Samantha on a Roll by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Christine Davenier

Samantha on a Roll by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Christine Davenier

Rating: 4 stars

Samantha wants to learn how to skate, but her mom doesn't have time for her...not today.  What's a girl to do? Put the skates on and (augh!) skate around the house, teaching herself by going up and down the hall and around furniture.  And while her mom's not looking she (gasp!) heads outside by herself!  She skates all around town while her mom's looking after the baby (note to self: keep an eye on the others while changing the baby's diaper).  Whisking down Hawthorn Hill is where the adventure really begins...

Will is chasing butterflies.
Sammy takes him by surprise.
Flying by him like a jet,
Carries off his insect net.

"Now she's heading into town. / Tries to brake but can't slow down."

Matt and Molly, playing ball,
Miss the frantic warning call.
Sammy stumbles, bumping Matt--
Winds up with his baseball bat.

Toward the park now, swerving right,
Snags the strings of Katie's kite.
Katie hollers, "Come back NOW!"
Sammy cries, "I don't know how!"

As you can see, it's pretty fun to read.  As Samantha gains momentum and gathers collateral from her adventure, I gain momentum as I read it out loud to Lorelei and Ben (and Kiefer!).  It gets more and more exciting, especially if I get more and more into it.  (And what kid doesn't like their parent getting into a fun story?!)

The pictures are really fun, showing the crazy ride Samantha is on, showing Samantha's excited, now worried, now frantic, now happy, now proud face as she skates around town, and finally back to her house...where her mother now has time to show her how to skate.  Wouldn't you know it?  Samantha isn't interested anymore.  She'd rather just read a book quietly.

Miss Lina's Ballerinas by Grace Maccarone

Miss Lina's Ballerinas by Grace Maccarone, illustrated by Christine Davenier

Rating: 4.5 stars

Confession time: I bought this book for a little birthday girl in Ben's class but, once I read it again at home, I couldn't not give it to Lorelei.  So she got it from Santa and we have read it about twice a day for the past week or so.  It is a really fun read--I had no idea how many words and girls' names rhyme with "ballerina!"

Miss Lina teaches a bunch of cute little girls--all dressed in pink, all with names ending with "ina."  Well, not just a bunch.  To be precise, eight.  They danced in four rows of two every minute of the day.  The beautiful illustrations that give Lorelei something to look at more closely when she "reads" this by herself show these ballerinas joyfully leaping at the market, through the zoo, at bedtime, and everywhere in between. 

Enter the bit of adversity: a new ballerina joins the class (luckily, her name--Regina--ends with "ina" too)!  But, wait!  Now there will be nine!  Three rows of three?!  In the beginning, the girls all bump into each other and cause even the super graceful Miss Lina to tumble down.  They just can't get the hang of it.  Miss Lina smiles, and tells them they'll soon realize how delightful three rows of three will be, as soon as they adjust to the addition.  Of course, within a few pages, they do, and they repeat all the things they do in a different line up.  Check out the book trailer (it's about 50% of the text):

This is such a good example of perspective, and how different things can look from the lens of a child than that of an adult.  The girls are "befuddled" at the thought of having to dance in a different lineup, but Miss Lina nods wisely, letting the girls figure out for themselves how to adjust to this change.  What seems like a minor nothing to an adult is a major catastrophe for the child.

Lorelei is of the age where it's helpful to have a book or story to which I can relate a current situation in her life.  We've asked her to move from one room to another in our house, and while we dressed up the new, bigger room with a "big girl bed," a new quilt from beloved Grammy, a dollhouse from Santa (yup, we caved), and we will soon paint it pink...she is still sleeping in her old room.  I don't want to make a big deal out of it and I don't care if the situation stays this way for a few more months because to her, it's a Huge Change to move ten steps down the hall and into a bigger bed.  For us, it's a funny little thing that is actually a gift.  Anyway, it's all about perspective, and it's hard to require a 3 year-old to have one!

This is a really sweet book, a must for any ballet-crazed child!

The Very Fairy Princess by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton

 
The Very Fairy Princess by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton, illustrated by Christine Davenier

Rating: 4 stars

Shocking!  A princess book!  But, you know, I'm trying to relax a little about the whole princess thing.  I don't love it (or maybe I just wish there were more princess books about princesses who get dirty, hike up mountains, care less about their attire) but I realize that it is the first interest--of many!--that my daughter will have that I will not wholeheartedly share.  But, because she's my daughter and it's really not that unhealthy, I should and do support it.  I just hope that princes isn't replaced by goth in a few years...

Our own very fairy princess.

My sister's twin girls have this book and love it, so we checked it out from the library.  It's definitely one of the better princess books.  Geraldine tells us right away that's she's a fairy princess because she FEELS it inside, a "sparkly feeling of just KNOWING in my heart."  Cute!  She puts fairy dust on her pancakes, has a wardrobe of pink and pink-ish dresses, dances ballet, and wears wings whenever possible.  Throughout the book and with a little princess twist to each, "Gerry" teaches little axioms, such as: Fairy princesses have very refined taste.  Fairy princesses are very practical.  Fairy princesses are very supportive.

The supportive bit is my favorite part.  Gerry's best friend Delilah doesn't believe in the fairy princess stuff, but Gerry points out that she can "be whatever you want to be.  You just have to let your SPARKLE out!"  Gerry points out that Delilah sparkles while playing the trombone, and Gerry is still friends with her despite the fact that Delilah wears a lot of blue. 

I don't like how the whole princess thing is so obnoxiously predictable.  You like princesses, dancing ballet, wearing pink, things that sparkle, and stuff like that.  But...princesses can do great things too, right?  I hope so...because guess what Lorelei wants to be for Halloween...?