10+ Kids' Books Illustrated by Marc Brown

Marc Brown is best known as the author and illustrator of the Arthur books, but he has illustrated many more titles written by others as well. Below is a partial list of these works.

Picture Books by Judy Sierra

 

Marc Brown has illustrated several titles by author Judy Sierra. 

Wild About Books is a rhyming story in which a librarian introduces a love of reading to the animals living at her local zoo. In its companion story, Wild About You, an unhatched egg arrives at the zoo, and when the new baby arrives, it is readily adopted by the tree kangaroo and her friends.

Another zoo-themed story, ZooZical, tells what happens when a group of bored animals come together to put on a musical.

In Born to Read, a book loving boy named Sam  reads non-stop, leading him to experience many happy successes in life.

Other Picture Books

In 2007, Marc Brown teamed up with Rosemary Wells to create The Gulps. Brown's illustrations bring to life a family of rabbits with unhealthy eating habits. While on a family road trip, the  rabbits discover that their RV can't carry all the junk food they packed, and while stranded, a farmer helps them learn how to replace their favorite fast foods with healthier alternatives.

Marc Brown has also teamed up with author Lindsey Craig to produce two musically-oriented picture books: Dancing Feet and Farmyard Beat. In Dancing Feet, the text provides an onomatopoetic expression of the sound made by a particular animal's dancing feet, and the reader is invited to guess who it might be. In Farmyard Beat, the animals have a wild middle-of-the-night party in the barn, which wakes up Farmer Sue. Both of these books use a unique collage style which is different from Brown's typical illustrations.

Using the same style, Brown provides the pictures for Ten Tiny Toes by Todd Tarpley, which celebrates a variety of foot-related baby milestones.

Series

Marc Brown's wife, Laurie Krasny Brown has written a series of Dino Life Guides for Families, which provide child-friendly information about important topics including divorce, death, safety, making friends, and going green. Marc Brown's dinosaurs help make the information more palatable to young readers and they share the same sweet faces as the well-known Arthur characters.

When I was in first grade, I loved to read the Little Witch series by Deborah Hautzig. It wasn't until years later that I made the connection between these books and Marc Brown's style, but it should have been obvious based on the color palette and characters' faces.  (Note: some of the later books are illustrated by a different artist in the style of Marc Brown.)

Collections

 

Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young is my favorite poetry collection to share with babies. Brown's sweet style contributes to the book's cheerful and enticing qualities and his plentiful pictures provide context to help young readers understand the poems more fully.

In the 1980s, Marc Brown collected and illustrated several popular books of children's  rhymes: Finger Rhymes, Hand Rhymes, Party Rhymes, and Play Rhymes. Many of the rhymes from these books were included in his 2013 collection, Marc Brown's Playtime Rhymes: A Treasury for Families to Learn and Play Together.

Brown is also the illustrator of  The Family Read-Aloud Christmas Treasury edited by Alice Low.

For more illustrator booklists, click here.

Church Mothers Group Story Time, 9/17/14 (Noah's Ark Theme)

I decided that, since story time worked so well for my MOMS Club, it might also work nicely for my church mother's group. There were five moms in attendance including me, and six kids including mine. (The age range was 7 months to four years.) Because the group has a religious focus, I opted for a Noah's Ark theme.

Hello Song: Say Hello to Your Toes
Somehow I have lost affection for my old standby, Hello, How Are You?  This one is more fun because it's interactive, and it is better for small groups.

Song: If You'd Like to Read a Book
I had a couple of preschoolers in my audience, so I threw this in there. It was a hit! 

Book: On Noah's Ark by Jan Brett
The text in this book is just the right length for a mixed-ages story time. The illustrations aren't great for big groups, but we were all gathered so closely together that it was fine.

Rhymes: Two Little Animals
I used Two Little Blackbirds as my model and made up some new rhymes. (This was to tie in with the fact that the animals went onto the ark two by two.)

Two little rabbits munching lettuce leaves
One named Sally, the other named Steve.
Hop away, Sally. Hop away, Steve.
Come back, Sally. Come back, Steve.

Two little ducklings going for a swim
One named Jane, the other named Jim.
Swim away, Jane. Swim away, Jim.
Come back, Jane. Come back, Jim.

Two little monkeys playing in the zoo. 
One named Sam, the other named Sue. 
Peel a banana, Sam. Peel a banana, Sue.
Eat the banana, Sam. Eat the banana, Sue. 

These were fun. I have some others written but I'll save them until I can use them.

Song with ukulele: The Itsy Bitsy Spider
We sang this song to connect with the rain stopping after 40 days and 40 nights.

Book: Whose Nose and Toes? by John Butler
John Butler's Can You Cuddle Like a Koala? was a staple of my Toddler Lap Time during my time at the library, so I  was thrilled to find this simple guessing game book - and the kids were great about calling out each animal's name.

Song: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
I had not planned to do this song, but I thought it connected well with the book. I was also losing the big kids at this point so wanted to grab  their attention. 

Book: All God's Critters Got a Place in the Choir by Bill Staines, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Though this is a singable picture book, I opted to just read it. The illustrations are so eye catching, even the babies were enthralled!

Song: Old MacDonald Had a Farm
We finished up our animal theme by singing about Old MacDonald's farm. I let the kids choose the animals, so we wound up with a monkey on the farm and other silly ideas. 

This audience seemed like a tougher crowd, and I think the unfamiliar (to me) theme put me off my game.  I plan to do a story time for this group again near Thanksgiving and I think I'll avoid choosing overtly religious books. There are so few to choose from, and many of them tend not to be well-written.

