Fancy Nancy series by Nancy O'Connor

Fancy Nancy series by Nancy O'Connor, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser

Rating: 3.5ish stars, depending on the book (see below)

I've written before about our second grader-neighbor for whom we often cheer as she steps off the school bus in the afternoon.  A few months ago this lovely little girl was carrying a few new books, all of them Fancy Nancy books.  Guess what books were the ONLY ones Lorelei wanted from the library that week?

Sigh.

Fancy Nancy and her fancy ways are here at our house.  I'm trying to support this phase; I am trying to pretend like it's a future teenage stage that Lorelei will inevitably go through that I certainly don't encourage or prefer but...I should nonetheless support. 

I really, really, really dragged my feet on this one, trying to delay the inevitable for as long as possible.  Many of my seemingly sane friends and mothers of girls always asked me, "Have you read Fancy Nancy yet?"  Um, of course not!  Tomboy at heart, right here!  Yet Lorelei walked around with sunglasses and two watches and a random necklace, telling me she was getting fancy for Dawn's (my cousin) wedding (see picture on right).

So we've read almost all of them and, I'm really surprised to say, I've learned little facts from each of them.  Not just the fancy words--I know most of those!--but actual facts about butterflies or poison ivy.  And that, of course, humbles me a bit and makes me realize that this is a pretty good series of books.

If only Nancy didn't wear so many friggin' tiaras and beads and feathers and heels!  I really could come to like her if the illustrations weren't so over-the-top frilly.  But, of course, it's hard to be fancy without being frilly.

So here's a short synopsis and rating of the ones we've read so far:

Fancy Nancy  (4 stars)  This is the original, and it's pretty easy to see why so many little girls fell in love with Fancy Nancy.  It's a good read, and there's a lot to look at in the little pictures, though I don't really encourage careful study of Fancy Nancy's room because over my dead body would Lorelei's room look like that! 

Fancy Nancy and the Late, Late, LATE Night  (3.5 stars) Nancy stays up late looking at the photo album that belongs to her neighbor, and then she realizes how tough it is to be sweet and fun and engaging without a good night's sleep.  This is a must read if you have a newborn in the house, so your kids gain a TINY bit of understanding about why you're so tired, and maybe just a little crabby.

Fancy Nancy: Ooh La La! It's Beauty Day  (2 stars)  This book was hard to get through.  I skimmed it while reading it to Lorelei.  The sub-title should be: How to have your very own spa day.  Fancy Nancy gives recipes/instructions for facials and pedicures and stuff like that.  I think it'd be fun if your daughter is 5 or 7 and can do everything herself, but this is not the bonding activity I prefer at this age.  That type of thing is my escape!  Don't make me do it at home! 

Fancy Nancy: Bonjour, Butterfly  (4 stars)  We like this one, mostly because we have some gigantic butterfly bushes (they are seriously out of control) that magically attract some gorgeous butterflies.  Today we tried to catch them with a net--I wish I had a camera because Ben was holding the net and trying to stick the poor butterfly with the rod attached to the net.  Oops.  We'll have to reread this one again, so I can show Ben how to catch a butterfly, not stab it.  Also, we're planning a trip to the butterfly garden in DC because of this book.

Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy (4 stars)  This is actually a great book if you're thinking about getting a dog, because Nancy really wants a tiny little dog like her neighbor but, when she takes care of it for a few days, she realizes it's not the dog for her, or for her family.  (Check out our own posh puppy in the picture.  That's Guidry, one of our rescued weims.)

Fancy Nancy's Favorite Fancy Words: From Accessories to Zany (3 stars)  Silly, but Lorelei's really into words, and she really likes alphabet books right now. 

Fancy Nancy: Poet Extraordinaire!  (3 stars)  I do like the poems at the end, but the story before you get there is annoying.  Nancy whines about not being able to write a poem even though everyone else can do it so easily.  She finally writes an ode to her teacher and I can't believe that the illustrator resisted the temptation to draw in a few of her classmates rolling their eyes at Nancy's brown-nosing poem. 

Fancy Nancy: Pajama Day (I Can Read Book 1) (4 stars)  This book was within a great find--the I Can Read section of our library.  These books are mostly just the right length (in my opinion, the Berenstain Bears or some Dr Seuss books are long enough to qualify for one bedtime book, rather than two shorter ones) and actually teach a simple lesson or tell a simple story.  The words are all short and simple, so wanna-be readers like Lorelei have a good chance of looking at the word and guessing what it is, especially if they know the gist of the story already.  This book is, you guessed it, about the day Nancy wears pajamas to school.  She feels excluded because she chooses to wear frilly ones instead of the ones her pal Bree suggested.

Fancy Nancy: Every Day Is Earth Day (I Can Read Book 1)  (5 stars)  This is the only one I'd buy, and it might go on Lorelei's Christmas list.  I really think that it's hard to find a good book that introduces kids to green concepts in just the right way--not too much, not too little--and this book does a good job.  Nancy makes up little rhymes (such as, "Less than a mile, ride in style" to encourage bike riding instead of car driving) so she and her family can be make better choices for the environment.

