Please Please the Bees by Gerald Kelley

Please Please the Bees by Gerald Kelley
Albert Whitman and Company

Rating: I'd like to give it a 6!

I have 51 books checked out from our local library right now. We brought about half of them to the Oregon Coast last weekend--the hardback library picture books were augmented by paperbacks from our own children's library in an unsuccessful attempt to make my giant library bag a little lighter. Of all those books, this one is my favorite right now.

Meet Benedict. He's a simple bear. A creature of habit. Every morning, he wakes up at the same time. He stretches and yawns, opens his door, and collects the three jars of honey the bees deliver each day.

To fuel his day, he has toast with honey and tea with extra honey. Then he sets off practicing violin, baking honey cake, knitting, and running errands.

Until one day when there are no jars of honey on his doorstep. Instead, he sees dozens of bees, flying and steadying signs: "ON STRIKE!" No more honey. Benedict is beside himself. He doesn't know what to do, but he knows his days are impossible without his honey.

A bee buzzes up to him: "We need to talk!"

Benedict: "Talk? Humph! I let you all live in my yard. All I ask is for a few jars of honey. You should be grateful. Not go on strike!"

Bee: "A few jars? Buddy, we deliver three jars of honey to you every day. Every month! Every year! Do the math, Einstein!"

Benedict even learned how to harvest honey. 

At that moment, a lightbulb in Benedict's fuzzy bear head lights up. And he gets it. And as the bee explains the poor working conditions, high demands, the number of queen bees that have quit, and how many miles and miles they have to fly to find enough flowers to make their honey, Benedict understands the problem even more. At first, he's not sure what to do, although he knows--he agrees with the bee--that change is necessary. Then Benedict does some research, a little shopping, and a LOT of work.

The result? A spruced-up hive and a new plan of action where Benedict does a lot of the work himself. The bees drop their "ON STRIKE!" signs and get back to work.

The bigger result? A children's book that is up there with the great and clever classic Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type--both that book and this one apply a complex, usually-adult subject to a children's book in just the right way. Gerard Kelley created a book to put in the laps of children that inspires and teaches about the importance of taking care of the world's bees. But this book's illustrations go beyond Click, Clack, Moo...the illustrations of Please Please The Bees are sweet and gorgeous, clever and funny. They are downright perfect.

I only wish there was an author's note or resources on the back to show young readers what they can do to "please the bees!" But the Honeybee Conservancy has some ideas. Click HERE for them, right after you head to your local independent bookstore to buy this book.

Hope Springs by Eric Walters

Hope Springs by Eric Walters, illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Tundra

Rating: 4.5 stars

The Mbooni District in Kenya is a village far away from our Washington, D.C., suburbs. Hope Springs takes place in that distant, dusty village. It's a story about how people confront the reality of scarce resources, specifically, what does a community do when there is limited water during a drought?

In the story, three children trot off down the hill to a small spring which serves as the lone source of water in the village. Empty water containers bounce along with them. Boniface, Mueni and Charles place their water containers in a long line of containers and begin to play while they wait for their turn at the spring.

A group of angry women comes over to them and interrupts their play. The women shout at them, accusing them of stealing water that is not rightfully theirs. The children might live in the village now, because they reside at the orphanage, but because their families are not from this village, the women believe they should not get any water. They kick the kids’ containers out of line and tell them to leave. Frightened and intimidated, the children run off.

Back up the hill in the orphanage, Boniface, the oldest boy and main character, discusses the specific incident and circumstances of the drought with the houseparents. The houseparents explain that the women acted out of fear more than aggression. The women are afraid there will be no water—and therefore no life—for their own families, their own children. The orphanage is digging their own well, the houseparents explain to Boniface; soon, they will have enough water and no need to visit the overcrowded spring.

And, despite the uncertainty of what one finds under our feet, the orphanage soon has a well and does not need to go to the community water hole. Instead of celebrating, Boniface is bothered by the fact that the orphanage has more water than the rest of the community. Despite the fact that the women from the village were so mean to him, he believes the orphanage should help them and their families.

The houseparents, moved by Boniface’s generosity and kindness, agree—and they insist on letting Boniface himself lead the discussion with the villagers. Boniface gulps down his own fear and finds the right words. Soon, with hard work and teamwork, the villagers turn the little spring into a deep well. Because of the kindness of one boy named Boniface, there was water, and, therefore, life—for everyone. And there still is.

This is a story based on a real event. This fact floored my children, who have recently lived through water issues in our own home and, because of that, can appreciate the fear of living without water and the need for a new well. The characters are based on real children and photographs of them are in the afterward. My second grader was in awe, and I, a former Peace Corps Volunteer, wonder how this story might creep into her clever brain and big heart and inspire her.

If you want to shrink the world, open up a book. If you want your child to visit a world far away from his or her own, or begin to understand that some children’s days are very different, get a book like Hope Springs into your childrens’ hands. You never know what might happen.

