First Grade Dropout by Audrey Vernick

First Grade Dropout by Audrey Vernick
Rating: 5 stars

Clarion Books

Oh dear ME this is such a funny book--and, better yet, wonderfully comforting for kids to read, especially at the beginning of the school year!

The narrator admits to being many things in his young life: hungry, four years old, crazy bored, soaking wet. But now he can add first grade dropout to his list. Because he did such an embarrassing thing that now he can never, ever, ever go back to Lakeview Elementary School tomorrow.

What did he do? He called his teacher, Ms. Morgan, "Mommy."

And everyone laughed. Including his best friend Tyler. "They laughed and slapped their desks and stomped their feet. And pointed. At me." Clever Audrey Vernick writes, "It was quiet. Then it started, all at once, like a big marching band of laughing people."

(Here's that big marching band of laughing people,
illustrated by clever Matthew Cordell.)

Our poor narrator can't imagine facing his class again, so he decides to drop out. He'll miss his friends and recess and a few other things, but he's got a plan to stay at home, work on his jump shot, get a job. You can tell this plan doesn't sit right with him, so he goes to soccer practice anyway. He sees his best friend Tyler, who acts like everything is normal.

Like the good best friend he is, Tyler listens to the plan and decides to drop out, too. "Awesome," Tyler says. "It'll be great! We can work on our junk shots."

Our narrator stifles a giggle. He tries not to laugh, but can't help it. Suddenly, he's smiling big and explaining to Tyler what is so funny--Tyler said junk shot, not jump shot. Tyler stands there for a second, but you know what he does next?

He laughs. At himself! Then they laugh together.

The boys decide to work on their junk shots tomorrow at recess, and show them to Ms. Morgan...er, Mommy.

Great, great, great message: That we all make some silly, embarrassing mistakes from time to time. And while we want to shrivel up and disappear or pretend like it didn't happen or invent a time machine to go back and undo it, it's easier and best to not take ourselves too seriously and laugh a little with ourselves.

(We parents can lead by example here!)

Super quick story in my own life of saying "Mom" when I shouldn't have: On my very first night of college during a super cool, freshmen-only retreat, I was sleeping in a bunkhouse with about 20 other freshmen girls. In the middle of the night I had a dream and yelled, "MOM!" loudly. In a shocking moment of maturity, I admitted it was me when a couple girls asked about it the next morning, and I laughed along with them. I was known as the girl who yelled for her Mom for a few weeks, then everyone forgot about it. Like people always do (though, at the time, it doesn't seem like that'll ever happen).

Again, fantastic book--and so very pertinent! Let's bolster our kids with the confidence in knowing that they can get over embarrassing stuff now, when they're young, so they can handle embarrassing stuff on their own in the future. Because we all know that, like it or not, embarrassing stuff continues to happen!

Marlene, Marlene, Queen of Mean by Jane Lynch

Marlene, Marlene, Queen of Mean by Jane Lynch, Lara Embry, A.E. Mikesall, illustrated by Tricia Tusa

Random House Kids

Rating: 5 stars

Marlene, Marlene, Queen of Mean will be known in some circles as “Jane Lynch’s picture book.” Jane Lynch, of course, is the actress who plays the biggest bully on television: Sue Sylvester on Glee. But that’s not entirely fair—it’s not just another book by a famous author. Marlene, Marlene, Queen of Mean is a good book in its own right, regardless of its famous author. The story is strong, the message is important, the rhyme sounds great, and the illustrations are fantastic.

Marlene is a little girl with a big, mean streak, who delights in getting her way with her classmates. She pinches, kicks, flicks, throws, punches, and pushes—basically all those things you tell your kids not to do. She gets her power from other kids’ fear. And she delights in it, but after one stunt, Marlene is greedy for more power. She reigns supreme in her school until one boy with a little courage dares to ask one simple question: “Why?”

Freddy wants to know why everyone is so scared of her, especially when only her shadow is large. He wonders why all the kids shrink instead of standing up for themselves. Freddy dares the kids to ask themselves: Is this true? Is Marlene so bad? He doesn’t have any sort of show down or fight with Marlene. In fact, I find his demeanor and stance in Tricia Tusa’s illustrations pretty fascinating and pretty brilliant. He is a relaxed guy who is thinking out loud, simply pointing out how silly it is that everyone is following her orders when they really don’t have to.

