Books We Will Be Giving (and receiving) This Holiday Season

Hello Thirsty Blog Readers!

It has been awhile since our last post, but here we are again with another fabulous list of the best books that we’ve read over the past few months! This post is brought to you by Luke (age 5) and Brynn (age 2.5). Think of this list as a Venn diagram: Luke’s top picks first, followed by books that both Brynn and Luke enjoyed, and then Brynn’s favorites at the end. We hope that you find something amazing to give to young readers that you love!

We Forgot Brock! by Carter Goodrich: I (Luke) love this book, and my mom says that it’s one of her all-time favorite children’s books, too! It’s a wonderful story about a little boy, Phillip, who has an imaginary friend, Brock, whom he accidentally leaves at the fair one night. Brock meets a little girl with an imaginary friend of her own, and she takes him home with her until they finally find Phillip. In the end, the four become great friends. The best part of this book, however, are the illustrations. Phillip and the rest of the “real” characters are done in color–beautiful, soft, amazing color–while the “imaginary” characters are done in cartoonish black and white. The contrast is stunning. If you’re looking for quality picture books, this book is one for the shelf.

Yak and Gnu by Juliette MacIver, illustrated by Cat Chapman: There are some children’s books that you read and think, “I could have written that!” And then there are others that you read and marvel that the author could have come up with such a clever text. Yak and Gnu is one of the latter. Simply put, it’s a book about friendship. But the text is so clever that it elevates the book above most others that we’ve read. The text rhymes, except when it doesn’t, and those few places are used to emphasize the growing realization that there are many other animals who pilot their own water crafts, just like kayak-paddling Yak and the canoe-loving Gnu. But in the end, the friends realize that “There’s nobody else quite like you!” I (Luke) love this book because of the song that Yak and Gnu sing throughout the book. Anything with music has me completely hooked. Mom loves this book because it tickles her inner English teacher with the use of non-rhyming lines to emphasize the message. The illustrations are also very well done. I am giving this book to several of my friends this year!

A Squiggly Story by Andrew Larsen, illustrated by Mike Lowery: I (Luke) have read this book with my mom and by myself a dozen times since we borrowed it from the library this month. It’s about a little boy who can’t write very many words, but he can write enough letters and squiggles to start a story of his own, just like his big sister. Any story that deals with the imagination and creating something is a story that I’m interested in, but this book captured my interest in particular because the little boy doesn’t know how to start his story, and he gets stuck multiple times. It’s not easy for him, but his big sister encourages him by saying that he’s the boss of his own story. I like that idea. Maybe some day I’ll write my own books for others to review!

Teeny Tiny Toady by Jill Esbaum, illustrated by Keika Yamaguchi: Dr. Seuss is a master of rhyme. The King of children’s books. A genius on so many levels. Teeny Tiny Toady reminds me of Dr. Seuss. High praise, I know, but the rhyme has a beautiful flow to it and Esbaum uses creative not-quite-words just as Dr. Seuss did. The story is about Teeny, the smallest girl-toad in a family of big strapping brothers. One day, Mama Toad gets picked up by a human boy and stuck in a bucket, and it’s Teeny and her brothers who have to save her. The brothers try their hardest, but they really aren’t very bright, and they never listen to Teeny’s ideas. In the end, after her brothers fall in themselves, it’s up to Teeny to save her Mama AND her brothers from the bucket. An awesome story about a spunky little she-toad who saves the day with her brains instead of her brawn. For little people like me, it’s a satisfying message. The illustrations are beautiful, too! Another high-quality picture book for the shelf.

Maggie and Wendel Imagine Everything by Cori Doerrfeld: This book is one that both Brynn and I (Luke) loved. The text is incredibly simple, just a few words on each page, but the adventures of these two siblings are incredibly complex. Maggie is the older sister, but she really enjoys playing with her younger brother Wendel. Together, they create imaginative play scenarios that keep them endlessly entertained. They don’t always get along, but they do manage to make up on their own (something that fascinated both Brynn and me). Clever, spare illustrations allow the reader a look into the play worlds that Maggie and Wendel create together. A great book for siblings!

The Acrobat by Alborozo: Both Brynn and I like this book. The text is simple enough for Brynn, but the story is engaging enough for me, and the surprise embedded in the climactic illustration toward the end is amazing and beautiful enough for anyone. The story is about a struggling acrobat who decides to leave the circus one day and ends up in a park. There, he tries trick after trick to entice the children to pay attention to him, but something else always draws them away. Until a colorful bird arrives and alights on the acrobat. Then another bird arrives. And another. And another. Soon, the acrobat is covered in birds of all colors. The kids are all watching now. Suddenly….pow! The acrobat leaps up, scattering the colorful birds in all directions (the illustration is stunning–Brynn and I both look at it for a long time)! A very neat book.

