I Just Want to Say Good Night by Rachel Isadora

I Just Want to Say Good Night by Rachel Isadora
Nancy Paulsen Books

Rating: 5 stars

Thousands of miles away from most of the readers of Rachel Isadora's new book in a small African village, parents are putting their children to sleep.

Including Lala, the main character in this book who, like many American children, wants to procrastinate on her way to bed. Rather than ask for a glass of water or another bedtime story, Lala wants to tell all the animals and things around her "good night."

"I want to say good night to the cat," Lala says.

"I want to say good night to the goat," Lala says.

"I want to say good night to the rock," Lala says. (This one made me smile--it would exasperate me if it was my own child.)

Each "good night" has a corresponding two-page, gorgeous illustration of the African village, cast in the warm colors of sunset, thousands of miles away from the reader. Thanks to the magic of a good book, the reader is transported to that village as Lala "good-nights" her way to bed.

Finally...

"Now!" her mother says.

Through one wordless two-page spread, we see Lala go inside, wash up, and get into bed. She has a book in her hand and, as she reads it, she whispers, "Good Night, Moon!"

You guessed it: It is the same book that most American children own or at least read. I love that last image--someone thousands of miles away reading the very same book the reader has read her/himself.

This book provides a perfect example of how to give a new twist to something that's done many times before. You've seen this before. You've read this type of book before. The type of book that closes out the day in a series of good-nights. But Isadora puts a great twist on this already-done story by placing her story in an unfamiliar setting, and then placing a familiar book in the hands of Lala.

It works beautifully.

My children and I are not strangers to Rachel Isadora. Her stories and pictures have filled my children's first years as readers. We only own one, but it is in Kiefer's bedroom, not downstairs on the children's library shelf--Nick Plays Baseball. Read my review of that book plus another one that Lorelei loved as a little girl, Lili at Ballet HERE.

Thank You and Good Night by Patrick McDonnell

Thank You and Good Night by Patrick McDonnell
Little, Brown and Company

Rating: 5 stars

Maggie and Clement are getting into their pajamas when friends Jean and Alan Alexander appear at the door. "We're here!" they announce.

It's time for a good, old-fashioned pajama party!

They dance the chicken dance, jump on the bed, play hide-and-seek, and do yoga. As they get sleepier, they wish on a falling star, sing a lullaby, and start to yawn.

"Now is it time for bed?" the three animals ask Maggie.

"Yes," she says.

Maggie read them their favorite bedtime stories--
stories about a majestic elephant, a brave bear, and a quiet bunny.
Stories that bring sweet dreams.

They sleepwalk, zombie-style, down the hall, listen to several bedtime stories, and then Maggie prompts to end the day in a thankful way.

"Now, before we go to sleep, let's all say what we are thankful for this day," she says.

The list is wonderfully long and lasts the whole page, and ends with a good-night kiss from Maggie on their heads.

Thank you, and good night.

I am smitten by this book because although we aren't the biggest prayers, we sure are thankful, and we talk about how lucky we are all the time. Like Maggie, Clement, Jean, and Alan Alexander, we have much to be thankful for each and every day.

I hope your family does, too!

Tools Rule! by Aaron Meshon

Tools Rule! by Aaron Meshon

Rating: 5 stars

Please don't tell him, but I got this book for Kiefer for his third birthday.  As of this blurry-eyed, early-morning typing, that's 19 days away.  I got it early so I could read it and tell you all about it.  I'll give it to him once I've dog-eared my favorite pages, underlined my favorite passages, and shared it with friends and strangers…  Ah, the joys of being a third child!

In Tools Rule! I was excited to see:

1. A book on tools!  They are hard to find.  In fact, I can only think of two others that I've found over the years: I Love Tools! by Philemon Sturges and Tools by Taro Miura.  It's as if no one else's child has walked around with a pint-sized version of a saw, driven his mama crazy by hammering nothing and everything, and dreamed of using his daddy's drill some day.  Seriously--more tool books, authors!
2. Another book by Aaron Meshon.  We loved his debut children's book Take Me Out to the Yakyu--it was informative and clever, simple and sweet.  We are busting it out again, not for baseball-obsessed Ben but for Lorelei, whose first grade class is studying Japan right now.

Tools Rule! is another adorably illustrated book where a bunch of scattered, messy tools organize themselves to come together to build a shed in order to, well, organize themselves.  The story is mostly told through word bubbles; the tools talk to each other and to themselves and say what's going on or what needs to happen.  Throughout the book there is a little bit of traditional text that acts like an all-seeing narrator.  I do wish that there was more of it to provide a little more structure as the tools, well, build their structure.

