Best of 2016 so far… JP Picture Books Ahlberg, Jessica. Fairy tales for Mr. Barker: A Peek-Through Story. Candlewick Press. Come along with Lucy and her dog, Mr. Barker, on a fairy-tale adventure! Who will they meet, and will their story end happily ever after? Archer, Micha. Daniel Finds a Poem. Nancy Paulsen Books. What is poetry? It’s something special for everyone – you just have to take a little time to really look and listen. The magical thing is that poetry is in everyone and Daniel is about to discover this for himself.

Ashman, Linda. Henry Wants More. Random House. Bounce! More! Clap! More! Sing! More! Chase! More! Nap? So goes a typical day with this toddler and his exhausted but loving family. Sounds familiar?

Blackstone, Stella. Baby Talk. Barefoot Books. Babies talk in all kinds of ways - and the people who love them talk back! How do you and your baby like to talk?

Ciraolo, Simona. Whatever happened to my sister? Flying Eye Books. A young girl sets out to find out exactly what happened to her sister. Who is this new sister? Why does she never want to play anymore? For anyone who has ever felt left behind, this is a sweet portrayal of the transience of childhood and how adolescence and growing up can be a truly mystifying experience.

Day (JP Toddler). A Day At The Beach: A Book Of 123s. Sterling Children’s Books. What's better than a sunny day at the beach? Preschoolers will love learning their numbers, thanks to an inviting seaside scene and a new friend: Starla the Starfish.

Delacroix, Sibylle. Blanche Hates The Night. Owl Kids Books. Every day ends the same. Blanche’s mother puts her to bed. But Blanche does not want to go to sleep. She wants to tumble and sing and drum. Can Blanche help it if bedtime brings out her creativity?

Ehlert, Lois. Rain Fish. Beach Lane Books. Meet the “rain fish”—the varied, colorful, and unique little collections of materials that float along on streams of rain water during storms. From a scrap of newspaper with a seashell eye and feather smile to a piece of cardboard with an orange peel eye and a leaf for a fin, Ehlert’s rain fish come in all shapes and sizes.

Fan, Terry and Eric Fan. The Night Gardener. Simon and Schuster Books For Young Readers. One day, William discovers that the tree outside his window has been sculpted into a wise owl. In the following days, more topiary appear, and each one is more beautiful than the last. Soon, William’s gray little town is full of color and life. And though the mysterious night gardener disappears as suddenly as he appeared, William and his town are changed forever.

Florian, Douglas. The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits. Little Bee Books. The habits of rabbits are many, not few, with plenty of things they love to do. And at the end of the day, when it’s time to say “goodnight,” there is one habit of rabbits that is not to be missed…. Fowler, Gloria. Come With Me To New York. Ammo. Parents and young readers will skip along through this cheery rhyming story, as they discover an impressive list of stunning sights throughout New York City.

Gavin, Ciara. Bear Is Not Tired. Alfred A. Knopf. Winter is coming. Can Bear stay awake – or will he miss all the fun. Harper, Charise. A Big Surprise For Little Card. Candlewick Press. Little Card lives with an array of other cards destined to be postcards, price tags, file folders, and more. A postal mix-up results in Little Card attending birthday card school, but eventually he gets where he’s supposed to be, becoming a library card for a girl named Alex. Harshman, Marc. One Big Family. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. When you have a big family, reunions can be loud and chaotic. But they can also be tons of fun! From canoeing down the river to getting chased by bees to telling ghost stories around the campfire, the reunion is filled with adventures for the whole family, even the pets!

Henkes, Kevin. When Spring Comes. Greenwillow Books. When it is cold and snowy and bleak and brown, Spring seems very far away. But, if you wait, soon you will see leaves and blossoms. Soon you will feel pussy willows and raindrops. Soon you will smell flowers and mud. Soon you will hear birds and buzzing bees. Are you ready for Spring? Isadora, Rachel. I Hear A Pickle (and Smell, See, Touch, and Taste It, Too!). Nancy Paulsen Books. Let’s celebrate our five senses!

