Lieberry List

A Classic — New to Me

2012-01-25T21:17:00.000-08:00

One of the many great things about reading with, and to, my kids is discovering books that I've not yet read myself. And, one such classic is A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. We finished the first chapter last night; then today after school, and later this evening, we finished the remaining eighteen chapters. About six chapters at a sitting. Madeline adored it, Erik seems to have sort-of followed it (in the background playing with LEGOs), and the line "But the saddest news was that Sara's dear papa was dead," brought both of them up short. The mention of such an unfathomable thing certainly got their attention, but also the fact that we refer to their dad as "Papa," surely made it worse. There were many questions, and many answers, and then the story continued.

We compared Livinia to Nellie Olsen from the Little House series, and we all (often) shook our fists at Miss Minchin's cruelty, and were impressed by Sara's spirit and imagination. Madeline giggled at my exasperation at the missed connections nearing the end of the book, but all along they were quietly impressed by Sara's resolve. I was too. This, I believe, will be a book that we re-visit. There really are so many wonderful lessons in this story, and I'm thankful that the Magic brought it to me by way of my little readers. And, in this case, the "Magic" is my fabulous sister-in-law, Shannon.

YA: Magic and Science Fiction Faves

2012-01-02T05:21:00.000-08:00

Tamora Pierce's Sandry's Book, from the Circle of Magic series was a compelling, adventurous and quick read, with strong and interesting female characters, and I'm looking forward to the other three books. Sandry and three other kids (who've had a pretty rough year) are brought to Winding Circle Temple by Niko, a senior mage, to learn their crafts and refine/control their natural magical abilities. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could probably read this book to Madeline already (she's almost seven), since there really wasn't anything too adult-themed in it, and I think she'd like the descriptions of the mages' lessons and the different magical powers.

Watching the characters' friendships grow and seeing them let go of their cultural and class prejudice is beautiful too. I look forward to Tris's Book, Daja's Book and Briar's Book.

The second YA book that I recently finished is the first in the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. Set far in the future, in a post-apocalyptic world, it follows Tally as she waits to become a "Pretty" at 16. In her world, people undergo extensive reconstructive surgery when they turn 16, and until they turn, they live across the river from Pretty Town, isolated from the Pretties and raised in dormitories with other "Uglies" waiting to turn.

Pretty Town is divided into segments too, with the Party Towers in the city where the young New Pretties live, then suburbia where Middle and Late Pretties live with their families, raising their kids (or Littlies) until they turn 12 and are taken away as Uglies to live in the dorms for four years. Along the way, Tally loses a best friend to Pretty Town, then meets Shay, a girl who doesn't want to get the surgery to be a Pretty, and Tally's whole world changes... her adventures that follow are fast-paced, and a quick, fun YA read with a little mild romance between two of the 16+ characters at the end of the book. I found this book to be as compelling as The Hunger Games, without the darker story-line and gladiator/survivor themes. I'd say these books are good for kids 10 and up. The next three books in the series are: Pretties, Specials, and Extras.

2012 Book Bag: January

2012-01-01T00:57:00.001-08:00

James Banning was the first African-American pilot to fly across the United States. Did you know that? I didn't, but this fantastic picture book (The Hallelujah Flight by Phil Bildner) tells his story beautifully, and is a great conversation starter about equality and the history of segregation and freedom in our country. My 6-year old loved the story, and especially enjoyed the lively illustrations by John Holyfield.

The second book we're loving right now is Stuck by Oliver Jeffers. Great illustrations, and a silly story that had the kids cracking up over Floyd's ridiculous exploits to get his kite un-stuck from his tree... the kids can't help but smile, giggle and chuckle at this one.

'Tis The Season...

2011-12-12T01:15:00.000-08:00

for fantastic holiday books!

Madeline is reading one of my very favorite 12 days of Christmas books called A Bellbird in a Flame Tree by Kilmeny Niland. It's an Australian "12 days," and it gorgeously illustrated and written, featuring a host of interesting animals native to the land down under. Madeline adores it.

And, for the boy's recent fave, Richard Scarry's Christmas Mice — he adores both mice and Scarry's books, so... this was a shoe-in.

Wordless Wednesday: Advent Countdown

2011-12-07T15:12:00.000-08:00

I wrapped up all of our holiday and Winter books for Advent, and they love it...

Joy, Happiness and the Love of Reading

2011-11-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

Joy, over at the blog Joy's Hope, is kicking off the Happy Day Project with a week's worth of do-good activites to spread some sunshine, love and joy in your corner of the world next week.

Here's what they are doing, but you can switch it up however you want. I'll be doing something more related to books for kids/families, and since our school is having the Scholastic Book Fair this week, I can stock up on some books...

So, think about what you'll do next week, and join in the fun of spreading some love around to kick off the holiday season! Cheers!!

There Is a Bird on Your Head, and other stories...

2011-10-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

Madeline's very favorite books to read are the Elephant & Piggie series by Mo Willems. And for good reason; they are hilarious, clever, and lively. I love that they are teaching her to read conversations, and she's reading with expression because the illustrations are so very expressive! She also noticed that the quotes for each character are the same color as the animal; Piggie's are pink, Gerald's are gray, the snake's are green, etc.

She loves reading them any time at all... even at the breakfast table to the rest of us. We're going to empty the library shelves... I love books that kids can read (and giggle, chuckle and chortle over) and that make me smile and laugh out loud too. Love 'em!

Bombaloo!

2011-06-21T22:23:00.000-07:00

This was just about the perfect bedtime story for tonight! Sometimes I'm BOMBALOO by Rachel Vail, is the story of a little girl, who is usually a very good little girl, but sometimes gets very angry and growlish and full of stomps and monster-mean feelings and she's... Bombaloo!

Being Bombaloo is scary, she says, and since Erik was 100% Bombaloo this evening, I asked him if he ever feels like this. "No. Never," he said.

"Really?!" I asked; incredulous.

"Yeah. I'd never throw my clothes all over my room like her. I like my clothes," he claimed. And, so we had to talk about sweet and happy/cooperative/in control vs. "bombaloo," angry, mad, kicking, yelling, mad at mom, etc. "Oh. That. Like tonight. Yeah, sometimes I guess I am Bombaloo and it's scary because it's hard to stop being mad. But, if I settle down, then think about it, then I can practice a different way. And, you help me."

Yes, indeed. We'll be reading this one often before returning it to the library.

Old Man Fookwire & his squirrels

2011-05-10T10:48:00.000-07:00

We adore Those Darn Squirrels by Adam Rubin. I'd read it to to the kids as toddlers, and the story delighted our crew. Then, a few weeks ago, Madeline told me that they got to vote on their favorite of three library books. She chose this book. "Oh! I love that book," I said. And, so I had to pick it up at the library.

The illustrations are so clever and detailed. The kids love that the squirrels have squirreled away everything from loose change and buttons to a fancy diamond ring! And, perhaps our favorite part is the late-night planning session that the squirrels hold, fueled by salt and vinegar chips and cherry cola to "keep them awake." Love it. Erik adores the fact that they wear tiny helmets when attempting to get at the bird feeders, and the kids just think "old man Fookwire" is a humorous fellow.

I love the language in this story, the humor, and the fact that it tells the story of a guy "older than dirt" who can change his ways (a little) with a little kindness and time. Definitely check this one out!

A few of her favorite things...

2011-04-04T23:51:00.000-07:00

... to read, that is.

Miss Madeline is delighted to be able to read on her own, and we are constantly tickled by the fact that our "baby" is reading. For me, first steps, first words, they're nice, but reading? That's the more exciting milestone!

And, a few of her favorites are three series that we discovered at our library: We Both Read, I'm Going To READ, and the flip-a WORD books.

We Both Read books have a parent page and a kid page, and so far, Madeline's favorite is The Big Tan Van by Sindy McKay. Similar books are available, divided by reading level.

The "I'm Going To READ!" books are great because they're organized by "Word Bank" in addition to reading-level, and they're a little more challenging than the standard first readers. They feature additional sight and high-frequency words in each story, and the illustrations are bright and fun too.

And, finally, Yukiko Kido's "flip-a-WORD" books are really fun for learning word groups, phonics, and rhyming. They are simple enough for our four-year-old to practice reading with his sister, and with their bold illustrations and clever (and silly) sentences, interesting enough for the Kindergartner.

Chapter Books: Tales of Adventure and History

2011-03-24T22:03:00.001-07:00

Wow, I'm so glad that we jumped into chapter books. I'd tried Junie B. Jones with Madeline a full year ago and she was completely uninterested. Then, a few months later, the Ivy & Bean series was a big hit with her; although not very compelling reading for me, nor attention-grabbing for her brother. There had to be something out there that would suit us all...

There is, namely; Peter and the Starcatchers series by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson, and the classic Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The perfect combination of adventure and history for all of us. Barry and Ridley's Peter took us on a wild ride from London to Mollusk Island, aboard ship and swimming with mermaids. By the end, you see beautifully how Peter Pan came about. The kids hang on every word, recall the story beautifully, ask great questions and are learning some fabulous vocabulary. And, really, what little kid wouldn't think Mrs. Bumbrake's name funny? We've blown through book one and two (Peter and the Shadow Thieves) in the series, and even our 4-year old can't get enough.

As for the Little House books, we adore them. The kids play "Little House" now, with Erik pretending to be Pa and "shoot bears and get meat," and Madeline talks about getting "ducked" in the creek and making butter. The stories infuse their play and they've learned all about wild things like log cabins, covered wagons, and our country's unjust treatment of Native Americans. They also marvel at the simple way of life (and few treats and presents), and the joy and gratitude of the Ingalls girls.

So, on we go to book three of Peter Pan's tales of adventure (Peter and the Secret of Rundoon), at the same time that we are meandering through On The Banks of Plum Creek. Yes, the kids keep the stories straight, even while listening to both books and, yes, sometimes I read ahead after they're asleep because I enjoy the books that much. We love them so much that I also get the books on CD so that we can listen in the car while driving. Three cheers for beautiful literature (and audio books too)!

Wordless Wednesday: SeussTastic

2011-03-02T23:39:00.000-08:00

"Children are made readers at the laps of their parents."

- Emilie Buchwald

Sproing!! Spring...

2011-03-01T12:34:00.000-08:00

I adore Rhythm of the Home. And, the new Spring edition is perfect for reading and planning on these first, blustery March days. There are so many great crafting, gardening, creating, exploring, and celebrating ideas in this issue... Enjoy!

Grit and Guile

2011-02-07T18:36:00.000-08:00

Last week I organized our elementary school's Book Rodeo (book swap) and it was so fun. With my friend Joy (who also regularly maxs out her library account) I sorted more than 2,000 books. We got about 1,600 books out to kids/families/teachers, and there are 700 left in the teachers' lounge for them to choose from, and the remainder will be donated to charity.

Out of this mountain of children's books, I've found many gems, including Anne Isaac's Pancakes for Supper! which is a fabulous version of the classic Little Black Sambo.

Of course, in this version, little Toby is the heroine, riding with her parents in their wagon across wild New England to move to a new town.

She outfoxes several wild animals that wish her harm, and in the end has pancakes for supper, just like Sambo in the original. But, Toby enjoys real maple syrup straight from the tree, around the campfire, which is even more fun.

And, the gorgeous illustrations by Mark Teague make this beautiful story come alive on the pages. There is even a recipe for pancakes on the back cover (and instructions on decorating them into "pancake animals" with fruit pieces).

This has trumped my previous favorite re-telling of the story, by Helen Bannerman (The Story of Little Black Sambo) which is set in India. Isaacs' tale features a fabulously tough little gal, with whom my kiddos (and I) instantly fell in love.

Adventures with Book Frog

2011-01-14T11:46:00.000-08:00

We had a special visitor this week at our house... Book Frog! He lives in M's Kindergarten class, but gets to have exciting adventures each week when he goes home with kids to learn more about them and their families.

Madeline was very excited to have him hang out with us. She had him work on her math homework with her (she LOVES math),

I especially love this shot because she looks so little in it (shh... don't tell her!) I love the idea of Book Frog. She took the responsibility very seriously, but also had a lot of fun with it. She even built him a tiny fort with a bed in it.

She read some of her Dick and Jane books to him (it's so very exciting to watch her READING!), with me and her Papa, and I read Henry Hikes to Fitchburg by D.B. Johnson, and Courage by Bernard Waber to the kids and Book Frog.

And, we got snow! Book Frog just might have snuck out of M's bed while she was sleeping, so he could go sledding... Wheeee............. (he was very responsible about putting on some baby mittens and a tiny hat though).

Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett

2011-01-10T18:06:00.000-08:00

Busy reading to her "ownself." Love it!

A Literary Advent Count Down!

2010-12-01T10:20:00.000-08:00

Our Advent Calendar is up, and one of the treats each day (in addition to an adventure or other fun activity) is to choose a book from our new Scholastic holiday collection to read (including a few with read-along CDs), or from our family's holiday library.

We have a few favorites, like the beautifully illustrated This Is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten (illustrated by Delana Bettoli), and The Christmas Song Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire by Mel Torme and Robert Wells (illustrated by Doris Barrette). And my personal favorite; the wonderfully lyrical Runaway Dreidel! by Lesléa Newman. Our list features a stock of Easy Readers this year since Madeline is in Kindergarten and reading on her own! Now that's the best Christmas gift I can think of—I love that she adores reading!

I'll add our reviews as we go...

Spin the Dreidel by Alexandra Cooper
Tyrannoclaus by Janet Lawler
The Year Without a Santa Claus by Phyllis McGinley
Runaway Dreidel by Lesléa Newman
Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright
The Gingerbread Pirates by Kristin Kladstrup
The Littles Have a Merry Christmas (1st Readers) by John Peterson
Follow the Star by Rachel W.N. Brown
Snow by Cynthia Rylant
Snow Day! A Winter Tale (1st Readers) by Joan Holub
The Christmas Cub by Justine Korman Fontes
The Christmas Penguin (1st Readers) by Mary Packard
I Love Christmas! (1st Readers) by Hans Wilhelm
Henry and Mudge and a Very Merry Christmas by Cynthia Rylant
Can You See What I See? Christmas Read-and-Seek by Walter Wick
I Spy A Candy Cane by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick
Clifford Helps Santa by Sonia Sander
Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear! by Don and Audrey Wood
Erik and the Christmas Horse by Hans Peterson
Jingle Bells by Iza Trapani
This Is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten (illustrated by Delana Bettoli)
Bear Stays Up For Christmas by Karma Wilson
The Christmas Song Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire by Mel Torme and Robert Wells (illustrated by Doris Barrette)
The Sweet Smell of Christmas by Patricia Scarry
This Is The Star by Joyce Dunbar

Want more great holiday titles? Check out our Book-A-Day for December from 2008.

I adore...

2010-11-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

I adore My Name is Not Isabella!

I adore the fact that the author, Jennifer Fosberry includes great brief biographies of five amazing women who changed the world, and includes "Mommy" as the sixth.

