Finding Spring by Carin Berger

Finding Spring by Carin Berger
Greenwillow Books

Rating: 4 stars

Seasons are such a great thing. They embody that wise, ubiquitous "this, too, shall pass" magnet that is stuck on most of our refrigerators but we've seen it too many times to really remember what it's all about. Every year, the same magical thing happens: Winter melts to Spring. Spring morphs to Summer. Summer blows into Fall. Fall gives way to Winter. Again and again and again. Seasons are one way--a really great way, methinks--to teach our kids that life goes on. No matter what.

And when I look outside and see snow falling a-freaking-gain, I have to do my best to shake my head and smile, try to appreciate my kids' delight on another morning with freezing temperatures and school delays closures, and choose not to be grumpy. Instead, I'll dust a bit of "snow" (powdered sugar) on their waffles to celebrate this white stuff.

I've gotten off topic. No, I actually was never on topic. I started the blogpost with a tangent rather than interjected one in between paragraphs... Either way, Finding Spring was of course going to find its way to our library bag because I really want to find Spring in my own life. My kids, despite loving the snow, really want to find Spring, too. So we read this with earnest, as if somewhere in the pages of the book was the answer to Spring's whereabouts.

Mama and Maurice are bears preparing to hibernate for Winter. But all Maurice can think about is Spring. "Waiting is hard," Mama says wisely. "Right now it is time to sleep."

"Wow!" says Maurice.

Mama nods off; Maurice wanders off. He's just not sleepy and is curious to find Spring. Alone and unafraid, he asks forest creatures and looks everywhere for Spring. He comes up empty-handed until he feels an icy sting on his nose. A snowflake! He chases the snowflakes falling from the sky until he arrives at the top of Great Hill, where he witnesses a gorgeous snowfall, a sweet illustration made from a photograph of dozens of different snowflakes, some held up with push-pins and some glued down. It's a neat change of illustration pace.

Maurice realizes Winter is coming and runs back to the cave, to his Mama, and sleeps.

When they wake, they realize Spring is here. Finally! But Maurice wonders where it is exactly, and asks the same creatures he asked months before. He searches high and low until he remembers Great Hill. Together, in parade-like form and celebration, he and his pals march up and look out and see flowers blooming everywhere. Hoorah!

Okay, my turn. Can I look out and--nope, not yet. With one inch down and snow still falling, it is clearly still Winter around these parts!

(The snowfall pages in this book made me think of this Waiting for Winter book we bought years ago. The kids ran to find it in on our messy shelves and we laughed again at the animals' thinking that toothbrushes and tin cans were snowflakes...!)

Blizzard by John Rocco

Blizzard by John Rocco

Rating: 5 stars

Today is the second day back at school after my kids' winter break. Winter break for us stay-at-home moms is...different: the house is full, not empty. The house is loud, not quiet. The house is messy from all that playing-inside time, not neat from all that being-in-school time. It's fun and good and full...but I like when they go back to school.

But now, on the second day back, it's supposed to snow. Just a little. But STILL. Did it snow one flake over winter break? Nope. But today. It's supposed to snow. Go figure! I just have to laugh.

Luckily, it's not supposed to snow as much as it does in John Rocco's brilliant new Blizzard. (He won the Caldecott a few years ago with the heart-warming story with amazing illustrations Blackout.) The story is based on his experience of living through a 53-inch blizzard in Rhode Island in 1978, and is told with fewer words than illustrations, but the illustrations are larger-than-life; they tell the story by themselves...you'll be snow-blown away by it, just as I was when I first read it to my kids at the Boulder Bookstore around Thanksgiving.

Here's the story (and here's what my kids WISH they were waking up to):

"I wondered if we would ever see grass again."

A boy wakes up. He goes to school. The first snowflake falls down while school is in session, and his excitement goes up. As the day goes on and he walks home, the snow piles up and up around and on him, and the reader understands instantly that this is No Ordinary Snow. This is a whole lotta snow. The first day of the blizzard is wonderful and harmonious and fun, and the second and third days of being trapped inside and drinking hot chocolate (with milk, of course, which is better than water...I love this nod to the good-old-days, the made-from-scratch days) go by pretty well.

After a few days of being trapped inside by the snow, the family starts to go a little batty. I can relate--the house is way too full, way too loud, and messier than normal as they and their neighbors are completely snowed in. The boy watches as his family and others around him run out of the basic necessities. He decides to do something about it. He creatively puts together an outfit and equipment--including using tennis rackets for snow shoes--and rigs together a sled-grocery-cart thingamajig and pulls it from his house, through the neighborhood, to the town store.