But Kiefer will neither notice nor care about a detail like that.  And who is this book for, anyway?  He'll see the big tools jump out on the pages and chuckle as the ruler wakes up his tool friends and spurs them to action.  He'll see the tools using teamwork to build a shed and then cheer at the finished product.

And Meshon thoughtfully gave me, the reader-parent, plenty of opportunities to chuckle as well: He makes puns with the tool names throughout the book.  "Saw?  Saw?  Where is Saw?  I just saw him!" or Clamp saying, "My advice? Let's get a grip on things." or when Hammer tells Nail that he's needed to build a wall and, as Hammer hammers, Nail says, "OK!  Ouch!  OK! OK! Ouch! OK! Ouch!"  Just makes me smile.  I appreciate that, but it also makes this book interesting for an advanced reader like Lorelei, who is ready to seek and find silly play-on-words like Meshon throws in.

At the end, when the toolshed is finished and each  tool is nestled in their own cubby or hook, spot or nook, they say good night to each other.  And then they snore in their own unique ways: "Pourzzz" for Pail, "Bangzzz, bangzzz" for Hammer, "Drillzzzz" for Drill…  See? Doesn't that make you smile, too?

A very cute book with very tough and witty characters! I look forward to reading it twice a day for 30 days straight!


P.S.  I have to include my non-tool-toting but oh-so-funny dad's comments to me after he read this:

I believe that Meshon actually is a ghost writer for Home Depot and Lowes, a covert plot to convince people that tools, and therefore projects that cost money and take up too much time, are cool. 

I have no evidence yet for my belief.  I'm working on it.

Little Mouse by Alison Murray

Little Mouse by Alison Murray

Rating: 5 stars

I usually write before the sun comes up.  I write before my kids wake up.  Therefore, I am often sipping coffee and paging through a children's book all by myself at 5:15 AM before reviewing it.  That's exactly what I'm doing right now--with a snoring dog curled up beside me on the couch, laptop on my lap, Little Mouse over the keyboard, coffee just an arm's length away, balanced on another book on the arm of the couch.

As I page through this beautifully written and illustrated book, I think what a quiet masterpiece it is.

On the first page, a little girl sits nice and close to her mother, reading a book with her.  The words: "Sometimes, when I'm being quiet and cuddly, my mommy calls me her little mouse."

I don't really sound like a little mouse...
Trumpety, trump, trump! Too-wit, too-wit, too-woooot!
Yowly, howly, howl!

But the little girl doesn't feel like a little mouse...  She is TALL! (And we see a giraffe sweetly nibbling at the little girl, who is tall on the top of a staircase.  She is STRONG! (We see her straining to pull a small wagon, in the shadow and in the same pose of a mighty bull.)  She chomps her food like a hungry horse, roars bravely like a lion, makes all sorts of interesting sounds like an elephant, owl, and fox. She stomps like a grumpy bear, makes waves like a whale.

But at bedtime, she's happy to be "quiet and cozy, cuddly and dozy"...  just Mommy's little mouse.

I love how one little girl, in a single day, can be so many different animals in her imagination and through her moods and actions.  Kids are so multifaceted and colorful and creative and BIG in such great ways!  I hope with all my heart that your kids and my kids don't get their colorful-ness and BIG-ness diluted as they figure out the tween and teenage years...I hope they realize they can still be brave like a lion and still want to be quiet and cozy like a little mouse (preferably with their mother).

As I sit in this quiet, the last image definitely pulls at my heart.  My two boys are young and still usually need that last tuck-in to be from their mother.  But Lorelei is old enough that she's more like the other animals, and doesn't need a daily dose of her mother, doesn't need to be curled up in my lap.  She still does fit in my lap, though, and I'm grateful for that and for her wanting to be there a few times each week.  I know I'm supposed to be preparing her (and her brothers) to soar on their own like a bird and march to their own beat proudly like an elephant but...I'll miss the cuddly, mousey days a whole lot.  So I'll savor the mousey moments like crazy now.

A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na

A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na

Rating: 4 stars

In college, when their clothing actually covered most of you and the music in their stores didn't deafen innocent passers by, I worked at Abercrombie & Fitch.  It was to get extra money for practical things, but I took advantage of the employee discount.  Especially at Christmas time.  I bought my mom and sister and best friend sweaters, but, as the good rule-follower that I am, I worried that my boss would realize that I was abusing the discount and buying stuff for others, not just me.

