Holiday Fun Reads: Books at Holidays are fantastic gifts

Every holiday season I like to give my kids a new Christmas book.  They've collected quite a few over the years and I love pulling them out after Thanksgiving and enjoying them as a family.  This year my oldest was obsessed with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer after singing the song in school.  (Prior she had been at a Jewish preschool so no Christmas carols.)  These are some of a favorites that we've collected over the years and they do make FANTASTIC gifts.  I would highly recommend the original Rudolph which has no scary bits in it but really only makes the point about the beauty of individuality.

Title: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Author: Robert L. May
Illustrator: David Wenzel
Ages: 4 and up

This is the ORIGINAL Rudolph and a classic that belongs on any bookshelf.  It has a beautiful rhyme and rhythm in the reading aloud of it and the illustrations are beautiful.  The original Rudolph was written as part of an advertising campaign in the 1930's for Montgomery Ward.  Robert May asked for the rights back and then promoted his book.  This is NOT like the movie but is the original classic about a reindeer who is different but learns to overcome adversity and shine in his own unique way.  The illustrations are truly beautiful, soft and warm.  It's a great gift to give to your child. 


Title: How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Author and Illustrator: Dr. Seuss
Ages: 4-8

This is a classic book where a Grinch doesn't want Christmas because he hates the happy sounds of singing and rejoicing.  The Grinch attempts to eliminate Christmas by stealing all the gifts, decoration and essentially eliminating all the material goods around Christmas thinking that it is enough to stop Christmas.  He fails because Christmas comes anyway and he learns the true meaning of the celebration.


Title: Olivia Saves Christmas
Author and Illustrator: Ian Falcolner
Ages: 4-8

Olivia is always so fun to read because her approach to anything is always slightly a bit unconventional, spunky, and joyful.  In this book she is so eager for Christmas, for Santa, and for opening presents.  It is her story of surviving the few hours before Christmas and to the actual Christmas day of opening presents and enjoying the gifts.  It's a fun book for kids as Olivia so often reflects the hidden emotions of a child.


Title:  God Gave Us Christmas
Author: Lisa T. Bergren
Illustrator: David Hohn
Ages: 4-8

In this book, Little Cub wants to know what the meaning of Christmas is, so asks his mom to teach him.  The two of them go on a little expedition to seek out the meaning of Christmas, and discover that the BEST present is Christmas is Jesus Christ.



Title:  Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas
Author:  Jane O'Connor
Illustrator: Robin Preiss Glasser
Age: 4-8

Fancy Nancy during this Christmas purchases the most fantastic Christmas tree topper, true to her style, one of the FANCIEST things ever.  It is a beautiful piece to her and she loves it on the tree.  However, due to a fluke accident, the tree comes crashing to the ground and the topper is destroyed.  Through the help of her grandfather, she learns to improvise and enjoy the holidays with a special, beautiful, homemade star.


Title: Once There Was a Christmas Tree
Author: Jerry Smath
Ages: 1-6

This book is a wonderful book about sharing.  When Mr. and Mrs. Bear discover that their tree is just too big for them, they begin a chain of sharing that extends throughout the animal friends.  They share their tree with the foxes, the foxes share it with the next group and by the end of the book everyone has a little bit of Christmas, all through beautiful acts of sharing.

The Tiger Rising: What is left unsaid

Title: The Tiger Rising
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Age Range: 9-12
Genre: Realistic Fiction

One of the reasons I love this book is the restraint that Kate DicCamillo uses in the telling of it.  Rather than flooding the reader with tons of words, she chooses to use as few words as possible.  She exercises restraint and as a result, it is just as much what is unsaid that makes the language powerful.  The main character in the book, Rob Horton, is bullied at school, has no friends, and truly no hope for his life, following the death of his mother.  The book shows his transformation from that person to one at the end who is different and changed from how he has begun.  The book is beautifully written, with wonderful language and engaging characters such as Sistine, the girl who will become his friend, and Willie May, a wise woman with whom Rob discusses the more tricky points of his life.

There are many deep issues that are touched upon in the book.  One is the death of a parent, and how to recover from it.  Secondly is the issue of bullying and how to survive and possibly even avoid it.  Rob is bullied mercilessly and the taunts that he has to deal with are not easy ones. The book touches on loneliness, finding friends, being an outcast and the search for hope.  There theme of people and animals in cages, an idea that many students may not fully understand, but an important point of discussion nonetheless.  It is a book for your more mature reader, not because of the language, but because of some of the content.

Down By the Station: To assuage my guilt

Title: Down By the Station
Author and Illustrator: Will Hillenbrand
Age Range: 1-3
Genre: Picture Book

My son doesn't have the same attention span for books that his sisters did at the same age.  I don't know if it is because I didn't read to him enough when he was little, as I was too busy trying to keep the other two in line, but I have a certain measure of guilt about the fact that he just doesn't focus on books the same way his sisters did and still do.  I'm worried that my semi-lazy attitude about reading to him has profoundly affected his future as a reader.  Which is why I focus so much on it now.  At age 2 1/2. he just doesn't focus and get into books the way I think he should.

But he looks at pictures, and loves looking at pictures.  He's just not so into the words.  The story line itself, the story does not excite him.  But, I have found that books with rhymes and books that I can sing make a big difference in how he pays attention.  If I sing or "rap" a book, he'll listen with almost double the attention and double the focus as when I simply read a book.  So I try and find books that have this rhyming element or a song element.

This one is perfect as it is based on the song, "Down by the Station" and although my son was not familiar with this song prior to the book, the song was catchy enough for him to relax and listen to me sing it.  On top of that, the pictures of bears, tigers, flamingos and different animals on their way to the children's zoo also really appealed to him.  The train running through on every single page was also a plus and helped my son to really pay attention to the book.  In the book a bunch of animals are on their way to a children's zoo by train, and this amazingly cute train picks up different animals.  At the end of the book, a school bus filled with children run into the zoo, and the final picture is of baby animals and young children playing together.  On the last page, my son said, "They are all together." 