The boy practices walking with his makeshift snowshoes...

(Rocco shows his path in a way most delightful to Kiefer these days: with a pull-out, triple-page illustration of the boy's tracks as he goes through the neighborhood. Kiefer likes to trace the path with his finger, and it's a long one that includes more than a few snowdrifts...)

The boy piles his sled high with groceries and, as he retraces his steps through the neighborhood back to his house, he gives his neighbors what they ordered. He arrives back to his own house, completely exhausted. His family celebrates his homecoming, praises his effort, and make him another mug of hot cocoa. With milk.

Even with all that snow, this is a heart-warming book, and a wonderful example of the good that can be done with resourcefulness, courage, a willing heart, and a pair of tennis rackets. This is THE BOOK you should give to kids this winter--for their birthdays or whatever reason you need to buy one extraordinary book.

Oh, and by the way, it's snowing outside of my cozy yellow house. My kids are going to be thrilled! Me? Well, I'll have an extra cup of coffee to keep up with their excitement...

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!

Fox's Garden by Princesse CamCam

Fox's Garden by Princesse Camcam

Rating: 5 stars

One cold and snowy night, a fox gets lost among endless woods and drifts of snow. She runs past one house, but gets scared off by the look of fright in the woman's eyes.  She runs up to another home, but gets kicked off by an angry old man. Not knowing where else to go, the fox finds a greenhouse open and available, so she goes in to get out of the cold.

She doesn't realize a small boy watches her from his window.  He gathers some food and follows her inside, and realizes that the fox is not alone.  She now has a small gathering of kits around her, nursing quietly among the flowers in the greenhouse.

The boy offers what he can: a basket of gifts. Then he slowly returns to his room; he doesn't further interrupt the fox or wait for her to pay him any attention.

While the boy sleeps, the fox and her kits carry large plumes of flowers from the greenhouse to the boy's house.  They all jump quietly through the window, and plant them in his room. Then, the fox family is off through the night.

The boy wakes to their grateful abundance of flowers in his own room.

--

There is something extremely special about this wordless picture book.  I'm not entirely sure what it is--I just can't put my finger on what makes this book so magical. Princesse Camcam (I'm sure you're not shocked to hear it's not her real name, but it is a pen name you're not likely to forget--she was born Camille Garoche in southwest France) creates her own paper-cut dioramas that she then lights up and photographs. This gives the illustrations a unique sense of depth as you turn the pages of her book.

The story, so elegantly and gently placed before the reader, is simple and straightforward. The adults in this book are not open to helping the fox, yet the small boy opens his heart and gives what he can to the fox. His thoughtfulness does not go unnoticed; the fox thanks him simply with a magical bouquet. The big lesson: kindness begets kindness.

The world needs more of this lesson.  The world needs more of books like these. This is truly one of the most beautiful books I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

Shackleton's Journey by William Grill

Shackleton's Journey by William Grill

Rating: 5 stars

The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Ernest Shackleton. 1914. The Endurance. The greatest survival story ever. Reading more about it is on my to-do list; I'm aiming to get to that when the kids are in late middle school, so that I can teach them lessons about this extraordinary man while also drawing on his courage and perseverance as I face my kids' teenage years.

In all seriousness, I'm just not sure I can do this book justice.  I found it on a list of Caldecott hopefuls, and I've been blown away ever since.

Funding and recruitment

William Grill has created a masterpiece here. In thirty-two short chapters--most just a double spread long--he shows rather than tells of the expedition that made Shackleton one of the best explorers ever. He begins by telling us a little about Shackleton and his background, then discusses the funding and recruitment for such a voyage.  By highlighting fascinating tidbits ("Shackleton quizzed candidates on their practical skills, but also about more unusual things, like if they could sing well.") and providing detailed drawings--such as the line of people who stood to apply to go with Shackleton--Grill hooks kids in to his unusual style.

Grill goes on, page after huge page, to illustrate the adventure.  He illustrates the equipment and supplies. He captures the excitement in the moment of "bon voyage." The expedition map shows Shackleton's route and the ice he's up against. I'm as impressed as the kids with the pack ice they ram through, complete with videographer hanging from the stern to film it. And then they're stuck! The entire crew stays where they are for years, eating and living and entertaining themselves.

