Monday Children's Picks of the Week

The following are just three of our recent reads. During the last few weeks I've tried to focus a portion of our books on Autumn and Thanksgiving. Now with that holiday behind us and another one on its way (plus the change of seasons) I am on the look out for books about Winter, Christmas, Snow, and the like.

Our library is only a few months shy of moving into a brand new (and much larger) building. Because they will be growing in space they are starting to add to their collection, particularly in the children's department. The new release/newly purchased shelf has become my first stop when we arrive at the library. There are some great books out there. One such new release is:

All the Seasons of the Year by Deborah Lee Rose is one such new release (Published by Abrams Books, October 1, 2010). Beautifully illustrated by Kay Chorao this story tells how children are loved and cherished while incorporating some of the favorite moments of each season of the year. As we approach winter I've been discussing season changes with my daughter. I found All the Seasons of the Year to be an adorable story and a fun way to discuss the change of seasons. She loved the little kitten and the pretty pictures.


"I'm not Santa!" by Jonathan Allen is a funny and festive read-aloud that was published in 2008 by Hyperion Books for Children (a division of Disney). In "I'm not Santa!" Baby Owl is playing in the snow when he is mistaken for Santa Claus by Baby Hare. An argument ensues and it isn't until Santa himself arrives that Baby Hare and Baby Owl are finally set straight as to who-is-who. Personally I don't like to put too much emphasis on Santa during the Christmas season, but this story was really funny and I couldn't pass it up. My daughter has really enjoyed it and I've heard her "reading" it aloud several times. I've since noticed that Jonathan Allen has written at least one other book about Baby Owl, so I'll have to look for it during our next library visit.

Another old, but good read is The Big Snow by Berta and Elmer Hader. Published in 1948 by Macmillan Publishing Company this story won the 1949 Caldecott Medal and has since been reprinted several times, including the most recent edition by Scholastic in 1990. The Big Snow tells the story of animals preparing for winter and the first Big Snow. The illustrations are a mix of color and black and white and have that charming style characteristic of books from the mid 20th century. My daughter loves all the animals and it is a delightful read for us as we learn about winter and look forward to our first big snow.


That's it for this week. I hope to be back next Monday with another list of books we have enjoyed together.

Happy reading!

Monday Children's Picks of the Week

This month our preschool co-op is learning all about harvest time. Because our lessons are about harvest and not Halloween I tried to stick with books that talked only about the harvest theme (you know picking apples, pumpkin patches, etc.), but this proved harder than I initially thought because while there are a lot of great "harvest" themed books out there, the majority of the content of these books tends to be 70% Halloween and only 30% harvest. In the end the three books I chose for this week's Children's Picks were my favorite:

Pumpkin Harvest by Calvin Harris. Published in 2008 by Capstone Press (Mankato, MN).

Pumpkin Harvest is an excellent picture book for young readers, but it also works well as a read-aloud for even younger book worms. I read it to my daughter and the other children in our preschool co-op. The book contains 24 pages with a simple text and beautiful photograph illustrations. As might be guessed from the title the book is mainly about pumpkins, but it also discusses other aspects of autumn and things one might see or experience during the harvest months (i.e. pumpkin pie, scarecrows, jack-o-lanterns, etc.). This book did not mention trick-or-treating and worked well for sticking to the "harvest" theme. My daughter enjoyed the pictures and has been pointing out pumpkins wherever we go.

Pumpkins by Ken Robbins. Published in 2006 by Roaring Brook Press (New Milford, Connecticut).

Pumpkins tells the story of a pumpkin's life cycle from a seed planted in the ground in the spring until late fall when if left alone it rots away until it is but seeds awaiting to be planted for the next season. In addition the reader learns fun little pumpkin trivia and all about the different breeds of pumpkins from tiny squatty pumpkins to the giant pumpkins that win prizes. Also included in the book is a little bit about how to carve a pumpkin and how pumpkins are sometimes included in the celebration of Halloween.