This book was originally reviewed for Washington FAMILY Magazine. To see the original review, please click HERE.

The Night World by Mordicai Gerstein

The Night World by Mordicai Gerstein
Little, Brown and Company

Rating: 5 stars

I read this book just a few days after our family camped out together for the very first time. At my husband's suggestion, he and the kids slept "under the stars"--which meant on top of a tarp, on a thin camping pad, inside their sleeping bags. But under nothing else. I slept in the tent he'd already set up, thinking someone would join me during the night. But no one did.

The kids were excited, and though we have good kids who like a good adventure, I was still surprised that there was no complaining during the two hours it took for them to fall asleep. For kids who normally go inside and up to bed around 7:30, there was a whole lot to see. Night unfolded in acts: bats flew erratically over them, birds chirped loudly, fireflies flashed on and off, the sky darkened, the birds stopped singing, stars began to shine. The fell asleep sometime around 9:30, and slept solidly until they all awoke, wet with dew, the next morning.

They fell asleep at the beginning of The Night World, looking at a sky very similar to the sky at which the boy on the cover gazes. In the book, a cat, Sylvie, wakes the boy, wanting to go out. The two of them creep through the house--dark bodies in dark rooms, with only the words on the pages and their eyes bright white.

Sylvie says mysteriously, "It's coming. Hurry!" as the two creep along. The reader starts to wonder, starts to get pulled into the mystery just as the boy does. They walk outside to the deliciously wet, quiet, and dark world. The white stars glitter off the page.

The glow flares above the trees.
Clouds turn pink and orange.

They see parts of the night, but they also see animals, who are just as excited about what is about to happen. "It's almost time!" they cry out.

The animals and the boy become the audience for what happens, the same thing that happens every morning, the same miracle we witness, the same gift we're given... The sky lightens gradually, casting shadows on the animals, a glow forms, and the clouds become rich with color. As the animals begin to slip away, just the boy and Sylvie remain to absorb dawn's first, magical light.

They say good morning to each other, filled with sunshine and hope and eagerness for the day ahead.

I love how Gerstein creates an entire story around the magic of a sunrise. Having just seen my three kids' enthusiasm while watching day turn into night, I know it's no exaggeration that kids believe in the beauty of a simple, daily act of nature.

Subway Story by Julia Sarcone-Roach

Subway Story by Julia Sarcone-Roach
Random House Children's Books

Rating: 5 stars

A few weeks ago we read and I blogged about Julia Sarcone-Roach's recent picture book, The Bear Ate Your Sandwich. As I often do, I was so impressed with that book that I checked out every other book our library system had by her. This was how we came across Subway Story. We've had it at home for about a week; I think I've read it out loud about two dozen times. Truly. I'm not exaggerating. My kids (and I) just love it.

Here's the story: Jessie is a subway car "born" in St. Louis, MO, then shopped to New York for a long, busy, productive career ferrying people to and from, from and to. For decades, she takes people and their belongings all across the city. She gets fixed up from time to time, but Jessie is happiest to be on the rails, working hard in her beloved city.

I love how this illustration shows time passing...

Then, something happens that happens to all of us: she ages. She gets outdated. After a few band-aid fixes, she gets pulled into the shop. Jessie quickly realizes that she's not getting fixed up--she's getting taken apart. Sure enough, some workers are stripping her of bolts and chains, seats and screws. She's put on a barge with a bunch of other nervous-looking, outdated subway cars and taken out to sea.

When they are in what seems to be the middle of the ocean, the cars get dumped into the water, one at a time. I admit my kids were a little horrified to see Jessie plunge down, down, down into the deep water and PLUNK heavily at the bottom.

But soon (probably a teensy bit faster than in real life), one fish comes. Then another, and another, and then a whole school of fish. Coral come to attach themselves to poles once gripped by sleepy commuters. Turtles and dolphins stop by and visit.

Jessie once served a city; now a whole city lives inside of her.

The eloquent and spot-on Horn Book reviewer had this to say (quote and more information, including many more illustrations, found here, in this interview with Sarcone-Roach):

Sarcone-Roach displays a discipline not always seen in books about the environment; she allows her theme of reuse and recycling to emerge naturally from a fine story and lets readers draw their own conclusions without adding a heavy-handed one of her own.

I wish I could get inside my kids' brains to understand what about this story so captivates them. Three times this week I've read it to Kiefer, then walked with it to Ben's room and read it to him. (We read separately--not incredibly efficient but allows me some time with each kid at the end of the day.) Is it the unexpected ending? Is it the fact that this is based on a true story? Is it the city landscape, something that is cool but foreign to them? Is it the magical way the fish and coral and other sea creatures cover Jessie at the end? Whatever it is, they LOVE the book.

And, despite the fact that we don't need another book in this house, I bought it. It just had to be a part of our collection of books for now, and forever.

(Such a dramatic ending! I feel like I need theme music or something.)

P.S. Here's an image from real life to show your kids, and click HERE for a little bit of background, too.

