Picture Book Annotations
INF 382E: Materials for Children
Mother Goose books
Gray Goose and Gander & Other Mother Goose Rhymes. Illus. by Anne Rockwell. Crowell,
1980.
Kessler, Leonard. Hey Diddle Diddle. Garrard Publishing, 1980.
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.
Sendak, Maurice. We are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy. Harper Collins, 1993.
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.
Munari, Bruno. Bruno Munari’s ABC. Philomel Books, 1982..
Pallotta, Jerry. The Dinosaur Alphabet Book. Illus. by Ralph Masiello. Charlesbridge, 1991.
Wildsmith, Brian. Brian Wildsmith’s ABC. Franklin Watts, 1963.
Counting books
Bang, Molly. Ten, Nine, Eight. Greenwillow Books, 1983.
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.
Hoban, Tana. Count and See. MacMillan, 1972.
Schlein, Miriam. More Than One. Illus. by Donald Crews. Greenwillow, 1996.