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!)