Mama Built A Little Nest by Jennifer Ward

Mama Built A Little Nest by Jennifer Ward, illustrated by Steve Jenkins

Rating: 5 stars

If you've got a nature-loving kid somewhere near you, this book needs to be in his or her hands. We were all blown away by how many facts we learned from a book that appeared to be a simple rhyme with gorgeous illustrations.

Ward gives us a gift of a book jam-packed with great information about a bunch of different birds--from the more well-known emperor penguin and falcons to more unique birds such as the weaverbird (the yellow bird pictured on the cover), falcon, grebe, and shorebird.

This is a grow-with-me book, or a book for a household like ours--with one strong, curious reader; one emerging, interested reader; and one bird-loving, letter-finder. On each two-page spread is a succinct, one-stanza rhyme about the bird illustrated on the page. There are also several sentences about the bird written in a smaller, different font for readers like Lorelei to read on her own or for me to read to Ben (he can read most of the words in the actual poem himself).

Mama built a little nest / inside a sturdy trunk.
She used her beak to tap-tap-tap / the perfect place to bunk.

Each page not only shows the reader what the bird looks like, but what the nest is like. The diversity of each bird--from what it looks like to how it makes its nest--impressed me greatly and was fun to point out to my kids. The birds and their neat nests grabbed my kids' attention and set off their imaginations.

Here are some of my favorite facts about the birds and their nests in this book:

• A hummingbird makes the smallest cup-shaped nest out of spiderwebs so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow.
• The male cactus wren makes many dome-shaped nests to attract a female. If impressed, the female will choose one and then continue to add to its structure.
• Grebes create a floating nest on the water and anchor it to water plants.
• The swiftlet makes an edible nest (!!) using tube-shaped saliva, which hardens in the air. Swiftlet nests are used in bird's nest soup, a Chinese delicacy.

My kids love this type of bird feeder!

This is a wonderful, one-of-a-kind book that pairs nicely with the kind of bird feeder we have attached to our window...click HERE for link to purchase.

A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz

A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz, illustrated by Cátia Chien

Rating: 5 stars

Once upon a time, a little boy about four years old walked with his father to the Bronx Zoo. This boy stood in front of the cage of a giant, wild jaguar. The jaguar paced before the boy, seeming frustrated at his confined situation.

The boy understood how the jaguar felt. He was a stutterer; thoughts were confined to his head, unable to get out. Usually when he tried to "use his words" he grew red in the face and his body convulsed with the his inability to transform his thoughts into coherent sounds and launch them successfully into the conversation.

But today, in front of this great cat, he whispered without a single stutter, "One day, if I figure out how to speak, I will speak for you, too." There was something magical between them. With this wild creature, he could speak.

On the days between visits to that jaguar in the Bronx Zoo, the little boy endured harsh sentences--he heard grown-ups tell him he was broken, and he was sent to a school for disturbed children. Like that jaguar, he felt caged and misunderstood.

"If I try to push words out, my head and body shake uncontrollably."

Years went by and this little boy grew up and went to college in an experimental program that embraced his debilitating stutter, and grown ups encouraged him to be a "fluent stutterer." He worked hard to finally speak without stuttering. He found his voice.

But he still feels broken on the inside, still feels damaged and different and unsure how to use that voice. He studies black bears in the Great Smoky Mountains, then travels to Belize to study jaguars. He starts to feel connected to his voice, and he wants to use it to fulfill the promise he made to that one jaguar on that one day so long ago.

He begins to follow and capture jaguars for study before releasing them. He successfully argues for the world's first and only jaguar wildlife preserve. He becomes Dr. Alan Rabinowitz: a zoologist, a conservationist, a passionate advocate for the 36 big cat species of the world, what Time calls the "Indiana Jones of Wildlife Conservation." And today, he says he is grateful for his stuttering, because that disability led him to what he is most passionate about: jaguars.

This is an incredibly moving true story about working hard, keeping promises, finding your passion, and making the world a better place.

P.S. The illustrations by Cátia Chien are phenomenal, too!

The Tarantula in My Purse: and 172 Other Wild Pets by Jean Craighead George

The Tarantula in My Purse: and 172 Other Wild Pets by Jean Craighead George

Rating: 5 stars

I went on a trip last week, and left this book for Lorelei with a Post-It stuck onto it: "DO NOT read this book! Mrs. George is MUCH nicer than your mom! She lets her kids bring any and every animal they want into their home as a pet!  Your mom is not that nice.  Do NOT read this--you'll get too many great ideas!"

She read the book (of course). And loved it.

That's right: Jean Craighead George was a much more tolerant, patient, encouraging mother than I am. She tolerated--no, encouraged!--her three children to bring home and keep home anything and everything they found in the wild. Crows. Skunks. Frogs. Fish. Ducks. Geese. Lots of birds. And yes, even a tarantula.

Because George herself had this sort of upbringing, it was second-nature to her.  So I guess I could blame my dear mom and dad, but...I try not to throw them under the bus unless it's absolutely necessary.

