What I'm reading with my son

I thought I'd share the books that my 6 year old son is asking me to read. He is on his way to learning to read himself but of course still needs me to read him his bedtime stories. Not that I mind.

The illustrations are just beautiful in this one and  he loved the story because it is told from the perspective of a little boy who saves the babies. The protagonist reminds me a little of my son since my son refers to his little sister as Baby.

The Day the Babies Crawled Away by Peggy Rathmann 

What a lovely day at the fair. Children lining up for pony rides . . . moms and dads in a pie-eating contest . . . babies chasing butterflies . . . babies heading for the trees . . . I SAY! Where are those babies GOING? Only a small boy sees them leaving and follows as the babies chase butterflies in trees, frogs in a bog, even bats in a cave, ignoring pleas to come back. But not to worry, our hero saves the day, making sure that all the babies get home safely from their appealing adventures.

Caldecott Medal winner Peggy Rathmann has created a highly original story told in a lilting text and a bold new style with classic black silhouettes against stunning skies of many colors that change and glow as afternoon turns into evening.

He loves this book! I have the enhanced version on my Nook that reads it to him but so when he reads it he tries to do the same voice as the reader. It is pretty funny. 

Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

If you think Superman vs. Batman would be an exciting matchup, wait until you see Shark vs. Train. In this hilarious and wacky picture book, Shark and Train egg each other on for one competition after another, including burping, bowling, Ping Pong, piano playing, pie eating, and many more! Who do YOU think will win, Shark or Train?  

This is one of his favorites. We read it at least 3 times a week. He likes how Anansi tricks the other animals and he loves to yell out KABOOM and to look for Little Bush Deer in all the pictures.

Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Janet Stevens

Anansi the Spider tricks all the animals, until he's taught a lesson.

We are also trying out short chapter books. His aunt got him #19 in the Magic Tree House series and at first he didn't want to read it but then he got invested in it and wanted to know how it ended. So when it was over I bought him the next one. 

Dingoes at Dinnertime (Magic Tree House #20) by Mary Pope Osborne, illustrated by Sal Murdocca

Jack and Annie are ready for their next fantasy adventure in the bestselling middle-grade series—the Magic Tree House!

Wildfire!

That's what Jack and Annie are up against when they are whisked away to the land of Australia. And they're not alone! Jack and Annie must help a baby kangaroo and a koala escape from a fire-filled forest. Will they be able to rescue the animals in time?

Someday by Alison McGhee and Peter H. Reynolds

I went to the bookstore the other day to get books for my son's birthday and for Christmas for him and my daughter. I was looking for a hardcover picture book for each of them. And I saw this one. I actually cried in the bookstore and I rarely just cry in public. It is so sweet and sentimental and touching that I immediately put it in the buying pile. I had to get it for my girl. It is a short book with lovely pictures that carried the mother and child from infant hood to old age, told very simply but very poignant nonetheless. I'm not entirely sure how I will get through it without crying when I read it to her (to them both really) but I am going to try.

On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman

On the recommendation of my sister-in-law I got this book from the library to read to my kids. It is a lovely book about how special the child is and how their birth was a miracle and something to be celebrated. The illustrations are darling and it really is a sweet book. I enjoyed it and I will have to pick up a copy of it to keep.

Thanksgiving Picture Books

First, Happy Thanksgiving to my US readers!  I'm at my in-laws eating like a mad woman and regretting it later.
I am thankful for my wonderful husband and our beautiful and sweet little boy.  I am thankful for the rest of my family for being so fabulous.   And I am thankful for my job, my friends, both in real life and the ones I've made through my blog.  I hope you have a happy and thankful day.

I'm sharing a few of the pictures books we've been reading, getting ready for this holiday.

Peanut-Butter Pilgrims by Judy Delton
(This isn't actually a picture book.  It's a beginner's chapter book but I decided to read one chapter a night to my son.)
As Thanksgiving rolls around, the Pee Wee Scouts get ready to celebrate. They make food baskets for the poor and they visit a turkey farm. At the townhall, they even perform a play. 

Happy Thanksgiving by Margaret McNamara
There's nothing that can put the damper on a class festivities than a fire drill, but Mrs. Connor's class finds a way to turn even that interruption into an opportunity to share the message of Thanksgiving.

