Meet Me at the Art Museum by David Goldin

 Meet Me at the Art Museum: A Whimsical Look Behind the Scenes by David Goldin

Rating: 4.5 stars

Here's a quirky book by, judging by his blog and website, an equally quirky author.  I mean quirky--both book and author--in a really good way.

How to make educational fun?  Such a hard task.  But Goldin does it. Here's a book that describes what goes on behind the scenes at an art museum (or any museum, for that matter).  Goldin manages to throw in words like curator and docent and archivist and still my kids were asking me to read it again to them.  I'm grateful for this book as it helps my kids have a better understanding of what one is, and a better appreciation for how much effort it takes to run one.

The story:

Stub is a leftover ticket that gets left, flat like a pancake, on the museum floor after it closes.  A friendly name tag named Daisy finds him and gives him a tour around the place.  She shows him the different galleries but also the offices of the museum that are helpful for visitors and/or employees--coat check, director's office, gift shop, library, to name a few.  Ben's favorite page was the one explaining what symbol signage is--"easy to understand, even if you can't read" signs.  He was proud to be able to "read" the signs even though he can't yet read.

This room is called a gallery.  There are many galleries in a museum.

During the tour, Stub wishes and hopes he might live in a museum. And, in the end, he gets his wish!  He peeks his stub-head into the room where damaged treasures are restored and whooosh gets blown by a fan into a painting that is sticky from a fresh coat of varnish.  He's happily displayed in the museum as art the next day, and for every day thereafter.

This book is one of four that I am giving my sister's 6 year old twin girls for their birthday.  (Confession: their birthday was at the end of January, the party last weekend, and their gift STILL is not ready.  One of these years I'll be on time with my gifts...)  Two books on art--this one and A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippen--a great book I reviewed for Family Magazine and two books on how to draw.  And then a date with our family to a museum in D.C.  Priceless, right?

Sod Houses on the Great Plains by Glen Rounds

 Sod Houses on the Great Plains by Glen Rounds

Rating: 4 stars

Yes, that's right.  I checked out a book on sod houses for my 4- and 5- year old kids.  I believe in encouraging nerdiness at a very young age.

Okay, a little background:  Ben is interested in building, so I called a friend who builds houses and we're going to visit his newest house as it is being constructed.  We're lucky to have this connection, and I feel comfortable exploiting the friendship just a little to open Ben's eyes to one of the zillion possibilities he could do with his life.

Another bit of background: About two years ago I read Worst Hard Times (and then reread the wonderful Grapes of Wrath) and became a little obsessed with the Dust Bowl era of our nation's history.  I started it while still in the hospital after having Kiefer; reading the part about the mom crying because her newborn didn't have clean air to breathe deeply affected my appreciation for how easy I have it in this parenting life of mine.  I want to pass along this appreciation to my trio, and teaching them about this era is one of a zillion ways I plan on doing that.

Uninvited wildlife was another housekeeping problem.

So here's Appreciation 101.  Check out this sod house, Ben!  Aren't we lucky to live in a house that has more than one room, doesn't leak when it rains, and rarely has a cow come through the roof?!  With the help of this neat little book, that was today's lesson over lunch.

This book is geared towards elementary school students--it really does teach a lot in its pages and with its sketches.  The pioneers arrived on the Great Plains and realized they couldn't build houses as they were used to due to the lack of trees and, therefore, wood.

Here was a snippet of our conversation:

Ben: Why couldn't they use trees for wood for the house?
Me:  Look at the picture here.  Do you see any trees?
Ben: No.
Me:  But they need a house, right?  And their temporary houses--the wagons--didn't work so well.  So they had to look around them and improvise.
Ben: And all they could find was dirt?
Me:  Yup.  The dirt could be cut into big rectangles and stacked.  Look at this picture--what does it look like to you?
Ben: Bricks.
Me:  And Duplos, too, don't you think?

You get the idea.  He was all over it, totally into it.  But in case you're wondering, we're not going to build a sod house in our yard anytime soon.  I have to draw the line somewhere...

Anyway, this book is a bit random but very neat--a great way to teach so many lessons.  Shelter is necessary.  Use what you have.  Be creative.  Appreciate what you've got.  Housekeeping stinks in a sod house.

Love is You & Me by Monica Sheehan

Love is You & Me by Monica Sheehan

Rating: 5 love-y stars

Here's a sweet, simple book with a sweet, simple celebration of love.  For those of us teaching others what love is, for those of us who need reminders of what love is, for those of us learning and searching and thanking.  I love how this book could be given to a toddler or grandparent, a husband or best friend, a teacher or a mother.  The illustrations are cute and silly and happy.  Betcha can't read it without having a heart-string or two tugged...

