Author Highlight: Ame Dykeman

Ame Dyckman is one of my very favorite children's book authors. I love her fresh ideas, crisp writing style, and quirky sense of humor...not one of her books has failed to make me smile! Here is a list of our favorites.

1. Boy + Bot illustrated by Dan Yaccarino. Boy + Bot was the first book I read by Dyckman, and it is still one of my all-time favorite picture books. It's about a boy who meets a robot and they play together...until the robot's switch turns off. The boy thinks Bot must be sick and tries everything he can think of to help him feel better including feeding him applesauce, reading him a story, and tucking him in. Then the boy falls asleep. When Bot's switch gets bumped back on, Bot sees the boy sleeping and thinks he must be malfunctioning! So Bot takes Boy to his house and tries to "fix" him by giving him some oil, reading him an instruction manual, and getting him a spare battery. :) It's such a short and sweet story, but it teaches a powerful lesson about true friendship and treating others the way we want to be treated.

2. Wolfie the Bunny, illustrated by Zachariah Ohora. Mama and Papa Bunny are delighted when a baby wolf shows up on their front porch. "He's adorable" they say. But big sister Dot isn't so sure a wolf in the family is such a good idea. In fact, Dot is convinced Wolfie is "going to eat us all up!" Wolfie the Bunny is a wonderfully funny story with a sweet message about loving and accepting those who are different.

3. Horrible Bear, illustrated by Zachariah Ohora. A girl is flying her kite when the string snaps and the kite lands sleeping bear's cave. When the girl goes to retrieve it, the bear rolls over and crunches her kite. "Horrible Bear!" the girl shouts! She stomps home where she grumbles and rages and blames...until she breaks one of her toys. Then the girl suddenly realizes that accidents happen. And that maybe the bear wasn't so horrible. And that maybe she owes him an apology. Horrible Bear has such a great message about forgiveness and not being quick to judge others.

4. Read the Book Lemmings! again illustrated by Zachariah Ohora. It turns out lemmings don't jump off cliffs. It says so right in Foxy's book. But the lemmings can't read, so... "Geronimo!" This one is quirky and silly and just pure fun. And I really love Ohora's distinct illustrations.

5. You Don't Want a Unicorn! illustrated by Liz Climo. Sure, a unicorn SOUNDS like an awesome pet. But you probably didn't know that unicorns shed. And scratch. And are impossible to house-train. And worst of all, unicorns never come alone. You have been warned. You Don't Want a Unicorn! is sure to make unicorn-loving kids laugh out loud!

6. Misunderstood Shark! illustrated by Scott Magoon. Bob the Jellyfish is the host of the live TV show "Underwater World" and today's guest is Shark! Shark insists he is just misunderstood...he wasn't going to eat the fish, he was just showing off his new tooth! And he wasn't going to eat the baby seal, he was just helping her find her parents! And he definitely won't eat any people...right? Filled with fun shark facts and packed with humor, Misunderstood Shark is currently one of my four-year-old's favorite books.

7. Dandy illustrated by Charles Santoso. When Daddy Lion wages ward on the dandelion in his perfect yard, he's ready with every weapon in his arsenal. But the dandelion has the one defense Daddy isn't prepared for---his daughter, Sweetie. Will Daddy be able to rid his lawn of the yellow weed flower without Sweetie noticing? Dandy is equal parts hilarious and heartwarming, and my whole family loves this one!

Loose Tooth Books

Kids love books they can relate to. (So do adults for that matter!) When kids can see their own lives mirrored in the characters or settings of the book they are reading, it instantly draws them in. (Which is why multicultural picture books are SO important. All kids deserve to read stories about kids like them!) My daughter Anna is six, and like most six-year olds, she is losing teeth left and right. I had forgotten what a big deal losing teeth is for kids, but when she lost that first tooth, it quickly came back to me...the excitement of looking under your pillow in the morning to see what the Tooth Fairy left behind, the pride of showing off your gap-tooth grin to your friends...it's a childhood rite of passage for sure! Picture book authors clearly recognize this because there are quite a few books out there about losing teeth. Here is a list of our favorites!