Jeffers, Oliver. The Hueys in What’s the Opposite? Philomel Books. The thing about the Hueys is that they like to look at things differently. So their new adventure is sure to be the opposite of ordinary! Levis, Caron and Charles Santoso. Ida, Always. (JP Parenting D). Atheneum Books For Young Readers. Gus, the polar bear, lives in a big park in the middle of a big city. When his best friend and fellow polar bear, Ida, becomes terminally ill, a sad Gus spends their final days together whispering, sniffling, cuddling, and laughing with Ida in their home at the Central Park Zoo.

Litchfield, David. The Bear And The Piano. Clarion Books. After finding a piano in the woods, a brown bear teaches himself to play (even though he doesn’t know what it is, exactly), going on to wow his fellow bears and, later, the world.

Mavor, Salley. Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. Peek inside and discover a treasure trove of nursery rhymes. Each rhyme has been lovingly stitched with rich fabric and colorful threads and ornamented with beads, stones and shells. Merino, Gemma. The Cow Who Climbed A Tree. Albert Whitman and Company. Tina is a cow who climbs a tree and meets a dragon who teaches her to fly. When Tina's family doesn't believe her tale, Tina must find a way to convince her family that she's telling the truth. Park, Linda Sue. Yaks Yak: Animal Word Pairs. Clarion Books. Have you ever seen a yak yak? A bat bat? A steer steer? A duck duck? If not, now is your chance!

Rockwell, Anne. Let’s Go To The Hardware Store. Christy Ottaviano Books. When the new house needs fixing up, it's time for a trip to the hardware store to find the tools and materials needed to get the job done! Sarah, Linda and Benji Davies. Big Friends. Henry Holt and Company. Birt and Etho are best friends. Then one day a new boy arrives and he wants to join them. Can two best friends make room for three?

Slegers, Liesbet. Me and My House (JP Toddler). Clavis Toddler. A fun book filled with pictures of some of the things you see in a house with a focus on the child’s daily life.

Stead, Philip C. Ideas Are All Around. A Neal Porter Book. "I have to write a story today" the narrator begins. "But today I don't have any ideas." Ah, tension right off the bat. In this whimsical meditation on the creative process, what does a writer do when ideas elude him? He allows his

adorable canine to tempt him outdoors for a walk. Tallec, Olivier. Who Done It? Chronicle Kids. Who ate all the jam? Who played with a mean cat? Who forgot a swimsuit? Kids will love the hunt for clues. Teckentrup, Britta. Tree: A Peek-Through Picture Book. Doubleday Books for Young Readers. See the seasons like never before! Peek through the holes in this book and discover the bustling life of a tree and tis many forest friends.

Tullet, Herve. Let’s Play. Handprint Books. It's only a yellow dot...but what a dot it is! Readers won't be able to resist this jaunty, adventurous dot, nor its invitation to play along.

Vansickle, Vikki. If I Had A Gryphon. Tundra Books. Sam just got a hamster, a nice, safe pet. But Sam would rather have an exciting pet – maybe a gryphon, a unicorn, or even a hippogriff. Vernick, Audrey. I Won A What? Alfred A. Knopf. A young boy wins a humongous new pet at the carnival, and before long, they become fast friends. But his parents are skeptical. After all, Nuncio doesn’t even fit in the house! Will the gargantuan goldfish have to go? Or will the family find a way to give him the home he deserves? Weatherford, Carole Boston and R. Gregory Christie. Freedom in Congo Square. Little Bee Books. Mondays, there were hogs to slop, mules to train, and logs to chop. Slavery was no ways fair. Six more days to Congo Square. And on Sundays, slaves were able to gather, sing, dance and play music together in New Orleans’ Congo Square.

Winter, Jeanette. Nanuk the Ice Bear. Beach Lane Books. At the top of the world, Nanuk the ice bear hunts for food, meets a mate, and hibernates through the winter with her newborn cubs. When spring arrives, Nanuk teaches her beloved cubs how to hunt and swim and survive in the arctic.

JE Easy Readers DePaola, Tomie. When Andy Met Sandy. Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. Andy is small. Sandy is tall. Andy is shy. Sandy is brave. What will happen when Andy and Sandy meet?

Milgrim, David. Moo Bird. Scholastic, Inc. Moo Bird is different from the other birds. Can he find a friend like him?

