A Tree Is Nice by Janice May Udry, illustrated by Marc Simont

A Tree Is Nice by Janice May Udry, illustrated by Marc Simont

Rating: 3.5 stars

I rarely push a book in my kids.  I'm rarely in this position.  If they see a book, they are almost always curious about it.  I put it in the book basket between the big kids in the car, I put it up for display during a meal, I put it in their rooms during quiet time.  They'll grab it eventually.

Not this book.  I finally said, "I'm going to read this!"  I was glad that they didn't groan or roll their eyes, but...  Man, hard audience today!

The pictures are gorgeous, worthy of the Caldecott award that sits on the cover.  My kids' favorite picture is one of a huge, climb-able tree with nearly a dozen kids playing on its broad limbs.  The words alongside the pictures are fine, just a simple tale of the importance of trees.  They are delivered more staccato and less rolling than I prefer, but...I love these words:

Trees make the woods.  They make everything beautiful.
Even if you have just one tree, it is nice too.
A tree is nice because it has leaves.
The leaves whisper in the breeze all summer long.

Lorelei and Ben on our hike today, among
some beautiful trees.

We're lucky to live in the woods.  There's nothing better than to open the windows and listen to the breeze in the trees.  You can ask my kids--they know it's one of my favorite sounds on Earth.  I'll make them pause and be quiet (if only for 4.5 seconds!) so I can hear it well.

But speaking of pushing things on kids, I definitely try to push a sense of stewardship of the land.  Doesn't that sound so big and grand?  And I'm talking about preschoolers here!  I have never had a problem thinking big.  Years ago I would have plans to create some group to take charge of environmental lessons in classrooms across the county.  After my Peace Corps years, where I learned how to scale back and focus instead on a few important people, my thoughts are different.

I do what I can.  With my kids.  And, slowly, their friends.  And their friends' parents.  And you know what?  I think it's working.  I think it's slow-going, but all the good stuff is.  I think it's going to run deep.  I'm optimistic and curious about how the seeds I've been planting will grow.  Time will tell.

Was I talking about a book?  Right!  It's fine.  Good for the classroom, I think, but not exactly a bedtime page-turner.

Little Oink by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace

Little Oink by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace

Rating: 5 clean stars


If ever there was a book for me and my kids, this is it.  As a joke--the sort that holds some truth in it--we say you're only part of our family if you know how to make a mess.  (MAAAAAYBE I had a small problem with cleaning up when I was younger.  Perhaps your definition of cleaning up does not involve shoving all the crap on your floor under your bed or in your closet?  What, it's not?!?)  But we do our best to clean up before bedtime, pretending that all we've done all day is sit around, sipping tea with our fingers turned correctly...  We four know the truth: it'll happen again tomorrow.

He savored his days at school.

Just like the gem Little Hoot, Little Oink takes a childhood truth and turns it on its head.  In this case, a friendly little pig called Little Oink is required to make a mess before going outside to play.  His shoulders droop, his spirits sag, his snout turns downwards at the mere thought of his tidy room turning into a pigsty.  Rosenthal's witty writing shines:

"All my friends get to clean their rooms.  Why can't I?" asked Little Oink.
"If you want to grow up to be a respectable pig, you must learn how to make a proper mess," said Papa Pig.
"Mess up your room, put on some dirty clothes, and then you can go out to play," said Mama Pig.
"Do I have to?" Little Oink snorted.
"Yes, you have to," they retorted.
So off he went.
"When I grow up, I'm going to let my kids clean up their rooms as much as they want."

Such a clever little book with amazing illustrations.  I did have to hide my smile when Lorelei asked after dinner if they could have mess up time, just like Little Oink has in the book.  Ummm...no, we've been doing that all day.

I Will Not Read This Book by Cece Meng, illustrated by Joy Ang

I Will Not Read This Book by Cece Meng, illustrated by Joy Ang

Rating: 3 stars

Clearly this author knows kids, and she wanted a book that would sell.  She knew that if she told kids not to do something they would do it.  Has she met Ben?  Hmmm...

This book has a bunch of really cute illustrations about a boy doing anything but getting to the book-readin' time of night.  He stalls in some creative ways, using different parts of his room as fodder for his procrastination, but in the end finally realizes that he wants his mom to read the book with him.

That's it.  Not much more, really.  Cute, but no huge story to explain or think about or anything...

I think this was my most succinct review ever!

Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace

Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace

Rating: 5 witty stars

Things to know about me:

1.  I really love owls.  We are lucky enough to live in the woods, and I hear owls most nights, and sometimes even see them, swooping between the trees, grabbing a snake or squirrel, or just peering down at me as I walk my dogs.  Their hoots are magical.

2.  I think humor is sometimes a tough thing to accomplish in children's books.  Slapstick stuff is fairly easy--throw the word "underpants" in and you could make my kids roar in approval--but the real wit takes talent.

3.  I am really easily amused (I crack myself up all day long, doing things like putting Kiefer in Christmas pajamas in June to make me chuckle), so maybe this book isn't as witty as I think it is.  You read it and decide.  Let me know if I'm delusional.

Okay, now the book.

