Thursday, July 29, 2010

When Dinosaurs Came with Everything by Elise Broach

When Dinosaurs Came with Everything by Elise Broach, illustrated by David Small

Rating: 5 dino-mite stars

This is such a fun book.  Our neighbor got it for Ben, for Lorelei's birthday.  You know you've got a great friend when both of your kids get a gift on one of their birthdays.

The gist of the book is simple:  One day a little boy and his mother go out for their "boring" route of errands and...WAIT.  I have to stop here and tell all children's book authors to stop saying that errands are boring.  Let's call them riveting and fun and exciting, as we pretend they are in our house!

Anyway, at each stop, they get a dinosaur with their purchase.  At the doughnut shop, then leave with a triceratops.  At the doctor, a stegosaurus.  At the barber, a pterosaur.  And on the way home, the little boy can't help but feed a baby hadrosaur that runs alongside his car some doughnuts, so that "little" guy follows the car home, too.

His mother is, understandably, fairly distraught at the thought of keeping four dinosaurs.  But then, crafty as all moms are, she figures out ways for them to help with the household chores.  So, they stay.

The fantastic illustrations of David Small deserve a round of applause, too.  Small makes the dinosaurs giant--check out the image on the right.  The triceratops, and the other dinosaurs, practically leap out on to your lap!  What talent!  The way that he contrasts the exasperated mothers and the delighted kids as mother-kid combos tote around their new dinosaurs is really funny.

I have to say that I feel an affinity towards Elise Broach.  Maybe because she is super educated and started writing children's books when her youngest (of three) kids was a year old.  She points out on her website that she started writing books when she was in grade school, and her "parents, teachers, and school librarians showered me with totally unjustified encouragement, saying they knew my books would be on their shelves one day."  Just goes to show you what some quality, surely justified encouragement can do to child.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

I'm Bad! by Kate and Jim McMullan

I'm Bad! by Kate and Jim McMullan

Rating: 3.5 stars

Yesterday as I was cleaning up the kitchen, I watched as a hawk swooped down in front of me to a spot where an unlucky chipmunk must have been peeking its head innocently out from under a bush.  This huge hawk kind of squatted, with his talons on something, and rolled its neck around as if looking for someone to which he could gloat.  I was captivated but wanted Lorelei, who was coloring on the other side of the kitchen, to see.  So I grabbed her, hoping not to break the spell, and showed her.  Just as we dashed back to the window, the hawk took off in front of us, and we watched him powerfully flap through an opening into our woods.

Crazy!  Lorelei was impressed, but I couldn't contain my excitement.  "Did you see that?  Did you see that?  WOW!"  I kept saying.  I explained to Lorelei that he was looking for lunch and, I guessed, he found some.

If your kids don't realize that cute chipmunks are lunch for someone else, then maybe you should hold off on this book.  Because this big, bad Tyrannosaurus Rex is just looking for lunch.  His prey keeps foiling him again and again until he finds his mother, a bigger and badder Tyrannosaurus Rex.  She gives him "take out," which is a small dinosaur that she places at his feet.  He feasts on it (that part is actually not seen--you read "Gobble, snarf, yum, gobble" and I think it's pretty obvious to even kids what is going on) and then curls up with the bone on the next page, declaring "I love my mommy."

At what point do we teach kids about the life cycle?  I think the answer is when we must, whenever that is in your respective family.  For us, it begins a little earlier because our dogs have already turned up with prizes of their own--a chipmunk here, a baby raccoon there, a toad or a newt.  They are always hunting something.  So, for us, this book was pretty entertaining, as all of Kate and Jim McMullan's books are.  But, if you'd rather wait to teach that everything is someone else's lunch, maybe don't check this one out!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

When Sophie Gets Angry--Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang

When Sophie Gets Angry--Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang

Rating: 4.5 stars

I wasn't sure about a book where the cover shows a little girl who looks ready to yell at me.  But an old friend--we're talking horseback-riding-through-the-pineapple-fields old friend--suggested it to us.  So of course we had to check it out.