Paperback



Hardcover

Curious George Complete Adventures: Why Audiobooks are so great

Title: The Complete Adventures of Curious George with audio CD

Authors and Illustrators: Margret and H.A. Rey
Age Range: ages 4-9
Genre: Fiction, audio book

Over the weekend, my kids and I spent some time at our good friend's house.  While there, there was one point where the three older kids disappeared and became completely invisible for a very long stretch of time - almost two hours.  I became extremely suspicious, because quiet kids usually mean trouble so I tiptoed my way to the room where I thought they might be.  There, crowded around a book were two four year olds and a six year old, completely engrossed in a book and listening to a story.  At one point they looked up and realized that I could change the CD for them so they clamored for more.  I looked at them quizzically and said, "Umm...don't you guys want to do something ELSE?" to which they replied, "MORE BOOKS!  MORE BOOKS!  MORE BOOKS!"  I turned on the CD and bolted out the door as fast as my legs could go so that I too, could perhaps rest and read.  (It didn't happen as there are two younger children who love to bother their mommies.) 

Audio CD's are a wonderful way to encourage your child to read.  There has been research to support that kids who have fluency issues with reading benefit highly from following along in a book as it is read aloud to them.  This particular set offers a "with page turn signals" and "without page turn signals" and is extremely well-read by wonderful actors.  It also adds some fun and jazzy music, and elevates the reading experience to something a bit more rich than a harried mother or father trying to stay awake as she or he reads aloud to her children.  The selection of audio cds is slowly dwindling as most people use other websites like amazon.com to buy audible books. However your local public library should have a selection, (which I love getting because sometimes I don't want to read aloud to my kids) This particular Curious George Collection, I think is totally worth the money.

Seals on the Bus: Because I like to sing about the ridiculous

Title: The Seals on the Bus
Author: Lenny Hort
Illustrator: G. Brian Karas
Genre: Picture books, rhyme
Age Range: 2-4

My son's attention span with books is not the same as my daughters. He likes looking at books of cars, but isn't all that interested in hearing the words...unless I sing them and unless they rhyme. Suddenly he curls into my lap, sits patiently and wants me to read to him.  Therefore, this book was perfect for him, because it was a song he knew (Wheels on the bus) with fun pictures of animals invading a bus with an unsuspecting family of four on it.

The book invites you to sing the words like "The seals on the bus go ..." and then you make a series of animal sounds include sheep, geese, and tigers. (which is my son's favorite.)  It is a quick rollicking read with lots of opportunities to admire the animals as they take over the bus and the family inside is forced to make it with the animals.  The last verse is about helping the family who cry "Help help help" and get off the bus.


Paperback...amazon has paperback books on their 4 for 3 deal, so you could pick up a few and give them as gifts. :)

B is for Betsy: If you like things simple

Title: B is for Betsy
Author: Carolyn Haywood
Age Range: 5-10
Genre: Chapter books, realistic fiction

I remember reading B is for Betsy growing up. It was one of my favorite books as a child, and I read the books over and over to my mother's dismay.  She constantly told me to try something different, something more challenging, some different genre, but I was always drawn back to Betsy and her adventures in school and her town.

I just recently remembered this book and handed it to my six year old to read.  I can usually tell if she likes a book when she starts reading and is extremely quiet.  It means the book has transported her to a place she doesn't want to leave and she can't wait to see how it turns out.  This happened with this book as she disappeared behind the sofa for an hour and appeared later saying, "I finished it Mom!"  She was thrilled to be reading it as it did chronicle Betsy in her first grade year, just like my daughter.

One of the reasons I like this book is that it focuses on relationships, conversations, and the human side of life.  There is no technology (the book was published in 1939 after all), no phones, no emails, no iphones - nothing to detract from face to face conversations among children and their parents.  It is somewhat idyllic in its tone, but it does expose some common fears and problems for young kids.  For example, the first chapter focuses on the first day of first grade for Betsy, who has never been to school.  She has not attended preschool, daycare, or kindergarten, which are modern educational methods.  Up until now she has been at home with her mother enjoying, playing and having fun.  Suddenly it is the first day of first grade, and she has a brand new dress, brand new shoes, and brand new book book, but has dread and fear in her heart.  She has heard bad things about school from someone and it has completely colored her opinion about what her school will be like.  The chapter reveals Betsy fears, and also shows how all of those fears are unfounded.  Even at the end of the chapter,  she comes home to tell her mother that she made a friend.

It is a beautiful portrayal of childhood and a timeless read.  It is a must for any little girl to read.

The first (it's a series!  YAY!)


The second....just gave it to daughter and she devoured it.  Talks about losing teeth and other fun adventures of growing up.


The third


The fourth

Resources to help your child read: In addition to reading, other things you might try

All the research shows that your child will not learn to read passively, by simply watching TV or playing a video game.  Reading, the art of reading, and I do call it an art, comes from human interaction and practice.  I do not want anyone thinking that by simply using the resources below that their child will read.  It will not happen in this way. You must read to your child, first and foremost, and build that initial love and connection to books.  Computers, videos and electronic reading toys will not do this.  The connection must be with books.

That being said, there are some really great wonderful resources out there to go accompany the reading parent.  Again, I am not advising that you stick your  child in front of these games/videos/toys and leaving it up to your child to absorb it from these sources - rather, in conjunction with daily reading aloud from books, you can use this as additional teaching resources.  The BEST way to utilize these resources is not to stick your child in front of them and walk away, but rather enjoy the resources with your child and ask questions as things are going on, making it much more interactive and not passive.

