Noodle Loves Bedtime
by Marion Billet Nosy Crow, 2011, $8.99

This adorable book about bedtime rituals helps tots learn sequencing and attain a greater sense of independence just before sleepytime.  And it’s playful, too, with touch-and-feel illustrations sure to tickle your little one’s fancy and fingers.  The simple rhyme and cheery double-page spreads feature Noodle, a wide-eyed panda cub, taking a bath, brushing his teeth and choosing his favorite snuggly toy before popping into bed.  Mama Panda is a calm presence throughout, but Noodle clearly relishes his ability to do things by himself.  Thankfully this title and others in the Noodle series come in a sturdy board-book format that can withstand the “tough love” your child will lavish upon it.

Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match / Marisol McDonald No Combina
by Monica Brown illustrated by Sara Palacios Children’s Book Press, 2011, $17.95

The author’s note in the back of this good-humored bilingual tale reveals that Monica Brown wrote it to share a story that reflected her own multiracial heritage—and that of 6 million other Americans.  Dynamic illustrations by Sara Palacios perfectly capture Marisol’s exuberant personality and her loving home with a Scottish-American dad and Peruvian mom while the tale of a little free thinker unfolds.  Marisol loves to wear green polka dots and purple stripes and munch on peanut-butter-and-jelly burritos, but her friends complain about her odd, mismatched ways.  Her foray into conformity (donning one-color clothes and eating proper sandwiches) proves drab, indeed, and so, with a nudge from her teacher, she decides to fully embrace her “unique, bilingual, Peruvian-Scottish-American, soccer-playing artist” self.  This celebration of heritage is perfect for read-alouds at home and in early-elementary classrooms, where many children will be able to relate to Marisol.

Do You Have a Dog?
by Eileen Spinelli illustrated by Geraldo Valerio Eerdmans, 2011, $16

Award-winning author Eileen Spinelli and illustrator extraordinaire Geraldo Valerio pair up again in this companion book to Do You Have a Cat? This time, the poetic history lessons are pup-centric. Each six-line poem features a notable person—Admiral Richard Byrd, jazz singer Billie Holiday and mystery novelist Agatha Christie—and his/her dog—respectively, fuzzy Iggy, the boxer Mister and terrier Peter, the inspiration for one of Christie’s fictional sleuths. Valerio’s action-packed acrylics romp across double-page spreads, an homage to pooch pals Annie Oakley, Jackson Pollock and Franklin D. Roosevelt.  This is poetry and history to howl for, especially for young animal lovers.

Emily and Carlo
by Marty Rhodes Figley illustrated by Catherine Stock Charlesbridge, 2012, $15.95

Local author Marty Rhodes Figley presents a little-known side of the reclusive Emily Dickinson in this lyrical, carefully researched biography.  At the age of 19, the poet received a Newfoundland puppy from her father, and the dog, whom she called Carlo, became her constant “shaggy ally” in walks 'round the town and fields of Amherst, Massachusetts.  Watercolors by Catherine Stock beautifully convey the robins and hollyhocks of Dickinson’s 19^th-century world as well as the “mermaids in the basement” of her imagination; and Figley weaves quotes from Dickinson’s letters and poems into her narrative, giving readers a chance to experience the poet’s voice.  This tender book not only charmingly introduces young people to one of America’s finest poets but makes a lovely gift for adult fans of Dickinson and dogs.

Marcel Marceau: Master of Mime
by Gloria Spielman illustrated by Manon Gauthier Kar-Ben, 2011, $7.95

Little Marcel grows up in Strasbourg, on the border between France and Germany, fascinated with the silent film star Charlie Chaplin.  He, too, wants to use only his gestures and the medium of silence to make people laugh and cry.  But Hitler intervenes when the boy is 16, and Marcel becomes part of the French Resistance, helping to forge identification cards for Jewish children and even leading small groups, dressed as boy scouts, to safety in Switzerland.  At the end of World War II, Marcel is able to study the ancient art of mime—and for the next 60 years he performs around the world.  This whimsical biography, with its dark notes of oppression and war, reminds readers of the power of dreams and the importance of practice and persistence.

Magic Trash
by J. H. Shapiro illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton Charlesbridge, 2011, $15.95

Perfect for Black History Month (and all year long) is this paint-spattered paean to the creative, community-galvanizing spirit of Tyree Guyton.  Even as a small boy, Guyton was alive to the beauty and possibility of his poor Detroit neighborhood.  He would pick up bits of trash—Popsicle sticks, broken bike wheels, buttons, baseball caps—and use them in games and art projects. Encouraged by his Grandpa Sam, Guyton began painting and learned to ignore the jeers of the other kids on Heidelberg Street.  In the wake of riots and a mass exodus to the suburbs, as his street became more desolate and drug-ridden, Guyton fought back with bright colors, garbage-bedecked sculptures and brilliant portraits he called “Faces of God.”  Vanessa Brantley-Newton manages to capture the robust sensibility and style of Guyton’s art in her vibrant mixed-media illustrations—the perfect accompaniment to this intriguing biography of a contemporary artist.

Round and Round Together
by Amy Nathan Paul Dry Books, 2011, $12.95

A carousel seems an apt symbol for innocent fun—and important change.  Author Amy Nathan uses it to focus the little-told historic tale of segregated Gwynn Oak Amusement Park in Baltimore and the impact of the civil rights movement on Maryland.  Short bio boxes and dramatic anecdotes feature local college students, teens and children as young as 8, 9 and 11, black and white, who demanded change, and period photos spotlight Maryland landmarks (Northwood Theater, Riverside Park pool) that proved pivotal.  In 1963, tiny Sharon Langley was the first African-American child to ride the carousel that now, 48 years later, fittingly graces the National Mall outside the headquarters of the Smithsonian Institute.  An important history, all the more fascinating for its local lens.