Each short little chapter is about a different pet the George family had, and little quirks and idiosyncrasies about that particular animal and/or that particular pet. It is not overly scientific, and I think that's a really great thing. Instead, there are heaps of small bits of information about the behavior of wildlife that the family learned first-hand simply by observing the animal over an extended period of time. They just wrote down what they observed, and oftentimes George would also provided background about the animal's behavior that she had learned through research while writing one of her many nature books.  (She is the author of more than 100 books, including Julie of the Wolves and, my childhood favorite, My Side of the Mountain.)

This was a great, fun read for me, but also very appropriate for any animal-loving kid. It would be a great read-aloud book as kids wonder "What if we had a ___ for a pet?!" Appropriate for any age at all--just be ready for some wild pet suggestions!

--

P.S. I heard about this book through the for-adults book The Book Whisperer, which is full of ideas on how to get kids to read more and also has a ton of middle-grade great book suggestions in it.

P.P.S. One fun exercise to do with this book is to read this book together (or, like Lorelei and I did, separate) and then read the I Can Read It book Goose and Duck, which is a cute little fictional story that you quickly find out in the book is based on a totally true story. What a need example of how to come up with a fiction story with a true story, and how you write what you know!

The Tree Lady by H. Joseph Hopkins

The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins, illustrated by Jill McElmurry

Rating: 5 stars

Katherine Olivia Sessions lived in Northern California in the 1860s.  In a time when girls were supposed to be prim and proper, clean and courteous, Kate roamed the redwoods, collected pine needles, and got dirty.

(Don't you like her already?)

She was one of few girls interested in science, and she left home to study plants and soil and water at the University of California.  In 1881, she and a handful of other women held a degree in science.

(Hooray for Kate!)

She moved to Southern California, to San Diego, for a job after graduation.  Unlike her childhood in the north, she was now surrounded by desert and a landscape without trees.  She was a teacher at a local school for a few years, but missed science.  She missed trees, too.  She became determined to find trees to grow in her new home. Few believed this was possible.

(Kate had determination and faith and smarts…enough to solve any problem.)

Her friends worried Kate wouldn't find trees to live in dry
soil with lots and lots of sunshine.
But she did.

It took years of tree hunting to find trees that would grow, but found trees, planted trees, and then opened a nursery to sell trees. All of the trees grew, enriched the landscape, and made city leaders believe that Balboa Park needed trees to become a better setting for a fair that would soon be held there. They turned to Kate, and Kate turned to the community for volunteers to help.  Together, they planted trees and created a lush backdrop for the fair.

I admit that I got this book and a few others like it at the start of Lorelei's nature science camp as further inspiration for her curiosity and interest in the camp.  I read a while back that around the age of seven, girls have a significant decline in their interest of science and math.  Something happens, and I'm not expert enough to understand the nuances of how girls act in school in these subjects in most schools, or what happens psychologically as girls develop and approach things that are Typically Boy and Typically Girl.

But.

I do know that I have a daughter who gasped at the cover of this book and said, "That could be me!" before even opening it.  She identified with Kate Sessions; both girls find solace and wonder among nature and trees.  Both are curious and capable, and care enough about things besides themselves to make a difference in others' lives.  So yes, I want this book lying around to quietly and beautifully remind Lorelei: Individuals matter.  And girls can do great things.

(I believe that Lorelei can.  And will!)

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

Rating: 4 stars

This week Lorelei and Ben are at camp.  A camp that requires a bus.  A bus that will need to be ridden every day, starting in the fall.  As a rising second grader, Lorelei has been riding this bus for two years.  She's a book-wielding, bus-riding pro.  Ben, as a rising kindergartener, is a newbie. A rookie. And Ben was nervous for his first bus ride on this first day of camp.  As he matures, the hump he needs to get over before he's comfortable and confident decreases in size, but…it's still there.

On Monday morning he came down in his pajama bottoms, a bare chest, and a very wobbly chin.

"I'm scared, Mommy," he confessed, his eyes full of tears.  I gave him a hug, told him it was normal to feel scared on the first day of anything.  I had opened the door to the deck, letting in the sounds of a spring morning fill the space in which I was sitting and writing.  "Can I go outside?" he asked.  I nodded.

We are lucky to live in the woods, surrounded by tall trees that house loudly chirping birds.  I don't know what Ben did out there with only pajama bottoms and without shoes, but he came back in ten minutes later with a smile on.

We must have some magic trees that sprinkled some of their calming magic down on my nervous Ben.  It makes me smile now, just a few days later, to remember how quick was the transformation, how trees really did help get him to a better mood. I'm grateful that somehow this book now houses this memory inside its pages.

Tap the Magic Tree is a beautiful book, about a subject we love: trees.  I snatched it right up when I saw it in the library, eager to find out more about it. Flipping through it, I saw it was most likely inspired by Press Here, the wildly successful and truly wonderful book that's been on the New York Times best seller list for--get this--144 weeks.  And that made me skeptical of Tap the Magic Tree.