Meanwhile on Elephant Island

"Extraordinary detail" doesn't begin to describe how great Grill's drawings are. Each little sketch is a story of itself, worthy of many minutes' study. And Grill uses colored pencils as his medium--just colored pencils. The book makes me think of those huge DK books that show the inside of a castle. But it is also a story, with one of the biggest, most unbelievable, completely TRUE plots ever!

I am confident this book will capture the imagination of at least one person in your house. The recommended age for this book is 7 to 11, and I agree with that, although having a picture book in your hand in these later years is definitely odd for some kids.

Then again, at 38, I have no problem having a picture book in my lap...especially one as extraordinary as Shackleton's Journey.

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!

Squirrels on Skis by J. Hamilton Ray

Squirrels on Skis by J. Hamilton Ray, illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre

Rating: 5 stars

I admit I am surprised to announce: We're a skiing family.  Thanks to the pushing encouragement of my husband, our big trip at the start of this very long, very cold, very miserable winter (that keeps on coming! Snow is in the forecast next week, in the first full week of Spring!) involved ski school for Lorelei and Ben.  I actually had some anxiety over them in ski school, even though "anxiety" is rarely a word I use when describing my own feelings about motherhood.  I was nervous, for lots of reasons.

But they totally and completely floored me--floored us, I should say.  Jonathan and I watched in amazement as, after two days of ski school, they came swooshing down a big Colorado mountain last November with big, proud grins on their faces.

What's a proud father to do?  Quickly keep the interest of skiing alive and go a handful of other times this snowy winter.  And what's a proud mother to do?  Promptly look to see what children's book exists on skiing!  (Duh!  Of course!)

Kiefer's skiing name: Skiefer.

Turns out, there aren't many.  But there is this one, and it is good, and I think we've had it the majority of the winter.  We check it out almost every other time we go to the library, so I've read this book out loud at least a dozen times, if not more.  But I still don't understand when Kiefer requests it, as his adorable toddler mouth has trouble pronouncing "squirrels on skis."  Luckily Lorelei and Ben are there to help me interpret.

It is a very good book, though it's 4-6 pages longer than I'd like.  It is one of those books that, when chosen at bedtime when you're battle-weary from the day, you have to fake excitement about because you are looking forward to the saying good-night part of bedtime.  Know what I mean?  But it is a well-paced book with a good plot and plenty of suspense thrown in to make the reader and even a tired parent stay interested.

And each of them balanced
on two little skis,
wearing muffs on their ears
and pads on their knees.

In this snowy village, squirrels start skiing for some inexplicable reason.  First one, then two, then hundreds.  Thousands!  The townspeople don't know what to do.  They think about "disposing" them, but some villagers think that's mean, so these nice guys have one day to figure out the problem and fix it before mean Mr. Powers comes in with his new vacuum device to get rid of the varmints.  Young Sally Sue Breeze points out that the squirrels are so complete in their quest to ski that they've stopped eating and might die (I could think of worse things, but...)!  Single-handedly she figures out that a crafty rabbit is turning a profit.  At the run-down ACME Popsicle Stick factory, he's selling popsicle sticks for skis and toothpicks for poles--at a rate of ten acorns a piece.

Within the nice rhyme, Sally Sue Breeze chides the rabbit for selling what's not his, and for swiping food from the squirrels.  She makes him take part in her plan to get the squirrels to stop and eat, and to provide a nice ski chalet for them (the old factory) where they can ski in an organized fashion, away from the town.

This is a great beginner book--for those beginning to read and beginning to ski!

Snow by Roy McKie and P.D. Eastman

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

Rating: 5 stars

Throwback Thursday!

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

The Night Santa Got Lost: How NORAD Saved Christmas by Michael Keane

The Night Santa Got Lost: How NORAD Saved Christmas by Michael Keane, illustrated by Michael Garland

Rating: 5 stars


This is a fun holiday book I reviewed last year for Washington Family magazine.  I just saw it last week at Barnes and Noble and was reminded how much I liked it.  It's definitely not for everyone--Santa rapelling and all!--but for those who think that's a fun image, this book is for YOU.  And your family.  Or...maybe just for you!

Here ya go:

Just as every military group has their own color of ribbon to wear or sticker on their members' cars, every group has their own version of the classic The Night Before Christmas.  As a member of the large and varied defense industry--I'm an Army brat, sister of a soldier, a former defense analyst--I am thrilled that this treasure of a book fell into my lap!

