Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

Rating: 4.5 stars

I think that Lois Ehlert is an acquired taste.  So maybe I just haven't read enough of her books?  I know that there are plenty out there--even in our small local library there are a dozen through which I've flipped a few times but, for whatever arbitrary reason, I've put back on the shelf.  Her images are somewhat Eric Carle-like, and we like him, so...what's the problem?

But this book is definitely a good, despite my lack of love for the author.  It is nonfiction; it tells the story of how caterpillars become butterflies through a nice poem and beautiful artwork.  I like that the focus is the butterflies themselves, and that the story doesn't end when they come out from the cocoon.  They fly out and "catch a whiff of something sweet. / They follow that fragrant scent of perfume, / until they find our garden in bloom."

The fact that we have several unruly butterfly bushes that are nearly trees helps make this book attractive to us.  On any given day and at any given time, we can walk out and watch four or five huge butterflies feasting on the flowers.  This book provides a little bit more information--just the right amount for a 3 year old or 4 year old--about what the butterflies are doing on our butterfly bush.  Lois Ehlert also includes that butterflies unroll their tongues to eat, so that's been fun to mimic both while we're watching our butterflies and while we're eating our own feasts.  Ben's attempts to "unroll" his tongue is pretty funny!

The other nice thing about the book: It doesn't end when the poem does.  There are two huge pages dedicated to butterfly identification, one of which included the Tiger Swallowtail that is the main feeder at our bush.  There's also one page for flower identification, with pretty pictures of all the different flowers that attract butterfly.  Sadly for us, deer are also attracted to many of them, but we still manage to squeeze in some so that our family can watch these flying beauties all summer long.

I love that there Ben and Lorelei are learning, through this book and others, about how species are unique within their own category.  That'll be the same when Lorelei starts preschool next year, so I'm glad that our butterflies and this book are teaching her that lesson a little sooner than she needs it.

Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire

Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire

Rating: 4 stars

We've discovered the I Can Read It All By Myself Beginner Books.  (For a complete list, click here, and make sure you click to show all 70 book covers...what a trip down memory lane!)  I am having a great time introducing them to Lorelei and Ben.  They both really enjoy them, and Lorelei is really enjoying being able to read a few words on each page. 

But we are also discovering that not all of the books are awesome.  According to my standard, that is, which includes my children's reactions and opinions.

This book is a funny little rhyme where a lioness-like creature really, really, really wants to live in the zoo, but the zookeeper says no.  He shows off all of his neat tricks to a little boy and girl standing by, who are super impressed and thus inform him he belongs not in the zoo, but in a circus.  (Don't they know that circuses are sad, scary places for animals?!?)

It's funny and silly and catchy and inviting, all good things for little kids who are trying to read.  We're heading to the zoo tomorrow, so I was trying to find a book about zoos.  This one won't exactly prepare the kids for what they'll see at the National Zoo, but...it was a fun read anyway.

Have You Seen Trees? by Joanne Oppenheim

Have You Seen Trees? by Joanne Oppenheim, illustrated by Jean and Mou-Sien Tseng

Rating: 5 beautiful stars

This is a must-read book for any teacher or parent.  I know that the picture on the left is unusually and perhaps obnoxiously large, but a) I couldn't find the right book on my Amazon.com link-thingy on Blogspot and b) the poem is beautiful but the pictures are even more beautiful.  So just breathe in the beautiful spring blossoms on that tree and enjoy...and be annoyed with me that I couldn't find more images for you to check out.  I might have to break out the camera to add some images myself.

The watercolors in this book are breathtaking, truly frame-worthy.  They even make chatterbox Lorelei quiet--especially the page with the weeping willow (her favorite tree since she read Dandelion), where the bright green weeping willow covers 80% of the two huge pages. 

And the text, save for the slightly un-enticing title, is great, too.  There are rhymes within the lines--I'm sure that my English teachers would be sad I didn't remember the word for this--that make this one of the best read-aloud books I've ever read.  Joanne Oppenheim describes different trees in different seasons, starting each season with a question: "Have you seen Winter trees?" or "Have you seen Spring trees?"  She thus provides the opportunity for chatting on about which season we're in now, and what sorts of things we see in our trees.  On the winter page, Lorelei always makes me tell her about the snowstorm she probably doesn't remember but did, in fact, live through--when our very own trees somehow balanced a foot of snow on their branches; some were successful, others not.

And the best part is, both Lorelei and Ben love it.  Whenever I read the title to them, they look out of our big windows and Lorelei says, "Yes!" and Ben points and says, "EH!"  (That's Ben-speak for "yes!")  Ben especially chooses it again and again and again.  He'd probably sleep with it if I let him, but we try and keep library books downstairs, especially one this fragile.