No, No, Kitten! by Shelley Moore Thomas, illustrated by Lori Nichols: Hi! Brynn writing now! My turn! This book is one of my favorites from this year. I liked this book for several reasons: One, it has a cat in it, and I love cats. Two, the cat doesn’t listen to her owner, just like I don’t listen to my mom (most of the time). And three, the cat asks for all kinds of things that she shouldn’t have (again, just like me!) (like a helmet and lasers) and then uses those things to blast off to space. As a reader, you don’t know what all of these items are going to be used for until the countdown to liftoff starts. I love surprise endings! Illustrations are done by Lori Nichols of Maple fame and are whimsical and expressive.

Harry and Walter by Kathy Stinson, illustrated by Qin Leng: My mom is not quite sure why I love this book so much, but it’s true, I love it! The story is about an almost-five-year-old little boy, Harry, whose best friend is a 92 year old man, Walter, who lives next door. They ride lawnmowers together, play games together, build snowmen together, and drink hot chocolate and talk together as they watch the snow fall. It’s a beautiful friendship…until Harry’s family has to move. There is a surprise ending again, which I love, but really, I like this book because I love my grandparents and this book shows me that I can be best friends with them.

The Nuts: Sing and Dance in Your Polka Dot Pants by Eric Litwin, illustrated by Scott Magoon: “Polka dot pants, polka dot pants, sing and dance in your polka dot pants!” Sing it with me! Eric Litwin in an interactive picture book genius. I didn’t think he could do any better than the original Pete the Cat books, but this book is pure fun. One rainy day, Hazel Nut decides she wants to sing and dance in her polka dot pants, but no one will play with her. Not Dad, not Mom, not little brother. Who does Hazel eventually call to save the day? Grandma, of course! I love the song that is repeated throughout the book, and I love doing the polka dot pants dance that’s at the end of the book. So much fun! I’m definitely giving this book to a few of my friends this year!

Mom School by Rebecca Van Slyke, illustrated by Priscilla Burris: This book would make a great gift for any mom with small kids. It’s about a little girl who imagines that her mom went to school to learn how to be a great mom. At Mom School her mom learned to bait a hook, throw a ball softly, ride roller coasters, grow vegetables, and decorate cupcakes. And even though her mom has a job that she goes to every day, her favorite job is “being my mom.” I enjoy reading this book with my mom because she talks about the things that she knows how to do that she still has to teach me, like putting a worm on a hook and playing the violin. I love that these kinds of conversations can emerge from books!

Happy Reading!

–Luke, Brynn, and Mama

If you click on the picture of a book, it will take you to Amazon.com. If you purchase a book through Amazon, a part of the proceeds will come back to me. I, in turn, will use the proceeds to purchase books for children’s literacy efforts in my community. Thank you!

0 Comments Leave a comment

The Yes

Summer vacation as a kid: sleeping in, reading my own books on the front porch all day, playing “empty lot” baseball with my brothers, riding bikes around the neighborhood with friends, watching scary movies with my best friend at her house so my parents wouldn’t find out, fishing and swimming down at The Lake, Dilly Bars from Dairy Queen…

Summer vacation as a mom with two kids: no sleeping in (kids have no respect for clock time–they only acknowledge sun time), no reading my own books (not during the day, anyway), no baseball (even on TV), no bikes (kids too young), no movies (kids can’t sit through them), no fishing (Worms on a hook? Ewww!), no swimming (Luke won’t do life jacket or water on his head), Dilly Bars…hmm…well, I guess we have had Dilly Bars.

One yes! Woohoo!

As parents, we have to say no a lot. No to ourselves and to our children. A lot. But man, in the midst of all of those nos, isn’t it refreshing to actually say yes sometimes?

That’s what The Yes by Sarah Bee and Satoshi Kitamura is all about. In this book, the Yes is a big orange animal-ish blob that wants to do so many things like hike huge hills, climb skinny trees, and ford wide rivers. Clustered all around the Yes though, are Nos, hundreds of Nos, all of them telling the Yes what it can’t do, where it shouldn’t go, what is too dangerous to attempt. But in the end, the Yes keeps right on going, ignoring the multitude of Nos that seek to bring it down.

It’s a wonderful, empowering message for kids. Lots of people will tell you no throughout your life, but if you want something badly enough and are willing to fight for it, you can do it. Ignoring those Nos may be the hardest thing that you ever have to do, but as the book says, in the end, all of those Nos are puny little things, completely unequal to the task of bringing down a determined YES.

It’s a great message for kids, but I believe that this book is also great for parents (these types of books make the best children’s books, right?). After I read it to Luke (age 5 now!), I realized that I had a lot to learn from the Yes. As summer vacation started, Luke and Brynn (age 2) had to figure out how to be together all. day. long. And I found myself saying (well, more accurately “loudly exclaiming”) “Nooooo!” all. day. long. It was exhausting, and no one was having much fun. After reading The Yes, I made a pact with myself: say “yes” at least once a day, per kid. It doesn’t sound like much, but it was a start, and it began to change the tenor of our summer.

