Dinosaurs?! by Lila Prap. (NorthSouth) 2010.

Informational book --a great one--for the youngest dinosaur fans-- lots of color with warm illustrations and a child friendly layout-- sidebars filled with information can be read -- for older kids or just ignored in favor of the fabulous illustrations that take center stage. An international children's book, translated from the Danish.

Old Black Fly by Jim Alylesworth. (Henry Holt) 1999.

we follow the an old black fly as he buzzes through the alphabet, -in verse no less--until he finally meets his end SPLATT!!
Lots of repetition and a great refrain-- fun to read and fun to play - this is a great auditory read a loud. A big hit with the preschool crowd -- after they got over the initial shock of old black flies untimely demise-- they loved it.
Steve Gammell's illustrations are, as always, bright and powerful.

Smile by Raina Telgemeier. (GRAPHIX) 2010, 224 pages.

I love a graphic memoir! Raina Telgemeier's (graphic artist of The Babysitter's Club fame) memoir of her middleschool years-- memories forever intertwined with braces and other dental issues-- that the dental stuff becomes a metaphor for the middle school period itself. Telgemeier clearly remembers what it is like to be in a teenager--family, acne, friends, hormones, boys, friends, teeth, appearance, friends, shyness, mean girls, friends-- add in lots of pain and surgery--and in the end, of couse, Raina overcomes it -- as we all do. A perfect choice of a positive "it gets better" coming of age story--and we always need more of these! SMILE was a pleasant surprise-- a quiet little graphic memoir about a girl i never heard of before but who i liked and felt for. the story pulled me in and will resonate with girls 11+-- and their mothers.
highly recommend