Picture Book Saturday

Two Hands to Love You
By Diane Adams, illustrated by Paige Keiser
Published 2014 by Chronicle Books
This is a great gift book for new parents. It highlights all the ways a child is loved and all the different people who will love that child. The love takes a variety of forms, shown through a number of different activities. It's a very sweet book, with very soft and simple illustrations. The book has a nice rhythm, adding to its soothing nature. This is a perfect book for sharing one-on-one, and one that will reassure children they will be loved no matter what. It may be a little cloying for some, so know your reader.

Lily the Unicorn
By Dallas Clayton
Published 2014 by HarperCollins
This book was made for my boss. It's not a bad thing, but it definitely appeals to a certain kind of person. It's a bit much for me personally, but I can see a lot of kids who will love this book. This is a very simple book of contrasts between Lily and her friend Roger. But this book is really not that simple - it's crammed with details. I mean, crammed. Kids will certainly have fun discovering all the details, and it's great for sharing on an individual basis but I can't imagine it would work in a storytime setting. Like I said, just a bit much for me but will definitely have its fans.

Toucan Can!
By Juliette MacIver, illustrated by Sarah Davis
Published 2014 by Gecko Press
It's not secret that I am not a fan of birds. However, the toucan on the cover of this one is just too adorable to resist. This book will tell you all the things that the brightly-colored toucan can do and wonders if you can do them, too. It's a tongue-twister rhyme that will have you barreling along until you can't keep the words straight anymore. This would be an interesting one to try in storytime - would the kids find it hilarious when you stumble? The illustrations are a lot of fun and may make up for the times when the words are moving too fast. This book is sure to be the bane of existence for some parents.