One Yes. That’s all it took to make everyone just a little bit happier, a little more content, which slowly snowballed into more and more moments of peace…and more Yeses.

Did I mention that The Yes is also a great picture book in general? The prose reminds me of e.e. cummings poetry, with made-up words that don’t quite make sense but then kind of do. A little bit like Dr. Seuss, but with a more serious tone. There is repetition as the Yes tries thing after thing, and the illustrations are artistically done, not cartoony.

I really enjoyed this book, clearly, and Luke really liked it as well…especially when he got to shout, “YES!”

Happy Reading!

-Erin

0 Comments Leave a comment

Flying with Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy

Creativity.

Imagination.

Confidence.

Being one’s self.

These are the rock solid underpinnings of the Ladybug Girl series by David Soman and Jacky Davis that, as a mom, make me love the books.

But both of my kids (Luke, age 4.5 and Brynn, age 23 months) love them as well, and here’s why:

Ladybug Girl, aka Lulu, dresses in a tutu and defeats playground monsters.

She wears red wings with black spots and braves sharks at the bottom of puddles.

She helps neighbors carry in their groceries and can count up to infinity.

She is kind, imaginative, and intrepid, but she is not infallible.

She makes mistakes when dealing with her friends, she gets frustrated when playing with Bumblebee Boy, and she’s not quite sure the ocean is safe when she first encounters it.

In the lives of my children, these traits and experiences are very real. Luke and Brynn enjoy watching Lulu overcome her fears and work through problems, and she teaches them how to engage with the world of big scary things and friends who have their own minds. Luke, in particular, is at the point where he needs more complex social stories that mirror the situations that he’s encountering at preschool, and these books are perfect for him.

At the moment, Luke is enjoying the following books in the series:

Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy: About two friends negotiating what and how to play–very important budding skills for preschoolers and Kindergartners.

The Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy: About older brother Sam learning to play with his younger brother–Luke and Brynn are likewise discovering the pains and joys of playing with a sibling.

Ladybug Girl at the Beach: About Lulu’s day at the beach and how she gradually works up the courage to play in the water–Luke is scared of the ocean right now, so he’s been reading this book often.

Ladybug Girl and the Big Snow: About Lulu’s adventures in the snow. She gets very frustrated because everything is much harder in the deep, soft snow, but she perseveres and turns her day into a great one. Luke likes how Lulu plays with her brother and builds snow creatures.

Brynn enjoys these books:

Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy: Brynn loves the imaginative play that goes on in the book. In the car the other day, she was yelling at the top of her lungs, “Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee can do ANYTHING!” “Bumblebee Boy” is still a bit of a mouthful for her…

The original Ladybug Girl: I don’t know how many times Brynn has used the phrase from the book, “I’m not too little!” And she loves Lulu’s dog, Bingo.

Happy reading!

–Erin, Luke, and Brynn

Clicking on the book images will take you to Amazon.com. I receive a portion of any purchases that you make through my site, and in turn, I donate the proceeds to children’s literacy projects.

0 Comments Leave a comment

Deck the Halls with Books, Books, Books: Books for Babies, Toddlers, Preschoolers, and New Readers

Each Peach Pear Plum board book (Viking Kestrel Picture Books): I spy for the little guys (and gals). I (Brynn, age 17 months) really enjoy searching through these detailed pictures for not only the main images (“I spy Tom Thumb”), but other things like rabbits, birds, and tea kettles (!). Yes, I now know what a tea kettle is!

Baby’s Got the Blues: I (Brynn, 17 months) LOVE this book right now! Mama sings it in a bluesy way (Dada tries his very best to sound like he’s singing), and I sway as we read it together. I demand this book by saying, “Baby!” and if the book isn’t within easy reach, we have to go get it immediately. Great for little ones who love music, but parents have to be willing to get in the spirit, too! Illustrations are bright and expressive, while text is amusing.

Got to Dance: Same kind of book as the above. If parents will sing it jazzy, with some cymbal sounds (“chh, chh. chh, chh.”) and some finger snapping, then little ones will really enjoy it. Illustrations are fresh, but not quite as sharp as Baby’s Got the Blues.

Mary Engelbreit’s Mother Goose: One Hundred Best-Loved Verses: I (Brynn, 17 months) am in love with all things nursery rhyme. Reading experts know that hearing rhyme helps kids become aware of phonemes, the building blocks of language, which helps with future reading success. But that’s not why I love nursery rhymes. They just sound cool! Mama sings most of them (Dada really does try), and I’ll sign or say “more!” over and over again if I want to hear the same rhyme. My brother did the exact same thing when he was my age. These illustrations are much better than the original Mother Goose that my mom grew up with, too.

A Perfectly Messed-Up Story: This book is one that I (Luke, age 4) really like, and it’s for two of my friends who enjoy interactive, funny stories. Peanut butter, jelly, orange juice?! What else could possibly be dropped onto poor Little Louie’s story? Despite his story seeming like a complete debacle, in the end, everything is just fine, just the way I like it.

