Crews, Donald. Night at the Fair. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1998.

The simple text tells of the many things to do and experience at the fair, especially at night. The excitement and thrill of the fair are captured in the colorful, watercolored, full page art. Crews's use of perspective and unexpected changes in motion make his illustrations alive and interesting. The simple and easy text and wonderful illustrations make this an excellent book for very young children. Submitted by Jane Pingelski

Carle, Eric. The Very Busy Spider. New York: Philomel Books, 1984.

A tiny spider lands on a fence post and busily sets to work on spinning its web. One by one the barnyard animals try to entice the spider away from her work. The spider persists at the task at hand and completes her web. The web is not only beautiful but proves to be useful to all the animals as well. The repeating of animal sounds and phrases throughout the text actively involves and appeals to young children. The childlike illustrations are simple, enjoyable, and rich in texture. This book also appeals to the sense of touch as the spider, web, and fly are all raised lines. This is a very delightful and entertaining book. A book to value in any children's collection! Submitted by Jane Pingelski

Clement, Rod. Just Another Ordinary Day. Australia: Harper Collins Publishers, 1995.

This is a seemingly simple story of a typical day in the life of a schoolgirl named Amanda. She gets up, eats breakfast, gets a ride to school, goes to classes, meets a new girl, rides back home, eats dinner with her family, falls asleep while reading a book, and then is carried upstairs to bed by her father. The straightforward text belies the revealing and amusing illustrations. When text and illustrations are viewed together, a very unordinary and surprising story unfolds. It is a very imaginative story skillfully told through the union of text and illustrations. A must for every library! Submitted by Jane Pingelski

Brown, Margaret Wise. The Sleepy Men. Illustrated by Robert Rayevsky. Hyperion Books for Children, New York, 1996.

A big man and a little man get ready for bed. The big man tells a story about a boy dreaming of becoming the Man in the Moon and they both fall asleep dreaming. The repetitve and lulling text makes this a wonderful bedtime story sure to fill childrens' heads with fanciful dreams. The illustrations are wonderfully expressive. The dynamic brush strokes of brighter colors and more abstract settings during the dream takes the reader into another world. The colors soften at the end of the book and the reader is sent off to sleep in the night sky. Submitted by Lynn Dorwaldt

Seibold, J. Otto, and Vivian Walsh. Penguin Dreams. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1999.

Chongo Chingi is a penguin who lives in a zoo. He goes to sleep and dreams of flying out of the zoo and into a fanciful world. There are very few words in this book. The story is told mainly through the illustrations. Children can follow Chongo through his dream and use their imagination to tell the story. The bright colors and high contrast of the illustrations allow the child to see all the details contained in each picture. This fantasy dream book will open children's imaginations and all the humorous details in the illustrations will make them laugh. This is a unique and imaginative book that children will enjoy. Submitted by Lynn Dorwaldt

Fox, Mem. The Straight Line Wonder. Marc Rosenthal. Greenvale, New York: MONDO, 1997.

A cute story about three straight lines that were also friends. Mem Fox draws a nice little parallel between straight lines and people. One day, one of the lines decides to be different by bending, twirling, and twisting all about. Marc Rosenthal's energetic illustrations depict the line being free to express itself, while his friends are mortified by this strange behavior. The line remains true to itself and this is conveyed to the reader (children) to do also. A simple story with good illustrations, this is a very good addition to the library. Submitted by Adam Wall

• Discuss the different types of artwork used in these books. Painting, drawing, computer art and photography. You can discuss the basic concepts of color, line, texture and medium. Children can discuss which they like best and why. Lynn Dorwaldt
• After reading Penguin Dreams and The Sleep Men, ask children to draw pictures of where they would like to go or what they would like to be able to do if anything was possible like in the dreams. Lynn Dorwaldt
• After reading David Kirk's book, have children cut pictures of real insects out of magazines and make a counting book from them. Lynn Dorwaldt