Children's Book Pick of the Week!

The Lemon Sisters by Andrea Cheng - lately my girls have been starting to pick out their own simple chapter books and graphic novels to read on their own, and  I keep choosing the chapter books to read to them before bedtime.  For a few months, I've really overlooked just picking out books at random from the children's picture book collection at the library.  So, last week I sat down in front of the A-C section and picked out 10 books that just looked good.  Then we sat down and read them - and it was a wonderful reminder that even as the kids get older, they still appreciate a good little story with wonderful illustrations.  I absolutely LOVED this book.  It's the story of an elderly woman who lives alone in her house - one winter morning she looks out her window and sees three sisters playing in the snow.  They remind her of her childhood days with her own two sisters.  As the little girls play, the older woman reminisces.  I teared up a bit at the end!  This is a beautiful story about siblings, the joy of childhood, and the challenges of growing older - but also the happiness in sharing memories.  I also appreciate any story where young children and older people learn lessons from each other.  We happened to read this on a summer day, but I think I'll be borrowing it again once the weather starts turning a bit colder.

Clara's Pick of the Week: Notebook of Doom

Clara stumbled upon this series at our library the other day:  The Notebook of Doom.  We checked out the first book in the series, Rise of the Balloon Goons.  A young boy, Alexander Bopp, has just moved to the town of Stermont.  The town seems relatively normal at first, but Alexander soon finds out that it is filled with monsters.  He finds The Notebook of Doom, which is filled with drawings and descriptions of all the various monsters around town - how to spot them and how to fight them.  Clara loved the first book - and has decided to be a "balloon goon" for Halloween.  We quickly read the second and third books in the series, and are waiting on a few more from the library.  These are easy-to-read chapter books, with fun illustrations thrown in - and the feel of a real notebook, with thoughts and pictures in the margins.  A good transition series from picture books to full-fledged no illustration chapter books!  We can't wait to see what monsters Alexander and his friends encounter next!

Alice & Clara's Pick of the Week: Mouse and Mole

While looking for Valentine's Day books at the library, I stumbled upon a new series featuring a pair of friends, Mouse and Mole.  The Mouse and Mole series is written by Wong Herbert Yee (I noticed that there is another Mouse and Mole series written by Joyce Dunbar that also has a television show associated with it - perhaps we should check that one out next!).  Mouse and Mole books are simple chapter books - along the lines of Frog and Toad, or Little Bear - though there is just one narrative that runs through the entire book, instead of several different stories.

The first one we read was Mouse and Mole Secret Valentine about Mouse and Mole making Valentine's for their friends, and special Valentine's for their secret Valentines.  From there we went on to the following:

• Mouse and Mole Fine Feathered Friends
• Mouse and Mole a Winter Wonderland
• A Brand New Day with Mouse and Mole
• Abracadabra! Magic with Mouse and Mole

There are a couple more in the series that we have requested from the library and are eager to read.  All of the books are very sweet with the two friends doing consistent acts of kindness toward each other and their friends.  And all the illustrations of the animals are very cute.  My 4-year-olds are simply in love with Mouse and Mole!

Peeny Butter Fudge - Toni Morrison & Slade Morrison

As a child, I spent my summers with my grandparents.  Every morning, my grandmother prepared dinner for that evening (usually anticipating a few guests) and baked up a storm.  She woke up early, so by the time I got out of bed the house often smelled of fresh banana bread or chocolate cake.  While she frequently scolded me for jumping around too much and causing her sponge cakes to fall, mostly I remember sitting at the  table while she did her thing.  On many of those mornings while she cooked, she told me about her life - growing up with a dozen siblings, riding motorcycles through the cane fields when she was supposed to be at school, working as a domestic at the age of 12, meeting my grandfather, raising her family.  My grandmother had a ton of energy and was always rushing around from one thing to another, but even as a kid, I knew those moments I had her all to myself in the kitchen were really special.

My grandmother passed away over 10 years ago, but there aren't many days that I don't miss her.  I love to bake - mostly because it reminds me of being with her.  My mom is also an excellent cook/baker, and one of my favorite things to do now is to look for recipes with her, trade stories about what we're making, and on far too rare occasions bake with her - often times while laughing about my grandmother's cryptic recipes and wishing we could eat her manju or lilikoi chiffon pie just one more time.