Mo’s Mustache: It’s tough to explain why I (Luke, 4) enjoy this book so much, but I read it religiously for two months straight this fall. Is it the hilarious, spare illustrations? Is it the melodramatic exclamations of the monsters (“Murf!” “Huzzah!”)? Is it the 1970’s reference at the end of the book that always makes my mom laugh but I just don’t quite understand (I like to hear her laugh, so it’s ok if I don’t get it)? Whatever the reason, preschoolers will enjoy it.

Mr. Tweed’s Good Deeds: I spy for preschoolers. I (Luke, 4) read the story once with Mama, but the real appeal of this book is the elaborate search and finds. The illustrations are vibrant and well done, and the hidden objects are actually quite challenging to find. I still have trouble finding all of the socks…

Chalk: A wordless picture book that is absolutely top-notch. Stunningly realistic drawings tell the story of three friends who happen upon a bag of magic chalk on a rainy day. What they draw ends up coming to life, and one creation almost spells disaster. I’m giving this book to a preschool friend who loves dinosaurs.

Thank You, Octopus: Quintessential preschooler humor: slightly gross, but oh so funny. Octopus is putting his buddy to bed, but every time he tells his buddy something nice he’s going to do for him, Octopus switches the meaning and it ends of being not so nice.

Octopus: Let me give you a bath, Buddy.

Buddy: Thank you, Octopus!

Octopus: In EGG SALAD!

Buddy: Gross! No thank you, Octopus!

Very clever plays on words that kept me rolling night after night. My parents and I even started our own “thank you, no thank you” routine.

The Munschworks Grand Treasury: This past Fall has been “The Fall of the Robert Munsch Books.” My parents and I (Luke, 4) have read just about every story Munsch has written. They are generally clever stories that just beg to be read aloud and embellished with inflection and sound effects. The stories are longer than typical picture books, and the characters are smart and funny with a modern kid humor, so they are a lot like me. I love these stories!

I Really Like Slop! (An Elephant and Piggie Book): I’m (Luke, 4) giving three of the Elephant and Piggie books to my cousin who is just starting to read independently. The text in these books is always simple, the illustrations are always expressive, and the stories are always hilarious, for preschoolers and parents alike.

I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! (Beginner Books): I’m (Luke, 4) also giving this classic Seuss book to my beginning-reader cousin. I loved this book when I was starting to read, and I still return to it every now and again just because it’s so much fun. And with simple sight word text, it really is a book that beginning readers will be able to feel good about reading by themselves.

Happy Reading!

–Luke (age 4) and Brynn (age 17 months), blog co-authors

Clicking on a book will take you to Amazon.com, and if you decide to buy the book, a portion of your purchase comes back to me. I, in turn, will use the profits to purchase books for our local library or for a children’s literacy project.

0 Comments Leave a comment

The Bookshelf–Books for Babies by Baby Brynn

Another short list of a few of my favorite books!

I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt and Cyd Moore: The classic question: “Mama, what if I were a super smelly skunk and I smelled so bad that my name was Stinky Face. Would you still love me then?” Answer? Resounding yes! Reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown’s The Runaway Bunny, this book is written and illustrated with a modern reader in mind. Green aliens from Mars, giant scary apes, slimy swamp monsters, all there to test a mother’s love. I love this book in part because Mama makes up all kinds of goofy sound effects for each creature–her alien voice and smelly skunk “pee-u!” are my favorites!

From Head to Toe Board Book by Eric Carle: A book about body parts and how they move, all mimicking different animals. I’m not quite old enough to do the actions in this book (kick my legs like a donkey, shrug my shoulders like a buffalo), but I love watching Mama do them! She’s crazy. She helps me do some of the actions, and I love it! Great fun!

Doggies (Boynton on Board) by Sandra Boynton: Woof! Yap yap! Ar-roof! Counting, dogs, and barking. What could be better? I love this book because of all of the great sound effects. Watch out for that cat at the end though–he’s feisty!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Chicka Chicka Book, A) by John Archambault and Bill Martin, Jr. and Lois Ehlert: “Chicka chicka boom boom! Will there be enough room?” Without a doubt, the best alphabet book on the planet! Rhyme and rhythm meet the alphabet in a coconut tree. My favorite part is when all of the letters fall out of the tree and end up in a big jumbled pile. I like trying to find the “b” for my name! Mama likes to trace the letters as she reads and she loves bouncing me on her legs to the rhythm. No other alphabet book even comes close!

Where’s Peter? (Peter Rabbit) by Beatrix Potter: Yes, it’s a touchy-feely book, and yes, it has flaps to lift, but this book also has the golden trifecta: rhythm, rhyme, and repetition. This book is my favorite of my touch and feel books because the pieces to touch are so big. It’s hard for my tiny, uncoordinated hands to touch small pieces of textured fabrics, and it’s even harder to touch textures that are set into the page like velvet, so this book is a huge hit with me. Best page? Squirrel Nutkin–his bushy tail is huge!

