Latest Library Finds

re: Latest Library Finds

Holly — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:17:34 GMT

We are currently huge fans of this: www.amazon.com/.../ref=sr_1_1

--it's a collection of poems, mostly contemporary but some oldies like Frost's "Stopping by Woods..." --that would appeal to kids. We listened to the CD once (and I was underwhelmed, though maybe Coby would like it now that he knows most of the poems), but the book is fabulous, and the last poem is perfect for that last-story-before-bed. And anyway, who wouldn't want their 2 yr. old to be able to recite "Jabberwocky" by heart? :)

When we go to the library, I've found that the juvenile non-fiction section is a hit for whatever Coby's into. Not all the books are appropriate for his age, but enough are, and they're a nice change from "little-kid" books. We've read a lot about trains (and love "All Aboard" by Susan Kuklin), fire trucks (try "Fire Trucks" by Hope Irvin Marston), rockets/space (try anything by Carmen Bredeson, as well as "Man on the Moon" by Anastasia Suen), and backhoes/mighty machines (we like "Big Building Site" by John Deere press).

For anyone about to have child #2, definitely read "Hello Baby!" by Lizzie Rockwell; a few months later you'll probably want "Peter's Chair" by Ezra Jack Keats.

And for your short-fuse toddler, "When Sophie Gets Angry" by Molly Bang led to good discussions.

re: Latest Library Finds

KDMommy — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:03:47 GMT

One that we recently found and really love is:

"The Hello, Goodbye Window" by Norton Juster. It's a story about a little girl who spends her days with her grandparents (Nana and Poppy) while her parents are at work. The illustrations are very creative. We especially love that the 'Poppy' plays only one song on his harmonica b/c our 'Opa' plays only one song on his accordion.

"Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie" is another by Juster. It follows the same little girl and her grandparents through a day when she fluctuates often between being Sweetie Pie and Sourpuss (can't we all identify with that!). It has become part of the vernacular of our house 'You are being quite the sourpuss right now - I wish Sweetie Pie would come back to play.' Usually does the trick to snap my 3-year-old out of his crabbiness.

re: Latest Library Finds

Roper — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:44:02 GMT

I am LOVING all these suggestions! Am going to print out all these comments and take it to the library next time. (Or send it with Alastair, as he tends to be the one who goes.) Brava!

re: Latest Library Finds

churlita — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 04:02:44 GMT

I used to love reading Bloom County and trying to pick out which Iowa City individuals he based his characters on. I had no idea he wrote kid's books.

re: Latest Library Finds

Voice of Reason — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 03:15:24 GMT

Our fave picture books are:

- 'The Gruffalo,' 'The Snail and the Whale' and 'Room On The Broom,' all by Julia Donaldson

- The 'Olivia' series by Ian Falconer

- 'Mr Murry and Thumbkin' by Karma Wilson

- 'The Chimpanzees of Happytown' and 'Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs' by Giles Andreae

Recently, our son turned five and he received 'The Enchanted Wood' and 'The Folk of The Faraway Tree' by Enid Blyton. He loves them! This gift, from a great friend, acted as a catalyst for reading chapter books with him and it's been so, so wonderful. While his two year old sister naps, we read Roald Dahl, EB White... it's an exciting time for us!

re: Latest Library Finds

Patty — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:16:56 GMT

The Big Red Barn, by Margaret Wise Brown -- we've been reading this for the last 2+ years, and I'm not tired of it yet. A great bedtime book, with the simple rhythm of the poem and the fade-to-night ending. Lots of farm animals and noises.

The Rattletrap Car, by Phyllis Root & Jill Barton -- definitely the most imaginative way to get to the beach.

The current favorites are nursery rhymes. One is a very very old collection published sometime in the 20's or 30's -- probably belonged to my mother and her brother. The other is Mother Goose, by Gyo Fujikawa. My son (nearly 3!) adores the illustrations, especially the full-page color ones. The nice thing about this one is that it has multiple verses in some of the rhymes for which I only knew the first verse.

We'll have to get a copy of Where The Wild Things Are! Thanks for all the great recommendations.

re: Latest Library Finds

Brandy Hoffmann — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:19:24 GMT

Hi Jane,

I have no doubt that you (and your girls) will find the following 2 children's books, by cartoonist Chris Monroe, very, very funny. The stories (and fantastic drawings) never get old. Good for adults too, since Monroe is mostly known for her sarcastic (but sweet) adult cartoon, Violet Days.

