Man on the Moon (A Day in the Life of Bob) by Simon Bartram

Man on the Moon (A Day in the Life of Bob) by Simon Bartram

Rating: 4.5 stars

And now for something completely different...

A Peace Corps pal of mine recommended this book to me.  She said her two boys, who a little older than Lorelei and Ben, love to find the little aliens on each page.  Their funny little alien faces--some with three eyes, some with eyes coming out of their heads, others more human except for their green skin--make this one of the best look-and-finds we've read.

Bob looks for aliens but can't find any...but we do!

And there's a story, too!  Bob is the Man on the Moon, a regular, Earth-living guy whose job it is to fly to the moon every morning (I asked Lorelei this morning while we read this, "Does Daddy take a rocket to work?" she thought that was funny) and clean it up.  It gets dirty from all the tourists from Earth, you know.  The pictures of him vacuuming the moon are pretty funny.  Then he and his two buddies, the Man on Mars and the Man on Saturn, do some funny dances for the tourists that blast by.  He then lectures them about the moon and sells moon souvenirs.  The whole time, little aliens are crawling all over the background.  Bob insists that there are no such thing as aliens, which makes Lorelei and Ben shout out to him, "Bob!  There ARE aliens!  Look!"

VERY cute book, and one that is just different in a great way.

Otis by Loren Long

Otis by Loren Long

Rating: 5 special stars

One of our most favorite illustrators has written (and, of course, illustrated) a book of his own.  And it is wonderful!  One of my favorite things about it is that it's about a tractor, thus drawing in Ben, but he's a really cute tractor that loves to rollick and play and jump all around, so this draws in Lorelei really easily, too.

It is a simple tale about friendship: Otis is an old-school tractor and loves to work on his farm.  He becomes friends with a young calf and, together, they romp through the fields and sit together under the apple tree after a day of hard work.  But then the farmer upgrades and gets a huge, snazzy, new tractor.  Otis is moved from inside the barn to outside, where weeds grow over him and he starts to rust.  One day the young calf gets stuck in Mud Pond, and no one--including the snazzy new tractor--can get him out, until a familiar puff putt puffetdy chut comes from the barn, and Otis rescues his little friend.  "The calf was a special calf, Otis was a special tractor, and the two of them were special friends."

SO sweet!

A note on Loren Long.  His talent just blows me away.  I'm so appreciative that he chose to apply his artistic talents to, among other things, children's books.  Most of his books are pretty heavy--Wind Flyers is about the first all-black fighting squadron, I Dream of Trains is about a little black boy devastated by the death of Casey Jones.  But Otis is a wonderful book with appropriate art--slightly more cartoon-like than his other projects.  And the use of color--red Otis, the yellow new tractor, the red fire truck--just pop out from the pages. 

This is one for your bookshelf.  Definitely a great gift for any 3- or 4-year old, boy or girl!

Twinnies by Eve Bunting

Twinnies by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

Rating: 3.5 stars

Twins!  Double the fun!  If you know someone in your life who has them (maybe you) you would appreciate some of the images and sentences from this book.  We have twin nieces, so I have a special spot in my heart not just for twins, but for their parents.  Especially that tough first year.

The annoyed-looking big sister on the cover over there is, as you'd expect, annoyed to have not just one but two little sisters.  She is grumpy throughout the whole story and complains to anyone and everyone that "the worst thing is that there are two of them."  And they take up too much space in her bedroom, in the kitchen, and in their lives.  Her mother admits she feels "truly overwhelmed"--yup, I've seen the real-life images from the book at my sister's house, and I'm here to say that that is one accurate statement.  The annoyed big sister begrudgingly helps out, though she does switch socks on the twins just to be funny.