Marlene isn’t happy about this, but she proves Freddy right when she does the least bully thing ever: she cries. Conveniently sprinkled into this moment in the story is some magic: her tears melt all the bully-causing anger inside her and Marlene’s anger flies out of her in three giant sneezes. 

While I don’t love this part of the story (because we all know the transformation from mean to kind happens a lot more slowly than a-choo, a-choo, A-CHOO!), I do like how Lynch and her two co-authors point out in the pages afterward how it’s sometimes easier to be mean than to be nice. I especially like these lines in the book:

You see, it’s a breeze to learn how to tease;It’s harder, sometimes, to be decent.

So true! In the end, Marlene ends up a whole lot nicer, but definitely not perfect. The text admits to her being “mostly cured” but there’s a picture of Marlene looking pretty darn delighted as she’s scaring a classmate with a gross bug. Perfect isn’t possible—it doesn’t even exist. So good for Marlene for sneezing out her bully-ness and becoming more decent. I would like to sneeze out some of my imperfections, too…

The fact that a famous author wrote this won’t hurt sales, but parents and teachers will pick this up and read it to their kids because of the fact stated above: it’s a strong story with an important message told in rhyming verse and the illustrations are fantastic.

The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes

The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
Greenwillow Books

Rating: 3.5 stars

Billy Miller finds himself at the end of summer vacation, about to start second grade when he suddenly realizes that he might not be smart enough for second grade. The worrying creeps into his mind and he just can't shake it.

He starts second grade anyway--as if he has a choice!--and throughout the book he has small, second-grade-sized challenges that he worries about then overcomes, and Billy realizes that everything turns out okay in the end, and sometimes it turns out even better than okay.

Billy finishes the book at the very end of second grade just a little more confident and a little more capable than when he started.

I solidly liked this book, but Lorelei solidly loves it. She's read it a few times and recommended it to several of her friends. She read it the summer before her second grade, which I think is the perfect time to read The Year of Billy Miller, especially if that second grader has some (normal!) frets about school. There's nothing objectionable in this book and Billy has a yesteryear quality about him--he's a rule-following kid, a sweet big brother without a bit of sarcasm or eye-roll in his body. 

My favorite aspect of the book is the fact that there is no huge problem Billy needs to overcome. His parents don't fight or go through a divorce, no family member or friend dies, he doesn't lose his favorite pet. Billy's challenges seem bite-sized to us grown-ups but seem giant-sized to a kid barely four feet tall. And I like that a lot, because those little daily problems (such as your sister ruining a school project or reciting a poem in front of the whole school) are what life is chock full of for kids. 

What I don't love about this book: I think his parents help him too much. It's his super-hip artist dad that helps him redesign his school project after his sister douses it in glitter. And it's his always-patient mother who rescues him at the climax of the story, smack dab in the biggest small problem of his whole life. I love books where the kids have the total spotlight and the parents are in the background--I love watching kids solve their own problems, even if they create some problems of their own, too. 

But despite my misgivings, I enjoyed watching Billy grow over the course of the year, and this is a great one to read this summer with your soon-to-be second grader, or a book to let that kiddo read by him/herself.

Ninja Boy Goes to School by N.D. Wilson

Ninja Boy Goes to School by N.D. Wilson, illustrated by J.J. Harrison

Rating: 4 stars

Review for Washington Family Magazine:

How fitting that my kids and I read Ninja Boy Goes to School the day before school started. I anticipated the story to be a this-is-how-you-are-brave-at-school message, which was a tale my kindergarten-starting son Ben might especially appreciate.

I must admit I was a little surprised by the story that actually unfolded!

N.D. Wilson introduces how to be a ninja--a job that's not just for anybody. A ninja must be silent, nimble, strong, graceful. He brings levity to this serious topic with parenthetical comments that are cute and funny. J.J. Harrison keeps the talk of ninja on the appropriate kid level with bright illustrations that are a great balance of serious ninja and silly kid.

Ninja Boy—we don’t ever know his name—goes to school by bus, but instead of sitting in the seat, he suction cups himself to the roof of the bus, something my kids howled at. Other kids on this page laugh at Ninja Boy too, but he is too committed to being a ninja to notice or care. 