Pifferson Sisters. Zach and Lucy and the Museum of Natural Wonders. Simon Spotlight. When Zach and Lucy open a museum in the basement of their building, the neighbors are impressed…except for grumpy Mrs. Blankenship in 2C. Can anything make her smile? Scotton, Rob. Splat the Cat and the Quick Chicks. Harper. It’s Splat’s turn to watch his class’s chicken eggs overnight. While he is sleeping, the eggs hatch! But will Splat’s fluffy new friends be too quick to catch.

Willems, Mo. The Thank You Book. Hyperion Books For Children. Piggie is determined to thank everyone she knows, but Gerald thinks she will forget someone important.

J YR - Young Readers Urban, Linda. Weekends With Max And His Dad. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. A sweet and funny illustrated novel about third-grader Max, who pursues neighborhood adventures with his dad as they both adjust to recent changes in their family.

Zemke, Deborah. Bea Garcia: My Life in Pictures. Dial Books for Young Readers. When budding artist Bea Garcia’s best friend moves away and a loud rambunctious boy moves in, Bea must learn to make new friends.

J Fiction Brown, Peter. The Wild Robot. Little, Brown and Company. When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island. Where did she come from? And, most important, how will she survive in her harsh surroundings? Roz's only hope is to learn from the island's hostile animal inhabitants. Busby, Cylin. The Nine Lives of Jacob Tibbs. Alfred A. Knopf. Reluctantly accepted on board a 19th-century ship, a scrawny yellow cat becomes an accepted member of the crew while

enduring battles against dangerous weather, mutinous confrontations and efforts to survive on a desert island. Condie, Ally. Summerlost. Dutton Children’s Books. 12-year-old Cedar Lee, who has moved to Iron Creek, Utah, for the summer with her mother and younger brother, Miles, as the family struggles to regroup after an accident claimed the lives of Cedar’s father and brother Ben. Cedar quickly meets enterprising, offbeat Leo, who gets her a job at Summerlost, the town’s yearly Shakespeare festival.

Serabhan, Lois. Paper Wishes. Farrar Straus & Giroux. Near the start of World War II, young Manami, her parents, and Grandfather are evacuated from their home and sent to Manzanar, an ugly, dreary internment camp in the desert for Japanese-American citizens.

J Nonfiction J031S. Sayre, April Pulley. The Slowest Book Ever. Boyds Mills Press. This is a S-L-O-W book. Do not read it while surfing, water skiing, or running to escape giant weasels. Readers will explore an astounding variety of information about all things slow—in nature, geology, art, outer space, etc. As Sayre shows: If you think slowly enough, the entire world is amazing.”

J508M. Maguire, Kay. Nature’s Day: Discover the world of wonder on your doorstep. Wide Eyed Editions. Visit eight outdoor locations throughout the year and discover how wildlife is changing, season by season. So grab a hat and get outside to see what’s happening!

J578.7P. Parker, Steve & John Haslam. A Journey Through Nature. QEB Publishing. Take a journey from your doorstep to distant lands. See a pond frog catching flies, a bear leaving its woodland den, and elephants grazing the African grasslands, as this delightful visual safari transports you through the varied habitats of the planet.

J590.14E. Esbaum, Jill. Animal Groups. National Geographic. A celebration of polar bears! A party of orangutans! What do we call a group of penguins? A group of zebras? A group of giraffes?

J590.3B. Barman, Adrienne. Creaturepedia: Welcome To The Greatest Show On Earth. Wide Eyed Editions. Meet a colorful cast of creatures that bring together the most impressive, iconic, and amazing animals from around the world. Which one catches your eye? J591.47K. Keating, Jess. Pink Is For Blobfish: Discovering the World’s Perfectly Pink Animals. Alfred A. Knopf. Sure, pink is the color of princesses and bubble gum, but it’s also the color of monster slugs, naked mole rats and blobfish. Isn’t it about time to rethink pink?

J591.7B. Brown, Laaren. Animal Bites: Polar Animals. Animal Planet. With more than 200 gorgeous animal photos of penguins, polar bears, sea lions, walruses, reindeer and others, Animal Planet Polar Animals is a fun, habitat-by-habitat guide that provides kids in the first years of schooling with the perfect bite-sized view of their favorite animals living in both polar climates. (Others in series)

J599.76L. London, Jonathan. Otters Love to Play. Candlewick Press. Follow the otters through the seasons as they chase one another, slide down a mudbank, jump in a pile of leaves, and learn to swim. Even while catching fish for their dinner or grooming themselves in the snow, otters love to play.