So I wore the sweaters a bit before giving them to my family and friend.  Just a few times!  Promise!

Some make lots of noise when they sleep.

So it is with books.  We read them a few times before finally wrapping them up.  I don't think that we've ever gotten marinara or chocolate on a gift book, but...I can't be totally sure.  Earlier this week Kiefer and I chose Mr. Tiger Goes Wild for a party we'll be going to today; we bought A Book of Sleep for the birthday boy's newborn sister.

And, because my trio and I read it a few times (and because I wrap things at the very last minute), I can tell you what a great book it is.

This is a simple book (we have the sturdy board book version)--perfect for littler listeners--about how different animals sleep, told in the presence of the nocturnal owl.  With funky-in-a-great-way illustrations and nice, clean text, Il Sung Na lures kids in and calms them down for the night.  Here, listen to the App of Sleep--a more interactive version of the book, completely worth watching/listening to (but I don't recommend pressing play and leaving the room, letting your baby watch it and listen to it by herself.  Unless you've got a dozen kids.  Then, maybe, it's okay):

We hope this book lulls Baby Willa to sleep in the nights ahead.  We sure have liked it this week, before we've given it away.

At Night by Jonathan Bean

At Night by Jonathan Bean

Rating: 4 stars

When we find a book we love, we find all the books by that author that we can get our book-crazy hands on and read them ALL!  So it is with Jonathan Bean, the author of the new and wonderful Building Our Home.   And so we had the pleasure of reading At Night.

It's a simple book, and I've found myself thinking about it and wondering of the meaning of it when I really should be focused on more important stuff like those things that are on my to-do list.  But this is a quirky book full of magic; check it out and let me know what you think.  Its quirkiness begins with its size: the book is small and square, setting it apart from traditionally sized picture books right away.  I think I loved it from the beginning, though I really do try not to judge a book by its cover!

The story:

After her brother and sister went to bed, a girl lies in her dark room, still awake.  "She lay thinking alone and couldn't close her eyes and couldn't sleep."  She feels the breeze from her open window, gathers her pillow and sheet, and goes to meet the breeze on the roof of her apartment building.  Creating a makeshift bed for herself, she lay there.  "She thought about the wide world all around her and smiled."  Breathing in the night and the moon and the breeze, she fell asleep.

(In case you're concerned, her mom followed her up and sits quietly next to her.)

As someone who suffers from but often enjoys bouts of insomnia, I can hear the quiet of the night that Bean writes about and illustrates.  I appreciate the need to get out of bed and go to a different place, perhaps a calmer place.  I think the girl in the book climbs up to be closer to nature, to God, to some comforting place.

The story is sweet; the illustrations are amazing.  While I still think that Building Our Home is his best stuff, the illustrations are magical.  I love that he says, when asked why his work often includes landscapes: They "tend to work themselves in.  I don't fight it."  (Read neat-o article about him here.  Thank you for sending it to me, Elaine!)  I love that art has a mind of its own, as if his arm is a mere layperson to a scene grander than himself.

We are huge fans of Jonathan Bean!

I Love You, Good Night by Jon Buller & Susan Schade

I Love You, Good Night by Jon Buller & Susan Schade, illustrated by Bernadette Pons

Rating: 5 stars

This book goes way back.  I mean waaaaay back.  It is from my very best friend, "Auntie Stacey" to our kids.  She and I go waaaaay back, to Mrs. Rose's first grade class at Sacred Heart Elementary School in West Point, New York.  Catholic school uniforms, ribbon barrettes, and Brownies gave way to clandestine trips to take Cover Girl photo shots, manhunt games in the streets, and embarrassingly bad hairstyles when our fathers were stationed together again in Hawaii when we were in middle school.

Stacey has a theory that no two people read a children's book the same, and had me read this out loud to her when she gave it to me/Lorelei, and then she read it to us.  It's true!  We all focus on different words, emphasize different syllables...it is pretty interesting.

Kiefer cozying up with a bunch of books...

Anyway.

Stacey gave Lorelei this book when she was a baby, and now Kiefer enjoys it today.  I like it because it's simple and short and has a nice rhyme to it.  It's a nice, quiet bedtime book.  I also really like it because I can easily make it silly--on the page with "I love you like I love blueberry pancakes," Kiefer and I pretend to scoop the pancakes off the page and into our mouths.  On the page "I love you like strawberry milkshakes," we pull the book to our mouths and pretend to sip from the straw on the page.  We chuckle and then read, chuckle some more and then read some more.