At the end, the neighbor complains that the twins woke her up at night with their screaming and crying.  The big sister gets her feathers ruffled: "Who does she think she is, picking on our twinnies?"  So the next night, when the babies inevitably wake and cry, the exhausted parents take them into their fluffy bed with them.  The big sister shows up, too, and whispers if there is room for her.  Her dad assures her there is, and she squeezes in between her two sisters.  They are soft on either side of her; she thinks "if there was only one, I'd feel lopsided."  She drifts to sleep holding their toes and finally wipes the annoyed look off her face and replaces it with a contented smile.

It's pretty understandable that a big sister would feel like this, so I have to forgive some of Eve Bunting's character's disgust with her baby sisters.  I wish she'd have changed some of the text to make it a bit more positive, but it ends so well and the images are so true to life that it definitely has many redeeming qualities.

The Story Blanket by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz

The Story Blanket by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz, illustrated by Elena Odriozola

Rating: 5 stars

This book is a little gift of a tale about Babba Zarrah, a wonderful old lady, giving gifts to everyone in her village.  And, in return for her generosity, they give her gifts in return.  There are so many wonderful things about it I don't know where to start. 

Babba Zarrah is a beloved story-teller, and kids come from all over to sit on her story blanket and listen to her stories.  One day she notices one of the little boys has a hole in his shoes, so she decide to knit him some socks.  But the winter snow is too deep to allow new supplies to come to the village; she can't find any new wool.  She says, wisely, "Every question has an answer.  I just have to think of it."  (What wonderful thing to say to my kids, and to have them say to themselves!)  She looks at the story blanket and finds the answer...she unravels it to make socks for the little boy.  And then a scarf for the chilly postman.  And then mittens for the headmaster.  Pretty soon everyone has mysterious, warm gifts delivered on their doorstep, and the story blanket becomes smaller and smaller, forcing all the kids to squash together.  When the villagers finally realize where they gifts are coming from--and you see the villagers wearing the warm gifts, the beautiful story blanket shared with all--they decide to return the favor to Babba Zarrah by unraveling all of their blankets and giving her their wool.

"The next time the children went to Babba Zarrah's for a story, there was a colorful new blanket to sit on and a tale about a village where everyone shared with each other."

Such a sweet, sweet story!  The images from Elena Odriozola are simple and whimsical.  They help make what could be a pretty heavy story into a light, approachable one.  It is definitely one for teachers and grandmas (our Grammy would give it ten stars and tear up while she read it), but one for parents as well.  There are so many lessons to draw from the tale, especially those of sharing and generosity and thoughtfulness.  But also of recycling and creativity and resourcefulness.  An all-round winner!

Baby Danced the Polka by Karen Beaumont

Baby Danced the Polka by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by Jennifer Plecas

Rating: 5 polka-dancing stars!

This is an old favorite of ours, one that beloved Grammy found some years ago.  It's the only book that we have that gives a nod to our Polish ancestry, something that lingers in my sister and I though our last names no longer have a confusing jumble of consonants that somehow sound like "check" or end in "ski."  But, to be honest, it's only a tiny nod, just a good excuse to get this book for anyone and everyone who has a little bit of polka-dancing in their past.

Karen Beaumont is at her best with this swinging poem about a baby who just won't go to bed.  His Ma and Pa keep on putting him to bed and get right to work on some chores around the house like fixing the chow, washing wigs (?!  hey, it rhymes with pig), starching long johns, hauling water and other stuff we don't do anymore but is fun to think about doing.  Except the wig thing.  Ok, and maybe the long johns, too.  But then the baby comes barreling out of his bedroom doing a different dance with a different animal, obviously not sleeping!  First, he polkas with the polka-dotted pig.  Then he boogie-woogies with the frisky little goat, then he cha-chas with the chocolate-colored cow.  You get the idea.

One of our favorite parts when we're reading aloud is opening the flap that shows the polka-ing or cha-cha-ing or boogie-woogie-ing baby and animal, with the last word (the animal) written under the flap.  Lorelei yells it out in her biggest outside voice.  And Ben says "EH!" his favorite word for most everything.  It makes me laugh, and it makes them laugh, and that makes this a great, great book. 

