Tinyville Town by Brian Biggs

Tinyville Town: Gets to Work! by Brian Biggs
Abrams Appleseed

Rating: 5 stars

Recently I upped the ante on my kids' chores. They've gotten a weekly-ish (I forget frequently but always pay up) allowance for about two years. Each receives the same amount as their age--I'm not sure if this is exactly fair or right because Kiefer ends up doing about the same as Lorelei. But he often earns a few extra dollars every week helping me or my husband in a big way. Now that I've delegated more jobs to my kids, I only put the dishes away once a week now! They vacuum, sweep, feed our dog, wipe the table, and put the endless piles of laundry away.

While I want to take a load off of my own shoulders, my main goal is to teach them what it takes to run a household and to train them to be an active participant. "We all pitch in," I tell them. "We all do our part."

The cute, neck-lacking people of Tinyville...

That's what I like about Brian Biggs' series about Tinyville Town: these cute and smiley, hard-working and neck-lacking people live together and do their part to keep the town working. This particular book Gets to Work! starts out with things running smoothly, but they soon encounter a problem: a big traffic jam is keeping the trash collectors from collecting the trash, the bus driver from getting to the bus stop, and (the biggest problem) the baker from delivering his donuts!

The leaders of the town get together, discuss, and realize the solution: a new, bigger bridge. And one that looks nice, too. The right people--the city planner and the engineer--design the bridge, and the next people to solve the problem, the construction team, soon begins to build the bridge. By the end of the book, things are running smoothly again, and the no-neck people of Tinyville are all smiles.

(Kiefer was particularly enamored by the ribbon-cutting at the end of the book, when the mayor officially opens the new bridge. "Do they always cut it? Do they leave the ribbon up for forever?" I never know what's going to grab my kids' interest...love that this little part was the most interesting part of this book, at least during the first reading!)

Hope your own family and town are running smoothly today!

Digby O'Day in the Fast Lane by Shirley Hughes

Digby O'Day in the Fast Lane by Shirley Hughes, illustrated by Clara Vulliamy
Candlewick Press

Rating: 4 stars

I was at a Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) conference over the weekend and learned something new. I actually learned a lot of new somethings, but this is the one pertaining to Digby O'Day in the Fast Lane: Squeezed between I Can Read early readers and middle grade is the "chapter book" genre for, generally speaking, 5 to 8 year olds. Within that there are a bunch of books cropping up that have a whole lot of pictures, some easier text, and are divided into chapters. These are called "early chapter books."

Digby O'Day is an early chapter book. It's the sort of book for kids who are wanting to read chapter books like their peers but aren't ready for them. Now, they can put this in their hands and feel comfortable knowing they're part of the reading chapter books crowd. If you click at the bottom of this blogpost on early chapter books, you'll see a few of the ones I've read and reviewed.

For some reason, Ben timed me when I read this. When I remarked on how quickly he read it, he handed it to me while we were sitting in the carpool lane, waiting to pick up Kiefer from preschool last week. "It took you eight minutes, Mom!" he reported. Ben's quirky competitiveness now gives you an idea of how long it took me to read it, and you can double that time for a kindergartener reading on-level and add more time for a child struggling to read.

Digby drove, and Percy admired the view.

Getting to the book, written by one of my favorite childhood authors Shirley Hughes (and illustrated by her daughter--how fun!):

This is a cute, please-everyone story of a dog named Digby, his pal Percy, and how they race against their sworn (okay, really there's not any swearing in this book) enemy Lou Ella. Lou Ella is a fancy-schmancy woman with a fancy-schmancy car that she upgrades at least once a year. She can always afford the nicest car but doesn't know a thing about fixing them up; Digby O'Day and his pal Percy are always stuck with their cute clunker but they make it run as smoothly as possible with their own two paws. Or four paws?

These three characters enter a race and, in tortoise-and-hare style, Lou Ella is so far in front that she decides to stop and have lunch. This plan backfires when lunch takes too long and Digby and Percy putt-putt by her and win the race. These three are likable characters...and they'll be back! This is the first in the series; two more are slated for publication within a year or two.

As always, happy reading!