The plot is, like most stories, one that has been told before: It's Christmas Eve, and Santa is on his mission to deliver toys when a massive blizzard knocks him and his reindeer off course.  He is stuck for a while; by the time he gets unstuck he's in a time crunch.  With help from his friends, the toys find the right good boys and girls and everyone wakes up to many gifts and many smiles.

The story, like all recycled stories, has its own twist: Our North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is responsible for tracking airplanes, bombers, Air Force One, and oh! Santa and his reindeer, too.  They see the little "blob" that represents Santa on their screens suddenly disappear.  A small, elite military team fast-ropes out of a helicopter and finds a cold Santa and his equally chilly reindeer buried in heaps of snow.

To read the rest, click here.


P.S.  This is the author's first children's book.  On the back flap is a list of other stuff he's written, including The Dictionary of Modern Strategy and Tactics.  Just sort of a funny thing when you compare it with Santa.  I love it!

Winter is for Snow by Robert Neubecker

Winter is for Snow by Robert Neubecker

Rating: 4 stars

Since it might snow tonight here in the Northern Virginia area (!!), I thought I'd let you know about a cute book by Robert Neubecker about two siblings who have very different views on the wonderful-ness of snow.  I am a huge fan of Neubecker's huge, simple, great WOW! books, and I like this new one a lot.

Brother loves winter, Sister hates it.  They argue in color--no words are wasted on "he says" and "she says," which works well.  Together, the siblings' words form a rhyme:

Winter is for fat snowflakes,
swirling as they blow,
glittering like diamond dust!
Winter is for snow.

Winter! I say No.

The illustrations make me pause.  They are fitting, but I cringe at the thought of my kids choosing Sister's act rather than Brother's attitude.  In one picture she's on her i-something.  In another, she is glued to the television.

Kiefer is up too early (5:29 AM!) so he gets to blog with me.

But finally, Brother gets her outside--he is somehow resistant to her poopy pants behavior.  Then Brother really gets on his winter soapbox and starts waxing poetic about all the neat things about Winter in the Arctic, and Sister starts paying attention to the good and forgetting the bad.

And wouldn't you know it?

Winter is for all these things?
Is it really so?
Winter might not be so bad.
Winter is for SNOW!

It's a cute book, a nice reminder to get outside and enjoy Winter rather than complain about it (my husband can assure you that I need a cattle prod every now and then to do this as I was made for flip-flops more than snow boots).

BUT.  There's a small but to this book.

When I first read it, I had Neubecker's Wow! books in mind, where the two characters are a father and his daughter.  So I thought that the two characters in this book were the same: a father and daughter.  It made sense to me (though when I read through it again I realize it's a pretty short father!) because a big brother would probably NOT put up with all that pouting about winter.  Plus I really loved that the father was pulling his daughter out of the house and playing WITH her--I love any book that has that in it.  Maybe in Neubecker's next book...

Big Snow by Jonathan Bean

Big Snow by Jonathan Bean

Rating: 4 stars

Last week when I should have been zipping to my yoga class, I stopped at the library to pick up this book.  It was recently released, and I was on a long hold list, so I was pretty excited to see that it was en route to our local library earlier than I expected (yup, you read that right: nerdy me checks the status of holds to see when exactly I'll be getting my hands on certain books I'm nerdily excited about).  So after the kids were tucked in bed and before my yoga class, I ran into the library to check this out.

We are huge, huge fans of Jonathan Bean--especially of Building Our House.  I follow his blog so I'd heard a lot of chatter from him and kidslit critics about Big Snow.  My hopes were high!

And he did not disappoint.

Small flakes fell softly, white and fine.

Young David (my guess is he's about 4) lives in what seems to be one of the many small towns off of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  You laugh, but drive along there and look out, and you'll see the same image as what's in Bean's book--a modest, nondescript town at the foot of rolling hills that sure looks like a solid, safe place to slowly wonder, dream, and grow up.

He is really, really excited about the fact that it's going to snow today, yet he impatiently wants the snow to have fallen five minutes ago while simultaneously wanting information about why the snow isn't falling, if it'll be big snow, and how much snow big snow will entail.  I have another such question-asker in my house, so...I admire David's mother's patience in answering her son and providing distractions for him.

Yet he's so snow obsessed that the flour he's adding to the cookies makes him think of snow.  The suds in the tub he's cleaning make him think of snow.  The white sheets on the bed make him think of snow.

He tried to shovel away the drifts,
but the snow just fell heavier.

In a bit of literary unrealistic-ness (at least in my naps-ain't-cool house), David manages to gulp down his impatience and excitement and take a nap.

