MONDAY: How Rocket Learned to Read

I'm not much of a dog person, but I would take Rocket home in a heart beat!

A little yellow bird decides that she will be Rocket's teacher and what better thing can she teach the playful little pup than reading?

But Rocket is pretty attached to his routine of play and sleep. In fact, when the bird begins to read a story, Rocket is annoyed that she is disturbing his nap. Soon, though, Rocket is drawn into the story and wants to know how it ends, so he has to learn to read.

Tad Hills is the author of our favorite Duck and Goose books. Rocket is a great addition to any bookshelf. 

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MONDAY: Silas' Seven Grandparents

Silas is a well-loved boy! 

He has seven grandparents who adore him and want to be everywhere with him. (All that love and attention can be a little too much,sometimes, though.) Then, when Silas' parents plan a trip, Silas is invited to stay with each of his grandparents. What is Silas going to do? How will he ever choose one set of grandparents over another?


This is a fun story of love with colorful pictures and a clever solution to Silas' "problem."

 
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MONDAY: Bear's New Friend

Fans of Bear's other books will recognize the familiar cadence in this new story about Bear and his forest friends.

This time, Bear heads out to play on a summer day and hears someone nearby. One by one, Bear's friends arrive as Bear asks "Who?" The new friend is a fun surprise.

Beautiful illustrations, as always, by Jane Chapman. 

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MONDAY: Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten?

Ok, I know. The title really grabs your attention. I saw this at the library, scooped it into my bag and fell in love as soon as I opened it. So cute, funny and clever! The book walks through the things that happen in kindergarten - snack time, story time, sharing, scissors, nervous first days - and shows how your buffalo (and your little kindergartner) is ready to deal with all kindergarten has to offer. Great message that everyone has different strengths and everyone tries new things in kindergarten. Can't wait to buy this book and share it with folks!



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MONDAY: Memoirs of a Goldfish

I saw this on the new books shelf at the library and knew I had to read it.

"Day One. I swam around my bowl." What did you expect from a memoir of a goldfish? This particular goldfish starts his story alone, but that doesn't last long. Soon his bowl is full of rocks, bubbles, a diver, a plant and some other water creatures. The goldfish's opinions about the newcomers are a hoot! ("Mr. Bubbles still hasn't said a word.... He's creepy.") I loved this! It is a clever premise with fun observations. This would make a great example for my Writing Club students of a "memoir" that would make sense on an elementary student level.

Check out Memoirs of a Goldfish! 

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MONDAY: Shark vs. Train

This book has gotten a lot of press lately in my book-related magazines, and for good reason. It is a great book.

Two boys run toward a toy box. One pulls out a shark toy, the other pulls out a train. Then the competition begins. Who would win, the shark or the train? Well, it depends on the contest and the context - in the ocean, it's the shark. If it is on the tracks, it's the train. If it is eating pie, it's the shark. If it's giving carnival rides, it's the train. If it's sword fighting on a tightrope.... Well, that is harder to determine. 

I think all kids will get a kick out of this book, but I know boys will really connect with the competition - and will probably want to come up with their own comparisons after the book is done.

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MONDAY: That Cat Can't Stay

I saw this book on the shelf at a local bookstore and I really enjoyed it. A family of cat lovers are drawn to strays. When they bring each one home, the dad gives his same standard speech about why the cat can't stay with them. The family (usually the mom) puts on a good show of how dangerous it is going to be for the cat to be let go, but how they'll do it anyway and the dad relents (such a softy deep down!). In the end, though, the Dad finds his own special pet.

The illustrations are great - I love the cover title (check out the cat tails) and the looks that the cats give the dad as they snuggle up to him. As long as you don't think too hard about how the family is manipulating the dad, the story is delightful. Little kids will enjoy the dad's rant, especially because it repeats, so they can join in after a few readings.

