The Sneezy Wheezy Day (Talking Bird Books, January 1, 2012, $14.95) is a hardcover picture book that tells the tale of a brother and sister cub. One day after swimming in the crystalline pool, poor brother cub gets sick so sister takes him to see the animals in the forest. They in return offer silly home remedies.

One friend even tells brother cub, “Tickle your nose with the tail of a goose and do it before the next blue moon rise!” Although the recommendations help, the final remedy is a sibling’s love.

The story, written by Sharon Cramer, is in rhyme. If you have two kids who fight all the time, this is a good book to have them read.

Cramer wrote the first book in the series, Lost and Alone about sibling rivalry, when her youngest son was born 18 years ago. As a mom to two older sons at the time, Cramer says she felt like an expert on “brotherly love” already. The second installment in the series, I’m Just Like You addresses intolerance.

Cramer illustrates the Cougar Cub Tales books in watercolor, with each picture taking her between 18-24 hours to create. She chose cougar cubs because she wanted to create characters that spoke strongly of the Pacific Northwest, where she lives.

To learn more and hear audio of Cramer reading the books, please visit: www.talkingbirdbooks.com.

OVERALL: I like the vivid illustrations and the tale itself. It did hold my 3-year-old’s attention, and the book is so nicely done, it’s a keeper.

Here’s a really nice children’s picture book on animals that really stands out. Curious Critters ( $19.95 and published by Wild Iris Publishing) is filled with photographs of North American creatures by David FitzSimmons. The animals are common and can be found in your own backyard. Set against a white background, kids can really study the details of each subject.

Included is a red flat bark beetle, an Eastern spiny softshell turtle, and a spotted salamander. Along with each photo is a vignette, told from the critter’s perspective, that educates and entertains. For example, a bush katydid explains her bubblegum-pink color, a poetic opossum opines upon her often-shortened name, and a far-from-modest black swallowtail butterfly lets readers in on her secret for avoiding predators.

Just some of what kids will learn:
•    What turtles and humans have in common
•    Why black swallowtail butterflies impersonates their toxic cousins
•    How Eastern box turtles can live longer than humans (over 150 years!)
•    If squirrels can fly
•    Why crayfish grow new legs
•    How bats find food
•    Why frogs sing
•    How jumping spiders jump and why they never have to look over their shoulders.

The books website is www.curious-critters.com. There’s additional resources, including puzzles, coloring pages, e-cards. teachers aids and stories about making the book. Also click on the link to get the interactive view of the book.

Overall: This is a wonderful gift to give. It’s educational and filled with really striking photos that belong in an exhibit. Definitely a collector’s book.

Sesame Street just keeps on going. The Sesame Workshop has a fun selection of new items featuring the beloved Muppets. As a nonprofit organization, the proceeds from each purchase of a Sesame Street product goes towards creating more educational and engaging programs for children around the world.

Here are my fave picks for little ones:

Elmo’s Merry Christmas flap book - Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird, and all their friends get ready for Christmas on Sesame Street. Lift the flaps and countdown with the calendar at the end of the book. $10.99
Elmo Loves You

This interactive book has children pulling a tab and flipping a wheel. All the favorite Sesame Street characters are here: see Big Bird tote a teetering stack of books, Abby play peekaboo, the Count and Elmo. $19.99

B is for Baking – Offers 50 nutritious and fun recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus snack time and special occasions, that are perfect for getting kids involved in the kitchen.  Elmo, Cookie Monster, Abby Cadabby, and their friends provide educational tidbits on nutrition, math, and science so the kitchen isn’t just for cooking but for learning, too! Plus, each recipe includes one or more steps t are perfect for kids to do themselves.   B is for Baking is the perfect way to cook up some fun in the kitchen! $16.95

Elmo’s Music Magic – Elmo turns everyone into singing sensations with Abby’s wand! But what happens when everyone can’t stop singing? Music Magic is bursting with 13 great songs that you and 
your family will love! Features “One Small Voice” with Elmo! Also includes never-before-seen Cookie Monster song: “Come Back Cookie!” Featuring MUSICAL GUESTS Sugarland, John Legend, Adam Sandler, Diana Krall and many more! $14.98
Elmo Loves ABCs for iPad – Explore the alphabet and learn letters with Elmo in this immersive, kid-directed iPad app!  The iPad and Elmo are the perfect combination for little letter-learners. In Elmo Loves ABCs, every touch is immediately rewarded with more letter fun—videos, activities and games.  And of course, you can sing the alphabet song along with  $4.99.  Available on iTunes.