I adore Fosberry's definition of mother: "A mother is a person who uses love and wisdom to raise children to be caring, accomplished adults." Amen!

I adore how Fosberry deftly weaves the personas of Sally Ride, Annie Oakley, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, and Elizabeth Blackwell into Isabella's imaginative day.

I adore that my five-year-old, Madeline, adores this book and that she wanted to hear me read all of the biographical information over again. Especially Elizabeth Blackewell's.

I adore that Isabella's mommy rolls with her daughter's brilliant imagination. I have to do this often with my bunch and it works well to go with their tales!

I adore all the new words my daughter learned from this book, including "vittles."

I adore the illustrations by Mike Litwin.

I adore the "bookplate" printed on the first page that reads "This book belong to... (space for your little gal's name) the sweetest, kindest, smartest, bravest, fastest, toughest, greatest girl that ever was."

And, I simply love that Fosberry is a self-proclaimed "... science geek turned children's book writer." We love this book (in case you couldn't tell.) I'll likely be ordering several copies for my brilliant nieces for Christmas this year.

Wordless Wednesday: Faves Today

2010-10-27T23:33:00.000-07:00

Another Petrifying Parody

2010-10-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

Michael Rex provides a fabulous parody of Goodnight Moon in his "petrifying" picture book titled Goodnight Goon. Our kids love the sweet little goon, and all the monsters, witches, and other ghouls in the story, so it's no surprise that they are also big fans of Rex's second parody... The Runaway Mummy.

Just like in The Runaway Bunny, we see the child testing their independence and the Mama professing her unconditional love and devotion. The Runaway Mummy is a funny, sweet parody of Margaret Wise Brown's classic tale, and even includes a cameo illustration of the goon from Rex's other parody.

Just in time for Halloween, check out The Runaway Mummy, and Goodnight Goon — both are really fun when read with the books that they are parodies of! And, just a note to Mom and Dad... neither of Rex's parodies are really petrifying, despite his tag line.

Book Bag: October

2010-10-25T19:05:00.001-07:00

Now that the school schedule is settling down, we are back to the library regularly, and enjoying some great new books! Some of our favorites are about seeing France through a child's eyes, finding your voice with a little help, an alphabet of occupations, and some Step 1 easy readers for the little Kindergartner in our midst! Enjoy!! ****Faves are noted as usual.

How to be a friend : a guide to making friends and keeping them / Brown, Laurene Krasny
Click, clack, quackity-quack : an alphabetical adventure / Cronin, Doreen
LMNO Peas by Keith Baker ****These "pea-ple" are so fun to study, and they introduce an excellent array of occupations for littles to learn about! Love!!
Tall / Alborough, Jez
Brownie & Pearl step out / Rylant, Cynthia****This cutie and her kitty go to a birthday party, solo, and are happy to have braved it. Fun.
Everybody Bonjours! / Kimmelman, Leslie****Crêpes, anyone? This fun, rhythmic story show a very fun side to Paris.
Doo-Wop Pop / Schotter, Roni****A classic do-wop fave of ours that shows some quiet kids singing out!!
Leaving the nest / Gerstein, Mordicai
Lost! / Moran, Alex
Popcorn / Moran, Alex****M's fave Level 1 easy reader so far...
The mystery of the missing tooth / Hooks, William H.

Need a Smile?

2010-10-24T23:40:00.000-07:00

We love The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman and Marla Frazee. Frazee's illustrations are perfect for this story, and I love her style. I need to seek out other books that she's drawn.

In addition to the gorgeous pictures in this book, the story flows like music when read aloud, and is delightful in a Seuss-like way.

And, who doesn't love a tale with seven babies? Makes two seem like cake, although it's pretty fabulous in the end that this Mama gets to eat her cake too, and we all get to share some smiles with these silly, fussy eaters and their loving, fabulous parents.

Pick it up! It's a joyful story that will make you smile!!

Ivy & Bean... Absolutely Fabulous!

2010-10-22T01:57:00.001-07:00

The Ivy & Bean series by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall, are a big hit with our 5-year old, and while they are excellent chapter books to step up to, she likes to listen to them in one sitting.

Ivy (who tends toward being reserved) and Bean (who is more of a hoyden heroine), bring out the best in each other, as is usually the case with the best of best friends, and Barrows writes with a fun and creative flair that easily draws in the reader. I enjoy reading these clever stories to Madeline.

Check them out — our household highly recommends these two fascinating friends.

Finding Their Voice

2010-10-20T10:04:00.001-07:00

"Madeline is so bright and does such wonderful work, I'd love her to build her confidence and be able to share her ideas with the class more easily," says M's teacher. Of course, I want her to feel confident enough to stand up and speak her mind—to share her amazing self with the world, but I also know that her personality tends to be more observant, cautious, and quiet in large groups. In small groups and with friends, that isn't the case. I don't consider her occasional reticence to be a problem. I was mid-way through 5th grade before I was brave enough to speak out when in the spotlight (and then my natural bossiness, er... leadership was shared easily), but like M, I never had a problem speaking up when it was necessary or important. I easily defended myself and others, and she does too. Basically, I want her to be able to stand strong in the spotlight, even if she doesn't choose to seek it out, and so... I'm on a quest to find some children's books about kids finding their voice.

Louder Lili by Gennifer Choldenko shows Lili, the quietest girl in the class, being mistaken for absent by her teacher, having louder/bossier kids take credit for her ideas, and being pushed around. All things that do happen to quiet kids. However, it's fun to see her speak her mind when it counts! And, she makes a new (true) friend in the process. It's a great story.

Doo-Wop Pop by Roni Schotter is a marvelous story about a retired jazz musician, turned school janitor, who literally helps a handful of quiet kids find their voices. His "carrots" as he calls them, finally "jump in the stew" and wow their classmates as a great new a cappella singing group. And, reading this book is a delight as the prose be bops off the page like a song!

Book Bag: September

2010-10-18T13:42:00.001-07:00

September's book bag was all about Back-to-School this year, since we had a big milestone in our house... the first day of Kindergarten for the first kid! These four books were our very favorites!Kindergarten Diary / Antoinette Portis – A fun journal-style story from the perspective of a slightly wary first-time Kindergartner, that shows that her class is all alright... Love this one! Compares fears and reality is a funny, light-hearted manner. We bought this one.

Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? / Audrey Vernick –Sweet and silly. Perfect.

The Night Before Kindergarten / Natasha Wing – nice rhyming tie-in to the classic "Night Before..." and a good intro to going off to Kindy. M's preschool teacher even gave a copy to us as a "graduation" gift.

First Day Jitters / Julie Danneberg – Fabulously funny, especially as you follow the main character through her whole morning (reluctantly getting ready), before you discover that she's a teacher at a new school! This made the kids laugh out loud! We bought this one in our Scholastic order.

Magically Delicious!

2010-09-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

Cake Pops... Although I've not yet attempted any of these beauties, I've been following Bakerella's blog for more than a year now, and I love her recipes. Her pancake muffins are great, as are many other tips and tricks for baking and decorating. But, this new book of hers... it is a joy to look at. Whimsical, magical, full of joy and promise. And, today I had two preschool boys absolutely enthralled by this book. You should buy it, heck, I bought two. Give one away to someone who could use a little joy in their day. I did!

The instructions are very clear, and although the pops look intricate, Angie Dudley's tips make them sound like a breeze. A fun, time-consuming breeze, but still... A fairly easy and fun little project to amuse and delight. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. You could try checking it out at the library — good luck! It's a very good price on Amazon. Just sayin'.

And, for our household, these pops alone are worth the price of the book... Erik shouted "Ernie's Baby!" and hugged the book. He loves Koalas. I predict that I'll be making these dudes very soon. Oh! And there are clown pops. I have to say that I don't really even like clowns (they're in the creepy realm in my opinion), but Bakerella's are so seriously adorable that I think I may just be OK with clowns. At least the small, cute Cake Pop variety.

Creative Seasonal Inspiration

2010-09-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

While this is not technically a book, the Rhythm of the Home online publication has inspired me to head to the library in search of many things this Summer. I learned of this amazing site from a friend at the beginning of June, and have been reading it (and blogs of all the contributors) ever since.

In this Autumn's edition, among those that I've had time to read (there are so many great articles!) I especially love...

Finding Balance and Keeping Rhythm

Love With Intention

Cooking with Children, Autumn Spiced Scones
and, Learning in the Kitchen

Take Apart Science (Hello, his was written for Erik!)

Flower Pounding (I did this with red Japanese Bloodgood Maple leaves several years ago)

Life in a Viking Village (Traveling vicariously to Sweden...)

The Sugar Sprite (A clever idea for an over-abundance of Halloween candy)

And, most relevant to the Lieberry List... Lessons from the Library! You can check out articles from other seasons right here. All the articles are a fairly quick read (handy for busy moms) and they're all written by amazing women (there may be male contributors, I've just not come across any articles by dads)!

Book Bag: July/August

2010-08-31T12:26:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for Kindergarten, having fun in the kitchen and the garden, and discussing anatomy have made up our library choices the last couple months. As usual in the Summer, we ended up reading mostly from our personal library, out in the hammock or on the lawn with a picnic. Happy Back-to-School! **As ever, our faves are marked below**

How to be a friend : a guide to making friends and keeping them / Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown **Great practice for making new friends with the new school year
A place for everything / Sean Covey
Amazing you : getting smart about your private parts / by Gail Saltz **This one served its purpose well. It's concise, clear and age-appropriate, although my 3-yr old overheard the story and reacted like any boy in 6th-grade health class... snickering and giggling.
The bus for us / Suzanne Bloom
Beach is to fun : a book of relationships / Pat Brisson
The handiest things in the world / Andrew Clements
Click, clack, quackity-quack : an alphabetical adventure / by Doreen Cronin
Katie and the British artists / James Mayhew **Love this - may have to get some of these for my amazing niece, Katie.
The very clumsy click beetle / Eric Carle **Eric Carle, sound effects, and a story about this Summer's garden nemesis! Perfect!
Tall / Jez Alborough **M loves to read this to E.
Miss Nelson is missing! / Harry Allard, James Marshall **They both LOVE this!
I'm your bus / Marilyn Singer **Friendly, fun illustrations and a cheerful introduction to riding the school bus!
Is your buffalo ready for kindergarten?
Transformers animated : how to draw / by Sadie Chesterfield ; illustrated by Carlo LoRaso **Erik is over the moon about this one!
What's new, cupcake? / Karen Tack and Alan Richard **More fun with cupcakes! This may be one of the books I give to my niece Maggie for her birthday (I have a couple others too - great ideas for cake/cupcake decorating with kids)
The pirate of kindergarten / by George Ella Lyon **Madeline's favorite by far - about a Kindergartner (girl) with double vision, and her fix. Very well done.

Book Bag: May/June

2010-06-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

Cooking with kids, making mud pies and going on nature rambles, dealing with death, fitting in, and turning the classic fairy tale on its head... we did it all in May and June, and below are our **faves!**

Parents:
Playful parenting : an exciting new approach to raising children / Lawrence J. Cohen
Mama Zen: Walking the crooked path of motherhood / Karen Maezen Miller **LOVE this one!

Kids:
Goodbye, Mousie / by Robie H. Harris
The fall of Freddie the leaf : a story of life for all ages / Leo Buscaglia
Salad people and more real recipes : a new cookbook for preschoolers & up / Mollie Katzen**Fave
Pretend soup and other real recipes : a cookbook for preschoolers & up / M. Katzen & A. Henderson**Fave
Lifetimes : a beautiful way to explain death to children / Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen**Wonderful book
Little Mouse gets ready : a toon book / by Jeff Smith **3-yr old Erik giggled at this one
Buddha at bedtime : tales of love and wisdom for you to read with your child to enchant, enlighten, and inspire / Dharmachari Nagaraja**Madeline adores these stories and they all illustrate a great lesson
I love dirt! : 52 activities to... discover the wonders of nature / Jennifer Ward
Odd Velvet / by Mary E. Whitcomb
The princess knight / by Cornelia Funke
Cindy Ellen : a wild western Cinderella / by Susan Lowell **Spunky, fun story — this is a second check-out for us!
The Outspoken princess and the gentle knight / edited by Jack Zip **LOVE
The Toon treasury of classic children's comics / edited by Art Spiegelman & Françoise Mouly **A keeper!
Mama, is it summer yet? / Nikki McClure **A very sweet book

Videos:
Max & Ruby. Summertime with Max & Ruby [videorecording] / Nelvana Limited
Max & Ruby. Super Max's cape [videorecording] / [presented by] Treehouse

Punk-Proof Your Kid

2010-06-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

Kids can be mean. Even your kid. I mean really, it's easy to think of a kid who picks on your kid as "a bad seed" or a "bully," but honestly, all kids can have a bad day, bad moment, lapse of judgment, or yes, a bad decade, but that doesn't mean they can't change someday. Hopefully. And, with all those kids out there, learning to play nice, how do you make sure your kid/s are part of the solution, rather than the problem?

I recently had occasion to need some good advice on this subject, so of course, I asked my sister-in-law (who is a school counselor) for book recommendations and tips. She came through with some great book suggestions, and I stumbled upon another in looking for her picks...

Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell is adorable, and made both of my kids giggle with delight. Molly Lou is tiny, bucktoothed and strange-voiced, facing a new school, and a big kid who's bullying her, but by following her gramma's advice to believe in herself and stand up tall and proud, she handles herself well. They love it, and requested the book again and again.

Becky's second pick was The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill, and they loved it too. The sassy Katie Sue who stands up to "Mean Jean the Recess Queen" was an instant favorite. In this one, the queen of mean is de-throned by sassy Katie Sue inviting her to play. Fairly simple, and funny rhyming text, and since a mean kid of this magnitude realistically might not be "cured" by kindness alone, it's a good one to discuss. Five-year-old Madeline thought that "Katie Sue should ask a teacher or other grown up for help if Mean Jean kept chasing her and bossing her, and maybe gettin' madder!"

The third book that I found is King of the Playground by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, which shows a boy named Kevin trying to play at the playground which is the "realm" of Sammy—King of the Playground. Each time Kevin tries to go to play, Sammy tells him that he can't, and threatens him. Each time, Sammy goes back home and his dad chats with him about the threats until he (Kevin) sees a solution for each (finding each threat silly or impractical in the end). Knowing how to take command of the situation himself, eventually helps Kevin screw up his courage enough to stand his ground. Sammy is still truculent in the end, but does choose to share the kingdom.

A previous recommendation from Becky was Bootsie Barker Bites by Barbara Bottner which my kids found humorous, and I liked too. Bootsie is shown being terrible — kicking dogs, pulling hair, throwing ridiculous tantrums, and terrorizing her friend, but I found it easy enough to ask questions about her behavior, that the kids answered very cleverly. The book shows Bootsie's parents giving her anything she wants and caving to demands... my kids both thought that "That makes the mean girl think she's in charge of her Mama and Papa, so that's why she thinks she's in charge of all kids and everything." Ahhh... out of the mouths of babes. I think Bootsie would be a great one for kids to add on to by writing more of the story. Like, after the narrator finds an excellent solution to her problem, maybe she talks to her mom about it further, and her mom talks to Bootsie's mom (she is her "best friend" after all), and maybe Bootsie the "biter" gets some help! Older kids could have fun being creative with that one.