Kiefer is definitely beginning to love books.  Last week he started to pull books into a chair and read them, one by one, and then going to the shelf to get more.  He's 18 months old now, around the age when Lorelei began to become book obsessed (crazy! so young!).  His attention span has grown drastically in the past month or two, and he can easily sit through many lengthy board books.  Today when he woke (too early, and unhappily) from his nap, he was quickly mollified when I pulled him on my lap and read eight books to him.  Then--no joke!--he pushed me off the chair in his room and kept reading on his own.

This is a cute book, and Kiefer is a cute kid.  Not that I'm biased.  Thank you again, Auntie Stacey!

The Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein

The Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein

Rating: 4 stars

I am normally in a good mood.  I am a smiley individual, and I look for reasons to laugh.  But last Monday night, I was in a poopy mood and needed a reason to laugh.  I was simultaneously gulping down tears and the reality that I might not be able to run a super fast marathon next month.  All because I had stubbed the bajeezus out of my toe by trying to prevent Kiefer from stopping the washing machine.  What a moron!

I was looking for something to lighten my leaden mood and remembered that I hadn't read this book yet, despite the fact that a wonderful retired-principal-friend had recommended we check it out.  She said that she observed a class during which the teacher had read this book and the whole class was in stitches.  I didn't want stitches, but did need a laugh so...during dinner I grabbed this book.

Here's the story: Grandpa chicken wants to read a book to his grand-chicken but, after the first paragraph of each classic tale, the little hen blurts out the ending in order to warn the characters of what is coming.  Gramps chides him each time, but...to no avail.  The little guy is just TOO EXCITED and can't keep his mouth shut.  I'm sure you know of someone like this in your family.  Gramps is frustrated because the books are causing excitement, not sleepiness.

In the end, the little chicken writes his own book about his grandpa, who is fast asleep by the last pages of the book.  It's a cute ending to a cute book.

I needed a laugh more than the kids last week, and the book provided a much-needed chuckle.  I can definitely see how you can get a crowd of 4 year olds worked up over this book, even if you've got a throbbing toe and a preoccupied brain.  Children's books are great for this reason--they often take my mind off of the big picture and bring me back to the present, to this little moment of laughing with my kids.

Thanks, Ann, for the recommendation!


P.S. After a trip to the doctor and a few x-rays of my little piggies, I escaped real damage and suffered only a tiny, hairline fracture in one of my toes.  One week off and then it's back to marathon training for me.  No break from Crossfit, I'm happy to say!

Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton

 Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton, illustrated by Eric Puybaret

Rating: 4 stars

"You bought our kids a stoner book?!" my husband said when he saw this book.

"It has such a sad ending!" my mother said when I told her I bought it.

This book sure has a bad reputation!  I guess that's exactly why I hadn't even thought to read it to Lorelei or Ben.  Until, that is, my cousin Stephanie suggested that I put it on my mother's shelf for all her grandkids to read.  I thought it was worth checking out.  So I did.  Literally.

I got the big book from the library, a book full of fantasy-filled illustrations, done by the talented Eric Puybaret.  The book was big--an oversized hardback--but the pictures on the pages made the book seem even bigger.  I won't quit my (unpaid) day job to sing, but I admit I can carry a tune just fine.  My kids like to hear me sing, so they were spellbound when I sang the book to them, and turned the pages of this beautiful book as the verses floated around them.

The song made the book a different experience for them, and Lorelei has been humming the tune a lot, looking for the book to fill in the blanks when she forgets the words.  ("I don't want to sing it like you do, Mommy: 'Little Jackie Paper, something something something..."  She is so right.  I always forget the words to songs!)

Puff, the magic dragon, / lived by the sea,
And frolicked in the autumn mist / in a land called Honalee.

I don't really get why this children's book is linked to some illegal substance, but my mom is right--this book definitely does have a sad twist.  After Puff and Jackie Paper frolic and imagine and play in a way only a child and his imaginary friend can, Jackie Paper grows up.  He goes away, never to return again, and Puff is lonely.

But illustrator Eric Puybaret saves the day and keeps Grammy's tears at bay.  In the last two pages, he paints in a young girl who clearly replaces the turned-into-a-muggle Jackie.  Puff is happy again with his new playmate, new adventures, new cycle of childhood.

I think that Steph is right, this is a great addition to your shelf, especially if you can carry a tune and can sing it to your children.  Pick up the board book version at your local Wegmans while grocery shopping, just like I did yesterday.

