It was the little black velvet drawstring purse that caught my eye. The strip of antique-y eyelet cloth on which it sat was a quaint touch, to be sure, but the purse was what beckoned me. The purse, its mysterious contents, and cloth were secured with a black grosgrain ribbon around Holly Black’s newest book, Doll Bones (Simon/McElderry, May 2013), and the whole curious package was giving me a come-hither look from Katie’s inbox. I had to know what secrets the purse was keeping.

And then there was this…Katie warned me: “Don’t look in there. It’s creepy.” Just the invitation I needed.

here’s lookin’ at you

Promotional doll-eyeball lapel pins? Creep-tastic! I wore one for an hour or so, and no one noticed. Not a single person. So I ramped it up a notch and added the second one, then purposefully stood in front of my coworkers and made small talk. I thought the eyeballs would be good conversation starters, but after the initial laugh and question about where I got my accessories…awkward silence. Or they wanted to get back to work. Whatever. I know cool when I see it. And it looks right back at me…lifelessly.

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In David Martin’s Peep and Ducky, two bird pals meet in the park for an idyllic play date. Peep and Ducky romp in a mud puddle, have snacks, take a pee break (side by side on their port-a-potties), fight over a bucket until it breaks, apologize, and dig in the sand. The simple and repetitive rhyming text is great fun to read aloud; the springlike pastel colors of David Walker’s illustrations fill in the chubby figures with a comfortable solidity. (Candlewick, 1–4 years)

Young Phoebe scores a toy truck (yay!) at the same time she acquires a baby sister (boo!) in Tricia Springstubb’s Phoebe and Digger. When her harried mother finally takes Phoebe and the (not-always-adorable) little baby to the park, Phoebe and Digger have a blast. A scaredy-cat “crybaby boy” lands her in time-out, and, later, a bully snatches Digger up, but in the end Phoebe learns that, in a family, it doesn’t have to be every girl for herself. Jeff Newman’s mixed-media illustrations play up the tale’s small moments and big emotions. (Candlewick, 3–6 years)

Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle is Chris Raschka’s straightforward account of one young girl’s perseverance and triumph over her two-wheeled vehicle. A grandfatherly figure’s encouragement makes up the second-person text (“And now you’ll never forget how”). Raschka’s loose watercolor images bespeak protection, urging, assistance, and commiseration (after a fall). While the title’s “everyone” may be a bit of an exaggeration, it reflects this book’s infectious optimism. (Schwartz & Wade/Random, 3–6 years)

From spring planting to winterization, George Ancona’s full-color photographs in It’s Our Garden: From Seeds to Harvest in a School Garden chronicle a year in the life of a garden at an elementary school in Santa Fe. Students are shown composting soil, watering plants, raising butterflies, and sampling the edible delights. Ancona’s no-nonsense prose style is perfectly suited for newly independent readers. (Candlewick, 5–8 years)

From the May 2013 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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So begins Dragon Brush (Small Planet Digital, 2012), an interactive picture book app created by John Solimine and Andy Hullinger. Based on a Chinese folktale (no sources are given), the story follows a young rabbit artist, Bing-Wen, who comes in possession of a magic paintbrush, which causes everything he paints to come to life. When the greedy emperor hears of Bing-Wen’s enchanted artwork, he demands Bing-Wen paint a golden statue of him: “Then, there will be two of me — both dazzling!” But Bing-Wen refuses and is thrown in the dungeon. In the end, of course, Bing-Wen bests the selfish emperor, leaving him trapped on an island with his golden statue with the inscription: “The poor lack much, but the greedy lack more.”

What’s admirable about this story app is the restraint shown by the developers, both with the story and the digital enhancements. The balance of text, art, sound, animation, and interactive elements works well, with no singular aspect of the product overwhelming the others.

The retelling is straightforward and accessible. John Solimine’s stylized cartoon illustrations, starring (mostly) friendly animal characters, are uncluttered but with enough detail to give a sense of the imperial Chinese setting.