So, what was Becky's advice? Focus on raising and empowering your own kids, versus empowering and rewarding the undesired behavior of mean kids... find other kids to play with, play near an adult, teach them to say, "Stop," "I don't like that," or "That's mean," and walk away. Older kids can use humor, self-talk or agree with foolish remarks to defuse a tense situation. Teach the difference between tattling (attention seeking or getting another in trouble) and asking for help (going to an adult for assistance - just like going to your manager/boss when you can't reach a solution to a work issue).

When dealing with kids who are being mean to your kid, talk to your kid, letting the mean kid "overhear." Let your kid take the lead, and if needed (or requested) help them take command of the situation. It's all about the long-term lesson of teaching your kiddos to be resilient and "punk-proof," and that everyone can make mistakes/mess up, not the short-term goal of protecting their feelings today. The four books listed here will help kick-start some ideas of how kids can take charge, and judging from my 3- and 5-year olds' reaction to these books, they are ready to learn about this topic as soon as they've been pushed around on the playground. In fact, not just ready, they are hungry for heroic behavior to model!

Magical Mermaids

2010-06-25T17:41:00.001-07:00

Madeline's mesmerized by mermaids, as are many little girls. Thankfully, Scholastic always has just the right books to enchant wee ones...

In Laura Garnham's The Tiniest Mermaid, a little girl finds an injured mermaid in a tide pool, and befriends her while allowing her to recover in the fish tank in her bedroom. The story is full of magic and wonder, and really, what would be cooler than having a tiny mermaid hang out with your goldfish?

And, Mary Ann Fraser's Mermaid Sister teaches the lesson of "beware what you wish for..." when a little girl asks for a sister via message in a bottle, and gets one! This will be much better than her pesky brother. Or, will it? In the end, they do learn a good lesson, although from this book, your kiddos will learn the phrase "pain in the patootie," referring to Shelly's brother, and "pain in the flipper," in reference to Coral's brother...

Madeline loves both books, but my favorite is The Tiniest Mermaid, with it's wonderful illustrations by Patricia MacCarthy, and special touches like glittering, sparkling mermaid tails, and the fact that the tiny mermaid, Delphi, makes Lily's fish tank "... a shimmering underwater wonderland." Magical mermaids... check them out!

Fun, Practical, Quick

2010-05-29T22:34:00.000-07:00

Need some fast solutions for handling daily issues with your fast-growing "babies?" You know, those pipsqueaks who it seems like you brought home as sweet bundles a few weeks ago... or (Yikes!) was it years?! How does the time fly, and how does a busy parent keep up? Learn from the experts, I say! And, who knows better about the daily handling of the under-6 set? Kindergarten Teachers!!!

I cannot tell you how overjoyed I was to find What Kindergarten Teachers Know by Lisa Holewa and Joan Rice. While searching out picture books that introduced going to Kindy (for Madeline), I stumbled upon this listing at our library.

And, Holewa and Rice's book did not disappoint. In fact, I bought it, and am very likely to gift this baby! It includes five pages of additional resources at the end of the book, which I will likely look into, but right now I'm busy implementing their amazing advice!

Perhaps my favorite thing about their "advice" though, is that it's practical, fun, respectful (in that not all things work for all kids) and the #1 goal is to make sure kids know they are loved. And, isn't that really what it's all about?

Singing Books...

2010-05-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

We're big fans of what the kids call "singing books" in our house... books that need to be sung instead of simply read out loud. We own several, and have checked out a great number of them over the years. A few of our favorites include a handful from Iza Trapani (a great author for singing books), The Christmas Song by Mel Torme and Robert Wells (illustrated by Doris Barrette), Giddy Up! Let's Ride! by Flora McDonnell, and Sing Sophie! by Dayle Ann Dodds.

I discovered The Christmas Song: Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire by Mel Torme and Robert Wells when searching for books that were illustrated by Doris Barrette. I love her work in the book Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes (not a singing book, but a good one with great rhythm). Both are wonderful holiday books and make a great gifts.

I'm a Little Teapot by Iza Trapani is our favorite of her singing books, and is beautifully illustrated, with wonderful verses that include the teapot and kids on a Fox Hunt in England, in a row boat in China, in outer space, and on a pirate ship... to name a few. It's brilliant!

Sing Sophie by Dayle Ann Dodds attracted me because of the great little cowgirl on the cover, and all the better that her name was Sophie... similar to cousin Sophia! This little cowgirl makes up lovely and original tunes and sings them with gusto! No one wants to listen until her singing proves very useful to the family!

And, finally, Flora McDonnell's Giddy Up! Let's Ride! takes one of the kids' Gramma's oft-sung tunes and adds many verses... this is the way the knight, jockey, clown, fairy, nomad, cowgirl, and many others.

All of these favorites have really fun and beautiful illustrations that add to the stories, and all of them are very fun to sing, as well as being filled with wonderfully rich vocabulary and sparking creativity in little listeners. Check them out!

Cinco De Mouse-o!

2010-05-05T02:05:00.000-07:00

I admit it. I ordered Cinco De Mouse-o by Judy Cox from M's Scholastic book order simply for the Cinco tie-in. It made me smile. And, since my birthday is on Cinco de Mayo, I have a fondness for the holiday, as I do for this cute little mouse (maybe it's his tiny blue specs) who's just trying to enjoy some delicious "beany, cheesey, ricey" food, and maybe a piece of candy for dessert.

Oh, and the cat who chases him has "greeny eyes," I love that line. The book is full of excellent, rich vocabulary in both English (including "hailstones" which we learned all about earlier this week) and some Spanish (mariachis, anyone?).

The illustrations by Jeffrey Ebbeler had Erik riveted. But, of course... the pages where the pinata busts open are a kid's dream-come-true, right there to study. I won't be surprised if I find the boy licking the pages.

Book Bag: April

2010-04-30T02:34:00.001-07:00

April was full of some old favorites, and a new series (the ZigZag books from National Geographic Kids), as well as some kids' comics and some cooking/craft books to work on together. ****Faves are marked below:

Kid Books:

What's in that egg? : a book about life cycles / by Becky Baines.
Your skin holds you in : a book about your skin / by Becky Baines
What did one elephant say to the other? : a book about animal communication/by Becky Baines.
Bee-bim bop! / by Linda Sue Park ****An old fave of Madeline's, and it includes a recipe for Bee-bim bop (a Korean dish) at the end of the book.
Zig and Wikki in Something ate my homework : a toon book / by Nadja Spiegelman & Trade Loeffler
Rainbow Fish discovers the deep sea / Marcus Pfister ****A fave character in a new story. Love this guy.
Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy / by David Soman and Jacky Davis ****Madeline adores Ladybug Girl. Amazingly, we don't own any of these books yet!
Every planet has a place : a book about our solar system / by Becky Baines****ZigZag Series fave (next to the Bones You Own). Planets are beloved by the kiddos.
Amazons! : women warriors of the world / Sally Pomme Clayton****I loved this one, it's a bit beyond my kids at this point.
Princess Peepers / by Pam Calvert****With a bespectacled Papa, the kids LOVE this one!
Lawn to lawn / Dan Yaccarino
Mirror mirror : a book of reversible verse / Marilyn Singer****Adore this! So creative!!
Carl's summer vacation / Alexandra Day
Giddy-up! Let's ride! / Flora McDonnell****An old fave around here. So sweet, and it adds many lines to the classic song.

Parents Books:

What kindergarten teachers know : practical and playful ways to help children listen, learn, and cooperate at home / Lisa Holewa and Joan Rice****LOVE this book. Bought this book.
Handmade home : simple ways to repurpose old materials into new family treasures / Amanda Blake Soule ****Great ideas for things to create with/for your kiddos! She's got a fab blog too, called Soule Mama.
Classic vegetarian cooking : from the Middle East & North Africa / Habeeb Salloum

Comics Rock!

2010-04-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

Scooby Doo. Archie and Friends. Mickey Mouse. Scrooge McDuck, Spiderman. Sonic the Hedgehog. Tiny Titans. Zig and Wiki. Otto. Amelia Rules. Alison Dare. Ben 10. Bone. And, the list goes on... appropriately, Erik recently discovered comic books and fell in love with them. Luckily, we have a wonderful comic book section in the Kids' Section of our library. And, there are a plethora of new comic and graphic novel titles for pre-K through high school readers. Basically, Archie's still out there, but there are a lot more modern heroines and heros to be discovered too. I've tracked down all sorts of great comic book and graphic novel resources for kids...

First, if you're looking for a comic shop in your area that sells comics for kiddos, check out this site: http://kidscomics.com/

And, speaking of great comics for kids, last night we read Zig and Wiki in "Something ate my homework" by Nadja Spiegelman and Trade Loeffle, and the kids loved it. Then I realized that this book is associated with the comic book "Silly Lilly" that Becky gave Madeline for Christmas last year – TOON Books are featured right here, and come in three reader levels which you can buy online too. Their Web site is great and full of activities, ideas, lessons and online fun like a free carTOON Maker. Check it out.

Another resource, for comics for older-than-preschool kids is Kids Love Comics! which features comics like Alison Dare, Bone, Yarg!, Polo, Go Girl, Owly, and Amelia Rules, among others. Check out their blog right here.

And, then of course, there is the favorite in our house... the Tiny Titans. We've got them at our library, but you can also find them at your local comic shop or subscribe and get them in your mailbox each month (how cool would that be?)!

Coming up this month at a participating comic book store near you... Free Comic Book Day! The first Saturday in May, comic shops all over the country (and world!) give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their stores. This year FCBD is on May 1st, and you can find a participating store near you right here.

I'm loving the comic book format for the kids. The graphics help even 3-year old Erik "read" the story, the text is short, conversational, and full of action, and they are far more interesting than Bob Books or other beginning readers.

Absolutely brilliant! Brilliant? Absolutely!

2010-04-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

There are two sides to every story, and Marilyn Singer's Mirror Mirror tells them brilliantly! She uses what she refers to as "Reversos," which are poems that can be read both up and down, with changes in punctuation making the tale completely new! While the full genius of this book is a little beyond my kids at this age, I love it. Older kids who are devouring chapter books on their own should find the reversible verse in this beautiful picture book enchanting (and older kids might find it a refreshing twist on writing poetry). It's a great lesson in how punctuation can completely change a sentence, and how important word choice can be in a story or poem. And, it's all about being concise—an excellent lesson to learn.

Every fairy tale poem in this book is told twice, once "forward," and once with the text completely flipped backward, telling the story from the antagonist's perspective (Cinderella vs. the Stepsisters, Snow White vs. the Evil Queen, etc.) "In The Hood," about Little Red Riding Hood is one of my faves (with a hip hop flavor), as is "Full Of Beans," about Jack and the Beanstalk. The rhythm of the text is a joy to read aloud, while the illustrations by Josee Massee are the perfect complement to each tale and its mirror.

This one is now on my top ten list of favorite kids' books, and it's one that I'd love to add to our library some day. And, I'm trying to write some reversos of my own... it is harder than you'd think.

Book Bag: March

2010-04-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

With Pi Day (math), Dr. Seuss's birthday, and garden prep, we've been fairly well covered for topics lately. March was all about the human body, gardening, math, the Transformers and comic books (Tiny Titans, Sonic and Teen Titans). We also checked out several favorites like Munsch, Isadora, and Rylant. And, I'm loving Pam Allyn's child's lit resource book too. ****Faves are marked, as usual!

Parent Resources:

Jump into math : active learning for preschool children / Rae Pica.
What to read when : the books and stories to read with your child and all the best times to read them / Pam Allyn. ****Love the recommendations in this book!!
Roots, shoots, buckets & boots : gardening together with children / Sharon Lovejoy. ****We're doing the Sunflower House this season - yeah!
Inquiry into math, science, and technology for teaching young children / Arleen Pratt Prairie

Kid Books:

Did I ever tell you how lucky you are? / by Dr. Seuss.
I can lick 30 tigers today : and other stories / by Dr. Seuss.
Marvin K. Mooney, will you please go now! / by Dr. Seuss. ****A new fave introduced to us by the Domkes!
Richard Scarry's Pie rats ahoy! Scarry, Richard****LOVE this one!! (recommended by the Mills)
123 pop! / Rachel Isadora. ****Awesome graphics!
Sophie skates / Rachel Isadora. ****Wonderful book about ice skating for kiddos.
Kallaloo! : a Caribbean tale / by David and Phillis Gershator ****A Caribbean twist to stone soup, and a classic fave for us
Glass slipper, gold sandal : a worldwide Cinderella / Paul Fleischman ; ill. Julie Paschkis. ****LOVE this book!! Cinderella told from many cultural perspectives. Each page is a different country. Paschkis' illustrations are amazing as always!
Hansel and Gretel / Cynthia Rylant
The Duchess bakes a cake, written and illustrated by Virginia Kahl.
COMIC BOOK Sonic the Hedgehog
The body's business / by Rebecca Weber.
The magic school bus : inside the human body / by Joanna Cole
Gone fishing : ocean life by the numbers / David McLimans. ****Madeline adores this book.
Our skeleton / Susan Thames. Thames, Susan. 03-19-2010
Transformers animated : the AllSpark almanac / by Jim Sorenson n' Bill Forster****The kids have spent hours pouring over the pages of this, together, peacefully - admiring the illustrations and talking about all the characters. They LOVE it!
The human body / Seymour Simon.
Teen Titans : year one / written by Amy Wolfram
Sunflower house / Eve Bunting****Hooray! A story about a sunflower house. M's even more excited about ours now.
ABC pop! / Rachel Isadora. ****One of our favorite Alphabet books.
The bones you own : a book about the human body / by Becky Baines. ****LOVE this SMART book for kiddos!!
Sonic the hedgehog archives. Volume 1
The human body / created by Gallimard Jeunesse and Sylvaine Peyrols
More pies! / Robert Munsch****Classic fave of ours.
Hansel and Gretel / written by the Brothers Grimm ; retold and illustrated by Rachel Isadora.
The Usborne complete book of the human body / Anna Claybourne ****Good book, as usual for Usborne.
My brain / by Carol Lindeen.
My heart and blood / by Dana Meachen Rau. ****Good illustrations, and clear information.
My bones / Sally Hewitt.
Books to grow on. Gardens [kit]
Books to grow on. Kids create stories [kit]
Zebras / by Jill Anderson.
Tiny titans. Adventures in awesomeness / Art Baltazar & Franco****We ♥ the Tiny Titans!!! LOVE them!
Tiny titans. Welcome to the treehouse / Art Baltazar & Franco****We ♥ the Tiny Titans!!! LOVE them! Might need to subscribe...