I was still worried during the first few pages (of course I didn't preview it, I just plunged right ahead during breakfast one morning) when Sophie grabs a gorilla from her sister and resists sharing the toy.  She "roars a red, red roar" (yikes!) and looks like a volcano about to erupt (double yikes!).  What does Sophie do when she's really, really angry?

She runs. 

She runs to the woods, to her favorite birch tree, which she climbs and sits on its sturdy branches, and lets the breeze lift her hair and her mood.  She stares at the sea and finds solace in nature.  She listens to the birds, chipmunks, owls, and squirrels and lets them calm her.  Then she goes home, where everything is back together again.

My reading of Last Child of the Woods by Rirchard Louv resulted in a relocation to a house on several acres with creeks and trees and deer and butterflies.  In case you've not heard of it or read it yourself, Richard Louv

cites multiple causes for why children spend less time outdoors and why they have less access to nature: our growing addiction to electronic media, the relinquishment of green spaces to development, parents’ exaggerated fears of natural and human predators, and the threat of lawsuits and vandalism that has prompted community officials to forbid access to their land. Drawing on personal experience and the perspectives of urban planners, educators, naturalists and psychologists, Louv links children’s alienation from nature to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, stress, depression and anxiety disorders, not to mention childhood obesity.
I know that was a long quote, but I had to put a small plug in for this book. 

Anyway, When Sophie Gets Angry--Really, Really Angry is a good introduction to this concept that nature is important, that in nature one can find solace.  Just an hour ago, Lorelei and Ben and I sat on our front porch and had lunch.  It was one of the first meals at home during which we've not read a book, but we did listen to cicadas and helicopters and watch our neighbor get a delivery, then wondered out loud what new thing they purchased.  Then we pretended there were owls swooping through the trees.  My fingers are crossed that they always have the ability to, like Sophie, turn to nature for comfort.

This book also encourages conversation about what to do when the inevitable happens: when you get angry, what do you do?  My dad, an actual philosopher (among other things), always said that you might not be able to control the circumstances, but you can control your reaction to them.  Of course I'd like to pass that wisdom on to my kids!  But we're at the stage now where I'm simply trying to stop Ben from biting poor Lorelei when he's angry!  Baby steps, baby steps.  But at least I know what my goal is.

One less-positive note: I don't love the illustrations.  This is a Caldecott winner, so I guess that the committee, along with swarms of other grown ups and kids, including my old pal Heather and her kids, liked it.  Lorelei and Ben respond well to the strong, vibrant pictures, so...there's a reason for them.  And there are many reasons to read this book.  Enjoy!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Marianna May and Nursery by Tomie DePaola


Rating: 5 white stars

A little while ago I sent out a broadcast to my family and friends and asked them: what are your/your children's favorite children's books?  I got a dozen good suggestions, and I'll be sharing them with you during the next week.  My aunt sent me the name of this book; her daughter (now a rising senior in high school) loved it when she was little.  The copy we are reading seems like it had been in some deep dungeon-like part of the library because it was brown and looked fairly filthy.  I wasn't very sure about it, despite the fact that it's Tomie DePaola and we love Tomie DePaola.

Reminder: Don't judge a book by its cover, even a dirty one.

This is a gem!  It is a sweet tale of a rich little girl whose parents hire a nanny for her called Nursery (why that is her name is beyond me--it is so puzzling to me) to care for her.  Little Marianna May only wears white dresses, she she is forbidden to roll in the grass, make mud pies, eat orange ice and strawberry ice cream like she wants to because she'll get dirty.  Instead of all this fun stuff, Nursery tells her to sit on the front porch swing and stay clean.  So there she sits, all day long.