His dream combines his reality of helping his mom clean the house and his hope of big snow: there's a blizzard-like big snow inside their house, and David helps shovel it out while his mom tries to vacuum it up (love that image!).  Then his father's stomping feet coming home from work early wake him, and his father invites David to check out the big snow for himself.

The small family of three dresses for the big snow and goes to explore it, together.  Simple stuff--that's what the rich fabric of life consists of.  Little moments, thoughtful conversation, modest explorations, quiet hand-holding.  Once again Jonathan Bean gives us a tiny, rich slice of the good stuff of life.

Queen of Christmas by Mary Engelbreit

 Queen of Christmas by Mary Engelbreit

Rating: 5 stars

We checked out this book from our local library last week, and it never left Lorelei's backpack.  She read it on the bus to school and on the bus from school every day.  She loved it.  This morning, when it finally came out of her backpack, we talked about it.

(The story: While counting down for Christmas and doing fun activities like ice skating with her grandma and baking cookies with her mother, Ann Estelle works on The List.  Of course, this is her long, long list of things she wants for a "gift-getting opportunity like Christmas."  On Christmas morning, she only receives a few things from her list, but is still very happy with the day.  "It's not the presents that matter," she tells her dad.  "Don't you know that?")

She decided to squeeze a red skating
outfit--with sparkles--onto The List.

Lorelei informed me that she wrote a little report on it in her class.  Her teacher asked each student to write about a book they loved, to draw one of the pictures from the book, and write a sentence or two about it.  Her favorite page was, unsurprisingly, the one where Ann Estelle is ice skating in a red sparkly ensemble.

My favorite page, unsurprisingly, is at the end: when Ann Estelle tells her father that she knows the important things about Christmas.  Namely, time spent with people she loves experiencing fun stuff.  I couldn't agree more.

Snowmen All Year by Caralyn Buehner

 Snowmen All Year by Caralyn Buehner, illustrated by Mark Buehner

Rating: 5 stars

We read this library book--another of Lorelei's quality check-outs--and bought it a few hours later.  We liked it that much!

I only bought it (read: let me justify my purchase to you) because I was really happy to find the board book version.  The number of words on each page, nice, rollicking rhyme, and hilarious pictures make it a fantastic choice for Kiefer right now.  He's nearly 19 months and definitely into books.  He walks up to me, book in hand, sees me sitting "criss-cross-applesauce" and turns around a full two feet in front of me, backs up, and then plops down happily when his feet hit my legs.  I find it altogether adorable, makes me want to freeze time.

But what does Kiefer like even more than the laps of his parents?  The laps of his siblings, of course.  Just today he sat in Ben's lap for the first time.  Both boys grinned wildly as Ben "read" the book to him, trying to balance a boy almost equal his size and remember to turn the pages of the book.  I find THAT equally adorable, makes me want to freeze time some more.

So if there's a book that is going to cause more of these cute moments to happen, I'm buying it!

On stormy evenings I would play / My favorite games with him;
On sunny days I'd teach him how / To dive and how to swim.

This wonderful, silly book is about a boy who wishes he his snowman could stay with him all year long instead of melting when the warm sun comes out.  The whole book is about what the boy would do with him.  The huge illustrations are so great and fun!  You see boy and snowman flying kites, playing pirates, going to the zoo, riding a roller coaster, watching fireworks, playing chess, getting buried in the sand.

For Ben it is laugh-out-loud silly, and SO FUN to be the parent who gets to read it, and gets to ask, "Have you ever seen a snowman at the zoo?!" and then go on and on (and on and on) about all the other things that would be fun to do with a snowman that are not in the book.  The things on our list: throw rocks in the creek, go to the library, play soccer, ride on a train.

This is a fantastic book for any age kid--or, like in our house, every age kid.  I've heard through the grapevine that the kids are getting Snowmen At Christmas from Grammy...  I hope the gift-opening will pause long enough for us to read it on Christmas morning, because I'm excited to read it.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

Rating: 5 stars

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Drummer Boy by Loren Long

 Drummer Boy by Loren Long

Rating: 5 stars

Some families choose grocery stores for the quality of their produce.  Others choose one for low prices.  Our family?  I like grocery stores that have a nice selection of books.  Last night the trio and I found ourselves at Wegmans (which I actually like for all three reasons); in between the produce and dairy departments we had a pit-stop at the book shop. Lorelei and Ben were sprawled out way too comfortably on the floor reading Curious George books, and I found Drummer Boy, which I thought was just the song with illustrations by one of my favorite illustrators, Loren Long.  I put it in my cart without reading it.