And this is where the story takes an unexpected turn...

To read the rest of the review (and find out what happens! What a cliff-hanger, I know!), click HERE.

Gus, the Dinosaur Bus by Julia Liu

Gus, the Dinosaur Bus by Julia Liu, illustrated by Bei Lynn

Rating: 4 stars

Two of my three young kids ride the bus to and from school.  It's exciting stuff: walking up those big, huge steps, past the sweet driver Mrs. G, walking down the aisle with your mostly empty backpack bumping on the seats...

But I'm pretty sure they'd trade in their yellow school bus for a brachiosaurus any day of the week.

Gus, the dinosaur bus, takes kids to and from one particular school in this (I'm guessing?) fictional town. There's no need to walk to the curb--he just puts his head up to your window and you can slide down his neck to the general seating area on his back.  Wheeeee!

There are difficulties, of course.  His feet leave giant potholes, his tail gets tangled in wires, and crossing bridges is risky business when you weigh as much as five elephants!

And so, Gus gets retired. (He cries so hard at the news that he creates a cool new pool in the gymnasium.)  The school has to keep him around--the kids love him too much to part with him--so they make him part of the playground. He IS the playground, actually... (that last page is very similar to Superworm, a hilarious book you really should know about).

But life is not perfect for a dinosaur bus.

The illustrations by Bei Lynn are simple, unique--like well planned out scribbles.  It's a nice change of pace from the norm: books with sweeping, impossibly perfect illustrations that draw in the reader but also intimidate budding artists.

In all, a fun book to add to your pile.  My kids could not get enough of the story and pictures!

Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School by David Mackintosh

Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School by David Mackintosh

Rating: 5 stars

I love when people recommend books to me.  Regardless of the length of my to-do list, or the hunger level of my children, it suddenly becomes my mission in life to find that book and review it.  And so it was with Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School.  An old coworker/pal of mine (we used to sell furniture together, and now we read picture books to our babies miles apart) found it and thought it special, and I totally agree!

The pint-sized kid in the front row has news for us: Marshall Armstrong is new to his school.  He is quick to point out (and the talented David Mackintosh is quick to illustrate, literally and figuratively) all the differences:

• His school supplies are different--much more elaborate and fancy.
• His face is different--his skin redder and pastier, his eyes always focused on teacher.
• His arm is different--more mosquito-bite food-like.
• His lunch is different--it is wrapped in silver packages like space food.
• His activity in recess is different--his doctor says reading is enough activity for him.

After all these observations, the young narrator arrives at this conclusion: Marshall Armstrong does not fit in at his school.  Not one bit.

"He looks different to me."

Yet Marshall Armstrong is having a birthday party, and the narrator's parents are making him go.  Sigh.  Ugh.  Man.  The injustice!

And then: the party happens.  The house is unique and cool!  The party is even unique-er and cool-er!  It involves stilts, monkey bars, a train set, a piñata, a bike that runs an electric lightbulb, a microscope, a fireman's pole that goes from the top of the house to the bottom… In other words, a whole slew of neat-o things.

Our young narrator's perspective has, um, changed a little.  The next time a new kid arrives at the school, he offers that she sit next to him for the first few days so he can kindly show her around.

Now that this review is done, I guess my kids can eat now...

Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges

Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges

Rating: 5 stars

I'm not a volunteer-for-everything sort of mom.  I have three kids in two different schools and one still home with me.  So, like all of you, my time is limited.  I must choose wisely.  Usually my choices involve Ben's preschool.  It is close, familiar, laid-back, and very known.

But last year at my first volunteer gig in Lorelei's class, I was still trying to figure out the names of her classmates.  I volunteered at the End-of-the-Year party.  Holy mommy demerits, Batman.  I was embarrassed.  I thought: Next year.  Next year, I'll be better.  And I have been!  I actually know, like, SIX of her classmates.  Or a few more.

After hearing that I have a children's book blog, Lorelei's bright, young teacher suggested I be in charge of the Scholastic book orders.  I said yes.  Every month I select a few books to highlight to parent as especially worth purchasing.  Perfect: I have yet another excuse to find a bunch of children's books!