But I needn't have been.  The morning after Ben's nervous bus debut (which was wildly successful!), my trio and I sat outside for breakfast, surrounded by acres of tall, tall trees, and read this book together.    I wasn't sure it would work--Press Here is a lap book for one, really, not a circle-time book for a crowd--but it did work, and really well!

Matheson instructs us to tap the bare brown tree, then tap it thrice, then tap it many times, and as I turned the pages, the bare brown tree has more and more leaves on it.  When the kids "rubbed the tree to make it warm," buds appeared.  Instructions helped us help the tree to mature the buds to blossoms and then apples, then watch the apples fall, the leaves turn autumnal colors, then fall, then make snow…  You get the idea.

It worked, and worked well.  Especially for the three younger book lovers at the table who didn't start out skeptical at all.  We watched together the magical transformation of a single tree through the seasons, including pajama-clad Ben whose own magical transformation happened just the morning before!

Some Bugs by Angela Diterlizzi

Some Bugs by Angela Diterlizzi, illustrated by Brendan Wenzel

Rating: 5 stars

This book is one, big, deliciously illustrated invitation for your kid to arm herself with curiosity, go outside, and search for some bugs.  As long as she doesn't get too close to a stinging type of bug, what's not to love about that?!

From first glance, I was in love with this book.  Wenzel's illustrations are bright and fun and he somehow gives the cover and pages a sense of movement with all these bugs. He balances perfectly the fine line between real bugs and cartoon-like character bugs.  Kids have a real sense of what the real bug looks like, but it's still cuter and more approachable than in real life.  His work completely shines here.

Some bugs click. Some bugs sing.

The story really doesn't have the rise and fall and resolution story that we hold up as The Way To Go. There's not much story at all--but that works in this concept book.  This book is simply one about a single subject: bugs (as if that's news at this point). "Some bugs sting. Some bugs bite. Some bugs stink."  The words are sparse--but we found ourselves lingering on each page to make sure our eyes saw all there was to see.

Until you get to the end, that is, and then there's a flurry of words:

Stinging, biting, stinking, fighting,
hopping, gliding, swimming, hiding,
building, making, hunting, taking,
bugs are oh-so-fascinating!
So kneel down close, look very hard,
and find some bugs in your backyard!

The final page is this, a vibrant field guide to all the bugs introduced in the book:

A great book for summer.  Pair it with a big magnifying glass and an hour or two, and you've got yourself a nice way to spend an afternoon!

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Camping Primer by Jennifer Adams

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Camping Primer by Jennifer Adams, illustrated by Alison Oliver

Rating: 5 stars

In typical Kate fashion, I purchased a bunch of books for a baby born to my husband's colleague that I actually wanted to read first.  I've been careful with the book, but I need to get this review out soon or the baby will be three years old before I get it to him!

This is another in the BabyLit series of books by Jennifer Adams, and it makes me realize: There are some good options for boys in here. I mean, some GREAT options for boys.  This one might just be my favorite of all this clever little board books!

Each page has one word on it, one word that introduces a part of camping, followed by a quotation from Huckleberry Finn that describes that word.  For example:

RIVERBANK "I laid there in the grass and the cool shade thinking about things."
RIVER  "I'd go down the river about fifty mile and camp."
FRIENDS  "We took my canoe and went over the river a-fishing."
FISHING LINE  "Then I set out a line to catch some fish."

"Everything we had in the world was on our raft."

The reader puts together these little pieces and has a nice image of what a nice camping trip might feel like--not just look like, not just sound like, but feel like.

And the images of Huckleberry and Jim with their opposite skin color but same certain stroke, same grins, same ease, same contentedness lying on the green grass…  It's just priceless stuff for some of a baby's first images.

Another neat book by Jennifer Adams.  And now I'll be going…to reread Huckleberry Finn...

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.

E-I-E-I-O: How Old MacDonald Got His Farm (With a Little Help from Hen) by Judy Sierra

E-I-E-I-O: How Old MacDonald Got His Farm (With a Little Help from Hen) by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Matthew Myers

Rating: 4 stars

Now, just in time for Spring planting, we get the real scoop on Old MacDonald and that farm of his.

It turns out, all he had at the beginning was a house.  With a pretty big yard.  That needed a lot of mowing.  It needed so much mowing that that MacDonald guy decided to retire his mower and get a goat.  But the goat clearly had obedience issues: he ate the bushes instead.  MacDonald got smart and got a chicken.  Turns out, the chicken was top-notch and had a lot of good ideas about this yard of his.

She suggested to him that they tear up the grass.  No more mowing?  MacDonald was IN!  Then add lots of stuff to that muddy pit--trash, his own clothes, what he was eating...anything and everything goes in.  Even poop!  And finally, a warm worm family to make something of the mess.

"I love my yard / But mowing grass is mighty hard."

