#1. Hannah’s Night by Komoko Sakai

Hannah wakes up one night to find her sister, mother, and father are all asleep.  She wanders through the house, takes a pee, helps herself to a snack, looks at the moon, and plays with her big sister’s toys before she falls asleep again at dawn.

This was an incredibly adorable story that any kid with siblings can relate too.  Granted, as the oldest sibling, I doubt Sophia is really hankering after playing with Klaus’ xylophone, but she could totally get on board with secret midnight snacks.  Hannah’s Night has minimal words: just a sentence or two per two page spread, making it a great choice for younger babies and children.

We really liked it!  4 out of 5 stars

#2. A Doll For Marie by Louise Fatio

A Doll For Marie is a story about a fancy antique doll, who is stuck in an antique store, and then an antique home when all she really wants is a little girl to have tea parties with.  In the end, several dogs happen, and she ends up being a very happy, not-so-fancy antique doll with a little girl and tea parties.

This story reminded me of a bygone era of literature.  The language is simple, but with a stronger vocabulary than we have come to expect out of children’s books. Remarkably, at least according to goodreads, it was published this year.  Aside from a slight hiccup when Sophiapea decided it would double nicely as a coloring book, we really enjoyed this one. Sophia thought the doll was a princess, and remained intrigued throughout the story.

We really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars

#3. Thank You, Octopus by Darren Farrell

Octopus is pretending to be helpful, but making weird additions to the end of his suggestions, making them funny and not nearly so helpful.

This was a silly, very child-oriented book that made us all laugh.  Also, lots of jokes about hugs… bear hugs… will be made, and growling will commence.

We liked it: 3 out of 5 stars

#4. Olivia goes to Venice by Ian Falconer

Here we have another installment of Olivia–the precocious, sometimes trying, somehow lovable pig that we’ve become fairly well acquainted with.  This time Olivia goes to Venice, eats gelato, feeds pigeons, eats more gelato, rides on a gondola, eats more gelato, and leaves Venice in a pile of rubble because she took a rock from a famous landmark.

It was entertaining, as Olivia generally is.  Even though I tend to think Olivia is a brat, and somewhat dread reading whatever is coming out of her mouth next, I smirked, and Sophia was very impressed that a place exists in the world with oodles of pizza AND ice cream.

We liked it. 3 out of 5 stars.

#5. Little Baby Buttercup by Linda Ashman

This is a lyrical, rhyming book about a baby’s busy day.  It’s a fun, easy read, with plenty to talk about, between little baby Buttercup’s activities and the illustrations that accompany the story.

It’s another that is particularly good for the younger audiences.  Sophiapea (3 years old) is developing an attention span and an interest in more “advanced” (for lack of a better term) picture books, so some of what I’ve been reading to her lately, Klaus (1 year old) just isn’t that interested in, but this was one that he sat through as well.

We really liked it:  4 out of 5 stars