Number One Sam by Greg Pizzoli

Number One Sam by Greg Pizzoli
Disney Hyperion Books

Rating: 4 stars

I have a few places that really make me extra-happy. One of those is a library--or bookstore, or book fair, or anywhere with lots of books. Another happy place for me is Crossfit. I can let go of my kind and polite side and be uber-competitive with guys and gals who are used to me trash-talking my way into a workout, then walking the walk and finishing first.

So a picture book about a competitive hound who is only content with the top spot...well, that's a book found at the crossroads between my two happy places!

Like me, Sam likes to be--and actually is--number one at lots of things. He's the best at turns, speed, and grabbing the top of the podium. And he loves it. Being number one is who he is.

Until he's not. Until he isn't. Until he loses. To his best friend, Maggie.

We watch as Sam slides into existential despair (maybe I'm exaggerating a bit)... Who IS Sam if he's not THE BEST?! When it is time to roll up to the starting line a few days later, Sam tries to be determined and confident, but really he's nervous and afraid to lose.

Within a few moments of starting, Sam is ahead! He's winning! He's thrilled.

But then...a gaggle of chicks crossing the road catches his eye. He could steer around and miss them, but the other cars behind him wouldn't see them in time. He hesitates for a moment, but stops and puts them in his race car to protect them. Sam's shoulders droop as his friends zoom past him.

As he putt-putts towards the finish line with the grateful chicks, he hears cheering. As he gets closer, he realizes his friends are cheering for him--because he was so kind and selfless and gave up the winning spot for these chicks.

Hooray for Sam!

(But: there better not be a gaggle of chicks at my workout. I don't know if I'm as benevolent as Sam.)

Back to picture books: I love author/illustrator Greg Pizzoli's advice to those interested in illustration: "Avoid the internet and draw!" Do check out his other book The Watermelon Seed!

Little Blue Truck's Christmas by Alice Schertle

Little Blue Truck's Christmas by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Jill McElmurry

Rating: 5 stars

Little Blue and I go way back. I mean, waaaaay back.

The original Little Blue Truck was Ben's favorite book as a baby. Because I read it to him daily, I can still recite the words and recall McElmurry's sweet illustrations that correspond with the stanzas. I can still recall having baby Ben (who turns six in two weeks! what?!) sitting in my lap and reading again and again, him flipping the pages, making the animals sounds, laughing at the change in my voice for the different characters.

I also snapped up the sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way when it was released a few years later. Both of these books have all that you want in great children's books: a fun, interesting rhythm and rhyme; sweet illustrations of neat characters; a nice moral to the story. In the first book, Little Blue helps a big, rude truck get out of the muck and, through his kind actions (rather than preachy words), teaches him that it pays to be a nice guy. In the second book, country-boy Little Blue teaches big-city traffic how to slow down, be patient, and take turns.

This third book, Little Blue Truck's Christmas, is just as wonderful as the first two. It is in a board book format, so best for ages four and under. There's some counting, just from one to five and then back down again, which is best for littler readers. Little Blue puts five trees in back to deliver to his friends, who all (wonderfully) say please and thank you as they request specific trees in the truck bed of Little Blue.

Who gets the last tree? I like this part. I think in decades past the last tree would be saved for an elderly person, someone who needs it most--and while that is fine and dandy, I think the fact that Little Truck saves the last tree for himself is an example of the "self love" trend that has been occurring for the past few years: You've got to love yourself and regard your own happiness in this life we've got, and that habit starts when kids are kids...and hopefully lasts until they are old and gray (and hopefully still very happy).

It's good to see you again, Little Blue!

What Can a Crane Pick Up? by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

What Can a Crane Pick Up? by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, illustrated by Mike Lowry

Rating: 4 stars

This is a book that shows and tells all the stuff a crane can pick up.  With simple verse and bright, fun illustrations, each page shows how much or how little one of these working vehicles can lift.

That is all.

And you know what?  I love that Kiefer loves the book so much.  Every time he sees it on the new book shelf, he grabs it and puts it in our library bag.  Sometimes his grabbing is accompanied with a serious statement delivered in sweet, child-like tones: "I really luff dis book."

Can a crane pick up a crane?
It could!

Simple pleasures. Seeing one of your favorite books on a shelf at the library and getting excited that it's your turn to check it out.

May those simple pleasures last in him, may they inspire us.