Little Hoot is an owl that does things that all little kids do--play hide-n-seek, go to school, practice staring (okay, I don't practice this one, but Little Hoot's stares are pretty funny).  But one thing set him apart: bedtime.  All of his friends get to go to bed much earlier, but he is forced to stay up and play.  "It's not fair!" he complains with groggy eyes, pajamas already on, blankie in hand.  Instead of going to sleep like he wants to, his parents make him go play for one more hour.

"Can I stop playing now?" pleaded Little Hoot.

"When I grow up, I'm going to let my kids
go to bed as early as they want."

"Ten more minutes of playing, Mister.  And please don't ask me again."
"Alright," the young owl scowled.

Finally he gets to go to bed.  He hoots in delight!  He jumps into bed and tucks himself in, and before his mom can read him the nine novels (think War and Peace size) she's carrying and before he can drink the giant glass of water his father is carrying, he's fast asleep.

Lorelei and Ben and I laughed out loud at this.  It is so funny!  It's like a test of your children's humor.  Do they get it?  Do they realize how funny it is to make a little kid/owl stay up late when he wants to go to bed?


Okay, I think you have to read it to fully get it.  But it's so witty and worthwhile.  Check out all three of Rosenthal's books in this series--there is the original Little Pea (the pea is forced to eat candy for dinner but delights in spinach for dessert) and Little Oink (the pig is told to be messy when all he wants to do is be neat).  Treasures, all.  At least me and my kids think so.

Ish by Peter H. Reynolds

Ish by Peter H. Reynolds

Rating: 5-ish stars

I had a pretty luxurious day.  I left the kids with the sitter for the morning and drove to my favorite stretch of the C&O Canal and ran 10ish warm miles by myself.  It was a gorgeous day, and I didn't miss my iPod--had enough to meditate on.  And then, instead of running errands like I should have, I drove myself to a coffee shop and sat down and read for an hourish, totally immersed in my book (the unbelievable Unbroken, if you are curious--yes, I actually read adult books!).

In between these totally indulgent activities I went to the bookstore--straight to the children's section--to buy this book.  When I read it to Lorelei and Ben the other night at bedtime I almost cried at the end.  It is such a beautiful book.  I'm a big fan of Reynolds' other book, The Dot, which I'll review sometime soon.  Like The Dot, Ish is a book about a boy's relationship with art, and also his relationship with perfection.  Um, I can relate.

He filled his journals with ish drawings.

The story:

Ramon delights in drawing "Anytime.  Anything.  Anywhere."  Then one day his brother peers over his shoulder at one of his drawings and mocks: "WHAT is THAT?"  Suddenly, Ramon is self-conscious at how imperfect his art is, and he starts drawing something, then disliking it, and then crumpling it up and throwing it away.  He does this for months until he finally decides he's done, and quits.  He crumples up his last piece of artwork and tosses it away.  His little sister reaches for it and, despite his protests, runs away with it.  He chases her, and then Ramon's yell turns into a gasp when he sees her room.

Taped to her walls are Ramon's pieces of art, carefully flattened and taped up.  She says that she likes this one the best, and points to a cup with flowers in it.  "It was supposed to be a vase," explains Ramon.  "It's vase-ish," she replies (I love how the youngest is the wisest).  Ramon ponders this.  And then agrees.  "Yes, it is vase-ish."

Accepting that his art is "ish" instead of needing to be perfect, Ramon "felt light and energized.  Thinking ish-ly allowed his ideas to flow freely.  He began to draw what he felt--loose lines.  Quickly springing out.  Without worry."  He once again delights in art, and even, on the last page, decides to savor a scene and moment instead of trying to capture it in one of his ish masterpieces.

I just love this book.  I guess I can relate to someone's words getting under my skin and affecting what I was doing and thinking and feeling.  Then someone looked at what I did and thought and felt and said, "You're brilliant!" and seemingly tacked up my Kate-ness to the wall and celebrated me.  Like Ramon, there was a shift in me that was good.  Hopefully we all can relate to someone applauding our efforts at the right time, when the praise has maximum impact.

I stumbled upon a website, Teaching Children Philosophy (and bookmarked it!  must return later when I have time to poke around there), that has a wonderful lesson plan or really just conversation-starter for this book.  Definitely worth checking out.

Oh, and here's an essay by a 6th grader who believes the book Ish changed her life.  Makes me smile.  Books are so important, and you never know how important they are until much later.

Pink Me Up by Charise Mericle Harper

Pink Me Up by Charise Mericle Harper

Rating: 5 stars

Just in time for Father's Day...

I was a bit worried about this book when I saw the cover.  You guessed it: a lot of pink.  And on the pages, pink, pink, pink.  This little bunny (who is one of nine bunny children, the last, and the only girl) is like almost every little girl I know: pink-obsessed.  So she's pretty stoked to be invited to a Pink Girls Pink-nic.  Of course you have to wear pink and you have to bring your mom, and of course SHE has to wear pink, too.

Holy Pink-ness, Batman!

She gets her pinkest of all pink outfits ready and hops around the room, shouting "PINK!" over and over again.  She gets her mom's outfit ready.  And she wakes up her mom who has pink...SPOTS!  Oh no!  Her mom is sick.  But her dad volunteers to go.

