AND TO THINK THAT WE THOUGHT THAT WE'D NEVER BE FRIENDS by Mary Ann Hoberman

Mary Ann Hoberman

John Ciardi's collection of 35 poems with drawings by Edward Gorey is perhaps the best known book with this title (published in 1962); it, too, used the concept of dividing a poem on the page, Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

In a memorable picture-book debut recalling both the golden age of children's illustration and contemporary artists like Jim LaMarche, Forman contributes luminous, finely detailed Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

As its title suggests, this jaunty picture book offers plenty of fun for eagle-eyed readers. When Ned's cat, Pistachio, goes missing, the boy embarks on a page-by-page search for his beloved Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

With two brief lines per page, Hoberman (The Marvelous Mouse Man) focuses on precise details associated with each season, while Wilton's (Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

A boy can growl like a dog and jump like a horse, but when a cunning tiger asks the lad to demonstrate his skills, he needs all his wits about him to wriggle out of becoming supper. "So's Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

At the opening of this inviting, oversize picture-book tribute to the ecosystem known as a garden, Mrs. McGee and her stroller-bound companion happen upon a beautifully blooming flower and Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

Why is this visit to Grandma's different from all other visits? Because the young pigtailed narrator is "not only going/ to stay for the day/ I'm going to stay/ for the night!" The Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

In this old-fashioned coming-of-age story, set during the Great Depression, 10-year-old Allie's father finds a new job, and her family moves to a street called Strawberry Hill. Poet and Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

Hoberman's (A House Is a House for Me ) whimsical rhyming treatise on what constitutes a family will have children looking for myriad ways to use that Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman, Linda Winston

“Science and art have often been cast as opposites, but the division is an artificial one,” reads the introduction to this expansive collection of poems about the natural world. Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman, Nadine Bernard Westcott

The lady of nonsense-rhyme fame cures Tiny Tim of his mysterious ailment in this whimsically illustrated rendition. Ages 4-8. Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

One needn't be a picky eater to revel in Hoberman's (A House Is a House for Me) deft and funny verse about a mother whose seven offspring each insist upon eating only his or her favorite food. Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman, Marry Ann Hoberman

Another song worth singing, Eric Carle's Today Is Monday, begins with string beans on Monday and spaghetti on Tuesday. Different animals eat their way through the week, teaching the names of the days Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

In the latest book in the Sing-Along Stories series, Mary Had a Little Lamb, adapted by Mary Ann Hoberman, illus. by Nadine Bernard Westcott, Mary and her classmates sneak the lamb into their Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

Conflict resolution seems the theme of You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman, illus. by Michael Emberley. As with this duo's first Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman, Hoberman

The 14 works in this outstanding multicultural anthology will introduce young readers to a generous range of artistic and literary styles. James Houston's transcription of an Eskimo chant, for Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman, Betty Fraser

Skillfully constructed rhymes and tender, tidily detailed watercolors point out to children all the ``cozy doings'' of ``a very cozy day,'' from the time ``you wake up bright and early/ In your Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman, Nadine Bernard Westcott, Nadine Wescott

Matched with perky illustrations, the spirited, on-the-job lyrics to this ever-popular American folk song serve as narrative to a lighthearted, contemporary train journey that pays homage to Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman, Marjorie Priceman

A proud and amiable pooch discovers there's some truth to the saying ""the more the merrier"" when he tires of being alone in his house filled with ""one of each thing."" The dog, named Oliver Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman, Nadine Bernard Westcott, Marry Ann Hoberman

Hands will be clapping and toes will be tapping to this spunky rendition of a favorite school yard rhyme. Most kids--and grown-ups, too--will readily recognize the first three stanzas of this comical Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

Capering caterpillars and blooming spring flowers ornament this bouncy reprise of a nursery standby. The book opens with musical stanzas for ""The Eensy-Weensy Spider,"" along with a diagram of hand Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

In measured, never forced verse, Hoberman's (A House Is a House for Me) flightyDor is it grounded?Dromp introduces Lilly, who wants a cat like her friend Sammy's. When he advises her to chop down Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

PW praised the ""skillfully constructed rhymes and tender, tidily detailed watercolors"" that evoke one cozy day in this ""thoroughly childhood-affirming"" book. Ages 4-7. (Sept.) Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

This utopian tale begins with passing discord between siblings and progresses to a vision of world peace through an enormous parade. Inspired by Dr. Seuss's And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

In the tradition of clever heroes who outwit wily animals, this agreeable picture book features an unflappable hero who is anything but simple. When challenged by various animals, Simon can growl Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman, Nadine Bernard Westcott

A trio of board books The Lady with the Alligator Purse; Miss Mary Mack and Skip to My Lou plus their words set to music make up the contents of Mary Ann Hoberman and Nadine Bernard Westcott's Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