The interactive elements are thoughtfully chosen. When Bing-Wen paints with his magic brush, users swipe their fingers back and forth on the screen to help the images appear. Once complete, the paintings transform into colorful creations that move and make sounds. Most pages include a few user-activated features, not all of which advance the story but will enhance the experience (e.g., tapping a tree causes fruit to pop out, tap the fruit and it tumbles to the ground where users can then tip the screen to make the fruit roll around).

Matt Berninger’s easy-to-listen-to narration (which can be turned on and off) is engaging and skilled, as is the guitar accompaniment by two members of the band The National (of which Berninger is a member).

Users can pull down a menu of the pages to move around in the story. Kids can look for and collect ink pots hidden throughout the illustrations; they can use these “magic” paints to create their own pictures.

Dragon Brush is the kind of app I could see getting lots of screen time — the digital magic is cool, but the story and pictures are also worthy of repeat attention. Available for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch; $2.99.

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In Construction Kitties by Judy Sue Goodwin Sturges, four indisputably cute overall-clad kitties don hard hats and hop into colorful earthmovers to dig into a kid-friendly building project revealed on the back endpapers. Shari Halpern’s gouache illustrations channel Byron Barton’s style (strong black lines, rich hues) but with more subtlety of color. With its bold images and spare, energetic narrative, this is a great choice for story-time. (1–4 years, Ottaviano/Holt)

Duck can’t find his new blue socks and none of his animal friends is able to help. The jaunty rhyme in Eve Bunting’s Have You Seen My New Blue Socks? is hard to resist: “I will ask my friend the fox. / ‘Have you seen my new blue socks?’” Later, Mr. Ox says, “Did you look inside your box? / Did you ask your friend the fox?” The Seussian text begs to be read aloud; Sergio Ruzzier’s cartoon illustrations are captivating in their absurdity, and listeners will love pointing out Duck’s footwear, which is hiding in plain sight. (4–7 years, Clarion)

In The Black Rabbit written and illustrated by Philippa Leathers, a small, wide-eyed bunny finds himself terrified by his shadow, which he thinks is a large and menacing rabbit. He tries running from it, hiding from it, and finally manages to lose the black rabbit in the woods, only to encounter things far worse than one’s shadow lurking. The expressive and comic art cleverly plays up both the suspense and the joke of the shadow’s identity. (4–7 years, Candlewick)

“What did you do on your first day — the day you were born? Probably not much.” In My First Day, Steve Jenkins and Robin Page’s simple nonfiction text looks at different baby animals’ first hours of life. “On my first day, my mother held me close so I wouldn’t drift out to sea,” says a sea otter. “I dozed on her belly while she floated in the waves.” Jenkins’s torn- and cut-paper collage illustrations maximize the adorableness of the newborns as they take their first looks, steps, or leaps. (4–7 years, Houghton)

From the March 2013 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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The app’s opening page greets users with an image of the book, as well as images of Goodnight Moon 1 2 3 and Goodnight Moon ABC. Tapping on the covers of the spin-offs allows users to “upgrade Goodnight Moon by visiting our store,” an invitation that might make parents a bit nervous. Luckily the upgrade notice includes this caveat: “You can restrict access to in-app purchases in your device settings.”

With the “read to me” and “read myself” options, users can make many objects in Clement Hurd’s iconic illustrations move and make (soft) noises. The fun is in discovering the animated surprises in that “great green room.” Does tapping the red balloon cause it to float off the page or will it bounce up and down? Will the three bears in the framed picture laugh or will they snore? On the “Goodnight noises everywhere” page, does the fire crackle as it has throughout the book? (Nope. It goes out.)

Tapping on a magnifying glass on the bottom left corner of the screen lets kids investigate the room up close. Dragging the lens over the spreads reveals objects that don’t show up in the unmagnified illustration.

Finding the hidden items (including that little mouse) and activating various elements (drawing the curtain, for example) allow readers to accumulate virtual stickers, which they can use at book’s end.

