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.


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#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


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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.