This old book got us in the mood to look for shapes. It's a photo book, really, and Hoban has a bunch of them that are all great for a bit o' mind-expanding ideas. This book and the others of Hoban's that we grabbed at the library last week (it's in Lorelei's room and she's asleep and I'm too comfortable to sneak in and get it right now...) really created a good start to all of the shapes we found around us this past week.
Here are a few photos in the book to give you an idea of what is between the covers:
Chuckle, chuckle...
We thought these were giant's glasses...
Just enough to get the juices flowing. Juice that formed a line, was poured from a rectangular container, caught inside a cylinder glass, I'll have you know.
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean
Rating: 5 stars
This one goes out to all the math people out there...who knew there could be a children's book on math--and a cool one at that? And one with a foot-tappin' (if you're Kiefer, body-shakin') song?
So Pete the Cat, the resident Jamiroquai of children's books, is back. And I'm pretty grateful for him. Just when our house has reached another can-we-be-more-tired level, this book arrived. We had already listened to it a few dozen times online (listen to it! you'll smile for sure!), but the actual book did not disappoint. This book ROCKS.
The story: Pete the Cat puts on his favorite shirt, one with four, round, groovy buttons (what a joy to teach my kids the definition of "groovy!" It's a new favorite word) and sings his song: "My buttons, my buttons, my four groovy buttons!"
"OH NO! Another button popped off and rolled away."
And then...
"POP! OH NO! One of the buttons popped off and rolled away.
Did Pete cry? Goodness, no!
Buttons come and buttons go.
How many buttons are left? THREE!
Pete went on singing his song..."
(Not much math...no square root...maybe that's in the next one...but just enough for a preschooler.)
The song goes on, going from three to two to one, something easy and fun enough for little ones to work on their prediction skills, which is a huge chunk of why we're supposed to be reading to these tykes to begin with. And then...they get to zero. He looks down at his open shirt and...finds his belly button! I love how he finds a way to smile after all those groovy buttons are gone. Making lemonade out of lemons. Finding the good in the not-so-good. What a lesson.
But my favorite lesson that Mr. Eric sneaks in is "buttons come and buttons go." I'm always telling the kids: "No big deal, right?" when they argue about whose turn it is to do something or if they didn't get something they wanted. Sometimes it IS a big deal when something comes, and especially when it goes, but...hopefully they won't learn this lesson anytime soon.
I think I might have a crush. On a cat. This Pete guy.
Oval eyes, triangular head and noes. Such a cute baby goat.
Field Trip number two...and a shape hunt, too!
We are fortunate to live very close to a small, local zoo. It's nothing extraordinary and a lot of people pooh-pooh it because it's sorta dusty and sorta poopy and sorta small, but...we really like it. It's small enough for the kids to run wherever they want, and familiar enough that they have their favorite animals but still see new things every other time we go. I'd like to pass along my "easily amused" gene to them; my fingers are crossed that they'll keep that in tact for the rest of their life.
This first half-week of summer was "Shape Week" at our house. I doubt that every week will have a theme along with a field trip, but I needed a framework in which to work in a bunch of books, activities, and just general fun. I'm not a math whiz but because we are so book-focused at our house I'm especially eager to provide math and science twists on anything I can so as not to brand our kids, especially Lorelei, as ONLY good at language arts.
How cool is this?!
Triangular neck, lines out, triangles at the end of the feathers.
Circles for eyes, triangular webbed feet.
Shapes are just a foundation piece for geometry, and as my kids are 5, 3 1/2, and...um...1 (he got a shape puzzle that he threw around...), they are just learning the basics. There are so many activities when teaching shapes that it's pointless to list them here, especially because I'm supposed to be writing about the books involved in this whole child-rearin' thing. But google it if you're looking for something to do on a hot summer afternoon and you'll find a ton. We had a great time playing with food, making shapes out of shapes, drawing with shapes, using shapes as the base of a piece of artwork. I knew the kids really got into it when this afternoon at swim practice they actually SWAM in shapes--Lorelei, a triangle; Ben, a rectangle. The lesson is clear: if you are enthusiastic about something, your kids will be as well.
Kiefer and I had mixed feelings about the llamas...we were
worried about spit and couldn't look for shapes.
But really, teaching them to look for shapes is, for me, about sharpening their sight. Looking beyond what is simply in front of them. Being observant. I can't tell you how important I think this is--about learning from simply watching and looking and observing. Hopefully I taught them the basics of this lesson.
So we went to the zoo--which was actually our fallback as the botanical garden didn't open until late morning and looked for shapes. We looked at the animals' faces and found circles and triangles and ovals. We saw feeding bins shaped like rectangles and lines, or stripes, on snakes and zebras. Ben said that a snake was a line when slithering and a circle when wrapped up. On the tractor we saw big circles and little circles as the wheels, and we even saw cylinder cages for some animals (gold star for Lorelei!). The antelope had cones for horns. See all the stuff you can find if you just look?