But that can't be!  He's a boy, and he can't wear pink.  Her dad searches in his (not-so-pink) closet and finds: One.  Pink.  Tie.  And then he does the best thing a daddy he can do--he just hands himself over to his daughter and lets her "pink him up."  Together, they draw pink polka dots on one of his shirts, they tape pink stripes on some of his pants, they wrap his shoes in pink wrapping paper, and put pink stickers all over his jacket.  They decide he should NOT wear mom's pink skirt on his head like a wig (smart choice.  There are limits, you know).  And then the pink-y dad goes out in public, unashamed, with his daughter in tow.

And they have a fantastic time.  Of course!  Now, if we could just get Lorelei's Daddy to agree to let her pink him up!  I promise only to take one picture.  Okay, maybe two.  Or three...

White is for Blueberry by George Shannon, illustrated by Laura Dronzek

White is for Blueberry by George Shannon, illustrated by Laura Dronzek

Rating: 5 stars

We all thought this book title was a little silly when we saw it.  WHITE is for BLUEberry?!  How could that be?!  my kids asked their uber-incredulous-silly voices.  So we had to check it out (of course).

Turns out it is a total gem!  And well timed, too.

This book is a tale of perspective, or perhaps of before and after, of seeing things not for what they are but what they were and what they could be...  On the first page is what something likes like in the beginning, and then you turn the page and you see what that something looks like at the end.  For example, there's a bird that starts off pink as a baby and then grows up to be black.  And the sweet potato looks brown when the skin is on, but then orange when you look into it and dig in.

Our tomatoes are yellow, green, then red.

But the blueberry example is by far my favorite, because on our own deck are garden is growing well.  Tomatoes are by far my favorite, and we have five different types of tomatoes growing at five different heights, some bursting through the tops of their cages already.

As I've said before (here), I garden for many reasons, but I love that my kids have to be patient as the vegetables grow.  They know we can pop over to the grocery store and buy tomatoes, but there is definitely something special about growing your own, taking care of the tomatoes, appreciating how the weather affects them, and how they are really pretty imperfect (but more delicious) than the ones we buy at the store.

Anyway, in the book Shannon has a picture of a white flower that soon grows to be a blueberry.  So white really is for blueberry.  Who knew?  I love how this book helps me to teach my kids to have a good perspective, to think out of the box, to look again--and then maybe once more!--and see something new and unique.

Let's Be Enemies by Janice May Udry, illustrated by Maurice Sendak

Let's Be Enemies by Janice May Udry, illustrated by Maurice Sendak

Rating: 4 stars

That's right.  We have a book lying around our house called Let's Be Enemies.  That's what you get when you turn your 3 1/2 year old loose in the library and truly let him choose whatever he wants.  (Do you know the only thing I don't allow in our library bag, which I have to work out to lift up?  The Beatrice Potter series.  Blech.)  Anyway, thanks to Ben this book is sitting around and has gotten quite a bit of attention from everyone who has seen it.

Point #1: It's not a bad book if you can get past the title!  Two boys get into a tiff and then work it out, remaining friends even after a disagreement.  Definitely a good story to have around.  Especially when you have two boys who are sure to get into a tiff or two.

Point #2: I love unleashing my kids into the library!  The librarians know us well (not shocking); Lorelei is as quiet as a mouse and Ben tries really hard to be semi-quiet.  (We all have things to work on...)  Behavior in a library is definitely a learned thing, and...practice makes perfect!

Point #3:  Maurice Sendak's illustrations rock.  They are so on-point with boyhood I just can't get over it.  Take the picture right here, on the right.  Is that Ben and Kiefer?  Or my dad and one of his brothers?  Could be either, or both.  Boys playing together, with imaginary swords and helmets...God bless 'em.

A Good Day by Kevin Henkes

A Good Day by Kevin Henkes

Rating: 5 stars

Another simple book with a simple message: bad days can turn into good ones.  One by one Henkes introduces an animal that is having a not-so-hot day.  A dog gets tangled up in his leash; a squirrel dropped a nut.  "But then..." writes Henkes "The little white dog gets himself untangled and runs in circles through the dandelions."  And of the squirrel: "He found the biggest nut ever!"

What a great thing to teach our kids: don't worry, this bad-ness will pass, and good-ness will be sure to follow (hopefully sooner rather than later!).

Little yellow bird lost his favorite tail feather.
Little yellow bird forgot about his tail feather, and flew higher than he ever had before.

I think, though, that in real life there is often some in-between action, some stuff that happens after the bad and before the good.  It's called pulling yourself up and turning the day around all by yourself.  Wouldn't it be grand to be able to always count on someone else to do that job...a spouse, a friend, a child, even my trusty ol' mutt?  But I think we should take charge of our own happiness, and know how to cheer up ourselves.

I needed some cheering up mid-day today, and though I take full credit for making myself happy, I had some help in the form of a fairly adorable little toddler who thinks I am the funniest person in the whole world.  While the big kids were totally engrossed in whoknowswhat after lunch, I turned up Louis Prima on my iPod and he and I danced like crazy to some old jazz/swing music that never fails to lighten my mood.  My hair was up in a wild ponytail at the top of my head, spilling all over my face as we shimmied and scooted around.  He giggled, and I smiled, dancing like goofballs.  Thankfully, only the trees could see in from the windows, and I think they approved.