Hope you found something new to read with your little one!

Happy reading!

–Brynn (blog co-author, age 9 months)

Clicking on the book will take you to Amazon.com, and if you decide to buy the book, a portion of your purchase comes back to me. I, in turn, will use the profits to purchase books for our local library or for a children’s literacy project.

0 Comments Leave a comment

The Bookshelf: Brynn’s Debut Post

Hello, blog world! I’m Brynn, I’m eight months old, and this is my first book blog. Woo!

In the past few weeks, I’ve really begun to understand why books are better read than chewed. I’ll actually read several books in a row now, and I definitely have favorites. You know, the ones that I nearly fall off of Mama’s lap lunging for? The ones that I refuse to release after reading? The ones that I know lines from already and look intently at the person reciting them? These are my current favorites:

Barnyard Dance! (Boynton on Board) by Sandra Boynton: “Stomp your feet! Clap your hands! Everybody ready for a barnyard dance!” I LOVE this here book! Mama gets her legs movin’ up and down, her feet swingin’ in circles, and her mouth makin’ the funniest darn animal noises, all while I’m balanced precariously on her lap. It’s just a tad bit alarmin’, but I’ve learned to enjoy it. A lot. Catchy rhyme and rhythm are the best things about this book.

Peekaboo Dress Up (Touch-And-Feel Action Flap Book): Mama is usually not a huge fan of gimmicky books, but I certainly am. This books has things to touch, too, but my favorite part of the book is the peekaboo flaps. Mama reads, “Where has the baby gone? Is she behind the jungle cushion?” and then she sloooooowly lifts the flap, building anticipation to a fever pitch as I lean forward…and forward…and forward until she grabs me to keep me from toppling over. Every page is like that. And the babies in their costumes are SO cute! Well, maybe not quite as cute as me…

My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss: Mama thinks that this book is really well done, but I think this book is just plain fun! It’s all about moods and colors and how everyone has good and bad days. The art is both beautiful and beautifully wedded to the text. My favorite color is yellow: “Then comes a yellow day and weeeeeeeeee I’m a busy, buzzy bee!” I also have a lot of fun wacking the page when it says, “Then comes a mixed up day and WHAM! I don’t know who or what I am!” It’s great!

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin and James Dean: This book is probably too old for me, but I don’t care. I love that CAT! He’s blue, for goodness sake! That’s crazy! I especially love trying to pet his curly tail and trying to grab the yellow bird that appears on most pages. For a book about colors, it’s pretty fantastic. Plus, it has a nice life lesson at the end: “No matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song…because it’s all good!”

Pajama Time! (Boynton on Board) by Sandra Boynton: “Pajammy to the left. Pajammy to the right. Jamma jamma jamma jamma P! J!” The alpha and omega of this post: the forever amazing Sandra Boynton. There are some colors and qualities (fuzzy vs. not) thrown into this book to lend it some substance, but really, it’s mostly about the rhyme and rhythm. Catchy, catchy! Mama and I dance our way through this book every other night. Definitely makes going to sleep a lot of fun!

Writing this post was pretty cool! I hope you enjoyed reading my debut, and I can’t wait to get going on the next one!

Happy Reading!

–Brynn (blog co-author, age 8 months)

0 Comments Leave a comment

Reading Tip: Of Squeaky Mice and Growly Monsters: Using Voices to Engage Children in Books

“Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.” Christopher Morley (1890 – 1957)

Low, growly monster voices; high-pitched teeny tiny bug voices; scared, trembly voices; bad British accents; “whoo whoo” owl voices; hisssssing sssssnake voices; bubbly fish voices; squeaky mouse voices. Mama and Dada do all of these and more when they read with me. It’s quite entertaining listening to them contort their voices for my reading pleasure! The best part is that they do all of these voices without a trace of embarrassment because they know that as soon as I hear a funky sound or voice I’m instantly hooked.

Here are a few books that work really well with voices, usually because they have multiple characters and each character needs its own distinct voice:

I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt and Cyd Moore: My first “voice” book! Gorilla gets a low, monster voice with lots of “ooo-ooo, aaa-aaas;” alligator gets “chomp chomp” sounds with chomping arm motions; skunk gets a nasally “smelly” voice (“ewww!” with lots of nose-wrinkling); alien gets a fast, high-pitched voice and lots of “ewwws!” when he eats bugs instead of peanut butter; dinosaur gets eating noises; and the one-eyed monster gets a low, growly voice with “boom, booms!” to emphasize his stomping. A favorite of mine from about ten months old to two years old.

