Birdsongs - an interactive counting book "that has it all"; poetic; about the birds you see in your neighborhood; shows "scaffolding" in action in the back of the book because the facts in back build on the story you just read

Ferocious Wild Beasts -  it is important to read to kids throughout the day, and not only at bedtime as a wind-down activity; good vocabulary should be introduced early to make the vocabulary become their own; this book turns the myth of a scary forest in on itself as the boy tells the forest animals he meets about the ferocious wild beasts his mom warned him about; but look out for the ferocious wild mom in the end!

The Letters are Lost -  it is great when alphabet books tell a story as well; kids can relate to losing things and finding them again; this book also includes "predicting" which makes them into the storytellers

Max's ABC - Rosemary Wells is one of those children's book authors that writes a great book every time; this Alphabet book also tells a story; it is good to run your finger along the words so the children know that the words we are saying do in fact correspond to the words on the page

Over and Over - a girl with no concept of time keeps asking "what comes next?"; this lovely story peppered with the seasons and holidays starts and ends with the little girls birthday

Sleepy ABC - a reprint from the 50's; kids need to know their Alphabet, though they can read "environmentally", such as knowing the sign says STOP without knowing all the letters; alphabet books need to pull kids in and not just list the letters with a word attached; this book is very descriptive and gives kids an Alphabet basis

Wag! - good book for "predicting"; what makes Earl's tail wag?; great for the kids in preschool who always has his hand up though he may not even know the answer; words on the page describe the action taking place- they may not be real words but they are phonetic; engaging and wonderful characters