Just in time for back to school, we have been cataloging new books in the children’s area like mad. In the process I have seen some great books, and had to check some out to read for myself and share with my own children. There have even been some that are staff storytime picks.  Here are some of my favorite picturebooks that have recently been added to our collection.

The Pigeon Needs a Bath! by Mo Willems. The  latest entry in the best-selling series that includes the Caldecott Honor-winning Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! finds a mussy Pigeon refusing to take a bath and insisting he had one a month earlier

Hooray for Hat! by Brian Won. Elevated from a bad mood when he receives an exciting new hat, Elephant cheers up his equally grumpy friend Zebra before marching to the homes of other downcast friends who join them in a fabulous hat parade

Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio and Christian Robinson. After a chance encounter at the park and a switch of places, Antoinette the bulldog and Gaston the
poodle learn that family is about love, not appearances, in an adorable doggy tale from a New York Times best-selling author.

Ninja! by Arree Chung. A little boy flexes his ninja chops in an adventure that finds him silently creeping through his home and overcoming formidable obstacles, like the coffee table, to pounce upon his unsuspecting father’s tummy.

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat. An imaginary friend waits a long time to be imagined by a child and given a special name, and finally does the unimaginable–he sets out on a quest to find his perfect match in the real world.

As usual, I cannot stop there. Here are some more new picturebooks,  and a few easy readers thrown in for good measure, as suggestions for some fun and family friendly reading. My New Friend Is So Fun! by Mo Willems, Brimsby’s Hats by Andrew Prahin, Poppy the Pirate Dog’s New Shipmate by Liz Kessler, Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot by Dav Pilkey,  Tulip Loves Rex by 
Alyssa Satin Capucilli, How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth by Michelle Robinson, Little Big Horse: Where’s my Bike? by Dave Horowitz, and The Loch Mess Monster by Helen Lester.