Starfall
For all ages and FREE.
www.starfall.com

Starfall is a great website that offers some really fun animated videos to help teach a child his or her letters and even demonstrates sounding out letters as well as blending them together.  I've used it with all three of my children, and right now, my 4 year old daughter who is a very good reader is helping my 2 year old son with the website.  He cannot navigate it, but loves sitting on my lap as I help him review letters and let him tell me where to click the mouse next.  My 4 year old daughter can also do this if I am otherwise occupied.  She navigates the mouse for him, asks him "Which letter is that?" and asks him "What letter do you want next?" and encourages him and corrects him if necessary.  It is a very child friendly website and I like it because there are great activities for all ages -2 and up.  As the child grows older, he or she can move from the letter sounds and phonics pages to the reading pages, where there are short little books that he or she can read along with.

Meet the Sight Words
Ages 2-5ish....after that it can be a bit boring, although my five your old still enjoyed it
Three DVDs

This is a series of three DVD's that animate sight words so that your child will begin to recognize them.  Mastering sight words is important as it increases fluency of reading for your child.  Imagine a child having to sound out words like the, and, what, where, here, his, her, an, a - every single time he or she picked up a book.  Mastering the sight words means that those words are recognized on sight and no longer have to be sounded out in order to make meaning.  There are 220 Dolch Sight words, and you can easily find lists online such as these.   Some are divided into grade level, and others by frequency.  (The, and, one being big players in that list.)  By grade 3, most of the sight words need to be mastered in order for a child to be a good fluent reader.  Schools generally teach sight words from kindergarten until third grade with teachers posting them around the classroom and whatnot.  I think however, that readers benefit from learning more sight words earlier than later.  Having them under the belt just ensures that the child will have an easier time reading.

These DVD's animate words and make them memorable.  My three children all watched these and all mastered their words very quickly.  The older kids (girls ages 4 and 6) now utilize them all the time so they retain their knowledge of the sight words with no problem.  My son however (age 2.5 now) watched these from about 20 months to about 25 months old, but is NOT reading yet.  He quickly forgets them because they are really just pictures he remembers.  Once he starts reading, then I think the sight words will stick for him.

If you want to just get all three DVD's (all different with different sight words)


Try out just one volume at a time - #1


#2


#3


Leapfrog Letter Factory Series
Ages 2 and up
DVD

This is probably one of the more popular series of "teaching kids to read" out there.  The animation is great, the story line fun and it is really engaging and exciting to kids.  However, my children did not learn their letters from watching this DVD alone.  They got lots of reinforcement from me and lots of extra teaching and reading with me before they mastered their letters.  This is, however a great start and introduction that is fun and exciting.

Introduction of the letters


Learning to decode the words


Complex words (long vowel sounds with two vowels controlling the sound)


Storybook (the least effective in the series I think)

Belinda Begins Ballet: Don't let obstacles get in your way

Title: Belinda Begins Ballet
Author: Amy Young
Illustrator: Amy Young
Age Range: 3-8
Genre: Picture book

When I was growing up, my parents decided at some point that my duck walk would no longer do and decided ballet lesson would be the thing to cure my walk.  (Little did they understand that my duck walk feet also worked very well in ballet.)  When they told me I was going to do ballet, I pouted, cried and screamed because I didn't want to dance.  I was worried about the clothes, what I would look like and what I would be doing in the class that could potentially humiliate or embarrass my already then fragile ego.  (I was a bit of a sensitive child.)

However, I ended up loving ballet enough to take it for about five years.  I loved the dancing, the discipline, the French words, and the whole movement and grace of the dance form.  When dancing, I felt so different and out of my body and a part of the music in a way that I've never experienced since then.  I love ballet.

In the book, Belinda Begins Ballet, Belinda also loves ballet, only she isn't aware of it initially.  She starts life having these rather enormous feet, and they are her most distinguishing characteristic.  As she grows up and goes to school, a teacher notices these feet and decides that Belinda is the perfect person to play the clown for the school talent show; Belinda will be clumsy, uncoordinated, and fall and crash into things as only a clown should.  Only, Belinda does not like the role, and is entranced one day, when she inadvertently catches one of the students dancing a ballet solo for the talent show.  From that day on, Belinda watches and then goes home and practices ballet movements.

In the end, when it is her turn to dance onstage, Belinda chooses to dance gracefully and beautifully, and not like a clown at all. She is true to herself and what she wants to do.  She does not let her big feet stop her from being the dancer she wants to be.

I love Belinda because she tries hard to overcome the obstacles that are in front of her, and in the end her hard work pays off.  My daughters have both loved the book for it is funny as well as having a powerful message.

The first book in the series


The next in the series...also really super cute


A funny one where Belinda is supposed to dance in Paris, but her shoes are lost so she has to figure out how to make them...to the rescue - Baguettes!


The last in the series...there is a bit of a catty girl in this one, so I'm less keen on this than the others, but still a good read

Cars:Rushing! Honking! Zooming!: Rhyme and have fun with your child

Title: Cars: Rushing! Honking! Zooming!
Author: Patricia Hubbell
Illustrator: Megan Halsey and Sean Addy
Age Range: 3-8
Genre: Picture book, rhyming

There has been a lot of research done in regards to the benefits of reading aloud rhymes to your child.  Rhymes help children gain some basic building blocks to become readers.  But more than that, children love rhymes.  I think rhymes help ME to read the story with more fun and more inflection and I can see that the rhythm and rhyme engage my son an additional level besides just the story line itself.

I picked this book up on a whim and upon opening it, knew immediately that my son would love it.  The pictures are really unique, sort of retro but also modern at the same time.  The illustrators mix up who is driving all of the cars - sometimes animals, sometimes humans but it makes for a really wonderful thing to look at.  My son can't get enough of it and I've been reading/rapping the book to him every night for the past six days.  He loves the pictures, and the last line of the book is "they go to rest" and I always whisper it, since it is a picture of a cars "sleeping" in their garages.  My son, now also whispers it and it is so fun to see.

This book simply details in rhyme, types of cars, what they do, where they go, why they are useful and is just a really fun book both to the eyes and to the ears.