Early Literacy in Everyday Places: The Park

Like many families with small children, mine spends a lot of time at the local park. Though the park is a lot more fun than the elevator, you can still make your time even more fulfilling by sharing some early literacy activities with your child.

• Teach your child the words “stop” and “go.” Little Miss Muffet is still a bit young for most playground equipment, but she loves to swing. To make it an interactive experience, I stop the swing periodically, calling out, “Stop!” and then begin pushing again when I say “Go!” You can also play this game using the ASL signs for stop and go to reinforce their meaning.
  
• Sing on the swings.  There is something about singing and swinging simultaneously that makes both activities more fun. Once you get your child started, don't be surprised if other kids join in and start suggesting songs to add to your repertoire.
  
• Draw letters in the sandbox. Using your finger, or a stick, help your child practice recognizing letters by drawing them in the sand and asking your child to name them. Also encourage your child to write letters - or even his name - on his own. 
  
• Read the playground’s posted rules. Most of the local parks I’ve visited have at least one sign about safe use of the playground. As you enter the park, take a look at this sign. Are there letters or words your child recognizes? Are there new words you might want to learn? Your child will delight in finding familiar pieces of print and may recognize them in other contexts later in the day.

8 Funny Middle School Series for Boys

Today's list is a collection of series books for middle school boys which are guaranteed to make them laugh. All of these titles are recommended for grades 5 to 9.

Kevin Spencer

by Gary Paulsen

Kevin Spencer is determined to win the affections of his classmate, Tina, even if he has to lie, steal, and run for office to accomplish his goal. Highlights of this series include a spot-on narrative voice, a hilarious four-year-old supporting character, and Kevin's relationship to his older brother and sister, and his aunt.

To date, there are five books in the Kevin Spencer series (links are to my reviews): 

• Liar, Liar (2011)
  
• Flat Broke (2011) 
• Crush (2012)
• Vote  (2013)
  
• Family Ties (2014)

Middle School 

by James Patterson

James Patterson is a prolific writer, and not all of his books are of high quality, but his Middle School series is a notable exception. This series follows Rafe Katchadorian (and in one volume, his sister) through some trying times as he struggles to acclimate to middle school and runs into some discipline problems. These books are great for visual learners, as much of each story is told in illustrations. Patterson seems to be publishing two of these a year, and there are six so far:

• The Worst Years of My Life (2011)
• Get Me Out of Here (2012)
• My Brother is a Big, Fat Liar (2013)
• How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake Hill (2013)
• Save Rafe (2014)
  
• Ultimate Showdown (2014)

I Funny  

by James Patterson & Chris Grabenstein

The I Funny books are not  related to the Middle School series, but they share the same fast-paced, straightforward style of storytelling and the same theme of overcoming hardship through laughter. Jamie is confined to a wheelchair, but dreams of becoming a stand-up comic. In order to realize his dream, he must face his fear of bullies and perform on stage. There are only two books in this series:

• I Funny (2012)
  
• I Even Funnier (2013)

Origami Yoda 

 by Tom Angleberger

Dwight, who is probably the strangest kid in his class, claims that his origami version of Yoda can tell the future. Is it true? These case studies done by Dwight's classmates try to find out. Each book in this series introduces a different origami creation based on a Star Wars character, and instructions for folding each of these can be found on Tom Angleberger's website. These books are a great blend of day-to-day middle school social drama and imagination. There are currently seven titles in all.

• The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (2010)
• Darth Paper Strikes Back (2011)
• The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee (2012)
  
• Art2-D2′s Guide to Folding and Doodling (2013)
• The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett (2013)
• Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue! (2014)
• Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus (2014) 

Star Wars: Jedi Academy

by Jeffrey Brown

Jeffrey Brown has also latched onto the tween Star Wars craze with his new series about Roan, who wishes to become a pilot but is sent to jedi school instead. Unlike most readers, Roan is unfamiliar with the Star Wars universe, and he is constantly bewildered by everything from the force to Yoda to his Wookiee gym teacher. Since these books are told in diary format, they will appeal to Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans as well as Star Wars enthusiasts. There are two titles so far:

• Star Wars: Jedi Academy (2013)
• Star Wars: Jedi Academy: Return of the Padawan (2014)

 

The Fourth Stall

by Chris Rylander

The Godfather meets middle school in this trilogy about two boys who run a mafia-like business out of the fourth stall in their school's bathroom. Mac and Vince have always been able to solve any problem brought their way, until a high school kid named Staples starts making more trouble than they know what to do with. Realizing that adolescence comes with a whole new set of problems, the two friends struggle to decide whether to keep their business going any longer. This series is complete, and three titles are as follows:

• The Fourth Stall (2011)
  
• The Fourth Stall Part II (2012)
• The Fourth Stall Part III (2013)

Odd Squad

by Michael Fry

Cartoonist Michael Fry brings together three outsiders to form an unlikely friendship in this set of illustrated novels. Nick, Molly, and Karl become allies when they are assigned to safety patrol together, and they eventually figure out how to overthrow the school's worst bully. These books poke fun at the everyday trials of middle school life while also providing hope for students who feel ostracized or powerless. There are three books in the series so far: 

• Bully Bait (2013)
• Zero Tolerance (2013)
  
• King Karl (2014)

The Classroom

by Robin Mellom

In this documentary-style series told in interview transcripts, Trevor finds himself completely unprepared for the transition to middle school, and things get worse when his best friend, Libby, unexpectedly stops speaking to him. These books are very much tween soap operas, with a large cast of characters and many unlikely events, which make them both easy and fun to read. The series so far consists of the following:

• The Epic Documentary of a Not-Yet-Epic Kid (2012)
  
• Student Council Smackdown (2013)
  
• Trick Out My School! (2014)