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MONDAY: Bridget's Beret

Bridget is an artist. She would rather make art than do anything else in the world. And the most crucial piece of equipment she has for making art is her beret. But one day she loses her beret... and she may never make art ever again.

I really liked Bridget's story - the illustrations are beautiful, and I thoroughly enjoyed the little side comments sprinkled throughout them. Lichetenheld is a favorite of mine (Shark vs. Train and Duck! Rabbit!). I also am a fan of books that encourage kids to be themselves and embrace "art," whether that's writing, painting, dance, or whatever (like The Dot (Irma S and James H Black Honor for Excellence in Children's Literature (Awards)) and Ish).


Check out Bridget and see what she does about her lost Beret!

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MONDAY: Chester's Masterpiece

The latest volume with Chester and his red marker battling with his creator, Melanie Watt, is a winner!

This time Chester has hidden all of Melanie's supplies so he can write his very own story. Chester not only antagonizes Melanie over the right to write the story, but he also gets to learn some things about how to properly craft a story (thanks to Melanie's yellow sticky notes).

We LOVE Chester. My son loves Chester. My Writing Club students love Chester. I love the attention to detail - even the cover copy and copyright page have little Chester touches.

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BONUS: Children's Books

There's been some buzz about picture books in book circles lately. Here is an interesting blog entry about the future of picture books. As a person who LOVES picture books, I hope the powers that be will come to some good solutions. 

My person opinion is this. It is hard to part with $17 for a picture book. I usually buy mine through Amazon to save us some money. We have also bought picture books through the Scholastic book club at my son's school. I have no problem with paperback picture books. The pages themselves are no less fragile than the hard cover ones. And the price is wallet-friendly. Also, I recently reviewed some picture books from the publisher, Tiger Tales, about Bella the Bunny and they were very reasonably priced at around $10 or less. There are ways to build a picture book collection without breaking the bank. And even though my son is reading chapter books now, he has NO desire to part with his picture books!

Long live the picture book!

MONDAY: LMNO Peas

Cute, cute, cute alphabet picture book!

Each page includes little green peas demonstrating the words used for each letter of the alphabet. Better for lap-reading than group-reading so kids can really see all the pictures up close.

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MONDAY: Bobby Bramble Loses His Brain

Bobby's daredevil antics lead to his head POPPING open and his brain DASHING off in an escape attempt.


Bobby needs his brain back, but how can he track it down without a brain?


Funny, silly story that should appeal to active, daredevil kids who might see themselves in Bobby.

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MONDAY: Alphabet Books, part 2

I love the line of alphabet books from Sleeping Bear Press.  There is something for everyone in this line.

Each letter ties to a term in the the theme of the book. The term is used in a short poem, and then the sidebar includes additional facts and/or terms that relate to that letter or the term for the letter.

Some other titles in the series include:
G Is for Grand Canyon : An Arizona Alphabet (Alphabet Series) 
R is for Rhyme: A Poetry Alphabet 
M Is for Majestic: A National Parks Alphabet (Alphabet Books) 
S is for Smithsonian: America's Museum Alphabet (Sleeping Bear Alphabets) 
K is for Kick: A Soccer Alphabet (Alphabet Books) 
R is for Race: A Stock Car Alphabet (Alphabet Books) 
and A is for Axel: An Ice Skating Alphabet (Sports) among others.

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MONDAY: Alphabet Books, Part 1

Back in the spring I decided to talk with my writing club students about alphabet books. I think they are a great way to get kids writing because they can be done in SOOO many ways. This week I want to show some of the books we talked about in class.


In Alpha Oops, the letters from the latter part of the alphabet decide they are tired of always being in the same spot, so they shake things up. 


AA is for Aardvark used words or phrases with double letters.


A Dictionary of Dance included dance terms for each letter of the alphabet.

My students liked the different ways to use the general framework of the alphabet for different writing options.