During this smelly process, illustrator Matthew Myers shows us protestors and complainers and haters (just to use slang as if I'm cooler than I am) in the background.  They complain about whatever he is doing: they hate how he doesn't keep his yard nicely mowed, they write picket signs as the yard turns into a brown mess, and they hold those signs even higher when the hen directs MacDonald to add horse manure and mix well.

You've probably seen what's coming: With all the ingredients already added, the worms create compost from this muddy, stinky pit.  Because the next thing he adds is seeds.  All sorts of seeds.  Myers gives us readers a fantastic over-and-under the ground illustration of carrots, beets, potatoes, onions as they use that soil to grow bigger and richer.  MacDonald has too much of a good thing (vegetables), so he opens a farmer's market to sell and share the fruits of his labor.

The end result: an urban farm!
Who knew Old MacDonald was a hipster?!

And those haters put down their picket signs and dig in to the good stuff.

I think this is a great book to get kids excited about gardening and get them thinking about composting. And even if you know you'll never compost OR garden, it's still a good read with wild, vibrant illustrations to go along with the story.  Judy Sierra has written some of my favorite rhyming books, especially Wild About Books.  (Click here for complete list of my reviews on her books.)  I completely look to her to teach me how to do it the right way, but this book has a few non-rhyming hiccups that keep it in the good, not great category.

But Kiefer sure doesn't care about that.  I've read it to him twice in one night.  For some reason he loves lawn mowers, so he loves this book regardless of the hiccups his critical mama sees!

On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole

On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole

Rating: 4 stars

There's this huge trend in children's book: to create lots of nonfiction books that parents and educators can use to teach while kids are turning pages themselves, or on their parents' laps.  I think it's a great trend; there are tons of incredible nonfiction books out there that do this well.

But.

You knew there'd be a but, right?

The books I'm talking about are often too wordy and too "teachy;" they are the type of book parents buy and give their kids or, like me, check them out from the library and just have them lying around in the hopes that facts will be learned through osmosis at the very least.  Books about the environment and living green definitely fall into this trap of trying a little TOO hard.

Sometimes, a simple tale of creating a simple garden can go a lot farther than a book about a woman who helped restore all the redwoods in California (or something like that).

Henry Cole does just that in On Meadowview Street.  Young Caroline moves in, and immediately starts looking for a meadow. Because shouldn't there be one on Meadowview Street?  There is not.  So she makes one.  She starts small, with just a little area of her yard, which she ropes off so her father doesn't mow that area.

The more Caroline and her family worked on their yard,
the more it changed.  It was now a home to many things.

But as flowers start to grow, the area gets larger.  And as more flowers bloom, she gets a tree for shade.  Then a bird comes, and she builds bird houses to put in the tree.  They need something to drink, so she and her family build a little pond.  And pretty soon, one step at a time, she creates a small wildlife preserve in her suburban neighborhood.  Of course, it wonderfully inspires others, and Caroline ends up inspiring many people to start small, in their own yard, to do their part.

It's a really great little go-green book for kids.


Small side note: I met Henry Cole last week.  He's the illustrator of over 100 books, and he's authored a fair number of them, too.  He was a neat, neat guy.  He grew up on a farm not far from where we live--in Purceville--so many of his books are inspired from these simple, rural roots.

I Like Old Clothes! by Mary Ann Hoberman

I Like Old Clothes! by Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrated by Patrice Barton

Rating: 4 stars

I reviewed this book for Washington Family Magazine earlier this year.  I love the story--these kids find joy in finding clothes that have had a life before them. Here's my review:

Confession: When I met my husband in 2003, I was still sporting items from the “free box” from Peace Corps Thailand, a box that held clothes cast away from volunteers heading back home.  They probably realized that, after hand washing the said item for two years and three months, it was probably better left in a third world country.  Me?  I took them back to the States and continued to wear them.

So this book, I Like Old Clothes, is right up my alley!  

The story has a great rhythm to it, a soft dance of simple words to share a good message:

When somebody grows / And gives me her clothes.I don’t say, “What those?” / And turn up my noseThe way some people do / When their clothes aren’t new.I like old clothes. / I really do.Clothes with a history, / Clothes with a mystery,Sweaters and shirts / That are brother and sisterly

To read the rest of the review, please click here.

Into the Outdoors by Susan Gal

Into the Outdoors by Susan Gal

Rating: 4.5 stars

What's a concept book? As I'm tip-toeing beyond the world of reading children's books into the world of writing them, I've got to know these things.  So I figured I'd educate you as well.  It's an informational children's book that takes a single category--numbers, the alphabet, colors--and focuses on that.

Those concept books are pretty common (betcha you can think of a dozen); one on prepositions is not.

But that's exactly what Into the Outdoors is, and it's a good read for parents and kids.  But it is also a quality, lesson-filled book for teachers to know about when they teach prepositions.  Even though I grabbed the book because of its cover (I try not to judge by a cover, but...well...I'm only human), the book turned out to be a whole lot more than I expected.