Mary Ann Hoberman and Nadine Bernard Westcott team up for another rousing rendition of a popular children's chant, Bill Grogan's Goat. ""Bill Grogan's Goat Was feeling fine Ate three red shirts Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

Hoberman (I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly) takes off on another golden oldie, giving the ditty about a cow and the Chicago Fire an upbeat ending. The winking cow still knocks over Mrs. Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

Without an ounce of sermonizing, this clever picture book in three chapters is a primer on compromise. Mr. and Mrs. Muddle, compatible in every other way, do not agree on cars. ``Mrs. Muddle liked Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman, Ann Hoberman

The 14 poems in this sprightly collection are bursting with wordplay and foot-stomping rhythms that will give young readers new ways to appreciate familiar creatures. The snake is ``Perfectly moving Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

Several books invite youngsters to join in the fun. There Once Was a Man Named Michael Finnegan, adapted by Mary Ann Hoberman, illus. by Nadine Bernard Westcott, is a silly song that instructs young Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

Former children’s poet laureate Hoberman compiles a broad range of poems for young readers—brief enough to invite memorization—from writers including Frost, Silverstein, Sandburg, Milne, and Grimes, Continue reading »

Mary Ann Hoberman

“I like old clothes,/ Hand-me-down clothes,/ Worn outgrown clothes,/ Not my own clothes.” Former U.S. children’s poet laureate Hoberman’s poem, first published in 1976, holds up nicely; families are Continue reading »

Eva Ibbotson

Once again, Ibbotson (Which Witch; Island of the Aunts) dishes up an irresistible brew of magical high jinks and adventure in Continue reading »

Various

The reflected glow of firelight flickers through the illustrations in this collection of traditional carols and tales (including a passage from The Wind in the Continue reading »

M. T. Anderson

In this wittily irreverent picture-book biography, the legendary baroque composer is vividly brought to life. "You'd have to be sure of yourself to wear a wig that gigantic," the Continue reading »

Eva Ibbotson

Three aging aunts who need help caring for their magical animals resort to kidnapping suitable candidates. PW wrote, "The author's exquisite sense of Continue reading »

Eva Ibbotson

Ibbotson (Island of the Aunts) offers another larger-than-life adventure featuring lovable heroes and heroines, nasty villains, much hilarity and a deliciously Continue reading »

Philip Pullman

. For this twist on Cinderella, "Pullman provides poignant insight into a well-known fairy tale and insinuates its implications for today's readers," said Continue reading »

Paul Fleischman

A young nonconformist invents a self-sufficient civilization in his suburban backyard. "Words and images fluidly play off one another as Wesley creates a language for his new produce and the Continue reading »

Kathryn Lasky

During a 1918 winter flu epidemic, a 10-year-old is dispatched from home to a logging camp where he will be safe. "Thanks to Lasky's considerable command of language and narrative detail, Continue reading »

Bill Grossman

In this collection of short verses about characters with silly names who meet equally silly fates, "the happy combination of wildly exaggerated illustrations and cracked humor make this a Continue reading »

Kathryn Lasky

Lasky and Hawkes (previously teamed for The Librarian Who Measured the Earth) turn their attention to John Harrison, the 18th-century British clockmaker who Continue reading »

Eva Ibbotson

The author of Dial-a-Ghost and Which Witch? conjures more rib-tickling entertainment in this fantasy featuring a witch bent Continue reading »

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

When three sisters coerce their parents into leaving them alone on a Maine island for a week, their ensuing misadventures make for what PW called "an Continue reading »

Paul Fleischman

In a new direction for the team behind Weslandia, Hawkes provides studied, atmospheric paintings to go with Fleisch-man's wistful, nearly wordless story. In Continue reading »

Bill Grossman

The creators of My Little Sister Ate One Hare here turn their attention from counting to the alphabet, echoing the playfully off-color humor of that earlier Continue reading »

M. T. Anderson

"In this irreverent picture-book biography, the legendary baroque composer is vividly brought to life," wrote PW in a starred review. "These gifted Continue reading »

Eva Ibbotson

Although there are no ghosts at large, this fairytale-like novel set in Vienna during Franz Joseph's reign features the same unique blend of bigger-than-life adventure, sparkling wit and Continue reading »

Lynne Bertrand

Wild, rollicking, and boopsie-cute, this tall tale scampers over the granite hilltops of New Hampshire without a misstep. When Jade, Em, Golda, Ruby and Beryl, five Amazon-scaled, colossally Continue reading »

Eva Ibbotson

There's more spooky hilarity in store for fans of Ibbotson's previous ghost stories (Dial-a-Ghost ; The Great Ghost Continue reading »