Love is me...and love is you.
So when you smile, I smile too.When you're around, the skies are blue.
It's like being happy! times two.
Love is sweet...and love is GRAND!
Sometimes love...is just holding hands.
It's a feeling inside.
It's a smile in your heart.
It keeps us together when we're apart.
Love is fun!  It's feeling free!
Love lets you be who you want to be.
Love will catch you when you fall.
LOVE! It's the greatest gift of all.
It's just us two without a care.
It's what we give...and the times we share.
It wipes away the tears...sends our troubles along...
Love is the place...where you always belong.

And, by the way, Love is You & Me is only available in board book.  How fitting that a book on love is printed in this sturdy, strong, resilient form?

Elsie's Bird by Jane Yolen

 Elsie's Bird by Jane Yolen, illustrated by David Small

Rating: 4.5 stars

When I first started writing this blog, I remember coming across a book that I read to Lorelei where, in the middle of the story, the mother died.  Lorelei was probably 3.  I kicked myself for not reading the book first, so that I could at the very least plan my editing before making up words on the fly.  Now that she's 5 1/2, I appreciate the greater depth of understanding she now has about how the world works.

I don't want to supply her lots of books with sad topics, but let's face it: there's a lot of stuff that happens to our kids or to their friends that is, as my father would say, un-good.  I can hear his words: It's not what happens to you, great Kate (his nickname, once in a while I live up to it), it's how you respond to it.  And that's it: responding to adversity is a tough thing for a kid to learn.  One way of helping your child learn this necessary skill is by providing a book such as Elsie's Bird and letting them learn about and explore sadness and disappointment--and how to recover from it--from the comfort of your lap.

With that build up, this book really isn't all THAT sad!

"Here there is only grass and sky and silence," Elsie wrote.

Elsie is a happy-as-a-lark girl growing up in turn-of-the-century busy and bustling Boston.  She loves the sounds of the city, but the birds are her favorite.  When her mother dies, her papa longs for something far away from Boston, away from the sadness that resonates for him there.  Her papa takes her far away--to Nebraska.  The busy-ness of the city is replaced by the silence of the prairie, and Elsie is sad and lonely.

Her solace lies in her sweet canary, named Timmy Tune, who keeps her company during her solitary days and quiet nights.  Elsie rarely leaves the house; she isn't ready to embrace her new world.  One day her canary gets out of his cage, and she runs after her only friend.  The little bird returns to her when she sings him his favorite tune, and together they finally open themselves to the sounds of their new home and begin to appreciate them.

Perhaps it's the Army brat in me that identifies with little Elsie--going to a new place is pretty tough on kids.  Add in an extra dose of adversity with a parent dying, and you've got a sad situation.  But Elsie finds her happiness in simple joys: her papa, the animals around her, and nature.  I like that Lorelei has in Elsie an example of quality creature comforts, and as Lorelei faces pint-sized bits of adversity (i.e. losing a game of Monopoly to her little brother), she can learn to cheer herself up a little.

Jane Yolen is a great story-teller, and I found the story of how she wrote the book fascinating--she read an article in Smithsonian of women who moved from their comfortable Eastern homes to the quiet Nebraska farms and went a little crazy.  "It was too big a place," and many walked through the grasses, got lost, and died (this is referenced in the book).  Those who brought canaries from back East seemed to have a higher survival rate. Huh!  Amazing!  And David Small is just fantastic.  Realistic but very, very sweet illustrations, characters with warm expressions and sweeping scenes...these are all his specialties and are featured in the book.

A great book, though for a slightly older crowd.

The Apple Pie that Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson

 The Apple Pie that Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Jonathan Bean

Rating: 4 stars

There's something so very special about the bond between father and daughter, and books that showcase this oh-so-important relationship are welcome on my shelf.  In this book, the father is a gentle and strong (such an important mix) farmer, who can both drive horses and bake a pie.

Using a cumulative rhyme, Lauren Thompson lists the ingredients of apple pie.  But it's not the obvious ones that my kids could list after baking pies for years with me--cinnamon, butter, lemon juice, cornstarch, apples.  Nope.  The ingredients in the book go deeper.  Here's what I mean:

This is the rain, cool and fresh,
that watered the roots, deep and fine,that fed the tree, crooked and strong,
that grew the apples, juicy and red,
that went in the pie, warm and sweet,
that Papa baked.

The wonderful illustrations by Jonathan Bean add a whole lot--the smiley sun shines down on the apple tree, the girl, and her father.  They are warm, comforting, beautiful--in a not-so-traditional way.  The story and illustrations make me think of John Steinbeck's novels, and the descriptions of farming in them.