We're going camping!  Leaving the city down in the valley, we head up the mountain.
We drive over a bridge and under the towering trees.  At last we arrive in the great outdoors.

Each preposition, those words that "help children know where they are in the world," is highlighted.  The story is cute, the lesson plan possibilities endless.

The trail winds around the lake...

But the illustrations!  That's what got me.  For some reason--was I just feeling particularly nostalgic that day?--they felt like they were straight from my family camping days from 30 years ago.  Dark woods, bright streams, a wood-panel grocery-getter (a.k.a. station wagon) filled with way too much stuff, big brown hiking boots with red laces, and two happy campers.

Like my family, the one in the book drives to their campsite, pitches the tent, and then goes off on a hike.  Following them along the way are some curious animal-friends: a bear, a fox, a porcupine, and a chipmunk.  In almost every page you see those animals peering at the family, with the older boy skipping ahead and the mom carrying the younger boy in the backpack.  The younger boy is the only one who sees the animals, and the looks they exchange are super cute.  In one page the bear sneaks up and quietly replaces the little boy's fallen hat as the family sits atop the mountain, soaking in the view.

A great book, for many reasons.  Makes me want to go take a hike (and use lots of prepositional phrases along the way)!

Wiggle and Waggle by Caroline Arnold

Wiggle and Waggle by Caroline Arnold, illustrated by Mary Peterson

Rating: 5 stars

Ben is into chapter books.  Don't tell him that he actually can't read these, and he'll argue with you with more words than you know what to do with.  The other day he sat reading a Magic Treehouse book while I finished checking out the 513 other books he/we chose at the library when the librarian saw him.  "How old is he?  Is he actually reading that?"  Ben looked up and realized she was asking about him.

"I'm 3 years old."  She looked at me, and I quietly shook my head.  "But he thinks he can!"

So Ben is into any books with chapters, because "chapter" is one of the words that he actually can read.  This book is great for more reasons, but because it has five chapters, it gets two thumbs up from Ben.

I'm not sure how we happened upon it in the beginner reader section of our library, but I'm glad we did.  Wiggle and Waggle are two hard working worms who--you guessed it--wiggle and waggle their way under a garden in order to help it grow.  They make up a (catchy, you-can't-forget-it) song, they spell out their own names in the dirt, they take muddy picnic breaks, they splash in puddles.  All together, like two peas in a pod.  Two worms in the mud!

The illustrations push the book over the edge into the Super Cute category--I know the worms in our yard aren't really this cute.  Including the dead one that was stuck to Kiefer's foot yesterday!  Ew.  Kinda gross...sure hope it wasn't a cousin of one of these guys in the book.  Anyway, Ben and Lorelei had a good time figuring out which one was Wiggle and which one was Waggle, which makes me wonder: Do other kid-readers do this, too?  I love the little logic games that go into it so I totally encourage it.

"Ben, Wiggle is talking here, and the pink worm has its mouth open.  The pink one must be Wiggle!" Lorelei says with the excitement usually reserved for winning the lottery or sleeping in until 7 AM (if you're me).

We've had this book from the library for about two weeks and I think I've read it about five times--plus the time IN the library with Ben, when I happily sang the digging song in the Children's section while other patrons smirked or smiled around me.  I don't care.  I was reading with my kids!  Sometimes that requires a little goofitude.  And I'm fine with that.


P.S.  If you like worm books, check out Diary of A Worm by Doreen Cronin!

Piggy and Dad Go Fishing by David Martin, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz

Piggy and Dad Go Fishing by David Martin, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz

Rating: 3.5 stars

You would have been amused if you were a fly on the wall when I read this to Lorelei and Ben.

In the story, Piggy is thrilled to finally go fishing with his father.  So he digs up some worms and trots off behind his piggy pop.  They get lakeside and pop tells son: bait the hook.

Enter the conversation with Lorelei and Ben: "What does 'bait' mean, Mommy?"  Hmmm.  So I explain, honestly, that you stick the worm on the hook and cast him into the water in order to lure the fish over to the hook.  Then the fish has to look at the worm and say, "I want to eat him for lunch!" and go awwwgph!* and chomp on the hook. And then you can pull the fish up and say, "I want to eat him for lunch!"  I like this explanation, though a little concerned that they'll  be concerned about how worms really get the raw end of the deal.

But they are satisfied with my explanation, so I move on.

Piggy tries to drape the smiley worm over the hook.  He slides off.  Piggy tries to tie the smiley worm in a knot around the hook.  He slides off.  His father gently explains that you're going to have to "poke the hook into the worm."  Piggy looks at the smiley worm, then at his father.  "Let's use bread instead."

WHAT?!  I just explained that whole bait thing for no reason?!  Man.

So they use bread as bait and fall asleep waiting (sometimes it bothers me how stereotypes are both reflected and made in children's books...).  Then a fish bites and they reel it in.  Piggy is excited.

