Rebecca Miller
Picture Book Annotations
INF 382E: Materials for Children
September 22, 2003
Mother Goose books
Gray Goose and Gander & Other Mother Goose Rhymes. Illus. by Anne Rockwell. Crowell,
1980.
Anne Rockwell’s trademark illustrations in this small picture book give the reader an intimate feeling. The 56 rhymes illustrated on a single page each include familiar and uncommon rhymes. Illustrations are filled-in pen and ink drawings. The book includes a handy index of first lines.
Kessler, Leonard. Hey Diddle Diddle. Garrard Publishing, 1980.
This playful twist of the traditional “Hey Diddle Diddle” will delight young readers with its rhyme and nonsense. Beginning with playful cartoon drawings and the traditional “Hey
Diddle Diddle,” Kessler proceeds to new rhymes with animals, continuing the playful tone.
Rhymes such as Hey diddle dooba/The cat played the tuba./The cow got stuck in the door./The little pig laughed/To see such sights,/and the door danced around on the floor.
Kessler cleverly brings the story back to the original rhyme, adding a modern twist with “men on the moon.”
Mother Goose Remembers. Illus. By Clare Beaton. Barefoot Books, 2000.
The textured and colorful illustrations, hand-sewn by the illustrator, give this version of
Mother Goose a warm, home-spun feel. All illustrations are stitched with various materials, including the title of each rhyme, borders, and end papers. The placement of text within the illustrations adds to the ambiance of the book.

The Real Mother Goose.
Illus. by Blanche Fisher Wright. Checkerboard Press, 1944.
Over 250 Mother Goose rhymes are illustrated in this classis book. Illustrations are detailed, imaginative works of rich color which give the impression of an English manor.
Quarter-page, half-page and full-page pictures bring to life these traditional rhymes. Includes an alphabetical list of first lines.
Sendak, Maurice. We are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy.
Harper Collins, 1993.
Sendak cleverly joins two Mother Goose rhymes to create a whole new tale. Sprawling two-page illustrations in muted colors bleed off the page to keep the reader wanting more.
Running commentary by the characters in the first rhyme add to the humor. A good contrast to traditional Mother Goose stories, it can encourage alternate versions of the rhymes, similar to
Kessler’s Hey Diddle Diddle.
ABC books
Gag, Wanda. The ABC Bunny. Coward-McCann, 1933.
Gag’s tale of bunny’s adventures is not only alphabetical, including the letters Q, X,Y, and Z into the story, but it is also set to music as “The ABC Song” printed in the front and back of this book. Black and white pencil drawings with black text and red alphabet letters tell the adventures of a frightened rabbit and finding friends.
Kitamura, Satoshi. From Acorn to Zoo and Everything in Between in Alphabetical Order.
Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 1992.
Kitamura imaginatively invites the reader into each large 2/3 page illustration with a question and corresponding illustration underneath. The question and illustration makes the

reader want to search the large illustration for the answer and more. Seven or more items beginning with each letter are represented and labeled on each page. A good book for introducing alphabetical order.
Munari, Bruno.
Bruno Munari’s ABC.
Philomel Books, 1982.
Munari’s varied illustrations in pen and ink, black and white, and paint combine on each page to illustrate a the text corresponding to each letter. At times the letter only stands for one word, other times, four or five. The illustrations draw the reader to the next page through their implied actions, such as a fly flying right, or as the objects bleed off the page, leaving the reader wanting to know more. Although not predictable, the text has a good rhythm for reading aloud.
Pallotta, Jerry. The Dinosaur Alphabet Book.
Illus. by Ralph Masiello. Charlesbridge, 1991.
This non-fiction alphabet book is full of information about 26 dinosaurs, one for every letter of the alphabet. Each page includes a dinosaur that starts with the corresponding letter and a paragraph about it, accompanied by Masiello’s accurate, detailed, and colorful illustrations of the dinosaur. Similar to other non-fiction books by this pair, the dinosaurs may be the most popular one.
Wildsmith, Brian.
Brian Wildsmith’s ABC.
Franklin Watts, 1963.
Wildsmith’s bold and rough paintings contrast with the solid-color facing page and text in this ABC book. Each painting is named in both lower-case and capitalized form on the lefthand side of the two-page spread. The facing painting beautifully illustrates the text. The book

is summarized in a simple text on the last page: “A is for apple. B is for butterfly…” The simplicity of the book allows Wildsmith’s paintings to do the talking.
Counting books
Bang, Molly. Ten, Nine, Eight. Greenwillow Books, 1983.
Bang’s cozy, colorful paintings contrast with the facing white text pages to countdown to bedtime. The rhythmic pattern of the text and the small size give this book the cozy feel of being tucked into bed, just as the little girl in the story is. A Caldecott honor book.
Brooks, Alan. Frogs Jump.
Illus. by Steven Kellogg. Scholastic, 1996.
This fanciful tale of animals in action plays on the animals’ natural actions, such as ducks diving (off a diving board) and pigs squealing (on motorcycles). Kellogg’s playful pastel illustrations keep the action hoping and the numbers true as the story counts form one frog to twelve whales, only to count backwards again as the children in the story refute each animal action. A great read-aloud story that encourages beginning readers with the patterned build-up to twelve.
Haskins, Jim. Count Your Way Through Russia. Illus. by Vera Mednikov.
This non-fiction counting book introduces the reader to Russia and counting in the
Russian language. Clear text and bold color illustrations introduce readers to Russia and its culture, landmarks, and lifestyle. Each page includes information about an aspect of Russian life or culture together with the Russian word for the number, the Arabic number, and the Russian pronunciation of the number. The last page includes a pronunciation guide to practice counting

in Russian. This book can serve as an introduction to Russia for young children as well as a source for classroom projects.
Hoban, Tana. Count and See. MacMillan, 1972.
Tana Hoban’s trademark pictures come through again in this black-and-white picture counting book. Vivid black and white photographs on the right page of a two page spread are off-set by a black page with a white numeral, number word, and set of dots representing the number. Counting 1 to 15, the book then proceeds to 20, 30, 40, 50, and finally to 100. Young children will enjoy counting the number of objects in the engaging photographs. An excellent book for any early childhood math class.
Schlein, Miriam. More Than One.
Illus. by Donald Crews. Greenwillow, 1996.
Schlein introduces readers to the concept of a collection in More Than One. Using common everyday items, Schlein guides readers as they learn that one can be 2,3,4, or more things, yet still be one. Crews’s bold, colorful paintings illustrate each concept while staying accurate to the text. His textured illustrations of the forest and the sand on the beach vividly illustrate the vastness of those “one”s. A deceptively simple and effective book for introducing the collective concept to children, it can be used in math classes.