The Happy Hedgehog Band- Harry, Helen, Norbert, Billy

The Happy Hedgehog Band by Martin Waddell and Jill Barton is out of print, but I still think it's worth mentioning because of the name selection.  If you know someone named Norbert it might be worth hunting down!

Happy hedgehog Harry loved noise and made a drum.  He banged out tum-tum-tum. Soon other hedgehogs join to form a drum quartet.  The animals in the forest hear the drumming and find that they each can make their own unique sound.  Together they form a lively band.

Ophelia - Kevin

Kevin has butterflies in his stomach and Ophelia rushes to his rescue, in Ophelia by Ingrid & Dieter Schubert.  But the other animals exaggerate his condition to the point they decide he is dead!  They are set straight when they see Kevin and he wasn't hurt at all, he'd just fallen in love!

Daddy Does the Cha Cha Cha - Serena, Dougie, Ambrose, Meera

You won't be able to resist boogie-woogie-ing along with Dougie in Daddy Does the Cha Cha Cha! by David Bedford and Bridget Strevens-Marzo.

Mathilda and the Orange Balloon

Mathilda's world is green and gray and filled with sheep, lots of sheep, until one day an orange balloon floats by and Mathilda declares that she is the orange balloon.  Randall de Seve's Mathilda and the Orange Balloon is a delightful story and endless possibilities.

Art & Max

I can't begin to tell you how much I love Art & Max by David Wiesner!  This a wonderful story about the serious artist, Art and the free-spirited Max.  The story and illustrations playfully blur the lines of art, artist, and medium.  Art suggests to Max, "...you could paint me." And Max takes him literally.  The paint transforms Art into the actually medium, and it reacts to sun, wind, and water, accordingly.  But not  to worry after several mishaps, Max successfully redraws and recolors Art.

Sylvia Jean Scout Supreme

Sylvia Jean loves being a Pig Scout, and when it comes to earning her "Good Deed" badge she goes at it whole hog (sorry, I couldn't resist).  After initially frightening her poor neighbor, Mrs. VanHooven, Sylvia Jean dresses up as a variety of characters to keep Mrs. VanHooven entertained while she rests her ankle.

Sylvia Jean Pigscout Supreme by Lisa Campbell Ernst

Danny and the Kings

Susan Cooper's Danny and the Kings is the story of Danny who discovers that the kindness of the three kings can live on in the most unlikely of people.

Auntie Claus and the Key to Christmas - Christopher

In the whimsical Auntie Claus and the Key to Christmas by Elise Primavera, Auntie Claus reveals the family secret to Christopher Kringle.  But Chris is not a believer and feels he must prove that there's no Santa Claus by getting on the Bad Boys and Girls List!  But Auntie has the key to proving that everything she's told him is true.

Wipe Your Feet Santa Claus! - Stephen

After being scolded for forgetting to wipe his feet before coming indoors, Stephen pouts and decides he does not want Santa Claus to come to his house.  But Santa does come, and forgets to wipe his feet when he enters Stephen's house.  Even he makes mistakes! Feeling better, Stephen has sweet dreams that night.

Wipe your feet, Santa Claus! by Konrad Richter

Welcome Comfort- Quintin

Welcome Comfort is an overweight foster child who is teased by his classmates.  When Quintin Hamp sees this, he takes Welcome under his guidance.  That Christmas, something magical happens-- Santa pays Welcome a personal visit, including a ride in Santa's sleigh.  Welcome Comfort by Patricia Polacco is a fun Christmas story for the elementary school aged child.

Dick and Jane: A Christmas Story

Does the retro Dick and Jane: A Christmas Story really need much of an introduction?  This simple story is perfect for children learning to read, especially if they can find their name in the book!

The Bear Santa Claus Forgot - Maddie

The Bear Santa Claus Forgot by Diana Kimpton and illustrated by Anna Kiernan is a sweet story of a bear that falls out of Santa's bag.  The bear finds his way to Maddie's house, but gets dirty and ragged along the way, but not to worry, Maddie "loved him right away."

Children Make Terrible Pets - Lucy

In Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown Lucy the bear finds an odd animal in the forest one day-- a child, who she promptly names "Squeaker".  Her mother disapproves and Lucy soon finds out why.  Children are difficult pets!  They do not listen, potty train well, and they ruin furniture!  Adults and children alike will enjoy this silly story.

Big Red Lollipop - Rubina, Sana, Ami, Maryam

Rubina is invited to a birthday party and is told to take her sister, Sana, too.  From then on, no one wants to invite Rubina to parties because she will have to bring her little sister.  When it is Sana who is invited to a party, Rubina steps in and supports Sana's pleas to go to the party alone.  Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan is an enjoyable about sisters and cultural differences.

Roasted Peanuts - Jackson & Sam

We're big baseball fans, so we loved this story about two friends who want to play baseball, but only Sam makes the team.  Not to worry, though Jackson finds that he too can be the best at something.

Roasted Peanuts by Tim Egan

Whats Wrong With My Hair? - Lionel

Poor Lionel wakes up the day of a party with bad hair!  In What's Wrong Hair? by Satoshi Kitamura Lionel explores different kinds of hairstyles, which thanks to a cut out in this board book, you can try out too!

