Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi

Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi

Rating: 4 stars

Throwback Thursday!

Newsflash: Everybody poops!  (But I think you already knew that.)

This funny book is full of pictures of lots of animals (including humans) pooping.  That's all there really is to it.  Taro Gomi illustrates all the differences and the similarities that go along with our scatological preferences: some animals poop in the water, others in the air, most on the ground.  What do all these bowel movements look like?  Well, Taro Gomi is glad you're curious about that: he's drawn pebbles and logs, heaps and piles…of poop.

There's such a fine line between funny and gross, and I think some would argue that an illustration of poop falling from a giraffe's rump might be totally gross…and not picture book worthy.  But what child isn't a bit shocked when they realize what is happening when they squish up their face and push out some freakishly dark object from their own little body?!  Taro Gomi's sorta-gross, sorta-funny book reassures us in a way that we adults still want to be reassured: everybody does it.  So relax, laugh a little at yourself, and keep on doing it.

C'mon…that's funny!

(Not that we have a choice about that last part when it comes to pooping.)

Enjoy the book!  Feel free to take it to the bathroom with you…



P.S.  Taro Gomi's My Friends is one of my favorite board books for babies…it is very cute and sweet, and not gross at all, promise.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Ray Cruz

Rating: 5 stars

Throwback Thursday!

I read this classic for the very first time this morning.  For the first time!  Published in 1972--before I was born!--it has been a classic my whole life.  Yet...I don't remember reading it until this morning.

(Mom, if I'm remembering wrong, please feel free to correct me...yet again.)

I checked it out from our library once before, when Lorelei was about three.  We read the first few pages, but I found some excuse to stop reading it, tuck it back in the library bag, and return it without finishing it.  Why such strange behavior, you ask?  Because Lorelei had--and still does have--the sunniest, warmest personality you'll ever meet.  She didn't know what a bad day was, and I worried that if I introduced the concept of a bad day, she'd start having one.  Or two. Or more!

I'm not saying this was a logical decision, but...  Ben was about 18 months at the time, and all those people I saw at the grocery store were right--I had my hands full.  I desperately NEEDED Lorelei to continue having all the good days she could so I could remain sane and happy myself!  I am so very grateful for her happy demeanor then and now.  But I got the book again--brave me, right?--because I knew she needed--I know she needs--permission to have a bad day every now and then.

I think it's easy for us parents with always-happy children to allow them to have a grumpy morning, a give minute whine-fest, or a completely bad day, like our pal Alexander.  I am guilty of snuffing out Lorelei's poopy moods, for sure.  But about a year ago, when she was in kindergarten and we were both going through growing pains of sorts, I started to realize that I've got to let Lorelei have and show a full range of feelings and moods. Bottling stuff up, which I certainly did as a kid and do as an adult, is not the way to go.  She's seen enough of that in me.

How to change my own behavior, and hers, too?  Well, I full on admit when I'm having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!  Usually, though, I have terrible, horrible, no good, very bad MOMENTS more than full DAYS.

When she has the same and admits in tears that nothing went right today as I tuck her in, I commiserate with her.  I don't try and go back and point out the good in everything right then (like I want to).  I just listen and invite her to pour out all that she experienced, and I'll hold on to that disappointment and frustration and annoyance and anger so that her sweet 6 year old body can fall asleep with only the good stuff.

And so, I checked this out again and we read it.  And this morning Ben and Lorelei and I laughed at Alexander and how everything seemed like such a BIG DEAL.  Ben's dimples deepened as Alexander kept on threatening to go to Australia.  Why Australia?!  he asked, laughing.  So random!  So funny!

And isn't this the whole point of life, of feelings, of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days?  Acknowledging what you're feeling, and then having the humility and the courage and the love of family and friends to laugh at how silly it all seems after it's over.


P.S. Did you know this book will soon be a movie?  To be released this year.  Glad I read the book first, as the book is always better!

Snow by Roy McKie and P.D. Eastman

Snow (I Can Read It All By Myself) by Roy McKie and P.D. Eastman

Rating: 5 stars

Throwback Thursday!

This book will always hold a special place in my heart.  I remember Jonathan coming home from work one night when Lorelei was about three years old at her bedtime, which was probably around 6:30 then.  So early!  Must laugh at that now...  Anyway, I told him, "Ask her to read this to you."

He walked in and sat with her; I looked on from the door.  As he turned the pages, she recited the entire book to him.  It was fun to see the look of amazement on his face.  In truth, she wasn't reading.  But she had memorized every single word, and she wouldn't say the next line until you turned the page to get to it.  She read it exactly like I read it to her so many times--with excitement.  Her three year old version of this book was PRICELESS.  She'd been book-crazy for a long time, but this was a different example of her bibliophile nature.

Snow is good
For making tracks...
And making pictures
With your backs.

And it's a great, fun book with simple rhymes and funny pictures.  Just a boy and a girl and their dog playing in the snow.  Making snow angels and igloos and snowmen...all before the sun comes out and melts it, and takes their fun away.  They have big smiles and seem to be laughing with each other and at the snow though they sit, frozen, right on the page.


A little sample of the simple text (I've still got the whole book memorized even though years have passed since Lorelei's infatuation with it):

Snow!  Snow!
Come out in the snow!
I want to know if you like snow.
Oh yes! Oh yes! I do like snow.
Do you like it in your face?
Oh yes! I like it any place.