Charlotte Jane Battles Bedtime by Myra Wolfe

Charlotte Jane Battles Bedtime by Myra Wolfe, illustrated by Maria Monescillo

Rating: 5 stars

Charotte Jane and I have a lot in common, I think.  Both of us were born with "oomph," as Myra Wolfe wittily puts it.  She relishes swashbuckling sessions, treasure hunts, and Fantastic Feats of Daring.  I relish Crossfit workouts, dance parties with my trio, and Fantastic Foods I Prepare.  We both "get all the juice" from our days.

Unlike me, Charlotte Jane doesn't like bedtime.  She stays up later and later and later until finally--victory!--she stays up.  All.  Night.  Long.  (I do have occasional bouts of insomnia, but I do not whisper "victory" like she does.  Instead I work on this blog or other writing projects.)

The next day, Charlotte Jane can't find her "oomph."  She was too tired to do all the stuff that she normally likes to do, too sleepy to participate with her usual chutzpah.  Her parents are alarmed and hunt for her "oomph" as if it is something to be picked up, dusted off, and replaced.  This is where Charlotte Jane and I are one again--I sorta feel like I've lost my "oomph."  I'd very much like to have it picked up, dusted off, and replaced.  Has anyone seen it?  I know my parents would gladly search in the neighbor's recycling bin or up in the old oak tree for my "oomph," just as Charlotte Jane's pirate parents do.

Finally, Charlotte Jane herself finds it.  In the form of her soft feather bed.  She decides that sleep is for landlubbers, but dreams...her "hearty dreams"...were worth sleeping for.

This is a great book.  I love how the main character is a headstrong little girl (I'm rereading Caddie Woodlawn, which makes me even more aware of great female roles in books), I love how she's a swashbuckling pirate, and I love how she solves her own problem.  I'm trying to solve my own missing-"oomph" problem.  Perhaps a week at the beach with my family will help.  I'll keep my eyes on the horizon for some pirates such as these.

The only downside to this gem of a book: how to explain what "oomph" means to your 3 and 5 year old...

Good Night, Good Knight by Shelley Moore Thomas, illustrated by Jennifer Plecas

Good Night, Good Knight by Shelley Moore Thomas, illustrated by Jennifer Plecas

Rating: 5 stars

I don't want to toot my own horn, but I'm a pretty good reader of children's books.  But this book is especially fun to read--it has wonderful, rhythmic prose that repeats itself in just the right way to make the book a tiny bit suspenseful.  A mini what's-going-to-happen-next tale involving a brave knight and three dragons...and a homonym to boot!  What more could you really ask for in a bedtime (or anytime) book?

Here's the story: A good knight is on watch and hears a roar, and goes to check it out.  It's a dragon, needing a glass of water.  He's confused but, since he's a good knight, he provides the refreshing sips and returns to his post.  And hears another roar.  It's another dragon, needing a bedtime story.  He's confused but, since he's a good knight, he reads a story and returns to his post.  And then he hears another roar, and goes to check it out.  It's a third dragon, needing a bedtime song.  He's confused but, you guessed it, a good knight so he sings a lullaby and returns to his post.  Only to hear a fourth and final roar and he goes to check it out.

He tries to guess what these silly little dragons need.

Another glass of water?  Nope.

Another bedtime story?  Nah.

Another song?  Not that either.

Three green, scaly, puckered dragon lips turn to him.  A good-night kiss!  He'sSo he smooches the dragons, waits until the roars turn to snores, and wearily tucks himself in for the night.

This is a great little book, an above-average fun read for both big reader and little listener.  Definitely a great book for your shelf.

Good Night, Good Night, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

 Good Night, Good Night, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

Rating: 5 stars

This book made me realize that I must rethink my methods of discipline.  Lorelei and Ben are very good kids who sometimes need to take a few minutes or take a few deep breaths before returning to the fun. But the only thing I really take away from them if they are naughty is one of their two bedtime books.

"One more time and you lose a book!" I'll say.  It seems pretty ludicrous even to type it, but it almost always works.  They really love bedtime books, and I love to end the day this way.  I'm lucky that bedtime is a really nice time of day for us, full of giggles and stories and wrestling-into-pajamas and cozying up to read a book or two or three.

With Ben especially I love this time--he's a cute kid, but when his dragon bath towel is pulled over his head, clean for the first time since waking up...  He's SUPER cute.  And he makes my heart melt.

The other night he chose this book, and as he sat in my lap, wanting one arm around him while the other turned the pages, I realized I can't take this part of the day away.  It'll be gone way too soon.