And finally….

The Delta Chair Desk – Includes a sliding fabric drawer. This is available at Walmart and Kmart. $49.99.

Halloween is coming and The Jim Henson Company is offering a lot of fun stuff for the kids. Read the following!

The Spooky Scavenger Hunt from Grosset & Dunlap – Mr. Pteranodon takes Buddy and Tiny on a nighttime trip to the Big Pond for a spooky nature walk! Mr. Pteranodon and the conductor insist they can’t be scared, but when the conductor’s mom jumps out at them, everyone gets a good scare! Ages 4 – 8. Retails for $3.99.

We’re giving away a copy of The Spooky Scavenger Hunt to one reader. Just email: contests@mogulbaby.com and put in the subject line Spooky. Deadline to enter is Sunday, October 30 at midnight EST. You must be a U.S. resident. Winner’s name will be posted here. Good luck!

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Also make sure you check out the new episodes of Dinosaur Train and Sid the Science Kid which are scheduled to air on PBS Kids on October 20.  (Repeats- 10/24, 10/28, 10/30 , 10/31)

In Haunted Roundhouse, dad takes the kids on a special Night Train to Troodon Town, where the Troodons have decoratedtheir Roundhouse into a “haunted house” for a spooky party. The kids end up meeting a strange new nocturnal creature – a mammal named Vlad Volaticotherium, who was hiding in the roundhouse trying to get some sleep.  And in Big Pond Pumpkin Patch, the Pteranodon family learns more about the customs of their neighbors, the Lambeosaurus family, when they are invited for the first time to accompany them to the Big Pond to celebrate “Gourd Day” – a kind of Mesozoic Halloween. The kids see their first pumpkins, and Larry Lambeosaurus even shows our family how to hollow them out and carve faces into them.

In Halloween Spooky Science Special, it’s Halloween time and Sid and his friends have dressed up in the spookiest andscariest costumes possible.  Sid is a bat with big fangs.  May is a spooky black cat.  Gabriela is a furry, yucky spider.  And Gerald is a super spooky skeleton that goes boo!  Susie (dressed as a silly mad scientist) loves their costumes, and helps the kids discover that Halloween can be spooky and scientific!  The kids investigate how bats are helpful creatures that catch mosquitoes, spiders are expert engineer web builders, cats are leaping aerial acrobats, and skeletons help hold up our body frames!  At the Halloween party, the kids also investigate how to make icky, gooey green slime.  Susie then ends the day with a special “Halloween Parade” song so the kids can march around and show off their spooky and scientific costumes!

Looking for a costume? How about a Dinosaur Train Costume of Tiny

Tiny is one of the main characters on the hit TV series, Dinosaur Train.  This colorful costume includes the green colored Pteranodon jumpsuit, Tiny the dinosaur hood, and green shoe covers to match the costume.  Available for toddlers ages 3-4, and children between the ages of 4-6. Each Dinosaur Train costume is made up of soft fabric to enhance a child’s comfort while wearing them. The costumes are also created in vibrant colors and realistic design patterns to make your toddler look and feel like a dinosaur train character. SRP $34.99 – 39.99.

Sid the Science Kid Happy Halloween Black Trick-or-Treat Bag. Sid and his friends Gerald, May and Gabriela can come along while your child is trick-or-treating with this spooky candy bag that can be personalized with a youngster’s name. available for $14.99 at the following link.

Congrats to KAREN L!

Here are some cool new books from Nosy Crow, an imprint of Candlewick Press. The new, independent publisher is based in London and has come up with the interactive Noodle series by Marion Billet as well as the hardcover story of Dinosaur Dig!

Noodle Loves To Cuddle and Noodle Loves Bedtime are the cutest board books I’ve seen awhile. The panda bear Noodle is a character just for babies and toddlers. Touch and feel through the pages and read along with your child in rhyming text. In Noodle Loves To Cuddle, he loves to play with a fluffy duck, a cozy blanket and a bumpy ball.