AND it's perfect for this time of year, nearly March, when you want winter to be over (at least I sure do) but it's just. not. yet. over.  Much to my frustration.  Perhaps this book will help you look at snow and the cold in a more child-like way so that these last few weeks of winter will cruise by quickly...

What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry

What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry

Rating: 5 stars

A new thing: Throwback Thursday!  Here's an oldie but greatie...

The fact that I've been reviewing and recommending children's books for four years and have not mentioned this book is a crime.  I confess to it.  Right now. I am very sorry; I have been negligent in my duties. I will put myself in time out all day long (with a big stack of books beside me...oh happy day).

Truly, this is a must-have for any three-ish year old child.  Right now, at 2 years and 9 months, Kiefer can't get enough of the book.  Just like Ben couldn't get enough of the book when he was that age.  I sat with Ben just like I now sit with Kiefer, reading each story again and again and again, talking about the water wheel in this story, the special ladder to rescue Huckle in that story... I love the book still.  Which is a good thing, because I'll probably read it to Kiefer again later today.

from A Voyage on the Sea

I like all of the stories, but the priceless-ness is in the pictures: Scarry adds in a hundred little details in his illustrations, which means your child sees something new and different each time they read the book.  Oh--and a note on reading this book: because the illustrations are so intricate, reading isn't necessary to really understand what's going on.  That makes it an excellent choice for pre-readers like Kiefer.

Hopefully your childhood included this magical book.  If not, let me explain a little more about it so that, at the end of this post, you can immediately order it for any 3-ish year old child in your life.

The book is an oversized lap book, and is divided into seven or eight different stories.  I will challenge myself to remember them so I don't have to sneak into Kiefer's room to get it (he sleeps with this book; that, my friends, is book-love):

• Everyone is a Worker 
• How to Build a House 
• Fireman to the Rescue
• How to Mail a Letter
• A Day in the Hospital
• Where Wood Comes From
• How a Road is Built
• A Voyage on the Sea
• Where Bread Comes From

The best illustration in the whole book!
From How A House is Built

Each story is just a handful of pages long, and it uses animal characters to tell the story while also teaching the little reader about the topic.  Ben and Kiefer both love the house building one best--and that's my favorite, too.  I love the step-by-step explanations and the detailed pictures that go right along with it.

At the very least, check this book out to remember a bit of YOUR childhood.  At the very most, order it from your favorite bookseller to share the magic with your favorite reader.



P.S.  Many, many thanks to my godmother Andrea, who gave me this book seven years ago at the book-filled baby shower my sister threw for me.  I can't believe we still have the original!

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Rating: 5 stars

Earlier this afternoon was the second official meeting of the Mother-Daughter Book Club, which Lorelei now calls "MDBC."  It's her military roots wanting to make everything an acronym, I think.  Happily, we had another mother and daughter join us!  Her pal and birthday twin Jessica and Jessica's mom Eily joined us to discuss Lorelei's chosen book, Pippi Longstocking.  Eily read the book aloud with Jessica and her older daughter.  I think that was a great choice--it would be a fantastic book to read out loud, together.  Lorelei and I read the book separately, mostly because Lorelei had read the book three times before.  It would be a fine book to read with Ben, who turns 5 in 8 days, and we might read one of the sequels together soon.

Anyway.  On to the book!

In case you've not read it, Pippi is a character in every sense of the word.  Her mother dies when she's little and her father...well, we're not really sure but Pippi thinks he's now the king of the cannibals.  The point is: he's not around.  So Pippi parents herself quite happily, making up rules as she goes (just as we parents do, uses the gold coins she grabbed from her father's boat to buy anything she needs, stays un-lonely with her pets and friends.

After galavanting across the globe for a decade or so, she moves to a new town and befriends her neighbors, Annika and Tommy. The three of them have unbelievable Pippi-led adventures.  For example, they go to the circus, where Pippi jumps atop a horse, gets kicked out, then defeats the strongest man in the world (all to the delight of the crowd).  In most of the chapters, though, it's just Pippi--amusing herself, being fearless towards things that usually scare grown ups.  (This book is really just an excuse to enter the word "moxie" into Lorelei's vocabulary!)

This is a very interesting girl!  A page-turner of a book for sure in the eyes of almost any little reader (or listener).

Eily came up with most of the questions that we talked about today, and there was a good little discussion around the treats and drinks we bought before talking (sugar helps discussion, you know).  I took these eight questions, wrote them on slips of paper, then put them in a glass mason jar, aka The Question Jar:

1. What are 3 words that describe Pippi?
2. Do you like Pippi?  Why or why not?
3. Why do you think Tommy and Annika like to play with Pippi?  Would you like to play with her?
4. Do you think that Pippi knows she's behaving appropriately at the circus and coffee party?
5. Would you want to be Pippi for the day, or for forever?  Why or why not?
6. What would be the best thing about living without parents?  What would be the worst thing?
7. What was the most realistic thing about the book?  The least realistic?
8. What would Mrs S (the girls' teacher) think if Pippi showed up to class with you tomorrow?

Question 4 was definitely my favorite.  

