Yum Yum by Catherine Hnatov

This is a charming board book for babies and toddlers. The illustrations are bright & lovely. Each animal/food gets a different color treatment with black & white common in all of them. Pre-schoolers will be able to "read" this book.  My kids would have loved Yum Yum when they were babies. It's short and sweet and yummy!  Read courtesy of Star Bright via Netgalley.

Six Sheep Sip Thick Shakes by Brian Cleary

Most of us grew up with "She sells sea shells by the seashore" and "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickeled pepper" that  we were challenged to say three times fast.  A new generation will get a new slew of tongue twisters courtesty of Brian Cleary.  In Six Sheep Sip Thick Shakes, lusciously illustrated by Steve Mack, we are introduced to 23 new ones and children (and adults) will enjoy saying them aloud.  For instance "The water in Flo's Inn flows in frozen."  Mack has shown a penguin in the shower with ice cold water pouring out of the faucet and a Flo's Inn sign outside the bathroom window.  Another cute one is "As a favor my favorite flavor was placed on my plate." A turtle is being served green leaves!  Readers will enjoy the tongue twisters as well as the illustrations.  Read as an ebook arc courtesy of Lerner Publishing Group via Netgalley.

Dino-Basketball by Lisa Wheeler

It's March madness in Dino Land and the Grass Clippers are playing the Meat for the championship.  Each teammate is aptly named a dinosaur, the cheerleaders are set and the arena is packed.  We get the play by play of the game in verse with each player's name in the color of it's team.  Barry Gott's illustrations capture the enthuasiam and dedication of the players, the coaches frustrations, and we are treated to celebrity fans in the stands hiding behind their dark sunglasses. At the conclusion of the book Wheeler lets us know that football season is around the corner and I'll be looking forward to that book and I need to play catch up with the previous Dino Land books.  Recommend for fans of dinosaur and/or sports stories. They will love not only the story but also the illustrations which are just charming. Read as an ebook arc courtesy of Lerner Publishing Group via Netgalley.

The Great Moon Hoax by Stephen Krensky

In 1833 the New York Sun, a new publication used newsboys to sell it's newspapers on the street.  To entice people to buy their paper the headlines and stories needed to be interesting.  And so in 1835 when the paper began to write about what a far away astronomer was seeing on the moon through his telescope, lots of papers were sold.  Jake and Charlie are two of these boys and it's their story we hear.  Homeless and without family they sell papers to feed themselves and on a big sales day spend the night in a boardinghouse.  Illustrations by Josee Bisaillon depict among other creatures man-bats and moon beavers.  When Jack and Charlie learn it was all a hoax they're not upset.  Instead Jake thinks about writing his own stories one day.  Krensky has made this historical fiction book accessible for young readers and even though the boys live in poverty, hope for them shines bright.  Readers will look at the moon through new eyes.  Read as an ebook arc courtesy of Carolrhoda via Netgalley.

The Trouble with Chickens by Doreen Cronin

In Doreen Cronin's THE TROUBLE WITH CHICKENS, J.J. is a retired search and rescue dog enjoying a quiet life in the country. Unfortunately his doghouse does not have a door and so when Millicent (Mooosh) the chicken asks for help in finding her two kidnapped chicks J.J. can't hide from helping to solve the mystery. All his training and experience will really come in handy when the inside dog, Vince the Funnel's scheme comes to light. There are some very laugh out loud funny lines which made me laugh out loud. For instance, When J.J. informs Moosh that the inside dog, Vince the Funnel has the chicks "She was running around like a chicken without a head." The illustrations are adorable and young readers will enjoy the mystery and animal antics. Be sure to read this if you enjoyed THE DIARY OF A WORM or THE DIARY OF A SPIDER or any of Cronin's other books, or if you like mysteries or animal fiction. I read this as an e-book ARC through netgalley and the book will be published in March 2011.

Mudkin by Stephen Gammell

This book is all about going out after a rainstorm to play in the mud. Boys will love the rain, the mud and the messiness of the whole book.  Girls will love the queen and the carriage (made out of mud).  They will be laughing out loud and trying to fill in the gibberish of Mudkin's part of the conversation.  Some children may need some help in understanding the story but when they get it they'll enjoy it. Recommended for pre-schoolers through first graders.  Read as an ebook arc courtesy of Carolrhoda via Negalley.