T is for Turkey by Tanya Lee Stone
Little ones will love learning about Thanksgiving in Tanya Lee Stone's newest shaped alphabet book. Join in as the elementary school puts on a play that tells the true story of the first Thanksgiving. Rhyming couplets that flow through the alphabet help kids celebrate everything from Harvest to Pilgrims to Turkey.

One is a Feast for Mouse by Judy Cox
Thanksgiving leftovers litter the table. Mouse peeps out of his hidey-hole and spots the perfect feast for one mouse - one green pea, one red cranberry, one scoop of mashed potatoes, and one portion of roasted turkey. But can Mouse get this mountainous meal back to his own small table?

I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson
Children will love this hilarious take-off on the popular cumulative poem "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly." With its theme of feasting-gone-wild, it's the perfect Thanksgiving treat that will remain fresh all year long.

A Plump and Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman
Turkeys around Squawk Valley just don't jump into pots anymore - they are way too smart for that. So the townspeople hatch a clever plan. They host a turkey-themed arts and crafts fair and lure a vain bird into town by advertising for an artist s model. Peter the Turkey, proud of his well-stuffed form, takes the bait but doesn't fall for the trap. 

Thanksgiving Parade by Jodi Huelin
Extra chunky and extra fun, here is one tempting shaped board book celebrating the most exciting aspects of Thanksgiving for kids!

March along in the Thanksgiving Parade! Follow the giant balloons, marching bands, and parade floats. Kids and adults alike will gladly join in the fun. 

Dora's Thanksgiving by Sarah Wilson
It's Thanksgiving, and Dora and her family and friends are ready to celebrate. What is Dora thankful for? Take a look inside Dora's Thanksgiving and find out!

It's a Book by Lane Smith

I recived this picture book for review after seeing the trailer for it which I thought was brilliant and precious and funny as well as many other adjectives.  And the book is just as cute.  I've read this a couple of times to my son during his bedtime reading and he seems to like it too especially because I do voices for the ape and the donkey.  The donkey doesn't understand that a book is not a complicated electronic device.  It's a book as the ape tries to explain to him.  It is very cute.  My son likes it because of the voices and the pictures.  I like it because of the subtle commentary of how the new generation will not understand such a simple concept.  It's just a book.

It's a Book {Trailer}

This book looks so precious about a book loving ape and his technology friendly donkey friend.  And the trailer is hilarious!
From author Lane Smith:
“Not to say that I'm not excited by the new technologies and reading devices introduced (it seems) nearly every month, I am. But I'm sure on some level I'll always be a traditional book guy.” And aren't we all? New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Lane Smith delivers a book to the technorati and literati alike. Juxtaposing a book-loving ape and a tech-savvy donkey, with clever illustrations and a brilliant punch line, Smith's nod to the times will be a collector's item on shelves, and will be read again and again in bookstores, libraries for years to come.

Popular Picture Books (at my house)

I thought I'd share some of the favorite picture books that we've been reading lately.  My 3 year old son loves to be read to before bed and it has become part of his nighttime ritual.

What are some favorite books at your house?


Class Two at the Zoo by Julia Jarman, illustrations by Lynne Chapman

Class Two goes on a field trip to the zoo and get more than they bargained for when an anaconda decides to make a meal of them.  This is the one we are reading every single night.  I think he likes it because of all the zoo animals and he pretends to be the anaconda and eats every one and I get really expressive.





I Love You Through and Through by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak, illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church
Very cute book about a boy expressing love for his teddy that has grown with us over the past couple of years.  My son likes it when I point out his hair and his eyes, etc.

Go Dogs Go by P.D. Eastman
This was my husband's favorite book growing up and now the little man loves it when his daddy reads it to him.  My husband does a great read on this one and it is so cute to see them.







How Do Dinosaurs ...? by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague
I'm not sure which one to pick as favorite.  We read them all and my child loves them.  Definitely hitting the beginning of his dinosaur phase.  We own a few and usually get the rest from the library.  It's such a fun way to import these "lessons" without being overly preachy.








Goodnight NOLA by Cornell P. Landry, illustrated by Louis J. Schmitt
In the same vein as Goodnight Moon (another favorite), but specifically about New Orleans.  I love this book!  It is so cool to have Louisiana books and, so when I saw this, I snatched it up immediately.

Good and Perfect Gifts

An illustrative retelling of The Gift of the Magi, this little book is set in the American South.  In the original tale, the wife cuts off her hair to buy a chain for her husband's watch while the husband sells his watch to buy combs for his wife's long hair.  Later they find out what happened and are sad that their presents they gave our not useful but happy with what they have received as it represents a sacrifice on each other's part and shows their love.