Lorelei ripped the last two pages of the book when she was a baby, and the words are missing.  So when the kids get Daddy to read it, he has to yell from the other room: "What's the last verse?"  And I shout out the words because they are etched in my memory.  For months we'd recite this walking to the mailbox and back, even though we left the book at home.  I am willing to bet that I'll be able to recite it in twenty years, too!

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, illustrated by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak

Rating: 5 stars

Oh my gosh such a sweet book.  Be prepared for tears!  (From you, of course, not your little one, who will mostly be oblivious to the sweetness of this book.) 

I'm certain that you've at least heard of this book before as it was written in 1993 and stayed on the NYTimes bestsellers list for a long time.  And almost every preschool that has a recommended reading list to parents during the back-to-school months must include this book on it.  It's a simple story: the little raccoon is starting school and is worried he'll miss his mama.  So she kisses his hand and tells him that if he feels lonely, just put the hand up to his face and he'll feel her love for him, even if she's not right there.  At the end, he kisses her hand (sniff, sniff!) and tells her the same thing.

Our preschool suggests that we "create a ritual of saying good-bye" like having a special handshake or a song, or a kiss on the hand like this book suggests.  For Ben it'll certainly be an explosive fist bump, something that cracks him up like nobody's business.  For sweet Lorelei, it'll be something like a kiss or song.  Ok, I've got to stop thinking about the first day of carpool and actually saying good-bye to Lorelei.  I'm so thankful that Ben will still be in the car with me; I hate crying in front of them, so I'll at least have to sob silently.

Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney

Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney

Rating: 4.5 stars

I should give it a 5 but it has the word "hate" in it.  I know, isn't that so old-fashioned of me? 

Other than that, this is one of my favorite ready-for-school books.  The short, snappy rhymes that made Anna Dewdney's other books so popular and so fantastic are back, and because the text is so quick, it sticks with kids.  I hope this line sticks with Lorelei in a few weeks: "Don't be sad, new little llama! / It's okay to miss your mama, / But don't forget-- / when day is through, / She will come right back to you. / Llama llama, please don't fuss. / Have some fun and play with us!"

After another trip to a park where Lorelei ran over to ask some big kids to play tea party with her (they declined so kindly...whew!), I'm pretty sure she'll be just fine.  But a book like this one, which introduces the whole concept of Mom's-going-to-drop-you-off-at-school-and-leave-you-with-strangers thing has a perfect little dose of "missing" in it.  I am glad for it, because I explain to Lorelei that she'll probably miss me but maybe some other kids will really, really miss their moms, and she can be a good helper and a good friend and try to cheer them up by inviting them to play and stuff.

Fingers crossed.  Three more weeks till school starts, so I'm trying my best not to fret.  But I'm so GOOD at it!

I Love Tools! by Philemon Sturges

I Love Tools! by Philemon Sturges, illustrated by Shari Halpern

Rating: 4 stars

Like I said, we can't stop reading these books!  They are each very simple but fun and a wonderful introduction to basic but important concepts.  Like tools.  I found myself really excited, in a super dorky way, about reading what little snippets Sturges found on each tool on the front and back cover/jackets (is there a right word for this?!) of the book.  He didn't disappoint!

Here are some of his random factoids:

 - The earliest rulers were based on the length of people's feet, hands, or fingers.
 - Because a hammer has so many uses, including making other tools, it is sometimes called the "king of tools."  (Is there a queen of tools?  I'm going to guess not.)
 - If you live in a typical American home, your house was probably built using around 200 pounds of nails!

The book introduces tools as a family of four (including both a son and daughter) build a bird house together, making this book a fantastic one as a springing board for such a project at home.  Lorelei will be ready to do this sort of project in the Spring, which means Ben will be, too.

