The runaway hug - Nick Bland, Freya Blackwood

The Runaway Hug is written by Nick Bland and illustrated by Freya Blackwood, two of Australia’s award-winning picture book creators. In the story, Lucy shares the hug with everyone in her family.
Along the way it becomes softer, sleepier, bigger, even peanut-buttery. But when the hug runs away, Lucy discovers that it's not so easy to get it back. 

This is a gentle and engaging story with beautiful pencil and water - colour pictures in a muted colour palette which gives the illustrations an appealing softness. This book certainly would leave small readers feeling warm and snuggly and ready for sleep.

Bland, Nick. Blackwood, Freya. The runaway hug, Gosford (NSW) ; Scholastic, 2011.

• Reading level :  2-7 years old
• Format : Hardcover

Pajama time – Sandra Boynton



Sandra Boynton's illustrations and rhymes make this a fun book to read. She is one of well known children book's author. If you want to know more well about here, here is her website. 
The official Sandra Boynton website!
This Stories based on everyday events familiar to even very young children. The story takes place at the end of a long day, with various animals getting ready for bed. Pigs, hippos, cats, and more all get ready for bed and dance around before finally settling down for the night in bed. All hurry to get their pajamas on for the great big Pajama-de-bop.  

The book has a pleasant rhyme to it that makes for a great little song. The story is told in Sandra's signature rhyming style. For the illustrations bright bold colors let little readers pay attention on pages. And the last page seems to quiet things down by using smaller and smaller type, implying that the words get quieter, and the use of the words "Hush, hush" and "shhhh". It has been proven as a popular bedtime picture book by many parents and their children.

Boynton, Sandra. Pajama time!,  New York : Workman, 2000. 

• Reading level : 2-7 years old
• Format : Board book

Where the wild things are? – Maurice Sendak

This is the classic of all children's books. It is beautifully illustrated and the winner of the 1963 Caldecott Medal for illustration. The author Maurice Sendak is described as one of those great children's book creators who could write and draw.

Max is a creative, willful child who gets sent to his room without supper. Angry at his mother, he escapes to a fantastic world full of wild but controllable monsters where he becomes the King of All Wild Things. But after a while he longs to return to where "someone loved him best of all." He finds that, by leaving his supper for him, his mother still loves him. The book nicely balances the child's need for imaginative thinking with a sense of limits, and the pleasures of home.

The illustrations in this book are startling and amazing so help shaping the fantasies of millions of children.

Sendak, Maurice. Where the wild things are, New York : Harper Collins, 1988. 

• Reading level : 3-7 years old 
• Format : Hardcover

Night in the country – Cynthia Rylant, Mary Szilagyi

This is an excellent story of a country experience. Especially it is good book for children who are growing up in city like our library’s little readers. It also can be a great find for parents to read to kids to follow up on a visit to a relative in the country.

The author talks about all interesting things one might hear during a night in the country. It quietly describes a dark country night to your child so gently that it takes away the children’s fear of darkness and the creaking noises of an old country house at night! This book is a loving description of life in the country.

This book has a wonderful meter for reading aloud as a bedtime book. This is an excellent portrait of what life really is like in the country: the blackness, the soft sounds and the swooping owl.

Rylant, Cynthia. Szilagyi, Mary. Night in the country, New York : Simon&Schuster, 1991. 

• Reading level : 3-8 years old
• Format : Paperback

Corduroy – Don freeman

Corduroy is classic that has been around for many years. The story is about a stuffed bear in a department store that is not in perfect condition. A little girl walks by him and falls in love with him immediately, but is denied the opportunity to take him home by her mother. Corduroy wants to be loved by someone so he searches and searches for a lost button on his overalls. In the end, the girl came back and bought him and brought him home. They both loved each other so much and she even gave him a new button.

This memorable story will touch children’s hearts. The innocent way this cute bear explores his world is matched by the adorable drawings. The story teaches children the all important life lessons of unconditional love and a true home. Corduroy also inspires imagination for the young reader because of the stuffed animal coming to life throughout the story. Apparently, the artwork of book is wonderful and the story is very touching.

Freeman, Don. Corduroy, New York : Viking Juvenile, 1968.

• Reading level : Baby - 7 years old
• Format : Hardcover