Time To Sleep - Denise Fleming (1997)

       When we get ready for winter with our snow gear and other preparations, some animals in the forest are tuning themselves for winter sleep, called hibernation.

A call for winter sleep

     
        It is time for winter. Bear can smell it in air. But before starting her winter routine, she calls up Snail and informs the arrival of winter. Of course, Snail has also seen frost on grass in the morning. One more task before the long sleep, Snail meets Skunk with the news of winter. Not to wonder, Skunk has been also noticing the yellow and red leaves on the trees.

Finders Keepers - Keiko Kasza (2015)

        "Finders are Keepers". Especially, the animals in this book follow this rule. But, though each of the animal find the same object, they keep it in different ways. Confusing? Read further and you will understand.

A hat? A nest? A boat? A nose?

     
          The hat in this story starts as a marker to where a squirrel stores its acorn. Soon the wind lifts the hat and lands it on a tree and a bird uses it as a nest. (Remember "Finders Keepers"). It doesn't stop there, the hat (Or, the nest now) soon becomes a boat and a clown nose. (Yes, it moves in the hands of various animals). After all life is a circle, so the hat finally reaches the place where the squirrel leaves it.

Camille And The Sunflowers (A story about Vincent van Gogh) - Laurence Anholt (1994)

        Vincent van Gogh was an acclaimed painter. But often, it was  poverty and unrecognition, entwined his life. This book opens up one small portion of his life in Arles, where he painted his masterpieces.

A starry night dream

        Camille lives in a small town, where sunflowers are bright. His father is a postman. One day he meets a strange man in his town. Little does he know that the strange man is going to be a part of history one day.

Warning! Do Not Open This Book - Adam Lehrhaupt(2013)

     Oops! Don't misunderstand. That's the real title of this book. But I would say, please ignore the title warning and proceed.

Dangerous fun ahead

         
           You are being warned not to open this book, in the cover image itself. The endpapers post more warnings about the dangers inside the book. But, I know, you are going to proceed, by turning more pages. You are not going to believe what happened to the last guy who read this book. Oh, there comes the monkeys, making a huge mess. Then toucans follow them, making the surrounding more dangerous. The danger does not stop there, as there is an .....
         

The Nearsighted Giraffe - A.H. Benjamin (2013)

ISBN 10 : 1-60992-433-9
ISBN 13 : 978-1-60992-433-1
(Hardcover)

      Will glasses make a giraffe look silly? Well, that's what this nearsighted Giraffe thinks and she refuses to wear one. But, how does she manage to walk through the forest?

A foresight solution

        She wears a bicycle helmet, after she banged her head on a branch. She ties a bell to her tail, after she crashed into a rhino. She starts to wear boots, after she hurt her foot on a rock. Not to stop with that, she adds a pillow, an inflatable ring and a ladder one by one, after every crash, until she looks ..... yes, super silly.

You Are What You Eat And Other Mealtime Hazards - Serge Bloch (2010)

ISBN 10 : 1-4027-7130-4
ISBN 13 : 978-1-4027-7130-9
(Hardcover)

              Imagine a potato lying on a couch ("couch potato"), a stomach opens its mouth to growl ("stomach growling") and a horse dining in a table("eat like a horse"). Yes, you got it. This book cartoons the various idioms based on food, interluded with the story of a picky-eater changing into a "tough cookie".

Fun Down to a T

              The protagonist of this book is a picky-eater, who eats like a bird. Even when he is advised to "think outside the box" and to "use his noodle", he is not ready to change. But things get a different turn, when he is invited over to his friend's house (whose mom is a "health-nut"). Does this picky-eater "chicken-out" or "brave it out"?

Understanding Sam And Asperger's Syndrome - Clarabelle Van Niekerk & Liezl Venter (2008)

ISBN 10: 0-9747217-1-9
ISBN 13 : 978-0-9747217-1-2
(Hardcover)

       Is Autism a hard topic for a kid, to understand? No, I believe. It is a comprehensible and even an important topic for every kid.

A happy understanding

       Sam is a small boy, part of a lovely family. Playing cello, humming tunes and building puzzles have always made him happy. But there are some aspects, where Sam is a little different from other kids. He cannot make friends easily. He is sensitive towards some situations. Most importantly, it happens that he wanders off out of home, one night. Soon, Sam is diagnosed with "Asperger's syndrome", a form of Autism. 

Is It Big Or Is It Little? - Claudia Rueda (2013)

ISBN 10 : 0 8028 5423 0
ISBN 13 : 978 0 8028 5423 0
(Hardcover

      A pebble could look like a big rock in an ant's view. Of course, it is our mind's eye that judges things, not just our physical eye. And, here is a book that explores this concept, in a child's perspective.

Perspective Differs

       A cat chases a mouse. Well, it is normal. But, in this book, everything around them takes a different perspective in their view. While a ball of yarn looks 'big' in the mouse's view, it is 'little' for a cat. When the mouse crosses a 'deep' puddle, the cat passes it with 'shallow' steps. Finally, there is an another person, who comes to 'end' the troubles of the mouse. Or, does it mean the 'beginning' of cat's troubles?

Gandhi : A March To The Sea - Alice B. McGinty (2013)

ISBN 10 : 14778 16445
ISBN 13 : 978 14778 16448
(Hardcover)

     (Note : India was ruled by British government for over 200 years. Mohandas Gandhi and various other leaders fought their way against British, for Indian freedom. This book talks about one of the non-violent protests, led by Gandhi, called 'Dandi March'.)

The Sweetest Salt

             A march for salt forms the pivotal movement of Indian freedom fight. When salt is very crucial to human life next to air and water, a protest can break out, at the point when people are denied their right to take salt from sea.

Dollars And Sense - Stan & Jan Berenstain (2001)

ISBN 13 : 978 0 375 97492 2 - First Time Books
(Paperback)

            Money-growing trees and dollar-bill rain are not possible in reality. So, it is a hard-core reality that we need kid-sized versions of money management lessons to teach our kids.

A Check To Check

            The Berenstain bear cubs are in need of money, for buying baseball cards and a doll dress. They do know about money, like how to play with it and how to spend it, but they do not know how to save it (That's true, which kid knows?).