I Am a Backhoe by Anna Grossnickle Hines

I Am a Backhoe by Anna Grossnickle Hines

Rating: 3.5 stars

The other day I had to get my car taken in for a very minor repair.  I'd already gone twice without the kids, but I was tired of all my with-the-sitter time taken up by the darn car shop.  Lorelei and Ben are really well-behaved, so this time they came with me.  Of course, it took longer than the 30 minutes my designated representative told me it would be.  So we took a walk.  Luckily for us, there was a construction site just a block away!

At 9:30 in the morning, the three of us walked along a very desolate part of the ex-burbs of Northern Virginia and watched some real backhoes do some work.  Ben could hardly contain his excitement when he saw a dump truck actually DUMP something!  And then, right next to the sidewalk, a tiny little digger (ok, I don't think the operator called it that, but I did) that was still on, just idling, waiting for its operator to come spur him into action.  I couldn't believe Ben resisted the temptation to reach out and touch it.  Next to this still-on machine was some other machine that I should know because I've read so many books like this, and leaning on it were three very filthy but very friendly construction dudes.  We of course said hello and good morning and smiled, but they were just perplexed as to what we were doing there.  Until they saw Ben jump up and down with excitement when a big backhoe came and scooped up some rocks RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!  Oh my gosh, the thrill of it!

Maybe you had to be there.

Anyway, I hope these cheap thrills last a lot longer!  The book is a good twist on the normal machine-book-for-little-boys genre that will never go out of style.  The little boy in the book acts out all the machines, which is pretty cute and actually really interests Lorelei, who chooses to read this book more often than Ben.  The other good little twist is that, at the end of the book, the little boy's father puts him on his back and acts like a flatbed truck.  His dad dumps him "into the big garage" (the sofa) and they finish the book by reading a book.  It ends: "I like trucks.  And so does Daddy."

Sally Gets a Job by Stephen Huneck

Sally Gets a Job by Stephen Huneck

Rating: 4.5 stars

Today during our fairly regular "girls outing" during Ben's Saturday afternoon nap, Lorelei and I went to the library.  We love going, and we both love going while "the little guy" (as we all call Ben) is sleeping, instead of running around loudly, trying to pull books off shelves and wrestle with the stuffed alligators they have for other little guys.

Lorelei was pretty pooped from a morning at the playground, so I just wanted to sit and read with her.  Sometimes the library can be an overwhelming place, and finding the right books that are simultaneously familiar and known is tough.  I was heading over to the H section to look at Kevin Henkes books (we sure do love Lilly!) when I saw that our little local library --gasp!-- had every single one of Stephen Huneck's Sally books.  Lorelei was as excited as I was, which made me smile even bigger.  We pulled them out--all six of them--and read them all in a row. 

We liked them all, but we have our favorites.  This is one of them, that we brought home to read with Ben.  Lorelei and I were both a little intrigued by the title of this one and wondered out loud what sort of a job Sally the dog could get.  We soon found out!  The book starts out: "It's a lucky dog that has a family, and a lucky family that has a dog."  I was so hooked!  I almost teared up over it (yes, I cry at Hallmark commercials).  I'll try and continue without getting choked up... 

Sally watches her family go to work and school each day and thinks that maybe she should get a job, too.  So she envisions jobs for herself: bus driver (driving other dogs), a teacher (of obedience class), an archeologist (because she's good at digging), a paleontologist (because she likes bones), a rescue dog (saving animals from burning buildings).  Once again, the charm is in the huge pictures.  Stephen Huneck's woodcuts are simple and wonderful and different, and just plain charming.  She finally realizes that she has the best job in the world: taking care of her family.  Awww!

The final illustration is the little boy in the family playing tug-of-war with Sally; each has one end of the sock in her/his mouth.  I know that it's only a matter of time that Ben attempts this with our dogs.  I sure hope it doesn't result in a trip to the dentist!

Book Fiesta! by Pat Mora

Book Fiesta! by Pat Mora, illustrated by Rafael Lopez

Rating: 4 stars

The cover of this book is like an gorgeous invitation to any book-loving kid out there.  It is bright and cheerful, and shows kids romping and reading together.  It was peeking out at me in the Bilingual section of our library this afternoon as Lorelei and I sat during our "girls outing" that often happens during Ben's Saturday afternoon nap.

