The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister

Synopsis: A cautionary tale about selfishness and vanity.

Activity: In groups, on mahjong paper, the kids drew their own sea creatures with speech bubbles.

Hare and Tortoise Race to the Moon, by Oliver Corwin

Synopsis: When Hare teases Tortoise for being a slowpoke, Tortoise challenges him to a race. Sound familiar? But this is a race to the moon and Hare takes off in "an aerodynamic hyperspaceship of the latest design" while Tortoise builds his own patchwork conveyance. As in the classic fable, Hare makes several stops along the way while Tortoise, in his plodding fashion, touches down on the moon just seconds before his pal. Then, "being best friends," they enjoy some super moon-jumping together.

Activity: The kids made their own rockets with scrap materials. Those who finished early wrote some sentences about their rocket.

Joseph and the Little Overcoat, by Simms Tabeck

Synopsis: When Joseph's favorite overcoat gets old and worn, he makes a jacket out of it. When the jacket is more patches than jacket, Joseph turns it into a vest. When the vest's number is up, Joseph makes a scarf. This thrifty industry continues until there's nothing left of the original garment. But clever Joseph manages to make something out of nothing!

Babar and the Scary Day, text by Ellen Weiss, characters by Jean and Laurent de Brunhoff

Synopsis: Pom and Isabelle can't figure out what the spooky noise coming from the attic is. It's a creepy, eerie, THUMP-drag, THUMP-drag-rattle. There's only one conclusion: it's a monster! Soon all of Babar's children are fleeing from the sound, only to soon realize that the monster is really Babar, dragging out the recyclables! This is a fun book not just for Halloween but year round, as an introduction for preschoolers to the legendary Babar.

Activity: Chat with kids about superheroes and monsters. Kids given sheet of speech bubbles and onomatopoeia. Kids read the "sounds" and discuss what things make those sounds. Turn an A4 sheet of paper into a 4-page comic book. Write and illustrate a superhero comic or other story, adding cut out speech bubbles and sounds.

Fish is Fish, by Leo Lionni

Synopsis: A modern fable of a minnow who wants to follow his tadpole friend - who becomes a frog - onto land.

Activity: Pictionary

Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs, by Tomie dePaola

Synopsis: This autobiographical picture book was one of the first to introduce very young children to the concept of death. Although dePaola's book is a nostalgic tribute to his own family, its theme - that not only people but our love for them survives in our memories - is universally true and important.

Activity: Make and write a card for a family member/ loved one.

If You Give a Pig a Pancake, by Laura Numeroff

Synopsis: "If you give a pig a pancake, she'll want some syrup to go with it. You'll give her some of your favorite maple syrup. She'll probably get all sticky, so she'll want to take a bath." You get the idea. Baths lead to bubbles, bubbles lead to rubber ducks, rubber ducks lead to wanting a trip to the farm. If You Give a Pig a Pancake is a delightful exploration of the scenario "if you give an inch, they'll take a mile." But who could refuse the whims of this adorable piglet? Not us, and certainly not the pig's young caretaker. Parents will feel a familiar twinge as they witness the pig's increasingly elaborate demands, and kids will be delighted that the story circles back around to the original pancake.