Fancy Nancy: Poison Ivy Expert (I Can Read Book 1) (4.5 stars) Another good one for our neck of the woods--because we have a bunch of poison ivy in our woods and I don't even know what it looks like!  But now Lorelei a) knows what it is and that it's better to stay away from it, b) knows what it looks like, and c) knows the rhyme "Leaves of three, let it be!"  This is a book we'll check out again and again--each time we go camping, or every now and then to remind ourselves of the not-so-great stuff in our backyard.

The Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow

The Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow

Rating: 2.5 stars

Despite the fact that she would sleep soundly through the craziest of crazy thunderstorms during her first few years, Lorelei is now becoming a little afraid of storms.  I understand why--big claps of thunder still make me jump!  And when the lights go out, and there's no white noise whatsoever, the claps seem even louder.  And the lightning that much closer.

Therefore, I've been looking for a book that will explain storms to her.  We're huge Berenstein Bear readers (we've read them all--a zillion times each--and I could probably write a thesis on them...that's scary) so I appreciated The Berenstain Bears Count Their Blessings and the short description about what causes thunder and lightning within the story.

But when I came across The Storm Book, I got my hopes up.  Lorelei knew we had checked it out from the library, so during the last crazy storm, she said, "Hey!  Let's read The Storm Book!"  Man, I couldn't ask her to play along with my provide-me-content-for-my-blog game better if I requested it.

So we did.

But the format of the book is so NOT for children of this age that it's hard to get through it with a preschooler in your lap or in front of you.  The words are on one page, and the picture, spanning two complete pages, follows that page with the text.  So the child needs to sit through a long paragraph or two until they get something to look at.  And then you can look at the picture, which is very interesting and pretty.

It might be a good book to have on your shelf for a little later, or if you're a teacher you could easily photocopy the pages with text and read them while you hold up the image...  It is a pretty good book to use for an introduction to a lesson on storms.  But this seems like a lot of work for a parent, and for a just-ok book.  It's not bad, but...we won't be checking it out again for awhile.

Has anyone out there read any other books on storms?  I'm curious...it's easy to find books on monkeys and farm animals and trucks and princesses, but weather doesn't seem to be a popular subject!

A Train Goes Clickety-Clack by Jonathan London

A Train Goes Clickety-Clack by Jonathan London

Rating: 4 stars

I need a favor.  Will someone please sneak into my house late, in the middle of the night, and steal this book from us?  And then return it to the library without my son noticing?  I'm not sure he's going to let us return it, and it's actually almost due.  I know I could renew it, but...that's not the point!  I've got to take a break from it!

There's not much to this book, but Ben loves it.  The book follows me around everywhere...because Ben picks it up and follows me around, wanting me to read it to him.  I am, of course, officially delighted that he can now sit through a book or two with hardly a squirm.  But, between you and me, I'd like to get a few other things done during my day than read this book over and over and over and over and over.  And over and over and over again!

But it's a good one.  I can say that after reading it about a hundred times.  It's just your basic, run-of-the-mill introduction to trains book.  My husband wanted Ben to get into trains; he succeeded!  It took a few cool Thomas the Train items (some a bit overpriced for my cheap taste) and a book like this.

One last, more serious thing about it: Lorelei is starting to try to read, and a book like this is great for her.  We play "find the word" and she finds it on each page or I point to one and ask if that's the word we're looking for.  She thinks it's fun and she gets it right most of the time.  I don't want to push reading too much...I just want her to think it's a great pastime. 

So that we can take long car trips and plane rides.  I like to plan ahead.

The Fathers are Coming Home by Margaret Wise Brown

The Fathers are Coming Home by Margaret Wise Brown

Rating: 4.5 stars

Jonathan and I went to Boulder, Colorado, early this week for a short second honeymoon.  It was wonderful, for many reasons: First, the kids got some quality time with beloved Grammy and her GrandBill; second, we hiked ten long miles in through the gorgeous and nearly completely silent Rocky Mountains; third, we decided not to hike the second day and just bum around Boulder, so I had the time to go into every shop I wanted--even stores with tons of breakable things, and I didn't even have to push a stroller around!  I also had the incredible pleasure of shopping at Boulder Bookstore, an independent bookseller that made me ashamed at the length of time between Tuesday and the last time I was in an independent bookseller with creaky floors, lots of rooms, and completely helpful salespeople.

In case you're in the area there, check it out in person or online.  And, while I'm feeling ashamed at only going to Books A Million and Barnes & Noble, does anyone know of any independent bookstores in the Northern Virginia area?  Feel free to comment and/or provide links below...

So there I was, with my husband dozing happily in the hotel room, and I was totally free to browse anywhere I wanted.  Where did I end up?  The bookstore.  The children's section.  Hmmm.  But I was only there to choose one book for Lorelei, and one book for Ben, as souvenirs (I was not so tempted by the "My parents went to Boulder, and all I got was this T-shirt" t-shirts).