This book was my favorite when it came to illustrations. Nearly all the 29 pages contained beautiful photographs of pumpkins. This was also a great picture book for young readers and because of it's short simple sentences it also can double as a read-aloud for young children.

Because there are two pages discussing trick-or-treating and I was trying to stick to the harvest theme I just flipped past them without detracting from the lesson. The story flows seamlessly even without those pages. The children in the co-op loved hearing about the giant pumpkins.

Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills. Published in 2009 by Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books.

Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin is an off-shoot of the Duck & Goose board book series. In this story Duck and Goose see their friend Thistle with a pumpkin and they go in hunt of their own. Uncertain where pumpkins come from Duck and Goose look everywhere, but cannot find a single pumpkin. At long last with the help of Thistle they learn of the pumpkin patch and finally locate their own pumpkin.

This story is much more entertaining then educational and is best as a read-aloud. Still, I love the Duck & Goose illustrations and enjoyed reading this to my daughter.

What about you? Have you discovered a fun harvest-themed book? Leave a comment and let me know about it.

Monday Children's Picks of the Week

I am sorry to say I have a bad case of "the Mondays." I'm already behind in my list of To-Do for the week, but I didn't like missing a post about some of our favorite reads of late so here I am for the weekly pick of children's books.

As I've mentioned before, my daughter is 3 years-old. She's not yet ready for a structured preschool, but I thought it might be fun if we started doing something fun each week. You know a craft here, a special trip there, etc. As part of this we joined a casual group of moms and preschoolers who meet twice a month to have a lesson, craft, snack, game and Bible verse followed by a field trip. Each month is planned around a specific theme. September's theme is farm animals with the field trip being a trip to see all kinds of farm animals at the county fair.

We are both enjoying this opportunity to learn more about animals. We've done a few crafts, we've sung some animal songs, we've talked about animals and the sounds they make, and best of all we've read lots and lots of animal and farm books.

Two favorites that I want to highlight this week include:

Cock-a-Doodle-Quack! Quack! by Ivor Baddiel. (Published by David Fickling Books in the UK and by Random House Books in the US in 2007) This book is a great read-aloud for children ages 3-8.

In the story a baby rooster is born. Eager to begin his job on the farm he asks the other farm animals what he should say to wake them up each morning. He tries "cock-a-doodle-oink-oink" and "cock-a-doodle-moo-moo" to no avail. Finally the farm cat suggests the baby rooster go speak with the wise old owl. The wise old owl gives him a mysterious suggestion, which baby rooster chooses to follow. The result. At long last he learns the exact words he has to say to wake up the farm.

We learned about Cock-a-Doodle-Quack! Quack! from another mom/daughter in our co-op. It is both cute and funny, the perfect combination for a preschooler to enjoy. The illustrations by Sophie Jubb add to the delight of this book. Definitely put this one to your library list. A must read.

While browsing for non-fiction books about animals I discovered a collection called First Step Nonfiction Farm Animals by Robin Nelson and published between 2008 and 2009 by Lerner Publications Company of Minneapolis, MN. Each of these little hardcover books run approximately 20-25 pages and highlight a particular animal with photographs and short and simple sentences. "What lives on a farm? chickens live on a farm. A female chicken is a hen. A male chicken is a rooster." and so on and so forth. I picked up the books on Cows, Chickens, Horses, Pigs, Goats, and Sheep. I am hoping the author or publisher will expand this collection to include ducks, rabbits, and some of the other farm animals and pets. They are fun to read and touch upon enough information my 3 year old enjoys them and comes away knowing more than she did before we read. Again, great read-aloud books. I can't wait to refresh by visiting these animals at the fair!

Happy reading!

Monday Children's Picks of the Week

My daughter and I have hit the jackpot for great reads during our recent library visits. I had a difficult time deciding which to post first and in the end settled on these three for this week, with a special post for the remaining books next week.

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes. (Published by Greenwillow Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers in March 2004.)