And this book is a really, really great one, especially for boys whose special talents do not include quieting their body when their body needs to be quieted.  Know any lad like this?  This book is about construction vehicles (you knew that already) who are tough and hard-working by day.  But, when the sun starts to go down, they know it's time to wash up and tuck in.  Take Crane Truck:

Reaching, stretching, lifting high,
He swings the beam into the sky.
He'll set it down right on its mark,
Then off to bed; it's almost dark.

The words in this book are really, really wonderful--sweet and calming.

But the pictures!  Lichtenheld's talent shines.  He somehow manages to make these tough vehicles muscley and brawny by day and then...adorable by night.  Crane Truck holds a little teddy bear in his arms of steel.  Cement Mixer throws a tiny blankie over his big body.  Bulldozer keeps his neighbors awake with his snores.  I love this message to boys: You can be tough, and tender, too.

I bought this book for Ben after we checked it out from the library.  It's a book I want on his shelf for as long as possible, so at the end of each and every day we can focus on only the sweet parts of him, of us, of our day.

I Will Not Read This Book by Cece Meng, illustrated by Joy Ang

I Will Not Read This Book by Cece Meng, illustrated by Joy Ang

Rating: 3 stars

Clearly this author knows kids, and she wanted a book that would sell.  She knew that if she told kids not to do something they would do it.  Has she met Ben?  Hmmm...

This book has a bunch of really cute illustrations about a boy doing anything but getting to the book-readin' time of night.  He stalls in some creative ways, using different parts of his room as fodder for his procrastination, but in the end finally realizes that he wants his mom to read the book with him.

That's it.  Not much more, really.  Cute, but no huge story to explain or think about or anything...

I think this was my most succinct review ever!

Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace

Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace

Rating: 5 witty stars

Things to know about me:

1.  I really love owls.  We are lucky enough to live in the woods, and I hear owls most nights, and sometimes even see them, swooping between the trees, grabbing a snake or squirrel, or just peering down at me as I walk my dogs.  Their hoots are magical.

2.  I think humor is sometimes a tough thing to accomplish in children's books.  Slapstick stuff is fairly easy--throw the word "underpants" in and you could make my kids roar in approval--but the real wit takes talent.

3.  I am really easily amused (I crack myself up all day long, doing things like putting Kiefer in Christmas pajamas in June to make me chuckle), so maybe this book isn't as witty as I think it is.  You read it and decide.  Let me know if I'm delusional.

Okay, now the book.

Little Hoot is an owl that does things that all little kids do--play hide-n-seek, go to school, practice staring (okay, I don't practice this one, but Little Hoot's stares are pretty funny).  But one thing set him apart: bedtime.  All of his friends get to go to bed much earlier, but he is forced to stay up and play.  "It's not fair!" he complains with groggy eyes, pajamas already on, blankie in hand.  Instead of going to sleep like he wants to, his parents make him go play for one more hour.

"Can I stop playing now?" pleaded Little Hoot.

"When I grow up, I'm going to let my kids
go to bed as early as they want."

"Ten more minutes of playing, Mister.  And please don't ask me again."
"Alright," the young owl scowled.

Finally he gets to go to bed.  He hoots in delight!  He jumps into bed and tucks himself in, and before his mom can read him the nine novels (think War and Peace size) she's carrying and before he can drink the giant glass of water his father is carrying, he's fast asleep.

Lorelei and Ben and I laughed out loud at this.  It is so funny!  It's like a test of your children's humor.  Do they get it?  Do they realize how funny it is to make a little kid/owl stay up late when he wants to go to bed?


Okay, I think you have to read it to fully get it.  But it's so witty and worthwhile.  Check out all three of Rosenthal's books in this series--there is the original Little Pea (the pea is forced to eat candy for dinner but delights in spinach for dessert) and Little Oink (the pig is told to be messy when all he wants to do is be neat).  Treasures, all.  At least me and my kids think so.

Polo: The Runaway Book by Regis Faller

Polo: The Runaway Book by Regis Faller

Rating: 5 (is 6 possible?) stars

All right, regarding me wanting to add a sixth star, there are definitely some better children's books out there--this is not our for-all-time, no-joke-about-it favorite book ever.  BUT the creativity in this book just knocks my socks off!  I'm really, really impressed and just am thankful that my kids and their budding imaginations can be inspired by this Regis Faller guy.

In case you're reading this from some warm place, it's been cold here in the US.  Really cold.  Northern Virginia usually has mild winters with 2 or 3 snowstorms that provide 3-8 inches with each storm.  And you can almost always count on a few random warm "relief" days during each winter month.