And you know what? That is all.

Alphabet Trucks by Samantha R. Vamos

Alphabet Trucks by Samantha R. Vamos, illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke

Rating: 4 stars

So far we've had heaps of luck with the 2014 Children's Choices Award-Winning Books.  The books on this list we've printed out guided our book lending last week.  These books were selected by kids and for kids--with the goal of encouraging kids to read more for pleasure.  These kids were spot-on.  There are some really great books on the list!

Including Alphabet Trucks, a compact little read that I've read half a dozen times to Kiefer already, and we've only had it a few days.  At three, the alphabet--recognizing the letters and learning the sounds they make--is exactly where he needs to be.  Nothing makes him happier than riding in his dad's old Chevy pick-up truck (if only it were orange!), but a book about trucks--with a pick-up truck on the cover--comes pretty close.

The rhymes (the fact that it rhymes at this age is a wonderful thing!) are a solid good:

E is for elevator truck,
Raise the forklift--up it goes!

A is for apple truck, carting produce to the store.

F is for fuel truck,
with a meter, pump, and hose.
G is for grapple truck,
And its grabby, massive claw.
H is for horse truck,
Full of water, feed, and straw.

As you can see, there's not a lot of information on each truck, just a brief introduction and a great illustration by Ryan O'Rourke.  In each picture, he's sprinkled in a bunch of those letters--Kiefer particularly likes how the Ms are sliding down the chute of the Mixing Truck. I like how the Junk Truck is hauling off a whole lot of Js to the dump.

But my favorite is the zipper truck.  Because I know what that is!  And I knew it when we first read it, promise.  I am NOT the know-it-all in the house, so I am rarely the one who has The Answer.  But this time I did!  (Enter triumphant ha-HA! here)  Years ago I saw a zipper truck, also known as a Barrier-Transfer Machine, do its thing as I drove into Washington, D.C.  I thought it was cool back then, and I didn't yet have boys who would verify its coolness for me. I told the kids about it.  I did my best to explain how it moved barriers to accommodate the different rush hour traffic needs on a single road, but this video helped them truly understand:

There you go!  One good book and one cool video to explain the car that exemplifies Z!

Digger and Tom by Sebastien Braun

Digger and Tom by Sebastien Braun

Rating: 5 stars

Separately, I tell Lorelei, Ben and Kiefer that they have a special superpower with each other: the power of encouragement.  While a "You can do it!" from Mommy or Daddy is great and sometimes can't be beat, a "You can do it!" from your sibling (especially, in Lorelei and Ben's case, an older sibling), is pretty awesome in its own way.  What grown younger sibling doesn't still crave an encouraging "You can do it!" from their older brother or sister?!

Oh, wait.  Shoot.  Am I the only one?  Hmm...

Anyway, Digger and Tom by Sebastien Braun provides just the right context for helping your child understand how wonderful it is to say "You can do it!" to somebody else.  We've all got to be so darn self-motivated in the world; it's nice for some help some days.

Digger is a little digger, the littlest construction vehicle on the lot.  He and Tom, a dump truck, work together to move dirt and rubble and other stuff.  While clearing the construction site at the end of the day, Tom notices one stubborn rock sticking out from the ground.  Tom leaves it in Digger's small but capable bucket.

Digger hops to it, but the rock is just too big.  It is just too stuck.  The other bigger vehicles move in and push Digger aside, maneuvering their bigger and more capable bodies in front.  They each have a turn with the rock, but no one can get it unstuck.  Those big vehicles decide to take a break.

While they're catching their breath, Tom whispers to Digger: "Why don't you have another try? You're a digger.  Digging's what you do best!"

So he gives it another try.  And he gets it unstuck! He is tired but proud, and thanks Tom: "Thank you for believing in me."

I LOVE this sweet book.  There are two other books by the prolific children's book author Sebastien Braun that emphasize team work and encouragement towards smaller-than-most vehicles (older Toot and Pop and newer Whoosh and Tug), but this one is our favorite.

If I Built A Car by Chris Van Dusen

If I Built A Car by Chris Van Dusen

Rating: 5 stars

The creativity packed in If I Built A Car by Chris Van Dusen is pretty incredible.  You'll be able to see it when the book is over--something crazy happens when you read it that makes me think there is some magical transference of creativity from the pages into my kids' heads.  I mean, I think that some of Van Dusen's imagination actually gets implanted into their own brains and they just…start thinking up some crazy awesome things.