So, yes, like this sweet little book, my day is ending well.

My Many Colored Days by Dr Seuss, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

My Many Colored Days by Dr Seuss, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

Rating: 4.5 stars

Well here's a book about something I neither practice nor preach!  But, funnily, I still love it.

Here's the good news: We pass our own habits on to our children.  And now, the bad news: We pass our own habits on to our children.

Darn those double-edged swords.  Emotions are something I struggle to teach.  My father taught us to be in control of our emotions, to always think clearly and act deliberately rather than simply react thoughtlessly to circumstances.  And my mom (hi, mom!) was able to and taught us to put a smile on our face regardless of the situation.  So I actually expect my children to be cheerful and happy most of the time.  Moments of grumpiness, okay.  But all day long?  No way.  And, they are cheerful and happy the vast majority of the time.  I'm not sure if I'm denying them the "right" to be sad or angry or whatever...their therapists will let me know, I'm sure.  Hope they choose a cheap one.

Or maybe I'll slip this book under their pillows and they can learn about emotions through osmosis.

"On other days I'm other things
On Bright Blue Days I flap my wings."

But here are the words to this book.  I couldn't choose which stanzas I like the best, so here is all of it:

Some days are yellow. Some are blue.
On different days, I'm different too
You'd be surprised how many ways
I change on different colored days.
On bright red days how good it feels
To be a horse and kick my heels!
On other days I'm other things...
On bright blue days I flap my wings.
Some days, of course, feel sort of brown.
Then I feel slow, and low, low down.
Then comes a yellow day and wheeeee!
I am a busy, buzzy bee.
Gray day...everything is gray.
I watch.  But nothing moves today.
Then all of a sudden I'm a circus seal
On my orange days that's how I feel.
Green days.  Deep deep in the sea.
Cool and quiet fish, that's me.
But when my days are happy pink
It's great to jump and just not think.
Then come my black days.  MAD.  And loud.
I howl.  I growl at every cloud.
Then comes a mixed-up day and WHAM
I don't know who or what I am.
But it all turns out all right you see
And I go back to being me.

Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Rating: 5 stars

And to wrap up our shape-a-thon, we'll be going to the Pentagon tomorrow morning.

Just kidding!  Maybe next year...

Of all the books that we've read this is definitely at the top.  Walsh of Mouse Paint fame provides a great little story about mice playing with shapes.  In this one the mice have names: Violet, Martin, and Fred.  They play with shapes, defining them (helpfully explaining that a lot of triangles are tricky, "but any shape with three sides is a triangle."  Then they start to make things with the shapes--first a simple house and tree, then the cat who is chasing them.  And then, to scare that cat away, they make three scary versions of themselves.  It's simple and cute and incredibly easy to do a fun and, for us, wonderfully time-consuming art project afterward.


In the picture is Lorelei with her art--it's New York City, which cracks me up because she's never been to New York City.  Another example of how sponge-like these little brains around me are...did I mention it to her weeks ago?  Yesterday?  Who knows!  But we had a fun conversation about skylines, what they are and how architects take them into account when they erect a new building in a city.  

I'm sure that they have these kits somewhere in our local art supply store... "these kits" meaning a bunch of shapes that kids can punch out themselves.  But around here we do it the old-fashioned way--I actually cut pieces of paper in random shapes and then hand it over to the kids.  The funny twist here at our house today was that we are out of glue.  Completely (thanks to SOMEBODY (BEN!) never putting the cap back on and therefore the glue dries up).  So for almost an hour we heard, "May I please have another piece of tape?" about 60 gazillion times.  Another opportunity to sharpen our manners, so...

Round Is A Mooncake: A Book of Shapes by Roseanne Thong, illustrated by Grace Lin

Round Is A Mooncake: A Book of Shapes by Roseanne Thong, illustrated by Grace Lin

Rating: 3 stars

I couldn't pass up a book that was not just about shapes but also about China.  As an always-student of Asia--especially Southeast Asia--I'm interested myself and eager to open up that part of the world to my kids.  Thankfully diversity exists where we live, and Lorelei had two Chinese students and one Indian student in her class this past year.  So she likes to read about their cultures and explore it.  We're not ready to jump on a plane and head into Asia, so...books it is.

"Rectangles are inking stones /
Paintbrush racks and mobile phones"

In staying with the shape theme, we picked this book up and I like it.  It's another to add to the mix of getting my kids to look around them and notice the shapes of things.  There are just basic shapes in here--no parallelograms or hexagons.  And the things that take shape on the pages are all interesting, question-provoking things: rice bowl, cups of jasmine tea, name chops, tofu, radish cakes, dim sum, inking stones, money envelopes to name a few.

The rhyme is just okay for me--it's not exactly the selling point of the book.  The caption under the picture is a good example of this.  It's fine, but the inclusion of modern cell phones right alongside traditional inking stones seems odd to me.  Grace Lin's pictures adequately illustrates the words and shapes (we have seen some of Grace Lin's artwork before and I like it elsewhere more than here).  The best part of the book for me is definitely the connection to China and therefore Asia. Now I'm in the mood for some noodles...