The book is about Children's Day, or El dia de los ninos and also Book Day, El Dia do los libros.  It is a sweet poem that originally was a song that Pat Mora wrote.  In the pages of this wonderful book he expands on the song and celebrates children and books together--because he thinks, as I sure do, that the two go hand-in-hand.  "Hooray! Today is our day. / El dia de los ninos! / Let's have fun today reading our favorite books. / We read in English and Spanish, / in Chinese and Navajo too. / We read by ourselves, / we read with a friend."

The text is fine.  But the pictures!  Oh my gosh.  Pictures of kids just reading: their noses joyfully buried in their books, sitting side by side with a pal reading together, carefully balanced on the statue outside the library reading.  They are excitedly running to the library, acting out the story their parents are reading to them.  They read in cars, and planes, and trains, in the garden, an elephant, and even in a whale's mouth!  (Lorelei found this one pretty captivating.)  I can't say enough about how much I love the illustrations.

I really wish there was more text (which is, by the way, in both English and Spanish), a little more explaining of El dia de los ninos...  At the end of the book, in an author's note, Pat Mora encourages people to have book fiestas of their own.  It's an inspiring little section of how to bring books to life, and another reason to read this great book.

Even Firefighters Hug Their Moms by Christine Kole Maclean

Even Firefighters Hug Their Moms by Christine Kole Maclean, illustrated by Mike Reed

Rating: 5 stars

I always go on a hunt for books for birthdays and other special occasions.  I try and find a bunch of books that I think the particular child would like, and then I check them out at the library to preview them, and then we buy one or two for the child.  Well, I kind of ran out of time for my very best friend's son's 4th birthday and I had to do what most people do: buy a book without reading it first!  Gasp!

Now that you've gotten over your shock, I'm here to say that the gamble work.  This particular little boy is happily in the Firefighter Stage, which I hear is inevitable and lasts awhile.  I had tried to find other books on firefighters, but when I came across this one and decided to take the risk.  I am glad it was good.  My best friend reported back to me on his birthday that it was great and the birthday boy loved it, so I checked it out to make sure she wasn't just being polite.  (Unlikely.  We've been friends far too long for that.)

This book is about a big brother and little sister who have several imaginative scenarios while playing in their house, supervised by their mother.  They pretend to be firefighters putting out a fire, police officers capturing criminals, EMTs taking care of victims, construction workers building some pillow thingie, helicopter pilots rescuing people from "gigantic storms," and astronauts going to the moon.  And Mars.  The great illustrations show the brother and sister: a) playing together really happily (the little sister gets a special role in each situation), b) using normal household things in a super creative way, and c) the mother sometimes supervising, sometimes playing right alongside them.  What great things to see!

After each little scenario, the mom requests a hug, but the little boy is too busy fighting fires or rescuing people, to which the mom replies: "Even firefighters (or EMTs or...) hug their moms!"  She gets rebuffed every time until the end, when he finally gives her a hug (the illustration is very sweet) and explains to his little sister, "Even firefighters hug their moms!"

Very, very cute book for a bunch of different reasons!  The copy from the library is so beat up...it looks like a lot of people agree with me that this book is very much worth reading. 

So, happy birthday, G!

Sumi's First Day of School Ever by Soyung Pak

Sumi's First Day of School Ever by Soyung Pak, illustrated by Joung Un Kim

Rating: 5 stars

It's 12:27 AM and here I am, blogging.  About a back-to-school book.  It's related, trust me.  Today Lorelei had another summer playdate, where all the kids, especially the new ones, are invited to the preschool playground to run their hearts out and all the parents balance chit-chatting with running after their kids (more Ben than Lorelei for me).  It was really fun and Lorelei was a super star--she walked boldly up to little trios of already-formed friendships and introduced herself and asked their age (not their name!).  I was so proud of her--how many adults find it impossible to do the same thing?