This year?  Not so much.  Today was the second day we reached 50 degrees since early December.  It has been C-O-L-D.  And then, last week, we got 8 inches of snow dumped on us.  School closed for three days, then we had a weekend, followed by two teacher workdays. That's SEVEN days home, in a row.  With temps so low it was tough to go out for longer than 15 minutes.  Add to that a case of pink eye (Lorelei) and strep butt (Ben).  Yes, you read that right.  Who knew it could appear in a place other than your throat?  Well, now you know.


Polo reads his book, before it gets snatched away!

 But we survived.  Thanks to the 47 books we checked out from the library the night before the snow fell!  We almost hit our 50 book limit!

What books do you want in your house, on your shelf, when you're snowed in?  This is actually a fun and useful question to me these days, in a nerdy sort of way of course.  And, getting back to the book I'm supposed to be writing about, this book is THE BOOK you want.  Actually, next time you see your local weather people ringing the alarm bells on a storm, just order up all of Regis Faller's books so you have them.  They are all wordless and so interesting--sometimes touching on Alice in Wonderland bizarre--and kids can "read" them by themselves.  About once a day, Lorelei would spend 5-10 minutes with this big book on her lap, following Polo with her finger, sometimes telling the story out loud to herself, or to one of the big sleeping weimaraners next to her.

Here's the thing about all the Polo books--they are all great, but this one and The Adventures of Polo are the longest by far--maybe three times the length of the others--so they make the best purchases if you're going to buy one for yourself or as a gift.

Dinosaurumpus! by Tony Mitton

Dinosaurumpus! by Tony Mitton, illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees

Rating: 5 stars

I give up.  I think I'm going to hand over my blog to my friend Beth, whose book recommendations are out of this world.  Maybe just maybe she'd like to add some of her own posts...with her critic Julia at her side...?!

This book is The Best Dinosaur Book we've read.  Hand's down!  Every time we read it one or both of the kids are bobbing their heads and tapping their feet (or fork, which I try not to encourage!) and we end up turning whatever floor is nearby in a dance floor.  This is a shake-your-bootie book with an awesome rhythm and a "chorus" that Lorelei knew by heart after a few reads:

"Shake, shake, shudder / near the sludgy old swamp. / Everybody's doing / the dinosaur romp!"

Mitton introduces a few dinosaurs--the old faithfuls, triceratops and T-rex and stegosaurus--and throws in some new ones just to make me stop and wonder how the heck to pronounce them: deinosuchus, apotosaurus, deinonychuses (not a typo--it's different from the first one on this hard-to-say list).  But really the best thing about the book is the beat, not the main characters (though dancing like dinosaurs is pretty fun, so Mitton was pretty smart...I mean, sometimes we like to dance gracefully like flamingos, but stomping around like crazy is the best!).

Oh--and the book is illustrated by the same guy who illustrated Giraffes Can't Dance, which is one of our family's favorite books ever.  The dinosaurs all have huge grins on their faces and are really bustin' a move on their dusty dance floor.

My favorite part about this book, though, is the end.  I'm just a sucker for sleepy beasts, and this book ends with all the dinosaurs getting tuckered out and falling asleep in one big reptile heap.  I love my kids like crazy, but I really like them asleep, too.

I know my nieces are going to LOVE this one.  I'm so excited to read it with them!

Bless Me: A Child's Good Night Prayer by Grace Maccarone

Bless Me: A Child's Good Night Prayer by Grace Maccarone, illustrated by Sam Williams

Rating: 5 stars

I recently gave rave reviews to the book Miss Lina's Ballerinas, and every time I read that book to Lorelei I kept thinking, "Man, I know Grace Maccarone wrote something else I like."  Tonight I realized this book is it! 

I really love this book.  There are a handful of books that are wonderful good night books, but this one is near the top of the list...maybe the very top?  I'd have to think hard about that...but I keep meaning to post some "list" posts of some favorites...it's on my to-do list...

Anyway, this book is a little religious, which is perfect in our family.  It's a soft, quiet rhyme blessing a handful of things in a child's life: cars, chairs, bears, mouse, dollhouse, toes, head, and finally "Bless the water, earth, and air / Bless the children everywhere."  The illustrations are perfect--some stuff to look at, but not too many things to distract a child at the all important time in a parent's life: bedtime.