This charcoal and cream colored illustrated story is aimed at toddler to preschool aged children. It is the story of a kitten who mistakes a full moon for a big bowl of milk. When she opens her mouth to lick the treat she catches a fire fly on her tongue. When she reaches out with her paw to catch a hold of the bowl she ends up tumbling down the stairs. Again and again she tries to quench her thirst with this giant bowl of milk only to be thwarted in her efforts again and again. Finally, giving up, the kitten returns home thoroughly exhausted and discouraged and very thirsty. Much to her surprise she finds her persistence has paid off as there is a big bowl of milk awaiting on the front porch.

I was intrigued with the fact that Henkes found his inspiration for Kitten's First Full Moon from a line in one of his earlier books: "The cat thought the moon was a bowl of milk." Apparently he took that line and expanded it until it became it's own story.

My daughter since she was a year old has expressed a love for animals, especially dogs and cats. She loved this story of the "poor kitten who thought the moon was milk." She also loves looking at the moon and stories about the moon, so this story really was the best of both worlds.

Kitten's First Full Moon won the 2005 Caldecott Medal for Henkes' illustrations and I can see why. I loved the simplicity and sweetness of the charcoal and cream colored pictures. I confess, a good percentage of the time when I am picking books to read to my daughter I am drawn by the illustrations before the title or story plot grab me. Henkes' illustrations are soft and muted and fit well with this sweet little story.

Please Say Please! Penguin's Guide to Manners by Margery Cuyler. (Published by Scholastic Press in April 2004.) This is another older book, but it is a good one for toddler to preschool aged children. If you're looking for a fun way to introduce manners to your child -- or as in my case remind your child of their importance in a practical way, Please Say Please! is a fun story to read aloud.

In Please Say Please! Penguin has his friends over for dinner. On each page one of the animals commits some etiquette faux pas, which provides the reader with a statement such as, "When hippo sits down for dinner, she should put her napkin on her head." Turn the page and the reader discovers, "No! That's wrong." and then learns the correct action that should be taken (i.e. "When hippo sits down for dinner, she should lay her napkin in her lap. That's better.")

This format gives plenty of laughs for the child as well as the opportunity to interact, it doesn't take long before they figure out what's wrong and what's right. Before my daughter learned to speak we were teaching her sign language for "please" and "thank you" and once she was able to get up from the table on her own we began with "May I please be excused". Most of the time she's good about remembering these phrases, but from time to time we need to remind her to chew with her mouth closed. Don't talk with your mouth full. Ask to be excused from the table, etc. This book made for some entertaining reminders and a unique way to introduce some new manners.

If I Were a Jungle Animal by Amanda Ellery. (Published by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing in May 2009). This story is intended for young readers ages 4-8, but makes for an entertaining read aloud to preschoolers.

As the story opens we find a young boy named Morton playing baseball. Morton is bored. He thinks baseball is boring, at least when you're the outfielder and the ball never comes your way. Morton starts to imagine what could be more exciting than baseball... Maybe being a wild animal in the jungle, like a lion.... or a monkey... or a hippopotamus!

If I Were A Jungle Animal is an action packed story funny story. My daughter loved the hilarious illustrations (Morton as a lion wearing his baseball cap, Morton swinging from trees and getting tangled in the vines, etc.) And she laughed out loud at the moments when Morton realized maybe being a specific animal wasn't such a great idea: like when the cheetah is chasing him or the crocodiles are nipping on his hippopotamus toes, "Yikes!"

All in all this is a great read for children who love stories about jungle animals or just love to laugh at funny stories.

Monday Children's Picks of the Week

As I have mentioned in past posts my 3 year-old not only loves books, but she loves books about ballerinas, princesses and fairies. She loves to play dress up and dance along to ballet music.

We've read an assortment of ballet themed books. Angelina Ballerina and Ballet Star are some regular favorites for my daughter.

So when I discovered The Yellow Tutu by Kirsten Bramsen I knew we had a winner.