So the transition to preschool isn't going to be bad, I suspect, but it's still on my mind.  I woke up suddenly a little while ago with the heart-pounding concern that Lorelei won't like the snack that her teacher provides and will be hungry for the last hour of school.  And Lorelei is considerably less sweet when she's hungry!  But that's not the point--the point is, the first day of school is coming, and I'm trying to be as confident in my little girl as she is in her strong little self.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

This book is one of the dozen or so back-to-school type books we checked out today at the library.  It doesn't exactly fit the traditional form, but it is one that encourages empathy, so it'll be a staple read in our house.  Sumi is a little girl from South Korea whose mother teachers her two lines in English before her first day of school in the U.S.: "What is your name?" and "My name is Sumi."  Understandably, the first day starts in confusion and one child (who is quickly reprimanded by a watchful teacher) sticks his tongue out at her.  She thinks that school is lonely and mean and scary.  But then the little boy apologizes, her teacher hangs up her drawing, and a little girl befriends her.  The story is told quietly and sweetly, and I love it.

As a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand, with a mother who teaches English as a second language in middle school (mostly to Korean children), and with a daughter who is about to have her first day of school, ever, this book definitely strikes a chord with me.  (Thanks for the recommendation, Becky!)


P.S.  I found this neat organization that educates on the rich legacy of Korea.  Here's a link to the website's list of children's books, in age-appropriate categories.

Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff

Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff

Rating: 5 stars

Of course we love Danny and the Dinosaur!  Who can resist the charm of visiting a museum and finding a dinosaur that can wake up after 50 gazillion years to play with you and your friends?  Not us!

Here are some noteworthy things about this noteworthy book: 

1.  No parents are in the pictures; just kids.  What a great reminder that childhood should really involve time just with children, not only time supervised by adults.

2.  Danny really wants the dinosaur to come home and live with him forever, but the dinosaur simply explains that the museum needs him.  I love this little homage to one of my favorite things at playgrounds: the short little friendships that emerge just in a game of chase or follow the leader, where names aren't even bother to be exchanged. 

3.  During a game of hide-and-seek, the dinosaur can't find a place to hide where the kids can't find him (no surprise there).  So they "make believe they can't find him" and let him win.  That's Ben's favorite page by far, when the text reads, "Where oh where is that dinosaur?" and so on, and the huge dinosaur is hiding behind a tiny light post.  This is exactly how my kids play hide-and-seek!  I explained to Lorelei how the kids were making the dinosaur feel better by pretending they couldn't find him.  (Oh please let at least a few of these lessons in empathy stick!)

4.  It's actually pretty long!  But because the illustrations are so captivating and funny, even Ben can sit through this book pretty easily, and he's got plenty of ants in his pants.

This is worth buying, but only buy a great hard cover version, or maybe even the library binding, because it'll be on your shelf for a long time.  And then on your children's shelves for their kids.  Imagine that!

Sally's Great Balloon Adventure by Stephen Huneck

Sally's Great Balloon Adventure by Stephen Huneck

Rating: 5 stars

If you've got a black dog in your life--or any dog, really--this book is a must-read.  We have a "blue" weimaraner named Lulu, so we sometimes read this as "Lulu's Great Balloon Adventure" because we know Lulu would do just the same things Sally does... 

Sally is curious about a hot air balloon, but more curious about the fried chicken in one of the balloon's gondolas.  She can't resist following the scent, so she jumps up and falls into the gondola, then pulls the wrong cord and takes off, by herself!  Everyone calls her name from below, but it's no use.  People have several suggestions on how to rescue her, but it takes a smart little kid and her friends to get her down to earth.  And, miraculously, Sally hasn't touched the fried chicken.  We know our Lulu would have devoured it, even the life-threatening bones.  The kids feed Sally the chicken (sans bones, I think) and Sally is happy to be back on earth, with a fully tummy.

We can't wait to read the other books in this series.  Has anyone else read them? 

