Each year I see amazing advances in the packaging and promoting of books especially children’s books.

"Meerkat Mail" by Emily Gravett contains the best ingredients to enlighten youngsters about the importance of home, family and familiar settings. Sunny Meerkat feels he needs a break from all of the togetherness of his family, so he sets out to visit his mongoose relatives. He soon discovers he really misses his family and learns about the importance of communication - and not through the Internet or on the phone. He sends his family postcards as he travels, and these postcards can actually flip over to the back to read Sunny’s writings.

"The Crocodile Blues" by Coleman Polhemus is a unique layering of an almost wordless story and a use of only three colors on white. A man carrying a bird on his head seems to be going about his day with a smile on his face. But it all changes very quickly when he brings an egg home and places it in the fridge. The egg cracks open to hatch a crocodile, which scares both man and bird. Besides using the palate of blues, blacks and yellows, there are pages that open, fold out and even open to a double-sized format.

"The Little Red Fish" by Taeeun Yoo is a small book with a special message. The book is made of cloth, and the pages are actually hand-sewn and bound together. The almost wordless story here celebrates the magic of books.

"Jim Copp, Will You Tell Me a Story? Three Uncommonly Clever Tales," written by Jim Copp and illustrated by Lindsay DuPont, is sure to get the giggles going for both young and old. Almost 50 years ago, Jim Copp recorded nine children’s albums that received much acclaim. Now, with the illustrator’s hilarious pictures, these funny stories are available in book form along with a CD, where you can hear Copp and his animated voices from these very funny stories.

"Danny’s Drawing Book" by Sue Heap celebrates the gift of creativity and imagination. Two friends are visiting the zoo when Danny decides to draw what he sees in his drawing book. But his drawings turn into a story, and the adventure begins. The beginning of the story is filled with acrylic colors. But when Danny begins to draw, the child-like pictures take on the novice’s flair.

"Living Color" by Steve Jenkins, shows the author’s ability to create books about animals that are amazing and fascinating. He uses vivid color categories here and demonstrates the types of animals that fit into each one.

"The Old Tree" by Ruth Brown is a beautiful story about saving a leafy, large tree from its demise. The surprise pop-up at the end is a delight.

The next two books are oversized and filled with board-like pages full of beautiful imagery and concoctions. "Monsyerology: The Complete Book of Monstrous Beasts" by Ernest Drake is filled with pull-outs, foldouts, flaps and even removable letters that all have to do with mythical creatures that will make your imagination soar.

"Swords" by Ben Boos is a nonfiction book that illustrates the most amazing and historical swords, giving you a glimpse the huge variety of sword shapes throughout the centuries.

"Artist to Artist: 23 Major Illustrators Talk to Children about Their Art" is a stunning anthology of many of the best picture book illustrators and an inside view of their work and how they created some of the most beloved characters that kids love along with fold-out pages that showcase their work. "A Caldecott Celebration: Seven Artists and Their Paths to the Caldecott Medal" by Leonard S. Marcus is a close and interesting look at the most memorable classic picture books from last century along with the 2003 winner, "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers."

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