Ruby's Wish was one of my selections for November.  The story is based in once-upon-a-time China in a magnificent home of a wealthy family.  An old man went to California for the Gold Rush, and returns to China very rich.  He promptly marries many wives and, slightly less promptly, has many children.  Some years later, those children have children, so his house is filled with many grandchildren.

Ruby is one of them.

So at one time, the house was filled with the shrieks
and laughter of over one hundred children.

Because he has so many grandchildren, the man hires a teacher and sets up a school in his own house.  Unlike outside his house gates, girls can study in his home school.  And Ruby does.  She is the brightest student: the most diligent, the most earnest, the most enthusiastic.  She has to do twice as much as the boys--while they only have schooling, the granddaughters in the house must also learn to cook and keep the house and sew.

One by one, the girls stop going to the classes.  All except Ruby.  She finally admits to her grandfather that she wants to go to university like the boys more than get married, like the girls.

On New Year's Day, all the grandchildren receive a thick red packet full of money.  But Ruby's red envelope is filled with something else: a letter from a university, saying that they would be proud to accept Ruby as one of their first female students.

It's a true story--Ruby is the author's grandmother.

This is children's nonfiction done really, really well.  The history and cultural differences are mind-stretching for a young American in a really, really good way.  There are many conversations that will easily spark from this story from a distinctly different place.

The past few weeks I've been struck by gratitude in a huge way.  And this book definitely provides an opportunity for kids like Lorelei to be oh-so-freaking grateful for the primo education they are receiving. And a reminder to appreciate that schooling by working hard and being enthusiastic and savoring it as much as a sweet six year old can.


P.S.  I just can't find a way to work into my text the beautiful illustrations by Sophie Blackall...a lame postscript will have to suffice.  We've not come across her work before but I'm about to order a few more books illustrated by her from the library.  She does this book, this story such justice with her soft but strong illustrations!  I am very impressed.

A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech

 A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech, illustrated by Harry Bliss

Rating: 5 fine, fine stars

Here's a book with a lesson for kids and parents: a story about balancing work and play.

Mr. Keene is a principal who thinks that his school is so "fine, fine" that kids should attend it even more than usual.  Why go just Monday through Friday?  Let's go on Saturdays and Sundays, too!  Why take days off for holidays?  Come to school on Christmas and President's Day!  Summer?  Bah!  Who needs to play?  Come to school instead!

Young Tillie, one of his fine, fine students fights her way through the under-played and over-worked students, staff, and teachers to go see him.

"Somebody's not learning, Mr. Keene," she informs him.

He gasps!  Oh, no!  What an emergency!  He's about to find a way to get the kids to go to school even more when she stops and explains who is not learning.

"My dog is not learning new tricks.  My little brother is not learning how to swing by himself.  I am not learning how to sit still in a tree for a whole hour.  Because I am at school all the time, I am not there to teach my dog and my little brother, and learn to be and do things by myself."

I love this!  Go, Tillie!

Was he going to make their dogs come to school, too?

The pictures in this book are great, and full of humorous little tidbits for us grown-up kids.  My favorite is the kid toting The Meaning of Life...  And the dog in the story is a fun character in himself.  (Another cheer for dog-lovers!)

What more important lesson is there for today's kids?  (Okay, I can think of one other that gets me fired up: health and food...)  But the lesson in this book is more for the reader than the listener.  We parents are the ones scheduling our kids for so many things.  I know it's tempting--it sure seems like all of Lorelei's classmates have been taking a language for at least a year, if not two.  And sports start as soon as they can run, so...shouldn't I be signing up Kiefer in a few months?  But playing in an unstructured way with your siblings, teaching your pets new tricks, and sitting silently with nature...  These are priceless, priceless things.

And some of us readers need to learn the lesson, too.  Work and play.  Play and work.  It's a hard balance, but I'm on the side for playing more.  These kids of ours are going to be working soon enough, so let's play with them and and stop working ourselves.

Polka Dot Fixes Kindergarten by Catherine Urdahl

 Polka Dot Fixes Kindergarten by Catherine Urdahl, illustrated by Mai S Kemble

Rating: 4 stars

As Lorelei and I walked to the pool last week, she sang out: "I see London, I see France, I see Mommy's underpants!"