Michelle Knudsen

The library's no place for a real live lion. But what if it was a book-loving beast that followed all the library rules, enforced by head librarian Miss Merriweather? Well, that's a Continue reading »

Andrea Beaty

Here, as in his artwork for Lynne Bertrand's Granite Baby , Hawkes proves that when it comes to giant tales, he's a supersize talent. Young Anna imagines Continue reading »

Alan Madison

At the center of Madison’s (The Littlest Grape Stomper ) picture book is first-grader Velma Gratch; despite her round eyeglasses and bushy red pigtails, Continue reading »

Kathleen Krull

Krull (Hillary Rodham Clinton ) turns to the frequently failing but resilient man behind the 1900 classic, The Wonderful Wizard of Continue reading »

Michael Ian Black

A bear's inspired idea to create a tower of animals in order to reach some honey is all the premise that Hawkes (Library Lion ) and debut author Black need Continue reading »

Michael Ian Black

Black's pitch-perfect porcine parody sets off at a brisk pace. "Like most children, you have probably thought to yourself at one time or another, I bet a pig parade would be a lot of fun." Hawkes Continue reading »

Kevin Hawkes, Kathryn Lasky

Newbery Honor author Lasky (Sugaring Time) deserves high marks for her attempt to present formal mathematical concepts in a picture-book format. The result, however, is a somewhat uneven amalgam of Continue reading »

Bill Grossman

A girl eats snakes, ants and other creatures but peas make her nauseous. PW said, ""For those who are not quick to get queasy, enjoying this feast will surely be easy."" Ages 4-8. Continue reading »

Paul Fleischman

This fantastical picture book, like its hero, is bursting at the seams with creativity. Wesley's imagination sets him apart; not only does he sport purple sneakers and glasses, he thinks football is Continue reading »

Philip Pullman

The latest offering from Pullman (The Golden Compass; Count Karlstein) is a witty romp with fairy-tale roots. ""I was a rat!"" claims the boy in a tattered page's uniform who appears at the door of a Continue reading »

Walter de La Mare

In a starred review, PW said, ""The lowly turnip proves far more valuable than jewels in this Grimm fairy tale. With bold, expressive paintings, Hawkes magnificently captures the parody and irony of Continue reading »

Eva Ibbotson

Fans of Dial-A-Ghost will eagerly welcome the new flock of floating phantoms in The Great Ghost Rescue, Eva Ibbotson's wry companion novel, illus. by Kevin Hawkes. The ghosts' housing shortage Continue reading »

Walter de La Mare

The lowly turnip proves far more valuable than jewels in this Grimm fairy tale, elegantly refashioned by poet de la Mare in 1927. As repayment for providing a modest meal to a traveler, a poor, Continue reading »

Roni Schotter

Theo and his Uncle Gurney are very much alike: they have dreams and they have imagination. While measuring, cutting and sewing at the family tailoring business, Gurney is making plans to move out Continue reading »

Bill Grossman

In this zany, cumulative counting book, the narrator's ravenous sister devours--and manages to keep down--some decidedly unorthodox delicacies: ""My little sister ate 3 ants./ She even ate their Continue reading »

Kathryn Lasky

During the 1918 winter flu epidemic in Duluth, Minn., 10-year-old Marven is dispatched from home to a north country logging camp where he will be safe. Five hours after leaving his family on the Continue reading »

Catherine Cowan

For this fantasy adventure of a musical instrument with a will of its own, Cowan (My Life with the Wave) taps into the classic experience of learning to play the piano, to the whimsical accompaniment Continue reading »

Dee Lillegard

This tale's lavish imagery, borrowed from ""The 1,001 Nights"" and ""Aladdin,"" may lure devotees of Eastern exoticism, but the plot, unfortunately, fizzles like a dud firecracker. Lillegard (The Continue reading »

Marion Dane Bauer

A bear fan from the word go, Jason's delight in all things ursine deflates when his older brother begins to turn his beloved bears into frightful apparitions. ""The bear in the corner of the basement Continue reading »

Bill Grossman

Grossman and Hawkes, the team behind My Little Sister Ate One Hare, serve up a collection of short verses about characters with silly names who meet equally silly fates, including the titular Continue reading »

Joan Aiken

Aiken's 1968 collection of eight tales, A Necklace of Raindrops and Other Stories, infused with magic (such as flying carpets, an oversize cat and a house that rests ""on one leg"") returns with Continue reading »

Joyce Maxner

``Bupji Beetle, Dragonia Fly, Anatole Ant, Madame Flutterby, Bumbly Bee and you and I'' are the guests of Lady Bugatti for an elegant dinner and evening at the theater. As the overture is about to Continue reading »

