Linda Ashman, illus. by Brooke Boynton Hughes. Random, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-385-38512-1
“More!” and “Again!” are demands all too familiar to parents and siblings of toddlers, and the child Ashman (Little Baby Buttercup) and Hughes (Baby Love) spotlight has a particular fondness for both words. To keep Henry entertained, everyone in his
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, illus. by Kristin Sorra. Sterling, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4027-5837-9
Ashman (Come to the Castle!) lets Sorra do most of the storytelling—the text is all but superfluous—in this fantasy about a cafe owner plagued by his pet-owning customers. Sorra's digital artwork combines a warm, painterly quality with clear, easy-to
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, illus. by You Byun. Penguin/Paulsen, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-16763-8
Ashman (Rain!) and Byun (Dream Friends) follow their eponymous heroine (who is actually a toddler) and her mother from wake-up to nighttime, eschewing any big highs or lows in favor of letting simple, endearing incidents accumulate. Sunny, digitally
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, illus. by Christian Robinson. Houghton Mifflin, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-547-73395-1
Good and bad moods alike can be contagious, as this rainy-day story handily demonstrates. Writing solely in dialogue and exclamations, Ashman (Samantha on a Roll) contrasts the ways two people view a city rainstorm. “Rain!” grumps a cantankerous man,
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, illus. by Simona Mulazzani. Penguin/Paulsen, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-17150-5
Let’s face it: as nursery rhymes go, “Rock-a-bye Baby” is ominous at best. Beyond being a real cliffhanger, “And down will come baby, cradle and all” isn’t exactly fodder for sweet dreams. “Sweet little Baby, rocking with me—/ Who’d put a cradle...
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, illus. by Chuck Groenink. Disney-Hyperion, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4847-2282-4
After snuggling in for the night in his log cabin, a boy named William is repeatedly awakened by animals seeking shelter. A chipmunk is first: “ ‘Excuse me, but I’ve lost my way./ I’m cold and tired. May I please stay?’/ Will says, ‘Yes, I’ll scooch
READ FULL REVIEW
With glorious acrylic paintings, Stringer (Scarecrow) shows how, in debut author Ashman's words, "A home's a house, a den, a nest./ A place to play,/ A place to rest./ A place to share,/ A place to hug,/ A home is someplace safe and...
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, Author, Jeff Mack, Illustrator Harcourt Children's Books $16 (40p) ISBN 978-0-15-204766-5
Energetic rhymes and action-packed spreads from the team behind Rub-a-Dub Sub chronicle a child's wild safari adventure. Foot to a jeep's peddle and hand on the horn, the child journeys at a manic pace through fields, river, mud and trees,...
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, Author, Jeff Mack, Illustrator , illus. by Jeff Mack. Harcourt $16 (40p) ISBN 978-0-15-202658-5
A pint-sized Jacques Cousteau plunges down into the ocean depths in an orange submarine to explore its treasures: "Diving with a silky seal./ Darting by a dancing eel," writes Ashman (Babies on the Go), her couplets set in undulating type....
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, Author, Nancy Carpenter, Illustrator . Dutton $16.99 (0p) ISBN 978-0-525-47564-4
Carpenter, who made such a splash with her photograph-enhanced drawings in 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore
, flexes her rascally aesthetic even more in this abecedary of bad behavior, and once again she produces a perfect visual...
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, illus. by Christine Davenier. FSG/Ferguson, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-374-36399-4
It’s rarely a good thing when a picture book goes downhill, but it sure is in this rousing domestic adventure—at least for readers. Samantha, ignoring her busy mother’s request that she test her new roller skates another day, straps them on anyway: “
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, Author, David Small, Illustrator , illus. by David Small. S&S $16.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-689-82640-5
In vivid rhyme, Ashman (Rub-a-Dub Sub
) leads readers on a round-the-world tour of mythical beasts and folkloric frights. A verse introduces each, and a faux-factoid box explains its origins and other matters of interest. There are the Hotots, whose
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, Author, Tricia Tusa, Illustrator , illus. by Tricia Tusa. HarperCollins $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-029032-0
In this fanciful picture book, Ashman's (Babies on the Go
) portrait of a frazzled family begins with pandemonium and ends with bedtime hugs. Initially, a wild gaggle of children and pets dangle from the ceiling and doorways while their...
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, Author, Jan Ormerod, Illustrator , illus. by Jan Ormerod. S&S $15.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-689-83475-2
In this lovely reverie on the joys of being alive and being loved, two veteran talents contentedly riff on each other's work. "Somewhere, there's a mama lifting baby from a crib," the text begins, "Snapping rompers, looping laces,
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, Author, Claudio Munoz, Illustrator , illus. by Claudio Muñoz. HarperCollins $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-029053-5
Ashman's (Castles, Caves, and Honeycombs
) tongue-in-cheek picture book portrays the ordinary world through the eyes of a rambunctious youngster. As his parents sleep, a boy in red pajamas wakes up surrounded by stuffed animals and imagines that
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, Author, Jane Dyer, Illustrator , illus. by Jane Dyer. Harcourt $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0-15-201894-8
This crowd-pleaser showcases the way various parents care for their young. "Some babies stand up right away./ They take a step, then run and play," the volume begins. Three panel paintings on the left show mothers with their wobbly-kneed...
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, illus. by Jane Dyer. Harper, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-168958-1
Returning to the mother-child focus of Little Baby Buttercup (2014), Ashman connects a mother’s love for her child to other instinctual tendencies throughout the animal kingdom and natural world. Dyer’s (the Cookies series) sumptuous mixed-media...
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, illus. by Kim Smith. Sterling, $14.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4549-1024-4
“Off to the airport before the dawn./ It’s park, then dash, then... wait.” Ashman offers a boisterous update of this seasonal song, highlighting the contemporary tradition of harried holiday travel. The endpapers lead in nicely, showing a wall of...
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, Author, Regan Dunnick, Illustrator , illus. by Regan Dunnick. S&S $16 (32p) ISBN 978-0-689-83178-2
A bumbling magician named Maxwell wreaks havoc when he steps in at the last minute to entertain at Louise's birthday party. The disaster unfolds in a series of witty, staccato quatrains: "Party starts. Magician enters./ Hocus pocus! What a...
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, Author, John Bendall-Brunello, Illustrator , illus. by John Bendall-Brunello. Dutton $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-525-46916-2
The tail wags the dog (literally), but also saves the day in this somewhat shaggy picture book about a rambunctious pup. Wagmore's large and powerful tail seems to disrupt or destroy everything in its path ("A mere twitch can wreck a game of
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, illus. by Suzanne Kaufman. Random House, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5247-6559-0
Every kid at Maple View School brings home a curious but official-looking notice: on Friday, the no-pet rule will be suspended, so “bring your bunny, bird or dog,/your lizard, turtle, fish or frog.” And it seems like a lot of fun at first: the...
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, illus. by Nancy Carpenter. Astra, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-6359-2426-8
Fire Chief Fran leads a crew of firefighters, and a trusty firehouse dog, through a busy shift of wide-ranging calls, linked by Ashman’s rousing, rhyming refrain: “Lights begin flashing, and—CLANG!—the bells blast./ They leap into action—/ they need
READ FULL REVIEW
Linda Ashman, illus. by Taeeun Yoo. Penguin/Paulsen, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-54609-9
“What do you do when the clouds roll in,/ When the wind chimes clang and the weather vanes spin?” In verse that rolls like a sea shanty, Ashman (Take Your Pet to School Day) watches as animals and people ride out a storm. Bad weather looms even on...
READ FULL REVIEW