Published in 2009 by Random House Children's Books, this story is about a little girl named Margo who receives a beautiful bright yellow tutu for her birthday. Margo is so excited about her tutu that she wears it to school....on her head like a hat. Margo thinks she looks like a ray of sunshine and that all the children will be amazed. But when she arrives at school Margo is horrified to discover her classmates are not impressed. They actually make fun of her! But then along comes Pearl, another classmate of Margo's who owns a pink tutu. Pearl has a wonderful imagination just like Margo and she quickly stands up for Margo saying that Margo looks like a sunflower... or maybe a lion. The two girls become friends and spend the afternoon playing tea party and wearing their tutus on their heads, of course. :)

I really liked this book. Mainly because Margo reminded me of my daughter (albeit a little older). Before I even knew about this book my daughter on her own discovered what great hats tutus can make. This picture was taken one day when she came up to me and said, "Mommy look, I am a lion. Rooooaaaaaar!!!!" I cracked up laughing. So you can imagine how much she liked this story about Margo and her yellow tutu.

The only objection I had was when the children make fun of Margo. One boy says she looks "stupid" -- a word I don't like to use with my daughter, so I substituted "silly" toning down the meanness of the kids. The point is still made that some children aren't nice, that some don't understand a game and there are other children, like Pearl, who show love and friendship. My daughter hasn't focused on the meanness of the kids, she just loves that the girls have tutus and that they play tea party at the end of the book, which is fine by me.

The illustrations are a delightful addition to the story. The artist, Carin Bramsen used bright colors and painted pictures that were both whimsical and real. They have an almost vintage feel to them. From what I can tell it looks like Carin and Kristen are sisters and this was their first book. I am hoping I'll see more of the work in the future.

Monday Children's Picks of the Week

Last weekend was very busy and I have begun my Monday feeling exhausted and in much need of sleep. Thus I am going to keep my post limited to just two books:

The Blueberry Pie Elf by Jane Thayer published in 1959 may not be a recent book, but it is a classic. It was one my mother read to my siblings and I as children and was one of my older sister's favorite books. So much so, that she sent a copy of this book to my daughter for her birthday. Reprinted in 2008 by Purple House Press, The Blueberry Pie Elf is the story of a little house elf who discovers a love for blueberry pie. But the poor elf quickly becomes unhappy because he craves this pie, but has no way of letting the humans know (since house elves cannot be seen nor heard) that he'd like another piece of pie. Until one day he leaves some footprints... The Blueberry Pie Elf is a fun read-aloud story. The black and white illustrations are fun too as they occasionally include a splash of red, blue, or purple. This book is a classic well worth reading aloud. And if you enjoy adding to the fun of reading by trying little projects I definitely recommend serving blueberry pie after reading this book. It makes for some entertaining dinner conversation when there are preschoolers in the house.

Rhino's Big Itch by Natalie Chivers (Published in 2010 by Good Books). This is a recent acquisition by our library. I was immediately struck by the beautiful and colorful illustrations. The story is a fun one to read and yet remains educational. Rhino has a big big itch and he cannot get it to go away. He seeks help from some of the other animals in the safari...except for the lion, but no one can help -- until he comes upon a little tiny bird. I loved this book the minute I saw it. I will definitely be watching for more stories written and/or illustrated by Ms. Chivers. As for my daughter, she's enjoyed "re-reading" it aloud to us and talking about "Rhino's big itch and the bird helps."

Monday Children's Picks of the Week

A little over a month ago I participated in several book give-aways online. Low and behold I actually won one of these give-aways over at Reading to Know!

My prize was a set of seven books called "Modern Art for Babies" published by Tundra Books. Personally I don't consider this set of books for babies. While they could be read aloud to an infant they are much more suited for a toddler or preschooler.