These days, because I remember growing up with my grandparents so fondly, I love seeing my children with their grandparents - building those same kinds of memories and feeling the same kind of unconditional love.  I'm always on the look out for books about relationships between grandparents and their grandchildren - there are certainly many out there.  And at the library this past week, I stumbled upon a great one for our family called Peeny Butter Fudge - written by Toni Morrison and her late son, Slade Morrison.  It is the story of a grandmother who turns a mundane afternoon into a magical one, and bakes a favorite family recipe with her grandchildren - all told in Morrison's beautiful poetic style.  This book is a quick read - but for me the story was more in the pictures and the ideas - and in talking to my kids while we were reading it about all the things they love to do with their grandmas - and of course all the things I used to do with mine.

The book ends with the recipe for Peeny Butter Fudge - which of course, I had to try out.  I initially thought it would be a good evening project to do with my girls.  But, they were off drawing cards for their grandmas.  In the end, I just felt like making it by myself and spending some quiet time with my grandma once again.

Clara's Pick of the Week: The Books of Kyla May

My almost three-and-a-half year old girls are making the transition from picture books to chapter-like books - we still read lots of picture books, of course, but they like the idea of have older kid books to also read from and cart around.  Recently, a friend passed along a recommendation for an author named Kyla May.  She has several different book series, including one about magical twins.  We read the first book in that series: Lost Tooth Rescue about twins Lottie and Mia who start at a new school and use their twin powers to help a friend who has lost her tooth.  I wouldn't say the story was particularly compelling, but along with the illustrations it was quite fun - my girls did like the twin aspect, as well as the magic.  And, there was also glitter and a purple unicorn involved, so those were all positives.  We will check out the second book in the series, School Bully, Beware! soon.


But, the real recommendation hit were the books in Kyla May's series: The Lotus Lane Girls Club.  The series includes four books about a group of friends named Coco, Kiki, Mika, and Lulu.  Each girl has her own book which acts as a journal about her life and adventures.  Clara has taken a particular liking to Coco who loves animals and baking - and carried a cool purse and has a cat.  The format of the books is fun to read - with cute illustrations and lots of facts about the characters. We are looking forward to reading all of the books in the series, but for now Clara just wants to carry this one around with her everywhere and read a few pages together whenever we can!

Snow!

As we finish out 2015 up in the (finally!) snow-covered mountains of Tahoe, we've been reading some books to keep us in the snow and ice spirit.  Here are a few of our favorites from this week:

The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen: In addition to finding books about winter, I've been trying to introduce my children to more well-known fairy-tales, just for a dose of cultural literacy.  In The Snow Queen, an evil troll causes young Kai's heart to turn to ice.  As he disappears to live with the Snow Queen, his brave friend Greda sets off on a quest to save him.

The Mitten by Jan Brett: My mother gave this one to my kids a couple years ago, and it's still a favorite.  In The Mitten, a boy's grandma knits him a pair of white gloves.  When he loses one in the snow, it becomes an improbable warm retreat for a large number of winter creatures.  A really fun story for learning about different animals, and for encouraging snuggling into warm blankets on a cold winter evening!

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats:  Who doesn't love this classic, and Caldecott Medal Winner, about a little boy who trudges off into the city on a snowy day.  My favorite part is when he tries to save a little snowball in his pocket when he returns home for the day.  A wonderful book about enjoying the cold weather and making an adventure out of every day life.


Wishing everyone a wonderful winter season filled with wonderful books that keep you warm and smiling!

The Books of William Steig

Ben's watercolor: created during Literacy Group

I love when people introduce me to new authors.  I love it even more when those people are my own kids.  Four afternoons a week, the kids in his preschool class heading off to kindergarten next year (including him), get together for what they call "Literacy Group."  In Literacy Group, a teacher reads books to them while they draw or paint, and have discussions about what they're reading.

On Mondays, they have tea-time during Literacy Group.  The kids in the group all happen to be boys, and while I know it shouldn't matter, I do get a kick out of just seeing these crazy active boys all sitting around a table together, enjoying a book and each other's company in such a civilized fashion (the teachers take photographs so we can better visualize this experience).