The app includes standard features: tapping on a word lets users hear the word, there’s soothing piano music (which you can turn on or off), a swipe of the finger turns pages. Children can personalize a nameplate on the first page. The interactive elements aren’t accessible during autoplay, but users may turn that feature off from the menu at any point.

One of this app’s incredibly user-friendly features is a red ribbon bookmark, which, when pulled down, gives you the ability to switch to another spread, adjust the music volume, and/or change the narration (read to me, read myself, autoplay) any time. Kids who are interested in the seek-and-find aspect of the app will appreciate the ability to flip back and forth to locate objects they missed the first time through.

Is this a bedtime app? Maybe not (see here). Nothing beats a warm lap and the physical book for pre-bedtime calming, but this age-appropriate app allows kids to use their daytime screentime playing with a familiar friend. Available for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch; $4.99.

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The hero of Stephen Savage’s Little Tug isn’t the tallest or the fastest or the biggest boat in the harbor, but he’s very helpful when the other boats need a push, a pull, or a guide. Savage’s illustrations give the boats distinct personalities and provide punch for the story. Tug’s busy day in the harbor will resonate with children, especially toddlers who also spend their days measuring up, helping out, and thoroughly exhausting themselves. (2–5 years, Porter/Roaring Brook)

In Machines Go to Work in the City by William Low, each illustration introduces a situation involving vehicles, from a garbage truck to a tower crane to an airplane. What happens next? Lift a flap (which provides an extended scene of the problem at hand) and find out. Machinery-loving preschoolers will be drawn to the drama and excitement of the bustling cityscape in Low’s painterly illustrations. (3–5 years, Holt)

What Can a Crane Pick Up? The answer, according to this book, is anything and everything: “a truck / a train / a car / a plane”? “Men in business suits… / and a load of cowboy boots”? No problem! Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s energetic rhyming text is well matched with Mike Lowery’s engagingly childlike mixed-media illustrations. The images of happy, friendly-looking machines (as well as people, animals, planets, and underpants) are irresistible. (3–5 years, Knopf)

In Everything Goes: In the Air, Brian Biggs’s second transportation celebration (after Everything Goes: On Land), Henry and his parents walk through a busy airport en route to their flight. Their speech-bubble conversation touches on aviation history, modern airplanes, helicopters, hot-air balloons, and blimps. The cheery cartoon illustrations are chock-full of details, with visual surprises on every page. This accessible survey of flight also serves as a handy what-to-expect introduction for young, less-frequent fliers. (4–8 years, Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins)

From the November 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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Trick or Treat

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HP Newquist’s The Book of Blood: From Legends and Leeches to Vampires and Veins provides an intriguing, encyclopedic profile of its subject. The text explores blood’s anthropological importance, presents a history of science and medicine, and provides an examination of human and nonhuman blood (“A cockroach can live without its head for weeks due to the way its blood clots in its neck”), as well as discussion of real and legendary bloodthirsty animals. The tastefully blood-splattered design includes numerous illustrations and sidebars. (Houghton, 9–12 years)

Invincible Microbe: Tuberculosis and the Never-Ending Search for a Cure by Jim Murphy and Alison Blank offers readers a scientific explanation of the microbe and medical and social histories of the title disease — a medical scourge through much of human history. The thought that new drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis keep the threat of a new pandemic on the horizon is as chilling as any science-fiction thriller. The authors’ engaging and cohesive account is well supported with compelling archival photographs and illustrations. (Clarion, 9–12 years)

Paleontologist Lee R. Berger, working near Johannesburg, South Africa (often accompanied by his young son, Matthew), has made some key contributions to the field. In his book written with Marc Aronson, The Skull in the Rock: How a Scientist, a Boy, and Google Earth Opened a New Window on Human Origins, he shares his and Matthew’s most recent find, a nearly intact skeleton from a new species, Australopithecus sediba. Detailed accounts of advances in paleontology and the technology used are intertwined with Berger’s own story. Photographs of Berger, the research site, the fossils (both in situ and later reconstructed in skeletal form), and striking facial reconstructions enhance the accessible narrative. (National Geographic, 9–12 years)