It's just a simple little story, really: a boy drives along with his father and says if his father's cool, classic ride: "This car is fine, but I'd design something a whole lot cooler!"  And then…he does...

I'll work through the night to create a design--
Constantly analyze, tweak, and refine.
I'll study jet rockets and look at old planes,
Contemplate buses and zeppelins and trains.
To make it as smooth and as sleek as an eel,
I'll borrow ideas from the Wienermobile!

The boy is not joking.  He took all that into account to create one kick-ass car.  (Not that I encourage you to use the word "kick-ass" with your child while reading it, but I assure you the word will bounce into your head because the boy's car is…kick-ass!)

Try and disagree after you read this:

Now that we're cruising, let's head to the lake.
There's no need to panic or slam on the brake.
My car can do something that very few can.
The fenders will float like a catamaran!
We're skimming the waves and we're having a ball!
But wait--hold your horses, 'cause that isn't all.
Boating is fine till we get the urge 

To dive underwater…Then just hit SUBMERGE!

We'll fly over land! We'll fly over seas!
To Alaska, Nebraska, Bermuda, Belize!

What kid doesn't love the sound of that?  Van Dusen not only produces these fabulous rhymes; he also created illustrations that match the excitement in his verse.  The boy's dad's face is priceless in every picture--he is panicked in the illustration on the lake (because they're about to hit Mr. Magee and his dog Dee, who wonderfully pop up in this book), and in shock when the car later becomes a rocket. His expressions are beyond kid-friendly; they are spot-on, hilarious, and wonderful.

I read this to my kids at least a dozen times in the first few days that I got the book--and of course I got it as a birthday present for my nephew, which means we've been extra careful reading the pages but they have, in fact, been turned a whole lot.  Because, simply put: This. Book. Rocks!

Locomotive by Brian Floca

Locomotive by Brian Floca

Rating: 4 stars

I checked this book out easily before it won the Caldecott; after the gold seal shone brightly on its cover, there was a long waiting list both at the library and at the bookstore.  Here's a tiny secret: When I first checked out Locomotive, I didn't read it.  I don't know if any of my kids did.  So we returned it without having read it.  It happens…what can I say?

But then the Caldecott team deemed it worthy of a win, and it became wildly wanted.  We were number 60 on the waiting list!

Finally, it's our turn with the library's copy of the book and we all understand easily why it is Caldecott-worthy.  The book is a huge lap size picture book, with illustrations that resemble a wide screen TV.  Somehow, Brian Floca created a hundred masterpieces in this big, long book--masterpieces of illustration, not just beautiful pictures, but pictures that tell a story of a long-ago way of life.

Slowly, slowly the engineer drives--
the train is so heavy,
the bridge is so narrow,
and rickety rickety rickety!

After a brief show of how the rails were built, we see the iron horse chug up to the station.  In familiar prose, where Floca writes directly to you ("She pulls her tender and train behind her, she rules up close, to where you wait, all heat and smoke and noise.")  That noise of the train jumps out from the page at you with larger and fancier font than the rest of the words.  We, the readers, follow along as one family (a mother and two children) travels from east to west; we also observe and learn all the different people required to run the train smoothly.  Because, of course, it takes a team.

There's a whole lot that works in this book for me and my trio: The illustrations are spell-binding.  Floca's research shines through on every page: from the close-up details of the gaskets or that coal car to the historical map of the United States that shows the path of the train.  (I am curious how many pictures he took of real-life trains to take back to his studio with him.  Surely thousands…)  The family we see travel on the train are excited throughout; we experience what they experience, including going to the bathroom, (which was definitely a highlight for Ben in the book) but not when the train stops!  For there is "no plumbing here, there is only a hole in the floor."

The facts taught in the book easily earn my approval: and not just the team members' roles and responsibilities…  That's important, but so are the little, anecdotal things: For example, the switchman's job is dangerous; the train cars lurch and slam up against each other quickly.  They say "You can tell he's new to the job if he still has all his fingers." Or the mighty Sierra Nevada that "rise like a wall on the edge of a basin" requires an extra engine to pull the train up and over them.

