Books | Stephanie Bauer

A collection of some of the books I've illustrated.

RIDDLE DIDDLE DUMPLINGS

Riddle me this, riddle me that, and find the answer under the flap! These delightful rhyming (yet also factual) riddles with clues in the art will have young preschoolers guessing each animal, giving them a sense of satisfaction when they open the flap and see the answer. Stephanie Bauer’s bright, colorful paintings add to the appeal for young readers.

Click on any cover to order a copy!

Alligator Alphabet

Can you think of an animal for every letter of the alphabet? In this delightful ABC book, young children will learn the upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet as they meet a parade of exotic and familiar creatures - from alligators to zebras, and impalas to quails.

Counting Cockatoos

Count to twelve with help from tumbling tigers, winking owls and more, while you search for the two cockatoos hidden on every page. This clever counting adventure makes the perfect gift when paired with Alligator Alphabet

Octopus Opposites

Empty, full; push, pull; young, old; hot, cold! The creatures in this vibrant book range from friendly elephants to exotic kookaburras, each with a pair of opposites to share. A companion to Alligator Alphabet and Counting Cockatoos, Octopus Opposites will encourage youngsters to find opposites all over the place in their own worlds.

. . . . lovely reviews . . . .

Amazon Best Board Book of the Month!

Riddle Diddle Rainforest

August 2019

Riddle Diddle Farm

Through The Looking Glass Children's Book Review - ,

May 2019

“Little children love puzzles of all kinds. They like being presented with clues, which they can then use to figure out what, or who, something is. In this clever little board book the authors present children with a riddle to solve. The solution to every riddle is the name of a farm animal, the identity of which is hidden under a flap. On the first spread the text on one page tells us, using rhyming verse, that our mystery animal is ‘the morning alarm / heard out on the farm.’ Apparently this animal will ‘strut’ out of its enclosure if the gate is not kept closed. In the artwork on the facing page we see little pieces of the animal and when we lift the flap we see that it is a rooster. In all, little children have to guess the identities of five farm animals in this book. The riddles are funny, the clues are helpful, and of course, the lift-the-flaps are a delight.”—Marya Jansen-Gruber

A Fuse #8 Production (SLJ Blog) – 2018 Great Board Books & Pop-Up Books,

December 1, 2018

Alligator Alphabet

From Publishers Weekly

Blackstone's (the Cleo the Cat series) minimal, workmanlike text ("Cc is for camel. Chase us if you dare!") takes a backseat to newcomer Bauer's vibrant and exuberantly brush-stroked acrylics. The paintings have a naïf quality, with their thickly applied paints, often underpainted, with perhaps the tip of the brush handle used to strip away some of the outer layer, adding dimension and texture. Each spread links the letter to its corresponding animal with some fanciful interaction: a turquoise mommy and baby emu with golden plumage contemplate an egg tucked inside the crook of a lowercase e; a fluffy white little llama and honey-hued lion cub lick a candylike letter las their parents look on, beaming. There are no real surprises or creative alphabet pairings here, and unlike many contemporary animal-based primers, this one contains no afterword of "fun facts" on its subjects. Rather, the appeal of this book is strictly aesthetic: the saturated, fluorescent acrylics and genially rudimentary shapes brim with good cheer, while tacitly saluting readers' own artistic instincts. All ages. (Sept.)

From School Library Journal

PreS–Parent-and-baby pairs from alligators to zebras playfully introduce the alphabet with a simple rhyme and snappy illustrations. Children will be delighted by the vivid colors and friendly animals, while adults will welcome the inclusion of both capital and lowercase forms to aid in letter recognition. One line of large text, which looks as if it had been printed by hand, fits neatly in a color block at the bottom of the page. Aa is for alligator./Bb is for bear./Cc is for camel./Chase us if you dare! Brilliant, fluid acrylics enliven the cheery verse. Large flat areas are dribbled with paint and accented with contrasting colors that create texture in the sloths' fur and the yaks' hair. An owl spreads its wings to expose a beautiful weblike design. Young eyes will eagerly spot other simple details, such as a small panda peeking through the P. Patterned borders frame each page and are then repeated in the striped endpapers. The book concludes with two spreads of small blocks that show all the animals and letters. This is one of the most attractive new alphabet books. The simplicity of the text and art proves once again that less is more.–Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH

Counting Cockatoo’s Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-K Various wild animals represent the numbers 1 to 12. A simple line of text accompanies each spread, which also includes two hidden cockatoos. At the end, Twelve toppling turtles are accompanied by lots of cockatoos! The chameleonlike birds almost disappear into foliage of their same color or peek from behind the pages' decorative borders. The final pages recap the numbers and animals depicted and show some cockatoo feathers for additional counting. Bauer's acrylics in bold colors and patterned, textured brushstrokes give this book its appeal. Rachel G. Payne, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

Review

"The whimsical illustrations each feature a colorful border plus easily counted creatures such as "six slinking snakes" or "eleven elegant lizards." The cockatoos are more elusive because they change color and sometimes even try to disguise themselves as the other animals in the group. The book provides additional counting practice after the main story as well for those eager to continue exploring numbers." --Minnesota State University, Center for Children's and Young Adult Books

StoryTime with Signs and Ryhmes Review

Booklist

Issue: October 1, 2009

The Big Blue Bowl: Sign Language for Food.

Prochovnic, Dawn Babb (Author) , Bauer, Stephanie (Illustrator)

Sep 2009. 32 p. ABDO/Magic Wagon, library edition, $18.95. (9781602706682).

Children who are interested in learning sign language will find the Story Time with Signs & Rhymes series an intriguing place to start. Rather than just offering the letters and some examples of American Sign Language (although that is included), the main selling point here is how the story becomes a vehicle for the signs. This title, which focuses on food words, contains a variation of the familiar Little Red Hen tale; only here the other animals help a hen fill her bowl with various foodstuffs before helping her eat it.

The book begins with the alphabet handshapes, followed by the story, which has one featured word in boldface; that’s the word that is demonstrated on the opposite page. At first glance, the word may not seem all that easy to form from the pictured inset, but happily, an appended two-page spread gives more detailed instructions on how to make the word, as well as the reasoning behind the sign. The pleasing, thickly colored artwork is well above that found in many series books, and even without the sign-language hook, kids will enjoy the repetition and rhyme of the tale. “Fun Facts” and “Signing Activities” neatly close this well-thought-out book.

— Ilene Cooper