Hardcover


Paperback

All of a Kind Family: Good clean fun and a window into the past

Title: All of a Kind Family
Author: Sydney Taylor, Helen John
Age Range: 7-12
Genre: Historical Fiction

I worry a lot about what my children consider to be entertainment.  In a world where there is TV, amusement parks, ipods, iphones, cable, video games and cartoons, there is never any lack of entertainment.  But I worry that this overly commercialized society will eventually stifle any creative juices in their bones and stunt their imaginations.

I spend a lot of time talking to my children about how the world is changing, and how they have so many things that I didn't have as a child.  I also really like them to read about times and places where people didn't have as much, and instead relied on their wits, their imagination, and their spunk to get them through the day.  I like them to imagine worlds where the things that they consider to be normal didn't exist and still people were very happy and enjoyed and loved their life.

I loved this book as a child.  I remember picking it up at my local library, and reading the first page and deciding to get it.  It was a heavy hardback book, but I loved reading books about lots of siblings, especially sisters since I didn't have any sisters.  There were several in the series and I know I read all of them.

The story takes place in New York, post WWII and portrays a wonderful Jewish family and the escapades of their life. There are five girls ranging in age from four years to twelve year old.  It is more a series of vignettes and isn't really one cohesive novel with a beginning, a middle and an end.  Rather it captures individual moments in the family's life and how they deal with those situations are really funny.  One such story is the one where the girls have to dust (they have chores!) and they complain about how much they hate dusting.  Their mother decides to make a game of it and hides buttons, and as the girls dust, they are supposed to try and find the buttons.  It's a cute game and one I think I may have my kids try when I want them to mop the floor or something.  It has such a sense of good clean fun and the adventures and misadventures of the girls are wonderful to read about.

This would be a great read aloud book with your child, if he or she can't read well enough yet.

The Secret Garden: The magic of the outdoors

Title: The Secret Garden
Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett
Illustrator: Inga Moore
Age Range: ages 8-12 (possibly age 6+ if read aloud and discussed)

In a world that is overflowing with technology, media, video games, and entertainment, it is hard to understand the appeal of a garden.  However, on a recent visit to my parents' house in Southern California, I've discovered that my children, all three of them enjoy a beautiful garden in a way I would have never had expected them to.  They go outside, water the plants, pick up different flowers, admire the flower petals, smell roses, pick fruit and just enjoy the beautiful space outside that my parents have created and maintain with their hard work.  Every evening, we would go outside and the kids would find something new to look at in the garden, something new to pick up, a secret corner to explore and a new flower to discover.  The backyard garden is a magical place for them and it warmed my mother's heart to see them enjoying a space that she and my father had worked so hard to create.

And it was with that vision in mind that reminded me of this book, one of my personal favorites as a child.  I'm sure I read this book at least 20 times if not more, and adored every single read I did of the book.  The book captures the experience of a young girl, Mary, who has been recently orphaned and who has not really ever received much love in her life.  Mary is then sent to live with a cold distant uncle who doesn't really have any idea how to raise and deal with children.  The house is a beautiful large home, but with no heart in it and filled with sad mysteries and pain.  Mary begins unraveling some of the mysteries, including discovering a cousin, Colin who is an invalid and unable to leave his bed. 

Mary also begins befriending some people in the house, and makes a friend with Dickon, who happens to be the most wonderful person of all, because he understands the world of living creatures and plants.  With Dickon's help, Mary begins reviving a garden that has long been locked away and neglected and with her love and devotion, she brings it back to life.  In addition, Colin also discovers his own power of his legs and begins to walk.  Through the garden and Mary's love, the house is restored to one of joy and the family is made to be whole.

This is a magical book about the healing power of the outdoors.  It also is a testament to the power of love and devotion and the amazing power of purpose and joy.  it is a wonderful read, a classic with rich vocabulary, details and wonderful narrative.  It is not a flash in the pan book, and it is rather dense in its text, but it is absolutely wonderful and a must read for any child. 

The beautiful hardback version with gorgeous illustrations


Paperback version, same text, no illustrations

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?:Learning to make animal sounds

Title: Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?
Author: Dr. Seuss
Age Range: 1-4 years old
Genre: Picture books with rhymes

This was one of the first books I ever bought for my daughter, and I started reading it to her when she was about 6 months old.  I used to exaggerate the sounds like "Moooooo" and "pop" and "buzz" and "whisper" and she would sit there fascinated with the sounds.  Perhaps she may have been fascinated by her crazy mommy's face as it went through various expressions trying to exaggerate the sounds, but no matter, it was a funny book to her.

There has been much research to support the use of rhyming books in promoting early literacy.  This one in particular has been discussed as a great book for reading aloud to your little one.  The rhymes, repetition of sound, and rhythm of the book are thought to be crucial in helping children develop the ears to be good readers.

Aside from the potential literacy benefit, the book is just plain fun to read aloud.  There are lots of great sounds to be made and in the end, everybody can be like Mr. Brown and moo, pop, whisper, and buzz just like he does.

Smelly Socks: A funny book about stinky feet

Title: Smelly Socks
Author: Robert Munsch
Illustrator: Michael Marchenko
Age Range: Ages 3-8
Genre: Picture book

Initially, I knew Robert Munsch as the author who wrote the tearjerker children's picture book, Love You Forever. That book initially wrenched my heart in half as I sobbed the last part of the book out to my children as they watched in disbelief as their mother crumbled into an emotional soggy mess.  But I learned from my daughter's preschool teacher that Robert Munsch wrote many many other titles aside from that one.  (Incidentally, Robert Munsch's favorite book is NOT Love You Forever.

Smelly Sock is a totally different vein of writing. In it you get a sense of Munsch's incredibly quirkly and engaging style as he outlines the life of a girl who gets a pair of socks, loves them so much, and decides not to wash them.  Eventually animals and plants wither in her wake, simply from the odor that pervades from her feet.  The townspeople band together, pick her up and throw her into water to wash her feet. 

This book is funny with great illustrations and details very amusingly, the life and times of a young girl who won't wash her socks.  She is a bit irreverent as she stubborn insists on certain things during the book, but overall, the book is funny to read and enjoy.

