Books for Babies and Toddlers
Let's Sign, Baby! A Fun and Easy Way to Talk With Baby
Written by Kelly Ault and illustrated by Leo Landry
Houghton Mifflin Company
ISBN: 9780547315966, board book, 7.99
Is your baby hungry or tired? Does she have a tummy ache or does he just need a diaper change? It's easy to know when you and your baby learn to sign together.
Studies show that babies who sign develop increased vocabularies, experience less frustration, and begin to speak earlier. These short stories, playful pictures, and clear instructions are practical for parents and fun for older siblings. Let's Sign! is designed to help you more fully enjoy mealtime, playtime, bedtime, and other daily activities with the baby in your life.
Let's Sign: Every Baby's Guide to Communicating with Grownups
Written by Kelly Ault and illustrated by Leo Landry
Houghton Mifflin Company
ISBN: 9780618507740, hardcover, 17.00
Three short stories, playful pictures and clear instructions offer a practical method for communication using basic American Sign Language (ASL.)
"This sturdy picture book deserves a place in every library serving preschoolers. Landry's pencil-and-watercolor illustrations are child- friendly, and his depictions of the signs are both appealing and informative - a rare treat." — School Library Journal
Eat Your Peas, Ivy Louise!
Written and illustrated by Leo Landry
Houghton Mifflin Company
ISBN: 0618448861, hardcover, $12.00
Ivy Louise's parents encourage her to eat, unaware that the tiny green peas are performing a circus on her tray.
"What little ones will enjoy is the fantasy mischief in the pencil-and-watercolor pictures, and the funny words about 'super-snappy, roly-poly acrobats.'" — Booklist
"Plenty of toddler-centric picture books credit their heroes with cuteness, but this one gives Ivy Louise points for her imagination as well. The small, square design is a neat but ample canvas for the pea-sized acrobatics, and Ivy Louise, a daffier variant of a Joan Walsh Anglund child, is a benevolently godlike participant-observer in the fun." — Horn Book
"As the child watches the diminutive veggies roll, they sprout arms, legs and smiley faces and proceed to form a pyramid. A spotlight shines on a pea wearing a top hat, who presents 'the amazing, stupendous Tender Tiny Peas!' Jumpin' Dave does a high dive into Ivy Louise's drinking cup, another pea with comically bulging arm muscles lifts a barbell and several others demonstrate pea-upon-pea balancing acts . . ." — Publishers Weekly
"Landry's watercolor-and-pencil illustrations are simple and uncluttered, but very effective, enabling readers to focus on the action."
"This book is a great storytime choice for small groups or as a one-on-one read-aloud." — School Library Journal
Oh, Baby! A Celebration of Babies
Written and illustrated by Leo Landry
Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 0316607320, hardcover, $12.95
Babies everywhere - playing, eating, singing, dancing, counting, and sleeping! Delicate watercolors catalog babies in a variety of sweet and shy poses.
"...just right for lap sharing with a young listener, who will respond to the roundup of small, sweet infants doing what babies do and, perhaps, what they dream of." — Booklist
Picture Books
Friends and Pals and Brothers, Too
Written by Sarah Wilson
Illustrated by Leo Landry
Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 978-0805076431, trade hardcover, $16.95
Brothers might not look alike, but they like the same things. In the fall they paint pumpkins. In the winter they ski and slide and slurp hot soup. All year long they have fun together, for these two are more than just brothers—they’re the best of friends!
"The childlike, unembellished watercolor and pencil illustrations fit the text perfectly, and the muted colors underscore the simplicity and joyful intimacy of the boys' relationship." - School Library Journal
"This is a dear piece of work, not least because it fosters congenial relations between brothers. Wilson's easy, rhymed text has a pleasing bounce and echo - 'I call him squirrel. He calls me bear./We sing in bed. We mud our hair...In spring we bring out balls and bats./We look for frogs. We pet strange cats.' - but it plays as background music to Landry's irresistible watercolors. He has drawn the boys with elemental features: dots for eyes, jug-handle ears and snug helmets of hair; their sickle-moon smiles and arms waving above their heads convey innocence and bonhomie. These guys are simply having a good time." - Kirkus Reviews
Emily's Out and About Book
Written by Cindy Post Senning and Peggy Post and illustrated by Leo Landry
HarperCollins Children's Books
ISBN: 978-0061117008, trade hardcover, $16.99
It's so much fun to visit new places and meet new people!
And social skills can make any trip out and about even better. Whether it's knowing when to use their quiet voice, asking for something politely, or waiting patiently, toddlers will come to understand the importance of good manners as they follow Emily and her mother on a busy day in town.
Written by codirectors of The Emily Post Institute, Cindy Post Senning and Peggy Post, and with cheery illustrations from talented artist Leo Landry, this exciting outing is sure to be a hit with the stroller set.
