Elena De Roo's train poem transports a child from the busy activities of the day through a rainy night and into sleep.  The reader of this bedtime adventure will share (and share in) the sights, sounds, and motion of travel.
 
 

Author David Elliott and illustrator Holly Meade move from the familiar territory of their previous book On the Farm to a world tour of animals.  Once again the poems and woodcuts are equally engaging.  This is a read-aloud suitable for home or classroom, aimed at four- to  seven-year-olds.  Some children will be aware that most of these animals are, sadly, endangered.  They may recognize the layers of meaning in the last poem.

Joyce Sidman takes us out after dark, without a flashlight, to examine nocturnal life in the woods.  Her evocative poems are accompanied by factual details at a level suitable for mid- to late-elementary students.
Printmaker Rick Allen provides more moonlit detail on Sidman’s subjects.  Multiple linoleum plates and hand tinting give the illustrations a rich complexity well-suited to the text.
 

A great read-aloud for the youngest audience, Higgledy-Piggledy Chicks is a counting book, a guessing game, and an opportunity for the reader to show off vocal effects.  Best of all, it balances apprehension and reassurance as the chicks encounter the hazards of their barnyard world.

 Arbor Day Square is a fine example of the picture book format as a vehicle for historical fiction.  Katie and her papa admire the brand-newness of their town as it springs from the prairie, but sorely miss the presence of trees.  The community antes up to purchase fifteen saplings and an Arbor Day tradition begins.  Most precious to Kate, her father and her own famil