Nursery Rhyme Comics- Various Artists

No, this isn't my normal type of recommendation.  However, I picked this book up at Barnes and Noble last week, and neither my almost-3-year-old son nor I have been able to put it down.

In this beautiful hardcover book, fifty classic nursery rhymes have been totally modernized and reinterpreted by big-shot comics artists.  The words are the same Mother Goose we learned from our grandparents, but the illustrations breathe new life into the stories, so much that my son has nearly memorized all of the stories in one short week, and we spend hours singing them together, looking at the wide variety of captivating drawings.  Don't let the cover fool you - the woman who designed that didn't even write any of the sketches, and the quality in-book is better than that on the front. My personal favorites: Tweedledum and Tweedledee, The Owl and the Pussycat, and For Want of a Nail.  Flip through this book and you'll fall in love with some old nursery rhymes all over again, too.

Scaredy Squirrel - by Melanie Watt

What do you think of squirrels?  My experience is that even though they're super cute, they still like to throw acorns at my head and yell at me whenever I come near their tree.  This book is about one little squirrel who is so nervous about everything that he NEVER leaves his tree.  There's plenty of food there, and safety.  He's afraid of just about everything, from killer bees and germs to green martians.  Only when he accidentally falls from the tree one day does our hero realize that the world isn't quite so scary after all.

This short picture book is very cute, written and illustrated by the same person in a very funny way.  There are more in the series, so we haven't seen the end of Scaredy Squirrel!

Robot Dreams - by Sara Varon

What good is a book with no words? Even though I (Mister K) love to read, and have a passion for words, I fell in love with this wordless graphic novel about a dog and his robot friend.

With some pretty simple and interesting pictures, the author tells the story of a dog who builds a robot, and becomes its best friend. After a trip to the beach where the robot gets rusty, the dog is forced to leave his metal friend behind, and he gets lonely. The book contains the robots attempts to find new friends, but they all end up leaving, too. In his dreams, the robot hopes to meet up with his friend once more, and at the end of the book... Well, you'll be happy with the ending, I'll tell you that.

Although this is an unusual book, it's well worth picking up. You won't be disappointed.

Zen Shorts - by Jon Muth

What happens when a humongous, kind-hearted, talkative panda bear moves into your neighborhood? For three children, the answer is: fun! Stillwater the panda leads the children in a series of everyday adventures, introducing them to Japanese and Chinese culture, and telling them his own version of traditional Zen stories, to help teach them lessons for how to live good lives. The book is lavishly illustrated, interestingly written, and thought-provoking. My class loved the idea of hanging out with a giant panda bear, and they made some good connections to the stories Stillwater told. I enjoyed everything about this book, and though it won't do everything for everybody, it is ideal for readers interested in Asian cultures, traditional stories with funny, modern twists, and anyone willing to stop and reflect on their own life while they read.

The Race of the Birkebeiners by Lise Lunge-Larsen

The year: 1206. The place: Norway. The evil Baglers have taken over the kingdom, and the only hope for Norway's future is to help the infant prince Hakon escape the Bagler soldiers. The brave Birkebeiners, loyal to their dead king and to their country, were the only ones who could help. Over three days, a small band of Birkebeiners carried the prince over Norway's most treacherous mountains through incredibly deep snow and the harshest storms, fighting to save the 8-pound prince. Did they make it? I'm afraid you'll have to read the book yourself to answer that question.

This picture book for older readers was beautifully illustrated by Mary Azarian, who also lent her woodblock artistry to the book Snowflake Bentley. The book will appeal to lovers of history, winter, cross-country skiing, and picture books with amazing images.