Just a simple tale about a man baking for his daughter--and a little reminder that a gift from the heart, made with your hands, and shared with one you love, is definitely the best.

(And in case you now want to bake apple pie, click here for the best recipe around.)

Wonder Horse by Emily Arnold McCully

 Wonder Horse: The True Story of the World's Smartest Horse by Emily Arnold McCully

Rating: 4 stars

I recently reviewed a really wonderful book for a local magazine.  Alex the Parrot: No Ordinary Bird was a book that landed in my lap but really opened my eyes to a bunch of great nonfiction books on animal intelligence that are fantastic for young, advanced readers.  Lorelei is reading chapter books, and she's worked her way through The Magic Treehouse, Cam Jansen, and Magic Schoolbus series.  But she's just 5 1/2, so I'm careful about the content of the books she reads.  And she still loves picture books, so I'm happy to keep supplying them to her.  Therefore, I was delighted to find a handful of books that were long and challenging and interesting...picture books.  And nonfiction!  Even better.

"I wonder what else you can learn," Doc said.

Wonder Horse is a long book about the true story of a horse owned by Bill Key, nicknamed "Doc."  Doc was born a slave but freed as an adult, and his natural way with animals remained with him.  He made a fortune selling Keystone Liniment for humans and animals, and spent some of that fortune on an Arabian mare.  He bred the extraordinary mare, who bore an ordinary colt named Jim.  Jim looked ordinary, but within months of his birth Doc realized he was incredibly smart.  He taught him all sorts of things--the alphabet, simple math, colors, shapes.  He quieted naysayers by having experts quiz Jim without Doc to help him out, and the two of them toured the country to show off and help promote kindness towards animals.

Of the books we've found and read on animal intelligence, Lorelei and Ben liked this one the best.  (Alex the Parrot gets my vote.)  Maybe they are just being nice, as they know that horses are my favorite animal...  Regardless, I love how interested they are at the fairly wild notion that animals have significant brain power like we do.  I appreciate how this book introduces scientific methods, but I like even more that their perspectives have been rocked a little, that their assumptions have been challenged a little.

At Night by Jonathan Bean

At Night by Jonathan Bean

Rating: 4 stars

When we find a book we love, we find all the books by that author that we can get our book-crazy hands on and read them ALL!  So it is with Jonathan Bean, the author of the new and wonderful Building Our Home.   And so we had the pleasure of reading At Night.

It's a simple book, and I've found myself thinking about it and wondering of the meaning of it when I really should be focused on more important stuff like those things that are on my to-do list.  But this is a quirky book full of magic; check it out and let me know what you think.  Its quirkiness begins with its size: the book is small and square, setting it apart from traditionally sized picture books right away.  I think I loved it from the beginning, though I really do try not to judge a book by its cover!

The story:

After her brother and sister went to bed, a girl lies in her dark room, still awake.  "She lay thinking alone and couldn't close her eyes and couldn't sleep."  She feels the breeze from her open window, gathers her pillow and sheet, and goes to meet the breeze on the roof of her apartment building.  Creating a makeshift bed for herself, she lay there.  "She thought about the wide world all around her and smiled."  Breathing in the night and the moon and the breeze, she fell asleep.

(In case you're concerned, her mom followed her up and sits quietly next to her.)

As someone who suffers from but often enjoys bouts of insomnia, I can hear the quiet of the night that Bean writes about and illustrates.  I appreciate the need to get out of bed and go to a different place, perhaps a calmer place.  I think the girl in the book climbs up to be closer to nature, to God, to some comforting place.

The story is sweet; the illustrations are amazing.  While I still think that Building Our Home is his best stuff, the illustrations are magical.  I love that he says, when asked why his work often includes landscapes: They "tend to work themselves in.  I don't fight it."  (Read neat-o article about him here.  Thank you for sending it to me, Elaine!)  I love that art has a mind of its own, as if his arm is a mere layperson to a scene grander than himself.

We are huge fans of Jonathan Bean!

Inch by Inch: The Garden Song by David Mallett

Inch by Inch: The Garden Song by David Mallett, illustrated by Ora Eitan

Rating: 5 stars

It's February.  My least favorite month of the year.  I'm just not a winter person.  As much as I try to appreciate what winter has to offer, I look out at our woods and see what is not there rather than appreciate what is there.  And it is so darn cold.  I try to keep a cheerful attitude, if just in front of my kids, because I don't like to hear anyone complain, including myself.  But when Lorelei started talking about how excited she was for Spring, I wondered if she had the winter-stinks gene, too.