This is the one I selected for Ben.  It is not without issues--the biggest of which is that it doesn't include mothers.  I stay at home with our kids, so this is a nice book for Jonathan read when he makes it home by bedtime.  But I suspect there are a lot of working moms out there who will be too miffed to buy it, and I respect that boycott.

But I'm from an Army family, and know plenty of fathers (and mothers, see problem above) who are coming home to their families from war.  For that reason, I started tearing up at the cover of this book.  Look how happy the dad and son are to see each other!  Stephen Savage did an incredible job, and we look forward to checking out each and every other one of his children's books. 

Wait, there's only one.  Well, that'll be easy. 

Anyway, on each page an animal father, including fish, ladybug, rabbit, pigs, and daddy longlegs, comes home to his family.  (Except for the father lion, who lives alone, and comes home to himself.)  And on the last page, the boy's father, "who is a sailor, comes home from the sea."  In a dark image, the father is in his white uniform, and the last page is the same as the front cover.  I just want to frame that page, even though I'm an Army brat and...well...I really thought I've said, "Beat Navy!" too many times to appreciate anything sailor-related.

My brother-in-law is going to Afghanistan soon, and my sister will take care of their three very little ones by herself.  So the whole fathers-coming-home thing really tugs at my heart strings for many reasons right now.  I really do wish that Margaret Wise Brown had a whole series of books like this, just with different endings, so to include mothers and fathers who are also Soldiers, Airmen, and Marines.

Fireman Small - Fire Down Below! by Wong Herbert Yee

Fireman Small - Fire Down Below! by Wong Herbert Yee

Rating: 4 stars

There are a lot of fireman-crazy boys out there.  And girls, too.  This is a sequel to Fireman Small (review here), which we liked.  This one looks a little frightening.  I wasn't shaking in my boots, but check out the cover--Fireman Small looks a bit intimidated with the rain pouring over him and the fire coming up from below.  I actually turned it down a few times at the library because it looked a little scary.

But we went for it and got it anyway.  We aren't afraid of a book!

It's really good.  Not fantastic, I've-gotta-buy-this-now, but good.  And it's really a good one to write down and check out during fire prevention week (October--make sure to visit your local fire station!).  It's a nice poem--again, like with the original Fireman Small book, I can't seem to get the beat just right, which annoys me a little--and longer than the first, for better or for worse.  But, through the poem and illustrations, he teaches how to crawl under the smoke, breathe through a wet towel, and to stop, drop, and roll.  And all of this is done through the story, so you can focus on it, or not. 

Here's an additional picture of me reading this book to a fireman-crazy boy, almost-birthday-boy G.  (I can't help but laugh as the kids are kind of crawling over me to get to the book, and the paparazzi, a.k.a. Stacey, is taking photos the whole time.)  His mom is my very best friend since first grade (she listened to my long-winded book report on the Bobbsey Twins umpteen years ago), and now our kids are friends.  Life is good!

This Little Chick by John Lawrence

This Little Chick by John Lawrence

Rating: 5 stars

I hope that all preschool teachers know about this one.  And lots of parents, too.  But if they already knew about it, why didn't anyone let me in on the secret?  Why am I always the last to know?

We checked this out from the library about 10 days ago.  Since then, I think I've read it 20 times.  Lorelei and Ben keep gravitating towards it, separately or, even more cutely, side-by-side.  Though I don't ask (I'd love to get an answer from Ben, but he'd just say "eh!!" enthusiastically and point to the book a-GAIN), I'd love to know why.

Then again, I think it's pretty obvious:

1.  The book is huge and the pictures are loud and vivid and clear and cute.

2.  The words are simple, with a "This little chick went over the way, and went to ____ (insert animal-appropriate verb) with the ____ (insert animal here, with corresponding picture) one day.  What do you think they heard him say?"

3.  The little chick is funny!  He mimics whichever animal he is visiting that day, letting a loud "OINK!" escape from his cute little chick beak on one page and a "MOOOOOOOOOOO!" from the same cute beak on a different page and a...well, you get the idea.

4.  I think they also like it because I am a very funny book reader.  I would hire myself out.  I should volunteer at a local library for story time.  Well, maybe I'm not that funny, but I'm happy that my kids think I'm pretty funny most of the time.

5.  Lorelei and Ben found out that the New York Times rated this one of the best illustrated children's books.  They are such followers!

This book is also available as a board book, making it an excellent baby gift--to someone else or to your own baby.

Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Jill McElmurry

Rating: 5 beep! beep! beep! stars

The word delightful is pretty overused when it comes to childrens' books.  But sometimes, it just fits.  It's the main word that comes to mind when I think of this book.  It's delightful to read aloud, it's delightful to listen to, and it's a delightful message overall.

Delightful, delightful, delightful!

I got it out of my system now, so I can get back to writing.

Over a year ago when Ben was just six months old or something around that--with the second you round up, starting a few weeks after birth--I felt a little badly that all he got was hand-me-downs.  His onesies were already stained, some of his blankets were pink, and all his books were already worn.  So we were at a bookstore and I decided to buy a few "baby boy" books.  I came across this one.  Jackpot!