Sally M. Walker and Douglas W. Owsley begin Their Skeletons Speak: Kennewick Man and the Paleoamerican World with the thrill and pacing of a crime drama. The 1996 discovery of a skull on the banks of the Columbia River in Washington State turns from a modern forensic mystery into a critical anthropological find: the nearly ten-thousand-year-old remains of a Paleoamerican. Along with excellent color photographs, this book shows just how much can be learned from a collection of bones and the important ways that each find contributes to our understandings of prehistory. (Carolrhoda, 11–14 years)

From the October 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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After a thirty-minute first glance, however, I realized the creators are more imaginative than I am. There is a story component to the app, but the real draw (so to speak) are those pages where users are encouraged to add squiggles to different brightly colored settings. After picking your scene—e.g., a bunny in a garden, sheep in a field, kids with cotton candy, rockets in space, undersea creatures—draw some squiggles (you choose the color, the drawing tool, stickers). Tap the GO button to animate your creation. There are fifteen settings to choose from, including two that aren’t as dynamic: a blank page to draw your own illustration or the option to draw on a photo or image.

The animation offers some funny surprises and silly sound effects, both of which keep things interesting and fresh. The characters are kid-friendly and inviting, and the style of the illustrations makes them hard to resist.

For those who can’t get enough of the characters, the (untitled) story features Miku the rabbit and Bobu the monkey. The two friends chase three jumping beans in a car, up a tall tree, and onto the moon. With the help of some strategically placed squiggles (coming from the tailpipe, for example), they manage to round up the beans. I recommend picking the “Read to Me” option, to avoid having to read the dull text aloud and to spend more time with the engaging pictures. Available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch; free.

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In Mem Fox’s Two Little Monkeys, Cheeky and Chee are happily playing on the savanna until—“something’s prowling— / what could it be?” Off they dash up a “big old tree.” When they feel brave enough, they peep down to check: “Who IS that prowling? / What do you see?” It’s a leopard (“Ooooooh… Scary!”), but the illustration isn’t too threatening. Fox’s peppy rhyming text propels the story forward; Jill Barton’s watercolor compositions keep pace with the narrative’s infectious energy. (Beach Lane/Simon, 2–5 years)

Wild About You! by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Marc Brown, concludes: “To bring up a baby… / It takes a whole zoo!” When all of the other animals in the zoo start having babies, a pair of pandas and a tree kangaroo bemoan their childless state. Soon the three grown-up animals find themselves with families that aren’t quite what they expected. Sierra’s rhymes are full of surprises; Brown’s inviting illustrations enhance the text’s warmth. (Knopf, 3–6 years)

Oh, No! by Candace Fleming, a cumulative tale about animals falling into a hole, is a sure-fire crowd pleaser. “Frog fell into a deep, deep hole. / Ribbit-oops! Ribbit-oops!…Frog fell into such a deep hole, / he couldn’t get out to save his soul.” Frog is followed by Mouse, Loris, and more. Tiger—lurking nearby—threatens to “help [them] out”; luckily Elephant shows up just in time. Eric Rohmann’s energetic relief prints show the animals’ tumbles into that deep, dark hole from a variety of perspectives. (Schwartz & Wade/Random, 3–6 years)

Marla Frazee’s Boot & Shoe is a nimble tale of misplaced assumptions. Dogs Boot and Shoe (named for the markings on their paws) share a lot of things, but Boot spends his days on the back porch and Shoe passes time in the front. After a squirrel gets both dogs riled up enough to give chase, they each end up on the wrong porch—then decide to sit down and wait for the other. The sprightly lines of Frazee’s black-pencil and gouache illustrations add to the slapstick humor. (Beach Lane/Simon, 3–6 years)

 From the September 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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