When I saw this book in the library last week, I actually gasped with excitement.  The book is based on a song that I sang in my fourth grade class at Sacred Heart School in Savannah, Georgia.  Wearing my red plaid uniform and donning an amusingly unattractive feathered 'do, I belted my Catholic school girl heart out on the stage.  And I swear I have had this song stuck in my head ever since, though anyone who knows me well knows that that means I've only had a few lines of it stuck in my head.  I just can't remember the lines to many songs! But this is such a sweet song with such a sweet meaning that I might buy the book so I can actually commit it to memory so I can sing it to my kids.

Just read the lines:

Inch my inch, row by row, gonna make my garden grow.
All it takes is a rake and a hoe, and a piece of fertile ground.
Inch my inch, row by row, someone bless these seeds I sow.
Someone warm them from below till the rain comes tumblin' down.
Pullin' weeds and pickin' stones, we are made of dreams and bones.
Feel the need to grow my own 'cause the time is close at hand.
Grain for grain, sun and rain, find my way in nature's chain.
Tune my body and my brain to the music from the land.
Plant your rows straight and long, temper them with prayer and song.
Mother Earth will make you strong if you give her love and care.

Or you can listen to the song with another flashback of my youth, John Denver.  His voice sends me immediately back to our family's car, where my parents would put a cassette of his in and my mom would sing loudly (and well) to him.  "Montana Skies" is still one of my favorite songs (I know almost all the words, by the way...another decade and I'll get 'em down solid).

Spring is right around the corner...just 6 more weeks according to Punxsutawney Phil!  Here's a book to enjoy with your little one as a count down through the cold, to the warm.

Building Our Home by Jonathan Bean

Building Our Home by Jonathan Bean

Rating: 5 stars

Everyone in our house likes this book, but Ben is the most smitten.  Here is a book that has the potential to stay in his head and work its magic through childhood and into adulthood.  Can one children's book do that?  I sure do think so.

Or maybe he's just trying to shove the pictures in his brain through osmosis; he fell asleep with his head on the last page of this book.  I think there's a little pile of Ben drool still there...

Anyway, this book is a gem.  Based on the true story of his parents moving out to the country and building their own home with the help of all kids big enough to wield a hammer, Jonathan Bean writes a simple tale of building his family's home.  His core family--at the beginning of the book, four people, but by the end there's an additional baby--is the work crew.  Each page shows them working hard, together.  "Dad lays the rocks one on top another while we fill the loud mixing machine."  Later, Grandpa visits with his backhoe (Ben: "Does Grand-Dad have a backhoe, Mommy?"  Me, thinking of how my father doesn't even have a tool box: "I don't think so, Ben, but we can call and ask. You never know.")

But this year the first frost arrives early.

But more people are needed to build this house, of course, and they throw a frame-raising party where extended family comes to help as well as workers from the quarry and sawmill.  Everyone pitches in then, and for the moving in party at the end of the book.

The last pages of the book, after the story is complete, is the wonderful Author's Note.  Bean shares six pictures of his family constructing "the Bean Homestead" that he helped build and then grew up in.  He lauds the "wise love of two parents, the companionship of three sisters, and a practically lived faith."  He also says that in real life the house didn't take just 18 months like in the book.  It took five years.  I'm glad he admits to fictionalizing his childhood a bit, lest we dreamers get any crazy ideas to build our own homes in a year or two.

But we who are lucky only remembers the good times from childhood.  A house--a home--was built, and that's what the author remembers.  The New York Times rightly praised this book last week, read it here, (I should be reading this week's paper instead of typing this...).  I love that the Times fit Building Our Home in among two other books about America.  It doesn't scream out patriotism, but it does imbibe the pioneer spirit that is oh-so-wonderfully American.

I really do wonder if, for Ben, this is one of those books that really captures his imagination in a great, great way.  Time will tell, as it always does.

(As if this post isn't long enough.  So I found out on his blog that the author lives in Harrisburg, PA, and had an open house at THE house from the book.  Man!  I might have driven the two hours to attend with my book in hand.  Dorky confession, I realize...  Hmmm, do you think the author might do it again sometime?)

Oink, Moo, Meow by Sterling Publishing Co.

Oink, Moo, Meow by Sterling Publishing Co.

Rating: 4 stars

Here's a little book for little guys and girls.  Kiefer is nearly 20 months old and doing his best to talk.  He can say "blue" and "uh-oh" and "da-da" and a handful of other words.  The rest of his emotions, opinions, and desires he grunts.  "Ugh.  Ugh.  Ugh!!"  (Lorelei often translates: "Mommy, that means yes."  Um, thanks.)

I'm not going to lie: This is not my favorite phase.

