Jessica's Kids' Books

Sod Houses on the Great Plains - A simple factual account of life among the early settlers, with beautiful, unusual illustrations.

Haystack - A beautifully illustrated account of a lost American tradition - the haystack!

A Dog For a Friend - An isolated girl on a western farm wants a dog for a friend but finds a pig instead.

Firehorse Max - A lively tale of a yiddish peddler in a small Vermont town who loves children, horses and music.

Bears on Wheels - A funny early counting book that emphasizes sets rather than sequences. The counting book for your intellectual baby.

Caps For Sale - A sleepy peddler has his caps stolen by a band of mischeivous monkeys.

10 Minutes till Bedtime - A richly illustrated count-down book, with lots of jokes and action on every page. This very clever going to bed book will keep even the weariest parent awake at the end of a long day.

Where's Wallace? - A charmingly illustrated puzzle book where you must find Wallace, an orangatan, concealed in busy and entertaining panoramas.

The Borrowed Hanukkah Latkes - A determined little girl overcomes an elderly neighbor's stubborness in this joyful tale of sharing and multigenerational friendship.

The Trees Of the Dancing Goats - A Jewish family spreads holiday cheeer when their gentile neighbors are stricken with scarlett fever.

The Tomten and the Fox - An old, old tomtem guards the snowy farm at night, and shares his porridge with a hungry fox.

The Snowman (Video) - A young boy's snowman comes to life and brings him on a magical journey to the North Pole in this beautifully animated short film.

Cross Country Cat - A clever siamese cat learns to ski in order to find his family again.

Moses the Kitten - The story of an orphaned kitten who is rescued from the cold and the adopted by a mother pig.

The Fire Cat - Pickles the cat learns to help others after he is adopted by the fire station.

A Year With Molly and Emmett - Molly and her big orange cat Emmett enjoy the seasons of the year in this cheery cartoon style book.

Six Dinner Sid Six Dinner Sid - Sid the cat gets six dinners a day by convincing six different owners that he belongs only to them.

A Bear for Miguel - by Elaine Marie Alphin; illustrated by Joan Sandin. A young girl in war torn El Salvador gives up her special bear to help her family. Maria is a courageous and dignified role model. Highly recomended.

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt - by Deborah Hopkinson; illustrated by James Ransome. A young slave woman sews a quilt which has a map to freedom hidden in its pattern. A powerfully positive book.

Spotty - by Margret Rey; illustrated by H.A. Rey. This classic story shows the importance of accepting those who are different from us, be they human or bunny. A great book for starting to talk to small kids about individality, conformity and prejudice.

Owen - by Kevin Henkes. Owen's parents find a wonderful solution to the security blanket problem in this wise and loving tale.

Tucking Mommy In - by Morag Loh; illustrated by Donna Rawlins. Two little girls take on an adult role as they put their very sleepy mommy to bed.

Annie's Potty - by Judith Caseley. Annie learns to use the potty and her parents learn a little bit of patience in this sweet and straightforward book.

Aaron's Shirt - by Deborah Gould; illustrated by Cheryl Harness. Aaron gets bigger but his favorite shirt does not in this sensitive and realistic story.

Jamberry - by Bruce Degan. A boy and a bear frolic through a fantastic rhyming world of berries. The quintessential berry book for little kids.

Picnic - by Emily Arnold McCully. A small mouse shows spunk and resourcefulness when she is separated from her family during a summer picnic.

The First Strawberries; A Cherokee Story - retold by Joseph Bruchac. The sun creates strawberries to heal a rift between the first man and the first woman.

Blueberries for Sal - by Robert McCloskey. A classic story of humans and bears enjoying the harvest on Blueberry Hill. A truly special book that you will read again and again.

The Carrot Seed - A boy's faith in himself is rewarded when he plants a carrot seed.

Fiona's Bee - by Beverly Keller. A shy girl rescues a bee from drowning and becomes a celebrity in her neighborhood.

Ferdinand - by Munro Leaf. Non-violence and non-conformism are celebrated in this tale of a bull who prefers flowers to fighting.

Soup For Supper - by Phyllis Root. A story of a wee small woman and a giant which celebrates gardening, sharing, friendship and vegetable soup.

The Mountain that Loved a Bird - In this beautiful fable, the love of a small bird turns a barren mountain into a fertile garden.

The Lion and the Little Red Bird - A stunningly illustrated tale of friendship and the joy of artistic expression. "Why is the lion's tale so green?", the little bird wonders, as she sings in a tree. Though neither speaks the other's language, the two creatures gradually develop a wordless friendship...

Mrs Katz and Tush - A Jewish widow and an African-American boy celebrate the feast of Passover and develop a lifelong friendship.

More More More Said the Baby: Three Love Stories - This book means a lot to me because it really captures some of the joy of having a young child to love.

Little Bear's Friend - All of the Little Bear books are lovely, but this one is my favorite. Little Bear makes a new friend, Emily, who is camping by the river for the summer with her parents and her doll, Lucy. Little Bear is delighted to have a new friend. They spend the summer playing together, then in the end, Emily must return to her home and to school.

Dogger - A little boy loses his special toy, and his big sister comes to the rescue to help him get it back.

If you don't know Shirley Hughes' work you are in for a treat. She is one of the best writers of children's literature around. Her specialty is warm, realistic tales of family life, with a unique ability to tell a story from a child's point of view.

Lost! - A little boy befriends a bear who is lost in the big city, and in turn is helped by him. The simple give and take of friendship is shown with warmth and humour, making it accessible to the youngest child.

Cakes and Miracles - A blind boy surprises his community by baking beautiful Purim cookies, though he cannot see. A realistic and satisfying tale.

First Snow - This wordless picture book is really a gem. It is the story of a timid little mouse, who overcomes her fear of the big hill and learns the joy of sledding.

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening - Susan Jeffers has taken this classic American poem, laid it out in picture book format, and illustrated it with subtle drawings which artfully capture the magic and mystery of the woods in winter.

Happy Winter - The simple delights of winter are lovingly portrayed in this charming picture book. Two sisters go through a cheery winter day which includes pancakes for breakfast, snow angel making, dress up, baking a cake and making a secret present for Mama's birthday.

The Snowy Day - Peter is a small African American boy who lives in the city. He wakes up one morning to find the world covered with snow. He puts on his bright red snowsuit and runs outside. He spends the day by himself, experiencing the wintery world and all its pleasures.

Jessica Wagener

How the Grinch Stole Christmas - by Dr. Suess. This is such a well loved classic it seems trite to mention it on a list of selected children's books. However its popularity and longevity are completely deserved. Its anti-materialistic message is probably more relevant now than it was when the book was published in 1957.

Hanukkah! - by Roni Schotter. This is one of those books I just want to crawl inside and live in. The house is comfortably messy, filled with art projects and skylights and Hanukkah mobiles. The family's love for each other shines on every page, and the illustrations glow with color and warmth.

The Chanukkah Guest - by Eric A. Kimmel; illustrated by Giora Carmi. Set in a European shtetl of some undefined past era, this book resonates with gentle humour. The story is somewhat wordy for a young child, but there're lots of opportunities to growl and grunt like a bear which should keep young listeners delighted.The story is somewhat fantastic, but not at all scary.

The Snow Tree - by Caroline Repchuk; illustrated by Joseph Martin. "Little Bear woke and the world was white. 'Where have all the colors gone?' he cried, for he had never seen such a white and wintery world before. But the wind only answered with silence." But one by one the animals come, bringing the colors of nature with them.