This is a fun poem with lots of farm animals and a cool truck, all of which make sounds like Oink and Neigh and Beep--it makes Ben happy every time we read it.  They are speaking his language!  It is so fun to read aloud.  Oh, and I've not even gotten to the storyline: there's a good message plainly hidden in the words and the illustrations (which are super delightful...oops, I said it again). 

Little Blue is a friendly truck that beeps to everyone he passes.  Then we meet the dump truck, which "doesn't have time to pass the day / with every duck along the way." Then the dump gets stuck in the mud, and no one responds when he honks his important, busy, and frightened horn.  But Little Blue tries to push him out, of course, but then gets stuck himself.  And everyone responds to his "Beep!  Beep!  Beep! / I'm stuck, I'm stuck!" call of distress.  After all the animals come to the rescue, the dump truck sees "that a lot depends / on the helping hand / of a few good friends."

Little Blue doesn't gloat or say I told you so (how mature of him!); he just offers all his animal friends a ride home.

This is a wonderful, wonderful book.  I am reminded of it because the sequel just came out...a review of Little Blue Truck Leads the Way is coming soon!  I know you'll be on the edge of your seats, my imaginary friends.

Maxwell's Mountain by Shari Becker

Maxwell's Mountain by Shari Becker, illustrated by Nicole E. Wong

Rating: 5 stars

Last week we were at REI, one of favorite places to buy unnecessary things just to help out the economy a bit, looking for a few unnecessary things for our upcoming trip to Colorado.  (A trip that we called our second honeymoon because of The Berenstein Bears and the Week at Grandma's, where Brother and Sister stay with their grandparents because Mama and Papa go on a second honeymoon.  Lorelei and Ben's grandparents were coming to them, but it was the same idea.)  We found a few things for us, but we found a few things for the kids, too.  Namely, this book.

First, before I describe the book, I have to tell you that even though we read an insane number of books (too many? I often wonder), we don't buy many.  In fact, the library has almost ruined the bookstore for us because there are so many we can check out, and of course we can't ever buy a ton at the bookstore...  So when I buy a book, it's got to be a really great one.

And this one is!

I was thrilled to find a book that talked about hiking, something Jonathan and I would be doing in Colorado.  Lorelei, Ben, and I had gone hiking on our field trip last Wednesday (doesn't it look like Ben's climbing up a mountain?), so they already had a hiking experience under their tiny belts.  But this book took hiking to a higher level...

Maxwell, the little boy in the book, looks around the playground one day and decides that all the stuff he sees on it are just a little expected, a little ordinary, a little plain.  Then he spots a mountain (really, a big hill) next to the playground and he decides to climb it.  This is where I have to stop and make a list of the things I love about this book:

First, I love the fact that he comes up with the idea himself.  No grown up suggests, no big sister orders, and no bully dares him to do it.  He just decides "I'm going to climb that."  This is a rare book where the main character sets a goal for himself.

Second, I love that he prepares for it, smartly.  He recognizes (with help from his parents) that he can't just climb all the way to the top the very same day.  He has to train for it.  As a marathoner, I love that he puts in the effort to achieve his goal--and that the goal is tough.

Third, I love that he makes a list of things he needs.  Any book that includes a list gets two thumbs up in my book...  Lorelei sometimes writes on her own and I ask her what she's writing, to which she replies: "A list."  A little scary, but funny!

Fourth, I love that his parents let him do it by himself.  They stand at the bottom and watch--this is 2010, of course--but they trust him and have faith in him, and let him have the sense of accomplishment that comes from doing it by himself.

Fifth, and this is definitely similar to the second thing up there, I love that this is a physical goal, and one that is done outside.  We all need to get outside more (I type from indoors), even on the hottest or coldest of days.  This book is a great reminder of that.

This book is more than worthy of buying--it's a book about setting goals and achieving them.  And about lists, too! 

School Bus by Donald Crews

School Bus by Donald Crews

Rating: 3.5 stars

A school bus sighting is always a big deal for Ben.  Especially when we walked all the way to the end of our little road to watch our little neighbor, a rising second grader, get off the school bus.  Her mother drives down the road to pick her up, but sometimes there's a whole crowd that includes me, Lorelei, and Ben, and our other neighbor and her daughter.  When she gets off, we cheer and applaud as if she's walking down the red carpet. 

So we like school buses.

And Donald Crews is a genius for jamming in as many school buses as is humanely possibly on each of the pages in this book.  On one page there are 32.  I know because I've counted them about 32 times.  There's not much to this book, except for the wonderful fact that there are a lot of school buses to look at and count, but it's still a good one to check out, especially if you've got a Ben in your life who just wants to look at vehicles all day long or a Lorelei in your life whose biggest dream is to ride a school bus.

Just a note on the author: Donald Crews is best know for Freight Train but he's got a lot of other books particularly good for boys...order 'em up from your local library and test them out on your kid today!