Moo, Baa, La La La: Baby gifts that don't get old

Title: Moo, Baa, La La La!
Author: Sandra Boynton
Illustrator: Sandra Boynton
Age Range: Baby - 2

My fourth year of teaching high school, a wonderful woman colleague in our English department got pregnant.  It was the first departmental pregnancy, as most of us were young, hip, and single, and not even married as of yet, but she was.  It was exciting to watch her body change and it made me wonder at the time, what it would be like when it was my turn.  In any event, the other 10 of us decided it would be fun to have a baby shower for her, and I agreed to host it at my house.

As a department, we decided that we wanted to start the baby out with a lovely library of books, so each of us was to bring one or two books for a child that we loved as our gift.  At the end of the shower it would mean that she would go home with a big bag of books to put on the new baby's shelf.  When I saw my friend and colleague take home a huge stack of books with a big smile on her face, I knew that I would always give books as baby presents, because I thought the idea so lovely and so wonderful.

And that is what I do.  Ask any of my friends.  They usually get a box of books delivered to them right after the birth of their child and on their child's birthday.  For a baby's birth present, I usually give between seven to ten titles, mostly board books, of things that I know the little munchkin would love. (Even if it is loving to chew on it.) This is one of the books that always makes it into my little box of books for a newborn.

This book invites you, the parent, to speak in "mother-ease" which is that sort of soft, high singsongy voice that we always end up doing with babies.  In it you will make sounds like a cow, a sheep and some pigs that sing.  The pictures are adorable, in that inimitable Sandara Boynton style, and the rhymes are fun.  (Incidentally, some studies have shown that early rhyming books for kids are very important, as they help later when kids begin to read.)

A board book, which basically means its a bit more sturdy.


The other one of her books which almost always makes it into a baby's first books gift.

Bread and Jam for Frances: For the picky eater

Title: Bread and Jam for Frances
Author: Russell Hoban
Illustrator: Lillian Hoban
Age Range: Ages 4-8

Reading this book when you're hungry is not a good idea.  At one point in the middle of it, you or your child is going to ask for a slice of bread with a nice lovely slather of jam on top.  You will either be lucky enough to have someone around to bring you that very snack, or you will be getting up from your comfortable position to make you and your child a bread and jam sandwich. 

That notwithstanding, this book is super cute in its approach of the picky eater. In it, Frances loves her bread and jam and walks around eating it all the time. However, when it comes time to try other foods, she wrinkles her cute little badger face at things like spaghetti and meatballs and refuses to eat it.  She only wants to eat bread and jam so her parents decide that she will do just that - eat only bread and jam.

But sometimes too much of one thing is not a good thing, and Frances discovers it.  After getting bread and jam for several days in a row at lunchtime, coming home to bread and jam for snack, and eating bread and jam for dinner, she learns that variety is really the spice of life (especially where food is concerned.)  She changes her mind about bread and jam and begins eating again.

This is a classic book, from the 1960's and one that I loved as a child.  My own two daughters love it and sing the cute little ditties that Frances sings when I read the book.  The pictures are also so charming and sweet. It is a wonderful book to enjoy with your child, and perhaps use as a jumping off point for discussions around picky eaters.

Little House in the Big Woods: Back to a time where life is different

Title: Little House in the Big Woods
Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Illustrator: Garth Williams
Age Range: 5-12 (content-wise appropriate for young ages, reading level is a bit harder)
Genre: Autobiography

I had to put my foot down one day, when my oldest daughter continued to read only the Rainbow Fairy books.  Fortunately for me, the library was finally out of them (everyone else's child is reading them) so I had a reprieve as my daughter stomped around the house saying, she had nothing to read.  I quickly scanned my bookshelf (the one I use for teaching) and found my old copy of Little House in the Big Woods.  I handed it to her and said, "This was one of mommy's absolute favorite books growing up."

She looked at it, opened it up, studied the words, got stuck on one of the first words "Wisconsin" but looked intrigued.  I explained to her that it was a book about a time before cars, before cities, before email, computer, TV, DVD, telephones, cell phones and libraries.  Her eyes got bigger, and I think I got her attention.  I explained that she would be reading about a time and place more than 100 years ago.  The next comment was something like " older like you" and as she read the book, at one point she came downstairs and asked me if I had had TV growing up.  Hmph.

I have a habit of asking each child after they read a book, "Can you tell me what the book is about?" or "What does the main character of the book have to do?" and have my kids give me their answers.  As my daughter was way into the Rainbow Fairies, she was very used to a cut and dry plot summary.  She could give it to me in five sentences, stating the problem, the attempt at a solution and the resolution.  It was easy for her. With this book, she looked up, and said, "Mommy, I'm not so sure what this book is about."  I asked her, "You don't understand the words?" and she said, "No I understand.  I just can't explain."  I knew immediately that she was struggling with figuring out WHAT the story was...the plot if you will.  Since this book is primarily autobiographical, it really is just a collection of sweet stories and experiences of Laura as a child.  I explained to my daughter, "This book is really about a young girl growing up in a time totally different than ours. That is what this story is about."  Her eyes lit up and she looked happy to know that there was a way to explain the story, just not the way she had been conditioned to after the darn Rainbow Fairies.

I really encourage you, if your child is not yet a strong reader, this is a lovely book to read aloud to your daughter.  The stories of family, spending time together and working together to make a living is one that is wonderful and truly heartwarming.  Exposing children to a life different from the one they are living is also a valuable experience that makes for lots of interesting conversations, like the one where my daughter asked, "Where did Laura go to the bathroom?"

I really prefer this version of the book as the illustrations are so wonderful in color.  Garth Williams did the original illustrations and they add immensely to the stories told in the book.


This is a set of the first five of the books in color, but there are nine books in all.  The remaining 4 also exist in color.  I bought these for my girls, as it is a book worth having on the bookshelf.