-Monkey with a Tool Belt (2007)

-Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Noisy Problem (2009)

You might also check out the Three Silly Chicks blog, which recommends different funny books for kids.

I've been reading your blog since right before my twin girls were born in May, 2008. I teach writing in Duluth, MN (at UMD), and my musician fiance is a stay-at-home-dad. I find your blog so relatable and encouraging. And the writing is always satisfying. Thank-you! - Brandy

re: Latest Library Finds

winecat — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 04:14:43 GMT

Non-parent. but Aunt speaking here lover of children's books. Give Anna Quinlan, yes that Anna Quinlan a try. She wrote a book for her nieces Happily Ever After in which the princess realizes being a princess has some serious drawbacks.

There's also Stella which is about a bat but I can't find the correct title or author right now.

And my everlasting favorite - The Velveteen Rabbit (the one with the original illustrations) and The Giving Tree and Where the Sidewalk ends.

re: Latest Library Finds

lenabena — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:57:25 GMT

our favorites right now are the arnold lobel books--frog and toad, mouse tales, mouse soup, owl at home. i just love them--perfectly written, simple and a little loopy.

re: Latest Library Finds

Alli — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:06:02 GMT

Your post couldn't be timelier! I'm doing a unit with my students on South African Safari (I studied abroad there, so I can use my pictures. They are loving it. We made hats (paper bowls with fabric ties), binoculars (paper towel tubes cut in half and taped together), and passports (paper bound into a book and rubber stamped and stickered). They also got to take pictures with a disposable camera of "wildlife." But, as I've been looking the inaccurate/confusing information about animals in books for young children is totally frusterating. I have found however:

We All Went on Safari, A Counting Journey Through Tanzania - A group of Maasai children come across African animals as they travel. My kids were really excited to help me count the animals on each page. It also includes Swahili names and numbers.

A few of my (and my kids) other favorites:

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems - We can't walk by a pigeon now without someone stopping to reprimand it.

Grandfather Twilight by Barbara Berger - A classic favorite of mine from childhood.

My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me by Maya Angelou - A Ndebele child introduces the reader to her daily life in South Africa.

The Big Orange Splot by D. Manus Pinkwater - A man inspires his neighbors when he changes his identical house into the house of all his dreams. Includes a sweet refrain.

I could go on, but now it's dinner time, so I'll end with a recommendation for your little ones: Though I'm sure you've already introduced them to Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, their age and interest in monsters make this perfect! Elsa would like the scary wild things, and Clio can take comfort in her ability to tame them with the trick of staring into their eyes. You can Just fold up some paper boats and set them afloat in the bathtub with a "Max" and some "monster" toys and I bet she'd have a ton of fun. You can also experiment with hot and cold food like doing a hot and cold cereal taste test (oatmeal vs. cheerios for example). And, dress up is always super fun too.

re: Latest Library Finds

MidLifeMama — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:00:34 GMT

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...

Some book about hippos by Sandra Boynton but the name escapes me.

re: Latest Library Finds

Melissa — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:43:07 GMT

I agree with you about factually incorrect books. I bought a book for Michael on sale because it had beautiful pictures and a neat hardcover binding, but its about "monkeys" who clearly are chimps, but have tails and swing from trees. Yet use straws to eat termites. Impossible to pretend they're either monkeys or apes.

Michael's favorites:

10 Friendly Fish: Helped him learn to recognize numbers at an early age and I love the pictures.

Shades of Black: I bought this for him to enforce pride in being black and he really loves it. It also is beautifully worded and even kind of gives them some geological vocabulary ("my eyes are the brilliant blue in a lapis, the green in a unakite and the brilliant black in onyx"). I may not have quoted this exactly...

Did I Tell You I Love You Today?: Written by Michael Jordan's mother. Goes through a day in a boys life, showing him the ways his mother shows her love for him.

He also is starting to love Mercer Mayer books. I'm working on getting him hooked on Dr. Suesses ABC and Hop on Pop, a couple of my early childhood favorites.

re: Latest Library Finds

April — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:12:07 GMT

We have not checked out any library books yet, but we have tons of them. Many of our books we read regularly are leftovers from when I was a kid. I have tons of saved Dr Seuss books. It is a long shot, but does your area suscribe to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library? I am lucky enough to live in Tennessee where each month Dolly sends two brand new books to my boys through the mail. Each child that signs up in TN or other areas that do it, can get a free book every month.

We are always excited to get a new book in the mail. Some are super great like "LLama Llama Red Pajama" and some are kinda lameish. Check it out though.