Each of the seven books were written by Canadian author Marthe Jocelyn and illustrated by her husband, Tom Slaughter. What I like so much about these books is connected to the joint efforts of this husband and wife team. The text of the books explore everything from the alphabet and counting to shapes and simple concepts a child might encounter any given day. I also enjoyed the "modern art" illustrations. They are warm with colors drawn from the primary color pallet and are also simple and crisp and easy for a child to identify. Together with the text (be it letters, words or numbers) the illustrations provide interesting and fun visuals for a young child who is looking at the book on their own.

While some of the titles are self-explanatory here is a brief summary of each book from most newest to oldest in the set:

Which Way (Published in 2010) This book opens with the question: "How do we know which way to go?" and proceeds to explore the concept of directions, directional signs and what they mean, as well as how we travel (eg. by foot or by plane, etc.)

Same Same (Published in 2009) This book is a fun one to read aloud because it compares items and creatures that are similar or have similarities. For example on page one you begin with the shape "round" and how it is similar to objects like the Earth or a tambourine. Then the focus shifts to compare objects by what they do, like a tambourine makes music as does a guitar and a bird. From here the reader is directed to actions such as birds fly, as do planes and bees. Eventually the story comes full-circle by ending with the same apple that was seen on the first page of the book.

Eats (Published in 2007) As might be guessed by the title this book examines the concept of food and how each creature eats a particular type of food. A worm eats an apple, a bird eats a worm, a squirrel eats acorns, etc. ending with a question of who eats ice cream.... leading the child to cry out: "Me!"

ABC x 3 English * Espanol * Francais (Published in 2005) Again as is evident from the title this book the topic studies not only the alphabet, but how the alphabet fits into language and not just one language, but the three specific languages most commonly found in North America. First the reader begins by noting the letter of the alphabet in both upper case and then lower case (eg. Ff). Next a picture of something named with that letter is illustrated (eg. flower), and last the object is spelled out in English, Spanish, and French (eg. flower, flor, fleur). It is up to the reader whether only one language (the child's own) is taught or whether the other two are included.

Over Under (Published in 2005) This book compares opposites such as over and under, big and small, square and round, or light and dark. Each word is paired with a picture.

One Some Many (Published in 2004) This book dives deeper into the world of counting, growing beyond counting items from one to ten and actually exploring when you have "one" of something or "some" of that, or "many" of those. This might be an introduction to very simple math for a pre-schooler.

1 2 3 (Published 2003) This book, published a year prior to the aforementioned One Some Many, covers basic counting from one to ten as well as counting one to ten objects on a page. This is a great picture book to help a child who is learning to count.

Overall I am very pleased with this collection of books. My daughter has already spent countless hours over the last month flipping through the books and "reading" them aloud to herself. Although I've not taken any time this summer to read these particular books to her I plan to make much use of them in the coming months as her thirst for learning and her ability to sit still expands.

If you haven't checked out Marthe Jocelyn and Tom Slaughter's books before I highly recommend that you start with your local library. They are definitely worth checking out and sharing with your preschooler.

In closing I'd like to thank Tundra Books for giving away this set. I believe they are definitely an asset to my daughter's personal library. I would also like to thank Carrie at Reading to Know for the opportunity to win such a set. Thank you!

Monday Children's Picks of the Week

It was a very busy start to the week and I almost didn't think I'd get a chance to post my "picks" of the week from the books my daughter and I have been reading. But here we are.

I have an interesting mix this week and most of the books have been out for sometime, still I thought they were worth mentioning.

Up first, What's in the Meadow? by Anne Hunter. My daughter, now three years old, is curious about everything. I've discovered some early-readers/children's books at my library that cover everything from the stars in the sky to the bugs in the meadow or the fish in the sea and everything in between. The latest edition is What's in the Meadow? Published in 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. The book is small, about the height and length of a pen and with 26 pages, half with beautiful illustrations and the other half with a small amount of text explaining what you see in the picture. I'm hoping to find more by this author as I just love her illustrations.

Another fun one is also an older story. Published in 1984 by Newfield Publications, Inc., Moongame by Frank Asch is a cute story about Little Bear, his friend Little Bird and the game hide-and-seek. Little Bird teaches Little Bear how to play the game and later that night Little Bear plays with the full moon. Since my daughter loves stories about animals, playing hide-and-seek, and is fascinated with the moon this was pretty much a hit from page one.