I stopped in my tracks.  Hmm.  Was this my first bout with "potty mouth?"  Was this "potty mouth?"  I wanted to freeze time for a second to ponder it.  Since I couldn't find the remote control on Life, I (kindly but firmly) told Lorelei it wasn't a nice thing to say, and not to say it again.

"Sorry, Mommy," she mumbled.  "That's okay," I replied.  "You didn't know...but now you do."

Flash forward a few days, to bedtime.  We're reading Polka Dot Fixes Kindergarten. 

Polka Dot tries to clean up a mess with her runny soap.
It doesn't work.

Polka Dot is a quirky little girl who lives (or at least hangs out a lot with) with her equally quirky grandfather.  He fixes things for her, and puts together a little fix-it kit for her first day at kindergarten.  It includes duct tape (I love him!), runny soap, and dotted bandages.  Polka Dot is nervous but not scared, until she meets a not-so-nice girl.  (I'd like to think there are no Mean Girls in kindergarten.  As Lorelei is about to start, I'd like to keep this fallacy up for a few more months so I sleep better at night.)  The girl taunts Polka Dot in typical little kid ways, and Polka Dot, throughout the day, shrinks more and more into herself.  It's definitely sad to witness.

Then, on the playground, the not-so-nice little girl's dress tears in back.  And then the table is turned, and another kid taunts this girl: "I see London, I see France, I see..."  Aha!  That's where Lorelei got it from!  Lorelei confirmed this with a nod.  I pointed out the expression on the little girl's face, as she reacted to this poem being recited at her.

"How do you think she feels?" I asked.  "Bad.  Sad," was her reply.  "Right.  If you say that to someone, that is how you are going to make them feel.  That's why I didn't want you to say it again."

"Oh.  Got it."

It was a good closure to the potty mouth mystery, a happy ending there in Lorelei's bedroom.  She learned a valuable lesson I hope she remembers and applies.  And in the book, Polka Dot fixes the little girl's dress with duct tape.  And, of course, they end up friends.

(Slightly related aside: I went to Catholic school growing up, and my mom would staple our school badges to our shirts and hems when they fell.  I smile at the memory.  Just like her, sewing is not in my DNA.)

The Most Thankful Thing by Lisa McCourt, illustrated by Cyd Moore

The Most Thankful Thing by Lisa McCourt, illustrated by Cyd Moore

Rating: 4 stars

I read this book at 4 AM this morning, just a few hours ago.

Lorelei is starting camp today, but it's really like her first day of kindergarten--she is riding the bus to her new school.  WOW!  What a big day.  I've not made a huge deal of it, but of course we have talked about it; I've made sure she has what she needs in her backpack and reassured her that she'll have fun.  Two of her preschool friends will be there, one on the bus alongside her.  She has been nothing but excited.

But, clearly, she's been hiding her nerves a little, because at 3:30 AM she walked into our room, sobbing: "I can't sleep!"  She reported that there was a funny noise in her room and she couldn't figure out what it was.  I lay down with her, telling her stories of when she was a baby and what I used to sing to her and do with her to help her sleep.  That didn't work so well, so I suggested we do our bedtime routine so to remind her body of what it was supposed to be doing right now.  She got up and went to the bathroom and chose a book.  It was this one.

The Most Thankful Thing is a little cheesy and definitely predictable.  A girl finds her mom sitting and "giving thanks" in a rare moment of quiet (I can relate!).  "What are you most thankful for?" asks her daughter.  "Guess," is the reply.  So the girl gets her mom's scrapbooks and guesses: your time on a winning soccer team?  Being the editor of the yearbook?  Having your first job?  Getting married to Daddy?

She's close on the last one, but of course it's having her daughter, holding her for the first time.  It's cheesy and predictable...and I've gotten a little misty every time I've read the book.  I was really touched that thoughtful, thought-filled Lorelei chose it--in the middle of the night--before a day that held actual, real-life stress for her little mind and body.

She fell back to sleep around 5 (when Kiefer woke up!).  When I woke her up at 7, she bounced out of bed, giggling and smiling, thrilled to go to camp today.  That's my girl.  She's ready, even though a tiny part of her mind is probably a little bit scared.  If she learns how to act--and act boldly, confidently, and cheerfully--while a little bit scared, I'll have done my job.

I'm thankful for this book.  Because I can leave a note like this (see below) in Lorelei's lunch and she'll really get what I mean.