While the group has moved on to Steig's chapter book, Dominic, they started off the school year exploring the picture books of William Steig.  Steig was a prolific children's book author, so it's crazy to me that I don't recall ever reading any of his books.  Of course, the one that we are all familiar with (though may not have realized was a book) is Shrek.  Every day for a couple weeks, Ben came home and told me about a new book - he really seemed engaged by everything.  He would ask me if I had read something, and when I said, "No," he'd emphatically tell me to "look it up!"  He retold me the stories and asked me questions I wasn't quite sure of the answers to - given that I hadn't read any of the books!  So, I decided I better go to the library and check out a stack.  Here's a sampling of the ones I brought home and we read together:

Zeke Pippin - this story about a pig who finds a magic harmonica (after it falls off the back of a garbage truck) is Ben's favorite of the bunch.  I laughed when Zeke brought the harmonica home and cleaned it with his toothbrush and his father's Schnapps.  After he believes his family is not adequately appreciating his talents, he heads out into the world on a musical adventure.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble - this is my favorite of the Steig books we have read together.  Sylvester is a donkey who happens upon a red pebble.  When he touches it, he discovers he is granted his every wish.  An ill-advised wish, however, leaves him in the lurch.  As a kid (and as an adult), I often thought about what my three wishes would be (can I wish for more wishes?), so this story really spoke to me - and is a cautionary tale about what happens when you want for too much, and forget to be grateful for what you already have.

Amos and Boris - features a small mouse who befriends a blue whale.  This continued for us an on-going conversation we've been having about the differences between mammals and amphibians/reptiles.  It also includes a tidal wave which is one of Ben's favorite natural disasters.

Brave Irene - a dressmaker's daughter braves the elements to get a gown to a duchess in time.  She faces numerous dangers along the way.  Ben was not as keen on this book which he considered "a little scary."  But despite this, he excitedly told me about all the bad things Irene had to overcome.

Toby, What are You? - in this silly book, Toby acts things out and asks his parents to guess what he is.  Great inspiration for a game of charades.

Doctor De Soto - a mouse dentist is tested when a fox shows up with a toothache.  This book actually made me realize that I have read Steig before.  I first borrowed this book about three years ago when Ben was approaching his first dental appointment and I was looking for books to ease the strangeness of the visit.

Which Would You Rather Be? - asks the questions we've all wanted to know the answers to: would you rather be thunder or lightening?  A stick or a stone?  An interactive book that gets kids talking, and also inspired Literacy Group to learn one of Ben's now favorite songs:  El Condor Pasa by Simon & Garfunkel - and consequently inspired us to listen and learn more songs by S&G and Paul Simon.  I mean, what kid wouldn't love to sing The 59th Street Bridge Song?

There are over thirty more Steig children's books to choose from, so I anticipate that our interest in him will span the year.  Ben gets a kick out of reminding me that, "you don't really know these books, right Mom?  You know because I told you, right?"  My daughters are also quite curious and have taken to "stealing" our Steig library books and hiding them in their room so they can read what the big kids are reading.  I can't wait to see what else Literacy Group introduces us to throughout the year!

Ben's Chapter Book Pick: Fantastic Mr. Fox

While I do allow my children to pick out the books they want to read, every once in awhile, I still like to force some on them.  After a summer of chapter books about superheroes and Geronimo Stilton, I took back control, and foisted another Roald Dahl pick on Ben.  This time, the choice was Fantastic Mr. Fox.  I read this book back in elementary school, and vividly remember a description of one of the farmer's in the book having ear wax so bad that dead bugs were stuck in it.  I think of it every time I clean my ears!

The plot of this book is very straight-forward - simple for a four-year-old to understand and follow.  Mr. Fox has kept his family fed by stealing food every day from three rich local farmers.  When they wise-up to his shenanigans, they make a plan of their own to smoke Mr. Fox out of his hole and shoot him.  The chase is on, and the question is whether Mr. Fox can outsmart the greedy men, or whether he will meet his end.