Field trip number two for the summer...already behind us.
It was shape week at our house this week. I know. Random. But I'm a girl who likes a plan, and with the start of summer, I wanted a framework of some sort or else I feel like the days are too loosey-goosey (spell check didn't like that) for my liking. God forbid we have a week without accomplishing something!
So we tried to eat lots of different shapes. We ate quesadillas shaped like triangles, cucumbers cut up as half-moons, star cut-out cookies, pancakes with blueberries for circles (a double whammy!), bell pepper strips for rectangles to name a few.
We played with tangrams or tangram-like activities, and then for our field trip we went on a shape hunt at our local zoo. I know that sounds incredibly dorky, but the kids were totally into it and we wondered if we even recruited a friend to go with us whose mom didn't roll her eyes at my excitement over finding a feeding bin shaped like a triangle. That's a friend for you. Click here for more details of our shape hunt at the zoo.
It's not a box. It's a burning building!
During a playdate one afternoon we read Not A Box, which is probably a book everyone knows about already. It's simple--aren't the best things simple? Portis (whose book A Penguin Story we love love love) shows how a cute, simply drawn bunny can transport a simple box into anything he wants with his imagination. My kids aren't box-crazy yet, but they did get into this story for the shape aspect of it. After my friend read all the book while I cooked dinner for the kids, she handed out a piece of paper with a rectangle on it and each kid transformed their rectangle into a "not-a-box."
I was actually bummed not to participate--when was the last time YOU did an art project? Probably too long ago. I find it so enjoyable to stop cleaning, stop blogging, stop picking up the kitchen for the upteenth time to just...draw and paint with my kids. Priceless stuff. Anyway, I digress.
Good book and easy activity to provide an opportunity for a little creativity. Not bad!
What's with lonely and sad chameleons? Why are these books finding their way into my library bag?
Luckily Pete the Cat balances out the blues. More on him later...
Emily Gravett brings this (figuratively and literally) blue chameleon to life with few words and many soft, creative sketches. Her chameleon is blue because he doesn't have any friends. He tries to make friends with some funny characters--a snail, a sock, a banana. Each time, the chameleon changes, as only chameleons with quirky artists behind them can, into that possible friend. Let me show, rather than tell:
"Can I hang out with you?"
He's about to give up--turning all pale and page-like--until a voice calls out..."Hello?" And then:
"Hello!" "Hi!"
And together they are colorful. The pictures are amazing and I'm sure the story extra meaningful for those kids who are still looking for a best friend.
Lionni's sad and lonely chameleon is bummed about the fact that all animals have a color of their own, except for chameleons. They change color wherever they go. He wants a color of his own. Just like everyone else has.
He wants it so much that he sticks himself to a leaf, thinking he'll be green forever. But then fall comes and...oops, he turns orange. Then red. And then the leaf falls to the ground, with the chameleon in tow. Drat. (Hate it when that happens.)
Still frustrated, he meets an older and wiser chameleon and tells his sad story--he can't find his own true color. The old chameleon explains that that's the beauty of being a chameleon, but perhaps they should stick together, and they'll be different together.
"Won't we ever have a color of our own?"
What a nice and comforting moral: rather than conform to what everyone else has or does or is, find someone with whom you can be different.
This is such a simple, little book and there are a zillion activities that you can do with your kid. There are actually too many for me to list here, but google it and you'll find exactly one zillion.
But the best is to do what I just did, I think--have the book out, and when your little Ben asks about it, pull them up on your lap and read it to them. And hope really hard that they find someone that can stick with them and be their color with them, forever.
Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean
Rating: 5+ stars
This morning, I needed Pete. And Pete was there for me. He is my hero.
I've been in a funk the past few days; waking up at 4:58 for the third day in a row did not help get this morning started off well. (If Kiefer's molars don't come all the way through today, I might take him to the dentist and ask for some assistance so I can sleep in for at LEAST 15 more minutes.) But at least the little guy wakes up happy to see me, seemingly appreciative of the time he gets to spend with just me, and nobody else.
But then I heard a certain door open at 5:24 and the "Mommy-mommy-mommy I need you come here I need you Mommy-mommy-mommy" (said in cry-y, whine-y voice) started. I love Ben, but MAN I cannot relate to waking up so sad and mad at the world. I am one of those annoying people who, even while in a funk, wakes up happy.
Ben trips down the stairs, half-undressed, already crying, with his "mad face" on. My oh-so-unsympathetic response: "Choose to be happy and stay downstairs, or go back to sleep." It wasn't received well (can't imagine why).
Ben, crazy with happiness!
(At 7:36 AM, after being awake for 2 hours.)