Wow! School! by Robert Nuebecker

Wow! School! by Robert Nuebecker

Rating: 5 stars

Well, the count down to the start of preschool is on.  I'm not sure who is more excited--me or Lorelei.  Ben, if he realized what is about to happen, would definitely NOT be excited.  Even though Lorelei's favorite past time is to boss him around, he will miss her for every minute of the three and a half hours she'll be out of my hands.  Mostly, I'm curious: How will she react?  How will she behave?  What will she love? Will she make friends easily?  How long will it be till the school calls to tell me she's sick or has broken her arm on the playground?!  (I'm sure that phone call will come from Ben.)

This is one of the best starting school books out there.  It's simple--with minimal words, Nuebecker just produces these huge sheets of art, filled with all the little things that you'd find in a classroom.  Check out some of the pages:

I love the fact that Nuebecker sat in the back of his daughter's preschool class and sketched the pictures.  We are big fans of Nuebecker's--dorky me follows his blog and is impatiently awaiting his next WOW! book, which is Wow!  Ocean!  We'll probably have to trek up to the Baltimore Aquarium to fully appreciate that book.

For now, though, we'll just focus on the start of school.  Keep your fingers crossed for all of us!

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, illustrated by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak

Rating: 5 stars

Oh my gosh such a sweet book.  Be prepared for tears!  (From you, of course, not your little one, who will mostly be oblivious to the sweetness of this book.) 

I'm certain that you've at least heard of this book before as it was written in 1993 and stayed on the NYTimes bestsellers list for a long time.  And almost every preschool that has a recommended reading list to parents during the back-to-school months must include this book on it.  It's a simple story: the little raccoon is starting school and is worried he'll miss his mama.  So she kisses his hand and tells him that if he feels lonely, just put the hand up to his face and he'll feel her love for him, even if she's not right there.  At the end, he kisses her hand (sniff, sniff!) and tells her the same thing.

Our preschool suggests that we "create a ritual of saying good-bye" like having a special handshake or a song, or a kiss on the hand like this book suggests.  For Ben it'll certainly be an explosive fist bump, something that cracks him up like nobody's business.  For sweet Lorelei, it'll be something like a kiss or song.  Ok, I've got to stop thinking about the first day of carpool and actually saying good-bye to Lorelei.  I'm so thankful that Ben will still be in the car with me; I hate crying in front of them, so I'll at least have to sob silently.

Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney

Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney

Rating: 4.5 stars

I should give it a 5 but it has the word "hate" in it.  I know, isn't that so old-fashioned of me? 

Other than that, this is one of my favorite ready-for-school books.  The short, snappy rhymes that made Anna Dewdney's other books so popular and so fantastic are back, and because the text is so quick, it sticks with kids.  I hope this line sticks with Lorelei in a few weeks: "Don't be sad, new little llama! / It's okay to miss your mama, / But don't forget-- / when day is through, / She will come right back to you. / Llama llama, please don't fuss. / Have some fun and play with us!"

After another trip to a park where Lorelei ran over to ask some big kids to play tea party with her (they declined so kindly...whew!), I'm pretty sure she'll be just fine.  But a book like this one, which introduces the whole concept of Mom's-going-to-drop-you-off-at-school-and-leave-you-with-strangers thing has a perfect little dose of "missing" in it.  I am glad for it, because I explain to Lorelei that she'll probably miss me but maybe some other kids will really, really miss their moms, and she can be a good helper and a good friend and try to cheer them up by inviting them to play and stuff.

Fingers crossed.  Three more weeks till school starts, so I'm trying my best not to fret.  But I'm so GOOD at it!

Sumi's First Day of School Ever by Soyung Pak

Sumi's First Day of School Ever by Soyung Pak, illustrated by Joung Un Kim

Rating: 5 stars

It's 12:27 AM and here I am, blogging.  About a back-to-school book.  It's related, trust me.  Today Lorelei had another summer playdate, where all the kids, especially the new ones, are invited to the preschool playground to run their hearts out and all the parents balance chit-chatting with running after their kids (more Ben than Lorelei for me).  It was really fun and Lorelei was a super star--she walked boldly up to little trios of already-formed friendships and introduced herself and asked their age (not their name!).  I was so proud of her--how many adults find it impossible to do the same thing?