Through the night the engine runs.
Those up late hear her whistle,
her wild and lonesome cry.

The ending works for me, too.  I love it: the mother and two children arrive to their father, who came out west before them.  There's nothing like a homecoming to warm your heart at the end of a story!

What doesn't work for me are all the words.  Oh my gosh even I am thrown off by all the dozens of words on each page.  Lorelei sat and read the book quietly in one sitting but Ben couldn't sit through the whole thing, despite his normally curious mind and the gorgeous pictures that go along with it.  Even I found myself skimming it.  My eyes were more interested in the illustrations than the words.  Because of the number of words, this book is better for an older age group--first grade or older.  It would be great to read right after finishing a chapter book from the same time period, such as Little House on the Prairie or Sarah, Plain and Tall.

Still, it is a masterpiece despite my silly gripes.  If there's a locomotive enthusiast in your family--of any age, your son or your mother or your grandfather!--this is a book for him.  Or her!

Poem-Mobiles: Crazy Car Poems by J. Patrick Lewis

Poem-Mobiles: Crazy Car Poems by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by Jeremy Holmes

Rating: 5 stars

Last month at the SCBWI Winter Conference we conference-goers got to choose two break-out sessions in which we'd learn, in a small group, some specific things about a specific topic.  I chose to attend a nonfiction picture book session and a poetry-writing session with the one and only Jane Yolen.

Me?  Poetry?  Honestly, in high school and college poetry was beyond me.  I felt stupid wading through stanzas trying to figure out the meaning.  I felt as if my whole class was staring at one of those pictures where a design pops out at you if you stare long and hard enough--and they, in unison, appreciated the neat thing that they could easily see through the patterns while I was left just staring.  I could either fake it or admit defeat.

But I love poetry in children's books.  Rhyming makes the books even better, I think.  My kids--and I, too--have always gravitated towards books with a rhythm and a rhyme.  So I thought it was high time to get over my bad self and dive into the world of poetry.  Among other things, Jane Yolen suggested to us scribbling note-takers, writing wanna-bes that we needed to read more poetry if we wanted to write more poetry.

J. Patrick Lewis was at the top of her list of poets to know about and read.  J. Patrick Lewis actually went to Lorelei's school last year, so she feels like she knows him.  We bought World Rat Day around that time, and both Lorelei and Ben have thoroughly enjoyed the silly holidays that he brings to light in short, clever, funny poems.  Honestly, they got into this poetry thing before I did--they'd read World Rat Day a bunch of times, laughing out loud as kids do so easily, before I wandered over and grabbed the book to read.

And holy smokes!  It was so good!  This was poetry I could get and enjoy--a great place for me to start, and I could start enjoying poetry along with my kids.  A win-win situation, for sure.

So I did what I usually do when I find an author I like and Jane Yolen tells me to: I check out every single book I can find by him/her.  I'm an all-or-nothing person, what can I say?  It was in this way that we stumbled across his latest book, Poem-Mobiles: Crazy Car Poems.  They are fantastic, and all three of my kids enjoy it in three very different ways:

Kiefer loves the illustrations by Jeremy Holmes.  There is so much to look at in each of these intricate, silly cars that J. Patrick Lewis has thought up and Homes has drawn up!  The kids fought over this book on the way home from our family trip to West Virginia last week; Kiefer, our youngest, easily won.  He pored over the illustrations slowly and carefully.  The grass taxi that requires mowing is his favorite, by far.

         Grass Taxi
I need to mow the glass,
I should Weedwack the visor,
I'm blanketed in grass.
My wax is fertilizer.
And when my gas tank's low,
I fill up on Weed-B-Gone.
My wormy engine's slow.
Check underneath my lawn.

Kiefer gets the first turn a lot of the time...

Ben does his best to read the poems and can read them literally but doesn't quite get the twists and turns of J. Patrick Lewis's wit.  He loves the wacky illustrations but the poems come alive when I read them to him (like how I patted myself on the back right there?).  By putting an emphasis on this word over that one, and by stopping and explaining what's so funny, he gets the joke and becomes a better reader.