Anyway, I'll spare you the details of the next hour and half as the boys and I woke up Lorelei (who, as always, woke up laughing as we all bounced on her to wake her up), made breakfast, and got everyone ready for their last week of school. And then I looked at the clock: 7:30. I still had an HOUR before the sitter got here and I left to take the kids to school and work out. Geez. An hour! How was I going to fill that time?!
Enter Pete the cat, my hero.
Ben has been telling me about this book for a little while, and I finally saw it at the library and grabbed it. And I read it a few nights ago. I am going to buy it, and the other two books along with it. I LOVE IT! Why? It has all of my favorite parts of a children's book:
It is simple; Ben has memorized all the words already.
It is fun to read, mostly because...
It has a SONG--wait, make that FOUR songs in it--and they can bring Ben's cheery smile back in a jiffy (and, the tune can be changed to anything else at any time, and the cheery smile comes back because he remembers Pete the cat and his favorite book when I sing it).
It has a groovy character that is cool but still nice.
It has a fantastic moral to it.
I had seen on the cover of the book the "download free song at..." and though the kids rarely use my laptop for anything, I said to Ben, who was looking around for something to do that would have probably annoyed me though it probably really shouldn't have "Hey, Ben, want to listen to something?" And he sat for 15 blessedly happy minutes listening to the book and song being read and sung to him again and again and again. Click here to listen, too. Or check out this video (it is so worth it! I double dare you to watch it and not smile.):
And my morning got a little brighter.
Maybe I should tell you about the book, in case you don't want to watch the video? Okay... Pete gets new shoes and loves them. He sings this song: "I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes!" Then he steps in strawberries that turn his shoes red, so he sings how he loves his red shoes. Then he steps in blueberries and... After each time he steps in something, he sure doesn't cry or carry on. The author, "Mr Eric," writes: "Did Pete cry? Goodness, no!" This happens a few times, until he steps in water and he has white, wet shoes.
The moral of the story? As Mr Eric the author puts it: "No matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song..."
Roll with it. A good lesson I've been taught lately and need to practice more. Like today.
Somehow, these pictures seem to jump out at me. Usually that's a good thing, but with a book on bugs, I sorta want to grab a flyswatter and swat the mosquitoes away so they don't bite me. I told this to Ben, and now he tries to hit the bugs as I turn the page. Hmmm. Maybe I should have kept that observation to myself...
This is a basic preschooler book, but a good one. It's a great one to introduce the whole concept of what my Thai friends would call "same-same-different," or comparison. On all the pages are bugs, but they are so unique! So different! So special! What a wonderful little lesson for our kids and their budding uniqueness in their little preschool pools of should-we-conform-or-not-ness. (Did that sentence make sense at all? I'm keeping it...hoping you figure it out.)
"Yes, I love all bugs! Hope and fly and crawl bugs."
One page is dedicated to flying and fluttering bugs, another to flying and buzzing bugs, and still another to flying and whiny-buzzing bugs. (Not sure I get the difference between simply buzzing and whiny-buzzing, but I love that my kids might pause to listen hard--really hard!!--to the sounds that bugs make as they fly.)
A very cute book, worth checking out very soon. Don't be afraid of the centipede on page six...I am pretty sure it won't crawl off the page and onto your arm...!
Bugs Galore! by Peter Stein, illustrated by Bob Staake
Rating: 4.5 stars
Kiefer is our resident Bug Patrol. We have a few patrols in our house--most notably, "Safety Patrol," which I am constantly calling out to make one of the big kids go to make sure the gate is latched so Kiefer doesn't go up and then (bump, bump, bump) down the stairs unaccompanied.
But Bug Patrol is serious business to Kiefer. If he sees a stink bug--thankfully we're not yet inundated with them (yet?) this year--he will point to it and yell in his I-can't-talk-yet-but-I-can-yell-already voice: "EHHH!!!" And he'll continue to yell that out in that piercing little voice of his until I get it. We all think this is pretty funny, especially when we can't find the darn bug he's honed in on.
So, here are some bug books in honor of our little Bug Patrol officer.
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This book is almost as wonderful as Cars Galore; maybe once I've read it a hundred and three times I'll love it just as much.
There are kooky drawings, courtesy of the creative Bob Staake, and witty rhymes, courtesy of the funny Peter Stein. Here's a little taste of what's between the covers:
Some bugs cruise / around in groups. Some bugs fly in / loop-de-loops. Some bugs land / smack-dab in soups. Some bugs crawl / right under ... OOPS.
Blah! A stinkbug! / Plug-your-nose bug! Funky, smelly, / wash-your-clothes bug! Bugs and bugs and / bilions MORE bugs! Googols, gaggles / bugs GALORE bugs!