J613.7G. Gates, Mariam. Good Morning Yoga: a pose-by-pose wake up story. Sounds True. Yoga helps children learn how to focus, relax, and both self-monitor and self-soothe. Good Morning Yoga instills these four skills and more, enabling children to jumpstart the day with excitement and meet the adventures that come with mindfulness and perspective

J629.89S. Everything Robotics: All The Robotic Photos, Facts, And Fun! National Geographic Kids. They fix spacecraft, dance, tell jokes, and even clean your carpet! From the tiniest robobees to gigantic factory machines, robotics is all around you. This technology isn't just for science-fiction anymore -- it's real and more relevant than ever. J646.2W. Ware, Lesley. Sew Fab: Sewing And Style For Young Fashionistas. Laurence King Publishing. With Sew Fab, learn to sew your own unique clothes and accessories and wear them with flair.

J781.65I. Ingalls, Ann. J Is For Jazz. Bright Connections Media. A is for America's Music. It abso-tive-ly began with African American rhythms. B is for Blues....

J811.54S. Singer, Marilyn. Echo Echo: Reverso Poems About Greek Myths. Dial Books for Young Readers. Poems about a magical world created long ago. Poems you can read from top to bottom and from bottom to top.

J811.6R. Raczka, Bob. Wet Cement: A Mix Of Concrete Poems. Roaring Brook Press. With concrete poetry, words twist and turn across the page, shaping the poems in surprising and delightful ways. J822.33S. Sutcliffe, Jane. Will’s Words: How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk. Charlesbridge. Thanks to Will we can say what’s done is done. We can wait with baited breath. And the long and the short of it is that Will’s words changed the way we talk forever.

J920.72C. Calkhoven, Laurie. Women Who Changed The World: 50 Amazing Americans. From science and politics to sports, art, and entertainment, these incredible women have done it all. From Pocahontas to Misty Copeland and even more awesome women at the end of this book!

J940.54T. Thompson, Ben. Guts & Glory: World War II. Little, Brown and Company. Devastating surprise attacks, epic victories, unstoppable armies, and tough-as-nails men and women from the greatest war in human history.

J B Herrmann. Rockliff, Mara. Anything But Ordinary Addie: The True Story Of Adelaide Hermann, Queen of Magic. Candlewick Press. Be astonished and dazzled by the true story of Adelaide Herrmann, Queen of Magic! Addie never wanted to be ordinary and she never was!

J B Houghton. Vernick, Audrey. The Kid From Diamond Street: The Extraordinary Story Of Baseball Legend Edith Houghton. Clarion Books. A historical baseball picture book about a female baseball phenomenon who won spectators' hearts in the 1930s the same way Little League superstar Mo' Ne Davis has today: Edith Houghton, who joined the professional women's team the Bobbies at the age of 10. J B Hoy. The William Hoy Story. Chernin, Nancy. Albert Whitman and Company. They called him Dummy Hoy, but he was nobody’s fool. He could steal his way around bases and score? And while he couldn’t hear the cheers, he could sure see them.

J B Tharp. Burleigh, Robert. Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor. A Paula Wiseman Book. This illustrated biography shares the story of female scientist, Marie Tharp, a pioneering woman scientist and the first person to ever successfully map the ocean floor.

J Graphic Baldwin, Christopher. Little Dee and the Penguin. Dial Books. Paisley, the penguin, far away from Antarctica recruits a vulture, a dog, a bear, and little Dee, an orphan girl, to take her home.

Jamieson, Victoria. The Great Pet Escape. Henry Holt and Company. The class pets want OUT . . . and GW (short for George Washington), the deceptively cute hamster in the second-grade classroom, is just the guy to lead the way. But when he finally escapes and goes to find his former partners in crime, Barry and Biter, he finds that they actually LIKE being class pets.

Kientz, Chris. Secret Smithsonian Adventures: The Wrong Wrights. Smithsonian Books. Four middle-schoolers visiting the Smithsonian discover that someone is trying to rewrite history. They use their smarts to foil the bad guys who are trying to eliminate the Wright Brothers.