Kid DVDs:

Transformers animated. Transform and roll out [videorecording] / Cartoon Network****Good one.
Talking words factory [videorecording] / LeapFrog****Excellent phonics and consonant blends
Learn to read at the storybook factory [videorecording] / produced by Bruce D. Johnson
Meet the sight words 2 [videorecording] / created by Kathy Oxley. ****Good, but too slow for the kids. Madeline asked, "Why do they keep repeating the same thing over and over and over?"
Meet the sight words 3 [videorecording] / created by Kathy Oxley.
Talking Words Factory 2. Code word caper [videorecording] / LeapFrog, Torchlight Entertainment****Really good info about silent "e" and vowel rules...

Because Kids Are Smart!

2010-04-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

Finally! I found a smart, fun book about the human body for the kiddos! A couple weeks ago, Erik started asking me about his bones, and we went on to talk about blood, muscles, etc., and I wanted to get some books about bones, the circulatory system, the brain; basically how the body works. There are a lot of these books out there for kids, and a lot of them are very very simplistic and don't give much information. I wanted a fun book with good illustrations, good information, and the real names of bones.

After reviewing many books, Becky Baines' The Bones You Own from National Geographic Kids, fit the bill perfectly. Tibia, humerus, stapes, illium, ribs, femur, vertebrae... you name it, it's there, and the book has the kids feel their bones, gives fun facts and info (like the fact that babies have 300 bones, but adults have 206), and the photos and illustrations are wonderful. This book even shows the inside of a bone, comparing spongy bone, compact bone and marrow (the "gushy, jelly-like part...") — "Eeeew!!" said the kids — they loved it! And, at the end of the book, there's a two-page spread of questions in "thought bubbles" that you can Zigzag through to explore more thoughts about bones, like: "Why do you have to wear a cast on a broken bone?" and "What would you look like without any bones?"

I've already put her other anatomy book Your Skin Holds You In on hold at the library, along with several other books in this ZigZag series (there's one about the solar system and another about animal communication). Hooray for smart books for smart kids!!

Fairy Tale Fun!

2010-03-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

The kids are loving fairy tales more and more, and I am loving these two fabulous library finds! Fairy Tale Feasts by Jane Yolen is brimming with fairy tales from all over the world, paired with recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts, sprinkled with beautiful illustrations and excellent cooking tips for kids. Yolen even adds her own original new fairy tale at the end of the book. Check this out and cook up a Fairy Tale Feast with your kiddos!

Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne is a wonderful new twist on the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk. It turns out that Kate and her mom are the true owners of the castle up in the clouds that an evil giant took (along with their harp, goose, etc.) and Kate uses her guts and guile to save the day!

Osborne's story is a fun, clever update to this classic, and Giselle Potter's illustrations make this book a feast for the eyes.

And, my favorite part? My daughter now says, "Fee fi fo fum, I smell the blood of an Enlishwoman!"

Book Bag: February

2010-03-04T10:34:00.001-08:00

Humor (Amelia Bedelia), Fairy Tales, Classics (Charlotte's Web), and a little Julia Child on DVD amused in February... Madeline was especially entertained by the black and white segments of The French Chef, and really like the Queen of Sheba Cake and Mousse Au Chocolat. ****Faves are noted below.

How do dinosaurs say I love you? / Jane Yolen
Amelia Bedelia / by Peggy Parish****They are huge fans. We ended up getting many more the week after we read the first, and Gramma sent us a bunch too!
E.B. White's Charlotte's web****Loved it!
Kate and the beanstalk / written by Mary Pope Osborne****Wonderful twist to this tale! We always love tough heroines .
Alphabeasties and other amazing types / by Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss****Wonderful book! Glorious fonts!!
Roots, shoots, buckets & boots : gardening together with children / Sharon Lovejoy****Fave gardening book. We are making the Sunflower House this year.
Long Night Moon / by Cynthia Rylant ****LOVE Cynthia Rylant. LOVE this book that follows the moon through the year.
Fairy tale dinners : a cookbook for young readers and eaters/tales retold by Jane Yolen; recipes by Heidi E.Y. Stemple ****This is only the dinner's chapter to the Fairy tale feasts book.
Let's do nothing! / Tony Fucile
Martina, the beautiful cockroach : a Cuban folktale / retold by Carmen Agra Deedy
Gone fishing : ocean life by the numbers / David McLimans
Fairy tale feasts : a literary cookbook/fairy tales retold by Jane Yolen ; recipes by Heidi E.Y. Stemple ****Check this out. It is brilliant.
The French chef with Julia Child. Disc 3, Baking, desserts, and other classics [videorecording]****Love Julia. The kids did too, especially Madeline.
My heart is like a zoo / Michael Hall****Fun craft idea!
Here's a little poem : a very first book of poetry / collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters****This would make a beautiful baby shower or young child's birthday gift. Famous poets, gorgeous illustrations by Polly Dunbar and collected by Jane Yolen. Can't be beat!
Amelia Bedelia goes camping / Peggy Parish
Teach us, Amelia Bedelia / Peggy Parish
How mama brought the Spring / Fran Manushkin
I can dress myself! / by Birte Müller
Amelia Bedelia's first Valentine : have a heart, Amelia Bedelia! / by Herman Parish
My kindergarten / Rosemary Wells
Come back, Amelia Bedelia / by Peggy Parish
Amelia Bedelia and the baby / Peggy Parish
Charlotte's web : the essential guide / written by Amanda Li****The kiddos insisted on this. They now love Charlotte and Wilbur!

We ♥ Tiny Titans

2010-03-03T17:13:00.000-08:00

Awww Yeah, Titans!! We ♥ 'em!!

Erik has discovered the wonder that is the comic book, and while his first discovery was Sonic the Hedgehog, and our second was Teen Titans, I recently got two Tiny Titan collections from the library (on Miki's recommendation) and they are fabulous. Erik and Madeline adore them, and they are the cutest comics ever.

Aqualad, Wondergirl, Speedy, Kid Flash, Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, and many, many other kid superheroes (well, super sidekicks) are featured in these comics, and their daily antics at Sidekick Elementary, the playground, their tree house, and elsewhere. We love them!!

I suspect we will renew these collections the max number of times, and eventually will be visiting some comic book stores to begin the comic collection.

When we picked these up at the library last week, and were waiting in line to ask the librarian for our LeapFrog DVD, each kid had one of these and were laying on the carpet, leafing through. Another library patron said, "Now that's what I love to see! Little kids who love books!" Amen!!

Children are made readers on the laps of their parents. -Emilie Buchwald

2010-03-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

Saved By The Pie

2010-02-24T13:43:00.000-08:00

I'd forgotten how great Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish is, until I read this to the kids the other night. They loved it. Adored it. Cracked up over it—especially the part about dressing the chicken.

We had some great discussions during and after reading, then had to read it again, and again. But I don't mind at all. Amelia Bedelia makes me smile.

Coincidentally, the night that we read this was the night that we took a lemon meringue pie to our friend Diane's house for dessert. Which Amelia Bedelia makes first thing on the first day of her new job. And, good thing for her too since she makes a great pie, but is very literal in everything else she does... wreaking all sorts of havoc all over the house!

So, I'm not sure if the kids connected with the story because of the humor or the pie, but they're sold! We've already stocked up on a bevy of additional Amelia Bedelia titles ("...goes camping," "... and the baby," etc.) Hmm... I've got a hankering for some lemon meringue pie.

Enchanting & Educational

2010-02-05T12:17:00.000-08:00

Alphabeasties and other AmaZing Types by Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss is absolutely excellent! It's full of animals that are illustrated using many upper- and lower-case letters in different fonts for each letter of the alphabet. And, at the bottom of each page, there are examples of "fancy" or different ways of writing letters such as "... lower-case a can wear a little hood," and the D'Nealian lower-case k that "has kind of a knot"

My favorites are "C" (camel) and the "D" (wiener dog), and "O" (octopus, owl and ornament). The book had several fold-out pages, great color and rich language. If you have a preschooler learning their letters, get yourself a copy of this book—pronto!!

Happy, Happy Hearts!!

2010-02-01T02:46:00.001-08:00

Michael Hall's My Heart Is Like A Zoo is a marvelous children's book. The poetic writing is smart and full of excellent vocabulary words like eager, hopeful, rugged, crafty and snappy. It's colorful, fresh, fun, silly, creative and we loved the "heart puzzles" that make up each animal. In fact, we ended up making a number of heart animals to give as Valentine's this year.

The frog, bee, bunny, hippo, clam, owl and crab were our kids favorites this year. Erik loved fitting each heart that we cut out onto a picture in the book and then planning the rest of each puzzle animal. Madeline loved helping with the construction too and especially loved the sea creatures.

This colorful book is surely a gem for your home library, and would make a great gift for any little somebody in your life!

Book Bag: January

2010-01-26T12:28:00.001-08:00

Erik's been loving Frankenstein stories (we found a Frankenstein toy in a cache recently...) and Madeline requested Suse MacDonald's Alphabatics again after seeing it at Gavino's house. We've also been pleased with the second series of the Signing Time DVDs featuring Rachel de Azevedo Coleman. ****Our faves are marked as usual...

Freckleface Strawberry and the dodgeball bully / Julianne Moore ****Love how she deals with a bully using her imagination
Papa is a pirate : the biggest, the strongest, and the bravest / Katharina Grossmann-Hensel ****LOVE this one! Now the kids aren't sure about Joel...
Freckleface Strawberry / Julianne Moore ****LOVE her freckles and how this one turns out. Good resolution.
The end / by David LaRochelle ****This "backwards" story was silly and fun
We are extremely very good recyclers / characters created by Lauren Child
Alphabatics / Suse Macdonald ****Letters morph into a picture beginning with each letter of the alphabet... acrobatically (and imaginatively) - we've had this one out a few times, it's a fave!
Dracula and Frankenstein are friends / by Katherine Tegen
Pinkalicious / written by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann ****Love this one. We made the cupcakes again too. Fun!! And, we talked about how silly it is not to love green stuff.
Do not build a Frankenstein! / by Neil Numberman ****E loves this one.
Scooby-doo! and the Frankenstein monster / written by James Gelsey
Ish / Peter H. Reynolds ****My fave - see previous review.
Night shift / by Jessie Hartland ****Great intro to some night shift occupations.
The Kissing Hand Audrey Penn
Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant ****LOVE Cynthia Rylant, and especially this peaceful view of a scarecrow's life. A nice look at birds too. And, beautiful illustrations.

DVDs:

Signing time. Series two, volume 11, Once upon a time
Signing time. Series two, volume 12. Box of crayons
Signing time!. Series 2, volume 10, Helping out around the house/Two Little hands Prod. by Emilie de Azevedo Brown, Rachel de Azevedo Coleman Suse MacDonald****LOVE these - clear, fun, and a great teaching method - makes it really easy to remember the signs!
The Flintstones. The complete second season ****A nice blast from the past, and view into how far animation has come!

A Different Perspective... Night Shift!

2010-01-17T22:18:00.001-08:00

We love Jessie Hartland's book, Night Shift! I love the introduction of different occupations, including... Street sweeper, Window dresser, Radio DJ, Security guard, Newspaper printer, Bridge painter, Freighter captain, Truck driver, Road worker, Doughnut baker, Tug boat captain, Waitress (at the all-night cafe), and a couple more too... Great stuff.

Wonderful illustrations full of fun details add to the story and make kids giggle, and ask more questions. I love books that are both educational and fun, especially when they can present another view of the world to my kids. Check it out!!

Art-ish

2010-01-15T09:24:00.001-08:00

I had to check this out for Madeline, who is at the "I must be the best at everything and do everything perfectly" stage right now.

Peter Reynolds' Ish tells the store of a young boy (the middle child) who learns to love his style of drawing with a little help from his little sister (and initially learns to think it's not good enough from his older brother). Lots of good lessons in this one, and I was right, Madeline loves it! Perhaps because many of her drawings are "ish." And, in my opinion, absolutely perfect because of it! Love Ish!!

What Does Your Papa Do All Day??

2010-01-05T23:56:00.000-08:00

Less than a week into the new year, I think we may have already found our favorite book of 2010. I know that sounds a tad dramatic, but really, this book is fabulous. I laughed out loud several times, and the kid adored the artwork, and I think they may now be wondering if their Papa is really a pirate too...

Papa is a Pirate by Katharina Grossmann-Hensel tells an imaginative tall-tale through the eyes (and voice) of a very clever little boy, quizzing his Papa after work. The dad (or papa) in this story tells of "rough seas" at work this day, and off the story goes as the papa lets the son in on the "secret" that he's a pirate.

No matter what the son comes up with; "But you ride your bike to work, not a ship!" the papa has a very probably answer... I mean really, making money by doing pirate shows for tourists is totally believable! Oh, and the papa met the mama (who is also a pirate) when her ship had sunk (and she swam half the ocean to a deserted island).

The papa in this house definitely needs to read this book to our kiddos—pronto! I'm certain that he'll love it as much as we do.

Delighted!

2009-12-30T20:29:00.001-08:00

I can't believe that I've gone this long without reading the Freckleface Strawberry books by Julianne Moore! I've known of them for awhile, but today at the library, they jumped off the shelf at me, and I'm so very thankful. They are delightful. A spunky, sweet heroine who learns to love herself, freckles and all (I love freckles). And, this little gal reminds me of my sister, Shannon. Well, really she's my sister-in-law, but since I don't have a biological sister, I claim her as my sis.

Like Freckleface Strawberry, my sis is all grown up and still has gorgeous freckles, and red hair. And, also like this heroine, she's a tough cookie who knows how to handle a bully.

In addition to the great stories in these books, the art (by LeUyen Pham) is brilliant. Lively, fun, energetic, emotive—and the heroine is a snappy dresser too!

My kids, and my nieces I think, are going to need these books in their personal libraries! Hooray for being unique!!

Book Bag: December

2009-12-28T10:04:00.000-08:00

Sufganiot, rugelach, Christmas, Chanukah, and Ramadan stories, lazy babies, talking crocs, trains, planes and an all-girl swing band... we found some real treasures this month! We learned quite a lot about how different cultures celebrate the holidays, and read some wonderful historic literature for kids. Faves highlighted below:

Under the Christmas tree / by Nikki Grimes ****Beautiful illustrations and poems. Love this!
Chanukah lights everywhere / Michael J. Rosen ****A nice Hanukkah book for preschoolers. Simple but beautfiul.
The Night of the Moon : a Muslim holiday story / by Hena Khan ****Gorgeous illustrations, and a great introduction to Ramadan.
Lazy little loafers / Susan Orlean ****Funny! Great book from a big sister's point of view (about her new baby brother).
A baby born in Bethlehem / by Martha Whitmore Hickman
Melrose and Croc : a Christmas to remember / Emma Chichester Clark.
The Polar Express / written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg ****The classic and beloved Christmas story... Trains, adventure, Santa, can't go wrong...
Amelia and Eleanor go for a ride : based on a true story / story by Pam Munoz Ryan ****LOVE this one!!
Five little firefighters / story and pictures by Tom Graham
Strega Nona's harvest / Tomie de Paola.
Happy birthday to you! / by Dr. Seuss. ****We read this on our kids' birthdays every year. A fab tradition.
Sweethearts of rhythm : the story of the greatest all-girl swing band... /Marilyn Nelson ****LOVE this! Another war-time girl-power jewel.