I don't make a habit of kissing his boogers good-night, I'll have you know. But when he insists that he's not tired and the door to his room keeps opening and closing a million and two times, I go in and tuck him in tight, and lie down next to him. "Ben," I say. "You were the cutest baby in the world. Do you want to know how I used to say good-night to you?" "Yes," he always says. "I'd say good-night to your ears...." and I smooch his ears. "I'd say good-night to your forehead..." and smooch his forehead. "I'd say good-night to your bum..." and smooch his bum (giggle, giggle!). "I'd say good-night to your boogers..." and smooch his nostrils (ha ha ha!). You get the idea.
I love that boy. He drives me crazy, but...I love him.
I must admit, though, that I'm not sure I'm ready for TWO boys of that age in the same house, at the same time. It's a good thing I have a year or two to get ready for it. But, wait. Weren't they already wrestling today?
I'm doomed!
We are fans of Robert Neubecker and his books. His series of Wow! books are big in every way--big pictures, big thoughts, and they induce big smiles in our house. I was super excited to find out that he had a new book out. And it is a book about boys, and what makes them boys. I'm learning what makes them boys, and mostly loving it. As a tomboy myself, it's great to teach Ben (and Lorelei, too!) about push up and pull ups, maps and mountains, creeks and splashing. That's what kids are made of at our house.
Nuebecker stretches out the imagination of the little hero in the book, showing a sequence of pictures where, in the first picture, the little boy is creating a pretend scene, and playing enthusiastically in it. As if rewarded for his creativity, the next page magically transports him into The Real Deal. Here's an example of what I'm talking about:
First, the little boy gathers up his toys (and, we wonder, his pet rat and pet dog?) and pretends he is on safari.
And then he IS on safari! Ben is somehow obsessed with going to Africa, so these are his favorite pages.
On his blog--it is so worth reading, click here to read all of what he says--he explains that his daughter was lifting weights, saying that boys like muscles and she likes boys, so she wants to build muscles... He started thinking about the differences of boys and girls, so wanted to write two books: one for girls, one for boys. He's just got this one out now, and I sure hope another one comes out for girls. (Oh please oh please have something about running or sports--please NO PRINCESSES!)
Until then, it'll be boogers and this book for me.
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins, illustrated by Eric Gurney
Rating: 5 perfect stars
This is Kiefer's favorite book. His very first favorite book, hopefully of many. He LOVES it. How do I know it? He will go over to the book, flip through it, and his entire body will shake up and down as he "dances" to the rhythm that he knows exists in the pages. (How I hope that he always dances with his whole body! Why just tap a toe?)
I read this to him over and over again during his first year, taking his hands and tapping out the beat on his own head, on my nose, on the book itself, on his lap...wherever. As I read I would pat his back or his toes or my hands. It is the perfect book to make a baby fall in love with books--it is fun and cheery and silly. Not the best bedtime book--I am guilty of riling my kids and other kids up at bedtime or anytime--but that never stopped me from reading it at bedtime.
This book is always included in my gift baskets to new parents. It is unknown enough that I'm not worried about duplicates; I'll leave it to others to buy Goodnight Moon. While other people are reading about mush and old ladies whispering "hush," my friends will be smiling with their kids, helping their babies learn how to love books, one book at a time.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr., and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert
Rating: 4 stars
Poor Kiefer, our third child. He's often the last thought. Toys often equal an empty water bottle or reusable snack bag. Despite the fact that she has loved him since the moment she saw him, Lorelei has only recently included him in her pictures of our family. So I thought it was time to write about some books for babies and for 1 year olds.
What is the point of reading to babies? The sounds builds listening and memory skills, teaches language, boosts their blooming brain skills, and exposes them to concepts and experiences beyond his or her day-to-day world. Okay, but HOW do you do it? How do I help make Kiefer as book obsessed as his big brother and big sister? Here are a few things I do:
Kiefer dives into our library bag...
Read two books to him before naptime and bedtime.
Keep a book basket in his room full of board books that he can play with/read when he plays in his room.
Lorelei and Ben choose books for him when we go to the library without him
Include board books for him in our book basket in our car
Make books easily accessible in the playroom, where we keep our library books
Read anytime...we sometimes read books during mealtimes (we used to always do this, but now...just sometimes)
Now, about this Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book...
This should be one his favorite books! I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I read this book for the first time just a few hours ago. We've had the board book version, and I've thought it was okay, but I really like the hardback, real version of it--it is twice as long and much better. I love that the beat is like a rap, providing me the opportunity to be gansta-like in my own suburban mom way for a few brief (and hopefully secluded) moments.
Skit skat skoodle doot.
Flip flop fleep.
Everybody running to the coconut tree.
Mamas and papas
and uncles and aunts
hug their little dears,
then dust off their pants.
You've probably found this book already, but if not...definitely grab the long version and spend some wildly fun moments rapping it...I mean reading it...to your kid. Enjoy!