The Pout-Pout Fish (Pout-Pout Fish Adventure) by Deborah Diesen and Dan Hanna: “I’m a pout-pout fish with a pout-pout face…” What a fun book for creative voices: pout-pout fish gets a low, sad, slow, gloomy voice; clam gets a prim little voice; jellyfish gets a wavering voice pitched up and down to mimic undulating tentacles; octopus gets a no-nonsense, tough guy voice; and squid gets a lady-with-an-attitude voice. I really like this book and have been reading it with my parents for well over a year now.

The Gruffalo (Picture Books) by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler: Another fun book to read with multiple voices for the different characters. Mouse could get a squeaky voice, but Mama usually reads Mouse in her regular voice. Fox gets a very bad British accent (don’t ask me why–something about fox hunts among the royalty in British literature); owl gets lots of “whoo-whooing” and extended “o”s wherever they occur; snake gets a hissing voice with elongated “s” sounds; and the Gruffalo gets a rough, gravelly voice. Using voices made this story more accessible for me when I may not have been quite old enough to entirely grasp the nuances of the very clever plot line.

Gorilla! Gorilla! by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross: There are minor characters that appear briefly throughout the book that you can give voices to, but the two main characters, Mama Mouse and Gorilla, are the two that Mama focuses on the most. Mama Mouse gets a high, panicky voice to mirror how stressed out she is being chased around the world by a gorilla, while Gorilla gets a low, gravelly voice, loud and emphatic for all of the “STOPs!” and kind and gentle at the end for the surprise twist.

Bye-Bye, Big Bad Bullybug! by Ed Emberley: A good book for starting with voices because there are only two kinds of characters: the Big Bad Bullybug and the itty bitty baby bugs. Mama and Dada use their “monster” voice for the Bullybug (rough, growly, and low), and a high-pitched, almost whiny voice for the itty bitty baby bugs. A good book for tickles with a fun surprise ending.

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss: For spicing up this already awesome classic, Mama and Dada give unique voices to each of the main characters. Mama and Dada’s voices differ a lot for these characters though. For the Cat, Mama does a jolly, slow, deep voice, while Dada does a deep voice with a playful don’t-take-me-too-seriously lilt. For the Fish in the Pot, Mama does an annoying, high-pitched voice that makes the Fish sound like it’s strenuously objecting to the Cat, while Dada does a gravelly, low voice using lots of inflection for the objecting. Although Thing 1 and Thing 2 only speak a few lines, Mama makes them talk very quickly and frenetically, imitating how they dart and flit around the house with their kites.

Clearly, these voices are just suggestions. The best voices are the ones that parents make up for themselves that they are comfortable with and can remember (just try using a different voice after a toddler has heard and liked another!). Act silly and without embarrassment: the only one who will know what you sound like will be your child, and he or she will love you (and books) all the more for it!

Happy reading!

–Luke (blog co-author, age 2.5)

1 Comment Leave a comment

Ten Children’s Books to Encourage the Imagination

Luke: Hands down, I best love the types of books that make me think about the world just a little bit differently.

Mama: Hands down, I best love the types of books that help me extend our reading conversations beyond storytime.

Luckily, books about the wonders of children’s imaginations fit both bills like a glove. It was really tough deciding which books to include in this list, but these ten are favorites for both of us, so we had to list them all. They are ordered according to complexity of ideas, not necessarily text.

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis: Very simple text, very simple illustrations, but worlds of possibility. A rabbit finds a box and pretends that it is many different things: rocket, mountain, building on fire, etc. After we read this book, Luke began pretending that all sorts of objects were “not” (e.g. not a couch, not a cup, not a coat).

The Squiggle by Carole Lexa Schaefer and Pierr Morgan: We found this book by chance, but it quickly became a standard around the time Luke turned one. A girl finds a piece of rope (a squiggle) and transforms it into a variety of things: a dragon, a pool of water, a wall, a tightrope, etc. What made this book so much fun for both Luke and me were the sound effects that I made up for each new object. I’d trace the squiggle with my finger and make the sound, usually repeating the sound and tracing twice. Use your imagination with the sounds!

A Boy and His Bunny by Sean Bryan and Tom Murphy: A boy wakes up one morning with a bunny named Fred on his head. The boy’s mom is skeptical about what can be done with a bunny on one’s head, but the boy and Fred work together to convince her that “you can do anything with a bunny on your head.” The final page is pretty funny when the sister walks in with a small _______ (you’ll have to read to discover the punch line) on her head. You can imagine what sort of things can be put on a toddler’s head after reading this book….

Raf by Anke de Vries and Charlotte Dematons: Super cute book we found by chance. Amazon reviews don’t do this book justice. A boy named Ben loves his stuffed giraffe, but one day when he wakes up, Raf is gone. Ben soon starts to receive postcards from Raf, however, as Raf journeys through Africa. Eventually Raf returns, albeit a little changed from his adventures. We used this book as a way to extend some of Luke’s imaginative play scenarios (“Where do you think ______ might go next? What does she see? What does she hear? etc.”). For parents: perhaps Raf needed a good wash or mending and Ben’s parents needed a way to ease the discomfort of losing a beloved toy? Might be a nice activity for washing days….