So Many Circles, So Many Squares by Tana Hoban

So Many Circles, So Many Squares by Tana Hoban

Rating: 4 stars

This old book got us in the mood to look for shapes.  It's a photo book, really, and Hoban has a bunch of them that are all great for a bit o' mind-expanding ideas.  This book and the others of Hoban's that we grabbed at the library last week (it's in Lorelei's room and she's asleep and I'm too comfortable to sneak in and get it right now...) really created a good start to all of the shapes we found around us this past week.

Here are a few photos in the book to give you an idea of what is between the covers:

Chuckle, chuckle...

We thought these were giant's glasses...

Just enough to get the juices flowing.  Juice that formed a line, was poured from a rectangular container, caught inside a cylinder glass, I'll have you know.

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean

Rating: 5 stars

This one goes out to all the math people out there...who knew there could be a children's book on math--and a cool one at that?  And one with a foot-tappin' (if you're Kiefer, body-shakin') song?

So Pete the Cat, the resident Jamiroquai of children's books, is back.  And I'm pretty grateful for him.  Just when our house has reached another can-we-be-more-tired level, this book arrived.  We had already listened to it a few dozen times online (listen to it!  you'll smile for sure!), but the actual book did not disappoint.  This book ROCKS.

The story:  Pete the Cat puts on his favorite shirt, one with four, round, groovy buttons (what a joy to teach my kids the definition of "groovy!"  It's a new favorite word) and sings his song: "My buttons, my buttons, my four groovy buttons!"

"OH NO!  Another button popped off and rolled away."

And then...

"POP!  OH NO!  One of the buttons popped off and rolled away.
Did Pete cry?  Goodness, no!
Buttons come and buttons go.
How many buttons are left?  THREE!
Pete went on singing his song..."

(Not much math...no square root...maybe that's in the next one...but just enough for a preschooler.)

The song goes on, going from three to two to one, something easy and fun enough for little ones to work on their prediction skills, which is a huge chunk of why we're supposed to be reading to these tykes to begin with.  And then...they get to zero.  He looks down at his open shirt and...finds his belly button!  I love how he finds a way to smile after all those groovy buttons are gone.  Making lemonade out of lemons.  Finding the good in the not-so-good.  What a lesson.

But my favorite lesson that Mr. Eric sneaks in is "buttons come and buttons go."  I'm always telling the kids: "No big deal, right?" when they argue about whose turn it is to do something or if they didn't get something they wanted.  Sometimes it IS a big deal when something comes, and especially when it goes, but...hopefully they won't learn this lesson anytime soon.

I think I might have a crush.  On a cat.  This Pete guy.

Field Trip Report: Shape Hunt at the Zoo

Oval eyes, triangular head and noes.  Such a cute baby goat.

 Field Trip number two...and a shape hunt, too!

We are fortunate to live very close to a small, local zoo.  It's nothing extraordinary and a lot of people pooh-pooh it because it's sorta dusty and sorta poopy and sorta small, but...we really like it.  It's small enough for the kids to run wherever they want, and familiar enough that they have their favorite animals but still see new things every other time we go.  I'd like to pass along my "easily amused" gene to them; my fingers are crossed that they'll keep that in tact for the rest of their life.

This first half-week of summer was "Shape Week" at our house.  I doubt that every week will have a theme along with a field trip, but I needed a framework in which to work in a bunch of books, activities, and just general fun.  I'm not a math whiz but because we are so book-focused at our house I'm especially eager to provide math and science twists on anything I can so as not to brand our kids, especially Lorelei, as ONLY good at language arts.

How cool is this?!
Triangular neck, lines out, triangles at the end of the feathers.

Circles for eyes, triangular webbed feet.

Shapes are just a foundation piece for geometry, and as my kids are 5, 3 1/2, and...um...1 (he got a shape puzzle that he threw around...), they are just learning the basics.  There are so many activities when teaching shapes that it's pointless to list them here, especially because I'm supposed to be writing about the books involved in this whole child-rearin' thing.  But google it if you're looking for something to do on a hot summer afternoon and you'll find a ton.  We had a great time playing with food, making shapes out of shapes, drawing with shapes, using shapes as the base of a piece of artwork.  I knew the kids really got into it when this afternoon at swim practice they actually SWAM in shapes--Lorelei, a triangle; Ben, a rectangle.  The lesson is clear: if you are enthusiastic about something, your kids will be as well.

Kiefer and I had mixed feelings about the llamas...we were
worried about spit and couldn't look for shapes.

But really, teaching them to look for shapes is, for me, about sharpening their sight.  Looking beyond what is simply in front of them.  Being observant.  I can't tell you how important I think this is--about learning from simply watching and looking and observing.  Hopefully I taught them the basics of this lesson.

So we went to the zoo--which was actually our fallback as the botanical garden didn't open until late morning and looked for shapes.  We looked at the animals' faces and found circles and triangles and ovals.  We saw feeding bins shaped like rectangles and lines, or stripes, on snakes and zebras.  Ben said that a snake was a line when slithering and a circle when wrapped up.  On the tractor we saw big circles and little circles as the wheels, and we even saw cylinder cages for some animals (gold star for Lorelei!).  The antelope had cones for horns.  See all the stuff you can find if you just look?