This is an off-the-beaten-path book, which I think make it a great gift for the birth of a baby or a 1 to 2 year old.  That's when Grammy gave it to Ben!  And I just read it to him (and his pink pajama-ed big sister, who gave him a priceless hug and kiss before leaving the room with me) an hour ago.

Race You to Bed by Bob Shea

Race You to Bed by Bob Shea

Rating: 3 stars

Lorelei and Ben would be more generous with their stars...they like this book a bit more than I do.  I think it's the image that I have a problem with: Race you to bed!  Ready, set, go!  Faster, faster!  I mean, I've tried for over three years to create a pretty successful, mostly calm (splashing not included) bedtime routine that actually does not involve a race.

But this book is catchy with its nonsensical rhyme "Sneeze to bed! / Grilled cheese to bed! / Angry, angry bees to bed!"  It is so random in a way that makes me wonder but makes my kids giggle.  On the "Clang to bed... / bang to bed... / bring a BRING-BRANG-BRUNG to bed!" the bunny plays the nosiest instruments known to mankind...on the way to...bed?  I always ask, "Would Mommy let you take these things to bed?"  Both kids: "Nooooo!"  I'm a party pooper like that.

But I do like the ending.  The bunny gets to bed: "Looks like I beat you! / Beat you to bed!" and then with a startled look: "Oh, you're already in bed? / You were way up ahead? ? Okay then, race you to sleep!"

I like that kind of race.  Can I get in on that?

I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll

I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll, illustrated by Howard McWilliam

Rating: 4 stars

I can't believe Lorelei likes this book.  I actually checked it out from the library because I was curious about a book that would encourage the idea that monsters are under the bed.  I hid it from the kids for a week or two, but they found it on the dining room table.  I need a better hiding spot.

Here's the gist of the story: The little boy you see peeking under his bed is looking for his monster, but instead he finds a note: "Gone fishing.  Back in a week.  Gabe."  A week!  Without a monster!?  The little boy can't sleep without a monster for a whole week!  So he calls on (the monster world?!) and five monsters appear, one at a time, to "interview" for the position.  The little boy finds fault with each of them: The first doesn't have scary claws, the second paints his fingernails, the third is a girl (Lorelei's favorite line: "Boy monsters are for boys and girl monsters are for girls!"), and the fourth is too funny to be scary.  Finally, Gabe reappears and, after some threats to eat his toes if he lets them fall to the floor, the little boy drifts off into a contented sleep.

Lorelei thinks the book is hilarious!  I can't believe it.  But I don't think I'd ever read this to her as a bedtime story, though I bet a lot of parents do...

The author got the idea for the book when her fourth child was born.  Her third child just wouldn't go to bed, and, during what she called "not her finest parenting moment," she wished that she could put a monster under her third child's bed so that she'd stay put.  I love that the author is from Spanaway, Washington, a little town sorta near Tacoma, on the way to my beloved Mount Rainier.  We have dear friends in Spanaway.  I wonder if they have ever run into Amanda Noll?  I'll have to ask!

Goldilocks and the Three Bears retold by Jan Brett

Goldilocks and the Three Bears retold by Jan Brett

Rating: 3.5 stars

There are some books that seem to just check a block.  Take Goldilocks.  I had to run a Google search (to avoid any critical thought) to find out exactly why this tale has lasted so long, and why I feel compelled to make sure Lorelei knows the story before school.  Google never lets me down. 

Here's the deal: In the mid-19th century, the story was of three bears and an old lady who trespassed on their property.  It was a "fearsome oral tale" which probably wouldn't be appropriate for our toddlers today who are, thankfully, sheltered from gruesome anything (except when they walk in the room when my husband is watching Ultimate Fighter).  Within a few decades the old lady morphed into a beautiful young girl and three bears turned into mostly kind animals rather than scary beasts.  I guess one of the lessons to draw from "one of the most popular tales in English literature" isn't included in Jan Brett's version: after the wee, little bear wakes up Goldilocks and she runs away into the forest, she vows to be a good little girl forever after.

Shoot.  Now Lorelei won't realize that she's supposed to be a good little girl forever after.  I have failed!

Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of the story, but Jan Brett is one talented artist.  I actually think all of her books are flawed, some more than others, but they are worth reading because of the beautiful pictures.  She always draws borders around his pages, and the borders are filled with loads of little tidbits to uncover, clues as to what is on the next page, and just details upon details.  The pages of this book are just a testing ground for Lorelei and Ben's observation skills.  And they fare pretty well!

If you're interested, Jan Brett has heaps of neat (and free) activities and coloring pages on her website.