Gracias / Thanks by Pat Mora

Gracias Thanks by Pat Mora, illustrated by John Parra

Rating: 4.5 stars

I'm on the hunt for a great birthday book for a wonderful little almost 5 year-old in our life, and I thought this might be It.  It's not It, but it's still a good book and worthy of a read, especially if you're bilingual.  (Some of the things for which the little boy is grateful are a bit random, or else this would be a 5.)

The premise here is pretty simple: On each page, the little boy you see on the cover of the book gives thanks for something.  I love how specific and funny in a little kid way he is.  For example: "For the sun that wakes me up so I don't sleep for years and years and grow a long, white beard, thanks." 

Or "For the bees that didn't sting me and turn me into a pincushion, thanks."  I love that he thinks about something that didn't happen and gives thanks for that.

The book isn't religious in an outright way, so it's perfect for those of us who are religious in a less-outright way.  (Though it is definitely like the Catholic Prayers of the Faithful...let me know if you agree if/when you've read this book.)  There are so many things to give thanks for--whether you do that while walking around your yard, cuddling your newborn, or singing with a congregation.  I love that there exists a very nice children's book that reminds of all the itsy-bitsy things that we--children and adults alike--should say thanks for.  How different a world we'd live in if we could all appreciate what we've got just a little bit more.

So, here's my own additional entries in my imaginary Gracias / Thanks book:

For the heat of the sun that gives us a great reason to play with buckets and sprinklers and cups and hoses, and an opportunity for some wet giggles, thanks.

For Lorelei, who hugged me again and again and again when Jonathan and I came home from our short little second honeymoon yesterday, thanks.

For Ben, who sometimes makes me laugh so hard that I might possibly snort coffee out of my nose one of these days, thanks.

For Jonathan, who challenges and comforts me, thanks.

For my friends and family and maybe, if I'm lucky, a few others who read this blog, thanks.

Summer by Alice Low

Summer by Alice Low, illustrated by Roy McKie

Rating: 5 summery stars

It's been retro week at our house for the past few weeks.  It all started with a trip to my Dad's house a few weeks ago.  He's got a pool, which is cool, but he's also got (drumroll, please) The Children's Library.  This library is a few shelves stuffed with all the old books that my sister and I loved as children.  During a break from swimming and sun, Lorelei said she was ready for some quiet time, so we got a stack of books from The Children's Library and set her up on a pool chair.  Her twin cousins joined in the read-fest and they turned the very pages I turned as a kid.

This was the best of the best in the stack of books.  I read it out loud to Lorelei and her twin cousins while the sun shone down on us, warming our towels that were wrapped around us.  It was towards the end of June, during an unusually hot spell here in Virginia that meant summer really is here, ready or not.  The girls' hair was still wet and in their face as they sipped their chocolate milk, given to them because it was Sunday and they were at GrandDad's house.

Really, is there a more perfect book than this one at that moment? 

All of them loved it, with the references to the sun and the heat and the beach and the waves and the fireflies and the roasted marshmallows and all that good stuff that childhood summertime should be all about.  It was like jumping back a dozen years into my own childhood, one that was full and dirty and fun and perfect.

We loved it so much that we checked it from the library, too, so we read it on the way to GrandDad's house again today, and then read it at his house, and then on the way home. 

Hooray!  Summer is HERE!

Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel

Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel, illustrated by David Catrow

Rating: 4 stars

The bean bag chairs at the library were available this week, so we were hanging out at the end of the alphabet and came across this book.  I recognized the illustrator as David Catrow, who also illustrated the fun I Ain't Gonna Paint No More (review here) and Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon (review coming one day). 

This is a nice little book about a family who moves in and plans to cut down all the trees to build their new house, but all of them fall in love with one tree, which the littlest kid (who can't say tree) names "Steve."  Steve quickly becomes part of their family--he helps them jump rope, holds the underwear proudly when the dryer breaks down, is the background for family pictures, and is the center of all outdoor activity. 

Then, sadly, a storm puts an end to Steve.

But the family uses the wood from Steve to build a treehouse in a different tree in the yard, so Steve lives on, and keeps on giving.

This is a cute little book, and one that I really appreciate because our house is surrounded by huge trees.  I also am a huge letter writer, and this book is the first children's book that I've come across that is written as a letter.  The parents are writing their three children about Steve, and reminiscing about how Steve came into their lives, before telling them of his tragic ending.  The kids are staying at their grandparents' house, and their parents want to forewarn them before they arrive home to Steve the Stump.

This is a cute little book, one worth checking out and reading a few times, maybe before planting a Steve of your own!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow by E.Y. Harburg

Somewhere Over the Rainbow words by E.Y. Harburg, illustrated by Eric Puybaret

Rating: 3.5 stars

I love the New York Times. We just get the Sunday edition; it often takes me till Wednesday to get through the sections I want to read. (I admit I read Styles and the Book Review before the front page.) I think their recommendations for books for adults are wonderful, and I love reading reviews of books (am sure this is a shocking revelation for all those reading this book review right now).

But the Children's Bestseller's List is just an odd collection. I think it should be renamed Children's Books that Grandparents/Other People Think Kids Would Like. Because I think most of the books that appear on the list are gift books that are truly beautiful and kids would appreciate with age, but they are often not ones that will become dog-eared, chewed-up, taped-all-over "Velveteen rabbits" of books.

