Children's books are a piling up...

Shark VS. Train by Chris Barton; Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld (library copy)

I picked this with my youngest nephew in mind (he LOVES trains), even though I figured the story was a bit older.  Basically two boys get into their toy box.  One pulls out Shark.  The other pulls out train.  And shark and train have at it.  Who wins when they're selling lemonade?  Or trick-or-treating?  It goes back and forth including finding some things that both shark and train are bad at.  It ends when it's time for lunch...until next time, that is.  Best one line - Shark: "I'm gonna choo-choo you up and spit you out."  lol!

If All the Animals Came Inside by Eric Pinder; Illustrated by Marc Brown (library copy)

I picked this because it looked fun.  I thought it might be like another book - one I absolutely love - called A Bear for Breakfast by Jennifer King.

Anyway, it did turn out to be fun with a nice rhythm for reading aloud, as well as including some vocabulary, rhyming, and onomatopoeia.  Plus it has bright colorful illustrations.

Something of note: the rhinos were watching TV.  Guess what they were watching?  Arthur.  Why is this important?  The illustrator for this book, Marc Brown, is the author/illustrator for the Arthur series.

hello! hello! by Mathew Cordell (library copy)

I was seeing this everywhere on the blogosphere.  And everyone had nothing but praise.  So I requested my library purchase it and waited patiently while continuing to see recommendation after recommendation.  After ALL THAT HYPE I did not, unfortunately, fall in love with it the way everyone else did.  Don't get me wrong.  It was cute and all.  The animals all following Lydia in her burst of discovery were great.  Especially the whale in the sky and the dinosaurs.  And I appreciated the message.  I think it was more one of those cases where your expectations get built so HIGH that the book can hardly meet them.

If a Monkey Jumps Onto Your School Bus by Jean M. Cochran; Illustrated by Jennifer E. Morris (library copy)

I picked this because I thought it'd make a bus ride sound fun.  That is, my 5yo nephew has been having issues with not wanting to ride the bus and not wanting to go to preschool.  I thought, well, maybe this might make a bus ride more appealing.

Turns out the monkey on the school bus is just one page, but that's okay.  It was still a nice bouncy sort of read.  I didn't end up reading it to my nephew though (read it to my niece instead), so I didn't get to test my theory.

There Was a Tree by Rachel Isadora (library copy)

This is that song.  I obsessed over the tune to that song for half my shift, trying to remember it and now as I blog this it's stuck in my head.  But you know the song (maybe?).

"There was a tree in the hole, and a hole in the ground, and the green grass grew all around, all around, and the green grass grew all around."

Anyway, this is that song with pictures filled in for words (and a rebus key afterwards), lovely illustrations, and the song (complete with notes and whatnot) at the end.