Frankie Works the Night Shift

Frankie Works the Night Shift by Lisa Westberg Peters and illustrated by Jennifer Taylor is a fun counting book about a cat "working" in a hardware store.

The Little Dump Truck - Pete

The Little Dump Truck by Margery Cuyler is a fun rhyming story about the daily goings-on of a dump truck and it's driver, Pete.  Perfect for the toddler and preschool set.

Ship of Dreams - Joey, Henry

One Night Joey decides to try to catch a glimpse of the Sandman before he falls asleep.  He finds himself sailing through the stars on a grand adventure on the Sandman's ship. Ship of Dreams by Dean Morrissey  is a wonderfully illustrated, lovely story.

Room for Rabbit - Kara, Peggy

In Room for Rabbit by Roni Schotter (the followup to Missing Rabbit), Kara is worried that since her father has remarried there won't be any room for her in her father's house.  Peggy is the name of the step-mom.

Moo Cow Kaboom! - George

Follow the adventure of Farmer George's cow as she finds herself on an alien planet one night in the silly Moo Cow Kaboom! by Thacher Hurd

Shark in the Park - Timothy

Timothy Pope, Timothy Pope looks through his telescope and finds a Shark in the Park! Or does he?  In Nick Sharratt's delightful book you will find that not all things are as they might first appear.

Louis' Dream Plane - Charlie

Louis loves airplanes!  In finds a plane on the playground one day, which launches his imagination into a fanciful flight.  Louis discovers that the plane belongs to his classmate, Charlie.  Instead of returning it Louis keeps it, but he knows he has done something wrong.  Louis eventually tells his mother and the right the wrong by returning the plane, finding a friend along the way.  Louis' Dream Plane by Terry Milne

Clarabella's Teeth - Liam, Max, Ruby, & Zoe

Poor Clarabella, she has so many crocodile teeth that she spends all day brushing them while her friends get to play.  Not to worry at the end of Clarabella's Teeth by An Vrombaut her friends come up with a delightful solution.

Turnover Tuesday - Bonnie

In Turnover Tuesday by Phyllis Root Bonnie Bumble eats five plum turnovers and finds herself "turned over upside down." Chores she was able to do right side up, now result in "milk splashed" and "eggs smashed". Eating the last turnover upside down, solves Bonnie's upside down woes!

Rhyming Dust Bunnies - Ed, Ned, Ted, & Bob

Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas is a silly, rhyming story about four dust bunnies who play a rhyming game while blissfully unaware of the impending vacuum danger.  Well, all except for Bob, who keeps ruining the rhyming streak.

The Line Up Book - Sam

My son loves to line up his cars and other small toys, just like Sam in The Line Up Book by Marisabina Russo.  When Sam's mother calls him for lunch, Sam calls back, "Just a minute" and creates a line of toys from his room to his mom.

Knuffle Bunny Too - Trixie, Sonja

Knuffle Bunny Too by Mo Willems finds Trixie heading to school to share her one and only, completely unique, best friend, Knuffle Bunny with her class.  To her great dismay, her classmate, Sonja has brought another Knuffle Bunny to school!  The bunnies get mixed up and the girls take each others bunny home with them, only to realize it at 2:30 AM.  An exchange is made and the girls are happy to have the correct Knuffle Bunny in their arms.  While it might seem like the girls will remain enemies, they build a friendship on their shared love of their unique, one and only, Knuffle Bunnies.

Corduroy - Lisa

Corduroy by Don Freeman will always be one of my favorite books!  Corduroy is the classic story of Lisa, a little girl who sees the stuffed bear in green overalls and decides that he's just the bear for her, but her mother disagrees because he's missing a button.  That night, Corduroy searches the department store where he lives for his missing button so that someone will buy him.  Lisa comes back the next day and buys him, despite the missing button.

Below - Jack

If you're named "Jack" you have a huge selection of books.  One of my favorites is Below by Nina Crews.  Jack imagines that the stairs in his house are a mountain to climb or cities to explore.  One day, Jack and his best friend/toy, Guy discover a hole in the stairs.  Jack sends Guy in to get a closer look and he ends up getting stuck.  Jack pictures various dangerous situations that Guy might find below the stairs and decides to rescue him.  I love that Jack uses his imagination to transform the everyday into something magical.  Gus, is Jack's younger brother, which is why it is tagged in this post.

The Incredible Book Eating Boy - Henry

My first book for my "That's My Name!" project is The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers.  My son, H was invited to his classmate Henry's birthday party.  We just happened to have borrowed TIBEB from the library at the time.  H was tickled that he knew a real life Henry!  We decided to give Henry TIBEB for his birthday and now I'm obsessed with giving books with characters, authors, illustrators with the same name as the recipient.

The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers is about a boy, Henry, who discovers that through eating books, he becomes smarter.  Soon, he is obsessed with consuming books, but it becomes too much and all his knowledge gets jumbled up.  Henry must stop eating books, but he discovers that reading books works almost as well as eating them-- although the bite taken out of the back cover indicates that he indulges from time to time.

Under Construction

I'm working on getting this blog up and running.  Please check back on December 1st for my first official post featuring a book with the name Henry.  I hope to have a name a day until the end of 2011.