This retelling is faithful to that idea, but the husband and wife live in a trailer in a small Southern town.  They are poor, but love each other very much.  The wife sells her mama's quilt to buy her husband a tool chest while the husband sells his tools to buy his wife a chest for her mama's quilt.  In the end, the wife remembers a passage from the Bible: Every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17) and is happy that they have each other, that Christmas is not about the gifts but who you spend it with.

It was a very cute book and the pictures look like wood carvings.  I liked the illustrations, but found the attempt at relating the accent awkward.  I thought the Southern twist very fun and a great way to update the story.  The Gift of the Magi has always been one of my favorites and I enjoyed this version of it.

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins

Barnes and Noble description:
Can Hershel really rid the village synagogue of goblins? He successfully uses his wits to oust the eight creatures haunting the old synagogue and who are preventing the villagers from celebrating Hanukkah. Kimmel provides a humorous, entertaining and just slightly scary story for all young readers. Hyman's illustrations emphasize all of the tension with dark scenes of the goblins and their attempts to frighten Hershel. A Caldecott Honor Book.

This was a very entertaining book as over eight nights Hershel figures out how to outwit a new goblin each night.  On the eighth night, he must make the King of the Goblins light the Hanukkah candles himself.  But Hershel is a very clever man and has something new every night.

I really liked it.  I checked it out thinking I would read it to my 3 year old but he didn't want to sit for it.  I think it was too long for him.  But I liked it and thought it was very cute and clever.  The illustrations are great and I can see why it is a Caldecott Honor book.  I haven't read much on Hanukkah to be honest, but this had some of the Hanukkah traditions throughout and a longer explanation in the back.  I will have to read it to the boy when he is older to make sure he is introduced to other holidays and traditions other than our own.

Today is the first day of Hanukkah and I'd like to say Happy Hanukkah to my readers who celebrate that holiday.

Little Pierre

Jacket: 
Little Pierre may be small, but he's got more marbles rolling round in his itty-bitty noggin than his four big, lazy brothers heaped together. Yet they just call him runt and ignore him. Course, when the good-for-nothing brothers flub their attempt to rescue a damsel in distress from the Swamp Ogre, it falls on Little Pierre to rescue them. Will this half-pint hero find out that his brothers were right all along--brains don't beat brawn?
Robert D. San Souci and David Catrow, the creators of the acclaimed Cinderella Skeleton, serve up a Cajun-spiced Tom Thumb tale straight from the Louisiana bayou.

While I don't usually review picture books, I just loved this one.  It is a Cajun version of Tom Thumb which is one of the reasons I had to have it for my boy.  I'm from Louisiana and live in the heart of Cajun country, if you didn't know, and so I like to get books that are from here or about here.  And also I love David Catrow's illustrations.  He has illustrated some of my other favorite picture books, including Take Me Out of the Bathtub.  Robert D. San Souci is the author and he does a pretty good job of  getting the language right although I don't know if people who have never heard a real Cajun accent will get it right.  I have a hard time with it and I'm from here!  But you have to be a real Cajun and have grown up with it to understand it.  Anyway, this was a very cute take on the Tom Thumb tale though I do wonder why it wasn't called T-Pierre instead of Little Pierre (if something is,like a boy, is small they are often called T, like T-boy means little boy).  Maybe to appeal to a wider audience?  I don't know.  But I was glad to have added this to the little man's book collection.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Welcome to the town of ChewandSwallow where the food rains down and you never have to worry about your next  meal.
That is until the weather starts acting wacky and giant food comes crashing down, crushing buildings and schools.




Written in 1978 I'm using Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs as my birth year book for the Take A Chance Challenge.  It's been years since I read it.  It was one of my favorites growing up.  I always loved the idea of all the food coming down and everything looked so yummy on the page.  I especially liked the giant pancake on the school and the hamburgers in the sky.  Now some 20 years later, I still like those things, but I also kept thinking how sticky and messing everything would be and how much it would smell.  It's a little long to read to the 2 year old right now, but it is definitely one we will be reading to him later.  I hope it becomes one of his favorites too.

The art is very simple and line with strong lines. 

I love the art work in this book.  It is so pretty and I like the pictures a lot.

 cross posted with Annie, I think