Lorelei gets it all.  One of her fellow first grade classes just did a little performance/explanation of the word and literary concept of "inference."   She's happy for the challenge to infer, to read between the lines, to take the time and figure out the point and the joke.  She's a strong enough reader, curious enough girl, and funny enough kid that she eagerly looks for the jokes in poems like these. And even though cars are traditionally "boy toys," these poems are for either gender, trust me. This one cracks her up:

       Jurassic Park(ing)
You thought the dinosaurs were dead?!
The cars behind our school
Are big Tyrannosaurus wrecks
That run on fossil fuel.

I'm pretty sure that this book and other poetry collections by J. Patrick Lewis will be our gifts of choice at birthdays this year!

What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry

What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry

Rating: 5 stars

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

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

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

from A Voyage on the Sea

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

How to Train a Train by Jason Carter Eaton

How to Train a Train by Jason Carter Eaton, illustrated by John Rocco

Rating: 5 stars

"So you want a pet train?" asks the young boy-narrator.  "Well, of course you do!  Trains make awesome pets--they're fun, playful, and extremely useful.  Luckily for you, this handy guidebook contains everything you need to know to choose, track, and train your very own pet train.  Ready?  Then let's head out and find some trains!"

How can you resist an invitation like that?  I love how, right from the first page, this boy assumes you a) have realized that trains can be pets--and cool ones at that; b) are up for the adventure to find a train for yourself.  By the end of the first page, you're in.  Ready to go find your train.  You've long since forgotten that you once thought that having a train as a pet was a ludicrous notion.

Spend as much time as you can getting to know your train.
Does it like to play fetch?

And so begins a really fun imagination-filled tale of capturing your own train (with careful observation, then sweet luring it over to you, then winning it over with treats and pets in case you're curious).

What do you do with said train once you have it?  Well...lots of things!  You name it, of course, after getting to know it.  (Eaton names two of them after his own sons; I can only imagine their excitement of being in a children's book--my kids would go crazy in a sugar-before-bedtime sort of way.)  You can teach it tricks.  You can take it fishing with you, or take it swimming.

The story is neat and takes your kids on an unexpected, imaginative ride that makes them look around their normal lives and wonder: what else could I make into a pet?  And if a book makes your child wonder a little bit or a whole lot...well, then that's a great book in my book.

Here are some common train names...

But the illustrations!  John Rocco is so fantastic.  He brings to life these huge, heavy locomotives and makes them playful and funny and...just neat.  His trains-as-pets are brought to life, given sweet and kind and caring and even scared expressions on their steel engines in the most creative ways.  It's hard to read this book and not stop and examine the pictures in amazement and appreciation.  He's done our kids such a service here with his own imagination and talent.  (Thanks, John Rocco!)

This is definitely a great book--especially if you're little reader is into trains in just the slightest bit.  And maybe this is the way to persuade your child that they don't really want a puppy...they want a train instead?!

Mini Racer by Kristy Dempsey

Mini Racer by Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Bridget Strevens-Marzo

Rating: 5 stars

I've got to admit: I barely keep it together most mornings.  I try really hard to wake the kids, get them clothed, fed, brushed, and ready while making their breakfasts and lunches while also caring for our dogs and being tolerable to my husband.  It's as if I'm juggling way too many things while also balancing on a ball, doing my best to breathe deeply in order to maintain a shred of sanity.

More than anyone else, Ben hears, "Not in the morning.  I just can't."  Even as I type it I cringe.  It doesn't sound good to say it, it doesn't sound good to hear it, it doesn't sound good as it clicks through my fingers just now.  But it's really the truth.  Mornings are tough.  Even though most of our mornings are actually pretty good, rarely do I have time to do much beyond the necessary.  No savoring moments or sips or laughs.  Just trying to get everyone's day started on a good, positive, happy note.  Mine, too!

Ready, steady; green light, go!

But then there are some mornings when one of the boys sleeps in and I have time with the other one after Lorelei and my husband leave for the bus.  The other day was one such morning.  Ben was still sleeping, Kiefer had already eaten, and I actually listened to the voice in my head: Slow the heck down.

So I grabbed a book--Mini Racer--and my littlest guy, and we read.

What a cute book this is!  Yes, there are a dozen books for toddlers about cars in a race.  Yes, most of them rhyme.  Yes, many have good illustrations.  But this one seems to work more than most.