Jessica wisely brought up that there are a few boys in her class that don't "make good choices" and they behave inappropriately at times.  This bugs her (as it should!).  Unlike those boys, we agreed that Pippi does NOT understand the rules.  She's oblivious to them, and this frees her to do more and be a little wild, though she doesn't mean to do anything wrong.  I think the whole notion of unsaid rules within cultures--that remain silent but you KNOW they are there and you KNOW when you break them--is so very, very interesting.  If the girls were a little older, I would have happily launched into that, questioning them about how one learns rules in a culture...

This is a great book to read with kids or to kids.  Or maybe these kids can read to us big kids!

The Ghost's Dinner by Jacques Duquennoy

The Ghost's Dinner by Jacques Duquennoy

Rating: 5 stars

This is my favorite Halloween book.  Hands-down!  Hmm...did I just say that about Room on the Broom?  Feel free to forget about that...

This book is just the right amount of spooky and funny.  The best part is that the ghosts are scared--how fun is that?  Scared ghosts?  See, you're probably cracking up already.  That's the sign of a good book.

Okay, so here's the story: Henry the ghost invites his ghost buddies over for a dinner party.  They start with juices of all different flavors--and colors.  Because they are transparent, they turn the color of the juice they drink.  My trio thought that was pretty funny--even Kiefer was chuckling at the idea of drinking spinach juice and turning green.  Pumpkin soup makes them turn orange, salmon makes them turn pink, cheese makes them turn all swiss cheesy.

"Look at us!  We're so colorful!"

The special dessert makes them disappear, and the clean-up of dinner is a silly montage of dishes seemingly carrying, washing, and drying themselves.  Hot chocolate makes them all reappear again, and they drink another glass of milk to turn a normal white.

Then Henry plays a trick on his guests--he spooks those ghosts by dressing up and shouting, "BOO!"

A perfect ending to a perfectly silly Halloween book.  Better buy this one--or you'll be on the waiting list at your library until mid-November.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum

 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum

Rating: 5 stars

We're off to read the Wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  Because, because, because, because...because Mommy said we are!

Now you'll have the song stuck in your head all day.  You're welcome.

I read this book aloud to our kids--Lorelei, 6 1/2; and Ben, nearly 5.  Kiefer, 2 1/2, snuggled up with us many nights, too, learning by example that this is what you do at night: grab a book, listen closely, and snuggle up.  This was Ben's first read-aloud chapter book; Lorelei and I read the first 5 Little House books last year by ourselves.  Ben listened to a few pages of them but--not that he ever said this out loud--those books just didn't hold their interest.  To be honest there were times when I thought they were a little boring, too.

And this is my first time blogging on a chapter book that you can read aloud to your kids (or that older kids can read by themselves).  Hope that you like this addition--I'll be adding more to the "Read Aloud Chapter Books" section as well as early chapter books in the coming months.

Bottom line up front: Oz was great!  I chose it after the kids and I went downtown to the National History Museum this summer, and they got a whiff of all the Oz STUFF.  I bought the book there and we started reading it a night or two later.  I was unsure if it'd be a great fit, especially after the first chapter, when Dorothy's house falls and kills the wicked witch of the West!

But it worked.  Really, really well.  Here's why:

My note to Lorelei in her lunchbox today.

1. This book is adventurous--each chapter the reader meets a different character, often far-fetched and silly, sometimes mean and a little scary.  It makes for fantastic a-chapter-a-night reading because something is always happening.  Danger (just the right amount!) was involved.
2. This book is a classic--it's one that their teachers will reference for years to come, so it's good that they have this cultural stuff under their belt.  I've not yet explained why Dorothy's shoes are ruby red in the movie, but that historical significance is cool, too.
3. This book has lessons upon lessons to teach--of course the Lion is looking for "his brave" as we say it in our house, the Tin Woodman is looking for a heart, and the Scarecrow is looking for a brain.  We talked throughout how they really do have these things but they don't reach inside themselves to use it.  And Ben would ask me out of the blue for weeks: Which is more important, Mommy, a brain or a heart? (The Scarecrow and Tin Woodman debate this briefly.)  He knows my answer: a heart.  In the end Dorothy finds out she could have left for Kansas again the moment the Silver Shoes were on her feet, but she didn't know the magic AND, more importantly, the timing wasn't right: Her friends needed her, she couldn't go yet, she had a few things to complete until she could.
4. The book deals with real-life stuff in fantasy-filled ways.  The chapter or two on the Wicked Witch of the East are pretty dark; she's a nasty character.  The Wizard of Oz says he won't help them until they "destroy" (a few times they use "kill") the Wicked Witch of the East.  But aren't their nasty characters in their life (hopefully not in preschool and first grade but you get what I mean)?  I didn't remember this, but it is only by accident that Dorothy kills her by flinging water at her in anger.  Now the kids get my joke when it's raining and we have no umbrella: "Don't worry about it, it's not like we're going to melt!"

I'm pretty sure when Lorelei sees the ruby red shoes,
she'll choose to be Dorothy for Halloween, not Laura.

I'm so grateful that I spontaneously grabbed this book at the museum.  It's been a great fit for my kids, provided great conversation, and was just plain fun.  I had thought that we'd watch the movie together as a family when we were done but...I forgot about those winged monkeys.  It just so happens that there are some movie theaters nearby that are going to show the movie in 3D next week, but...can you imagine those winged monkeys in 3D, flying right at you?!  Neither can I.  We'll be watching it from the comfort of our own sofa sometime--probably later than sooner.