1. Anna and the Tooth Fairy by Maureen Wright, illustrated by Anna Chernyshova. Anna has her first loose tooth and is so excited for the Tooth Fairy to visit...until she begins to suspect that her baby sister might actually be a Tooth Fairy in training! It only makes sense...Sophie is up all night, wears pink frilly dresses, and has a rattle that looks like a wand! But if Sophie becomes the Tooth Fairy, will Anna ever see her again? Maybe Anna doesn't want to lose any teeth after all! This was a really sweet story about a big sister's love, and the illustrations are really cute. My daughter loved this one, especially because her name is also Anna!

2. Arthur's Tooth by Marc Brown. This was a favorite of mine as a kid. Poor Arthur is the only one in his class who still has all his baby teeth. All his friends give him tips to help his wiggly tooth fall out sooner, but nothing seems to work. Will he be stuck with all his baby teeth forever? This is a great one for kids who are late joining the lost-tooth club and may feel left out.

3 The Tooth Mouse by Susan Hood, illustrated by Janice Nadeau. Did you know that in France, a Tooth Mouse visits kids instead of a Tooth Fairy? I sure didn't until reading this book! The Tooth Mouse tells the story of Sophie, a little mouse in France who dreams of one day becoming the Tooth Mouse. When the old Tooth Mouse announces she is retiring and must find a successor, Sophie must complete three difficult and dangerous tasks to prove she is worthy of the job. I loved the soft watercolor illustrations and the French words incorporated throughout. I also like the list at the end of different countries' tooth traditions. Apparently in Botswana, the Moon takes your tooth and in India, it's a sparrow!

4. I Lost my Tooth in Africa by Penda Diakite and Baba Wague Diakite. This story is inspired by the actual experience of the author's sister. Amina is a girl from America who visits her father's family in Mali for the summer.  When she loses her tooth there, she places it beneath a gourde in the hopes that the African Tooth Fairy will bring her a chicken! This was another fun glimpse into another country's tooth-losing traditions.

5. Silverlicious by Victoria Kann. When Pinkilicious steals her brother's cookie and bites into it, her tooth falls out. Unfortunately, it's her sweet tooth and she can no longer taste anything sweet! She writes a note to the Tooth Fairy to help her, but the Tooth Fairy is very busy and sends several other visitors including Cupid and the Easter Bunny to help instead. When nothing seems to work, Pinkilicious learns that the sweetness must come from within. While I didn't enjoy this book quite as well as Kann's Pinkilicious, it was still a fun read, and I liked the message about being kind.

6. Fancy Nancy and the Too Loose Tooth by Jane O' Conner. In this early reader story, Nancy has a very loose tooth but it absolutely MUST fall out at school so she can get a fancy tooth necklace from the school nurse! She wiggles it furiously each day at school and then refuses to talk or chew at home in fear the tooth might not hang on until school the next day. We love Fancy Nancy at our house, and Anna read this one on repeat for weeks. (Anna found out her school also has tooth necklaces and she really wanted one so she could be just like Nancy! She had a tooth that was seriously hanging by a thread the last two weeks of kindergarten, but it hung on until school was out, and she didn't get her necklace. "But maybe next year!" she said.)

7. The Tooth Fairy Wars by Kate Coombs, illustrated by Jake Parker. Most kids are excited to get money from the Tooth Fairy but not Nathan. He wants to keep his teeth! Nathan wages war on the Tooth Fairy and hides his teeth in increasingly clever places, but the Tooth Fairy always finds them. Will Nathan be able to outsmart the Tooth Fairy in the end? This was a really fun story with a unique perspective on teeth-losing. My kids were definitely rooting for Nathan! And I wouldn't mind if Anna takes a leaf out of this book and decides to hide her tooth from the Tooth Fairy the next time around. ;)

8. I Lost My Tooth! by Mo Willems. Willems' new Unlimited Squirrel books are just as fun as the Piggie and Gerald series! When Zoom Squirrel loses his tooth, he can't wait to tell his friends. When his friends hear the news, they mistakenly believe the tooth is literally lost and they valiantly prepare to find and rescue Zoom Squirrels poor lost tooth! This one is sure to draw endless giggles from your tooth-losing kid!

What other childhood milestones would you like to read more books about? I think I'll compile a list of first-time-riding-a-bike books next...