Field trip number two for the summer...already behind us.

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

Rating: 4 stars

It was shape week at our house this week.  I know.  Random.  But I'm a girl who likes a plan, and with the start of summer, I wanted a framework of some sort or else I feel like the days are too loosey-goosey (spell check didn't like that) for my liking.  God forbid we have a week without accomplishing something!

So we tried to eat lots of different shapes.  We ate quesadillas shaped like triangles, cucumbers cut up as half-moons, star cut-out cookies, pancakes with blueberries for circles (a double whammy!), bell pepper strips for rectangles to name a few.

We played with tangrams or tangram-like activities, and then for our field trip we went on a shape hunt at our local zoo.  I know that sounds incredibly dorky, but the kids were totally into it and we wondered if we even recruited a friend to go with us whose mom didn't roll her eyes at my excitement over finding a feeding bin shaped like a triangle.  That's a friend for you.  Click here for more details of our shape hunt at the zoo.

It's not a box.  It's a burning building!

During a playdate one afternoon we read Not A Box, which is probably a book everyone knows about already.  It's simple--aren't the best things simple?  Portis (whose book A Penguin Story we love love love) shows how a cute, simply drawn bunny can transport a simple box into anything he wants with his imagination.  My kids aren't box-crazy yet, but they did get into this story for the shape aspect of it.  After my friend read all the book while I cooked dinner for the kids, she handed out a piece of paper with a rectangle on it and each kid transformed their rectangle into a "not-a-box."


I was actually bummed not to participate--when was the last time YOU did an art project?  Probably too long ago.  I find it so enjoyable to stop cleaning, stop blogging, stop picking up the kitchen for the upteenth time to just...draw and paint with my kids.  Priceless stuff.  Anyway, I digress.

Good book and easy activity to provide an opportunity for a little creativity.  Not bad!

Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett

Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett

Rating: 5 stars

What's with lonely and sad chameleons?  Why are these books finding their way into my library bag?

Luckily Pete the Cat balances out the blues.  More on him later...

Emily Gravett brings this (figuratively and literally) blue chameleon to life with few words and many soft, creative sketches.  Her chameleon is blue because he doesn't have any friends.  He tries to make friends with some funny characters--a snail, a sock, a banana.  Each time, the chameleon changes, as only chameleons with quirky artists behind them can, into that possible friend.  Let me show, rather than tell:

"Can I hang out with you?"

He's about to give up--turning all pale and page-like--until a voice calls out..."Hello?"  And then:

"Hello!"  "Hi!"

And together they are colorful.  The pictures are amazing and I'm sure the story extra meaningful for those kids who are still looking for a best friend.

A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni

A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni

Rating: 5 stars

Lionni's sad and lonely chameleon is bummed about the fact that all animals have a color of their own, except for chameleons.  They change color wherever they go.  He wants a color of his own.  Just like everyone else has.

He wants it so much that he sticks himself to a leaf, thinking he'll be green forever.  But then fall comes and...oops, he turns orange.  Then red.  And then the leaf falls to the ground, with the chameleon in tow.  Drat.  (Hate it when that happens.)

Still frustrated, he meets an older and wiser chameleon and tells his sad story--he can't find his own true color.  The old chameleon explains that that's the beauty of being a chameleon, but perhaps they should stick together, and they'll be different together.

"Won't we ever have a color of our own?"

What a nice and comforting moral: rather than conform to what everyone else has or does or is, find someone with whom you can be different.

This is such a simple, little book and there are a zillion activities that you can do with your kid.  There are actually too many for me to list here, but google it and you'll find exactly one zillion.

But the best is to do what I just did, I think--have the book out, and when your little Ben asks about it, pull them up on your lap and read it to them.  And hope really hard that they find someone that can stick with them and be their color with them, forever.

Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean

Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean

Rating: 5+ stars

This morning, I needed Pete.  And Pete was there for me.  He is my hero.

I've been in a funk the past few days; waking up at 4:58 for the third day in a row did not help get this morning started off well.  (If Kiefer's molars don't come all the way through today, I might take him to the dentist and ask for some assistance so I can sleep in for at LEAST 15 more minutes.)  But at least the little guy wakes up happy to see me, seemingly appreciative of the time he gets to spend with just me, and nobody else.

But then I heard a certain door open at 5:24 and the "Mommy-mommy-mommy I need you come here I need you Mommy-mommy-mommy" (said in cry-y, whine-y voice) started.  I love Ben, but MAN I cannot relate to waking up so sad and mad at the world.  I am one of those annoying people who, even while in a funk, wakes up happy.

Ben trips down the stairs, half-undressed, already crying, with his "mad face" on.  My oh-so-unsympathetic response: "Choose to be happy and stay downstairs, or go back to sleep."  It wasn't received well (can't imagine why).

Ben, crazy with happiness!
(At 7:36 AM, after being awake for 2 hours.)