So the transition to preschool isn't going to be bad, I suspect, but it's still on my mind.  I woke up suddenly a little while ago with the heart-pounding concern that Lorelei won't like the snack that her teacher provides and will be hungry for the last hour of school.  And Lorelei is considerably less sweet when she's hungry!  But that's not the point--the point is, the first day of school is coming, and I'm trying to be as confident in my little girl as she is in her strong little self.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

This book is one of the dozen or so back-to-school type books we checked out today at the library.  It doesn't exactly fit the traditional form, but it is one that encourages empathy, so it'll be a staple read in our house.  Sumi is a little girl from South Korea whose mother teachers her two lines in English before her first day of school in the U.S.: "What is your name?" and "My name is Sumi."  Understandably, the first day starts in confusion and one child (who is quickly reprimanded by a watchful teacher) sticks his tongue out at her.  She thinks that school is lonely and mean and scary.  But then the little boy apologizes, her teacher hangs up her drawing, and a little girl befriends her.  The story is told quietly and sweetly, and I love it.

As a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand, with a mother who teaches English as a second language in middle school (mostly to Korean children), and with a daughter who is about to have her first day of school, ever, this book definitely strikes a chord with me.  (Thanks for the recommendation, Becky!)


P.S.  I found this neat organization that educates on the rich legacy of Korea.  Here's a link to the website's list of children's books, in age-appropriate categories.

I Love School! by Philemen Sturges

I Love School! by Philomen Sturges, illustrated by Shari Halpern

Rating: 4.5

There really isn't much to this big series of books, but they are each so cute and engaging that they're worth a blurb here and a check out there.  They are basic, introductory books on which you can expand if you want--or, if you're just pooped, you can just read it and save the extension exercises for another day. 

I do learn a few facts with every book; on the front and back inside cover are fun tidbits about school: that the world's largest peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich contained 150 pounds of peanuts and 50 pounds of jelly.  Or that more than 450,000 school buses transport close to 24 million students in the U.S. to school every day.  I appreciate that Sturges throws this stuff in for the older reader--whether that's 4 or 5 or, in my case, 34.

Since Lorelei is starting preschool in just five or six weeks, I am keeping a constant flow of books about school, about starting school, about making friends at school, and anything that has any positive vibe about school.  I really do think she'll do fine in the transition--when we moved from the Mommy and me gymnastics class to the "big girl" Mommy-sits-on-the-sides class she didn't look back once, and her crying fits of "I don't want to do that!" disappeared completely.  So I think she's ready.  I think.  I hope.  Am I ready?  I don't know.

The other books in this series:
I Love Trucks!
I Love Trains!
I Love Bugs! (review here)
I Love Tools!
I Love Planes!

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

Rating: 4.5 stars

We love this book.  I mean, we LOVE this book.  Lorelei knows almost every word by heart, and the little illustrations--more like intricate sketches or doodles, really--captivate her.  She can stare at a page of this book for a few minutes, just studying it.

Chrysanthemum is a little white mouse who, in her parents eyes, "is absolutely perfect," so she must have an absolutely perfect name, too--thus this super long flower's name that I now know how to spell.  (Even before spellcheck, for all you sassy folk out there.)  She loves her name, too.  Until she starts school.  On the first day of school she realizes everyone has monosyllabic names like Gus or Sam or Max; hers "scarcely fits on her nametag."  (Lorelei will often tell a person that her name is Lorelei, and her name scarcely fits on a nametag.  It always makes grown ups' eyebrows rise and me chuckle.)  She feels pretty sorry for herself when her classmates ridicule her like all little kids--sigh--do.

And then the class meets Mrs Twinkle, the music teacher.  "Her voice was like something out of a dream, as was everything else about her."  The entire class is mesmerized by this "indescribable wonder"--I love when Kevin Henkes and other authors note little kids' naive and beautiful infatuations like this... 

Anyway, back to Chrysanthemum.

The students all giggle and laugh yet again at Chrysanthemum's name until Mrs Twinkle finds out about why they are laughing.  And then she tells him, simply: "My name is long.  My name would scarcely fit on a name tag.  I am named after a flower.  My name is Delphinium."  Of course, Chrysanthemum bursts with pride.  She actually "blooms" according to Henkes. 