Rah Rah Radishes! A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre
Rating: 5 get-your-veggies stars!
If there is something else I'd have a blog about, it'd be kids and food. Or maybe health in general--I'm a big fitness junkie, a marathon runner, and sometimes annoyingly healthy eater. I want my kids to BE healthy--eat healthy and love to get out and move their body. I want it to be second nature to them. I am smart enough to realize how difficult it is to change bad habits in adulthood, so...I want them to get a good start.
I admit I'm sort of a meanie with food. They eat a lot of vegetables, often two different kids of vegetables at lunch and dinner, and I'm constantly trying to get them to eat new things. I went on a beet kick last year and made plain old broiled beets, beet soup, and even beet pancakes (recipe here)! Um, I sorta love beets. Anyway, we all eat bell peppers like most eat apples. One of Ben's favorite foods ever is kale chips (recipe here). Tomatoes from our garden never make it inside. Ben has chosen a cucumber over bread. Tonight after dinner Lorelei said, "I have a taste for carrots and almonds." Your wish is my command, little girl!
Kiefer likes beets, too!
So when I saw this book at the library, I grabbed it. I'm trying really hard not to buy it, but I LOVE IT! My kids love it. It is SO fun to read, so great to talk about, so full of big photographs that invite questions and answers and...conversation. My kids often accompany me to the grocery store, but c'mon, who's not in a rush with three little kids at the grocery store? This is a book that should be on all of our shelves.
Here are some of my favorite lines:
"Oh boy, bok choy!"
"Bounce for beets!"
"Grab that garlic, please your palate!"
"Veggies rock!"
Seriously, though, I was shocked to learn, while watching the HBO series Weight of the Nation, that a huge portion of kids, especially low income and inner city, often go without any fresh fruit or vegetables. For days. Weeks. Months. They know what an apple is, and often a banana. But kohlrabi? Brussels? Spinach? I am dismayed and disheartened and definitely feel compelled to do something. Just trying to figure out what... Feel free to throw suggestions my way if you've got any bright ideas.
(Just a report on our first field trip, strawberry picking, rather than a book review.)
Our first field trip was a success! Despite temperatures around 90 degrees and no shade whatsoever, we lasted about an hour at Butler's Orchard in Maryland. We carpooled up with some good friends of ours, which was fun, especially for the chatty moms up front. After blueberry picking for two years straight, I definitely learned a few things about strawberry picking. Here are my lessons learned:
Bring small containers, preferably ones you can pop right into the refrigerator.
Strawberries are a tougher to pick than blueberries--easy to do, but...not as easy as blueberries.
There is no shade in strawberry fields. The plants are too small. Go on a cloudy day if possible!
Strawberries spoil so quickly! I left ours sitting out in the GIANT container I got from the orchard for half of the day, until after bedtime when I had a few minutes to think and put them in the refrigerator. By the next morning I had to throw away a quarter of our hard-earned bounty.
My niece Evangeline, hiding her berry face
Strawberries can be transformed into a zillion things! Click here for my list.
And here are some things the kids learned (or, why you should take your kids strawberry picking):
The berries are so different from the ones you buy at the grocery store! Lorelei and Ben were amazed at the fact that some strawberries were SMALLER than some blueberries they'd eaten. And none were as large as grocery store strawberries.
Nothing is perfect in nature! There were so many variations in strawberries...what a great life lesson.
Picking fruit is tough work! Fun for an hour, but...if you have to do it all day long, that's tough.
Don't pick the unripe fruit...someone will be back in a week or so for them.
There's a lot of math that comes with cooking (okay, this is a general one, but Lorelei and Ben remembered this as we measured flour and strawberries and other ingredients).
Me and "the big kids" at the end of our picking
If you want to give it to your teacher, you'd better help make the strawberry jam!
We really had a great time, and I was amazed (as was my husband) at how much we made with our berries. We didn't get to everything on our list, but we did make strawberry milkshakes, strawberry milk, chocolate covered strawberries, two types of strawberry jam (one healthier one with less sugar and more lemon juice, and one "freezer jam" with a gross amount of sugar in it), and the best: strawberry shortcake.
Ben smashes the berries for jam
Making chocolate covered strawberries...while holding Kiefer
Cook a Doodle Doo! by Janet Stevens, illustrated by Susan Stevens Crummel
Rating: 3.5 stars
Here's the skinny on this book: It's a twist on the classic Chicken Little story, where the rooster wants someone to help him make strawberry shortcake but the animals don't want to help him, just as they didn't want to help his Granny. But then three unlikely heroes step forward and offer to help--a turtle, iguana, and pot-bellied pig. These animals are pretty clueless in the kitchen, so they do silly things like trying to beat an egg with a baseball bat. But their can-do attitude is great, even when pot-bellied pig eats the whole cake when it's done because "I"m the taster! I was just tasting it!"