Ready, steady; green light, go!
Mini Racer won't go slow.
Out the gate and down the hill,
Jump a bump, show your skill!
Over, under, in and through,
Obstacles are tough to do.

The story is a notch above good, with a catchy rhyme for sure.

Kiefer's favorite page...the giraffe's head sticks out of the jeep,
and therefore he's stuck outside the tunnel.

But the illustrations make it a notch above great.  They are so cute!  A bunch of animals are racing, and each one has a car unique to him or her or them.  The owl family has a tree car, the dog is driving a motorcycle with a box of bones that are constantly falling out, the rabbits have a carrot box-car thingie, the honey has a beehive on the back of its vehicle...  You get the idea.  And each two-page spread has a different racing scene with a bunch of interesting things going on within the illustration alone.

Good story + great illustrations = one fantastic book.  Mini Racer really should be available in a large board book format--it is destined to be a favorite of many car-loving little guys and girls!

All of this makes for a very good read on a surprisingly quiet morning with an always special boy.

This is San Francisco by Miroslav Sasek

This is San Francisco by Miroslav Sasek

Rating: 5 stars

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

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

Steep, steep hills!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Maybelle the Cable Car by Virginia Lee Burton

Maybelle the Cable Car by Virginia Lee Burton

Rating: 4.5 stars

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

Backseat A-B-See by Maria van Lieshout

 Backseat A-B-See by Maria van Lieshout

Rating: 3.5 stars

I was just talking about how Ben is the biggest little backseat driver...and then he found this book at the library!  Thanks to this book,  Ben is armed with new, helpful information to help me navigate through suburbia.

Not only can Ben remind me when to go and stop at stoplights, he can now:

• Tell me where the D for detours are.
• Remind me to get G for gas.
• Yell at me to pay attention when there's a M for merge up ahead.
• Scream at me when the O for one way is not going our way.
• Request a T for taxi when my car doesn't cut it.

Handy, huh?

The Busy Building Book by Sue Tarsky

The Busy Building Book by Sue Tarsky, illustrated by Alex Ayliffe

Rating: 4 stars

This is one of Ben's favorite books on construction.  The book follows the steps to build an office building in a big city, from plans to excavating, scaffolding to framing rooms.  It provides just a basic outline with minimal sentences, but included on each page are dozens of labels for those curious readers who want a little more information.  There's a lot going on in each page, so there is plenty to look at...and look at, and look at...  Definitely a good one for the construction collection in anyone's house.

And, speaking of construction, our construction adventure continues!  The house on Kirby Road that we're keeping an eye on is progressing from hole in the ground to a recognizable house.  Last week we picked up Lorelei from school and checked it out with the general contractor and our friend Sidd.

Look closely.  Can you see the hole in my jeans?
Note to self: Don't wear your good jeans when hopping fences.

When we arrived, Sidd invited us to hop over the (low, chain-link) fence, walk down a steep, muddy path, jump through a window-looking opening that was actually going to be a door, stroll around the "basement" while simultaneously dodging a handful of strong men swinging big ol' axes while digging trenches for pipes.

Did I mention that, in addition to holding the hands of my adventuresome 4- and 5-year old kids, 22-month old Kiefer and 62-yearold Grammy were tagging along?  And I (stupidly) was wearing my nicest jeans.  But did I let any of these factors stop me?  NO!  I'm THAT kind of mom who trespasses and traipses while looking cute!

Writing her initials in cement...all kids should do it once!
(Preferably legally.)

And I'm glad we did--because the kids had the chance to see the basement before it became a basement.  Sidd had plans for the house ready for us to page through, and the kids saw how it resembled artwork (albeit more precise).  They get a peak at how Sidd's imagination helped make this muddy hole become a home.  We walked around, with Sidd pointing out different things to the kids while I tried to keep them fairly clear of the swinging axes that might disfigure them (that'd be bad).  There was some fresh cement, and he let them write their initials in it with an iron stick that was lying in the dirt.  The kids' eyes were big the whole time while they soaked up this totally new and cool experience.

Next time, we're wearing boots.  And maybe Kiefer should stay with Grammy in a safer location...