Enter the conversation with Lorelei and Ben: "What are they going to do with the fish, Mommy?"  Hmmm.  Well, they are going to eat him.  When we eat our salmon and our meat, it's because they've been caught for us to eat.  (Inside, I'm crossing my fingers and toes and begging them not to become vegetarians.  My menu challenges would be unbearable.)

And then Piggy looks at the smiley fish and...throws him back.

WHAT?!?  I just explained how we kill animals for meals for no reason?!  MAN!

In the end, Piggy and Dad decide to go "feed-the-fish fishing," where they ball up pieces of bread from their sandwiches, throw them in, and watch the fish chomp on them happily.  The next day they bring the fish donuts.

A slightly exasperating read for me, personally, but now that I've given you a head's up you won't have such a hard time.  You're welcome.



* What onomatopoeia is appropriate to describe the sound of a fish eating a worm off a hook?  I am stumped.  Feel free to add your own if you're so inclined.

Tell Me, Tree: All About Trees for Kids by Gail Gibbons

Tell Me, Tree: All About Trees for Kids by Gail Gibbons

Rating: 4 stars

If you've got a pint-sized fact-lover around you, you should know about Gail Gibbons.  She is a leading author of nonfiction children's books, which are like home-drawn DK books.  There is a ton of information between the covers, usually not too much story or plot for kids needing or wanting that, but totally fascinating for budding researchers.  Check out the impressive list of books she's written here.

I've got a fact-lover in Lorelei.  She LOVES to get to the bottom of things, to know random facts about little things like butterflies or zebras or flowers.  Since she started reading she's been on her own a bit in the fact-finding mission, sometimes reading things I don't realize she's reading either at home or at school.  I know that some of it comes from National Geographic publications, of which we have many, including magazines but also children's books.  But a lot of it comes from just being curious and aware and from having an astoundingly good memory!

So Gail Gibbons is becoming increasingly popular in our house.  She's not for the youngest--Ben doesn't want anything to do with this book, especially after I read a few pages of it.  No story?  Nothing to laugh at?  He's not ready for a book of facts.  That's okay.  There will be enough of Gibbons' books lying around for him when he's ready.

So about this book.

We love trees because we live among them--we are lucky to live on about five acres of land that is mostly wooded.  So this book was really cool with its diagrams and drawings and definitions.  It is a great book to check out to compliment stories on trees, or other less serious (but still important!) books to encourage your kids to think more about nature.  I actually just paused and read about five pages now, hours after the kids' bedtime.  These books are like mini-encyclopedias (remember those?) for kids, on all their favorite subjects.

Funny thing: We set out on today's hike with a mission to collect leaves and then compare them to the leaves in our own backyard.  Would they be the same, or different?  We collected nothing!  The kids were so happy just running along and finding remnants of old houses and moss and stuff that I couldn't force them into a teachable moment.  Or maybe this--enjoying nature on a gorgeous day with each other--was their teachable moment.

A Tree Is Nice by Janice May Udry, illustrated by Marc Simont

A Tree Is Nice by Janice May Udry, illustrated by Marc Simont

Rating: 3.5 stars

I rarely push a book in my kids.  I'm rarely in this position.  If they see a book, they are almost always curious about it.  I put it in the book basket between the big kids in the car, I put it up for display during a meal, I put it in their rooms during quiet time.  They'll grab it eventually.

Not this book.  I finally said, "I'm going to read this!"  I was glad that they didn't groan or roll their eyes, but...  Man, hard audience today!

The pictures are gorgeous, worthy of the Caldecott award that sits on the cover.  My kids' favorite picture is one of a huge, climb-able tree with nearly a dozen kids playing on its broad limbs.  The words alongside the pictures are fine, just a simple tale of the importance of trees.  They are delivered more staccato and less rolling than I prefer, but...I love these words:

Trees make the woods.  They make everything beautiful.
Even if you have just one tree, it is nice too.
A tree is nice because it has leaves.
The leaves whisper in the breeze all summer long.

Lorelei and Ben on our hike today, among
some beautiful trees.

We're lucky to live in the woods.  There's nothing better than to open the windows and listen to the breeze in the trees.  You can ask my kids--they know it's one of my favorite sounds on Earth.  I'll make them pause and be quiet (if only for 4.5 seconds!) so I can hear it well.

But speaking of pushing things on kids, I definitely try to push a sense of stewardship of the land.  Doesn't that sound so big and grand?  And I'm talking about preschoolers here!  I have never had a problem thinking big.  Years ago I would have plans to create some group to take charge of environmental lessons in classrooms across the county.  After my Peace Corps years, where I learned how to scale back and focus instead on a few important people, my thoughts are different.

I do what I can.  With my kids.  And, slowly, their friends.  And their friends' parents.  And you know what?  I think it's working.  I think it's slow-going, but all the good stuff is.  I think it's going to run deep.  I'm optimistic and curious about how the seeds I've been planting will grow.  Time will tell.

Was I talking about a book?  Right!  It's fine.  Good for the classroom, I think, but not exactly a bedtime page-turner.