#6


#7


#8


#9

Annie and Snowball and the Prettiest House: For the part of you that wants "pretty"

Title: Annie and Snowball and the Prettiest House
Author: Cynthia Rylant
Illustrator: Sucie Stevenson
Age Range: Ages 4-8
Genre: Ready to read

Each child learns to read at a different rate.  I know this.  But being the teacher/competitor/gunner mom that I am, sometimes accepting the different rates of reading is very very hard for me.  In a conversation I had with a former grad school colleague of mine, who has a son slightly older than my daughter, he surprised me by saying that he wasn't worried that his son wasn't reading fluently yet, as his vocabulary excellent and he had great sentence structure when he spoke.  This friend is a high school English teacher, as I was, and I exclaimed, "HOW CAN YOU NOT WANT HIM TO READ YET?"  His answer, "Because he will eventually do it, and there isn't any point freaking out about it."

I do freak out about it.  I worry about it, ponder it, and think about it.  I spent many hours determined that my oldest would read before she started kindergarten, and she did.  This was one of the series she loved the most and it really helped her gain confidence in her reading.  She has since moved way beyond this series, but every once a while, she lovingly picks it up and reads it in under five minutes.  It was a great jumping point for her to get into reading and I am happy to say she is an excellent reader, not because of this book, but because of the wide variety of books she read at that young age.

I love Annie and Snowball because the illustrations are super cute, the story very fun, and the characters lovable.  In this book, Annie lives in home next door to her favorite cousin and best friend Henry.  Although she loves her home, loves her father (no mother in this book), and loves where she lives, she wishes that the home were "prettier."  Flowers in a coffee can, although nice are not pretty enough for her.  In this book she discovers how to express her opinion and get what she wants in terms of decorating rights over the home.

As a note, Annie is EXTREMELY girly.  She wears tights and dresses almost everywhere she goes.  That is her style.  She likes fancy, pretty, lacy, frilly.  This may be one of the reasons my daughter liked the book so much as that is my daughter's style as well, but aside from her peculiarities in terms of dress, Annie is extremely sweet.  She does have a rather unusual pet, Snowball, who is a bunny, but even their relationship is very cute.  I admit it.  This book is CUTE.

On another note of kids learning to read at different rates, I have another daughter who started reading on her own at three.  Now four years old, Annie and Snowball is already in her past.  However, my son, who is 2 1/2,  is nowhere near reading and barely knows the letters of the alphabet.   I've encouraged reading very similarly with all of them with very different results.  They all love books however, and love sitting down for a read, so I'll take that as having put in some good foundation. 

Scat: Eerily appropriate in light of the BP oil debacle in the Gulf

Title: Scat
Author: Carl Hiassen
Age Range: Ages 9-12
Genre:  Fiction, environmental focus

The author of Scat, Carl Hiaasen is a native of Florida and writes both adult and children's books which focus on his native state.  He both celebrates and criticizes all the glory of his state, and concentrates his criticism on environmental issues of his state.  He creates such fascinating villains, usually a money-hungry-not-so-bright businessman.

I'm reading this book with two of my students and the environmental issues that is discussed is oil drilling and the problems it causes.  There is even a mention in the book how Floridians don't want off-shore drilling off their waters and one of my students asked what that meant.  I explained it meant drilling in deep waters off the coast, and used the current BP oil "mistake" to show what COULD happen.  Of course my students once they heard that, started really villain-izing Drake MacBride, calling him an oil-hungry idiot. 

The hero of the book is a middle school boy named Nick Waters, who unexpectedly ends up entangled in a web of mystery surrounding the disappearance of the most feared teacher at his school, the science teacher Ms. Starch.  Although she is an unpleasant teacher, he and his friend Marta take it upon themselves to figure what has happened to her.  Investigating her disappearance leads them on a trail of an endangered baby panther, unscrupulous oil people, and a radical hippie environmentalist who wants to save Florida from being destroyed by greed.

The book has multiple plot lines so there is quite a bit of bouncing back and forth.  That can be slightly confusing to readers, but eventually the rhythm gets established and it becomes clear who is whom.  In the end all the different plot lines get ironed out, wrapped up, and resolved in a most unexpected way.

Some things to watch out for - there is some violence as Nick's father, who is in the National Guard deployed in Iraq, gets his arm blown off and destroyed by an RPG.  There is the use of the word ass, dumbass, smartass, which not all parents are keen to read.  There are also images of adults drinking, smoking and getting drunk.



His 2nd book - the environmental issue is dumping waste in protected waters


The 1st book - the environmental issue is the destruction of the habitat of tiny owls that burrow into the ground.

Freight Train: Trains come in many colors

Title: Freight Train
Author: Donald Crews
Illustrator: Donald Crews
Age Range: Ages 2-5
Genre: Picture book

After having two daughters, choosing books for my son has been interesting to say in the least.  No longer am I looking for the books about princess or other more "pink" like things.  Instead I have to hunt down books with vehicles in them, as they are his current favorite.  He loves to look at books and to be read to, so the challenge is to find him books that really spark his interest.  I'm keen to teach him his colors as he still gets confused about which color is which so this book really appealed to me when I looked at it.  I loved the illustrations - and the first page opens up with a totally white page, except with a single track running along the bottom. The image immediately appealed, and as each page goes on, more colors are introduced, and different cars of the train are given their names.

 My son really enjoys this book and has asked me to read it multiple times now.  He's starting to repeat the names of the cars (like red caboose which is his favorite) and likes the part where the train goes through a tunnel and illustrator has streaked the car colors to give the illusion of speed.

It truly is a beautifully illustrated book and one worth adding to the library, especially if you have a boy who loves trains. It did win a Caldecott Honor, which is given to beautifully illustrated books every year.

