Come Play With Us!

There Are Cats in This Book, by Viviane Schwarz

Candlewick Press, 2008

One of the most engaging, joyful books of the year, Viviane Schwarz's turn-the-flap tour de force will have toddlers screaming with anticipation as they race through the pages at the urging of three playful cats. "Are you NICE?" the cats ask. "You LOOK nice." "And STRONG. Could you turn a whole PAGE?" Of course, your grandchildren can, and will, helping the cats play with yarn, boxes, and pillows until they turn the final flap to tuck the cats in. "Will you come and play with us again soon? Really soon!" the cats ask on the last page. The answer is yes, right now!

Age: 2+
Retail Price: $12
Available at: amazon.com

Step Out of Your Shell

Turtle's Penguin Day, by Valeri Gorbachev

Knopf, 2008

After Little Turtle's dad reads him a bedtime story about penguins, Little Turtle has a night of penguin dreams. The next morning, he wakes up and decides to be a penguin all day in school. In Valeri Gorbachev's picture book that captures the best of preschoolers and kindergartners, all of Little Turtle's friends decide to get in on the act and spend the day waddling, sliding on their bellies, and sleeping standing up. And then Little Turtle's dad reads him a bedtime story about monkeys. Grandchildren just starting school or almost ready will enjoy playing along with Little Turtle and his friends as they show the kids how terrific school can be.

Age: 4+
Retail Price: $12
Available at: amazon.com

Reduce. Reuse. Reread.

10 Things I Can Do to Help My World, by Melanie Walsh
Candlewick Press, 2008

You're never too young to preserve the environment. At least, that's the thinking behind Melanie Walsh's deceptively simple flap book. Each idea — turning off the lights when you leave a room, feeding birds in the winter, making toys from things found around the house — is accompanied by facts about how the suggestion can help the planet and images that make the ideas seem doable and fun even for young grandchildren. The book should provoke intergenerational discussion about how much responsibility each of us should take for our world every day.

Age: 4+
Retail Price: $11
Available at: amazon.com

A Made-Up Story About Honest Abe

Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek, by Deborah Hopkinson and John Hendrix

Schwarz & Wade, 2008

Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president, led the nation through the Civil War and ended slavery. Most grandchildren learn about his life during the early grades of school. But how many ever consider the good fortune and lucky breaks that put Lincoln in a position to save the Union in the first place? Deborah Hopkinson's book, which she calls a "tall, thin tale," with illustrations by John Hendrix, imagines seven-year-old Lincoln and his older friend Austin having to cross a rushing creek in Kentucky in 1816. When Abe falls in, Austin has to find a way to rescue his friend, and, as it happens, the nation. As kids cheer along with Hopkinson's folksy, exuberant text, they begin to see Lincoln as more than the face on the penny, and they get an inkling of how history, and legends, are really made.

Age: 4+
Retail Price: $12
Available at: amazon.com

Legends Come to Life

We Are the Ship, by Kadir Nelson

Jump at the Sun/Hyperion, 2008

A beautifully illustrated, oversize history of the Negro Leagues, writer-artist Kadir Nelson's tribute to the talent and independent spirit of its teams, players, and owners should capture the attention of any baseball-loving upper-elementary-age grandchild. Nelson writes the book in the voice of an anonymous player from the league, relating anecdotes about barnstorming in small towns; all-star challenges against white major leaguers; creative and dedicated owners; and, of course, the exploits of superstars like Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, and Judy Johnson. The result is an insider's report that places readers on the field, in the dugout, and even on the team bus. Nelson takes his title from a quote by Rube Foster, founder of the league, who said, "We are the ship; all else the sea." Get on board.

Age: 8+
Retail Price: $13
Available at: amazon.com