I think the best part of this book is that it's nonfiction and doesn't "just" tell a story.  It teaches kids about the importance of trees, and to appreciate the variations among the trees and between the seasons.  We've read a few books about trees lately, and they all helped Lorelei answer well my question today: "What do trees give us?"  She said that they gave us fruit like apples and mangoes and shade from the sun and wood for clubhouses and a home for birds.  I was really proud of her.  And I realized that all these books that I sometimes feel like I'm shoving in her face actually impact her in more ways that I realize.  She's listening, and I'm so thankful that I have a book like this to share with her during these sponge-like early years.

This is a great, great book.  It seems like it's available through multiple sellers, but also through your local library.  I found it through Childsake, an organization dedicated to nature and the environment.  They have a hefty list of children's environmental books.  Check it out, especially if you have older kids.  It's a great resource.

I Love Bugs! by Philemen Sturges

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

Rating: 4 stars

I'm not sure when to break it to Lorelei and Ben that I've actually tasted a few bugs, and not just when I was running really fast on a particularly gnatty day.  When I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Thailand, I clearly remember the khun yaais or grandmothers of the village standing by the porch light grabbing the flying whatever-they-were and yanking their wings off of them, then throwing them into a bucket, where they'd soon become part of an omelet.

Yum!  Are you hungry now?

I think I have a year or two until I can start with my Peace Corps stories.  I'm going to save them in my back pocket until I need Lorelei and Ben's full attention, because there are some good ones tucked away for that day.

Until then, we have this book, which Ben LOVES.  He might cry when we return it to the library (but, luckily, our local library has a copy of it, so we can check it out almost anytime we want).  It's a simple little book with just a few rhyming stanzas that outline the simplest things that bugs do.  There are more words on the front and back jacket of the book where all the bugs are drawn, labeled, and described.  I've read this to Ben a few times a day for the past week, and he seems to love it even more each time.

Since our house is surrounded by woods, we see a lot of bugs--and not in our omelets.  So it's fun to see them where they should be (i.e., in the pages of a book) rather than where they shouldn't be (i.e., eyeing me up in the shower).  Philemon Sturges has a whole series of books like these--she seems to love all the things Ben loves, including trucks and planes and trains and tools--so we'll be checking those out soon.

In the meantime, we love bugs!  We love them outside more than inside...

Wow! City! by Robert Nuebecker

Wow! City! by Robert Nuebecker

Rating: 4.5 stars

Dorky library confession #253: When I saw that this book was finally en route to our library, and therefore to our library bag, and thus into our very own home for some weeks, I did a Home Alone Macauly Culkin-style  "YESSSSSSSSSS!"

I know, I know.  I'm a dork.  That's okay; I've embraced it.  But I was really excited, because we thoroughly enjoyed Wow! School! and Wow! America! (review for the latter here).  We loved looking through the huge pages, finding the red-haired Izzy and her dog. 

We liked this book because we don't live in the city--and while familiarity is definitely comforting, different is indeed intriguing.  (We went to visit my step-sister in Baltimore last month, and seeing the billboards and train tracks alongside the highway was super cool.) 

So we looked through this book a zillion times while it was in our appreciative possession, watching Izzy and her father travel by plane to New York, where they took a taxi, looked at the fire station, looked up to the tall skyscrapers, and other things.  In fact, pajama-clad Ben (see picture) looked at this book first thing most mornings for three weeks straight!

It's a great, great book, but Wow! America! is definitely the best in my opinion.  But maybe that's because we don't know how this book ends...the last page was ripped out.  Drat!  What, oh what, is the last WOW?  We'll never know... 

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

Rating: 4 stars

I think we're the last ones to find out how fun this book, and the others in the series, is to read.  I saw it at Lorelei's preschool (she starts in just two months!) when we were visiting a few months ago, and it took me a long time to simultaneously remember it and order it up from the library.  Oops.  That happens a lot... 

But when we did order it, Lorelei couldn't get the title out of her head.  Days after we ordered it (together, at the computer) and days before we picked it up, she would walk around the house, reciting "llama llama, red pajama!"  She was SO excited to read it, and that was fun to watch.

But it's a really cute book with awesome pictures (the one of llama llama yelling for his mama makes Ben belly laugh every time) and a very fast rhyme.  I didn't realize how many words rhymed with llama till I read this book! 

I think the only downside, which is only a downside for some parents and their kids out there, is that this book is about being afraid of the dark.  If your child is currently afraid of the dark, I think it's a good book to check out or buy and read, because, of course, llama llama gets to sleep (on his own, and presumably through the night) at the end of the book.  But if your child is not afraid of the dark, like Lorelei wasn't before we read this book, a new complaint might crop up, as it did in our house: All of a sudden, Lorelei realized how dark her room is.  Humph.  So she has a new nightlight (that makes three) in her room, and that works.  For now!

For that reason, we've not checked out Llama Llama Misses Mama.  Yet.  Is it good?  Have you read it?