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak: Clearly, this book is a classic, but it has been a favorite of ours for a long time now, so we had to include it. Max gets in trouble and is sent to his room without dinner one night. But his room begins to change into a different world, and Max sails away in his private boat to the land of the wild things. The illustrations are gorgeous, the text is poetically minimalist, and the lesson of unconditional love is timeless.

Chalk by Bill Thomson: An absolutely gorgeous wordless picture book that tells the story of three friends who happen upon a bag a magical sidewalk chalk. Whatever the friends draw with this special chalk comes to be–draw the sun and the sun comes out, draw butterflies and they emerge from the pavement to dance around your head, draw a t-rex…..ummmm…. Luke and I had so much fun drawing and telling stories about what happened when the things we drew came to life.

A Few Blocks by Cybele Young: A new find for us. The illustrations are fantastic, if a little tough for younger children to decipher because there’s so much going on in them. The story is about a brother and his older sister who are on their way to school in the morning. The little brother does not want to go, but his sister uses her imagination to entice him to walk those few blocks. She imagines a cape and rocket blaster shoes, and they go flying high above the city together, defeating monsters all the way. She imagines a leaf is a boat, and they jump aboard to find buried treasure. She imagines a shield and a helmet and the boy becomes a knight who fights a dragon to save a princess. In the end, the little brother has to find a way to encourage his very tired sister to walk the final block. I didn’t think Luke would like this one, but he’s asked for it at least once a day for the past week. Fantastic!

Journey by Aaron Becker: Speaking of beautiful illustrations, this wordless picture book is breathtaking. In the same vein as Harold and the Purple Crayon, a young girl finds a red crayon in her bedroom, draws a door, and steps through it to a land of wonders. In this land, she has all sorts of adventures and manages to draw herself out of a number of predicaments. The illustrations have tons of small details that are great fun to discuss, and we’ve gone from me noticing things and narrating the story to me asking Luke questions about the story that he answers in depth.

The Green Bath by Margaret Mahy and Steven Kellogg: A green bathtub that comes to life? What? That’s the premise of this book, and it really worked for Luke. Sammy’s neighbors come home from a flea market with a speedboat, while Sammy’s dad returns with a claw-footed green bathtub. Sammy is just a touch jealous of the neighbors, so he imagines the coolest bathtub on the planet and goes bounding into the sea with it. There he meets mermaids, a sea serpent, and a boat full of pirates who want to steal his bathtub for their own washing pleasure. The line between fantasy and reality is probably pretty blurry for children, but it just makes the fantastic adventure all the more fun.

Tell Me Some More.. (An I Can Read Book) by Crosby Newell Bonsall and Fritz Siebel: An I Can Read Book definitely more suited to older children as the story is long and the concepts fairly involved. The story begins with Andrew telling his friend about a place that he knows where he can carry an elephant under his arm. Curious? Luke certainly was. And the story just gets taller from there. Hold three camels in two hands? Put a seal in your father’s chair? The friend keeps saying, “Tell me some more,” until Andrew decides to just show him the place: the library. All of these things can be found in books. Love the message of this book (the power of reading and the imagination), and while I thought it might be too advanced for Luke (at two and a half), he has really taken to it.

0 Comments Leave a comment

The Interactive Book: A Child’s (and Parent’s!) Best Friend

Kicking my legs like a donkey. Dancing to get a bug out of my shirt. Pressing a yellow dot to see what happens to it. Gleefully yelling, “NO!” to repeated appeals from a pigeon to drive a bus.

Interactive books are a fantastic way to easily engage little readers (even the most rambunctious). Unfortunately, as my Mama and I have found, they are difficult to do well. Some “interactive” books have fuzz to feel, doors to open, slots to slide, or buttons to push, but these gimmicks often add very little to the story, and they don’t have much staying power for me. The very best interactive books, however, manage to do a much better job of using manipulatives or interaction to enhance or even become the story. These are the books that I return to over and over again.

By no means an exhaustive list, here are a few of my favorite interactive books in order from least to most complex. I dislike putting ages on these books because I read them at many different stages for many different reasons, and other children deserve not to be pigeonholed, too.

Are You a Cow? by Sandra Boynton: I like saying “No.” Really, really like saying, “No.” It was one of my first words and continues to be a favorite. Hence, the appeal of Are You a Cow? The question is addressed to the reader and begs to be answered. No, no, no! What a great concept!

From Head to Toe Board Book by Eric Carle: This book is a good one because the animals in the book do all sorts of fun movements and then ask the reader, “Can you do it?” Some movements are easy enough for a one year old, and others are more complicated and definitely for older children (donkey kick!).