Satisfaction!

2009-12-04T14:27:00.000-08:00

Finally! A satisfying version of Goldilocks. My kids love Goldilocks, and it is one of the tales that I tell them, rather than read, since I can embellish at will. However, Ruth Sanderson's version of Goldilocks beats any I've come up with because at the end Goldy shares the blueberries that she picked in the woods (which is how she came upon their house) with the bears by making blueberry muffins with them! And, the recipe is included at the end of the book.

Even better, the muffin-baking occurs after Goldilocks has helped clean up the mess that she's made of the bears' house, and apologizes for her amazingly bad lack of manners! I think this is one reason that my daughter is enthralled with the story of Goldy—she's appalled by her rude trespassing, thievery, and destruction. Madeline was very satisfied with this story. And, the combination of the clever new twist on the tale, and the absolutely gorgeous illustrations put this on my favorites list too (obviously, since we've had it out from the library since October... due back in mid-January)! Check it out.

Book Bag: November

2009-11-13T02:29:00.001-08:00

Creative alphabet books, learning about leaves, and prepping for the holiday season... that's what November was about. We also corralled our books to return them, since we were nearing 75 checked out. Somewhere around 20 really is much more manageable. So, we read a lot of our own books this month, but here are a handful of library books that we really loved...

Alphabestiary : animal poems from A to Z / selected by Jane Yolen ****Great illustrations, and fun alphabet book
Autumn Leaves/ by Ken Robbins
The Nutcracker / Susan Jeffers ****One of the best versions of the Nutcracker for kids that I've seen! Ballet-focused, spare prose, gorgeous illustrations. The only "minus" is that the girl in the story is called "Marie" rather than "Clara" which could confuse kids who know the story.
The magic nutcracker: the nutcracker ballet retold / by Margaret Hillert
All in the woodland early : an ABC book / by Jane Yolen
Blueberries for the queen / John & Katherine Paterson ****Wonderfully imaginative historic book
Robot Zot! / Jon Scieszka ; illustrated by David Shannon ****Scieszka and Shannon, how can you go wrong?? The kids LOVE this one!

ABZ's

2009-11-05T14:20:00.000-08:00

Wynton Marsalis's Jazz ABZ is such a cool book. Beautiful illustrations by Paul Rogers and perfectly matched prose by Marsalis make this a fun education on Jazz musicians as you move through the alphabet from Louis Armstrong to DiZzy Gillespie.

Charlie Parker Played Be Bop by Chris Rashka has long been a favorite in our house, and a board book that I gift to all new babies I know, so Jazz musicians interest our kids, as does Jazz music. At two- and four-years old, Jazz ABZ is a little old for my kids at this point, but they still enjoy the illustrations, word play, and especially the letters that have text that swings & bops to a beat. And, they're learning new words like awkward, dogma, embarking, ephemeral, fractured, julep, zenith, and many, many more. This book's a treasure—buy it! We did.

Really Excellent YA Literature

2009-10-31T09:21:00.001-07:00

While I must admit to having torn through the Twilight series at break-neck speed (although book #2 was slower and nearly a deal-breaker), it is not the best literature for young adults. It's surely a good, suspenseful and angst-filled story, and Meyer knows how to draw out the tale, but let's face it—Bella is not a fabulous female role-model for young women. Rather, I want my daughter to read A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly when she's old enough.

Donnelly's story of 16-year old Mattie Gokey is set in 1906, and follows her from her family farm, to a summer get-away hotel resort (as an employee), and through her struggle to stay in school and get educated, while she struggles against the pull of her family and friends who want her to get married and have babies. She weighs her full-ride scholarship to Barnard College and her love for writing against for responsibility to her father and younger siblings.

The book deals with the aftermath of the loss of Mattie's mom to breast cancer, racism, feminism, poverty, elitism, and murder (among other plot lines) and Donnelly weaves a rich story full of beautiful writing and sharp observations. Mattie is an admirably strong, real young woman—a beautiful character, and this book is a marvelous example of the great Young Adult literature available. Historical fiction at its best! I highly recommend this one.

Book Bag: October

2009-10-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

This month Erik was very insistent on choosing board books out of the bins in the Kids' section. "I'm gonna choose books for ME, my OWN self," he said, and proceeded to select piles and piles. I said that we needed to pare down our collection a bit... so I helped him narrow down his pile. Here's what he picked:

Jacob Lawrence In The City by Susan Goldman Rubin ****Great rhythm to the story and amazing illustrations.
Old Mother Hubbard by Jane Cabrera
Boats by Byron Barton
Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick by Kevin Henkes ****Henkes never fails to enchant both the kids (and me!)
1 is One by Tasha Tudor****LOVE this counting book with complex, wonderful vocabulary!
Chicka Chicka ABC by Bill Martin Jr.
Duck & Goose 123 by Tad Hills
Shades of Black: A Celebration of our Children by Sandra L. Pinkney****Great vocabulary, beautiful tribute to all the colors kids may be.
I Spy Little Numbers by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick
Sun by Natalie Jane Prior
Fit-It Duck by Jez Alborough****Silly, goofy, messy fun!

And, for her part, Madeline has shown a real interest in Math, so the rest of our books are a mix of early mathematics, Halloween/Fall stories, and myths, legends & fairy tales. Faves are noted as usual****:

I'm your bus / Marilyn Singer ****Both kids LOVE this one. Fun, sweet, happy book.
Halloween night / by Marjorie Dennis Murray
Humpty Dumpty climbs again / Dave Horowitz****Excellent version of Humpty Dumpty. Clever tale of perseverance.
My monster mama loves me so / Laura Leuck ****Fave!
Pumpkin circle : the story of a garden / story by George Levenson****This, and the DVD of same, were fascinating to the kids this year since we grew pumpkins too.
Bootsie Barker bites / by Barbara Bottner ****Mixed reviews on this recommendation from my sister-in-law. I loved the book, and think it teaches a great lesson (including the bratty Bootsie's parents giving in to a tantrum - that's why she's a brat!). My kids love it too. However... other friends and family who've read this to the kids thought it was horrible. I think it's a great book to use to teach some important lessons. And, kids can be mean. The heroine of "Bootsie" stands up for herself without becoming a bully herself...
First picture math / illustrated by Jo Litchfield****Madeline LOVES, and is really good at, this one!
Nifty thrifty math crafts / Michele C. Hollow
Tyrannosaurus math / by Michelle Markel
Money math with Sebastian pig and friends : at the farmer's market / written by Jill Anderson****Fun, and relevant, since we go to the Farmer's Market!
The beautiful stories of life : six Greek myths, retold / Cynthia Rylant
Children of native America today / Arlene Hirschfelder and Yvonne Wakim Dennis
Patchwork style : 35 simple projects for a cozy & colorful life / Suzuko Koseki
George and the dragon / text based on the script written by Sheila Dinsmore
Goldilocks / [retold and illustrated by] Ruth Sanderson****A beautiful version of Goldilocks, where Goldy helps clean up and repair the damage she's done, and gives the bears her blueberries so they can all end up sharing muffins and tea! Includes a blueberry muffin recipe.

A Mama's A Mama...

2009-10-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

No matter how hairy! Laura Leuck's My Monster Mama Loves Me So shows a hairy, green three-eyed (but sweet) monster Mama caring for her monster son, and illustrates all the ways that she loves him.

The rhyming text is fun and lively, and we especially like the "... takes me to the swamp to swim," part. Our kids are also fans of the fact that "the scary things" that scare the monsters are children! And, having the monsters roast hot dogs in front of a roaring fire, reading books and singing songs really makes them seem familiar and not at all scary.

Mark Buehner's illustrations really make the book shine. This one's a keeper—fun for Halloween, or really, any time of year.

Book Bag: September

2009-09-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

Jellyfish are fascinating creatures. They have no brain, no bones, no eyes, there is a vast array of different (beautiful) varieties, and a group of jellies is called a smack. These are the things you learn when you have an inquisitive four-year old... This month has also been Fall, Halloween, Science and Rhyming tales, as well as my favorite counting DVD (featuring Winnie the Pooh), and a wonderful book for parents (and teachers) to encourage pre-K and Kindergarten writers. Enjoy! As, always, our faves are ****'d!

The Snow Queen / by Hans Christian Andersen ; retold by Amy Ehrlich ; [illustrated by] Susan Jeffers.
The Berenstain Bears go back to school / Stan & Jan Berenstain
Books to grow on. Art [kit]
Books to grow on. Camping [kit]
Books to grow on. Machines [kit] ****Erik LOVES this collection of books about all sorts of trucks, cars and boats!
The jellyfish / Miriam J. Gross.
Tan to tamarind : poems about the color brown / poems by Malathi Michelle Iyengar
My soccer book / Gail Gibbons. Gibbons, Gail. 09-15-2009
Outlaw princess of Sherwood, a tale of Rowan Hood / Nancy Springer. ****This series will be part of our home library.
Winnie the Pooh. 123's discovering numbers and counting [videorecording]. ****A great video to introduce young ones to counting. Fun. Roo learns to count (and practice)
Baby whales drink milk / by Barbara Juster Esbensen ****Great science. Fascinating info about mammals.
Halloween night : twenty-one spooktacular poems / by Charles Ghigna
Mouse's first Halloween / Lauren Thompson
Goodnight goon : a petrifying parody / Michael Rex ****Great parody of Goodnight Moon! (Thanks for the tip, Jen.)
The cat in the hat comes back! / By Dr. Seuss ****The kids LOVE the "little cats" in this one!
Fox in socks, by Dr. Seuss ****I LOVE to read this one!
Five goofy ghosts / by Judith Bauer Stamper
It's back to school we go : first day stories from around the world / Ellen Jackson
Jellies : the life of jellyfish / Twig C. George. ****Good detail, and good pics.
Jellyfish / by Ann Herriges
Jellyfish / by Leighton Taylor
Jellyfish / by Martha E.H. Rustad
The jellyfish / Miriam J. Gross.
Brooms are for flying / by Michael Rex. ****Madeline loves that the little girl witch "dresses up" as a "human little girl dressed as a witch"
Jellyfish / by Carol K. Lindeen
I'm your bus / Marilyn Singer ****Awesome rhyming in this wonderful story about your friendly school bus!
Gooey jellyfish / by Natalie Lunis ****This one's the fave of the jellies books - really colorful, fact-filled and great photos!!
Already ready : nurturing writers in preschool and kindergarten / Katie Wood Ray with Matt Glover ****Great book with fun ideas about what to provide for little folk to encourage them as "writers." I've been creating little books for the kids to "write and illustrate" themselves and they LOVE it!

By The Book...

2009-09-24T21:11:00.000-07:00

Congratulations! Meet your beautiful new baby. Oh, and here's your user's manual...

What? You didn't get yours?

Yeah, neither did we.

Would you like one? Because, boy are there are a lot of really great resources out there if you're looking for ideas on the care and handling of little folk. Books that provide a great many techniques and methods on helping raise up polite, thoughtful, responsible, respectful, independent members of society who will go out into the world and make it better (and who don't whine incessantly, backtalk, or drive you completely nuts) . Sounds good, right? The more tools you have in your toolbox, the less likely you are to resort to whining (= nagging), backtalk (= yelling/shouting) or driving yourself completely nuts (= pleading, begging, bribing, cajoling, and giving in to your kids just this one time... or two).

OK, so — here are your user's manuals (they are all linked directly to Amazon.com in case you need to buy one or more - stat!)... while most have egregiously long titles (I've abbreviated many in my list), these are all books I've read, am reading, or have on hold at the library. Most have been recommended by friends, relatives, and acquaintances (from new parents to grandparents) who've used ideas from books in this list with great success. Read some, read 'em all, because depending on the day, you may need a whole lotta tricks up your sleeve. If there's one thing I've learned about being a mom... you've gotta be a little crazy. Crazy like a fox! Good luck, and happy reading!!

Discipline Without Tears by Rudolf Dreikurs
Children: The Challenge by Rudolf Dreikurs - Highly recommended by a friend who says that it saves her sanity on a daily basis. It's waiting for me at the library right now.
Parenting with Love & Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay- I've not read Cline and Fay yet, but have had several friends ask me if I have after witnessing how I handle my kids at the playground, etc. So, I've got it in my reading pile now — will be interesting to see what they say since I'm apparently already using their "method."
Helicopters, Drill Sergeants & Consultants: Parenting Styles and the Messages They Send by Jim Fay- some of Fay's books come in audio and DVD versions too.
Buddhism for Mothers: A Calm Approach to Caring for Yourself and Your Children- This book was great - a refreshing perspective on the challenges of parenting and the gift of childhood, what it can teach us, and how staying in the moment can help us help ourselves. She's also got one called "Becoming a Mindful Parent" that looks good, and is well-reviewed on Amazon.
Your One Year Old by Louise Bates Ames(there are many years in this series - one book per each) - These books have some socially outdated text in them, but are great for outlining age-appropriate behavior for kids and periods of equilibrium/disequilibrium, and came highly recommended by a mom with four wonderful teenage children
No More Misbehavin' by Michele Borba- straight-up practical ideas and plans for specific behavior issues - 38 to be exact. I'm reading this now.
Parents Do Make A Difference by Michele Borba
Hearing Is Believing: How Words Can Make or Break Our Kids by Elisa Medhus
Raising Children Who Think For Themselves by Elisa Medhus
How to Behave So Your Preschooler Will Too by Sal Severe(and the ... So Your Children Will Too version.) - Oh. I love these books. "Discipline is teaching kids good decision making." and "The time to prepare for adolescence is when your child is four." Brilliant, practical ideas here. Great ideas here for kids learning good choice vs. bad choice and owning the outcome
Positive Discipline For Preschoolers by Jane Nelsen - Some good ideas and a lot of theory. Interesting. If you want to get practical ideas now, and don't have a lot of time to ponder, go with Severe or Borba, Fay or Dreikurs.
Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka- some great ideas, and a lot of theory. Heavy on the "specialness" of "spirited" children, or kids that are "more" (sensitive, perceptive, etc.)
Supernanny: How to Get The Best From Your Children by Jo Frost- Quick and dirty, no nonsense ideas to hit the ground running with. Love the involvement technique, sleeping problems advice, whining, etc. Don't let her outdated ideas on breastfeeding put you off her otherwise good tips.
Raising Our Children; Raising Ourselves by Naomi Aldort- love this one. Why you parent the way you do and what you need to "fix" in yourself to improve your own issues, not pass them on to your kids, and raise your kids well in the process.

Got a favorite book that's not on this list?? Please, do share!

Autumn Is Here... Hooray!