"I am your parent; you are my child. I am your quiet place; you are my wild..." You Are My I Love You by Maryann Cusimano is one of the sweetest books I've read in a while. It tells the story of the average day of a parent bear and their little cub. The illustrations are adorable and the rhyme is sweet and yet true. Although published in 2001 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers I only just discovered this book while browsing the children's section of our local B&N. I'm hoping to find more by this author. I just love this story.

Last and a little bizarre is Crazy Like a Fox: A Simile Story by Loreen Leedy. This book has some silly pictures and that's pretty much what my daughter enjoys. The theme of using similes to tell a story is very clever, which is why I added it to this week's list. It is a little over my daughter's head, probably better aimed at a child of 5 or 6, but still I love any opportunity to stretch her mind and teach her something new. Crazy Like a Fox was published in 2008 by Holiday House, but I only learned of it because it was a new purchase by my local library.

Monday Children's Picks

Looking for some fresh and fun books to read aloud to your children (or grandchildren, nieces/nephews, etc.)? Here are two favorites selected by my 3 year-old daughter during our recent library visit:


The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark by Ken Geist. (Published by Scholastic, Cartwheel Books, 2007) This story is a very colorful and cute retelling of the The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. This book has been a regular read for our house; even my daughter is "reading" it to her dolls. I have more than once overheard her, "Not by the skin of my finny fin fin."


Delicious! A Pumpkin Soup Story by Helen Cooper. (Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007) The story of three friends: Cat, Squirrel, and Duck and their quest for a "Scrumptious", "Nutritious", but most of all a "Delicious!" substitute for pumpkin soup. Again, cute and colorful with an entertaining subplot involving some bugs. I've noticed there are more stories about these three friends and now that I have discovered how fun this read is I'll be looking for the others.

Monday Children's Picks of the Week

Two weeks ago we had a week long heat wave where temperatures hit above 100 for several days. It was awful. In an effort to keep my daughter and myself from going insane with cabin fever and yet keep cool I planned a trip to the city branch of our county library. It was a great idea... only several other parents had the same thought and it resulted in some hot and crabby children who didn't play well together in the children's play area and weren't really in the mood to look at books.

Still, we came away with some great finds. Here are two of my favorites from our recent reads:

Pigs to the Rescue by John Himmelman (Published by Henry Holt and Company through Macmillan April 2010). And yes, this is the "sequel" to Chickens to the Rescue. I didn't think Pigs was quite as good as Chickens, but it was funny and a cute read. I suspect by the ending that Himmelman might be planning a third installment titled Cows to the Rescue. I will be watching for that one in a year or two.

Ballet Kitty by Bernette Ford (Published October 2007 by Sterling Publishing). This is the first in a series of Ballet Kitty books. As one might guess the Ballet Kitty stories are about a little girl cat who loves ballet. They are short and sweet and fresh. Perfect as a read aloud to a little girl who likes anything ballet... (Ahem... like my daughter who is.... slightly obsessed.) You might recognize Bernette Ford's name as she is also the author of the No More Diapers For Ducky and No More Pacifier for Piggy stories.

Today was story time at our local library branch and we came back with another bag full of books to read. I've only had a glance, but I'm sure I'll have more titles to tell you about next week.

Monday Children's Picks of the Week

Today was story time and it was also definitely time to refresh our reading options with some new picks. Interestingly enough this week's picks included some old favorites, a couple I've mentioned before and another I thought I had, but haven't.

Itty Bitty by CeCe Bell and Jump! by Scott M. Fischer were two I've mentioned. My daughter loved these two books and upon seeing them today she insisted and begged that we bring them home to read again. I actually really enjoyed Itty Bitty and had hoped there might be more stories about this little tiny dog, but there isn't. At least not yet! CeCe Bell, if you're out there and you see this -- please write more Itty Bitty stories!