Joyce Maxner

Elegant and sophisticated artwork rendered in particularly vivid hues adorns these odd, somewhat overblown verses about a chic bug-about-town and her insect retinue. Ages 3-8. Continue reading »

M. L. Miller

Miller's (Those Bottles!) nimble peasant-saves-the-kingdom tale provides an ideal canvas for Hawkes's (Then the Troll Heard the Squeak) loony humor and skewed artwork in this jolly outing. Separated Continue reading »

Nikolai Vasil'evich Gogol, Catherine Cowan

The bowed perspectives and exaggerated facial features that distinguish Hawkes's (Then the Troll Heard the Squeak) paintings lend a refreshing waggishness to Gogol's classic satire. The artist carves Continue reading »

Kevin Hawkes, Michelle Dionetti

Claudine, the daughter of Vincent van Gogh's charwoman, is the only person in Arles who finds the artist and his work exciting rather than threatening. She dreams of becoming an artist herself, and, Continue reading »

Elizabeth Loredo

Boogie Bones, the best skeleton dancer of all, practices his jitterbug in a misty, moonlit cemetery. Although he and his clattering cohorts are ""a bit frightened of people, who [have] no bones about Continue reading »

Jack Prelutsky

Move over, unicorn, dodo and bigfoot--here comes a circusful of imaginary creatures showing off their tricks. Playing ringleader, Prelutsky (A Pizza the Size of the Sun) assembles some 50 Continue reading »

Eva Ibbotson

Readers reunite with favorite characters in summer sequels. As in Dial-a-Ghost and The Great Ghost Rescue, The Haunting of Granite Farm by Eva Ibbotson, illus. by Kevin Hawkes, revolves around Continue reading »

Eva Ibbotson

""Fans of Dial-A-Ghost will eagerly welcome this new flock of floating phantoms,"" according to PW. ""The ghost's housing shortage continues, and human hero Rick wants the British government to do Continue reading »

Halfdan Wedel Rasmussen

Delivered with a nursery rhyme lilt, this collection of poems from the late Rasmussen is characterized by a whimsical and gently irreverent perspective. "You can pat my goldfish's hair/ for an apple/ Continue reading »

Jonah Winter

Winter (Barack) resists the “good for you” air of some picture-book biographies in this dynamic reimagining of Picasso’s rocket trip to the top of the 20th-century art world, while Hawkes (The Wicked Continue reading »

Judi Barrett

Everyone knows Santa lives at the North Pole, but readers may be surprised to discover that Santa was born and raised in Cincinnati. In this clever picture book memoir, Santa looks back at his early Continue reading »

Anne Isaacs

Isaacs (Swamp Angel) teams with Hawkes (The Wicked Big Toddlah) on this Texas humdinger about a wealthy widow and the men vying for her hand. The tall tale opens with a disclaimer (in Texas, “all Continue reading »

Kevin Hawkes

Perhaps as a hat tip to their own collaboration—Harrison was once Hawkes’s intern—Hawkes (Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch) tells a story about two fictional artists who work together. Lovable, Continue reading »

Nancy Willard

Little Tom Drum’s mother scolds him the night before his birthday party when he begs for another slice of strawberry pie: “Have you three mouths?” When he sneaks downstairs for more and gets caught, Continue reading »

Kevin Hawkes, Richard Jackson

A giant book and a larger-than-life armchair invite a father and daughter to read with them: “Hello there, says Chair. Have a look, says Book.” (The line shows up just in time to do double duty on Continue reading »

Kathryn Lasky

Lasky and Hawkes, collaborators on The Man Who Made Time Travel and other titles, provide a sensitive look at Isaac Newton. From an early age, Newton’s deep curiosity set him apart, leading Continue reading »

Anna Staniszewski

The smartest person in this delightfully mischievous story is the reader: he or she will instantly know that Sadie, Ben’s new shelter pet, isn’t a dog but an enormous green Tyrannosaurus rex. To all Continue reading »

Judy Sierra

“1954 was a great year to be a kid, unless you were trying to learn how to read,” quips Sierra in this look at how Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, endeavored to create a beginning reader “so exciting Continue reading »

Wade Bradford

Bulbous-nosed musician Mr. Snore stifles a yawn as he checks into the posh Sharemore Hotel in this droll story by Bradford (Around the World in a Bathtub). When the bellhop escorts him to a Continue reading »

AND TO THINK THAT WE THOUGHT THAT WE'D NEVER BE FRIENDS

Mary Ann Hoberman, , illus. by Kevin Hawkes. . Dell/Dragonfly, $6.99 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-440-41776-7

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