Kid Konnection: Think Spring!

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. This week, I'm going to share with you some adorable children's books which are perfect for this time of year.

Summary:When the flowers begin to bloom and the world starts turning green, animals everywhere are born . . . including the noisy ducklings!

From the creator of A Book of Sleep and Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit comes a beautiful book of baby animals. Travel with the curious duck and visit babies around the world on their very first day of life. -- Knopf

A BOOK OF BABIES by Il Sung Na is a perfect springtime book because it is all about new baby animals... and their mommies.  In this delightful picture book, children see many different types of animals that are born in the spring including ducklings, zebras, polar bears, and more!

Each page layout features a different mommy animal with her babies. In addition, the author has included something about that animal which makes it special. For example, new kangaroos are carried in their mother's pouches while zebras can walk right away.

A BOOK OF BABIES has already received a starred review form Kirkus Reviews and I can definitely see why. It's very cute and parents and toddlers alike will love learning about baby animals.

A BOOK OF BABIES would be a great addition to an Easter basket, but it would also make a very special Mother's Day gift!

Summary: Featuring Phoebe Dunn's classic animal portraits in a new board book education, The Little Rabbit will charm parents and children alike. 

The story and photographs follow Buttercup the rabbit as she explores her meadow and makes new and special friends. Paired with The Little Duck, this will make a perfect Easter gift for toddlers. -- Random House

Summary: Just in time for Easter comes this new board book edition of a springtime classic: The Little Duck, written by Judy Dunn and photographed by Phoebe Dunn.

Photographs depict everything from the thrill and jubilation of watching an egg hatch to a baby duck's adventures exploring his new world and making friends. The 8x8 edition has sold over 670,000 copies -- and the new board book edition will surely waddle its way into toddlers' hearts! -- Random House

THE LITTLE RABBIT and THE LITTLE DUCK, written by Judy Dunn with photographs by Phoebe Dunn, are very sweet picture books that are perfect for little one's Easter baskets. Both books are heavy 8x8 board books that are ideal for toddlers little hands since they are easy to turn as well as durable.

THE LITTLE RABBIT follows the adventures of Buttercup as she meets new animals and plays with them in a meadow, while THE LITTLE DUCK shows Henry the Duck's experiences from birth to when he makes new friends on the farm. I thought both books were adorable and I loved the photographs of the animals.

When my kids were toddlers, they were definitely drawn to picture books with photographs. Maybe they found them to be more "real," but I honestly have no idea why. They just loved actual pictures of animals. I have no doubt that they both would have enjoyed seeing experiencing these animals' adventures!

Summary: The U.S. Children's Poet Laureate and an award-winning children's poet join their prolific forces in this picture book of poems about cars. But they're not just any cars: there's the "Sloppy-Floppy-Nonstop-Jalopy" ("So unique there is no copy"); the Bathtub Limosine ("With hot water heating / And porcelain seating"); and the "High Heel Car." Each of the thirteen quirky, inventive poems will speak directly to the imaginations of children, as will Holmes's high-concept, detail-filled illustrations. -- Schwartz & Wade

And since April is National Poetry Month, I thought I'd feature a fun little poetry picture book called POEM-MOBILES: CRAZY CAR POEMS by J. Patrick Lewis and Douglas Florian with pictures by Jeremy Holmes. This book is not only a good way to introduce poetry to your children, but it also has some fantastic illustrations!

POEM-MOBILES is pretty much what it sounds like -- a book with poems about cars. But the cars in this book are something special! One is "mini-mini," while another is a "paper car." There are futuristic cars and even cars that look like different types of food. As you can probably tell by now, these poems (and the cars they describe) are extremely silly and perfect for children with big imaginations!

I admit that I'm not a huge fan of poetry, and I definitely appreciate children's poems more than ones geared towards adults, so POEM-MOBILES is just perfect for me. I love the zany feel of this book, and that most definitely includes the illustrations. They are very whimsical and full of detail, and I think they are the perfect complement to these fun poems.

Highly recommended!

Thanks to the publisher for providing review copies of these books.

If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, please leave a comment as well as a link below with your name/blog name and the title of the book! Feel free to grab the little button too!