Sometimes your casual pick-up-what-looks-good from the library hits jackpot--last week it was one of those instances for us. Close to the Wind by Peter Malone gets very close to being the picture book par excellence. In every aspect, this gem brings the very best of the world of picture books: beautiful, detail-rich illustrations, a captivating story, plenty of educational content, and great use of visual diagrams, side notes and explanatory illustrations. Good picture books, I am always exclaiming, are so helpful in the homeschool. What did we know about the Beaufort Scale before this find? Next to nil. Now, not only we learned about the useful scale that measures wind based on detailed observations, we also learned information on ship-building, sails, the life of sailors, curious entries in sailor's glossary, how many trees are cut down to build a ship, and the sad destiny of many ships after their many years of service.

Daddy's Lullaby by Tony Bradman, beautifully illustrated by Jason Cockcroft, is a children's storybook about a young dad who comes home late at night to find the baby wide awake in his crib. In his efforts to soothe the baby back to sleep, dad cuddles him in his arms and tours the house with the baby to see all the other sleeping members of the family. When that doesn't work, dad takes the baby downstairs and sings him a soft lullaby about "Daddy will hold you safe from all harm" and "Love you forever--A promise he'll keep." Exhausted from his long week at work, dad falls asleep with the baby nestled in his arms. In the morning, mom and big brother find them still sleeping peacefully. The strength and power of this dad is displayed in his commitment to his family, "let me chase that bad old dream away" and the warmth and the love he has for them with words like "And here's the best mother a baby could have. You're a lucky baby and I'm a lucky dad!" In this day and age of broken homes, this story is a refreshing encouragement to dads about the real meaning of family life. The captivating pictures poignantly illustrate the tenderness and love of this dad for his family.

A gorgeous presentation of the Easter story! Fiona French tells the story in twelve stained glass tableaux: the entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the betrayal in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus judged before Pilate, the scourging at the pillar, the carrying of the cross, the crucifixion, taking him from the cross and laying him in the tomb, the resurrection, meeting with doubting Thomas, the loaves and fishes by the Sea of Tiberius, the Ascension into heaven. The images are inspired by stained glass in the English cathedrals of Ely, Lincoln, York,and Canterbury and are rich in traditional details. The effect is rather more like guiding a child on a tour of a church, examining the artwork and explicating it than reading a story of Jesus' life. Which is a plus for me as I love the didactic art in old churches. I especially adore stained glass and love the way French uses its conventions. The text is taken from the Revised Standard Version of the New Testament, though I think it is edited some. This isn't the full text of the Gospel, just short passages of a paragraph or two that caption the picture. I like that it doesn't water down the Biblical language with too-simple paraphrases and yet doesn't overwhelm with too much text either. My three-year old is quite captivated by this book asking for it to be read again and again and pointing to the pictures and requesting further explanations of the images.

When you think of eggs hatching, do you tend to think of birds and chicks? Think again! Reptiles, fish and insects can hatch from eggs as well. This book provides the photo stories of the hatching of 27 different animals including Ostrich, Moorhen, Japanese Quail, Starling, Leopard Tortoise, Cornsnake, Leopard Gecko, Ladybug, Common Frog, Great Crested Newt, Goldfish and Kerry Slug. Each hatching includes numerous photos with detailed descriptions of the process and how long it takes. A final photo generally shows the creature a day or two later.

The introductory pages provide comments and illustrations on "What is an Egg?", "Who Has Eggs?", and "The Developing Egg" (with drawings of the development of a baby chick within its egg).