As with a few other Dahl books, there is a moral dilemma here - does Mr. Fox have the right to steal food that isn't his?  Shouldn't he be punished?  But, without stealing, his family will presumably go hungry - and don't these farmers already have too much?  But, aside from the bigger picture, there is a lot of fun to be had with the descriptions and characters in this book.  It's short, so it took us about three nights to read, but throughout each reading, we would stop and talk about what we thought would happen next, whether we thought Mr. Fox would be able to escape, and what he was going to do if he did.

All in all, this was a very fun book to read out loud.  As with other Dahl books, there is some name-calling that I may have censored a bit, but for the most part, we told the story as-is.  Made me excited to move on soon to The B.F.G. and The Witches!

Unfortunate Pick of the Week: Bad Kitty

My girls love animals, so often when I'm at the library, I judge books by their covers and choose ones that feature animals - particularly dogs and cats.  So, I recently picked up Bad Kitty.  I often don't read the books before I bring them home because I don't want to judge the stories for my kids (especially since I am often surprised by what they find interesting/amusing)...but this was definitely a mistake in this instance.  Bad Kitty is an ABC book - about a kitty who becomes angry or happy depending on what A-Z foods are being brought home.  All in all, it's a fine book - and there are actually a ton of fun picturs that the kids love to talk about which is nice.  But the book is LONG - and it doesn't have much of a story - it's just going through the alphabet over and over again.

I read it once and thought, "I should return this..."  Then the next day I caught my husband in the middle of reading it to Alice.  He looked at me and said, "This is a LONG book" and later informed me of a way he found to just skip a lot of it and still get the basic story.  I tried that method at bedtime, but the kids kept interrupting me to "remind" me of the things I was "forgetting" to read.

I am torn.  I find this book tedious.  But my kids  LOVE it. I think they like the idea of a cat doing things it isn't supposed to do - and laughing at the messes that the cat makes.  And it's not as if the book is negative or has anything "bad" in it that is really objectionable.  I just find it boring.  And so the dilemma - return it and just tell the kids it was due...or suck it up and provide my kids with the silly laughter and enjoyment of it for reasons I can't understand.  I know I'll keep it around for a few days, but I'm not entirely happy about it.

And I'm really not happy about the fact that apparently this is an entire series of books!!  Please don't tell my kids!!

Pick of the Week: Rainstorm

Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman: This wordless picture book tells the story of a lonely little boy in a great big house.  On a rainy day, he discovers a key that unlocks a whole new world for him.  I've written about wordless books before, and how great I think they are in terms of engaging kids - letting them tell the story, making sure they're observing what characters are doing, thinking ahead, and considering what might happen next.  This book is no different - but has the added benefit of getting the kids to talk about their feelings, and the difference that having people in our lives can make.  All three of my kids love this one.  Sometimes, I try to avoid the wordless books - frankly because they require so much more work to tell the story and ask questions - but they are a great reminder that I should be interacting with our books more in general.  A great read for a rainy day!

A Favorite from Alice: Tumble Bumble

Tumble Bumble is a short little rhyming tale about a pack of animals bumping into each other and eventually settling in to a nap together.  Very cute for kids who like animals and simple counting books.

Pick of the Week: Monsters Love Colors

My kids have lately been into all things monster and robot - and they always love brightly colored illustrations.  So it's no surprise that they absolutely LOVE Monsters Love Colors - a really simple story about monsters deciding what color they want to be, and then mixing and mashing the primary colors to achieve their desired hue.  The monsters are so cute and funny - the kids love saying the words along with me while I read it - and I don't mind going through it multiple times each night.

There is another book by the same author called Monsters Love School.  I just ordered it and hope it will help the kids get excited about their upcoming new school year!

Clara's Pick of the Week: Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs

Going back to the basics this week - Clara has been in love with Byron Barton's Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs.  Ben loved Barton's transportation books when he was younger - so simple, with bright illustrations.  My kids all love dinosaurs, but this book is particularly appealing because it shows dinosaur eggs hatching into little baby dinosaurs (and my girls in particular love all things baby).  We read this one at least five times a night.