Alphabeep by Debora Pearson

Alphabeep: A Zipping, Zooming ABC by Debora Pearson, illustrated by Edward Miller

Rating: 4.5 stars

There are hundreds of alphabet books out there--but this one is particularly good.  It is especially great for any little (or big!) car enthusiasts out there...

And Ben sure is.  We just learned about "symbol signage" in Meet Me At the Art Museum, so he loved all the signs for the road.

But I have to warn you in case you're brave enough to drive Ben somewhere.  (Which won't happen anytime soon because he's way too attached to me to get in somebody else's car...maybe next year.)  He is a back seat driver.  I've already had to tell him the important life lesson: "No one likes being told how to drive, Ben!"  He asks me all the questions about the rules of the road, and is constantly baffled by my bad luck with red lights.  "Why are the lights always red for you, Mommy?"  Sigh.  "I guess I need to keep practicing patience, Ben!" is what I cheerfully muster while muttering something else in my impatient brain.

Ben's intersection.
If there's an accident, we've got an ambulence on standby.

But rules of the road are important, and it is cool that he is paying such close attention.  Just a few minutes ago I built him an intersection on our floor with blue painter's tape (our favorite toy), and now he's having his cars take turns stopping and going.  He was disappointed there were no turning lanes; I promised him that next time, I'd plan ahead and include them in my design.

Truckery Rhymes by Jon Scieszka

Truckery Rhymes by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by David Shannon, Loren Long, and David Gordon

Rating: 5 stars

This is a great, great book for boys!  I'm bummed I've only just found it.  Jon Scieszka is the creator of the blog Guys Read, a blog created to help boys become life-long readers.  I'm all for that!

In this book, he simply but cleverly rewrites all the classic nursery rhymes to make them dirty and funny and...truck-y!  And David Shannon, Loren Long, and David Gordon add some super cute, sometimes silly, sometimes funny illustrations to compliment the nursery rhyme.

Here are a few examples:

Patty Cake, Patty Cake 

Patty cake, patty cake, Dumper Dan.
Dump me some dirt as fast as you can.
Slide it and drop it and mark it DD,
And pile it in the lot for Melvin and me. 

Jack and Kat 

Jack and Kat raced up the hill
To burn some crazy rubber.
Jack zoomed down,
Right through Trucktown,
And Kat came scraping after.

This is a fantastic birthday book for a 2- or 3- year old boy (or truck-obsessed girl).

Jon Scieszka has written a few Trucktown books after this; they are a great preschool/kindergarten series you should definitely know about if, like me, you've got a boy or two in your charge.  We've read a bunch of them and like them...check them out here.

Wind-up Plane Book by Usborne

Wind-up Plane Book by Usborne

Rating: 4 stars

Has anyone seen these Usborne books?  They are new to us!  (Check them all out here.)  And they are new to newly four-year-old Ben, who had a very exciting birthday today.  I don't think he stopped grinning all day long.  Four!  Him!  Birthday!  Wow!  Everything had an exclamation mark on it today for Ben!

My sister got this book for him. Right away, we realized it was unique.  As you can see from the picture, it comes with a little airplane.  After Ben gleefully tore off the wrapping paper, we turned the thick board pages--I think there are just six double-spread pages in all--and saw tracks on two of the pages.  I took the airplane out and we pushed it along.  And then--enter another exclamation mark moment here!--we realized that it was a wind-up plane!  Wow!

(Yes, I should have realized it was a wind-up toy by the title, but...if you had one very excited birthday boy and his big sister and little brother doing their best to throw in their own exclamation mark-filled sounds whenever possible, you might have missed that, too.)

And so we tried it out (sorry for the odd angle):

Later, we actually read the book.  The book is Richard Scarry-esque (but with fewer factoids on each page) with an additional story.  This story is about Ben.  Ben!  "Just like me!  Ben!"  Ben takes a plane ride for the first time with his family, and he encounters all the sights and sounds that we grown-ups so quickly dismiss as commonplace.  It's a good book for kids like Ben who have been on an airplane once or twice and therefore still see it as a novel, exciting, almost magical thing.

Plus it's cool!  It has a wind-up airplane that comes with it!  Hopefully we won't lose it, like, tomorrow!


P.S.  Happy Birthday to one smiley, now snoozey Ben.