And if the song is not stuck in your head just yet, click here (and/or show this to your kids so they get a feel for the movie but they're not kept up with nightmares of winged monkeys):

This is San Francisco by Miroslav Sasek

This is San Francisco by Miroslav Sasek

Rating: 5 stars

I know I have said it before, but I really like to provide Lorelei, Ben and Kiefer books about places we're going to visit before we actually get there.  Whether it's a baseball game or art museum, dairy farm or Washington, D.C., they like to know what they're getting themselves into.  Or, because I prefer to deny them the luxury of opinions at this young age, they like to know what I am getting them into.  Yup, that's a bit more accurate!

So it was with our recent trip to Northern California.  My husband travels there for work from time to time, so he got for the kids this classic travel book about a year ago.  They've loved it ever since--at first, only because Daddy got it for them, but then they realized the pictures were really cool.  They quickly realized that this city called San Francisco was very different from our sleepy ex-burb town in Northern Virginia.  And finally, they loved it because they knew we were going there for Spring Break.

Steep, steep hills!

This book is vintage cool--even though your kids will have no idea what you're talking about if you tell them that, you'll know it by flipping through the pages.  Sasek was born in Czechoslovakia in 1916, and worked for Radio Free Europe in the 1950s before he began working on his "This Is..." series--his first was This is Paris.  This is San Francisco was first published in 1962, and reprinted in 2003.  Like the other books in the series, it is true to its original within the main pages, but has updated information in the back of the book.

For your child, the book is like a tour of the city without leaving your lap.  Lorelei was fascinated with the crazy angle of the streets in the pictures, and was delighted to find that the streets really are that steep (even after trudging up them to check out Lombard Street).  Ben loved the Golden Gate Bridge best, and for months he'd find it on our placemat map.  He was so thrilled to see it from afar, then actually go over it last week!

Kiefer and I on steep Lombard Street...
he got a deal, I got a workout!

There are a lot of words in this book, which makes for a long read and therefore best for kids older than 4, but the pictures are so engaging that younger kids will get wrapped up in it, too.

Sasek's "This is" series is good to know about.  We've given This is Washington, D.C., to friends of ours who, like us, live near D.C.  But there are a bunch more--London, Paris, New York, Rome, Texas, and more (click here for complete list).  They make great gifts for kids who are moving or traveling to one of these areas.

Reading plus exploring (whether that's traveling a long distance or some place right down the road) is a great combination.

Maybelle the Cable Car by Virginia Lee Burton

Maybelle the Cable Car by Virginia Lee Burton

Rating: 4.5 stars

We just returned from a big ol' family trip to Northern California.  It was the first time I'd ever really  been there (does a two day stint in San Francisco in college for a conference and a ten hour layover in Los Angeles really count?) and I was blown away by the beauty and hipness of the place.  I suddenly realized how uncool I am here on the East Coast!

But rather than go on a tangent about my lack of cool, I'll try and focus on books.   Before this and any trip, I try to find a bunch of books about our destination so to provide a context for the kids.  Since they have few or no expectations and little experience to draw upon, I really think giving them picture-filled books to show them what we'll see is helpful.  Plus sights fly by their window so quickly, I like for them to...pre-steep, if you will...in the city as much as possible.

So, Maybelle the Cable Car.  This is one of my favorite books by Virginia Lee Burton--it is charming, interesting, and informative.  Can't beat that!  In this book, the city fathers are thinking about retiring the cable cars in favor of buses, which are "newer and faster and more economical."  Maybelle is one of those cable cars, and she and her sisters are immediately dismayed at the news.  While some of the people are glad for progress, others are just as sad as Maybelle.  "We'll miss them...what a pity...We'll be like any other city."

So they call a public meeting and put it to a vote!  Obviously the cable cars win, but only after Big Bill the bus, the not-so-horrible enemy in the book, tries to climb the hills in the middle of the night.  At first, he thinks there's nothing to it.  But on a damp and foggy night, he slips, slides, and gets turned around.  He suddenly has a  little more respect for those cable cars.  So he concedes like a gentleman and beeps his horn to congratulate the cable cars as they take a victory climb up the hills of San Francisco.

Lorelei's I'm-on-a-cable-car grin.

After reading this book a dozen times at home and on the plane, all of us were VERY excited to ride the cable car.  We bought our tickets (and lost one...and I might have told a little lie that Lorelei was 4 not 5 so she didn't need one), stood in line, climbed aboard and held on tight.  Lorelei and Ben even got to stand-- though I did draw the line at letting them hang on to the side (see?  I am SO uncool!)--as our cable car noisily climbed up, up, up to the top of the hill.  We got off--where else?--at the Cable Car Museum so we could learn even more about the cable cars.  (Fascinating stuff there...I was eager to learn that Andrew Smith Hallidie, the inventor of the cable car, created it because he was an animal-lover, and he was tired of seeing horses get whipped while struggling up the hills' wet cobblestones.)

Anyway, a really good book even if you're not heading to San Francisco, but required reading if you are!


