“Step Gently Out,” by Helen Frost, photographs by Rick Lieder, Candlewick Press, March 13, 2012, hardcover $15.99 (ages 2 and up) Step gently out, be still, and watch a single blade of grass. An ant climbs up to look around. A honeybee flies past Each line in “Step Gently Out” asks readers to explore. The…

“Meet Me at the Moon,” by Gianna Marino, Viking Juvenile, March 29, 2012, hardcover $16.99 (ages 2 and up) The land is dry, and Mama must leave Little One to ask the skies for rain. It’s important, but Little One is worried and doesn’t want Mam to go. “You will feel my love in everything…

It’s rare to give 100 percent approval to everything a publisher sends you, but in the case of Ammo Books, I have yet to be disappointed. My first introduction to the publishing house came in the form of “Charley Harper Colors: and “Counting in the Garden.” Both are amazingly beautiful books. They were followed up…

“MOO, MOO, BROWN COW, HAVE YOU ANY MILK?” by Phillis Gershator, illustrated by Giselle Potter, Random House Books for Young Readers, June 28, 2011, $16.99 (ages 2 and up) With the familiar “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” nursery rhyme used as a jumping point, “Moo, Moo, Brown Cow, Have You Any Milk?” combines clever rhymes with…

“BABY BADGER’S WONDERFUL NIGHT,” by Karen Saunders and Dubravka Kolanovic, Egmont, May 10, 2011, $16.99 (ages 2 and up) There are lots of things that can make the night scary. It’s dark and lonely, and Baby Badger is afraid. But Baby Badger isn’t alone. Papa Badger is by his side. “The night is wonderful,” he…