This is definitely one of the most clever and witty children's books we've ever read.  And Henkes gets it almost totally right this time with his humor: the wittiness and cleverness is completely child appropriate (he loses me in Julius, Baby of the World).  You've got to read it to appreciate all the flower references sprinkled throughout the pages.  And note the two books her father is reading when she comes home from school, too.  I think my only hesitation is that it does open up the true side of school: the not-so-nice kids who make fun of their classmates just because they can.  I'm in denial that that sort of thing will happen to my kids at some point. 

On the flip side, I appreciate the book a little more because maybe Lorelei will be in a position to be one of the not-so-nice students, and maybe she'll remember Chrysanthemum and be empathetic and kind.  My fingers and toes are crossed!

My Friends by Taro Gomi

My Friends by Taro Gomi

Rating: 5 learn-from-me stars

Some years ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I lived in Thailand as a Peace Corps Volunteer and loved my crazy existence and experience there.  While a friend visited me from the US during my two and half years in rural Uttaradit; I soon realized that there were two types of people in this world.  Some of us go to a new place or meet a new person and ask, "What can I learn from them?" and there are another group of people who look at a new place or meet a new person and ask, "Why do they do it like that?"

When I became a mother, I knew that it was super important to me to teach my kids to be in the first group, just like I am, as well as my husband, partner-in-crime, and their father.

During a visit to my step-sister's house, I discovered a little children's book that I'd never seen before and fell in love with it: My Friends.  It is a simple little book where a little girl learns from everything and everyone around her.  I don't have the book in front of me (I will soon!) but here's what I remember: "I learn to jump from the cat, I learn to swing from the monkey, I learn to read from my teachers, I learn to love from friends like you."  And the illustrations are just simple and beautiful.  Just simply beautiful.

This will be another of my go-to gift books for babies because it is such a wonderful message: Look around you, and learn from everything and everyone.  Now!

We Share Everything! by Robert Munsch

We Share Everything! by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko

Rating: 4.5 stars

I want to start a trend: books for birthdays. Nothing else, and only one. That's it. Think of all the crap--plastic, mostly--that wouldn't need to be put away, thrown away, or given away. I am a firm believer in gift receipts, so if the little birthday girl or boy already has the book, then they can return it. But my latest "thing" is to include a picture of Lorelei and Ben on the first page, with a hand-written note from me (until Lorelei's handwriting becomes legible--right now she just "writes" her name and Ben's name). This way, the recipient knows who it is from even before she or he can read, and in a few years they can smile at how little their friends are. Of course, if I have a picture of Lorelei and/or Ben with the recipient, all the better! ANYWAY, think about it. BOOKS FOR BIRTHDAYS. Maybe I'll get a bumper sticker.

So we've ordered this book for our wonderful little neighbor-friend's third birthday. We love C, and I love her mother even more (we live in the ex-burbs, with just a few houses on a dirt road). But...um, well, she's got some room to grow in the sharing department. Of course, we love her anyway. I'm still working on my sharing skills, after all! So when Lorelei and I were chatting about what book we should get C for her birthday, I asked Lorelei if there were any sharing books. She thought of this one, which we found by luck at the library. (That's another bumper sticker I'd have if I put them on my car: I LOVE LIBRARIES. My husband would be so embarrassed!) This book showcases a boy and a girl who don't share, don't share, and don't share until finally they say: Ok, fine. We have to share. What should we share? They share their clothes, and the little boy ends up in an all-pink ensemble. It's really funny, with great illustrations from Martchenko and a good little message about sharing. Very fun to read aloud, too.

One more thing--the funny picture of the author on the back (which Ben and Lorelei study every time we check this book out) made me check out Munsch's website. I'm so glad I did! I am going to read all of his books now (just 42; I should be able to do this by summer time). A few things that I like about him: he puts REAL kids in his stories, he made up his most famous book Love You Forever as a song to his two still born children (my heart breaks for him), and he returns all his fan mail from classes. Gotta love that!

All right...I'm going to stop blogging so I can log onto the library and order up some of his books...

P.S. If anyone ever reads this blog, reads this post, and reads this book, and watches Survivor, doesn't Amanda look like Shambo on page 29?!??!