P.S.  In a man-I-wish-I-had-seen-that! moment, I found a nice little list of children's books (click here) about San Francisco on the blog www.SFKids.org.  But I did find this blog post useful about kid-friendly activities and sites around the city.

The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl

The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake

Rating: 4 stars

I'm sure everyone here knows about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach.  But Roald Dahl also has a handful of shorter novels with the same wicked sense of humor, same lessons tucked into a good story, same fabulous drawings by Quentin Blake.  The length and content definitely make these books better for the 4 and over crowd, in my opinion, and I suggest reading them first or reading them with your child.

But, wait, I must issue a warning!  These books are not for every family out there!  Here's why:

• Most of them involve words like "stupidest" and "shut up" and "ugly."
  
• Many of them involve some desire to kill an animal, usually with the use of a gun.
  
• Most plots have the kids--human or animal--in peril.
  
• A few characters, including the crocodile, die.  (But their deaths always dramatic and funny in a dark sort of way...the crocodile gets whipped around and around by the elephant, thrown up into galaxy and crashes headfirst into the hot, hot sun.  He was "sizzled up like a sausage!")

A little funny?

Hmmm.  As I wrote my little warning, I'm wondering...  Who is going to want to read this book?!  What good stuff does it have in it?!  Why did I just give it a 4 star rating?!

So let me answer my own questions, even though I'm generally better at asking than answering things in this life of mine.

Here's why you might want to read this book:

• The enormous crocodile aims to eat some nice, juicy little children.  But the other animals in the jungle want to save the children, so they, one at a time, stand up to the mean crocodile.  See?  Good vs Evil, and good wins!  Especially at the end, but I'll get to that.
  
• Kids like funny stories.  I mean, at least mine do.  And the enormous crocodile has some good ideas on how to trick little children to come towards him so he can gobble them up.  He stands on the tip of his tail to look like a palm tree, makes himself stiff as a board and then puts his belly on a log to look like a teeter-totter...you get the idea.  That is FUNNY STUFF!
  



Funnier?

• This book has the oh-I-know-what's-going-to-happen quality that gets kids excited to listen hard and guess what crazy trick the crocodile is going to pull next.  And when they know the crocodile is disguised and ready to gobble up a little kid, Ben likes to yell at the kids, "Look out!  It's a crocodile!!"

So you decide.  Is the book for you?  Let me know what you think...

How A House is Built by Gail Gibbons

 How A House is Built by Gail Gibbons

Rating: 5 stars

After reading and falling in love with Building Our Home by Jonathan Bean, Ben became interested in how houses are built.  So I've found as many books about building homes as I can.  This one, by the leader in how-to/informative books Gail Gibbons, is the best we've found.

Usually I'd recommend Gibbons' books for kindergarten and grade school kids.  They are always jam-packed with information--in a good way, but there are usually TOO many details for four year olds like Ben. This one, though, is a great exception.  It's a bare-bones book, providing first an overview of the types of houses that exist.  (In case you wondered, Ben would prefer live in a glass house.  I informed him that's not a wise choice if he plans on inviting his brother Kiefer in as Kiefer is currently in a let-me-throw-anything-and-everything stage.)

 After that very brief introduction--that is done through more illustrations and few words--Gibbons begins to explain the many steps it takes into building a house.  There are so many lessons that can be drawn from this book...I hardly know where to begin!  One of my favorite lessons to show Ben is in the general contractor area--the architect recommends one to be in charge of a team (team! team work! everyone does their part!) that work together (did you hear that?  work together!) to get the job done right (right! not partially right!).  Also, I love explaining that everything is done by steps.  We follow recipes; Kiefer learns how to run; we climb mountains; they get to high school....EVERYTHING is done one step at a time.  I think this is comforting for my kids--I know it is for me.

Now we could have stopped there with the book and the life lessons, but...why?  I called a friend of mine who is a general contractor; might he have any projects we could visit to show Ben how a house is built, rather than just reading the words in a book?  It was our lucky day--Sidd said that they were starting a new house just 25 minutes away from ours.  So today after school, we stopped by for a visit.  I hope it'll be the first of many.

As Ben and I drove to the site, I asked him if he had any questions.  Ben is Mr. Question, so he already had a few for Mr. Kashyap.  First, what kind of house is he building?  Second, who is it for?  After some more chatting, we realized we had two more questions: How long will it take to build the house?  And finally: Can we check out the blueprints of the house?

When we got there we were totally excited.  Everyone drives past excavators all the time, but we had permission to park, get out, and watch up close!  Way cool.  So we did just that.  Sidd was tied up in the county's office so we asked our questions via text.  (A frame house; there's no buyer yet...you can buy it if you want...click here for more information; five months; yes, the plans are online.)  We will return late next week to see concrete poured for the foundation.

We finished up our Mommy and one son outing with milk for Ben, tea for me, and a shared chocolate chip cookie.  In all, a rather fine afternoon!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

Rating: 5 stars

I'm not sure if there's a more iconic holiday book than How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  I was lying awake last night thinking of this book (and way too many other things...thank you, insomnia) and how kids really need to be familiar with it, for cultural literacy's sake.  They need to be able to catch the references in their middle and older years.  If not, they'll be like the girl in my sophomore English class who had never heard of Star Wars before That Day in class when her innocent "Star Wars?  What's that?" received a not-so-polite barrage of sarcastic answers.  Her parents earned a few demerits for being that strict with TV.