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MONDAY: Ella's Umbrellas

I have a special little Ella in my own life, so I am always on the lookout for good books with characters named Ella. This book was a treasure - from the beautiful illustrations to the fun story to the fantastic embossed rain drops on the front cover (spectacular attention to detail!).

Ella's umbrella's have taken over her entire house. Her mother says she has to get rid of them. But how can she get rid of something so precious? Something she loves so much? 

Terrific book - look for this one and tell me how much you love the raindrops on the cover!

[Took me a minute to catch on, but I knew that I knew the illustrator's name from somewhere - Ashley Spires. While I am so picky about the kinds of illustrations I like, I don't keep track of many illustrator names, except for the fantastic Peter H. Reynolds. So, I looked Ashley up - she is the author/illustrator of the fantastic book, Binky the Space Cat!]

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MONDAY: Here Comes Gosling

This is another picture book I found while wandering through the picture book aisles at my local library. In this story, Froggie is stoked - Goose and Gander are bringing their new baby, Gosling, to meet Froggie and Rabbit for the first time. But after all their work to get ready for their guest, her constant honking scares Froggie away. Will Froggie every get to meet Gosling? Will she ever stop honking?


So very cute! The illustrations are just my style and Froggie's excitement over meeting Gosling is just perfect. There are a couple other books staring Froggie and Rabbit - What a Party! and Too Many Frogs!

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MONDAY: Please Bury Me in the Library

I am generally not a fan of poetry (although I do like Jack Prelutsky), but my library had this on display for National Library Week in April, so I picked it up. 

I enjoyed a couple poems, like Fleating Fame and Necessary Gardens, but my absolute favorite was "Great, Good, Bad." Go track it down - it is a winner!

Check this book out if you are looking for some fun poems about books and the library.





Today kicks off Children's Book week. In honor of that, I want to review a few more children's books throughout the week. Here are four board books I received recently from the publisher, Tiger Tales, for review.

















The two animal board books are fantastic - each page is embossed. On one side there is a full picture of the animal with one word. On the other side is a close up of the skin or fur or wings or feathers of the animals. The other two - Little Piggy and Are You Ready - have padded covers and sweet illustrations. If I were buying books for babies, I would run right out and pick up more copies of Animals Go and Animals Talk. They were my favorites of the four.


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MONDAY: Star of the Week

The subtitle of this book is "A Story of Love, Adoption, and Brownies with Sprinkles." I wandered up and down the picture book stacks at my library and saw that and had to pick it up.

Such a sweet book about adoption that is honest without being heavy handed. Great look at how a child might have to deal with her adoption at school. The family isn't directly involved in her school project or her "dilemma," but their every-day messages are referenced as the source of her comfort and strength with her adoption and her special family circumstances.

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MONDAY: Miss Brooks Loves Books

I couldn't pass this book up! It would have fit in nicely with the picture books I talked about for Library Week, but I wanted this one to stand on its own.

The little girl in the story - Missy - is not impressed with the librarian, Miss Brooks and her silly stories and silly costumes. She finds the books her peers like to be "too flowery," "too furry," or "too pink."

But one day she discovers a book that is the perfect fit and Miss Brooks can't wait to help her find more.

I love the message of this book - there are books for every person and every interest and every taste. You may not like what I like, but there are books out there for you. And a friendly librarian somewhere will point you in the right direction. Check out Miss Brooks and Missy!

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MONDAY: Hiccup the Seasick Viking

Our family is on a How to Train Your Dragon kick lately, and I discovered this book by the same author at our local library.

This is the same Hiccup - timid Viking, son of Stoick the Vast - as in the Dragon series. In this book, Hiccup is supposed to go on his first voyage on the sea and he is a little nervous. His father tells him that Vikings are never scared, but Hiccup isn't so sure that is always the case.

Hiccup's story is cute. It sticks with the "character" of Hiccup from the movie - how he tries to stay true to himself and how he tries to figure out where he fits into Viking culture. 

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