Hmm...that's what my husband says about the cookies I bake...in-ter-est-ing....
Anyway, on the side of many pages are informative paragraphs about baking. The authors teach you from where teaspoons and tablespoons are derived, what an ingredient actually is, and stuff like that.
I had trouble finding books on strawberries. A friend of mine suggested this one, so I checked it out from our wonderful local library, and it has been traveling between the library shelf and Lorelei's room for the past week. Ben isn't very interested; I read it to him once and actually thought the book was too long. He has a good attention span, but this book is...looooong.
But then Lorelei saw it, grabbed it, and sat reading it on the sofa. She laughed out loud at a few parts. And for days she was obviously thinking about the book, trying to get the humor in it. It was as if she realized she should be laughing, but she didn't exactly get the joke. Out of the blue she asked: "Why did the iguana want to beat the eggs with a baseball bat?"
So the book is pretty good (thanks for the suggestion, Colleen!), though a little long for those with still-growing attention spans. But for the little readers who are ready for more and have a good sense of humor developing in their little minds--those who are eager to chuckle at silly things (I know all of us in this house fall in this category!)--this is a good book to check out.
The First Strawberries by Joseph Bruchac, illustrated by Anna Vojtech
Rating: 4 stars
I found myself reflecting on my marriage after reading this book, something that is appropriate every day, but especially when my seventh wedding anniversary is a few days away. This book was a well-timed gift that made me a little more mindful of the kindness required in a marriage, especially a wonderfully long one.
I know, I know...you're wondering if you've stumbled upon the right blog. Isn't this supposed to be about children's books?!
Seems that The First Strawberries is a well-known Cherokee tale about how strawberries first arrived on earth. The first man and first woman lived in harmony until one day, when the man returned from hunting, he found his wife gathering flowers instead of readying his dinner. He spoke angrily at her and, in response, she turned and walked away from him.
(Man! That's all it took?! Geez. My sarcastic side did chuckle.)
Of course he runs after her, and the Sun sees how sincerely he regrets his unkind words. In order to help him, the Sun creates blackberries, and then blueberries, and then raspberries to try and get the woman to stop. She doesn't. Finally, the Sun creates strawberries. The woman stops to pick and eat them, allowing her husband to finally catch her. He apologizes, and they feast together on the sweet fruit.
It was great to read this with Lorelei and Ben. I call Jonathan "my number one" despite their repeated attempts to push him aside and become the top-dogs. Nope, I say, he will always come first. I think that this irritates them and confuses them, but it's the message we want to send to our kids: that the love we have for each other is important and strong and the foundation for the whole family. So, to have a book about a couple who have a disagreement--which we certainly have, especially about how to load the dishwasher--and resolve it amicably is...a little gift.
The illustrations are not awesome, I admit. They're sort of washed out and not eye-catching, especially to my kids who are spoiled by the best illustrators around. But the message is good and important. I doubt kids would choose this to read again and again but...it's an important one, I think.
Freckleface Strawberry by Julianne Moore, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Rating: 4 stars
This is a stretch for books on strawberries...but there aren't many out there! Hmm...maybe I have found some inspiration to write my own? Hmm....
This adorable book, and its equally adorable sequels, is by the Julianne Moore, who was a freckleface little girl herself (who grew up to be a big-time Hollywood actress, take THAT you silly kids who teased her about her freckles!). The illustrations make me wonder how some artists make characters that are just immediately likeable, while other artists fall short. It's a good story, but Pham certainly helped out the books' popularity with his personality-filled kids stomping around in cartoon-like clusters within the pages of the books.
It's a pretty predictable story: A little girl has freckles and doesn't notice them at all until other kids point out that they stand out. And we all know that standing out in ANY way in middle school can be totally scary! The kids around her call her names and taunt her a bit, making her want to hide in silly ways. Finally, when she comes out from one particularly unwise disguise (a ski mask in summer), a passing mom enlightens her: I had freckles as a child, and they went away.
Whoa! Good to know!
Our little hero is relieved, and is even more relieved when all the kids at school find her and explain how much they've missed her while she was in hiding. What? Teasing is actually a form of love? Another strange lesson of middle school. And beyond.
The book is good, though I'd direct them to kids older than five because of the teasing in it. Call me silly, but I just hesitate to introduce something like that to my kids, who don't do it now and I want to keep them in that bubble of kindness for as long as possible. But I'm so glad that this book exists--one of our nieces has freckles, and they are so adorable on her already beautiful face that I hope she never feels ashamed of what makes her even more beautiful and more unique.
And this is surely the first book I've reviewed that has a musical based on it! Check it out here.
The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher by Molly Bang
Rating: 2.5 stars
Ever look at a piece of artwork and just wonder... Huh?