Like this one.  It is gorgeous, and grandmothers all over the country will swoon over it, remembering when they swayed to the song when they were younger, and wishing that their granddaughters would enjoy it as much as they did.  It is a wonderful song:

Somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high,

There's a land that I heard of

Once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow

Skies are blue,

And the dreams that you dare to dream

Really do come true.

Someday I'll wish upon a star

And wake up where the clouds are far

Behind me.

Where troubles melt like lemon drops

way above the chimney tops

That's where you'll find me.

Somewhere over the rainbow

Bluebirds fly.

Birds fly over the rainbow.

Why then, oh why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow

Why, oh why can't I?

But WHO is going to sing this one out loud to their children??!  Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star this is not.  Here's the short line up of women who could pull off this song: Judy Garland, Katherine McPhee, and my mom.

Oh, wait.  Maybe that's the point.  Maybe ALL kids think that their very own mothers were on this short list?  Oh all right.  I guess it can stay on the best seller's list, then. 


P.S.  In case you're not Judy, Katherine, or my mom, the book comes with a CD.

Dr Seuss's ABC

Dr Seuss's ABCs by Dr Seuss

Rating: 5 stars, in alphabetical order

I can just imagine the conversation...

Me:  "Good morning, officer."

Officer:  "Good morning, ma'am.  Do you know why I pulled you over?"

Me:  "Umm...not exactly."

Officer:  "You were driving erratically.  Are you under the influence?  Have you been drinking?"

Me:  "Um, no.  Just coffee.  I was, um...well, um...I was kind of reading to my children."

Officer:  "While driving?  Along this windy road?  Why?"

Me:  "Why was I reading to them?  Because I want them to be critical thinkers, contributing members of society, happy and knowledgeable..."

I think all mothers must hide their head in shame at some point when asked about what they do while driving--or what they also do while driving.  I once had a sore shoulder for a few weeks because I was holding Lorelei's pacifier in her mouth for 10 or 15 minutes straight.  While driving.  So embarrassing...I mean, I know that I have incredibly precious cargo, and I am even careful about how much I talk on the phone while driving, and I truly only text while at stop lights.

But the other day for some stupid reason, I thought it'd be a good idea to hold this book up so that Lorelei and Ben could see the pictures, and have Lorelei "read" it to Ben.  She knows all the words, so I only had to look at the pages once or twice to get her jump-started on a particular letter.  And there wasn't too much traffic on the super twisty-turny road we were driving on...

I know, I know.  I'll never do it again, I promise!

But this book is a must read.  We're not huge Dr. Suess followers and this book actually sat on our shelf for years because I thought it was pretty strange and annoying.  It has no story, something I almost always say is necessary for this 1ish to 4ish age group.  But what it does have is some funny, gripping rhyme with silly pictures that somehow make sense in a little mind like Lorelei's.  She and Ben both love this book, especially Z (which you recite the entire alphabet before getting to, like one crazy drum roll countdown, more exciting than a space shuttle launch); even Ben points to himself when you turn the page after asking "What begins with Z?  I do!  I am a zizzer-zazzer zuzz, as you can plainly see!"

Of course!  A zizzer-zazzer zuzz!  It is something so silly that we grown ups have difficulty appreciating the silliness of because we think we're too cool to be silly. 

Also, this is a real teach-the-alphabet book.  Lorelei is able to sound out the first letter of almost all words we throw at her these days, something that makes my husband confident in her future place in Mensa.  But I know that it is her incredibly interest in reading and all things letter-related that has helped her get to this point.  I'm not pushing it.  What's the fun in reading if there's no fun in it?

This book rocks!  We love it.  It's crazy and very suess-ish, but a must-have.

Alice the Fairy by David Shannon

Alice the Fairy by David Shannon

Rating: 4 stars

I think that there are probably a bunch of parents who might resent Alice a little.  She's a funny little girl who pretends she's a fairy--a temporary one, as she's not yet passed the tests required to be a permanent one--who thinks she has magical powers and uses them in her own home.  I must admit that I resent Alice a little because Lorelei has called me the same thing that Alice calls her mother: the wicked duchess. 

Humph.

Alice turns her dad into a horse and turns her dad's cookies into her own (that's my favorite line in the book).  She wants to turn her bath into a big, bouncy pile of Jello and make her dog sit on the ceiling instead of the floor.  I know that, like Lorelei has, there are a lot of little girls out there who have tried to make these things happen in their own homes.  Hopefully they've not succeeded, or else David Shannon will find his book banned!

Lorelei and Ben LOVE this book.  They are captivated by it and love the crazy illustrations.  Like I said in an earlier post that compared David Shannon's books to another, his illustrations are messy and magical, even the ones that aren't about fairies.  His stories are exactly what they wish would happen in their lives.  All of the books we've read by him are told from the child's perspective, which is fun for kids.  I must admit that the wicked Duchesses out there might agree with me that sometimes this is less amusing for the parents!