To shorten it as much as I can, to do as much as I can to encourage the word-building to happen in a matter of months rather than years, I am providing books like Oink, Moo, Meow.  There's not much to this book.  Just a picture of an animal and the sound it makes.  "The donkey says 'hee-haw!'" and "The bear says 'Grrr!'"  But hopefully Kiefer will pick up on the sounds and think it's fun to practice them, so to get us all to the talking phase as soon as possible.

Because at some point, someone else will be in the car when I'm trying to get him to talk.  And I know they are going to go jump out of the car and choose to walk after listening to me: "KEEE.  KEEEE.  KEEEEEEE-Fer!  Say it, Kiefer!  KEEE.  KEEEE. KEEEEEEEE-fer!"  (times infinity).

This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

Rating: 2.5 stars

What?!  There is another book like I Want My Hat Back, where the bear eats the rabbit because the rabbit took his hat?!  Of course there is.  If the first is popular, there will definitely be a sequel.

This time a tiny fish steals a hat from a big fish.  He admits that he stole it.  He's proud of it.  He thinks he can get away with it (literally).  Nope.  The big fish wakes up from his nap and is hot on the trail of the little thief. He finds the little fish in some reeds and GULP...  He swims out of the reeds with his hat back on his own head.

WHAT?!

I see how some kids think this is funny, but...I can't help but act my age and...not laugh.

The Milkman by Carol Foskett Cordsen

The Milkman by Carol Foskett Cordsen, illustrated by Douglas B. Jones

Rating: 5 stars

I am smart enough to know that the 1950s weren't exactly the best time to be a woman, especially a stay-at-home mother like I am now.  But that doesn't keep me from love, love, loving this book we came across at the library a few weeks ago.  The the sweet story, unique rhyme, the nostalgic illustrations, leave me with my fingers crossed that one of the kids will choose THIS book for bedtime every night while we are lucky to have it home with us.  The Milkman is Carol Foskett Cordsen's first children's book; I sure hope there are a whole lot more comin'.

First, the sweet story: With the moon and stars still overhead, the milkman, Mr. Plimpton, and his sleepy cat load up the milk truck, hop in, and head into town to deliver fresh milk to his customers.  He whistles merrily (didn't everyone whistle merrily back then?) as he goes from house to house.  Mr. Plimpton makes mental comments on each one--he knows them all by name (didn't everyone know everyone by name then?).  The same home-made sign keeps popping up "Lost my dog! Love, Caroline" in the text and illustrations until, at the end, he finds the pup and returns him to Caroline.  When he's done being the hero, he goes home to the best part of his day: breakfast with his own family (didn't all dads eat all meals with their families back then?).

Second, the unique rhyme:  I do love a good rhyme, but this one is the first I've seen that rarely involves full sentences.  The quick beat make it a fantastic read-aloud book (for older kids like Lorelei, it was fun to point out how this poem was different).  Check it out for yourself:

Past the schoolhouse.  Past the park.
Straight down Main Street.  Quiet.  Dark.
Red light.  Stopping.  Green light.  Creeping.
Milkman humming.  Milk cat sleeping. 

Finally stopping.  Orders ready.
Cat still sleeping.  Snoring steady.
Double milk for Morgan twins.
Red house full of Kansas kin. 

Next house empty.  New folks soon.
Bensons left in early June.
Hope the Bensons like the Bay.
Hope the new folks want to stay.

Third, the nostalgic illustrations by Douglas B. Jones are just wonderful.  They are clear and crisp and cool.  The milkman strides long across the sidewalks of the sleepy town.  There is an easy smile set on his face.  As soon as he sees the first missing dog sign, that same dog begins to appear in each illustration, usually lit up a little to help readers find him.  Any smart author and illustrator know that a little look-and-find aspect to any book bumps it up a notch!

Definitely, this is one of the sweetest books we've read in a long time.  A fantastic find!

Santa from Cincinnati by Judi Barrett

 Santa from Cincinnati by Judi Barrett, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

Rating: 5 joyful stars

(I know Christmas is over, but...our lights are still up...so...)

One day, I'd like to write children's books.  You'd think I've read enough to know exactly what it takes, right?  On the one hand, yes.  On the other hand, books like Santa from Cincinnati just completely and totally humble me into a non-writing status.  This book is that creative, that impressive, that good.

Judi Barrett, of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs fame, has created a past for Santa Claus in this gem of a book.  Born in Cincinnati to a less famous Mr. and Mrs. Claus, his parents found his unusual name in an unusual way; "S, A, N, T, A" floated around together in their alphabet soup.  He was "jolly and roly-poly and had rosy cheeks from day one."  His toddler years included all the normal things: first steps (while wearing big, black boots), first words (ho, ho, ho), favorite song ("Jingle Bells") and favorite toys (stuffed reindeer).  To look more like his dad, young Santa started wearing a fake (white) beard and mustache.