Another good thing about this book is the idea of "llama drama."  Like the other llama book we read, Llama Llama Mad at Mama, there is a page where Llama Mama scolds her baby, kindly but sternly scolds her: "No more of this llama drama!"  which is a good phrase to have in your back pocket if, by chance, there is a touch of child-caused drama in your house.

And here's a link to a video, not of us, but of another mom and daughter reading the book together.  It's cute and shows you every single illustration (including the funny one of llama llama yelling at the top of his lungs) and every single word of the book.  What a great way to preview a book!  Check it out by clicking here.

All In A Day by Cynthia Rylant

All In A Day by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Nikki McClure

Rating: 4.5 stars

I just finished reading an actual chapter book--The Idle Parent: Why Laid-Back Parents Raise Happier and Healthier Kids by Tom Hodgkinson.  It was funny and refreshing.  I loved that he tries to stay on the sofa as long as possible, and that he and his wife try to stay in bed as long as possible on the weekends.  I don't love the fact that he doesn't think swaddling is good...I thank our well-worn Miracle Blankets (thanks, Stacey!) for many good nights sleep.

Anyway, among the tidbits I picked up from this book is this: Learn how to live in the moment just like your kids do.  They don't want to stop what they are doing to ____ (fill in the blank with: eat dinner, clean up, go run errands, go to a friend's house, do whatever!) because this moment is great and they don't want it to end.  We're constantly asking them about what they just did ("What did you guys do with Miss Chloe?" I asked Lorelei when I came home this morning) and what they're going to do ("Do you want to go to the pool after Ben wakes up?").  How many times have I called my friends to ask them if it's bedtime yet at their house...??  An embarrassing number of times.  So I'm trying to be better about letting them just Be, and Be-ing with them.  Trying to live in the moment, and not worry too much about the before and after.

I'm doing ok; I give myself a B-.  For over-achieving me, I think I can do better.

And here comes Cynthia Rylant to help me!  And the ever-wonderful, ever-talented Nikki McClure, who illustrated this amazing book.  This book is like a slow afternoon that you don't want to end, when you're at your best as a parent, full of appreciation for your kids at that moment.  Here's a snippet of text, and a gorgeous image to go along:

Underneath that great big sky

the earth is all a-spin.

This day will soon be over

and it won’t come back again.

So live it well, make it count,

fill it up with you.

The day’s all yours, it’s waiting now . . .

See what you can do.

I wrote earlier about Nikki McClure and her ways with her X-acto knife here; her website is really worth checking out if you're at all intrigued by the picture above.

I was so happy that Ben and Lorelei loved this book.  There's one page that Ben loves (see left)--Nikki McClure hides a dozen or so wild animals in one single, huge image, and Ben likes to find the snail, lizard, raccoon, deer, and especially the woodpecker.  This poem is one that I want to memorize so I can recite it to them when they are upset or having difficulty falling to sleep because it is so relaxing and enjoyable.

This is a wonderful book to give--I have to say it's going to be one of our go-to books for 3 year olds for the next few years, and is also a wonderful book for adults who might just need to be reminded of the importance of living in the present. 

Enjoy today, my imaginary friends!  Live it well.

Jamberry by Bruce Degan

Jamberry by Bruce Degen

Rating: 5 berry good stars

This is a rollicking good rhyme--I feel like I should say that in a fake, Madonna-like British accent. I know that rollicking is a silly word to describe a book or poem, but this book has such a good rhythm to it that Lorelei and Ben choose it again and again and again for me to read out loud. We know the whole thing by heart--well, Lorelei and I can recite it, and word-less Ben grunts along excitedly in his own way.

Here's a little sneak peek if you don't already know and love this book: "Blackberry / Quackberry / Give me a blackberry!" and " One berry / Two berry / Pick me a blueberry / Hatberry / Shoeberry / In my canoeberry."

It is WONDERFUL. Beyond a must-read, it's a must-buy. I put the link to the board book up because this is a wonderful first book, meaning you better buy a near-indestructible board book so your child can go to sleep with it. 

I had to write about this book today not just because we checked it out again but also because this morning, before leaving the kids with their much-adored sitter, Miss Chloe, the three of us made blackberry cobbler. We didn't pick the berries this time, but the recipe looked so easy that I decided to try it. It really was fool-proof and toddler-friendly.  Here's what we did:

1.  I sprayed a 8-inch square baking dish.

2.  Ben and Lorelei helped mix together 2 tablespoons of confecioners' sugar, 2 cups pancake mix, 1 cup whole milk, and 2 large eggs.  Ben shook lots of cinnamon into the batter--we add cinnamon to everything we bake.

3.  We each threw in one half-pint containers of fresh blackberries into the dish (so three in all).

4.  I poured the pancake batter-mix of the stuff on top of it.

5.  I baked at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Here's the best part--it can be breakfast with milk, or dessert with whip cream or ice cream! Yum. The whole recipe can be found here. Everyone, including Miss Chloe, gave it two thumbs up. Try out the book and the recipe!

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!