My boys like me to read the same books over and over again. Eric has them memorized and although they barely talk at all, he can memorize books and call out the easier to say words at the appropriate time exactly when I say it. Impressive. Although it gets repetive, I don't really have to pay attention to the page because Mommy has the books memorized too. So I just do my reciting and page turning.

If Elsa likes monsters: I have a couple good suggestions. One from my childhood we saved is "Snap Snap". Another is a book my mom found in a resale shop called "Go Away Big Green Monster!" They love those.

re: Latest Library Finds

Tracy Hahn-Burkett — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:18:10 GMT

This is one of my favorite topics!

We consume books like breakfast cereal in my house--including children's. Some of our favorites include:

*Pinkalicious, by Victoria & Elizabeth Kann. Well known (and now an off-Broadway play), but a must-read for every little girl who loves everything pink;

*What Are You So Grumpy About? by Tom Lichtenheld. Grownups, get ready to make fun of yourselves. Your reward comes when you actually watch your kids' frowns turn to giggles as you read;

*The Dot, by Peter Reynolds. One of my personal favorites. A wise teacher advises a child who believes she can't draw to place a simple dot on a blank page. The art that emerges from the single dot eventually ends up admired on a wall in a public exhibition, and the child-artist then shares what she's learned about finding a way to succeed with another child;

*When Dinosaurs Came with Everything, by Elise Broach. Feeds into the fantasy of every kid who loves dinosaurs and wishes the beasts were still around today. What if everywhere you went, someone gave you a real live dinosaur?

*The Big Book of Dinosaurs, by Angela Wilkes. A superb, factual introduction to dinosaurs (can you tell dinos are big in my house?). My son first buried himself in it when he turned two and had memorized every single dino and its characteristics by the time he was done with it. From this book, he moved on to dozens of others on the same topic.

*Bee-bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park. A little girl gets to help her mother shop for and prepare the classic Korean dish. Fun and it makes you hungry, so it's good that Park includes a recipe at the end!

*Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, by Judi Barrett. One of those books that as a writer, makes me wish every time I read it that I'd been creative enough to think of it. Original and fun, and always makes my kids laugh. What more can you ask for?

re: Latest Library Finds

Roper — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:30:58 GMT

Hi Annoyed -- thanks for your comment. The banner ads are indeed a double-edged sword. They're what allows Babble to offer free content and pay their writers (including me), but I know the rich media ones can be intrusive. If you go to the "About Us" section of Babble (accessible from the babble.com home page), you can click on the names of the Publisher, Marketing Manager, or Editors for their emails and write them a note to let them know how you feel. They're pretty open to feedback from readers.

Cheers,

re: Latest Library Finds

Constellation — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:12:37 GMT

One of my very favorites is "Peach and Blue" by Sarah S. Kilborne. It is the love story of a Peach and a blue toad. Isn't it wonderful that in children's books, a piece of fruit and an amphibian can fall in love? It has gorgeous illustrations

Another is "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" by Kate DiCamillo. This is the story of an arrogant porcelain rabbit toy that is owned by a little girl. He gets lost in an exciting plot moment, and the rest of the story is how he finds himself in lots of different people's lives, and how he learns about love and people and the world.

re: Latest Library Finds

Annoyed — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:06:38 GMT

Love your blog and pix, however detest the giant new and aggravating rollover ads that obscure your writings at the top. Is there a way we can get in touch with your host site? As a consumer, I would like to let them know how obnoxious they are (the ads).

re: Latest Library Finds

jessica — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:59:08 GMT

We are big library fans, too, and there are ones we go back to again and again (I'm usually too cheap to buy them). Some recent good finds:

1. The Magic Toolbox by Mie Araki - wacky tale about a hippo and a bunny; bunny wants to build a house with blocks but can't seem to do it...until the magic toolbox shows up. "Fred and Lulu" (the bunny and hippo) are also stars of Araki's The Perfect Tail, another fave. These are out of print, which is why I haven't bought them, because we literally check one or the other out every time.

2. Roar of a Snore - mysterious snoring is keeping someone up - who is it? A fun book with great rhymes. I can't remember who wrote it though.

3. Starry Safari - Laura Ashton (I think?) - a fun safari with a surprise ending! Also rhyming and big, fun pictures. Includes a roaring lion, which seems scary until he is roared back at.

4. Ollie the Stomper - one of the Gossie and Gertie books, about a gosling named Ollie who stomps and tromps and insists on boots. Maggie now loves to "Tromp" around the park.

5. Shoe Baby - a silly book about a baby who takes off on an adventure in a shoe. Great illustrations!