My favorite [toy] was a stuffed reindeer.
In fact, since I liked it so much. my mother got me several more.

Young Santa and his father spent hours in their basement building toys together, adding to Santa's already big collection.  The toys were soon the subject of much awe and desire; the children of Cincinnati pressed their faces against the little basement windows to watch the man and boy make these toys.  The kids asked if they could have one, and soon Santa had a list that grew longer and longer every day.  One day before his birthday (December 25th) he realized he had way too many toys, so Santa decided to give them away--one to each child on his list.

He put on his red coat and hat, pulled some toys on his sled, and shoved more toys in a giant pillowcase he carried on his back.  Not surprisingly, the night was a huge success!  Santa decided to make it an annual thing.

After college, meeting and marrying the next Mrs. Claus, enlisting a bunch of people to help, and relocating to a bigger and better facility (with central heating), Santa became more efficient by shortening his list by finding out who was naughty and who was nice.  And his reindeer benefit from modern technology--his sleigh is now jet-propelled and thanks to his GPS, they never get lost.

The story would be great on its own, but Kevin Hawkes' illustrations bump it from awesome to incredible.  Each illustration just adds so much!  This is just a book full of joy--that sounds pretty hokey as I type it out, but there is so much joy in the faces of each picture and so much joy in the story that you can't help but feel a little bit of it as you read it to your little ones.

Even the week after the holidays.

I think the only drawback to this great book is that it explains Christmas without any religion--I can't really add much to that because I'm trying to figure out how and what to teach my trio.  But even with that drawback (because you've probably done a better job than me at explaining Christmas), this is truly one of the best holiday books I've ever read.  Thank you once again to Julia, my friend's daughter, for pointing it out to us.

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

 I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

Rating: 4.5 stars

I have to say, right up front, that Lorelei would give this 6 stars.  All three kindergarten classes at her school voted for their favorite book, and this is the one she chose.  She thinks it is so funny.  HI-larious.  Laugh-out-loud, pee-in-your-pants, bust-a-gut, funny.

I think it's okay.

Which means--gasp!--I'm a muggle!  I've been doing my best to stay young and cool and carefree but...it's...it's just no use.  I can't shake the twinge of morbid in the end of this book, so I can't completely laugh right alongside Lorelei.  I'm curious what you people think out there.  (Mom?  Thoughts?)

Lorelei reads the book to Kiefer.

In case you've not read it: Bear loses his hat and, one by one, interviews all the animals in the forest to see if they've seen it.  The third of his six interviews is with Rabbit, who is wearing a conspicuous red party hat (in the dull tones of the book, the red stands out).  Bear doesn't notice.  Pages later, Bear sighs with discontent at the fact that none of these animals could help him; he is still missing his hat.

But wait!  He remembers seeing it!

He scrolls through his brain until he realizes the very funny thing: Rabbit was wearing his hat when Bear talked with him!  Bear runs back, confronts Rabbit, and they have a two-page spread of a stare-down.  The. Tension.  Is.  Thick.

Turn the page.

We see no Rabbit, just Bear wearing his red party hat, and Bear denies ever having seen Rabbit.

Enter Lorelei, laughing her blond little head off, at the fact that Bear ate Rabbit!  Ha ha ha ha!

The stare-down.

Wait.  I'm supposed to be laughing here?  I say this to Lorelei.

She points out how there is now a bulge in Bear's belly.  Clearly, Mommy, Bear ate Rabbit.  Ha ha ha ha!

I dunno.  I'm kind of sad for Rabbit.  Poor guy.  Does he really deserve to be eaten?!  Over a silly hat?  I think I managed a fake little laugh, only so Lorelei could remain clueless about how seriously I take some books, about how muggle-like I really am.  Don't judge me for putting on a false laugh for her!

The Mouse Before Christmas by Michael Garland

The Mouse Before Christmas by Michael Garland

Rating (according to Julia and me): 5 stars

The Mouse Before Christmas by Michael Garland is about a mouse that one Christmas crawled into Santa’s sack. It is based on Twas the Night Before Christmas.  

Julia, writing her review long hand, before typing

(This is Kate interjecting:  See?  There is someone else in the world who is probably interested in reading all the versions of Twas the Night Before Christmas!  Okay, I'm assuming young Julia would be up for reading the stack of these books that I'm beginning to create.  I see a book party coming together for December 2013...  I am officially creating a Twas the Night Before Christmas tag for my blog.  Let me know of ones you know of that I might not know about!) 

The mouse was in the sack, and he found a way to peek out of the sack. He saw the Eiffel Tower, the Sphinx, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Statue of Liberty. At the end, Santa finds the mouse, and takes him back home. The next morning he wakes up and he got a present: It was a mini Santa hat! I would give this book 5 stars.      