2009-09-22T21:47:00.001-07:00

This little board book is a big deal in our house. After discovering it at the library a couple years ago, I had to buy it. Ann Burg paints an inviting picture of a little puppy going on a walk one beautiful Autumn evening in Autumn Walk.

She describes the colors wonderfully in her crimson and pumpkin gold world, and Burg's vivid language has kids crunching through the leaves too; "A whiff of apples and cinnamon toast, air that is corduroy cold."

As soon as the Summer is ending, we get this out, and don't stop reading it daily until the snow falls (and to be honest, we read it in other seasons too, when we miss our favorite season — Fall!)

The Tales of Rowan Hood

2009-09-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

Adventures in Sherwood Forest with the daughter of Robin Hood, and her band of merry outlaws... I love this series. I've not read any of the Rowan Hood series books by Nancy Springer to my kids yet, but a friend's 8-year old daughter loves them, so I wanted to check them out.

Rowan is a brave, smart and kind leader and a wonderful heroine, and Springer easily pulls readers in with her beautiful descriptions of Sherwood Forest, and adventure in spades. Rowan's father, the King of Thieves himself—Robin Hood, makes appearances in the stories too, and helps save the day occasionally. I've yet to finish the series, but this series is a fun twist on a classic tale.

I see these books being a big hit in our house in a few years.

Sisters Who Save The Day!

2009-08-31T09:38:00.000-07:00

Kathy Tucker's retelling of a classic Chinese Folk Tale — The Seven Chinese Sisters has mesmerized Madeline. We've only had it two days, and I honestly couldn't guess how many times I've read it. She loves it.

And, why wouldn't she? In this tale, seven sisters live in a small house in the Chinese countryside (who knows where the parents are...) and they range in age from young woman to baby sister (who can't yet talk). Each sister has a special skill: for example, First Sister rides a scooter (cool!) with skill and super speed, Fourth Sister can talk to dogs, and Sixth Sister can make the most delicious noodle soup... which attracts a hungry dragon, who steals plump little Seventh Sister.

The girls use their special skills to outsmart and outmaneuver the dragon, and that's not even the end of the story... Beautifully illustrated by Grace Lin, this book will likely end up in our permanent collection.

Animalia — A Beautiful Alphabet

2009-08-25T09:07:00.000-07:00

Graeme Base's Animalia is simply an amazing alphabet book. The rhyming prose is clever, funny, and full of rich vocabulary, and the illustrations are so beautiful. It's great fun to find all the things on the pages that begin with each letter... dragon, diamonds, donuts, dagger, dinosaur, dromedary... it's a visual and literary adventure. A feast for the eyes and ears!

Sadly, we have to return this to the library as there are many holds on it, but it's definitely a keeper, so I just need to get myself a copy soon!

Book Bag: August

2009-08-11T13:29:00.001-07:00

August was all about folk and fairy tales, heroines, science, dinosaurs and Diego... the kids have also discovered Kipper and adore his tales, and I like the Kipper DVDs because the segments are about 12 minutes each (easy to dole out one or two "shows" without it being 40-60 mins). I also found several gems that have become favorites already... ****Marks our super-duper-extra faves, below!

Vasilissa the beautiful : a Russian folktale / adapted by Elizabeth Winthrop****Baba Yaga in all her scary glory, Vasilissa's tale (like Cinderella but she saves herself) and gorgeous illustrations
How the Amazon queen fought the prince of Egypt / Tamara Bower
Diego saves the sloth! / by Alexis Romay
Mrs. Wishy-Washy makes a splash! / Joy Cowley
Shape by shape / Suse MacDonald. ****Shapes that slowly reveal a Brachiosaurus! How could you go wrong with this one??
Diego and Papi to the rescue / by Wendy Wax
Go Diego Go! The great dinosaur rescue
Diego's wolf pup rescue / adapted by Christine Ricci
Diego's safari rescue / adapted by Ligiah Villalobos
A humpback whale tale / adapted by Justin Spelvin
Go Diego go! Underwater mystery [videorecording]
Dinosaur roar! / Paul & Henrietta Stickland.
What lives in a shell? / by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Air is all around you / by Franklyn M. Branley
Starfish / by Edith Thacher Hurd ****I LOVE all of these Science for preschoolers series books, but Madeline especially loves this one!
A nest full of eggs / by Priscilla Belz Jenkins
Come to tea! : fun tea party themes, recipes, crafts, etiquette, and more / Stephanie Dunnewind ****An excellent book. Would make a great gift for any young girl who likes tea parties
Kipper. Amazing discoveries! [videorecording]
Kipper. Kipper helps out [videorecording]
ABC / by Bruno Munari. ****Wonderful illustrations
Bruno Munari's zoo / Bruno Munari
Pictures from our vacation / Lynne Rae Perkins
Mama played baseball / David A. Adler ****A mom who supports her family playing baseball while her husband is off fighting in WWII - great story, great history, amazing illustrations.
At night / Jonathan Bean
Dinosaur discoveries / by Gail Gibbons
Dinosaurs! / by Gail Gibbons
A child's day : an alphabet of play / Ida Pearle
Jambo means hello; Swahili alphabet book / by Muriel Feelings
The seven Chinese sisters / written by Kathy Tucker ; illustrated by Grace Lin ****I can't count the times I've read this one. Madeline adores it, and it's a great tale of girls who outsmart, and out-tough, a dragon!
Monkey world / Matthew Porter ****Wonderfully poetic prose, beautiful illustrations and creative occupations!
Animalia / Graeme Base ****Creative and breathtaking. A feast for the eyes.

In "This Man's Army..."

2009-07-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

If it weren't for the women, employed by "this mans' Army" (and other branches of the U.S. military) during WWII, the Allies wouldn't have had such great success. The Women of the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) flew every type of mission except combat during WWII for the Army Air Corp. And, the WAC (Women's Army Corps) began in May of 1942 and also did all Army jobs except combat (stateside and overseas).

From Wikipedia: General Douglas MacArthur called the WACs "my best soldiers", adding that they worked harder, complained less, and were better disciplined than men.^[6] Many generals wanted more of them and proposed to draft women but it was realised that this "would provoke considerable public outcry and Congressional opposition" and the War Department declined to take such a drastic step.^[7] Those 150,000 women that did serve released the equivalent of 7 divisions of men for combat. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower said that "their contributions in efficiency, skill, spirit, and determination are immeasurable".^[8] During the same time period, other branches of the U.S. military had similar women's units, including the Navy WAVES, the SPARS of the Coast Guard and the (civil) Women Airforce Service Pilots. The British Armed Forces also had similar units, including the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.

Two amazing young adult fiction books I read this summer teach the history of the WAC and WASP with flair (and both from the perspective of African American - or "Colored" at the time - women). I keep recommending (OK, nearly badgering) people to read both books.

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith is the tale of Ida Mae passing as a white pilot to join the WASP during WWII. I loved the book so entirely that I emailed the author with my compliments. Ms. Smith was so nice, and recommended a few more books to me to read, including the amazing Mare's Ware by Tanita S. Davis. Mare's War flashes back and forth between the present day (complete with two I-Pod and cell-phone wielding teenagers) and the 1940's when Mare (Octavia and Tali's gramma) lied about her age in order to join the WAC (Women Army Corps). Both are stories of two strong, smart, hard-working women who are certainly heroines, and great role models for all young women.

A Kindred Spirit

2009-07-09T23:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight we read Bottle Houses: The Creative World of Grandma Prisbrey, by Melissa Eskridge Slaymaker and Julie Paschkis (and which I found by searching for more books illustrated by Paschkis). Madeline was enchanted, impressed, and obviously delighted. Tressa Prisby and Mads are kindred spirits for sure... she just made her "installations" on a larger scale and out of materials recycled from the city dump.

This is an absolutely fascinating story about Grandma Prisbrey and how her Bottle Village was created. I think we need to visit it in person!

Wonderful writing, great story, and amazingly beautiful illustrations. This one's already on it's way to our house from Amazon.com...

Book Bag: June & July

2009-07-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to attend a Scholastic Warehouse Sale with Gramma at the start of summer, and the books that she gifted us with have been entertaining us greatly. I'll post some of them later this season as they are quickly become some of the kids' favorites.

Here's our library book bag for June/July (including some great educational DVDs) ****Faves detailed below:

Sea horses / by Ann Herriges ****Madeline LOVED this one (of course)
Noses / Daniel Nun
From kernel to corn / by Robin Nelson
Duck! Rabbit! / Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Little Oink / by Amy Krouse Rosenthal****We all loved this silly, "backward" tale about cleaning up (in the vein of Little Pea -eating veggies, and Little Hoot -bedtime)
The lady of ten thousand names : goddess stories from many cultures / retold by Burleigh Muten****Freya is one of the goddesses in this book, and I was reviewing it for a gift for a friend's newborn daughter. Neat book for older kids, and for a keepsake book.
The rusty, trusty tractor / by Joy Cowley
Words are not for hurting / by Elizabeth Verdick
Llama Llama misses Mama / Anna Dewdney****Both kids loved this one about Llama Llama going to preschool.

DVDs:

City of bees / Frejas Born Film and Sound****LOVED this one. Very interesting.
Dirt monsters / Lolo Productions ; Totally Trucks****Cool trucks ABC's piece in this, and E adored this show.
All about birds / National Geographic Kids
Ocean life / produced by Lancit Media Productions Ltd.

My Kinda Gals!

2009-06-17T23:28:00.000-07:00

LOVE this book. LOVE it. Really. Adore it. The three little chicks in it remind me of Madeline, and my three nieces. Who are all good, but indeed do have moxie, and aren't really the demure, mild-mannered sort of gals. They're loud. They like mud, bugs and worms. They like to run around in their birthday suits pretending to be warrior princesses... In a word, they are glorious. Just like this book.

Tough Chicks by Cece Meng tells the story of three tough chicks who are not like the other "good" quiet and orderly chicks in the hen house. These chicks are curious, boisterous, inventive, loud, dare devilish, smart little cookies, who save the day (in spite of everyone telling their Mama to "make them be good!")

This book I will buy, and gift, to many, many children. Check it out.

Book Bag: May

2009-06-10T00:03:00.001-07:00

The favorites by far in May were Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems, Imaginary Menagerie by Julie Larios, Wells' Ruby and Max tales, and Muncha Muncha Muncha by Candace Fleming. ****Faves detailed below:

The curious garden / by Peter Brown.
Knuffle Bunny : a cautionary tale / by Mo Willems. ****The kids could not get enough of this one. A fairly quick read, and they kept asking for it, over and over again. Luckily, I loved the story and illustrations too.
Twist : yoga poems / written by Janet S. Wong ; illustrated by Julie Paschkis.
The talking vegetables / retold by Won-Ldy Paye & Margaret H. Lippert ; illustrated by Julie Paschkis.
The ultimate preschool playbook: easy, educational, and entertaining activities for your 2-5-year-old / Dorothy Einon. ****Great, fun stuff in this book! We've renewed it multiple times...
Imaginary menagerie : a book of curious creatures / poems by Julie Larios ; paintings by Julie Paschkis. ****Mad loved the Trolls and Mermaids in this one, as usual the illustrations were the best!
Bubbles, rainbows, and worms : science experiments for preschool children / Sam Ed Brown ****More great stuff in this one for the kiddos!
Jellybeans / by Sylvia van Ommen.
I love bugs! / by Philemon Sturges
Bats at the beach /by Brian Lies
Bunny mail / Rosemary Wells ****Max and Gramma shine in this one!
Bunny money / Rosemary Wells
Mrs. Wow never wanted a cow / by Martha Freeman
Diary of a fly / by Doreen Cronin
All in a day / by Cynthia Rylant
Bunny cakes / by Rosemary Wells ****Both kids LOVED this one... the cakes were a hit, and all the boys I read it to said they'd want the mud cake with candies.
Hip hop speaks to children : a celebration of poetry with a beat / editor, Nikki Giovanni****Fascinating (includes a CD as well)
Hands are not for hitting / Martine Agassi
Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! / by Candace Fleming ****Good rhyme and funny story - bunnies getting into an old man's garden, no matter what he does...

My Favorite Cinderella...

2009-05-13T19:40:00.000-07:00

I've always loved the feminist versions of Cinderella, like Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson, Cindy Ellen by Susan Lowell, and others along the same vein, but this week found my very favorite Cinderella story — an amalgamation of the tale from 17 different countries, blended together beautifully in one book by amazing folk art illustrations on each page.

This book, by Paul Fleischman and Julie Paschkis shows Cinderella in Korea, Japan, Laos, Germany, Ireland, Iraq, France, West Indies, Mexico, India and Appalachia (among others)... the girl called Ashpet, Sootface, Cendrillon . . . and Cinderella.

It's a well-crafted story, but for me, the art by Paschkis makes the book, and after looking her up, I realized why... I love many of the other books that she's illustrated. Check them out right here.

This version focuses on her good nature, good attitude, and the good ending that comes of it all. A beautiful book with a map of the world (and the countries that the stories originate from) on the endpapers. A beautiful book. Another one that will have to eventually be added to our own home library!

Kids in the Kitchen

2009-05-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

Pretend Soup by Mollie Katzen, and Katzen's newer, Salad People are excellent cookbooks to use with preschoolers. Our two-year-old, Erik loves these books and they are equally appealing to adults.

Each recipe is spread over four pages, with ingredients, tips, set up and "kids tasks" all laid out, including a two-page spread for each recipe that shows the recipe steps by illustration (easy for kids to "read" the recipe as they follow along).

Fun, colorful veggie and fruit, soup, bread, breakfast "cookies," etc. recipes are good, healthy, real food NOT "kid food" full of sugar or the odd standbys of hot dog creations or mac and cheese.

We already bought Salad People, and gave another copy away as a birthday gift to friends. Pick these books up - they're great!

Giggles Galore!

2009-04-29T08:02:00.000-07:00

The kids' new love is Knock Knock jokes, but they don't exactly "get" them yet... meaning that any answer can crack them up really. So, a knock knock joke book for older kids isn't that engaging.

However, this lift-the-flap book — Knock, Knock! Who's There? My First Book of Knock-Knock Jokes by Tad Hills (of the Duck and Goose series books) is perfect. It cracks them up, and each joke is a two-page spread with a flap to lift to reveal the punch line. It was an instant favorite. We already own it, it's that good. And, Erik sleeps with it under his pillow.

"Knock, Knock"
"Who's There?"
"Luke"
"Luke, who?"
"Look out below!"
"Yikes!" (as a duck comes flying out of the sky...)

Book Bag: April

2009-04-27T11:15:00.001-07:00

I love the story my friend Susan tells about her niece; seeing all the dandelions in Susan's yard (gone to seed) the sweet girl gasped in delight and said, "Aunt Susan! You have a WISH Garden!!"