And, it has sparked a love for one of my favorite childhood songs - The Triceratops Song:

Triceratops with three long horns, a beak like a parrot, and a frill where his neck is
Triceratops with four strong legs, and a tail in back!

Clara's Pick of the Week: Back to Bed, Ed!

To say my kids are not great at getting to bed is an understatement.  They would run around and play forever if I let them - we have a bedtime routine, but they always want more.  More snacks, more books, more songs, more stories.  But, I've never given up looking for books about helping different characters go to bed.  And my kids always seem to love them - even if they don't quite internalize the message.  Back to Bed, Ed! is a really cute book about a little mouse named Ed who loves getting ready for bed, but hates actually staying in bed.  His parents let him come into their room night after night, until they are so exhausted they take a stand and force him to stay in his own room.  The solution that works for Ed is a nice, safe, and simple one that we try with our girls too (spoiler alert - make sure they have enough of their little stuffed animal friends around to make them feel safe and happy).  This is a nice book to save for the last one of the night- it reminds my girls that they have their favorite animals and that they're going to be just fine.  Bedtime still isn't the easiest in our house, but Ed is helping a little bit.  For now.

Another recent favorite along these same lines is Goodnight, Daniel Tiger, which walks through Daniel's bedtime routine, until he gets to the point where he is actually happy to be going to bed.  My girls never get to that point, but they really like the Goodnight, Daniel Tiger song, and at the very least, it helps them calm down in the evening and at least get into bed (even if they want me to lie there with them for hours)!

Jumping for Joy: Frogs, Frogs, and More Frogs!!

King Snake and his prey at EBV

One of our favorite places to visit is the East Bay Vivarium - basically, a pet store that specializes in reptiles, amphibians, and arachnids.  While we don't happen to own any of these types of animals, the Vivarium is a fantastic place to visit and observe the animals - the people that work there are quirky and incredibly knowledgeable and more than willing to educate.  On a recent visit, we asked when the next snake might feed, and the guy behind the counter excitedly exclaimed "Right now!"  We then watched a King Snake attack, suffocate, and swallow his mouse prey.  But while the snake feeding was infinitely mesmerizing, since that visit, Ben has actually been more fascinated by frogs (the Vivarium also has a beautiful collection of tree frogs and dart frogs).

My favorite: Strawberry Poison-Dart Frog

To learn more about our little friends, we traveled to our local library, where we found a lot to choose from.  Ben's nightly favorite has been Frogs by Nic Bishop. This book is filled with incredible color photos of some of the worlds most amazing frogs, along with interesting factoids about them.  Other non-fiction books about frogs we've been reading are:

• Frogs - Gail Gibbons
• All About Frogs - Ling Chung
• Nat Geo: Explore My World Frogs - Marfe Delano
• From Tadpole to Frog: Gerald Legg

And, of course, we've been reading some fun fiction featuring frog characters old and new, such as:

• Frog and Toad
• The Froggy Series
• Five Green and Specked Frogs
• Green Wilma, Frog in Space - Tedd Arnold

For quiet learning about frogs, we've also explored the following resources:

• Frog Life Cycle Coloring Sheet
• Parts of the Frog:  3-part Cards

And for something a little more messy, we've been exploring local ponds and parks, hoping to come across a few with frogs and tadpoles on the loose.  The Oakland Zoo also has a wonderful amphibian exhibit with incredible frogs, large and small.  Hoppy reading and exploring!

Pick of the Week: Wow! City!

Ben picked this over-sized book out at the library this past week and it's been a hit with both him and his sisters.  Wow! City! follows Izzy (a country girl) on her trip through the big city.  Each two-page spread features a new scene from the city.  The only text is two words on each two-page spread - "Wow!" and whatever it is Izzy is observing.  The illustrations and bright and complicated, and my kids all loved searching for Izzy and a cute little golden lab on each page.  Despite the fact that Ben is starting (slowly) to read, and my girls are growing into books with more sophisticated plots, I still love borrowing pictures books which I think force the kids to slow down a bit and encourages them to come up with storytelling of their own.  I've enjoyed "reading" this one over and over!