In case you didn't know, Loren Long is the illustrate President Obama chose to illustrate his book, Of Thee I Sing.  When the President wants you, you know you're good.  But he was fantastic before (and after) that--his grand illustrations are sweeping beauties that pull you in completely.  Read all of my review of his books by clicking here.  Plus he has a weimaraner, like us.  (His is probably more well-behaved...maybe he wants two more...hmmm...)

When I got home, after the groceries were put away and the kids were asleep, I read it.  This book might be my favorite Christmas book of all time.

A boy receives a mystery gift on his doorstep some weeks before Christmas: a drummer boy.  "Just what I wanted," he says, and the drummer boy's heart feels warm.  After some days of drumming for the boy, the tail of the boy's dog sweeps the drummer boy into the trash, and he gets taken away into the back of a garbage truck.

The drummer boy is stunned and sad to find himself in a heap of trash, with a rat snarling at him.  But he plays for the rat...

Boom pum pum boom pum,Boom pum pum boom bum,Boom pat pat boom pat,Boom pat pat boom tat.

The owls grew quiet and drifted off to sleep.

The rat's snarl softens as he listens, but suddenly an owl swoops in and picks up the drummer boy.  When delivered to her nest, hungry baby owl beaks squawk at him.

Boom pum pum boom pum,Boom pum pum boom bum,Boom pat pat boom pat,Boom pat pat boom tat.

They fall asleep to the now-comforting sound of the drum.  After several other trips-turned-concerts, a raccoon carries him to a cemetery   The drummer boy is colder and lonelier than ever; he feels quite lost and very sad.  He feels that the statues and stones are surrounding him are waiting, waiting.  "So, with a heavy heart, he plays his drum for them."

Boom pum pum boom pum,Boom pum pum boom bum,Boom pat pat boom pat,Boom pat pat boom tat.

The next morning, after a heavy snowfall--you can only see the tip of the drummer boy's hat in yet another gorgeous illustration--the little boy comes to deliver a poinsettia to the gravestone in front of the drummer.  "Merry Christmas, Grandpa," he says quietly.  And, delighted, he finds his drummer boy.  They return home together, and the little boy places the drummer boy in his family's nativity scene, next to baby Jesus.

Boom pum pum boom pum,Boom pum pum boom bum,Boom pat pat boom pat,Boom pat pat boom tat.

And the drummer boy's heart feels very warm.

I have never found a children's book that is a better lesson on giving--on giving what you have (which can often be so little) so selflessly.  It is a beautiful story and the message, so moving.  The drummer boy is taken--helpless to move himself, he never has a choice whether to stay or go--from one place to the next.  Always, at first he feels alone, but when he finds someone to whom he can give this gift of music (or maybe it is with whom he should share it?), his heart is warmed.

It is so very appropriate that this book was tucked among beets and tomatoes and strawberries, chicken and steak and milk.  All those things nourish us, as do books.  The lessons within this particular book last so much longer as we teach and re-teach it to our children, and learn and re-learn it ourselves.

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas by Eric Litwin

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean

Rating: 4 stars

I love Pete the Cat.  I don't know what it is about him--his slinky coolness, his quiet head bob (not that he bobs his head in this book or the other books, but I just imagine him walking down the street, with lanky shoulders moving slowly and head bobbing to his own beat).  There is just something about him that I love, and his catchy songs that bring a grin--not just a smile--to all of our faces makes me appreciate him all the more.  I am thrilled that he's back!  (And there are two more books that are soon to be out, easy reader books.  Yay!)

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas is a twist on the traditional 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.  Santa is sick and considers canceling Christmas (gasp!) but they call Pete the Cat, and he comes to the rescue.  He has to do it in his usual cool way, so he hitches the reindeer to his hippy minibus, all filled with toys for all the good girls and boys (or, as my dad would say: none for the girls and all for the boys).  Pete thinks flying through the sky is "pretty groovy," but, like our old Golden Retriever, his expression doesn't change.

This book's refrain: "Give it your all, give it your all.  At Christmas we give, so give it your all."  It is less snappy and catchy than his other books, but appropriate for the season.

Pete is lauded a hero in the North Pole when he returns with his empty minibus, and he is proud of himself for accomplishing his mission.  "'I did it!' said Pete. 'And although I am small, / in the spirit of Christmas I gave it my all.'"

