Submitted By:Â Robert Walch
Beware, Take Care
By Lilian Moore and Howard Fine
(Ages: 4-8)
   A series of short, catchy poems with titles like “Said the Monster” and “The Ghost Goes to the Supermarket” are featured in this amusing collection of silly verse.
No matter whether it’s a twelve-toed creature, a lost dragon, or a monster celebrating his birthday, this non-threatening, fun-filled fright-fest will elicit laughs rather than tears.
While one poem poses the question, “What kind of pet would a monster get, if a monster set his mind on a pet?”, another verse explains that the pictured hairy, scary creature found on the page would much rather “chew on a peppery cheese pizza pie” than lunch and munch on real people.
Henry Holt. 32 pages. $16.95
Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct
By Mo Willems
(Ages: 4-7)
   Everyone loves Edwina. She makes chocolate chip cookies for everyone, helps little old ladies cross the street, and plays with all the children. Everyone loves the dinosaur, that is, everyone but Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie.
Reginald is determined to prove that dinosaurs are extinct but no one listens to the little “know-it-all” except Edwina herself. How she reacts to this startling piece of information is quite a surprise, as you’ll discover as you read this wonderful story.
Mo Willems’ picture books just keep collecting awards, and Edwina’s misadventures will probably just add to his growing collection of plaques, certificates and trophies.
Hyperion Books. 40 pages. $16.99
A Million Dots
By Andrew Clements and Mike Reed
(Ages: 4-8)
   You probably don’t know what a million dots look like but you will after paging through this unusual picture book, which actually features a million dots. Not only will you find what can be done with a million dots, but you’ll discover some interesting trivia as well. For example, you’ll discover that a person blinks about 134,000 times a day and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used more than 416,000 words to tell 46 of Sherlock Holmes’ best adventures.
Additional fun facts include: 902,400 apples would completely cover a basketball court three feet deep; the U.S. Postal Service delivers more than 630 million cards, letters, magazines, catalogs, and parcels daily; and it would take 464,000 school-lunch cartons of chocolate milk to fill a 20-by-40-foot swimming pool!
Simon & Schuster. 48 pages. $16.95