The woodcut prints are so different and interesting and simple--it would be so neat to see this process in real life.  I went to his website to see if there was a video or something and I found out this amazing story of Stephen himself.  He was discovered early as an artist and really was a hand-carver first and foremost.  After falling down a flight of stairs in 1994, he was in a coma for 3 months.  His doctors didn't expect him to have a full recovery, but his wife believed and he did.  Right before the accident, he realized he wanted to do a series of books based on his black lab, Sally (he had another black lab named Artie and a golden retriever named Molly, too).  He set to work on them right away after waking from his coma.  He died this past January, just 61; Sally's Great Balloon Adventure was his last book.

Having a glimpse at the author, his life, and his love of dogs makes me appreciate this book even more.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears retold by Jan Brett

Goldilocks and the Three Bears retold by Jan Brett

Rating: 3.5 stars

There are some books that seem to just check a block.  Take Goldilocks.  I had to run a Google search (to avoid any critical thought) to find out exactly why this tale has lasted so long, and why I feel compelled to make sure Lorelei knows the story before school.  Google never lets me down. 

Here's the deal: In the mid-19th century, the story was of three bears and an old lady who trespassed on their property.  It was a "fearsome oral tale" which probably wouldn't be appropriate for our toddlers today who are, thankfully, sheltered from gruesome anything (except when they walk in the room when my husband is watching Ultimate Fighter).  Within a few decades the old lady morphed into a beautiful young girl and three bears turned into mostly kind animals rather than scary beasts.  I guess one of the lessons to draw from "one of the most popular tales in English literature" isn't included in Jan Brett's version: after the wee, little bear wakes up Goldilocks and she runs away into the forest, she vows to be a good little girl forever after.

Shoot.  Now Lorelei won't realize that she's supposed to be a good little girl forever after.  I have failed!

Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of the story, but Jan Brett is one talented artist.  I actually think all of her books are flawed, some more than others, but they are worth reading because of the beautiful pictures.  She always draws borders around his pages, and the borders are filled with loads of little tidbits to uncover, clues as to what is on the next page, and just details upon details.  The pages of this book are just a testing ground for Lorelei and Ben's observation skills.  And they fare pretty well!

If you're interested, Jan Brett has heaps of neat (and free) activities and coloring pages on her website.

Ten Apples Up On Top! by Dr. Seuss

Ten Apples Up On Top! by Dr. Seuss, illustrated by Roy McKie

Rating: 5 balanced stars

Obviously, I have two kids.  So I'm constantly juggling their needs and interests and snacks to try and keep things interesting and balanced.  Sometimes I succeed.  Books like this one help--both Lorelei and Ben love it equally.  Many of the I Can Read By Myself Books are great like that; the text is simple enough for the beginner reader (Lorelei, 3 1/2) but also silly enough with fun illustrations for the younger listener (Ben, 20 months).

I should go buy this book we've checked it out so much, but the few times I've done that the book suddenly becomes less special.  Just like when a toy at a friend's house is much more interesting than when your mother buys it for you at home.  Humph!

This is my favorite Dr. Suess book, and has been for decades.  I prefer the more tamed, more succinct Dr. Suess (I can't get over how long Happy Birthday To You and If I Ran the Zoo are!)...but that could be just a phase.

She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain by Philemen Sturges

She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain by Philemen Sturges, illustrated by Ashley Wolff

Rating: 5 singing stars

Warning: This book/song will get stuck in your head, and you will definitely be singing it to yourself after the kids are tucked in bed, while on a date night with your partner, taking the dogs out for a walk.

That's the bad news.  The good news is that it's a really good book/song to have stuck in your head!  Philomen Sturges changes the words to the old folk song that no one can remember the words to anyway (or is that just me?).  It's a pretty decent length of a book, but the text/lyrics don't get old at all, and I even pretend to play a banjo as if there's a space left to rock out on my nonexistent banjo in front of my highly amused kids.  (I'll have the only kids who play air banjo, not air guitar.  Geeks in training!)  This book is so different from all the others because it's a song, and Lorelei and Ben beg for it again and again and again.  And I'm happy to oblige!  Even when my in-laws were in town so I had a crowd of people listening to me croon, I was happy to oblige. 