That's what I think about this, a Caldecott winner from a few years back. It's a wordless picture book (hey, I was just talking about those the other day...click here if you missed it) full of eerie, odd, spooky pictures. It reminds me of the magical realism that Isabel Allende uses in her novels, but just doesn't seem to work here. For us, anyway.
I just don't get it.
The Grey Lady gets strawberries from the market and walks home to share them with her grandchildren. Along the way, a spooky, blue creature tries to steal them away, but the grey lady morphs into different objects in order to hide from the strawberry snatcher.
At least that's what I think happens.
We've read a bunch of Molly Bang books, and I expected a step out of the normal from her. We especially appreciated her When Sophie Gets Angry--Really, Really Angrywith its vibrant pictures and unique spin on what to do to regain control of yourself.
But this one? I'm sort of dumbfounded. I'm going to return it to the library and check it out again in a few months...maybe I'll get it a little more then...? Or, like that crazy artwork, I'll leave it to The Experts to fully get and appreciate.
I haven't gone strawberry picking since I was Lorelei's age...up in Erie, Pennsylvania, where my parents are both from. I still remember looking out at the fields of strawberries, in awe of how much fruit there was to pick. And the taste of the berries--so sweet! I went with my Buschia (Polish for Grandma) and we'd go to her house afterward and help wash and clean the strawberries so she could make jam out of it. Of course we'd munch on berries the whole time. I am very excited to go!
Strawberry elves...can't wait to surprise Lorelei and Ben with these!
We've been talking about what to expect--will the berries be larger or smaller than those in the grocery stores? Will they taste the same, or sweeter, or less sweet? Will they be as small as the wild ones we've been finding in our woods? Lots of questions...soon to be answered. I love fostering my kids' curiosity, especially about food and nature.
Lorelei, Ben, and I have been crafting a list of ways to enjoy strawberries. You better believe that I was thinking about (enter southern drawl here) Forrest Gump's buddy Bubba talkin' 'bout all the stuff he can do with shrimp.
Here's what we've come up with (most have links, many from my favorite kids/family cooking blog, weelicious.com, in case you're interested in the recipes):
Crocs! by David T Greenberg, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
Rating: 4 jaw-snapping stars
I can't get enough of these books. I wish our library had the other two! Read more about this book here, on my review of Snakes! Or just read these fun stanzas from Crocs! to get a feel for the witty, sophisticated rhymes in this book for an advanced listener or reader...
The day is dank and glum
The mailman hasn't come
The monkeys in the trees seem somewhat nervous
Your dog is strangely missing
Your kitty's starting hissing
Your telephone has disconnected service
You're terribly paranoid
Very PARANOID
You race around your home to check the locks
Safe! You've checked them all
You're padding down the hall
And are smothered by a tidal wave of CROCS!
(I just want to assure all of you fellow dog-lovers out there that the pooch does turn up at the end...he is not eaten by crocs! In fact, this book is a little less scary than Snakes! though the crocs do some damage in the boy's house...ripping up pillows and stuff. Still, a fun read!)
This is, by far, my favorite wordless picture book. I love, love, love it.
It's a simple story: a woman wakes up thinking about pancakes. She assembles the ingredients--the traditional way. No grocery store run for her. She milks the cow, churns the butter, gathers the eggs, collects syrup from the tree. Just as she's ready to make the pancakes, she realizes her dog and cat, who are also hungry, ate all the ingredients! She's bummed. But then...sniff, sniff...she realizes her neighbors woke with the same idea. So she trudges through the snow, invites herself in, and eats a bunch of their pancakes (hopefully not all of them!).
As always, Tomie DePaola's drawings are funny and sweet, straightforward and inviting. Nothing fancy in this book, just simple drawings for a simple story.
I'm usually not a fan of books without words, and can empathize when I hear other parents complain of them. At the end of the day, when you're counting down the seconds until the door is closed on your day as a parent, who wants to actually think of the words to a story?! I hear ya.
BUT they are important... Here are a few reasons why (feel free to add your own, and tell me which ones you like to read with your kids/students):
Kids imagine and create their own words and stories.
Kids can "read" them by themselves, giving you a bit of a break and them a boost of confidence on their own path to literacy.
As always, you can practice prediction and sequencing.
For budding artists, having a wordless, cartoon-like book can inspire them to write/draw a book of their own.
But don't forget the best part of all about this particular book: it inspires you to make pancakes! Hear are my two favorite healthy recipes in case you're in need of a new taste:
From my favorite restaurant in Atlanta, the Flying Biscuit, click here to get their oatmeal pancakes. They soak overnight in buttermilk...yum, yum. Top with peaches like they do, and a little maple syrup. Definitely half the recipe, unless you are feeding a small army or the Dugger family!