Madeline shares this delight for dandelions (don't most little girls?) so Dandelions: Star in the Grass is the perfect read for us! It's going on our "to own" list... We're also loving Ladybug Girl, and Cowboy Kate and Cocoa (again - the first go-round on these was about 9 months ago), and a whole passel of new books too. (Books beloved by my babes are marked with ****)

Dandelions : stars in the grass / Mia Posada.****
Ernie dances to the didgeridoo : for the children of Gunbalanya / Alison Lester
Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy / David Soman****Ladybug Girl organizes a Bug Squad, and saves the day!
Ladybug Girl / David Soman**** The original and best - we love this tale of imaginative solo play and she's a tough little gal!
Gardening with kids / Sharon MacLatchie.
Bugs up close / Diane Swanson
Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa : rain or shine / Erica Silverman****
Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa : school days / Erica Silverman**** Mads' faves since she was two - horses, a ranch and a cowgirl, how could you go wrong??
Bugs : poems about creeping things / David L. Harrison
Why do we see rainbows? / Melissa Stewart.
Pretend soup and other real recipes : a cookbook for preschoolers & up / Mollie Katzen****Cooking fun in the kitchen with Mama!
Skunk's spring surprise / Lesléa Newman
The happy day / Ruth Krauss****Sweet, simple, with a surprise ending! Black and white with a touch of color on the last page (filled with animals too).
The wish / Elle van Lieshout
Counting in the garden / Kim Parker.****The watercolor illustrations please Madeline.
Polar Polka : counting polar bears in Alaska / Chérie B. Stihler
A fire engine for Ruthie / Lesléa Newman****Fave of both kids - this tale of a girl whose gramma finally gives in to her love of "boy" toys, and has a blast!
Raindrop, plop! / Wendy Cheyette Lewison
Cindy Ellen : a wild western Cinderella / Susan Lowell****A recommendation from Aunt Shannon that we LOVE!! A spunky twist on Cinderella. Cinderella with True Grit... how can you not love it?
The gingerbread man / Eric Blair
Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose / Mary Engelbreit
The gruffalo / Julia Donaldson****A classic favorite for us! Clever little mouse outfoxes everyone, even when faced with a surprise.
Goldilocks and the three bears / retold and illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev
Mother Goose numbers on the loose / Leo & Diane Dillon
Goldilocks and the three bears : a classic fairy tale / illustrated by Charlotte Roederer****Loving the classics right now...
The three little pigs / Paul Galdone
Lentil / Robert McCloskey****McCloskey can't lose in our house.
On the day I was born / Debbi Chocolate
The apple doll / Elisa Kleven****Fun directions on making an apple doll are included
Jack and the beanstalk / retold by Richard Walke****A great version of this story (the illustrations are really fun and whimsical).
Momo's kitten / Mitsu and Taro Yashima
Lemons are not red / Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Perfectly Martha / Susan Meddaugh
26 letters and 99 cents / Tana Hoban

****And we LOVE the Signing Time DVD series by Two Little Hands Productions. They teach ASL is such a clear, fun, and easy-to-remember style. It's fun to have the kids learning new signs (to add to the ones they learned as babies/toddlers).

Signing time. Series 2, volume 3, Move and groove / Two Little hands Productions
Signing time. [Volume 8], The great outdoors / Two Little Hands Productions
Signing time! Volume 6, My favorite things / Two Little Hands Productions

Book Bag: March

2009-03-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

I love how I quite often just stop at a shelf in the library and pick out several books that are exactly fitting for us at the time. The Apple Pie That Papa Baked... just in time for Pi Day. Those Darn Squirrels... well, if you know us, you know that's always fitting. Klippity Klop - suits M's love of We're Going on A Bear Hunt, and includes a dragon, knight and horses.

More details from our March Book Bag... the especially beloved (by my tykes) are marked with ****

Flat Stanley / Jeff Brown****A Classic, and they love it - silly and fun.
The letters are lost! / Lisa Campbell Ernst
Wake up, it's spring! / Lisa Campbell Ernst
Fin M'Coul : the giant of Knockmany Hill / Tomie de Paola
Llama, llama red pajama / Anna Dewdney.****I think they like this one because they think it's silly that the Llama freaks out when his mom doesn't immediately run to his bidding... of course that doesn't stop them from doing the same.
Grace for president / Kelly DiPucchio
G is for one gzonk : an alpha-number-bet book / Tiny DiTerlooney
Being honest / Jill Lynn Donahue
The bouncing, dancing, galloping ABC / Charlotte Doyle
Clara Caterpillar / Pamela Duncan Edwards****WONDERFUL book filled to the brim with "C" words. Amazing vocabulary building, bright and beautiful illustrations, and great message about individuality... this one's a keeper. (Some Smug Slug, and Four Famished Foxes and Fosdyke are also fab books by this author.)
Klippity klop / Ed Emberley**** Sweet little book, reminiscent of Going On A Bear Hunt, with great line-drawing illustrations
Scoot! / Cathryn Falwell
Meerkat mail / Emily Gravett
Orange pear apple bear / Emily Gravett
Owen's marshmallow chick / Kevin Henkes.**** Haven't found a Henkes book yet that we don't like...
Grump groan growl / Bell Hooks
Nora's stars / Satomi Ichikawa
My pig Amarillo / Satomi Ichikawa
Lili at ballet / Rachel Isadora
Uh-oh! / Rachel Isadora
Not just tutus / Rachel Isadora.
Papa do you love me? / Barbara Joosse****Gorgeous illustrations and poetic story. They are fascinated by Africa
Froggy eats out / Jonathan London
Chinatown / William Low
Elephant quilt : stitch by stitch to California! / Susan Lowell
Kanu of Kathmandu : a journey in Nepal / Barbara A. Margolies.
Those darn squirrels! / Adam Rubin **** LOVE this book. It's hilarious.
What did you put in your pocket? / Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
Doo-Wop Pop / Roni Schotter **** Great rhythm and beat, beautiful illustrations, and a wonderful message.
The apple pie that papa baked / Lauren Thompson**** Great rhyme. Fun illustrations, and the kids are captivated by the Papa baking a pie...
Little Quack's bedtime / Lauren Thompson**** Little Quack is well loved in our house. The kids can't get enough of this book.
Max counts his chickens / Rosemary Wells

Book Bag: February

2009-03-02T23:55:00.000-08:00

We had a party at our place today to celebrate and read! Nine kids and eight readers, plus Seussian treats made for lots of fun. Happy Birthday to Dr. Seuss, or as this excellent dedication says, from Wild About Books (thank you for this amazing book, Gramma!!) "This book is for our favorite doctor, artist, poet, fun concocter: Theodor Seuss Geisel, 1904-1991 - Judy Sierra and Marc Brown

More fabulous reads from our February Book Bag... the especially beloved (by my tykes) are marked with ****

Mouse mess / Linnea Riley.
Don't let the pigeon drive the bus / Mo Willems. **** (yeah, who doesn't LOVE this book?)
The squiggle / Carole Lexa Schaefer
Stargazing sky / Deborah Kogan Ray.
We've all got bellybuttons! / David Martin
Ella takes the cake / Carmela & Steven D'Amico.****
Ella the elegant elephant / Carmela & Steven D'Amico.****
Time to say please! / Mo Willems.
Carousel / Brian Wildsmith.
One naked baby : counting to ten and back again / Maggie Smith.**** (this counting book has been a fave since Madeline was 15 months old)
Sheep in a jeep / Nancy Shaw**** (The rhyme and rhythm of this one is superb)
Dinosaur! / Peter Sis.
Sorting toys / by Jennifer L. Marks.
Snow / Joan Clark
Miss Spider's ABC / David Kirk.
Night of the moonjellies / Mark Shasha. **** (I love this one too!! A young boy learning an excellent work ethic by helping his family run their business. Beautiful story and illustrations.)
Piggies / Don and Audrey Wood
Polar bear, polar bear, what do you hear? / Bill Martin, Jr.
Bigmama's / Donald Crews
Froggy gets dressed / Jonathan London**** (It's the Fuh-ROGGGGYYYYY!!! And forgetting his underwear. Slays them every time...)
My book box / Will Hillenbrand
Pinkalicious / Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann**** (Cupcakes. Little brother gets the "last word.")
Lickety-split / Robert Heidbreder**** (Action, wonderful vocabulary, engaging illustrations, and little brother gets the "last word.")

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

2009-03-02T21:45:00.000-08:00

Our stack of Seuss books was only a very small number of the books devoured at today's Seuss-stravaganza! I found Lilly in the hall, with Funny Face, and Charlotte was engrossed in Winnie the Pooh's ABC's, while Madeline followed The Little Mermaid while waiting for the Green Eggs & Ham cake to be cut. Four-month old Alexandria let me read eight board books to her before she needed to do something else. She loves Hand, Hand, Fingers Thumb as much as I do (although I don't usually feel the urge to chew on the book...), and 4-year old Gavino enjoyed a few of the stories I picked for Alexandria too.
Gramma and Grampa both read books to any kids that wanted to climb on up and listen, and Mad & G especially love one of our all-time faves... The Paperbag Princess. Lilly and Ben enjoyed some Green Egg cookies at the kids' table while checking out Go Dog, Go! and other fun board books. Rochelle and Gramma both read Big Plans to the kids... one of our very favorite new books.

Thanks to everyone who helped celebrate Read Across America Day with us today. March is Reading Month, so add a few extra books every day to what you read to your kids. And remember, you are never too little to enjoy a good book (just look at wee Alexandria's concentration). If you haven't yet done it today... share some books with someone small!

"I'm In," says the Mynah Bird

2009-02-19T09:15:00.000-08:00

It's got a Mynah bird, a take-charge little boy with Big Plans (Big Plans, I say!), big imagination, and is chock-full of excellent illustrations, vocabulary and is a hoot to read.

The kids' newest fave is written by Bob Shea and lucky for us, I found it in the book bin at QFC for keeps!

His stinky skunk hat is fabulous too (although it isn't too obvious whether or not he "makes" it himself, but the tongue lolling out of the corner of the mouth is funny to Joel and I, even if the kids don't get it.) You gotta love subtlety.

And, I can't read this without "Bird Is The Word" playing in my head: "The Bird, the bird, the bird is the word..."

Pink Delicious!!

2009-02-11T16:14:00.000-08:00

When Madeline was almost two, she called Pinkalicious by Victoria & Elizabeth Kann "Pink Delicious." Although, I must admit, I wasn't the world's biggest fan of this book. I tend to avoid any books that refer to veggies as "yucky" in any way. So, I just skipped over those bits.

Fast-forward to last week when we are eating dinner and M refuses to eat her veggies. (This is my girl who adores veggies.) "Yuck! Green food!" What? I asked her. You are the one who chose these baby zucchini from the produce section, remember? Then, I discovered they'd read Pinkalicious at school. Aha! So, I got it from the library to read at home, and I have to say that this book has grown on me.
I read the whole book now, verbatim, but we discuss how silly it is to not like grapes, pickles, peas, cucumbers, broccoli, etc. And, the kids continue to adore Pinkalicious. Erik especially loves it — I think because the little brother "wins" in the end, or so E believes. He said, while chuckling like a fiend the other morning, "Duh liddle bruh-ther got the last cupcake!!"

So, today we made some fun treats, inspired by "Pink Delicious"... Erik loved his, and Mad loved helping decorate, and practicing her letters in sprinkles. And, yes, the cupcakes are pink inside too. Strawberry, but of course!

Delicious, Action-Packed, and Dynamic

2009-02-06T17:06:00.000-08:00

We've got nearly 50 books out from the library this week, and only three are mine, so we've been busy with fun new reads! One of the kids' faves is Food for thought by Saxton Freymann, which is also reviewed on James Patterson's ReadKiddoRead site (marvelous resource for finding excellent kids' books). This site recommendation is from my friend, and fellow book-lover, Jerrie. The kids adore the inventive, bright, engaging food-as-art in this clever, and very comprehensive book.

And, Jerrie also gave me the book Picture Books by Ruth Culham, which is an annotated bibliography for teachers. In it, we found two additional faves this week: Hoops by Robert Burleigh (if you like basketball, you'll love this great descriptive and poetic book), and Many Luscious Lollipops by Ruth Heller (covers many great advectives with wonderful illustrations).

Book Bag: January

2009-01-30T00:21:00.000-08:00

I love our online library account. I log in to it daily to manage our lending, and one of the neat features is "History" which allows me to save what we've checked out. So, I'm going to start posting some of our faves from each month's book bag. Here's our January selection, with *** on the kids' extra-super favorite recommendations!

***The red lemon / by Bob Staake (very original with great illustrations & text)
Disney's Winnie the Pooh's valentine / by Bruce Talkington
Richard Scarry's The great pie robbery : and other mysteries.
Mouse's first valentine / Lauren Thompson
Cookies : bite-size life lessons / written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
***How do I put it on? : getting dressed / story by Shigeo Watanabe
Manuelo the playing mantis / Don Freeman.
***Your favorite Seuss / [compiled] by Janet Schulman and Cathy Goldsmith ; illustrated by Dr. Seuss
Japan ABCs : a book about the people and places of Japan / written by Sara Hiemen
***Kallaloo! : a Caribbean tale / by David and Phillis Gershator (A fun twist on the Stone Soup theme)
***Alphabatics / Suse Macdonald. (Very cool "acrobatic" letters that morph into something symbolizing their sound)
***People patterns / by Nathan Olson.
***Trashy town / Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha (Stop! Throw it in, Smash it down, Drive around the trashy town... Please! Don't all kids LOVE this one?)
***Red is best / story, Kathy Stinson
The seals on the bus / by Lenny Hort
***The lady with the alligator purse / adapted and illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott (Who doesn't love this song? And, the kids love the silly illustrations.)
Martin's Big words : the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. / Doreen Rappaport
Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel / story and pictures by Virginia Lee Burton.
All the colors of the Earth / Sheila Hamanaka.
***Brave Irene / by William Steig. (This wee heroine has pluck, moxie... she's tough as nails, and clever too)
Ask Mr. Bear / story and pictures by Marjorie Flack.
***Animals should definitely not wear clothing, written by Judi Barrett
Mama zooms / written and illustrated by Jane Cowen-Fletcher.
City 123 / Zoran Milich.
***Dim sum for everyone / Grace Lin. (Erik can't get enough of this dim sum lunch adventure)
Cherry pies and lullabies / Lynn Reiser.
***The funny little woman / by Arlene Mosel (And, Madeline is fascinated by the "evil Oni" who capture the little woman simply to have her cook for them... "But, they have the magic paddle that does the rice cooking. Why can't they do it themselves?")
Whose mouse are you? / by Robert Kraus

Hoe rooier, hoe mooier!

2009-01-26T23:59:00.000-08:00

That's Afrikaans for the title of my latest fave book. I plucked Kathy Stinson's Red is Best off the library shelf last week simply because of the fabulous title, sure I'd found a treasure. And, I was right — about red, and this book. Red is my favorite color, and this little book is so very perfect. It captures the spirit of many of the little people I love, and with such lovely prose. I mean, who wouldn't be delighted by these lines: "My mom says, 'You wear pink barrettes with a pink dress.'/But my red barrettes make my hair laugh./I like my red barrettes the best."

