Kids' Book Corner - Caldecott and Newbery Winners!

Featured this month:

Dinosaurs Love Underpants
by Claire Freedman & Ben Cort
(Aladdin, hardcover)
Recommended for ages 2-6

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Did you know that the extinction of the dinosaurs came about after a long battle over underwear? It was a surprise to me, too, when I found out, but that's exactly how it goes down in Claire Freedman and Ben Cort's new picture book Dinosaurs Love Underpants. Published by Aladdin, this colorful, rhyming picture book presents a hilarious take on dinosaur extinction, and it's perfect for all those rambunctious toddlers.

King Lear
by Gareth Hinds
(Candlewick, paperback)
Recommended for ages 10+

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It can be really hard to get teens to read Shakespeare. Yes, they have to read Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream in school, but when a play is a required assignment it is rarely enjoyed by the reader. Luckily, artist Gareth Hinds has found a way make Shakespeare's great works accessible to teenagers. His most recent work is a graphic novel version of King Lear, published by Candlewick. As Hinds says in his book, "Shakespeare's plays were meant to be performed, and yet their greatness rests as much on their merits as literature - on the experience they give a reader - as on their theatrical power. I think the graphic novel form is a perfect bridge between the printed word and theatrical performance." I agree with Hinds. The next best thing to taking your kids to a performance of King Lear is to hand them this graphic novel and let them watch the story unfold.

Red Ted and the Lost Things
by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Joel Stewart
(Chronicle Books, paperback)
Recommended for ages 3-6

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Has your child ever lost a favorite stuffed animal? This can be a pretty traumatic experience, but the next time this happens, just come to the bookstore and pick up a copy of Michael Rosen's picture book Red Ted and the Lost Things. Illustrated by Joel Stewart and published by Candlewick, this is the story of Red Ted, a small bear-like stuffed toy, who gets separated from his girl, Stevie, and winds up in a vast lost and found in a train station. There he befriends another stuffed toy, Crocodile, and they scheme to find a way back to Stevie. They sneak out of the lost and found; out of the train station and into the outside world and meet up with a cat who helps them find their way home. This lovely story can be a comfort to worried kids.

Weezer Changes the World
by David McPhail
(Beach Lane Books, hardcover)
Recommended for ages 2-5

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Meet Weezer the dog, star of David McPhail's new picture book Weezer Changes the World, published by Beach Lane Books. Weezer is just a regular dog, until something happens and suddenly he becomes more than just a dog - a peace ambassador to the world, or something like it.