Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett

Our daughter was just beginning to associate words with pictures when we found a copy of Orange Pear Apple Bear at our local library. Surprisingly, despite the fact that the entire text consists only of the four words in the title, the words and the pictures play well against one another in an amusing and thoughtful way, encouraging early "reading". Orange Pear Apple Bear is an engaging book for both the listener and the reader. 32 pages.

Don't Forget I Love You by Miriam Moss

Don't Forget I Love You is a familiar story for anyone who has ever had to rush a child through the morning ritual of getting dressed and eating breakfast to get to daycare/preschool and work on time. For readers, it's a gentle reminder of what's important and, for listeners, a reaffirmation of love. Wonderful for anyone where drop-off is a regular routine. 32 pages.

One by Kathryn Otoshi

I found a copy of One at an independent bookstore in Berkeley, California.  It's the story of "blue", a blue spot on the page that overcomes the bullying of "red" through the courage of friends.  I love the story because it is very clever at many different levels and has appeal to a range of ages.  For the youngest readers, it begins the identification process of colors.  Applying emotions to these colors (young children often apply emotions to inanimate objects as they begin to explore their own understanding of feelings) calls to older children.  The story then incorporates the use of numbers, thereby introducing basic number recognition and counting.  So many different levels may sound complex and intimidating but it's done in a very lighthearted way with an average of about 15 words per page in easy to read print (very helpful also for early readers).  32 pages.