By Julia, age 7, grade 1  

Mouse had never imagined a world so wide;
He lost count of the wonders he'd seen on this ride.

(It turns out that this book was on hold for us, and arrived to our local library a few days after Christmas.  Julia is right; it is worthy of five stars.  It really is good writing:

Onto rooftops, down chimneys, old Santa did race.
Mouse marveled the reindeer could keep up the pace.
They soared past high mountains, skimmed low near a river.
The twists, dips, and turns set his tummy aquiver.

Enjoy!)

)

What Am I? Christmas! by Alain Crozon

 What Am I?  Christmas! by Alain Crozon

Rating (according to Julia): 5 stars for kids, 3 stars for parents

I had a little problem, and I asked for a little help.

When my friend's daughter recommended some Christmas books to us, I tried to order all of the books.  But  a few weren't available and, like George, I was curious.  So I asked for help.  I wrote Julia an email asking if she would be interested in writing a review or two for my blog, telling readers about the book and what she thinks about it. 

Here is the bright and clever Julia's review:

What Am I? Christmas by Alain Crozon is not actually a storybook. It is a book that has quizzes, and you ask people the questions, and they have to answer them. 

Author Julia, hard at work on her review

One of questions is: “I become a special tree when you trim and decorate me!” then you lift up a flap and the flap reads:”a Christmas tree.” 

By Julia age 7, grade 1

(Me again.  I just have to add that Julia is as close to a crystal ball--where I can see the future--as I am ever going to have in my life.  She's about 18 months older than Lorelei and just as sweet and earnest and curious and, well, WONDERFUL!  Every time I see her I get a little sneak peek into what Lorelei is going to be doing in a year or two.  Such a gift!)

A Pirate's Night Before Christmas by Philip Yates

 A Pirate's Night Before Christmas by Philip Yates, illustrated by Sebastia Serra

Rating: 4 stars

Second nerdy confession of the day: It amuses me greatly to pick up our "on-hold" books at the library before I get the email notifying me that they are there, ready to be picked up.  But that's what happened yesterday when we went to the library--this book was waiting for us, pre-notification email!  I know, I know...cheap thrills.

If your child is into pirates, this is a great book to buy.  Or, if you just like reading books in a pirate accent ("aaarrgh!"), this is a great book to read.  The words and the illustrations are bright and lively and funny and clever.

But he hopped in his sleigh, to his team gave a roar:
"It's time to return to the briny deep floor!"

Santa is "Sir Peggedy" who lives in the deep water, and comes up from below with the help of eight giant, magic sea horses that pull his sleigh.  He hands out gifts to each buccaneer:

Anchors an' hornpipes an' cackle-fruit eggs,
Pearls an' red sashes for Bonnie an' Meg.
A cauldron for Cook filled with pieces of shank,
And just for the Cap'n a shiny new plank.

We had a lot of fun imagining a plank in our stockings on Christmas morning!  The narrator of the tale gets a special gift: a map to a treasure "where X-mas marks the spot!"

Another great version of the classic tale...  Merry Christmas, me buckos, an' a Happy New Year!

The Soldiers' Night Before Christmas by Trish Holland and Christine Ford

The Soldiers' Night Before Christmas by Trish Holland and Christine Ford, illustrated by John Manders

Rating: 4.5 stars

First nerdy confession of the day: I'd like to see how many versions there are of Twas A Night Before Christmas.  I'd like to check them all out and pile them up high and read them, one by one, all in a row.  I am confident that one exists for every constituency group out there, with inside jokes tucked away inside the familiar verse.  I love it!

I recently reviewed The Night Santa Got Lost: How NORAD Saved Christmas for Washington FAMILY magazine, a local resource for the Northern Virginia area.  (Read my review here.)  I thought I had seen it all when I flipped through and saw a special ops team fast rope down to rescue Santa!  But then, in Barnes & Noble, I saw the cover of this book and picked up two copies.  I didn't need to read them first--I knew I needed one for my sister's family, and one for my (retired Ranger) dad.

This book started out with a row of soldiers asleep, one sleeping with a rifle ("What's a rifle, Mommy?"), in their bunk.  The clatter that awoke them was a Blackhawk ("What's a Blackhawk, Mommy?") and eight Humvees ("What's a Humvee, Mommy?"  Look at this vocabulary building!) decked out with tinsel and lights.  Santa is fierce drill sergeant with a chewed up cigar hanging from his tough lips, and the reindeer are the drivers of said Humvees.