The Boy on the Bus: When your child wants you to sing...all the time

Title: The Boy on the Bus
Author: Penny Dale
Illustrator: Penny Dale
Age Range: 2-6
Genre: Picture books

I grabbed this book for my son, who is the one who is in love with cars, trucks and most recently buses.  When we drop his sister off at school and we see a yellow school bus on the way, he shouts, "BUS mom!" in his cute excited voice.  I showed him the book and said, "Look it's a bus!" and he looked confused.  He said, "RED" which then I understood that he realized that the bus was not yellow but red.  I almost put it back but thought I'd give it a try, especially since it said "Sing-along Storybook."

We got home later and I opened it up.  Everyone is familiar with the song, "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round" which is a fun song for the younger group. (it can be annoying and tedious for adults if your child asks you to sing it over and over.)  This book has you singing the words to that melody as a young boy drives a bus through the area, picking up various animals along the way.  The animals get to make sounds (the pigs say oink oink, the sheep say baa baa, the chickens say bawk bawk) and they all join in the song.  As I sang/read the book with gusto, both my 2-year old son and 4-year old daughter were laughing and getting into the book. Son had fun pointing to all the animals asking. "Is that a cow/duck/sheep/pig/chicken/horse?"

It is a wonderfully charming book with fantastic pictures of masses of animals being crammed into a bus as the boy says that there is plenty of room on the bus.  Soon it is cram full of animals and the young boy drives it.  If you have a problem with masses of animals on the bus or the picture of a very young boy driving the vehicle, this is not the book for you. However, if your child enjoys being sung to all the time, and you sometimes run out of words or melodies to sing, this IS the book for you, as you can sing the entire book from cover to cover.

"The boy on the bus drives round and round, round and round, round and round..." (Dale)

Cobble Street Cousins - In Aunt Lucy's Kitchen: A time when life was simpler

Title: In Aunt Lucy's Kitchen
Author: Cynthia Rylant
Illustrator: Wendy Anderson Halperin
Age Range: 5-10
Genre: Early chapter books

My oldest child is just 6 years old.   I teacha wide range of students (4th grade through high school) so although I know many titles for kids to read, not everything I feel is appropriate for her.  She is a fast reader and a very good one, and I've really struggled to find the kind of book that I want her to read. Unfortunately, I'm not so into the Rainbow Fairy series, Judy Moody, or Junie B. Jones which often seems to represent the bulk of what is available to an early chapter reader.

I like books that reflect a simpler time, simpler lifestyle and no sassy kids saying obnoxious things to their parents.  I know that this may be unreasonable, but I like my daughter to read things to which she can aspire.  Having her read the stuff that she may hear from day to day does not appeal, nor do I wish her learning particular obnoxious or sassy language from a book.  She is easily influenced at this age, so my preference is to influence her in an uplifting manner.

Cynthia Rylant (Henry and Mudge series) is an author I like, for she writes a book of quality.  Her characters are lovable, the themes and ideas in the book are simple and wholesome, and generally her characters do not say the words "stupid" or "dumb" to one another.  In the Cobble Street Cousins series, three cousins, ages 9, come to live together at their Aunt Lucy's home, because their parents are off touring the world as ballet dancers.  They make Aunt Lucy's their home, and together come up with different adventures and ideas as to how they would like to spend their time.

The three cousins decide to start baking in their kitchen, and through delivery of their home baked goods make friends in the neighborhood.  Through wholesome activities and thoughtful planning the girls live out their days in activity, love, and laughter.  Great series, especially for girls.

First in the series


#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


Henry and Mudge

All Creatures Great and Small: The Joys and Trials of being a Vet

Title: All Creatures Great and Small
Author: James Herriot
Age Range: 12+
Genre: Autobiography

Growing up, my mom had this book, along with the sequels, All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful, and The Lord God Made Them All, on a bookshelf in the family room.  It was in a boxed set, and up on a higher shelf.  My brother and I, based on the covers, weren't all that interested and so it stayed up there.  However, both my brother and I were very strong readers as children, and at one point, I think when my brother was about 10 years old, he picked it up and started reading it.

And I have this distinct recollection of him in his tight polo shirt and tight Op shorts, lying on the sofa reading this book and giggling.  He later tried to convince me to like it, but for whatever reason I COULD NOT get past the cover.  He assured me over and over I would like it, and when I asked him what it was about, he told me it was about a veterinarian.

Mind you, i'm not that interested in animals.  Our family had a dog when I was much older in life, and I think I might have wanted a dog at some point but I am not an animal lover in terms of wanting to be around them all the time.  So why in the world would a book such as this, appeal to me?

My brother, smart man that he is, turned out to be right.  On a day when I just couldn't find anything to read, I picked the book up.  Brother was already on the third or fourth of the series, which mean the first one could be read by me.  I picked it up and was immediately engrossed in a world so foreign to me - in Yorkshire, England, countryside, post WWII, reading about a man who was newly out of veterinary school, trying to get a job with a practice.

The stories - things like delivery a cow, fixing a prolapsed uterus, helping a spoiled pampered dog fix his glands, horses that need to have their shoes fixed - the whole set of them are told my a master storyteller.  His words, his humor, his total sense of the shape of a story make for for a great read.  Each chapter is filled with interesting pictures of the people who hire him (like REALLY ornery men who don't to trust "modern" veterinary medicine) juxtaposed against self-deprecating moments of personal humiliation and shame. 

This is a great book for all to read - about a different time and place, a different life, a different lifestyle,but it is absolutely a wonderful read.  It's not just for animal lovers, but it is for people who love a great story. 

Trucks Roll: How to practice being a rap star...sort of...

Title: Trucks Roll
Author: George Ella Lyon
Illustrator: Craig Frazier
Age Range: 2-6
Genre: Picture book

My 2-year son is a cars and trucks fiend.  He loves them. He sits inside our house, on trash day, admiring the trucks coming by taking away the refuse.  He'll yell at the top of his lungs, "Mommy it's TRUCK" in his most excited and happy voice.  He pushes his trucks around the house saying ,"Truck, truck truck" and just gets so into it.