From Cooking Light, click here to get a recipe for whole wheat pancakes. We add blueberries to ours and usually dip them in honey. They freeze really well (freeze individually) and become my go-to dinner when I need to get dinner on the table in 5.4 minutes or less.
(Also, see those labels at the end of this post? Click on "wordless books" to see my reviews of a bunch of other wordless books, including the great Polo series, which are great for traveling in the car...)
Pretty Princess Pig by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple, illustrated by Sam Williams
Rating: 3.5 stars
Well, we know what sells to little girls--anything pink, anything with a princess, and anything that glitters. Look at the cover of this and you've got all three. Smart! I guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but it's hard not to roll my eyes at such an obvious marketing choice. I wasn't excited to read this, but...was pleasantly surprised.
Princess Pig decides to have a tea party for her friends, and does her best to get her house ready for her guests. She does everything but makes a giant mess in the meantime, leaving both the house and herself a mess when her friends arrive. Of course they don't care--they are, after all, her good friends who don't even see the mess.
Um...can I just say I've been there? More than once? Luckily my friends don't really care either. They don't mind if my kitchen is messy (especially if the mess is from baking) or if I clean while I chit-chat with them. Bless them!
A fine book, nothing over the top special but nothing deserving of my initial eye-rolling, either. Little girls will love it, and as long as they clean up when their mothers ask them to clean up, what's the harm in the message that friends accept you regardless of your appearance?
The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood, illustrated by Don Wood
Rating: 4 stars
I think most people read this books to their kids when those "kids" are actually infants, or barely walking. I've heard of it before and read it at the bookstore out of curiosity, but this is the first time we've all read it together, little Kiefer included. We all give it one thumb's up, though for different reasons than I expected.
The story, in case you've not read it: Mouse finds a strawberry and wants to eat it, but this voice tells him that there's a big, hungry bear who wants to eat it. Mouse tries to hide it, guard it, and disguise it...but the voice tells him that the bear will sniff it out and find it. The only way to keep safe from the bear is to slice it in half and share it with the mysterious voice, and then it will be gone before the bear finds it.
"But, little Mouse, haven't you heard about the big, hungry Bear?"
Things we like:
That mouse is so silly! His expressions are so wonderful, and Ben giggles at every picture on every page.
It is very fun to read, especially the page where the mouse shakes with fear. Ben laughed like crazy as I shook the book like crazy.
Nice lesson on sharing...a mom can't dislike that!
Kiefer is amused by the book (or, more accurately, my reading of it), Ben giggles throughout it, and Lorelei asks some good questions. That's a good book: it holds the attention of a wide range of kids.
The book makes us wonder, and think--who is talking to mouse? It is mysterious, and we don't know the real answer. What a fun twist for little kids who are usually told The Answer.
The book makes us question: Where is that bear? Why don't we get to see him? Does the bear really exist, or is the mysterious voice tricking the mouse into sharing? (Okay, is it bad that I suggested this to inquisitive Lorelei? Will it make her suspect intentions that are actually fine and true?? Mommy demerit for me...)
We checked out this book because we're starting our summer field trips a little early this year. We're going strawberry picking for the first time on Friday! Lorelei and Ben are very excited. We've picked blueberries (check out pictures from our first time picking, here in the review of Blueberries for Sal). This year I'm hoping to link our field trips to books a little more thoughtfully...keep your fingers crossed that this works all summer long! Having three kids sometimes challenges my ability to fulfill a few aspirations here and there...!
The Sniffles for Bear by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
Rating: 2 stars
I don't often review books that aren't that great. There are so many great ones, why waste my time pointing out the not-so-awesome ones? (And I think I say that every time.) But this one's flaws are downright funny, so I thought I'd share...
This silly illustration saved the book a bit...
The book starts off fine... Bear is sick, and Mouse wants to help him feel better. Bear breaks out all the drama and insists to Mouse that he is dying. As I read this to Lorelei, I found myself cringing--I don't really want to encourage drama like this. I have little patience for making something a bigger deal than it is. I've been known to say, "Just wash it off in the creek!" when someone cuts themselves while playing in our woods. Sympathy? Um, I don't have a ton of it.
Mouse tries to cheer up Bear in a number of ways, but grumpy Bear will have none of it, and rudely cuts down Mouse's efforts. In fact, Bear is so insistent on his impending death that he asks Mouse to help him write his will.
Um...excuse me? Now I'm explaining what a will is to my 5 year old? How is this appropriate? Luckily, I actually didn't have to explain why Bear was bequeathing his roller skates, wash bucket, and teakettle. Even though "bequeath" is such a fun word...
This book was put back in the library bag after one reading. I'd like my kids to stay in their bubble of ignorance on everything related to death for as long as possible, thank you very much.
So Many Circles, So Many Squares by Tana Hoban