In Noodle Loves Bedtime he splashes in the bath, drinks milk, and cuddles with a fluffy lamb. They are $7.99 each. They are colorful, eye-catching and fun to touch!

Dinosaur Dig! by Penny Dale is a large book for kids who love diggers, dinosaurs and dirt. Read along and count what the ten dinosaurs are doing as they build together. Great pictures and very engaging. Retail is $15.99.

For more info visit nosycrow.com.

Have your baby put on their shades and get ready to jam. New board book Rockin’ Babies takes a child on a journey to imagine the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. Authors Cynthia Weil (lyricist) and her family therapist mom Dr. Jenn Berman have collaborated humor into 20 pages of this book.

(Watch the video on the right)

Whether being hounded by the paparazzi (parents with cameras), getting mobbed by fans (cheek-pinching relatives) or going “on tour” (wheeling around in a stroller), baby is born to be wild!

Galia Bernstein’s colorful and bold illustrations make the book. A cute gift for parents who are into music and pop culture. Even celebrity mom Samantha Harris has raved about Rockin’ Babies, so word is getting around in Hollywood.

Available now at amazon.com. Retail is $7.95.

Get creative with flowers! Klutz’s Fabulous Flowers By Anne Akers Johnson is a book with can’t-go-wrong instructions for life-sized, dimensional, paper blossoms. Make roses, daisies, daffodils, hibiscus, zinnias, cosmos, poppies, and larkspur with the materials included. So what do you get?

There’s 20 pages of ready-to-punch-out paper petals, sparkly flower centers, wrapped wire stems, glue, and a custom winding tool.  Watch the video on the right for examples. This book is for ages 8 and up and a neat activity for future florists. Price is $19.99.

Two lucky Mogul Baby readers will get a chance to win a copy of Fabulous Flowers!

TO ENTER:

Just email contests@mogulbaby.com with your name. Put in the subject line: Fabulous Flowers

That’s it! Giveaway ends Saturday, July 2 at midnight EST. The two winners will be posted here. U.S. residents only for this one. Good luck!

CONGRATS TO MARGARET & ASIAH!

Of course, women who are already moms can read this but for me, reading through the chapters like “Make Mine A Mei Tai” and “Multitasking Is So Last Year” really would help an expectant mom-to-be.

It’s not all blossoms and happy days and thank goodness, The Hot Moms Handbook tells it like it really is. The author is Jessica Denay, a single mom and founder of the popular site Hot Moms Club. Her writing is personable and at times incorporates humor. I chuckled at this for example:

Before Kids: You and your husband consistently enjoy hot sex.

After Kids: You and your husband occasionally enjoy a hot meal.

Overall, a fun baby shower gift. Published by William Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, this book is $16.99.

You can win a copy right here!

TO ENTER:

1. Email contests@mogulbaby with your name and put in the subject line Hot Moms.

Winner will be chosen on Thursday, June 16 at midnight EST. Winner will have to reply to the email within 48 hours to claim prize. Good luck! Name will be announced here. U.S. residents only for this giveaway.

CONGRATS TO SUSAN S!

Rocket Town is a sophisticated board book for all ages. The drawings are “hip”, modern and highly stylized.. and no wonder, the author Bob Logan is a Dreamworks story artist who has worked on Madagascar and Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs.

The story tells of an astronaut and his canine companion driving through their pickup through Rocket Town. There’s so much to see too. Very colorful rockets come alive…big ones, small ones, and one even shaped like a shark.

The only thing I have to say is that I wish the yellow pickup truck was more noticeable in the pages. There’s so much detail that I feel it sort of gets lost. However, I do love the imagination of it all and recommend it as a fun book to get as a gift.

Published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, this board book retails for $7.99.

Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad treasure Hunt By Megan McDonald held my preschooler’s attention even though its more suited for kids 7 and up to read.

The latest book in the Judy Moody series, the story takes place on Artichoke Island. Judy and her little brother Stink are on a family vacation when they meet a mysterious buccaneer who gives them a treasure map to find gold. Silly jokes and pirate slang soon follow.

A good light summer read.

Published by Candlewick Press. Price is $6.99.