The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood

The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Renata Liwska

Rating: 3 stars

We've been reading a lot of David Shannon books (more on him soon) so when I finally tracked down The Quiet Book at the bookstore today I chuckled throughout it.

Let me describe the book first, and then I'll get to the chuckling.

It's a beautifully illustrated book that explains all the different "quiets" that exist.  For example:  "Quiet can be delicate. / Quiet can be thundering! / Quiet can be sweet, and cozy, / and can most definitely help you fall asleep."  The text is sparse and the animals in the images are really cute.

It is--don't laugh--a quiet book, and one that might relax a fidgety child as they fall asleep at naptime or bedtime.  I was actually a little surprised at how many rave reviews it got on Amazon from parents who say that their children request it again and again.  Many of them said that they liked how the book engaged their kids enough so that they did settle down and become quiet.  Others said that they liked how the book urges kids to think about the different types of quiet throughout the day and week.  More than a few said that they liked how this book talks about the emotions behind quiet.  Hmm. 

Ok, back to the David Shannon.  Has anyone read Oh, David?  Or Alice the Fairy?  If you put one of these books next to The Quiet Book you'll have complete, polar opposites.  Most of David Shannon's books are written so much for children that I wonder if he actually scribbled down the text a few decades ago while he should have been paying attention to his fifth grade math teacher.  And his drawings are wonderful bursts of childhood--really messy and magical. 

This is an example of how some books are just right for your child, and others are just right for mine.  Or, probably more accurate, this book isn't for my children right now.  Maybe next week!  When it gets to the library, we'll check it out and try it out at home.

Arthur's Tractor: A Fairy Tale with Mechanical Parts by Pippa Goodhart

Arthur's Tractor: A Fairy Tale with Mechanical Parts by Pippa Goodhart

Rating: 2 stars

This is the most random children's books I've ever read. I thought it might be a whimsical mix of boy stuff (tractors) and girl stuff (princesses); as I've got one of each, maybe this was the perfect combo book?  Um, no.

Arthur is a pretty bad farmer who swears (creatively: "Oh, dollups of dung, the blim blam blade has broken!") every time his tractor breaks down. Meanwhile, in the background, without his noticing, a dragon threatens a princess, and a prince intervenes to save her. As the prince saves the princess, the tractor breaks down for the fourth time.  Arthur realizes he needs tools to fix his tractor, so he borrows the prince's sword, the dragon's fire, and the princess's scarf to get the job done.

Then he suddenly realizes there is a fair maiden behind him, and he starts hitting on her.

Without her uttering but three sentences, she accepts his proposal to live on his farm forever, and the prince and the dragon disappear as the sun sets and the new couple sits on Arthur's tractor together.
 
Oh my.

A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis

A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis

Rating: 5 curious stars

It's nearly 100 degrees out for the fourth or fifth day in a row (I've lost count...am becoming a puddle) so I thought I'd write about a book with snow in it to make myself feel cooler.

We received this as a gift last Christmas; both Lorelei and Ben love it.  Ben especially, as he digs penguins.  What kid doesn't go through a penguin phase?  We are already excited to see them at a zoo whenever we brave the traffic and crowds this summer to see the National Zoo.

Edna the Penguin is tired of the three colors she always sees: black, white, and blue.  Every day, every night, the same colors.  She believes--she has this deep faith in herself--that there is Something Else.  She's not sure what, but she just knows with her little penguin heart that there is Something Else, some other color out there to see.  So she sets off, hiking night and day, with little food to sustain her, till...

WOW!!!

She finds Something Orange!  It's a tent, and a flag, and a glove, and a jacket, and a coat...tons of orange stuff at a scientists' camp near the penguin camp.  She is so excited that she turns around, runs home, grabs all her friends, and together they trudge back to the camp to see the Something Else.

Kinda makes me think of Plato's Allegory of the Cave...ah, Philosophy 101 back at Seattle U...

The scientists and the penguins make friends, and one guy gives the penguins an orange glove with which to return home so they will always have another color in their black, white, and blue lives. 

The story ends with Edna thinking, "There must be Something Else..." and you see a green ship in the background.

This is a really sweet book, and one kids get excited about.  The illustrations are simple, wonderful, clear-cut pictures that, like I said, Ben especially loves.  I know that Antoinette Hartis is best know for her Not a Box book, which we appreciate, but this one is better for us during this phase of Lorelei and Ben's childhood. 

We'll be reading it all summer long.

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Rating: 5 stars (of course)

This summer we are going on weekly field trips.  Field Trip Wednesdays.  Yesterday was our third field trip; we went blueberry picking.  It was the hottest day of the year but we went anyway, along with some of my very favorite people and their adventurous kids.

Ben's favorite part was definitely the tractor ride from the parking lot to the fields.  It was already 88 degrees by the time we stepped off of the trailer and followed a dude with an orange flag to our assigned bushes.  While walking to our spot in the row of bushes, we passed a mother and her two children and --gasp!-- guess what they were reading underneath the welcome shade of the tallest blueberry bushes I'd ever seen?  Blueberries for Sal!  Of course, I couldn't resist the urge to say, "We love that book, too!  We should have brought it along, too!"  Luckily, I did resist the urge to ask them to pose for a picture and then put it on this blog.  I think that might have weired them out a bit.  Proof I can bite my tongue.  Sometimes.

