Produced by not one, not two, but three generations of Emberleys, this variation on the well-known cumulative song "I Know an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly" gives it new vigor and panache. A spotted, bright purple monster with orange horns and big, multi-colored googly eyes starts out swallowing a tick (which makes him feel sick) and chases it with ants, a lizard, a bat, a jackal, and a bear...but the lion he attempts to swallow next turns the tables on him. Download the highly percussive song from the publisher's website and turn the pages--full of riotous color against black backgrounds--for an infectiously rhythmic storytime.

This cheerfully simple board book depicts the fun day that a (non-gender-specific) toddler has with its two loving mothers, a lesbian couple. From playing in the park to cooking and eating dinner to listening to a story before being tucked into bed, the wee tot has a wonderful time. If you'd like another book that subtly represents same-sex couples, try Daddy, Papa, and Me, a companion board book to this one--both of them are just right for nontraditional families.

Allan the kitten LOVES trains--but he's never ridden on one. One day, his parents take him on his very first train ride, clickety-clacking over bridges, through a tunnel, past cows in a field, and finally to their destination. Allan is sad that the ride has ended until he realizes where they've traveled: Trainland! Plenty of bright colors, sound effects, and details about trains make this book a winner for locomotive-loving toddlers.

Perfect for a boisterous sing-along, this adventurous story set to the tune of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" tells what happens when all the vowels leap from the book that Sue MacDonald is reading and run away. Sue gives chase to each vowel in turn, following A, E, I, O, and U from a train to a jungle to a skyscraper and even down into the sewer. Each letter's lyric makes generous use of its short and long sounds (such as when Sue hunts U "from Kansas U to Katmandu," then "[feels] a tug and [gets] a hug" from the letter), and kids will love singing "A-E-I-O-U" at each refrain.

Poor little Horace makes a gingerbread bear, but his Mum quashes all his attempts to eat it before bedtime. This reprieve allows Ginger Bear to wake up at midnight and quite literally "make some friends." He bakes a batch of buddies, dresses them in icing and sugar-sprinkle finery, and instigates a wild circus in the kitchen. When the family dog launches a baked-goods blitzkrieg, Ginger Bear is the only one who escapes. Little ones drawn to the after-hours rumpus in Where the Wild Things Are should enjoy the raucous circus that Ginger Bear leads--and they'll be reassured to learn how this smart cookie alters his destiny.

Everyone gets angry sometimes--and a bad mood can make a person feel monstrous. In this book's bold illustrations and simple, poetic text, an enraged youngster is joined by an alter-ego monster that personifies his "bad mood on the prowl," and the two of them storm through a range of feelings before finally getting them under control. With visceral impact reminiscent of Where the Wild Things Are and an outlet for anger that, like the one portrayed in Betsy Everitt's Mean Soup, is productive rather than preachy, it's perfect for a toddler or preschooler who's having a really bad day.

In this humorous homage to Where the Wild Things Are, a young princess who hasn't yet found her "princessdom" is inspired by Maurice Sendak's classic (and by her parents' prohibitions against staying up until midnight and eating cake before dinner) to seek out her realm and subjects. Flying far away to the Land of the Hippos, Patricia von Pleasantsquirrel is welcomed with a three-day party and, indeed, crowned as princess. But the long list of royal duties is more than she bargained for! Droll (and sparing) cartoon illustrations also allude to other classic children's authors, but Patricia is a true original.

Without a single word, Last Night expressively conveys the story of a little girl who is sent to bed early for refusing her dinner and takes a dream-time trip to revel in the woods with her now-real toy bear and other wild animals. There's no small amount of magic in this beautiful book's illustrations--Korean artist Hyewon Yum's linoleum block prints have many layers of both color and meaning, and carry the story forward subtly yet clearly.

Forget building a bear--with this graphically delightful book, little ones can build (and then dismantle) a big green monster, part by part! Each die-cut page reveals an additional monstrous characteristic, starting with two big yellow eyes peeping out of a black background and adding a "big red mouth with sharp white teeth," scraggly purple hair, and more. Once the scary monster is in full view, each subsequent page turn banishes a feature until he's completely gone, squiggly ears and all. Great, empowering fun.

Lots of things can be scary: stepping on something squishy in your bare feet, skating downhill when you don't know how to stop, having your best friend move away, and even knowing you'll be a grownup someday. This book's pictures (by Jules Feiffer, illustrator of Norton Juster's classic The Phantom Tollbooth) manage to be both amusing and slightly disturbing in their depiction of a lengthy catalog of scary things big and small. There's no real story to speak of here--just plenty of empathy for very real childhood fears.

Nervous little mouse Wemberly frets about everything. She worries that she might shrink in the tub and fears that the cracks in her home's walls will grow and scary things will come out of them. As Wemberly's first day of school approaches, she worries more than ever before. "What if no one else wears stripes?" and "What if the teacher is mean?" are but two items on her long list of scary possibilities. When the day comes and Wemberly makes a friend at school, however, she starts having fun...and worrying less. Children who admire creator Kevin Henkes' Lily (of the Purple Plastic Purse) but are a bit more timid than she is will love Wemberly.

After being up all night with a stomachache, young Precious must stay at home alone when the rest of her family goes out to work in the fields. Her mama instructs her not to "let nothing and nobody in this house," and her big brother warns her about Pruella the Boo Hag, a very scary, shape-shifting creature who's heaps of trouble...but who can't come in uninvited. Sure enough, the Boo Hag tries all sorts of tricks to get inside--but Precious outsmarts her every time. Folksy mixed-media illustrations seem to leap off the pages of this warm and comforting tale about besting one's fears.