Amy Schwartz has captured precisely what it is like to be a new mom! Every mother who reads this will say, "My baby was exactly like that!" Adorable.

This is a must-have book for attachment parenting families expecting a sibling! It really helped my 4 and 2-year olds understand what a baby needs, and helped me remember that we've all been there before. Gently humorous, very baby-centered. I'm giving it as a gift to my sister struggling with her new teeny tiny one.

This book will ring true for every parent who has been there night and day serving every whim of their new baby. In those first trying weeks, we all need a big dose of humor which is sorely lacking in most post-natal reading material. Older kids especially love this book and will emphatically deny having ever been so demanding!

Sometimes having an older sibling to show you the ropes on the first day of school can be an advantage -- and sometimes it can be a liability! Annabelle's big sister, Lucy, is determined to teach her little sister all the insider secrets. Using their mom's make-up, Lucy teaches Annabelle the real names of the colors, like Raving Scarlet and Blue Desire. Having already taught her sister how to count past one hundred, Lucy seeds Annabelle's mind with the really important issues of math, like "[a]re there numbers less than zero. . . what's the number after infinity?" Armed with an extra dose of Lucy's advice and the admonition, "Remember, you're my sister," Annabelle sets out to conquer kindergarten. Somehow, the strategy doesn't quite work. No one else answers roll the way Lucy taught her to, or calls any of the colors anything even close to "Blue Desire." When Mr. Blum, the teacher, says it's time to do math, Annabelle isn't about to mention zero or infinity. But when Annabelle is the only kindergartner who can count the milk money, Lucy's lessons finally pay off. Annabelle gets to be milk monitor and deliver the money to the cafeteria. When the cafeteria lady asks her name, she proudly proclaims it the way Lucy taught her, "Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner!" Amy Schwartz does as good a job illustrating this story as she does writing it. I especially liked the interaction between the two sisters: Lucy wise in the ways of the world, lathering on her mother's "Blue Desire" eye shadow, and Annabelle gazing up at her in rapt attention.

Brief Synopsis: Annabelle is all ready for kindergarten. Her 3rd grade sister, Lucy, has taught her geography, counting, and colors. Lucy, also, made a name tag for Annabelle to wear on the first day of school. The name tag says: Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner. Annabelle's teacher is Mr. Blum. Annabelle arrives at school feeling confident as she meets him and her classmates. She is confident because of Lucy's good advice and training. It turns out that all of Lucy's advice isn't good. However, Annabelle winds up that first day as a success in her class.

Note to Teachers: The children's book would be wonderful to read on the first day of school. Children in grades K-3 would really love the story. It contains humorous passages and witty pictures. The book teaches the importance of being prepared for school. It teaches the importance of color distinction and the importance of counting. It,also, emphasizes the closeness between siblings.

This is a classic Kindergarten book worth reading on the first day of school...helps those little ones relate to each other and to Annabelle Swift! You may also like the "Miss Bindergarten" books!

This is a wonderful book for teachers to read aloud in the primary grades and probably higher. I happened to pick it up to read orally to my first graders, just to fill a few minutes, and my heart was captivated. Definitely, a special book about aging.

This book is magic for anyone who has an elderly neighbor. The simple, yet poignant illustrations take you from the happy times with Miss Lilly to her death. Though it deals with death, the book has a hopeful message at the end.

My 'almost' six-year-old daughter fell in love with the character Jane Martin. She loved trying to figure out the case before Jane did. Eve Bunting moves the story along so she didn't get bored. The variety of animals and characters is just enough. A great book for thinkers and budding detectives.

Jane Martin, Dog Detective, has totally captured the imagination of my six-year-old son. The book consists of three stories with titles like "The Kitten Case." The character, Jane Martin, sets up a detective agency in her backyard treehouse, charging 25 cents a day to solve various dog mysteries. Needless to say, she always solves the mystery - and, in Eve Bunting's wonderful style, the ending is a complete surprise. My son loves this book, and I truly enjoy reading it to him. Children who love dogs will adore this book.