Anyway, we had a blast.  I didn't realize that I came with such Serious Pickers.  I was taking pictures and handing out clementines to everyone's kids while Serious Picker #1, Caitlin, and Serious Picker #2, Michele, filled an entire bucket in approximately 4.2 minutes.  The littlest Serious Picker was Lorelei; she stood there and picked blueberries for 15 minutes without tasting a single one!  Apparently she delegated that job to Ben, who pulled a Sal and sat down and just pulled berries down one handful at a time.  Lorelei turned pink within that time from that time but obediently drank when instructed, and then told me: "We need to get back to work, Mommy!  Our bucket is not full yet!"

Man!  We produced a 3 year old blueberry-picking machine!

I wish I had been trickier in combining my blog with my children's activities: I could have had them pose in pictures just like McCloskey drew or made them say "Kupink! Kuplank! Kuplunk!" (though we had a gigantic plastic buckets, not small tin pails) or looked (happily unsuccessfully) for bears, or crows, or a partridge family in the fields.  But we were having too good a time to stop for a book-related anything, which was just fine with me.

I was having another bee-bim bop moment, feeling fairly mom-of-the-day-ish.  My kids were able to:

1.  Break out of their normal cycle of activities (that includes an embarrassing number of trips to Starbucks)

2.  Experience child labor (or, tough it out in imperfect conditions)

3.  Relate a book to real life (we talked about how the fields at Butler's were so much taller than those in the book)

4.  Pick their own snack/dessert/breakfast (for the next month or two)

Oh, and by the way, I have 7 pounds of blueberries.  Good grief!  What do you do with 7 pounds of blueberries when you really don't have to can them to store up for food for the winter?!  Please let me know if you'd like any.

Mama, Is It Summer Yet? by Nikki McClure

Mama, Is It Summer Yet? by Nikki McClure

Rating: 3.5 stars

On Father's Day Lorelei, Ben, and I made a list of Daddy's favorite things so that we could give/make/provide those to him.  On the list, tucked between homemade oatmeal cookies and tinkering in the yard, was taking an afternoon nap.  So Lorelei and I happily obliged; we read books to our boys, tucked them into their respective beds, and went to the bookstore.  It was a treat for all of us! 

That morning in the New York Times Book Review was a special children's section.  When they have reviews of children's books, I show them to Lorelei--once or twice we've already read them, which makes her feel pretty proud to know the books that she sees in Mommy and Daddy's newspaper.  Since they had the Children's Bestseller lists, we decided to bring the list along and see if we could find any books on it.  I particularly wanted to read The Quiet Book (I love the idea of it!) and Over the Rainbow.  We couldn't find either of those books (drat!), but we did find plenty of others.

Including Mama, Is It Summer Yet? 

The illustrations are incredibly beautiful.  I looked up Nikki McClure's bio and found out that she arms herself with an X-acto knife and cuts out her images from a single sheet of paper.  Pretty impressive!  The pieces of art she creates for this book are just gorgeous.  I will definitely seek out other books she's illustrated because the images are so captivating.  The text is nicely simple: A little boy asks her mother if it's summer yet, and she says no, and gives an example of how the boy should know that summer is almost here.

However, the story doesn't make me want to read the book again and again.  It reminds me of a road trip I don't ever want to take, with my kids in the back seat, asking "Are we there yet?" and then, five minutes later, "Are we there yet?" and then, five minutes later, "Are we there yet?" and then...  You get the idea.  The story would be so much better if the "Are we there yet?" pages were just taken out (in my humble opinion).

Still, if I were an art teacher, I'd want a book like this within arm's reach to show kids the different types of art that they can create.  It is illustrations like these that make me really appreciate artists for choosing to devote their time and energy to children's books.  What a gift to kids like ours!

PS  Check out the artist/author's GORGEOUS journals.  One for new mothers and one "verb-laden" journal.

Full, Full, Full of Love by Trish Cooke

Full, Full, Full of Love by Trish Cooke, illustrated by Paul Howard

Rating: 4 stars

Lorelei's favorite line in this whole book is what Gran says at the end of the book, after the meal is gobbled up by her whole family.  She pulls up a footstool and says, "Ok, kids: One wash, one dry!"  Lorelei makes me act it out.  I can't wait for the day that I can FULL act it out!  If this isn't enough of a reason to get this book, what is?

Here's the story: Mom drops off little Jay Jay at his grandmother's house, where she is getting Sunday dinner ready for the whole family.  He's waiting, mostly patiently, even though he's hungry.  Finally, the whole family pulls up and they all gather 'round the table, stuff themselves silly, then help clean up.  That last part is the best part for me as the main cleaner-upper of all messes!

This is a great book to read aloud to kids, and though there's not a whole lot to the story, it is a comforting tale of family with equally comforting illustrations, with a highlight on Gran.