This is a great book for fans of Pete (that'd be our family) but probably won't attract heaps more followers on its own.  Those first three books are fantastic; if you've not read them just buy them all, like I did, so you always have a smile-raiser of a book on your shelf when you need one.

We are getting into the holiday spirit in our house...how about you?

The Tale of Jack Frost by David Melling

 The Tale of Jack Frost by David Melling

Rating: 4 frost-filled stars

I got a sneak peak at how Lorelei and Ben will react to fantasy stories like the Hobbit series and Redwall books with this tale of Jack Frost.  I hadn't realized how scary some of the scenes might be until we were mid-book, but I plunged ahead with my usual oh-I'm-sure-it'll-be-fine attitude.  I'm glad I did; they loved the story and the magic of Jack Frost got under their skin a bit.  Melling's beautiful illustrations are a perfect amount of scary for children--the goblins aren't friendly, but the befuddled looks they have gives them a humorous slant, so hopefully no child will lose sleep over them.

I grabbed this book at the library because the mornings have been downright chilly here in Virginia.  I don't love the cold, but I do appreciate how frost decorates our deck and leaves swirls on my Suburban.  Here is the fairy tale that accompanies those images:

Jack is a little boy ("a real boy!") who wakes up in an enchanted forest, barely clothed and alone.  The animals--from hedgehogs and beetles to unicorns and "skitlets"--all circle around him, curious and afraid.  When the little boy wakes, he remembered nothing, not even his name.  The animals take him in, teach him all the know--both magical and mundane tasks.  But his skin is snow white and always ice cold.  Whatever he touches turns to frost."  So he was named Jack Frost.

Funny looking creatures peered around each other, and even the trees
shuffled forward for a better look.

One day, goblins enter the forest, wanting to steal the magic from the animals.  They kidnap Jack Frost, thinking he can give them the magic.  Instead, he gives them a trick: Jack promises to help them catch the sun.  "Every night the sun goes to sleep in a lake by the forest.  It is full of magic and easy to catch."  The goblins and Jack then circle a lake and see the reflection of the moon, which Jack explains is actually the reflection of the sun.  He dips his finger into the lake and it quickly turns to ice.  They pick up the frozen "sun" and carry it off as Jack returns to his friends before the "sun" melts.

But melt it does, and the goblins are, of course, upset.  As they run after Jack, they step into magical puddles that makes them freeze in their tracks.  (Hmm...can I get some of that stuff?)  Jack laughss but gives them magical sunflowers to hold that will eventually melt them, so the goblins stare with stiff grins and chattering teeth, unable to chase him further.

And the frost you see in mornings like this morning in Virginia is proof that Jack Frost left the enchanted forest to leave little spells of magic, just for your kids to wake up to and smile at.

The story helps make winter mornings a little warmer, and...shouldn't we all believe in a bit of magic?

Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie DePaola

Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie DePaola

Rating: 5 yummy stars

This is, by far, my favorite wordless picture book.  I love, love, love it.

It's a simple story: a woman wakes up thinking about pancakes.  She assembles the ingredients--the traditional way.  No grocery store run for her.  She milks the cow, churns the butter, gathers the eggs, collects syrup from the tree.  Just as she's ready to make the pancakes, she realizes her dog and cat, who are also hungry, ate all the ingredients!  She's bummed.  But then...sniff, sniff...she realizes her neighbors woke with the same idea.  So she trudges through the snow, invites herself in, and eats a bunch of their pancakes (hopefully not all of them!).

As always, Tomie DePaola's drawings are funny and sweet, straightforward and inviting.  Nothing fancy in this book, just simple drawings for a simple story.

I'm usually not a fan of books without words, and can empathize when I hear other parents complain of them.  At the end of the day, when you're counting down the seconds until the door is closed on your day as a parent, who wants to actually think of the words to a story?!  I hear ya.

BUT they are important...  Here are a few reasons why (feel free to add your own, and tell me which ones you like to read with your kids/students):

• Kids imagine and create their own words and stories.
  
• Kids can "read" them by themselves, giving you a bit of a break and them a boost of confidence on their own path to literacy.
  
• As always, you can practice prediction and sequencing.
  
• For budding artists, having a wordless, cartoon-like book can inspire them to write/draw a book of their own.

But don't forget the best part of all about this particular book: it inspires you to make pancakes!  Hear are my two favorite healthy recipes in case you're in need of a new taste:

From my favorite restaurant in Atlanta, the Flying Biscuit, click here to get their oatmeal pancakes.  They soak overnight in buttermilk...yum, yum.  Top with peaches like they do, and a little maple syrup.  Definitely half the recipe, unless you are feeding a small army or the Dugger family!