Pick of the Week: Lola Plants a Garden

Given the season, I've been on the look-out for books about planting and being outdoors.  I stumbled across Lola Plants a Garden on the Mighty Girl website.  In this beautifully illustrated book, Lola reads the poem "Mary Mary Quite Contrary" and decides that she wants to grow her own garden.  With the help of her mother, she learns about plants, picks out the seeds, plants her garden, waits for her garden to grow, and then invites her friends over to enjoy the fruits of her labors.  A perfect book for inspiring young ones to plant their own gardens.

I am also always on the look-out for books that feature characters of color, especially when the topic of the book has nothing to do with the race of the character.  The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats is often cited as a particular example of this. The more my children can see people who don't look like them doing exactly the same things they enjoy doing, the better.

Lola is adorable and I was very happy to learn today that she has a series of books including:

• Lola at the Library
• Lola Loves Stories
• Lola Reads to Leo

We'll be checking those out very soon!

Ben's Pick of the Week: Water in the Park

My girls are obsessed with playgrounds, so I actually borrowed this book for them - so they could pour over the drawings of the swings and slides.  But, things don't always go as planned.

Instead of my girls, my son was the one who wanted to read this one over and over.  Water in the Park goes through the day in the life of a park - from the early morning when the turtles rest on the rock ponds and people walk their dogs, though the morning of children playing on the jungle gym and eating snacks, to the workers eating their lunches, to after-school ice cream treats, and finally to late night strollers.  It is a good way to talk about the different times of day - and what we do throughout the day.  My son is just starting to get a good grasp for the concept of time - and he has always been interested in the sequence of the day and order of events.  He also enjoyed the water focus of the book - from the turtle pond, to sprinklers, to a light-rain.

The illustrations in the book are complex - a lot going on in each panel - so this allowed for a great deal of conversation while reading the book - about what each person in the book is doing, where they might be coming from and going to, what we do at the park, etc. etc.  I love when books surprise me, and this one definitely falls into that category!  

Alice & Clara's Picks of the Week

It's no surprise that a book by Lucy Cousins, author of the popular Maisy series, would be absolutely beloved in our home.  My kids love the bright illustrations - and the simple story is easily memorized after just a couple readings, so the kids can then "read" it to themselves, each other, and their animals.  Hooray for Fish! features a small fish who swims through the sea finding all kinds of fish from the big to the small, to the twirly-whirly and round-and-round.  Very simple but fun way to get the kids talking about different kinds of colors and fish - and a good jumping off point for drawing some fun under-water creations of their own!

I've been on the hunt for children's books that depict kids playing outdoors.  I found this one in a recent Scholastic Book Club catalog - and love it as much as my kids do.  Zoe's Jungle is the story of older sister, Zoe, and her younger sister Addie pretending that their playground is a vast jungle filled with incredible animals and adventures.  Zoe is the fearless explorer on the hunt for the elusive Addie-beast.  As their mother counts down the time to leave the park from FIVE MINUTES! to TIME TO GO! they rush to get every last bit of fun in.  Not only is this a really great book for encouraging outdoor play and make-believe, but it's a great example for kids about preparing to leave a place where they're having an incredible amount of fun.  My girls in particular are still at the stage when they cry when they have to leave the park -so using Zoe and Addie as a model for them has been a great side-benefit to this discovery.

Alice & Clara's Pick of the Week: Brownie & Pearl

We recently discovered the series Brownie & Pearl by Cynthia Rylant.  Brownie is a shy little girl, and Pearl is her right-hand cat.  Together they go on all kinds of adventures - having snacks, playing with friends, dressing up.  The books are brightly illustrated and the stories are very simply told with just a couple lines on each page.  Both my girls love Brownie and wish that Pearl was their very own cat.  They have quickly memorized the stories so that they can "read" them on their own and to each other.  I would recommend this series to any kid who enjoys the Maisy series.  There are 8 books in all:

• Brownie & Pearl Step Out
• Brownie & Pearl Get Dolled Up
• Brownie & Pearl See the Sights
• Brownie & Pearl Take a Dip
• Brownie & Pearl Get a Bite
• Brownie & Pearl Hit the Hay
• Brownie & Pearl Go for Spin
• Brownie & Peal Make Good

Later this year, Brownie & Pearl On the Go hits the shelves!!