My four-year-old laughed until her sides hurt. She was pounding on the floor, sobbing with laughter. Which made ME laugh hard too, which made HER laugh even harder, and then we both almost wet our pants from laughing. This is a great book to enjoy with your toddler or preschooler, especially if they have a "baby" sibling. The illustrations are adorable, and the dialog is very true to life. Can't wait to read more by the talented Amy Schwartz.

This book is a must-have for any parent of a child who does not like to go to sleep. It is as much a book for parents as it is for children, perhaps more! We cracked up at the too-true scenario depicted. You will too!

My 5-year-old son loves this book, he wants to read it every night. We love the playful language of Jacob and his descriptions of his ever-busy days. The illustrations of the ethnically-diverse youngsters are colorful and delightful. Jacob has quite an imagination - like all 5-year-olds, and the book is great fun.

My 5 year old daughter took this book out of the school library 3 months ago and has renewed it ever since. I have decided that it's about time we buy the book and let the library have their copy back. Both my 5 and 7 year old daughters love it. It's a funny, enjoyable book and they love to hear my husband add his own funny voices and comments to make it even funnier. Because they like it sooo much, even after 3 months, we don't mind continuing to read it to them. It's nice to see them enjoying a book so much. How I Captured A Dinosaur is a delightful book that every child and adult will enjoy. My only disappointment is that it doesn't appear to be available in hardcover (the library's copy is hardcover). For as much as we read the book, hardcover would be more durable.

An older woman moves from her home to a small apartment with her cat. She expresses her sadness about leaving her home. As she unpacks she finds her Sabbath candlesticks. Cleaning them, she remembers the beautiful family dinners she had. The candlesticks motivate her to make her new apartment feel like her home as she welcomes her family for Sabbath dinner. A beautiful story about the sadness of an older person giving up the life she knew, and the strength of family in adjusting to a new life.

Our class liked this book. We thought it was hilarious and gave a wonderful picture of how much a million really is. The kid tower was very imaginative and was an excellent example of a million, billion, and trillion. David M. Schwartz has a fantastic imagination. This book is great for little kids, because it shows there are numbers greater than a hundred. It's language is easy for kids to understand, and it contains many amazing facts.
However, older students dislike it, because it was too fictional. We felt it didn't explain these concepts well enough for us. Overall, we wouldn't recommend it for grades higher than fourth grade.

This picture book is a great pairing of engaging children's literature, detailed illustrations and a deep math concept. I love the way that Schwartz and Kellogg bring this book to life!
I love Kellogg's illustrating! I would just love to jump right into the pages and be a part of all the action. His characters are drawn with such unique faces. And each page is filled with numerous details and endless nooks and cranies. Each page begs to be explored over and over.
If you have never enjoyed a book illustrated by Steven Kellogg now is the time!
The writing in this particular book is also very well done. The little facts about the number 1 million are really interesting. For instance it would take a fish bowl the size of a city harbor to hold a million goldfish!
This book really helps kids and adults understand a very abstract concept. How many of us really have a good grasp on how much a million really is? This book definitely puts it in perspective!
Read it once and you'll have to read it again and again!

I really enjoyed this book and I like the way David M. Schwartz used kids as an example of measurement. I thought the story was cute and I think young kids will really enjoy this. This is a story that I read a lot when I was in elementary. The story shows a very creative out look on counting and makes a million look like a humongous number. I think kids can really learn from that and even makes it kind of fun to learn. Sometimes I even like to read this book over because it really is a fun book to read. The illustrations are also very good and I think they definitely add to the creativity of this book. I really enjoyed looking at them.

Its a great action book to read to toddlers. You can could get them to be fully involved in the plot of the book. My four year old could not stop laughing the first time I read him this book. He thoroughly enjoyed it.

How do you catch an elephant? Easy...all you need are three cakes, two raisins, one telescope and a pair of tweezers. This is a silly, funny book that will charm your pre-schoolers. The repetitive format makes for easy reading and younger children will be able to "help" you read. The illustrations are simple and colorful. An all around winner. You can't go wrong with this book.

Catching an elephant is easy, if you have the right attitude. This is a great, silly story, with just the right amount of goofiness and the right amount of deadpan to leave kids giggling on the floor. Have some raisins and a telescope handy, because they'll probably want to try it for themselves!