Just in case that gal in English class is reading and doesn't know the story: the Grinch is a loveable villain who wants to stop Christmas from happening in Who-ville.  He dresses up like Santa Claus, and, with the help of his funnily pathetic mutt Max, visits all the homes in Who-ville.  Instead of dropping off presents and good tidings, he steals all their gifts and decorations and even the last log on their fire!

When he has collected everything, he heads to the nearest cliff.  He's about to push over every last bit of it when he hears loud, vibrant singing from Who-ville that alerts him to the fact that the Christmas spirit lives on despite the lack of presents and decorations and logs.  The Grinch's heart grows in size and he returns to the village to return the Christmas packages and join in the festivities.

Of course we parents are familiar with the Grinch spirit, too.  I admit I am.  I am overwhelmed by all the noise and the stuff and want to grumble along through the whole month of December, and I think pretty Grinchy thoughts about the ohmygoshsohighsoshighSOHIGHSOSOSOSOHIGH levels of excitement of my kids.

But then I stop.  How can I get annoyed by excitement?  Am I that lame of a muggle?!

So here's a list of things that get me less-Grinch-like and more excited about the holidays.  (Feel free to add some of your own in comments section...comments make my day!)

• Baking Christmas cookies (then letting the boys use the dustbuster to suck up the zillion sprinkles that didn't make it onto the cookies)
• Taking a carriage ride at the nearby Reston Town Center (haven't done it yet but plan to!)
• Going ice skating...or, if you're a kid, learning how to ice skate for the first time
• Wrapping a few gifts for the kids, reading any and all books before they get wrapped
• Starting a fire (or watching our kids hand my husband logs while he starts one), and watching the kids mesmerized by the flame
• Going to my sister's house--she manages to out-holiday me every time, but her decorations and spirit inspire me
• Drinking a cup of Celestial Seasonings seasonal teas (Candy Cane Lane is what I'm sipping now)
• Putting on the one Christmas album I have...Elvis!

Moral of the story: Don't be a Grinch.  And when you feel a little Grinch-y, go play with your kids.  They'll un-Grinch-ify you in a jiffy.

Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss

Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss

Rating: 5 stars

The holidays are coming, and I know you're tempted to buy a bunch of toys for those kids on your list.  Don't do it!  Don't give in!  I urge you to consider two things: books and experiences.  Since this blog is supposed to focus on just the first of these two things, I'll do my best to stay on track and give you some great books to buy for your kids.

Like this one.

A classic!  If it's not on your child's shelf, rectify the situation and order it right now.  There are three books in this collection, which is my favorite Dr. Suess collection.  His rhymes shine and make both big and little kids (also known as grown-ups and children) giggle, but the poems deliver a punch: each one has a masterful life lesson that make me grateful for reading them every time I do.

I'm Yertle the Turtle! Oh marvelous me!
For I am the ruler of all that I see!

I remember the first time I read these three stories to Lorelei.  My rump was perched on a pint-sized chair and she sat, mesmerized, as I read line after line.  She was three.  (I think that's a little young for this collection, but better too early than not at all.)  I wasn't a fan of Dr. Suess because I thought him long-winded, like the crusty, pompous professor who can't stop himself when he gets going on a lecture, and drones on and on, amused with himself but losing the crowd.

But these books woke me up from my not-a-fan sleep and I have pledged my allegiance ever since.

The first story is of Yertle the Turtle, a greedy turtle king who realizes how low his thrown is, and forces all the turtles around him to make a stack so that he can be taller than his current perch.  He keeps making turtles stack up higher and higher and higher so that he can see more and more and more until suddenly--you saw this coming--one of the plain turtles down below politely complains that his back and shoulders hurt.  Yertle doesn't care and stacks on and on, but the turtle on the bottom burps innocently and shakes the whole stack.  Since Yertle was so high, he fell far.  Ker-plunk into the mud, of which he is now king.  "And the turtles, of course...all the turtles are free / As turtles, and maybe, all creatures should be."

The second story is of Gertrude McFuzz, a funny bird-like creature that has one puny tail feather and wants more and finer tail feathers, like a popular little gal she knows.  She makes a big fuss to her uncle-doctor, who gives in and gives her the secret: go to a pill-berry vine and eat just one berry.  No more!  Of course, after a fine tail feather pops out of her behind moments after eating the first berry, she gobbles still more, until her tails are gorgeous and full and...very, very heavy.  Since she could neither run nor walk, all those tail feathers had to plucked out, one by one.  Ouch!  See?  Accept yourself as you are, nods the wise Dr. Suess.  It's better that way.  Save yourself the plucking hassle.

Then the little old worm gave his head a small jerk
And he dived in his hole and went back to his work.

The third is "The Big Brag."  A rabbit and bear (both male, I should point out) engage in a silly fight over who is the best.  They perform impossibly stupid feats--the rabbit explains how his ears can hear a fly cough from over two mountains away and the bear says his nose can smell one stale egg in a nest in a tree next to a farm that is beyond far away far.  To break up their rift, a worm pops up and explains that he can see (chuckle, chuckle!) better than they can hear and smell.  And he stares this crazy serious stare and makes up a crazy serious story about what he sees.  He goes on and on adding distance until:

And I kept on looking and looking until
I'd looked 'round the world and right back to this hill!
And I saw on this hill, since my eyesight's so keen,
The two biggest fools that have ever been seen!
And the fools that I saw were none other than you,
Who seem to have nothing else better to do
Than sit here and argue who's better than who!