The basic storyline (songline?) is this:  Some "she"--it's a mystery who--is comin' 'round the mountain to this little animal village in the middle of some southwestern state.  Everyone is getting ready for a party when she arrives, including "making ensalada" and getting "old brass beddy" ready.  Here is Lorelei's favorite part: "We'll have a fiesta grande while she's here. / Salsa, rice, and candy--hope she's near! / That table looks just dandy, the pinata will be handy. / Let's build a great big fire for good cheer."  In the background of many of the detailed pictures is a camper, the vehicle of the mysterious lady, making its way to the town.  On the last page, when the whole town cheers "Yea, she's here!" we realize that it's a mobile library called Six White Horses, and everyone is excited to check out new books.

A book about books!  I love it.

I also must admit another dorky fact about myself, other than the fact that I play a pretty rad air banjo.  I make up songs for everything.  We have a quesadilla song, a guacamole song, a whatever-needs-to-be-sung-about song.  I usually take the lyrics to a song Lorelei and Ben know, and it cracks them up to here the latest version of it.  Lorelei plays along, too, and she makes up songs about things as she plays by herself or with Ben or with whatever it is that interests her at the moment.  We've all had a great time learning the lyrics to this book/song and also authoring our own!

I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont

I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by David Catrow

Rating: 4.5 stars

I am conducting an experiment.  If I read this book to Lorelei so frequently, until the message becomes embedded in her soft, pale skin, until the words roll of out of her smiley mouth, and until she can triumphantly leap as wildly as she does now in front of any group of people, will she resist the frightening abyss of middle school girlhood?

Sigh.  Lorelei's not much past 3 and I'm already concerned.  I dodged those years because I was wonderfully entrenched in horses.  I couldn't get enough of them, any my parents (wise them!) encouraged me wildly.  It was as if I put my head down to concentrate on my Dressage tests and, next thing I knew, I was in high school.

Over the weekend I read a fantastic article in the New York Times about an all girls camp that aims to readjust, if only a little, the self-esteem and pride that many girls lose during their middle school years.  What an understatement to say it's worth a read--click here to access it.  (The gal in charge is so inspirational!  I am asking for her two books on girlhood for Christmas.  That's right--barely August and I'm working on my Christmas list.)  Hopefully our little family and the larger ones in which we sit, plus our friends and neighbors and our soon-to-be chosen preschool will help Lorelei in these early formative years so that self-esteem is rarely an issue.  I think I'd be really crazy if I typed "never," though that is my wish.

This book is, as the inside flap says, "at once serious and silly" as it describes a little girl's ode to herself.  She declares her love for herself: "I like me wild. / I like me tame. / I like me different / and the same" while David Catrow's wacky illustrations impress and amuse everyone in the room.  This is a great book.  I'll be reading now, and tomorrow, and the day after that, and for every week next month, and then next year at breakfast for three months straight, and...

Bark, George by Jules Feiffer

Bark, George by Jules Feiffer

Rating: 4 stars

This is a funny little book that makes Ben and Lorelei giggle every time.  George's mother wants him to bark, but he keeps making other animal sounds.  So she takes him to the vet, who pulls out the animals--a cat, a pig, a duck, and then...holy smokes!...a cow!  And on the way home, after walking through a sidewalk crowded with humans, George says, "hello!"

Today when I read this to Lorelei and Ben I checked their mouths for animals, and they wanted to check mine to see the reason why I was saying oink and moo.  I don't recommend doing this while anyone is eating because what is just funny turns pretty gross, and a kid like Ben will want to repeat something that's gross even more times than something that's just plain funny.

This is a great making-predictions book if you want to draw lessons out of it, or it's just a fun book to read.  Thanks for the suggestion, Beth!