Alphabet (Paula Wiseman Books) by Matthew Van Fleet: Alphabet is one of those rare touch and feel books that is exceptionally well done. Not only are the illustrations funny and the animals imbued with loads of character, but it’s a rhyming alphabet book that incorporates the “touch and feel” element into the rhyme. This book is now on my independent reading bookshelf, and I still pull it out about once a week.

Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas: This book not only addresses the reader, but it asks the reader to do things to help the story along. Like do the chicken dance to get a tickly bug out of your shirt. And make a scary face to chase away a GIANT HUNGRY FROG! How fun is that?

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems: This book has become a classic. It begins with a simple request from a bus driver going on break: “Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus.” The reader’s job, then, is to say, “No!” Over and over again. (See above Are You a Cow? review for more about my fondness for the word, “No.”) I heart this book.

Press Here by Henre Tullet: Ahhh! The granddaddy of all interactive children’s books! I’ve been reading this book for a long time now. In fact, I read it yesterday. It starts with, “Ready?” on a page with one yellow dot. The next page says, “Press here and turn the page.” Now there are two yellow dots. Woah. That’s crazy. The rest of the book progresses from there, with the reader pressing dots, blowing dots, turning on lights, tilting the book, and clapping, with each action creating an amazing reaction. What a cool book.

Have You Ever Seen a Sneep? by Tasha Pym and Joel Stewart: In the tradition of There’s a Wocket in My Pocket, a little boy in the book addresses the reader about a variety of strange creatures that inhabit his life, and after each creature has been introduced, the boy asks the reader if he or she has ever seen such a being. I like to mess with my Mama and say, “Yes!” The illustrations are really well done, and the creatures are amusing. At the end, the little boy asks if he can come live with the reader. Ha!

The Big Blue Spot by Peter Holwitz: Not the most interactive book on this list, but the spot in the book talks to the reader and asks him or her to tilt the book. I love this book though, and I’ve loved it for a really long time. My Mama had to buy us a copy because we checked it out of the library for 12 weeks. The spot is looking for a friend (whom he finds toward the end), and this idea of friendship is very interesting to me. Simple text, simple message, simple illustrations, golden story.

The Monster at the End of This Book (Sesame Street) (Little Golden Book) by Jon Stone and Michael Smollin: Classic! Grover spends the book completely freaked out about a monster that’s at the end of the book, and he implores the reader to, “Stop turning pages!” over and over again. He even goes so far as to brick up the page to prevent the reader from turning it. I love this book because Grover is such a character and I feel as though I have the power to influence the story. Love it!

Happy reading!

–Luke (blog co-start, age two and a half)

0 Comments Leave a comment

Tickling the Funny Bone: Children’s Books with Surprises

I love funny books. I especially enjoy books with surprising twists at the end, and the more surprising, the better. My Dada is always VERY excited about surprise endings (and by that I mean LOUD!), but my Mama is very good at explaining or asking me why the endings are surprising (she doesn’t seem able to entirely purge herself of her English teacher tendencies). I like reading with both of them because of these different styles.

Good books always have some kind of resolution at the end, but there are always those few special authors who seem to have a knack for creating better surprises than the rest. Here are a few of my favorites over the past two and a half years. They are ordered from less complex to more complex words/phrases/concepts, but I return to even the simplest books every once in awhile just because they’re still funny.

Peek-A Who? by Nina Laden: Page after page of surprises, with the very best surprise at the end! For the littlest readers.
But Not the Hippopotamus (Boynton on Board) by Sandra Boynton: Lots of repetition that I picked up on pretty quickly, and I love the last two pages. Two surprises! Mama likes the clever rhyme.
Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek: Tons of neat things to talk about in this book: colors, activities, counting sheep, and of course, the burning question, “Where is that green sheep?!” The big reveal is on the last page.
I’m The Biggest Thing in the Ocean! and I’m the Scariest Thing in the Castle by Kevin Sherry: These two books follow a similar pattern, but they are different enough that I liked them both. I still like to read Scariest Thing in the Castle every now and again.
Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business: The surprise in this book actually comes in the middle of the book. When I first started reading this book (we read the board book version first), Mama and I talked about the colors of the peddler’s hats and counted them, too.
The Monster at the End of This Book (Sesame Street) (Little Golden Book) by Jon Stone and Michael Smollin: A classic starring lovable, furry old Grover, but I love it because it’s interactive and lends itself to a very dramatic reading.
Pssst! by Adam Rex: A girl visits a zoo one day and the animals start asking her for things. She has no idea why she’s gathering all of this strange stuff, but we get to find out at the very end. I read this book over and over again right around when I turned two. Love it!
Jumpy Jack & Googily by Meg Rosoff and Sophie Blackall: My Mama gets the biggest kick out of this book. She keeps talking about “irony.” Despite the weird weighty word, however, I think it’s pretty funny myself and have been known to repeat the punchline ad nauseam. Mama uses different voices for the two characters (a scared, jumpy snail who thinks that there are monsters hiding everywhere and his friend, Googily, who happens to be a monster himself), and they’re pretty funny, too.