Let There Be Peace on Earth: And Let It Begin with Me by Jill Jackson and Sy Miller
Tricycle Press - September 2009
All ages
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
It’s hard to believe that this lovely song about peace all started at a high school retreat in 1955 and has since spread throughout the world as an anthem for peace, love and understanding. Brilliantly and beautifully illustrated, this is a perfect introduction to the concept of peace for young children or a reminder to ourselves how important peace is. This book comes with a 12-song CD with the title’s classic song.

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A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na
Reading level: 3-6
Knopf Books for Young Readers - September 8, 2009
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
This is one of the most beautifully illustrated books of late. While all of the other animals sleep, whether solo or snuggled with others, the owl stays awake. The story line is simple, but the illustrations are unique, complex and as soothing as a lullaby.

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Shapes That Roll by Karen Nagel
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Blue Apple Books (September 16, 2009)

Kiwi Magazine Review:
This lovely picture book tells the tale of shapes and what they can do. You may not want to try to stack eggs and it is particularly difficult to slant a circle. Great fun for kids 3+.

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Watch Me Grow! By Lauryn Silverhardt
Blue Plants a Seed / Little Green Nickelodeon (Part of Blue’s Clues)
Illustrated by: Karen Craig
Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon, January 2009
Ages 3-6
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
Blue goes green! With Miss Marigold and all of her friends, Blue learns that patience pays off when her seed finally sprouts. This book is printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper with soy-ink.

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Comment contest!  Enter a comment in this post and you can win this title.  Enter no later than July 4.  Posting a comment means you read all of our contest guidelines on Kiwi’s contest page.

Save the Tree! Little Green Nickelodeon (Part of Wonder Pets!)
Adapted by: Kermit Frazier / Illustrated by: Little Airplane Productions and Amy Marie Stadelmann
Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon, January 2009
Ages 3-6
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
Those three Wonder Pets do wonders for all of the animals in the world, so they’re turning their attention to saving a poor little tree. A great message for the wee ones about everyone-der pet being able to make a differnce, even if it’s in a small way. Printed on 100% recycled paper with soy-ink!

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The Sleepy Little Alphabet: A Bedtime Story from Alphabet Town by Judy Sierra
Melissa Sweet (Illustrator)
Knopf Books for Young Readers - June 9, 2009
Ages: 4-8
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
These letters sure have personality and some of them just won’t go to bed. Before you know it, they’re all sound asleep in their 26 alpha-beds and all is well.

Oh No! Time to Go! : A Book of Goodbyes by Rebecca Doughty
Random House, 2009
Ages 3-6
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
Goodbyes can be really hard, but this book makes it clear that each ‘goodbye’ is matched by a new ‘hi.’ For a parent who has a child who has troubling saying ’so long’ to friends, the park, the dog she just met, the trees and the parking lot, this book is a welcome addition to the library and, fingers crossed, learning to say goodbye will be just a little bit easier each time.

Synopsis:
A playful, reassuring book that helps make saying goodbye a little easier.

In this deceptively simple picture book by the author of Some Helpful Tips for a Better World and a Happier Life, there’s a new goodbye on every page. Some of them are easy, like when it’s time to go home for supper. Some of them are funny, like when dogs say it with a growl. And some are much harder, like when a very best friend moves away.

With a bouncy rhyming text and vibrant, droll illustrations, this book of goodbyes leaves readers with a heartwarming thought: that for each goodbye, there’s always a new hello.

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Birds by Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek
Ages 2-5
Greenwillow, 2009
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review
The gorgeous artwork of Laura Dronzek (married to Kevin Henkes) brings the simple sweet text into focus, with birds in bold colors with curious faces. Birds are everywhere, but this lovely picture book just might encourage a young reader to look and listen just a little closer.

Publisher’s Description
Birds come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Birds are magic. Birds are everywhere. If you listen very carefully you will hear them, no matter where you live. And if you look very closely you will see them, no matter where you are. And if you can’t go outside right this minute, you can always read this book!

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Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld
Ages 3 and up
Chronicle Books - 2009
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
Amy Krouse Rosenthal just keeps raising the bar (no, it’s a line, no, it’s a bar) for creative ideas. Told in true preschooler ‘always right’ text with a perfectly drawn duck/rabbit, the family will enjoy the point-counterpoint style of this book.

Publisher’s Description:
Duck! Rabbit! — From the award-winning author of Little Pea, Little Hoot, and Little Oink comes a clever take on the age-old optical illusion: is it a duck or a rabbit? Depends on how you look at it! Readers will find more than just Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s signature humor here-there’s also a subtle lesson for kids who don’t know when to let go of an argument. A smart, simple story that will make readers of all ages eager to take a side, Duck! Rabbit! makes it easy to agree on one thing-reading it again!

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I Call My Grandpa Papa (by Ashley Wolff
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Tricycle Press - September 2009
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
Grandpops around the world are special people who go by special names. This book is a tribute to those special men who occupy a very special place in all of our hearts.

Product Description
My Babu runs the library.
He can check out any book,
and when he gets the new ones,
he lets me have first look.
From Nonna to MeMaw, Pops to Ojii-San, the moniker a child bestows upon a grandparent is as unique as the relationship that will develop between them.

With her musical text and colorful collage artwork, Ashley Wolff celebrates grandparent names–and all the wonderful ways grandchildren play with their loved ones.

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