Emily's Sharing and Caring Book
Written by Cindy Post Senning and Peggy Post and illustrated by Leo Landry
HarperCollins Children's Books
ISBN: 978-0061116971, trade hardcover, $16.99
ISBN: 978-0061116971, library binding, $17.89
Sharing and caring make everybody happy.
Toddlers will laugh as they learn the importance of sharing toys and food, appreciating others, taking turns, and other fundamentals of good manners in this cheery book that explains two underlying principles of etiquette with a positive, fun attitude and in terms that every kid can understand.
"...an appealing and practical picture book that encourages young children to share with others and to show other people that they care about them...The book's potentially weighty message is buoyed by the simplicity and lightness of its delivery in both the text and the inviting line-and-watercolor artwork. The last page advises adults on instilling social skills in young children." - Carolyn Phelan, Booklist
Emily's Magic Words: Please, Thank You and More
Written by Cindy Post Senning and Peggy Post and illustrated by Leo Landry
HarperCollins Children's Books
ISBN: 978-0061116803, trade hardcover, $15.99
ISBN: 978-0061116810, library binding, $16.89
It takes only a few magic words to have good manners. Let please, thank you, and excuse me act as your magic wand. Just by waving around these simple phrases, you can open doors, bring smiles to faces, and make friends. Thanks to the magical touch of Emily Post, the most trusted name in etiquette, learning good manners has never been more easy and fun.
Space Boy
Written and illustrated by Leo Landry
Houghton Mifflin Company
ISBN: 978618605682, hardcover, $16.00
This world, decides Nicholas, is too noisy for him. Time to take a trip. He packs a snack, puts on his suit, and takes off...to the utterly quiet craters and vast deserts of the distant moon. In this utterly charming picture book, the allure of space travel and the longing for peace and quiet entice a young boy to take his space rocket to the moon for picnic.
"The spare and jovial watercolor illustrations brightly feature a nifty rocket and moonscapes surrounded by the starry universe. This has all the elements of a far-out bedtime read, including an understanding of the need to delay the inevitable (bedtime), buoyantly combined with space travel and moon walks." — Kirkus Reviews
The Snow Ghosts
Written and illustrated by Leo Landry
Houghton Mifflin Company
IEBN: 0618196552, hardcover, $9.95
"In 'the far, far north, where snow is always falling,' lives a playful and companionable group of snow ghosts. Their pastimes include snowman contests, ice-floe races, and moonlit dances. Sometimes, with much effort, a ghost manages to turn from white to another color. Landry's minimalist watercolor-and-pencil illustrations meld marvelously with the text. Whether speeding down icy hills on their bellies or wearing dark glasses to protect their eyes on sunny days, the ghosts have endearing charm." — School Library Journal
"The text is soft-spoken and specific with a touch of poetry underneath...the experience is comfy and inviting." — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Landry's conveys his idea of these ethereal polar dwellers in sparse prose of amiable expression, matching the tranquil expressions on their faces." — National Center for the Study of Children's Literature
"There is a childlike playfulness to these illustrations in winter blue, white and an occasional yellow. The book is small, and the illustrations even smaller, and that will appeal to many preschoolers." — Children's Literature Comprehensive Database
Chapter Books
Fat Bat and Swoop
Written and illustrated by Leo Landry
Henry Holt and Company
IEBN: 0805070036, hardcover, $15.95
Fat Bat and Swoop love to make mischief. When a fun prank backfires, the friends add up to three.
"In this early chapter book, the plot moves forward with plenty of dialogue and just enough silliness. Simply told, with ample black-and-white illustrations, the story is excellent fare for newly independent readers." — School Library Journal
"Landry's light touch in both word and image result in a promising start to what could be an endearing series." — The Horn Book Guide
Sea Surprise
Written and illustrated by Leo Landry
Henry Holt and Company
ISBN: 0805066454, hardcover, $15.95
"The light tone, tongue-in-cheek humor, wordplay, and humorous situations are accompanied by equally silly sketches on every page. Generous font and white space; a limited but not bland vocabulary; and a fast-paced story all add up to a winning underwater tale of friendship that new chapter-book readers will want to read over and over." — The Horn Book
"Planning a surprise party is always fun; there are secrets as well as celebration. In this early chapter book, a group of fish friends have a special reason for surprising Eel. Having lost his electric zap, he needs a shock to jolt him back. With active, comic pictures on every page, each of the eight chapters is full of underwater action..." — Booklist
"Brief chapters, simple sentences and subtle repetition make this a good choice for independent readers eager to plunge into early chapter books. Landry's rudimentary halftone artwork illustrates this light lark." — Publishers' Weekly
What Good Is a Tree? (Rookie Readers)
Written by Larry Dane Brimner and illustrated by Leo Landry
Children's Press
ISBN: 978-0516264141, paperback, $4.95
When a boy wonders, "What good is a tree?" he and his sister come up with a lot of answers, from using it as a fort to making it second base.
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