And, perhaps, best of all, I happened to check out the 25th-year anniversary edition of the book with a couple entries written by the author (Stinson) and illustrator (Robin Baird Lewis). The note by Lewis, describing her motivation for her illustrations of the character, made me smile and laugh out loud because, in it I see my Madeline: "... that quintessential female child, 3 years old going on 30, who strides through her world with devastating clarity and confident insight. With not a little pity in her kindness, and full of generous enthusiasm, she is more than happy to explain it all, so that you can understand what to her is the obvious."

Stinson's opening reflects this character so well; "My mom doesn't understand about red." They've captured the wonderful spirit of a fun age, and the plucky kiddo you read this to will likely see themselves in these pages. Don't just check it out... this one's a keeper!

Be Boppin' Hip Hoppin' Jazz Readin'

2009-01-20T22:55:00.000-08:00

Two favorites: one classic, Charlie Parker Played Be Bop by Chris Raschka, and one new fave, Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler have Erik drumming a steady beat on his lap (or the book) as we read!

Charlie Parker is so fun to read, it's got a beautiful beat, and I've read it so many times that I couldn't even venture a guess as to the number! One afternoon I read it to a group of kids about 30 times. I don't really even need to actually read it anymore of course... which is handy for distraction, since I can "sing" it in the car, grocery, wherever we are...

And, Jazz Baby is a new favorite from the library, full of lively and fun illustrations, and another lyrical storyline that immediately had me toe-tappin' and living the music of the book. Wheeler's prose, I'm sure, will be my next Jazz tune to bop, be bop with Erik to! Do wop doo!

Colors, Kisses, Wheels, and Tools to Use!

2008-12-29T20:39:00.000-08:00

This week, four favorites are: Red Is a Dragon by Roseanne Thong, The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, The Wheels on The Bus by Raffi, and a tool-book for parents; Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves by Naomi Aldort. Red Is a Dragon is beautifully and vibrantly illustrated by Grace Lin, and introduces colors with fun and interesting examples all in the introduction of Chinese New Year. The story also rhymes beautifully.

The Kissing Hand is a sweet story of a young racoon going off to school for the first time, and how his Mama helps him with his anxieties about leaving her and home each day for this new experience. After reading it once, Madeline starting kissing my hand every so often, and it seems to be helping with the idea of starting preschool.

The Wheels on The Bus by Raffi is a fun little board book to sing, and one of Erik's favorite songs right now (we sang "The Wheels on The Truck All Through The Snow" on our Christmas Tree hunt a few weeks ago). I couldn't resist this at the library today and E loves it already.

And, last but not least, my favorite "new" parenting book; Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves focuses on what our children (and how we react to their challenging moments especially) can teach us about ourselves... I really love it. I was 54 pages in before I could set it down, and kept reading examples to Joel. I've used a good many tools from the book, and they work. It's full of wonderful examples of real-world situations, great tools for defusing (and avoiding) tantrums, and treating children with respect while teaching them why they should be kind, respectful, thoughtful, honest, etc. (instead of ruling them by fear and authority). Aldort also strongly advocates parenting your own way, and staying true to yourself and your children. A useful and practical read for any parent!

Naughty or Nice?

2008-12-22T00:50:00.000-08:00

The kids are loving Lawrence David's Peter Claus and the Naughty List. They want to hear it every time we read books — in the morning, during the day, and at bedtime. And, that's fine by me. We actually own this book, and I like the message: basically, everyone is naughty sometimes, what matters is that you are more often nice than naughty, and when you do something naughty you say sorry.

And, Delphine Durand's illustrations are lively and engaging. Madeline has as many questions about the story that the pictures tell as she does about the story. It's a keeper, and luckily it's already ours! Maybe Santa should bring you a copy too!

Christmas Is Coming...

2008-12-19T11:24:00.000-08:00

I had The Sweet Smell of Christmas by Patricia M. Scarry when I was a kid, and it was one of my favorite books. It's a scratch and sniff book, with pine, apple pie, orange, gingerbread, candy cane and hot cocoa... I might be missing one, but that's from memory. The scents are perfect and delectable.

When I saw this book at Barnes & Noble in December '05, I snapped it up! Madeline was only 4 months old, but I had to get this book for me! And, I knew she'd love it some day. It's one of the kids' favorite holiday books, and I've also given it as gifts to several kids.

The story is of Little Bear waiting for Christmas, and that he knows it's coming and it's "... almost here" by the scents of the holiday that surround him. It's a classic that will become a favorite. Trust me.

What Erik Might Ask Santa For...

2008-12-13T09:30:00.001-08:00

Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett is Erik's very favorite new book, and since I sing the book, it's also his favorite new song (and we make it longer by adding our own animals that we'd like to see at the zoo). Since we've got it from the library right now, I'll probably wait for sometime in the future to make this a purchase, but since he also adores his Monkey, I suspect this one will become a personal favorite. He may even ask Santa for it, instead of a "teeny tiny knife" (he loves Joel's pocket knives).

Monkey and me,
Monkey and me,
Monkey and me,
We went to see, we went to see... some Echidnas! (The echidna is his fave animal - next to monkeys and ducks - because of another great book: Platypus and the Birthday Party by Chris Riddell.) Gravett's animals, are all less unusual (but kids favorites): elephants, kangaroos, penguins, and more...

Holiday Magic: A-Book-A-Day for December

2008-11-30T11:20:00.000-08:00

Winter, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas... December is a magical month, and the following list of childrens' books (in random order) covers them all, with the majority being Christmas or Winter books since it's what we celebrate in our house. Happy Reading and Happy December! Enjoy this magical season by reading all the selections on this list (or make your own and check it twice!).

And, in the spirit of the season, please share your favorite winter holiday titles in the Comments section below!

The Snowy Day - Ezra Jack Keats
Santa's Toy Shop - Little Golden Book (Al Dempster)
Clifford's Christmas - Norman Bridwell
The Sweet Smell of Christmas - Patricia Scarry
Auntie Claus - Elise Primavera
First Snow - Bernette Ford
I've Seen Santa! - David Bedford
Snowmen At Christmas - Caralyn Buehner
Cookie Count: A Tasty Pop-Up by Robert Sabuda
Seven Candles For Kwanzaa - Andrea Davis Pinkney
Our Eight Nights of Hanukkah - Michael J. Rosen
Eight Days of Hanukkah: A Holiday Step Book - Harriet Ziefert
I Spy: Little Christmas - Jean Marzollo/Walter Wick
A Wish to be a Christmas Tree - Colleen Monroe
Jingle Bells - Iza Trapani
The Mitten - Jan Brett
Christmas in the Manger - Nola Buck
Erik and the Christmas Horse - Hans Peterson
Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening - Frost/Jeffers
Toot & Puddle: Let it Snow - Holly Hobbie
This Is The Stable - Cynthia Cotten
Five Little Penguins Slipping on The Ice - Steve Metzger
Peter Claus and the Naughty List - Lawrence David
The Gingerbread Girl - Lisa Campbell Ernst
Where did they hide my presents? - Alan Katz/David Catrow
The 12 Days of Christmas: A carol-and-count flap book - Tad Hills
Mortimer's Christmas Manger - Karma Wilson
Counting to Christmas - Nancy Tafuri
The Night Before Christmas - Clement C. Moore
How The Grinch Stole Christmas - Dr. Seuss
Mouse's First Christmas - Lauren Thompson

A Heartfelt Thank You

2008-11-26T22:43:00.000-08:00

Give Thanks to the Lord: Celebrating Psalm 92 by Karma Wilson is a pretty fun Thanksgiving book, with a faith-based focus. It celebrates Psalm 92: "It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High." and is kid-focused too, showing little folk doing all the things they do on Thanksgiving day with family. Jumping in leaves, eating at the kids' table (with olives on all their fingers), sharing pie with Grampa and stories too, are among just a few examples.

Amy June Bates' illustrations are perfect and sweet, and the faces of the children are so expressive and real.

An excellent book with the added bonus of giving Thanks where it ought to be given: "We all sit down, we all join hands. Our heads are bowed as we say grace. We give our highest praise to God and feel him in this place." Amen. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Snap This Up!!

2008-11-25T20:09:00.000-08:00

Cookie Count: A Tasty Pop-Up by Robert Sabuda, is brilliant! Absolutely, charmingly, deliciously, intricately ingenious. I was enchanted the first page-through. The kids LOVE it. LOVE. They both sucked in their collective breaths on page #10, which is a full-blown gingerbread house pop up. One through ten of this counting book features scrumptious cookies, and little mice chefs (it says a lot that the rodents don't bother me... I'm not a rodent fan) on each page of inventive pop-up art. I found this gem on a list of recommended counting books from the library and bought it. It was worth every penny.

My favorites are the fortune cookies (with fortunes), and the Linzer hearts (with heart-shaped cooling rack), oh! and the Pinwheels... one of which twirls on a fork when you turn the page as the mice pull it up with strings. Sigh... I adore this sweet little book that is so delicious you could nearly eat it up.

Buy it. Give it to children you love this holiday season. Make it a part of your holiday traditions — it would make a brilliant accompaniment to any cookie baking / decorating you do every year!

On The List...

2008-11-20T22:57:00.000-08:00

I love the book lists for kids that our library publishes. There are several versions, including 50 Best Picture Books for Kids, and lists for Babies, Toddlers, Preschoolers, Kindergartners, etc.

This list is 100 Books Every Child Should Hear Before Starting School, and it's full of great titles. I buzzed through it again tonight, and we've done 70% of the list so far. I think we've got a good chance of finishing before Madeline starts school.

To see the list in detail, just click on the image for a closer view!

Illustration Comparison

2008-11-19T11:43:00.000-08:00

Three of our new books from the library this week have provided an excellent example of different illustration styles, and they are all great stories.

Cowboy Bunnies by Christine Loomis is illustrated by Ora Eitan with paintings on wood panels. The bunnies and their antics are fun and full of energy. Loomis' rhyming prose is lively and beautiful: "Mamas sing sweet lullabies / Papas softly Harmonize / Stars are twinkling Stars are bright / Cowboy bunnies Say goodnight."

Mr. Gumpy's Outing, written and illustrated by John Burningham is a happy story, full of movement from Burningham's great line drawings and mellow, natural colors. The fact that the kids and animals eventually do what Mr. Gumpy warns them against shows cause-and-effect, but with a nice outcome. It's all good, even if you dump your boat in the river... it's only water, and they have a sun-drenched field to walk home through to dry off. The fact that the story ends with a fine tea at Mr. Gumpy's, and an invitation to come again for another boat ride (see, it really is OK), makes the ending that much sweeter!

And, finally, Underwater Counting Even Numbers by Jerry Pallotta is illustrated by David Biedrzycki with bright, nearly-photographically realistic sea creatures. This book was a draw because of Madeline's love for all things oceanic, but every page-turn elicited an excited exclamation; "Wow! Ooooh!! Look at THAT Mama!!!" And some shhhushing from me (only because the first read was at the library). The illustrations were done in Adobe Photoshop, according to the book, and really are gorgeous. We learned many new types of fish, including the Squirrel Fish (Mads' favorite) from this story.

Potty Training Books

2008-11-14T01:32:00.000-08:00

When searching for potty training books last year, I browsed many at book stores, read reviews on Amazon, and checked out two different Books To Grow on book kits (on potty training) from the library. None of the options from the library were my style (especially the one featuring a baby duck who takes off his diaper and goes potty in a cooking pot... yeah... my kids don't need any wise ideas in that regard!)

Anyway, I finally decided on two books, purchased them, and they continue to be faves. In fact, Erik now asks for Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi by saying, "I wanna read the one... somebody's poopin'..." and Potty Time by Parker K. Sawyer, "Read me Peein' time, Mama! Please!!"

Potty Time includes hand washing, covers Sesame characters at all stages of training, and has a "flushable" final page. We still remind Madeline that she needs to try to use the bathroom prior to leaving the house, "Just like Zoe always does!" It works.

Everyone Poops is humorous, straightforward and direct (without being too detailed or scientific) and is perfect for kids learning about how their bodies work.

Got Votes?

2008-11-04T01:29:00.000-08:00

Duck does! On three separate occasions, duck wins out over his running mate for: Farmer, Governor, then President!

Duck for President is another wonderful book by Doreen Cronin (I LOVE Click Clack, Moo, Cows That Type), and Betsy Lewin's illustrations are absolutely wonderful!

In this tale, Duck learns that it's true that the grass is always greener, as he finds that every job (that he thinks is going to be easy) has it's headaches! The book is full of good humor, a great introduction to elections/politics for kids, and some "counting" issues when ballots are re-counted in each race.

The end is a great (and funny) twist! This would be an excellent book to share with the little folk in your life today! Happy Election Day 2008!!

Love This Book!!

2008-11-03T12:36:00.001-08:00

I do. I love this book. I checked it out last year at Thanksgiving time, and again about a month ago. Of course, now there are holds on it so I had to return it. That's OK, since this is on the "to own" list. It's even got a page in the back for recording what you're thankful for each year at T-day.

Why do I love Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes, you ask? Well, the illustrations are phenomenal. Vibrant, rich, fun, and real (you know, toys on the floor in a house with children; the mom is in comfy clothes, the family scene is full of real characters). And, of course the story is marvelous. It rhymes beautifully, with wonderful things that the kids are thankful for... "Thank you for Fall and gold leaves floating by/Thank you for school I love to feel smart./Thank you for music and dancing and art." and "Thank you for Mommy and warm, cozy cuddles./Thank you for Daddy and rides on a sled." It ends up with, "But most of all, thanks for the family I love." Well said!

Boo!! Halloween Tales for Wee Folk

2008-11-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

Georgie's Halloween by Robert Bright is, like most of the Georgie series, a sweet little story. The kids love finding Georgie in several of the scenes, and it satisfies my love of things that remind me of my childhood. Vintage holiday fun.

So far, we've loved all the Froggy series books by Jonathan London. So much so, in fact, that I picked up Froggy's Halloween at Barnes & Noble without even reading it first. Not really something I usually do, but the kids were spending a little money from Gramma and Grampa, and Froggy's pretty dependable. I was a little disappointed in this one though. In three different scenes in the story, Froggy practices, "Trick or treat, smell my feet. Give me something good to eat. If you don't, I don't care—I'll pull down your underwear!" *Sigh* I'd read it before I could change my mind. Now, this isn't the worst thing that my kids will ever learn to chant, but I suppose I just wasn't ready for my 3-year old (and nearly 2-year old) to be walking around the house singing it just yet. Ah, well. I've warmed up to the book, and the kids like it, so it works, and I'll remember to not break my "pre-read before reading to kids (and especially before shelling out cash)" rule. And, OK, it is cute that the kids have changed the end of the rhyme to "... I don't care, I'll pull down your undies! hehehehehe That silly old Froggy!!" It does make me appreciate the sweetness of Georgie the ghost even more though.