Another repeat, though not to this blog is Little Ballet Star by Adele Geras. Lately my daughter's favorite reads have been anything ballet related. She's even told us her name is "Tilla" a variation on the name Tilly, which is the little girl's name in Little Ballet Star. Other favorite ballet reads have been the Ella Bella Ballerina books (Ella Bella Ballerina and Cinderella and Ella Bella Ballerina and The Sleeping Beauty by James Mayhew). To be honest, even though I enjoyed that series I was glad to move on to something a little less wordy-heavy like Little Ballet Star. Reading aloud a wordy-heavy book isn't so bad... until you have to read it every day for a week or two. I'm currently looking for other ballet books that will free me from repetitive readings of Little Ballet Star. It's a cute book, but almost time for something different.

I'm sure I will have found something by next week. Oh and for the curious out there, this ballet phase is not necessarily permanent, though I don't suppose I'd mind if it was. My daughter's interests are quite wide. In addition to the ballet books she's expressed a desire to read about trucks -- semis, construction trucks, farm trucks, etc. Currently we have two truck books borrowed from the library. This follows the Fancy Nancy phase (we've now read all the available Fancy Nancy books multiple times) and also the Poppleton phase.

Which reminds me, I don't believe I've mentioned Poppleton before which is a shame as the books are great! A series of eight "I-Can-Read" books the Poppleton books by Cynthia Rylant are stories about a pig named Poppleton and the adventures he has with his friends. The stories are short, fun, and the pictures very cute. If you haven't read the Poppleton books be sure to check them out.

Monday Children's Picks of the Week

My daughter and I have had another fun week reading books. Our three favorite reads from last week's library visit included:

Shrewbettina's Birthday by John S. Goodall (1977). The Shrewbettina books were recommended to me by the lady sitting next to me on a recent business trip. She was a retired day care provider and had shared them with "her" children over the years. They are beautifully illustrated wordless books about a little shrew named Bettina. Unfortunately they were rather difficult to track down. In the end I could only find this one book through ILL, but it was worth the trouble. My daughter enjoyed the pictures and telling the story to herself through the illustrations. I will definitely keep my eyes out for more of John S. Goodall's work.

Rabbit Ears by Amber Stewart (2006). As many parents know bath time can sometimes be a trial, especially when you're bathing a child afraid of water or soap. Recently my daughter decided she didn't like to have her hair washed (afraid of soap in the eyes). Thankfully we were able to work through this fear and find a solution that made her happy yet still included clean hair. And so when I came upon this book in the library I knew she could realte to it. It's a cute story about a little boy rabbit who doesn't like to have his long ears washed, but in the end finds that it's actually fun to be a big boy and learn to wash them himself. The illustrations by Laura Rankin are cute and I recognized the style from another of our recent reads, Fluffy and Baron.

No! That's Wrong by Zhaohua Ji and Cui Xu (2008). A humorous story about a rabbit who finds a pair of lacy red underpants and unsure how to wear the article of clothing tries it on first as a hat. Throughout the story he's told it's the wrong way to wear them, but in the end the rabbit decides they fit best over his ears rather than his tail. This was a fun book to read as my daughter has recently discovered she can dress herself. She laughed at the silly pictures of the rabbit wearing the underpants on his head.

Check back next week when I post our favorite finds from this week's library visit.

Monday Children's Picks of the Week

I love the fact my daughter loves books. She loves to be read to and she loves to "read" by herself or with her baby doll or stuffed animals. At some point in the last month or two my husband and I noticed that she will ask by title for her favorite reads. While she occasionally abbreviates or renames a book, for the most part she remembers the exact titles and will hunt until she finds that book.

Here are some of her favorites from last week's visit to the library. If you have a young reader or bookworm in your home check to see if these are available at your library.

Ridiculous! by Michael Coleman. (August 1997). A turtle is told it's "ridiculous" to be out in the winter, but the young turtle thinks otherwise. Cute and funny story. My daughter loved the word "ridiculous" pronouncing it "dic-u-luss".