Anyway, I'll spare you the details of the next hour and half as the boys and I woke up Lorelei (who, as always, woke up laughing as we all bounced on her to wake her up), made breakfast, and got everyone ready for their last week of school.  And then I looked at the clock: 7:30.  I still had an HOUR before the sitter got here and I left to take the kids to school and work out.  Geez.  An hour!  How was I going to fill that time?!

Enter Pete the cat, my hero.

Ben has been telling me about this book for a little while, and I finally saw it at the library and grabbed it.  And I read it a few nights ago.  I am going to buy it, and the other two books along with it.  I LOVE IT!  Why?  It has all of my favorite parts of a children's book:

1. It is simple; Ben has memorized all the words already.
2. It is fun to read, mostly because...
3. It has a SONG--wait, make that FOUR songs in it--and they can bring Ben's cheery smile back in a jiffy (and, the tune can be changed to anything else at any time, and the cheery smile comes back because he remembers Pete the cat and his favorite book when I sing it).
4. It has a groovy character that is cool but still nice.
5. It has a fantastic moral to it.

I had seen on the cover of the book the "download free song at..." and though the kids rarely use my laptop for anything, I said to Ben, who was looking around for something to do that would have probably annoyed me though it probably really shouldn't have "Hey, Ben, want to listen to something?"  And he sat for 15 blessedly happy minutes listening to the book and song being read and sung to him again and again and again.  Click here to listen, too.  Or check out this video (it is so worth it!  I double dare you to watch it and not smile.):

And my morning got a little brighter.

Maybe I should tell you about the book, in case you don't want to watch the video?  Okay...  Pete gets new shoes and loves them.  He sings this song: "I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes!"  Then he steps in strawberries that turn his shoes red, so he sings how he loves his red shoes.  Then he steps in blueberries and...  After each time he steps in something, he sure doesn't cry or carry on.  The author, "Mr Eric," writes: "Did Pete cry?  Goodness, no!"  This happens a few times, until he steps in water and he has white, wet shoes.

The moral of the story?  As Mr Eric the author puts it: "No matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song..."

Roll with it.  A good lesson I've been taught lately and need to practice more.  Like today.

So thank you, Pete the cat, my hero for today.

I Love Bugs! by Emma Dodd

I Love Bugs! by Emma Dodd

Rating: 4 stars

Somehow, these pictures seem to jump out at me.  Usually that's a good thing, but with a book on bugs, I sorta want to grab a flyswatter and swat the mosquitoes away so they don't bite me.  I told this to Ben, and now he tries to hit the bugs as I turn the page.  Hmmm.  Maybe I should have kept that observation to myself...

This is a basic preschooler book, but a good one.  It's a great one to introduce the whole concept of what my Thai friends would call "same-same-different," or comparison.  On all the pages are bugs, but they are so unique!  So different!  So special!  What a wonderful little lesson for our kids and their budding uniqueness in their little preschool pools of should-we-conform-or-not-ness.  (Did that sentence make sense at all?  I'm keeping it...hoping you figure it out.)

"Yes, I love all bugs!  Hope and fly and crawl bugs."

One page is dedicated to flying and fluttering bugs, another to flying and buzzing bugs, and still another to flying and whiny-buzzing bugs.  (Not sure I get the difference between simply buzzing and whiny-buzzing, but I love that my kids might pause to listen hard--really hard!!--to the sounds that bugs make as they fly.)

A very cute book, worth checking out very soon.  Don't be afraid of the centipede on page six...I am pretty sure it won't crawl off the page and onto your arm...!

Bugs Galore! by Peter Stein, illustrated by Bob Staake

Bugs Galore! by  Peter Stein, illustrated by Bob Staake

Rating: 4.5 stars

Kiefer is our resident Bug Patrol.  We have a few patrols in our house--most notably, "Safety Patrol," which I am constantly calling out to make one of the big kids go to make sure the gate is latched so Kiefer doesn't go up and then (bump, bump, bump) down the stairs unaccompanied.

But Bug Patrol is serious business to Kiefer.  If he sees a stink bug--thankfully we're not yet inundated with them (yet?) this year--he will point to it and yell in his I-can't-talk-yet-but-I-can-yell-already voice: "EHHH!!!"  And he'll continue to yell that out in that piercing little voice of his until I get it.  We all think this is pretty funny, especially when we can't find the darn bug he's honed in on.

So, here are some bug books in honor of our little Bug Patrol officer.

Add caption

This book is almost as wonderful as Cars Galore; maybe once I've read it a hundred and three times I'll love it just as much.

There are kooky drawings, courtesy of the creative Bob Staake, and witty rhymes, courtesy of the funny Peter Stein.  Here's a little taste of what's between the covers:

Some bugs cruise / around in groups.
Some bugs fly in / loop-de-loops.
Some bugs land / smack-dab in soups.
Some bugs crawl / right under ... OOPS. 

Blah!  A stinkbug! / Plug-your-nose bug!
Funky, smelly, / wash-your-clothes bug!
Bugs and bugs and / bilions MORE bugs!
Googols, gaggles / bugs GALORE bugs!

Fun stuff!

What Little Boys are Made Of by Robert Neubecker

What Little Boys are Made Of by Robert Neubecker

Rating: 5 stars!