From Cooking Light, click here to get a recipe for whole wheat pancakes.  We add blueberries to ours and usually dip them in honey.  They freeze really well (freeze individually) and become my go-to dinner when I need to get dinner on the table in 5.4 minutes or less.

(Also, see those labels at the end of this post?  Click on "wordless books" to see my reviews of a bunch of other wordless books, including the great Polo series, which are great for traveling in the car...)

Katy and the Big Snow by Virgina Lee Burton

Katy and the Big Snow by Virgina Lee Burton

Rating: 5 valuable stars

Lorelei's preschool just had their annual book fair.  The only reason I didn't spend my husband's entire paycheck there: Grammy was in town, so I made her spend her entire paycheck there.  Thoughtful, don't you think? 

We actually didn't spend that much money, but generous Grammy did let each child pick out a book--though I think my twin nieces got to choose two each...got to say something about that favoritism thing...unless it goes in my kids' direction...  Anyway, I'll write about Lorelei's choice, but this was Ben's choice--heavily assisted by me.  While I don't read through books from the library first, I always want to make sure we're buying good ones.  I don't want to waste Grammy's money!  I don't think you can go wrong with Virginia Lee Burton, a classic writer that you probably associate with her most famous book, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, a great book that has been in Ben's bed for the past two weeks.  I had never seen this book before and really liked what I read when I skimmed it.

Grammy wonderfully planted the book on Ben's car seat for the drive home and we read it later that night together.  It is wonderful in that classic, old-school values sort of way.  Ben was hooked from the first line: "Katy was a beautiful red crawler tractor."  I loved the next line: "She was very big and very strong and she could do a lot of things."  How wise of Burton to make a big, powerful tractor female--makes both little girls and boys curious about her.  Lorelei and Ben listened carefully to the story after the first few lines, curious to hear how Katy would use her strength.  Burton explains how Katy did a lot of different jobs throughout the year; "the harder and tougher the job the better she liked it." 

When winter came, Katy was so big and strong that she stayed put when there was only a light dusting on the ground.  But one day that dusting turned into a huge blizzard, and Katy was the only plow who could cut through the snow.  Everyone and everything in the town came to a stand still, unable to do their regular duties.  Then Katy came to the rescue, slowly but surely plowing everyone out, enabling the police to protect the city, the Postmaster to get the mail through, the Telephone Company to repair downed lines.  By the end of the day she was tired but still she chugged on until the roads were all clear.  Then and only then did Katy stop and rest.

What a great story about taking on a challenge, finishing what you start (see the sweet Ella Takes the Cake for another one), working hard, and helping those in need.  Those are such valuable lessons that Burton manages to pack in a classic book with sweet drawings.  This is a wonderful holiday book; I can't say how grateful I am to have it on our shelf.  I'm going to order up all of Virginia Lee Burton's other books from the library right now...any favorites I should read first when they come home with us for a visit?

P.S.  I might extra-like this book because of my name.  I just wanted to point that out before one of you guys did.

Sally's Snow Adventure by Stephen Huneck

Sally's Snow Adventure by Stephen Huneck

Rating: 5 stars

I'm not really counting down the days till winter, but I'm trying to keep that un-excitement a secret from Lorelei and Ben.  Part of the problem of our last winter--apart from several storms with many feet of snow each, the fact that Ben was barely walking on solid ground, let alone ice and snow, and losing power on a 9 degree night--was my attitude.  I'm trying to improve it a bit before the snow starts following.

This book does help!  A little.  (I know, I know, it's still barely fleece-wearing temperature outside now in mid-September, but...I'm trying to be optimistic.)  Sally and her family (whom we never see) go on to a dog-friendly lodge in the snow-covered mountains.  Sally meets lots of new canine friends, including two rescue dogs who tell her to stay on the trails so she doesn't get lost.  One afternoon she tries all the fun winter sports: skiing, sledding, and saucering.  By dinnertime she's at the top of the mountain and wants to take a shortcut home.  She gets lost but then gets rescued--a great little, early lesson for Lorelei and Ben about the importance of staying on established trails.  The lesson helps in a large, woodsy poison-ivy-filled backyard with one marked trail.

Fall is barely here, but that means winter is just around the corner.  Lorelei seems excited to try the sports Sally does in the book, which is a nice change from last year when she lasted about five minutes in the snow.   I'll be grateful if it means this winter is better than last!