An excited Bear mistakenly believes that Rat has given him a boat for his birthday.

Whether used for thematic story times, program and curriculum planning, readers' advisory, or collection development, this updated edition of the well-known companion makes finding the right picture books for your library a breeze. Generations of savvy librarians and educators have relied on this detailed subject guide to children's picture books for all aspects of children's services, and this new edition does not disappoint. Covering more than 18,000 books published through 2017, it empowers users to identify current and classic titles on topics ranging from apples to zebras. Organized simply, with a subject guide that categorizes subjects by theme and topic and subject headings arranged alphabetically, this reference applies more than 1,200 intuitive (as opposed to formal catalog) subject terms to children's picture books, making it both a comprehensive and user-friendly resource that is accessible to parents and teachers as well as librarians. It can be used to identify titles to fill in gaps in library collections, to find books on particular topics for young readers, to help teachers locate titles to support lessons, or to design thematic programs and story times. Title and illustrator indexes, in addition to a bibliographic guide arranged alphabetically by author name, further extend access to titles.

In their fourth endearing escapade, four small bears prepare a celebration for Big Brown Bear’s birthday. Features an audio read-along! Mmm, something smells good in the kitchen. Big Brown Bear is curious—what are those little bears up to? Are they making something special? No peeking, Big Brown Bear! Floppy and Fuzzy, Yellow and Calico have a cake to bake and a gift to wrap, then it’s finally time for the birthday surprise. Delightful rhymes and huggable bears are just the right ingredients for a cheerful birthday read-aloud.

Story time at the public library is the first exposure to books outside the home for many preschool children. For the librarian, it is an exciting opportunity to instill in youngsters a love of reading and books. But coming up with new ideas that hold the children’s attention can be trying. Until now. Here are 55 tried-and-true story hour programs with a thematic approach. All are highly flexible and adaptable across the full preschool age range. Most of the ideas are arranged under one of eight specific themes that include four to eight one-hour programs: barnyard animals, the Caldecott Medal, colors, families, a storytelling feast, the five senses, reptiles and amphibians, and around the world. There are also 18 individual holiday and seasonal programs. All story hours provide ideas for name tags, suggested audiovisual materials, recommended story, poetry and song selections, additional titles and a full description of the activity.