I just kissed Ben's boogers good-night.

I don't make a habit of kissing his boogers good-night, I'll have you know.  But when he insists that he's not tired and the door to his room keeps opening and closing a million and two times, I go in and tuck him in tight, and lie down next to him.  "Ben," I say.  "You were the cutest baby in the world.  Do you want to know how I used to say good-night to you?"  "Yes," he always says.  "I'd say good-night to your ears...." and I smooch his ears.  "I'd say good-night to your forehead..." and smooch his forehead.  "I'd say good-night to your bum..." and smooch his bum (giggle, giggle!).  "I'd say good-night to your boogers..." and smooch his nostrils (ha ha ha!).  You get the idea.

I love that boy.  He drives me crazy, but...I love him.

I must admit, though, that I'm not sure I'm ready for TWO boys of that age in the same house, at the same time.  It's a good thing I have a year or two to get ready for it.  But, wait.  Weren't they already wrestling today?

I'm doomed!

We are fans of Robert Neubecker and his books.  His series of Wow! books are big in every way--big pictures, big thoughts, and they induce big smiles in our house.  I was super excited to find out that he had a new book out.  And it is a book about boys, and what makes them boys.  I'm learning what makes them boys, and mostly loving it.  As a tomboy myself, it's great to teach Ben (and Lorelei, too!) about push up and pull ups, maps and mountains, creeks and splashing.  That's what kids are made of at our house.

Nuebecker stretches out the imagination of the little hero in the book, showing a sequence of pictures where, in the first picture, the little boy is creating a pretend scene, and playing enthusiastically in it.  As if rewarded for his creativity, the next page magically transports him into The Real Deal.  Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

First, the little boy gathers up his toys (and, we wonder, his pet rat and pet dog?) and pretends he is on safari.

And then he IS on safari!  Ben is somehow obsessed with going to Africa, so these are his favorite pages.

On his blog--it is so worth reading, click here to read all of what he says--he explains that his daughter was lifting weights, saying that boys like muscles and she likes boys, so she wants to build muscles...  He started thinking about the differences of boys and girls, so wanted to write two books: one for girls, one for boys.  He's just got this one out now, and I sure hope another one comes out for girls.  (Oh please oh please have something about running or sports--please NO PRINCESSES!)

Until then, it'll be boogers and this book for me.

Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins, illustrated by Eric Gurney

Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins, illustrated by Eric Gurney

Rating: 5 perfect stars

This is Kiefer's favorite book.  His very first favorite book, hopefully of many.  He LOVES it.  How do I know it?  He will go over to the book, flip through it, and his entire body will shake up and down as he "dances" to the rhythm that he knows exists in the pages.  (How I hope that he always dances with his whole body!  Why just tap a toe?)

I read this to him over and over again during his first year, taking his hands and tapping out the beat on his own head, on my nose, on the book itself, on his lap...wherever.  As I read I would pat his back or his toes or my hands.  It is the perfect book to make a baby fall in love with books--it is fun and cheery and silly.  Not the best bedtime book--I am guilty of riling my kids and other kids up at bedtime or anytime--but that never stopped me from reading it at bedtime.


This book is always included in my gift baskets to new parents.  It is unknown enough that I'm not worried about duplicates; I'll leave it to others to buy Goodnight Moon.  While other people are reading about mush and old ladies whispering "hush," my friends will be smiling with their kids, helping their babies learn how to love books, one book at a time.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr., and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr., and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert

Rating: 4 stars

Poor Kiefer, our third child.  He's often the last thought.  Toys often equal an empty water bottle or reusable snack bag.  Despite the fact that she has loved him since the moment she saw him, Lorelei has only recently included him in her pictures of our family.  So I thought it was time to write about some books for babies and for 1 year olds.

What is the point of reading to babies?  The sounds builds listening and memory skills, teaches language, boosts their blooming brain skills, and exposes them to concepts and experiences beyond his or her day-to-day world.  Okay, but HOW do you do it?  How do I help make Kiefer as book obsessed as his big brother and big sister?  Here are a few things I do:

Kiefer dives into our library bag...

1. Read two books to him before naptime and bedtime.
2. Keep a book basket in his room full of board books that he can play with/read when he plays in his room.
3. Lorelei and Ben choose books for him when we go to the library without him
4. Include board books for him in our book basket in our car
5. Make books easily accessible in the playroom, where we keep our library books
6. Read anytime...we sometimes read books during mealtimes (we used to always do this, but now...just sometimes)

Now, about this Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book...

This should be one his favorite books!  I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I read this book for the first time just a few hours ago.  We've had the board book version, and I've thought it was okay, but I really like the hardback, real version of it--it is twice as long and much better.  I love that the beat is like a rap, providing me the opportunity to be gansta-like in my own suburban mom way for a few brief (and hopefully secluded) moments.

Skit skat skoodle doot.
Flip flop fleep.
Everybody running to the coconut tree.
Mamas and papas
and uncles and aunts
hug their little dears,
then dust off their pants.

You've probably found this book already, but if not...definitely grab the long version and spend some wildly fun moments rapping it...I mean reading it...to your kid.  Enjoy!