Funny stuff that has a wonderfully serious, important lesson.  Does it get better than this?  Not really.  That Dr. Suess is one of a kind...

If I Ran the Zoo by Dr Seuss

If I Ran the Zoo by Dr Seuss

Rate: 4 stars

I'm not sure if we could have had a more perfect first day of summer.  My day started at 5 (thanks, Kiefer), with the other boy (that'd be Ben) joining us shortly.  We woke Sleeping Beauty (aka sweet Lorelei).  By 7:30 we were all dressed, breakfasted, and heading to the National Zoo.  I think the sloths were still snoozing when we got there.

Heat advisory?  Bah!  We laugh at thee.  

We live about 45 minutes from the "big zoo," as we call it (not to be compared to the "little zoo," which is approximately 8 minutes or one Eric Carle book away).  The great thing about this book is it takes almost 45 minutes to read.  It's one of those books that you suggest your child request when it's your spouse's turn to read bedtime books.  And then settle yourself into the sofa, because it'll be a while.

In truth, it's not my all-time favorite Dr Seuss tale (in case you're wondering, it's a tie between "Yertle the Turtle" and "The Big Brag").  It's soooooooooooooo long.  I get a little tired of the crazy new animals and the crazy new places they come from.  And the crazy new methods that the crazy new zookeeper uses to capture them.  

However, there are some things that I DO like about this book:

Lorelei, reading book #519 of the day.

First, I spend a lot of time asking my older crazy questions, and listening to their answers.  We talk about places we would like to travel (they insist on China, and have begun to dig a hole in our backyard to get there...geez...), places we all remember traveling to (Colorado.  Sigh...), animals that we want to see (always a giraffe!).  And then there's the made-up stuff: it could just be a name or place that they come up with, but also animals like those in Dr Seuss' creative mind.  I ask them about their made-up animal, what it looks like, how big it is, what it eats, where it would live in our house, just fun stuff.  This book lends itself to creative talk like this.

This is the stuff that happens when you don't have a DVD player/TV in your car.  Just sayin'.

Second, the whole book is about a young boy saying "This a cool zoo, but I'd run it differently."  I'm always asking my kids that--how would you paint a flower?  what would you have done in that situation?  why do you think he wanted to do that?  I want them to be able to see something and figure out how they'd make it better or just do it differently.  We emphasize, in our house, that there are more than one way to do something, mostly because I hate being railroaded with "it's my way or the highway" attitudes.

Lorelei is in a huge Dr Seuss stage; we checked out The Bippolo Seed last week, and she read it three times from cover to cover that I know of.  Who knows if she's already started to read with a flashlight under the covers after I ask her to stop?  She loves the rhyming, she laughs out loud at the silliness of the words, and the pictures are equally entertaining.   She actually woke up Kiefer while reading this book, laughing at something she read.  Luckily he passed right out again.

Oh, and how did our perfect summer day end?  Well, since you didn't ask (but since I know you want to know, Mom)...  We zipped home to feed our hounds and let them out, though the kids didn't even get out of the car.  Then we went to the library because there was a Summer Reading Kick-Off party with a magician.  We couldn't miss that!  From there we came home and collapsed, still wilted from the morning's heat.

Then we played baseball in the kitchen, chased Guidry around the table a few hundred times, and clapped for Kiefer every time he took a few steps.  We ate pancakes for dinner, danced before clean-up, and bathed the sweat and sunscreen away.

Yup, I'm pooped.  In a great way.

My Many Colored Days by Dr Seuss, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

My Many Colored Days by Dr Seuss, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

Rating: 4.5 stars

Well here's a book about something I neither practice nor preach!  But, funnily, I still love it.

Here's the good news: We pass our own habits on to our children.  And now, the bad news: We pass our own habits on to our children.

Darn those double-edged swords.  Emotions are something I struggle to teach.  My father taught us to be in control of our emotions, to always think clearly and act deliberately rather than simply react thoughtlessly to circumstances.  And my mom (hi, mom!) was able to and taught us to put a smile on our face regardless of the situation.  So I actually expect my children to be cheerful and happy most of the time.  Moments of grumpiness, okay.  But all day long?  No way.  And, they are cheerful and happy the vast majority of the time.  I'm not sure if I'm denying them the "right" to be sad or angry or whatever...their therapists will let me know, I'm sure.  Hope they choose a cheap one.

Or maybe I'll slip this book under their pillows and they can learn about emotions through osmosis.

"On other days I'm other things
On Bright Blue Days I flap my wings."

But here are the words to this book.  I couldn't choose which stanzas I like the best, so here is all of it:

Some days are yellow. Some are blue.
On different days, I'm different too
You'd be surprised how many ways
I change on different colored days.
On bright red days how good it feels
To be a horse and kick my heels!
On other days I'm other things...
On bright blue days I flap my wings.
Some days, of course, feel sort of brown.
Then I feel slow, and low, low down.
Then comes a yellow day and wheeeee!
I am a busy, buzzy bee.
Gray day...everything is gray.
I watch.  But nothing moves today.
Then all of a sudden I'm a circus seal
On my orange days that's how I feel.
Green days.  Deep deep in the sea.
Cool and quiet fish, that's me.
But when my days are happy pink
It's great to jump and just not think.
Then come my black days.  MAD.  And loud.
I howl.  I growl at every cloud.
Then comes a mixed-up day and WHAM
I don't know who or what I am.
But it all turns out all right you see
And I go back to being me.