I picked this book up because of the picture on the cover.  I liked the big simple lines on the truck and immediately thought my son would like it.  When I showed it to him, he yelled, "TRUCK" and immediately became close friends with the book.  Later when I read it, I fell in love with the INSIDE as there are some really great pictures within AND a great rhyme and rhythm to the text.

Trucks' wheels
go 'round and 'round
Trucks' pistons
go up and down

Trucks roll! (Lyon)

When I started reading it, my son's ears immediately perked up.  I could tell he could feel the rhythm and he especially liked my raucous TRUCKS ROLL!  I have to admit I felt a bit like a rap star with my son on his bed bopping to the cool rhythms of the words.  After reading it to him several times over the past few days, he started picking up the book himself saying, "TRUCKS ROLL!"

There are wonderful illustrations within, depicting all the things that trucks do like carrying huge chocolate cookies, clocks, apple juice, ice cream.  It's a fantastic book, especially for you boys who love their trucks.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle: The neighbor I need right now

Title: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Author: Betty MacDonald
Illustrator: Hillary Knight
Age Range:  6-10
Genre: Beginning Chapter Book

I grew up with Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.  I loved her, wanted to live in her neighborhood, and wanted to play at her house.  I drew great satisfaction from the fact that I was far better behaved than the children in her book, and thought that my mom would never have to go to her for advice.

These days, I wish Ms. Piggle-Wiggle lived next door to me so I could go to her for advice with my own three munchkins, for you see, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle knows EXACTLY how to handle children.  She loves having children go to her house and play there. (It doesn't hurt that her house is built upside down and she makes everything just fun for the children.)  She allows children to play with her hair, dig in her yard, serve her tea, and in other words - play.

All this time with children has made her an expert in how to handle the most common childhood ailments.  This book covers some childhood cures such as The Won't Pick Up Toys Cure.  (I could use a few doses of this myself actually.)  The cure involves no magic, but instead focuses on the child's behavior.  The cure for this particular ailment is having the boy just play with all of his toys in his room, and his mother is NOT to pick them up.  Eventually he gets stuck in his room and cannot come out. He doesn't care initially and his mom is somewhat worried about his food intake, so Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle says to hand up food to his window on a rake, which his mother dutifully does.  After a few days of being stuck in his room, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle plans a parade which goes right in front of his house, and for sure, he wants to participate.  Only he can't get out of his room.  The only solution for him to get out of his room is to clean it up, pick up all the toys, and put everything back where he belongs.  He does just this.

My favorite cure in the book is the Fighter-Quarrelers cure, which focuses on twin sisters who fight and argue over everything.  (Anyone relate?)  Their mother heads over to Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle at her wits end, and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's advice is this - fight harder and yell louder than the kids.  The parents begin to argue more outrageously than the children, and this quickly silences them and makes them re-evaluate their behavior.  Hmm...perhaps I should try this with my own Fighter-Quarrelers.

This is a fantastic book, and there are three more in the series.  I highly recommend them all as great fun reads that your child will thoroughly enjoy. In it are the tiniest snapshots of our own children, in their own ways and all kids quickly relate and understand the book.



This one Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle uses a bit of magic to cure childhood ailments


Another fun one...including cures like The Slowpoke Cure


One where Mrs. Piggle Wiggle relocates to a farm


Note...Amazon does have a 4 books for 3 promotion - all these books apply, and I would say that these are a fantastic addition to your child's library. (they will want to read over and over.)

The Mysterious Benedict Society: Everyone's secret desire to be extraordinary at something

Title: The Mysterious Benedict Society
Author:  Trenton Lee Stewart
Age Range: 9-14
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Adventure

This is one of the newer young adult fiction novels out there, meaning that it wasn't around when I was growing up.  The number of books that has been recently published for the young adult market is mind boggling, but not all of it is excellent or even all that good.  However, I really connected to this book as an adult, I think because I connected to the idea of people wanting to be special, or set apart.  I know growing up, I always wanted to have something that made me outstanding in contrast to others and I spent sometime trying to figure out what it was.  This book explores some of those emotions and makes you feel and sympathize with the characters and their struggles.

The book starts out with Reynie, faced with the opportunity to take a special exam for gifted children.  The exam is a puzzle, which he figures out and he ends up passing it.  There are a number of small interesting little "tests" designed by the test giver that also further help figure out which kids truly are gifted and have what it takes.  In the end there are four such people - Reynie, who is incredibly good at puzzles; Sticky, who has a brain like glue and everything sticks to it (he remembers everything); Kate, who has a bucket in which she carries handy little tools and also has an incredible ability to measure distances with her eyes; and finally Constance, who no one is sure why she is gifted, except that she is incredibly contrary. (Her true gift is revealed at the end of the book and it is both amusing and endearing.)

The four are selected by the somewhat eccentric and mysterious Mr. Benedict.  He needs children to help him infiltrate an evil plot being hatched by someone who wishes to brain wash the world.  Although Mr. Benedict has figured out some of the problem, he is unable to stop the evilness without the help of children.  He gives them ample opportunity to turn down the mission, as it is one that is dangerous, but all four kids take it upon themselves to do the job.  One funny note about Mr. Benedict; he is a narcoleptic, falling asleep at sudden moments, usually triggered by a powerful emotion, like sadness, happiness or humor.

The book is filled with little puzzles along the way, allowing the reader to participate in what is going on.  It is also an incredibly story of building friendship and loyalty and sacrifice.  It is one where you cheer on the four kids as they embark on their mission, because they rely on their wits and their knowledge, they are successful.  It is a fun read and one that makes you smile at the end.

Some things to be aware of - the children in the book are all orphans or abandoned in some way shape or form.  If you want a story about an intact family, you will not find it here.  Also, the "bad guy", Mr. Curtain, is evil enough that he makes your skin crawl.  Trenton Lee Stewart does a good job of making him seem very creepy and not normal.   There is the use of stun guns here, and there is also some hints at mental torture.



The next in the series, which I have not yet read


#3 in the series, which I also have not read (but will!)