Duck                          

Randy Cecil,
Candlewick, $11

Enhanced by beautiful oil-painted illustrations, this tale of a wooden carousel duck who adopts a lost real duckling slides effortlessly between heartbreaking and heartwarming: When the fake duck realizes she can't teach her charge to fly with her nonfunctional wings, she decides he'd be better off with real ducks. Love and sacrifice may be heady themes for preschoolers, but the raw emotion here will be unmistakable to any reader. —Ages 3 to 7

Blue Goose                

Nancy Tafuri,
Simon & Schuster, $11

Blue Goose, White Duck, Red Hen, and Yellow Chick decide to brighten their dull farm by painting it, from the barn roof to the flowers; secondary colors— like green for grass—require some teamwork. Whimsy and lovely pencil work elevate what could have been a by-the-numbers color book. In keeping with the joyful peculiarity, there's no explanation of why the goose is blue.—Ages 2 to 5

There's Nothing to Do on Mars                

Chris Gall,
Little, Brown, $12

Never mind ogres, dragons, and witches—for many kids, there's no worse villain than boredom. And the foul beast can be found anywhere. When young Davey's family moves to Mars (by attaching rocket engines to its 1950s-style trailer), the planet's surreal landscape and bizarre inhabitants are nothing but a source of tedium to the boy. After all, everything is red. It's not until he finds an activity that's familiar from Earth that Davey is finally happy. The story holds just the right level of satire for kindergartners: The absurdity of Davey's doldrums will not be lost on young readers, and may even help them put their own ennui in perspective. If nothing else, it will be hard for them not to marvel at the gorgeous etchings that illustrate Davey's nonadventures. —Ages 2 to 6

A Taste of Colored Water                     

Matt Faulkner,
Simon & Schuster, $12

Two white children in the '60s South are determined to taste the magical beverage they assume must spout from the "colored" water fountain, and end up facing the harsh reality of Jim Crow. The thought-provoking tale is an excellent way to get kids asking questions. —Ages 6 and up

The People Could Fly      

Virginia Hamilton,
Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon,
Knopf, $12

In this folktale (with CD narration by the author and James Earl Jones), a once-winged people, enslaved in America, have forgotten how to fly—until an old man reminds them. The fantasy tones down the situation's ugliness without diminishing its impact. —Ages 8 and up

We Are the Ship    

Kadir Nelson,
Jump at the Sun, $13

Through lifelike oil paintings and voice-of-experience narration, this book re-creates the era of Negro League baseball in stunning detail, as an unknown player recounts his days of brushing shoulders with legends like Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson. —Ages 10 and up