Jump! by Scott M. Fischer. New release, March 2010. A fun rhyming, action-packed picture book. On each page an animal (e.g. a lady bug, a frog, a cat, a dog, crocodile, etc.) jump to escape from a bigger animal who is chasing them. My daughter loved to shout "Jump!" on each page when she read this book to her baby doll or with me.

Seven Hungry Babies by Candace Fleming. Another new release in March 2010. As a busy mother I especially enjoyed the irony of this story, while my daughter loved the little baby birds. Mother bird tires herself out flying here there and everywhere to find food for her babies. Finally they are fed and asleep and mother bird can rest... Or not. The babies are awake again and ready to eat. Time to get back up and take care of her family... but just in time Daddy bird arrives to lend a wing. Mother bird can rest after all.

Chickens To the Rescue by John Himmelman. (October 2006). A silly story about chickens on a farm who come to the daily rescue of Farmer Greenstalk and his family. A watch down a well? No problem, chickens to the rescue! The illustrations add to the hilarity of the story with each turn of the page. My daughter loved shouting out "Chickens to the rescue!" when she read this book to her baby doll.

Monday Children's Picks: January 25

Once again our Monday trip to the library was delayed a day, only this time it was because our water heater broke and flooded our basement. We spent Monday cleaning up the mess and replacing the water heater while my daughter played in mud puddles outside.

We're hoping we can get back into our normal Monday visits to the library and return to story time next week. In the meantime, here are the books we selected for this week's reading.


A Hat for Minerva Louise by Janet Morgan Stoeke
A Little Bit of Winter by Paul Stewart
A Lovely Day for Amelia Goose by Yu Rong
Albert the Fix-it Man by Janet Lord
All My Little Ducklings by Monica Wellington
Beach Day by Karen Roosa
I'm a Duck! by Teri Sloat
It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Shaw
Itty Bity by Cece Bell
Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat by Bill Martin
Millons of Cats by Wanda Gag
Mouse Cleaning by Rose-Marie Provencher
Oh! by Kevin Henkes
Puddles by Jonathan London
Quack! by Phyllis Root
Scuba Bunnies by Chrsitine Loomis
Sheep Take a Hike by Nancy Shaw
Sleep Tight, Little Mouse by Mary Morgan-Vanroyen
Snow Music by Lynne Rae Perkins
What Do Wheels Do All Day? April Jones Prince
What's There by Melanie Walsh
Where Did Bunny Go? by Nancy Tafuri

Monday Children's Picks

Because yesterday was a federal holiday our weekly visit to the public library was delayed until today. Still, I wanted to post the books we selected to read for the week so I am back-posting.

Books selected for the week of January 18, 2010:
* A Surprise for Rosie by Julia Rawlinson
* A Very Curious Bear by Tony Mitton
* Birthday Mice! by Bethany Roberts
* Caillou, Just Like Daddy by Christine L'Heureuz
* Crocodaddy by Kimberly Norman
* Curious George's Big Book by H. A. Rey
* Curly the Pig by Heather Amery
* Daddies by Lila Prap
* Duck & Goose Find A Pumpkin by Tad Hills
* Going to the Zoo by Tom Paxton
* Me and You by Genevieve Cote
* Mouse's First Valentine by Lauren Thompson
* Paddington Bear All Day by Michael Bond
* Paddington Bear Goes to Market by Michael Bond
* Peek-A-Choo-Choo! by Marie Torres Cimarusti
* Peek-A-Zoo! by Marie Torres Cimarusti
* Penguins by Liz Pichon
* Robert's Snow by Grace Lin
* Terrific Trains by Tony Mitton
* You Are My I Love You by Maryann K. Cusimano

Note: Because of the holiday weekend I was unable to post my (and my daughter's) favorite children's read from last week's picks. Because of this I am planning on combining last week's favorite with this week's favorite. Watch for my Kids Pick(s) of the Week this Friday.