How Does the Show Go On?

For Mother’s Day, I’m choosing to do my favorite thing—write about childrens’ books! One of the ways to lure kids to reading is to hook them by using a favorite topic. Maybe they’re obsessed with “High School Musical” or one of the many crime dramas on television. How Does the Show Go On? (Disney, $19.95) is a complete compendium of all things dramatic. Thomas Schumacher, producer of the amazing Broadway musical, “The Lion King,” takes kids backstage to meet all the talented folks required to perform an award-winning theatrical experience. But first, aspiring theater-goers will see a ticket, a playbill, a bit of the script. Photos, notes and sketches abound. This is a great book to have in the classroom before a scheduled performance to avoid what we call in the arts-education biz, ‘drive-by’ art experiences. Getting children ready beforehand and whetting their appetite with a how-it-happens book like How Does The Show Go On? will deepen the experience.

Do Not Open

Same goes for Do Not Open (DK, $24.99). This encyclopedia of the world’s best kept secrets has some trademark DK flourishes. The title of course is brilliant. Next the book is recessed in box that looks like a little jail cell complete with barred cover. Entries are brief and visually exciting. From the different versions we learn of Christopher Columbus—okay was he a hero or a tyrant?—to what has been sucked into the Bermuda Triangle, Do Not Open is a great book for exploration and discovery in small group classroom work or the back seat of the car. Start that wonderful practice of having kids read aloud their most exciting discoveries.

Baby! Baby!

So many board books are just wrong—adaptations of popular selling books with too much text or ooey-gooey parent sensibilities. Friends, board books have a distinct place in the children’s literature canon and “Baby! Baby!” (Random House, $6.99) has earned its place. Why? Because author Vicky Ceelen has taken a very simple concept and conveyed it in photographs. It will be mesmerizing to babies and toddlers and a lot of fun for mom and dad, too. All Ceelen does is present a variety of baby expressions and poses and pair them with an animal in a similar pose. The typical newborn with legs curled up really does look like a frog when you think about it. There is striking symmetry between a child and a chimp trying to fit all fingers and maybe a whole hand into their mouths. Small children love to look at photographs of people and they adore animals. This one will be requested, studied, and chewed on, just as a board book should be!