolf, by Hank Wesselman, Ph.D., illustratedby Raquel Abreu (Illumination Arts). Ages: 4 to 8At long last, Little Red Riding Hood has been revised in an entirely fresh way. Nomore vulnerable wolf-munched grandma, naïve riding hood lass, or wolf cast ina villain's role. Readers will give a warm welcome to little Ruth (Red) Reddingford,dodge ball champion of her class, who listens to her intuition's warning of troubleas she walks through the woods to Grandma's … [Read more...]

Little Yellow Pear Tomatoes, by Demian Elaine Yumei, illustrated by Nicole Tamarin (Illumination Arts). Ages 2 to 8As a little girl stands in the garden and marvels over how much she loves little yellow pear tomatoes and thinks about what it takes to grow them, she begins to weave a tale of the interconnectedness of all things. It takes a lot of "not-a-tomato things" such as people, bugs, water and even the stars to make her yummy tomatoes. For children who tend to think that food … [Read more...]