Ten Apples Up On Top! by Dr. Seuss

Ten Apples Up On Top! by Dr. Seuss, illustrated by Roy McKie

Rating: 5 balanced stars

Obviously, I have two kids.  So I'm constantly juggling their needs and interests and snacks to try and keep things interesting and balanced.  Sometimes I succeed.  Books like this one help--both Lorelei and Ben love it equally.  Many of the I Can Read By Myself Books are great like that; the text is simple enough for the beginner reader (Lorelei, 3 1/2) but also silly enough with fun illustrations for the younger listener (Ben, 20 months).

I should go buy this book we've checked it out so much, but the few times I've done that the book suddenly becomes less special.  Just like when a toy at a friend's house is much more interesting than when your mother buys it for you at home.  Humph!

This is my favorite Dr. Suess book, and has been for decades.  I prefer the more tamed, more succinct Dr. Suess (I can't get over how long Happy Birthday To You and If I Ran the Zoo are!)...but that could be just a phase.

Hop on Pop by Dr Seuss

Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss

Rating: 4 stars

Last week my husband's family visited us from the Midwest.  It was a delightful visit...I'm not sure who charmed who more--Lorelei and Ben charming their grandparents, or their grandparents charming them?  Either way, the days with them were just great.

Of course, the visit involved lots of books.  I think this is at the top of the list of why their grandparents appreciate them: they will sit and listen to books for hours.  Well, Lorelei more than Ben as his attention span is still developing, but that's understandable.  Lorelei would choose a book, climb up on a lap, listen to it, correct them if they mis-read a word or two, and then put it back and get another one.  Then she repeated the whole thing over and over and over again.

I was especially glad she chose this one to read with her grandfather.  Why?  Because his grandkids all call him Pop-Pop.  So Pop-Pop read Hop on Pop.  Hee, hee!

It's a fine book, and really timely as Lorelei is starting to spell words and realize that if you change the first letter in a word, it often turns into another word.  Or a funny non-word.  This book is in the "Simplest Suess for Youngest Use" category, and while I'm not a huge fan of Dr. Suess, this one is good for beginning readers and spellers. 

This book is a nonsensical, whimsical romp through Dr. Suess's zany imagination.  No more, no less!

Dr Seuss's ABC

Dr Seuss's ABCs by Dr Seuss

Rating: 5 stars, in alphabetical order

I can just imagine the conversation...

Me:  "Good morning, officer."

Officer:  "Good morning, ma'am.  Do you know why I pulled you over?"

Me:  "Umm...not exactly."

Officer:  "You were driving erratically.  Are you under the influence?  Have you been drinking?"

Me:  "Um, no.  Just coffee.  I was, um...well, um...I was kind of reading to my children."

Officer:  "While driving?  Along this windy road?  Why?"

Me:  "Why was I reading to them?  Because I want them to be critical thinkers, contributing members of society, happy and knowledgeable..."

I think all mothers must hide their head in shame at some point when asked about what they do while driving--or what they also do while driving.  I once had a sore shoulder for a few weeks because I was holding Lorelei's pacifier in her mouth for 10 or 15 minutes straight.  While driving.  So embarrassing...I mean, I know that I have incredibly precious cargo, and I am even careful about how much I talk on the phone while driving, and I truly only text while at stop lights.

But the other day for some stupid reason, I thought it'd be a good idea to hold this book up so that Lorelei and Ben could see the pictures, and have Lorelei "read" it to Ben.  She knows all the words, so I only had to look at the pages once or twice to get her jump-started on a particular letter.  And there wasn't too much traffic on the super twisty-turny road we were driving on...

I know, I know.  I'll never do it again, I promise!

But this book is a must read.  We're not huge Dr. Suess followers and this book actually sat on our shelf for years because I thought it was pretty strange and annoying.  It has no story, something I almost always say is necessary for this 1ish to 4ish age group.  But what it does have is some funny, gripping rhyme with silly pictures that somehow make sense in a little mind like Lorelei's.  She and Ben both love this book, especially Z (which you recite the entire alphabet before getting to, like one crazy drum roll countdown, more exciting than a space shuttle launch); even Ben points to himself when you turn the page after asking "What begins with Z?  I do!  I am a zizzer-zazzer zuzz, as you can plainly see!"

Of course!  A zizzer-zazzer zuzz!  It is something so silly that we grown ups have difficulty appreciating the silliness of because we think we're too cool to be silly. 

Also, this is a real teach-the-alphabet book.  Lorelei is able to sound out the first letter of almost all words we throw at her these days, something that makes my husband confident in her future place in Mensa.  But I know that it is her incredibly interest in reading and all things letter-related that has helped her get to this point.  I'm not pushing it.  What's the fun in reading if there's no fun in it?

This book rocks!  We love it.  It's crazy and very suess-ish, but a must-have.