I know this book is not for every family.  Even while I am fine with these new vocabulary words because they are part of my family's lexicon, I know there are a lot of good reasons not to show kids pictures of rifles and cigars.

But as soon as my own chuckle started rolling, the book took a serious turn.  Sergeant McClaus walks in with a big bag of loot, presents for the troops from their families.  My eyes were immediately misty.

Tasty gifts from old friends in the helmets he laid.
There were candies, and cookies, and cakes, all homemade.
Many parents sent phone cards so soldiers could hear
Treasured voices and laughter of those they held dear. 

Loving husbands and wives had mailed photos galore
Of weddings and birthdays and first steps and more.
And for each soldier's boot, like a warm, happy hug,
There was art from the children at home sweet and snug.

Sniff, sniff.  There are many soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines away from home this holiday season, working hard so that our children can remain sweet and snug in their beds, blissfully ignorant of the messy and violent parts of world.  I love that this book allows kids to recognize their service.  This book ends how I'd like this entry to end:

Happy Christmas, brave soldiers!  May peace come to all!

(And thank you. so very much, for your service, brave soldiers.)

Kel Gilligan's Daredevil Stunt Show by Michael Buckley

 Kel Gilligan's Daredevil Stunt Show by Michael Buckley, illustrated by Dan Santat

Rating: 4 stars

I was just saying the other day in my review of It's Christmas, David! that I don't want to provide my trio--especially the two boys of that pack--extra ideas of how to be mischievous.  They come up with enough ways to walk the line between fun and stupid!  And I must take a moment of silence when I realize that, at age 4 and 19 months, they are just getting warmed up!  Yikes. 

And then I check out Kel Gilligan's Daredevil Stunt Show just because I found it on the goodreads.com Best of 2012 list.  Hmm.  Maybe I am still learning to walk the line between fun and stupid...?  But this book is a riot, in mostly appropriate ways.

Kel Gilligan is a three-ish-year-old daredevil and takes his daredevil-ness very seriously, though the stunts he performs would be approved by parents (or at least, me).  He puts his life at risk eating healthy food, he throws caution to the wind and poops on the potty, he attempts to get dressed all by himself, nearly fails to let his mom finish a phone conversation uninterrupted, and tests his nerve underwater during bath time.

That stunt took a little longer than I expected.
I should have brought a coloring book or something.

He knows no fear!

The sarcasm is almost too much for me and Kel's "mean faces" that I force Ben to soften in his own face make this a borrow-from-the-library book rather than one that Ben (and Lorelei and Kiefer) can look at again and again and again.  But Dan Santat's illustrations are hilarious--without question, laugh-out-loud funny!

Hopefully when they perform these daredevil stunts and others, our kids will at least wear a helmet!

A Letter to Santa Claus by Brigitte Weninger

A Letter to Santa Claus by Brigitte Weninger, illustrated by Anne Moller

Rating: 4.5 stars

Oliver and his mom, a seamstress, live up in the woods; they "only have enough money for bare necessities."One of his mother's clients pays her with a few coins and an old calendar, which Oliver is happy to have.  Something new and interesting!  He beams with excitement.

(I've got to pause here.  I hope your kids beam with excitement for a humble gift this year.  I know there'll be some "Where's the next gift?!" around our tree soon, but...hopefully there will be Appreciation, Gratitude, Gratefulness as well.)

Back to the book.

For December there is a picture of "Santa Claus."  Although Oliver is school-age, he's never heard of Santa Claus before, and is in awe when his mother explains who he is.  But then Oliver wonders if he's been too naughty all these years to receive any gifts...?  Soon after, a kind neighbor gives him a bright red balloon, beautifully juxtaposed with the whites and grays of winter, filled with an equally mysterious thing: helium.  Oliver writes a letter to Santa asking for a lamp for his mother and warm mittens for himself and uses the balloon to carry his letter.  Off floats his hope.

Miles away, the balloon lands in the yard of a grumpy old man, battered from a life of disappointment and sadness and loneliness.  His name is Nicholas; his thick, furry beard hides his frown.  Despite his initial disgruntled response at a child wishing for toys, the humbleness of Oliver's request creeps into his heart.

Days later, he puts on his red cloak and heads to the boy's house with packages for Oliver and his mother.  Oliver's beaming smile returns, and all are warmed with love--the kind of love that comes from extending yourself a bit more than feels comfortable, in a way that you've not in a long time or, maybe, ever.  That sort of love.

The boy and his mom move down the mountain to Nicholas' home, and they call him Grandpa.  They fill each other's lives and give each other not material gifts but all that untouchable, more important stuff: companionship, love, laughter, and others to give those things to.

This book makes me appreciate that untouchable, very important "Christmas spirit."

Thanks for the recommendation, Julia!