Until the ice guy comes up with a block o' ice on his shoulder and sees she's not having fun.  He tells the maid who tells all the other hired help in the house that Marianna May isn't having fun, and they cook up the grand idea of dying all her dresses unique colors for all her favorite pastimes.  The last few pages are of her wearing a green dress while she rolls in the grass, a brown dress while she makes mud pies, an orange dress...you get the idea.

Lorelei just gets this story.  She understands how sad it would be if she was forced to sit on the front porch swing everyday, all day long.  She understands how silly it is to have all white dresses--she knows that Ben has just one white shirt, and it's new.  And it's a gift--I'd buy him a green or brown one before a white one!  Anyway, this is a sweet little story and I'm so glad to not just have read it with my daughter, but that Lorelei knows that it is "Cousin Abby's favorite book," too.  When families are spread out all over the country--or all over the world, as my family has been a number of different times--it's so important to me to grasp any and all connections we can!

Slither, Swoop, Swing by Alex Ayliffe

Slither, Swoop, Swing by Alex Ayliffe

Rating: 3.5 stars

I've realized my blog posts have been getting quite lengthy.  Being succinct is not in my genes.  But I'll try.

We know and love Alex Ayliffe from his illustrations in Margaret Mayo's fantastic books.  But this one is all his.  There's really not much to it--each page is one verb, with a bunch of animals acting it out. 

But it has become one of Ben's favorite bedtime books.  He likes to act out each verb/page.  He moves back and forth for "swing," as if he's on a tire swing; he grabs hold of his own leg tightly for "cling;" and of course "flap" he flaps his wings...I mean arms...wildly.  Then the last one is "run" and he runs around his room in a circle.  No wonder he takes awhile to actually fall asleep!  Maybe I should get a better bedtime book.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Air Show! by Treat Williams

Air Show! by Treat Williams, illustrated by Robert Neubecker

Rating: 4 stars

I am sure that Mr. Williams is a genuine chap, but...I kinda wish that there were fewer words in this book.  Because the illustrations are where it's at!  They are amazing!  Seriously, if you've got a little kid in your life who enjoys airplanes just a bit, there is no way you can pass up this book.  It is FANTASTIC.  Even with all those words.  What did the author think, that a story was required to accompany these images?

The story, I'm obligated to tell you, tells the story of Ellie and her brother, Gill; they go to the air show with their dad.  He takes them there in his plane, upping his cool factor a few points.  They check out lots of planes and Ellie even finds a stunt plane, with a female pilot, onto which she climbs for the ride of her life.  Then they fly home.

In doing my normal google search about a book, I found Robert Neubecker's blog.  On it is the story of how this book came to be.  Basically, the author met Neubecker at a book party for Wow! City! and said, "Hey, I've got some cool planes I can take you up in if you draw pictures for a book idea I've got."  Ok, that's not exactly how it happened.  But close. I do love about it is that Neubecker himself admits that he got into the details of the planes maybe a little more than the author intended.  I'm super glad he did that.  Check out these illustrations:
I'm thinking about getting the book just for this image.  I want to laminate it and set it out in front of Ben.  Maybe I'll put it in a cardboard box with cardboard wings.  I know Ben would sit in front of it for 15 minutes straight or more, pressing all the buttons and moving the controls up and down and, of course, making the appropriate sound effects that correspond with those buttons. Maybe I'd take this laminated sheet on our next airplane ride.  I know I'd embarrass my husband but that never stopped me before!

I love this one.  Lorelei and I could spend 10 minutes on this page, talking about the different parts of the plane, the number of planes, which ones are flying, which one her favorite is, which one we've seen before, why there's a pin up girl on one of them...well, maybe I wouldn't point that out.

And, as an Army brat, I love this one, too.  I guess it's fair that the Air Force has the big one...I guess.  But how cool that they are all labeled (in case the little reader has officially become obsessed and is no longer content with calling them "the silver one" or "the red one")! 

Seriously, this book is just COOL.  I think it will be part of the small collection of book we get our nephew for his birthday.  I do wish that I could give separate ratings in this case, because the illustrator gets a high 5 and the author, well, maybe his editor should get a lower score.  I wish that there were just fewer words so the pictures remain the high point.  That said, who needs to read them anyway? 

Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by Jane Yolen and E.Y. Stemple

Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by Jane Yolen and E.Y. Stemple, illustrated by Anne-Sophie Languetin

Rating: 4.5 stars

Lorelei and I went for a "girls outing" today to Barnes and Noble.  I had seen this book a few days before, on my morning out--I spent two hours of it at the bookstore, and part of that in the children's section.  That's when I found this book.  I'm not a huge Jane Yolen fan (though she's hailed as the "Hans Christian Anderson" of America), but this one I really liked.

Because it's the anti-princess princess book!  And that's why I really do love it.

Each page shows a different girl or group of girls doing something tomboy-ish or something that's traditionally ungirly.  They swap fancy shoes for soccer cleats or use power tools to build boats or cars.  The text is a long, fun poem with lines like: "Some princesses wear their jewels / while fixing things with power tools."  The last page is a dance party, where all the princesses bust their moves on the dance floor, including one that hip-hops in overalls.  Ha!  Love it!  And in all the beautiful pages, all of the anti-princesses wear sparkling crowns.

I nearly shoved the book onto Lorelei, but she did end up choosing the book when I asked her what she'd like me to read to her.  Of course, it was a) only after reading the requisite Dora book (ugh) and the other princess book I found by Julie Andrews, The Very Fairy Princess, b) because it was a princess book that she wanted to read it.  She listened dutifully and then went back to playing with the train table.  I asked her if she liked it and she said, "Not really.  Princesses do wear pink, you know."

Sigh.  The princess marketing blitz has already seeped into my sweet 3 year old.  I will keep fighting back!  I will win!  I will win!

Friday, July 23, 2010

The Bear Scouts by Stan and Jan Berenstain

The Bear Scouts by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Rating: 5 stars

We have a soft spot in our collective family heart for the Berenstain Bears.  Well...except for the most recent ones by Mike Berenstain, whose books must make his father roll in his grave.  (Seriously!  In the last one we read, Brother called Sister a twerp.  Thanks, Mike.  That's what I want my daughter to learn.)  But before I go off on a tangent about how much I dislike the most recent books in the long series of great books, let me go back to the beginning.

The first books they wrote are the I Can Read It All By Myself books.  Do you remember them from when you were a kid?  My dad still has a bunch of them at his house, and Lorelei and I both happily dive into them each time we're there.  One of these days I'm going to smuggle them home with us...  These were some of my favorite books growing up, and I wonder if I have an emotional connection with them because they were some of the first books I read by myself. 

So I'm thrilled to the core to see Lorelei get so excited about this set of books.  Since we read all of the longer Berenstain Bear collection, even the ones I don't like by young Mike, I was really happy to remember about the original ones.  But I kept forgetting to order them from the library.  Then, a few library trips ago, we came across the I Can Read It Myself section and...ka-bam!...we found about eight of them, right there in front of us.  Lorelei looked as if she was reuniting with an old friend she'd not seen in awhile.  She just started making a big stack by our library book bag.  "I want this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, too!" 

We read them over and over and over again, and I'm really tempted to buy the whole lot of them so that she and Ben can read them anytime they want, and then store them at their house for their kids and grandkids.  But, as of now, I'm being good and not buying them.  We'll see how long this good spending behavior lasts.

I should write a blurb about the books, I guess!  They are great because the text is simple and the story is always funny and straightforward.  I do feel a little sorry for Papa Bear, whose character is the blubbering fool-type, though he always comes out all right in the end.  Most of the books have just Small Bear; Sister is not born yet.  And, funnily enough, Mama and Papa Bear are pretty skinny!  Are Stan and Jan trying to tell us that we all get pudgy when we get married and have a family?! 

A word on these two pictures.  Along with the Berenstain Bear books we checked out (The Bear Scouts is the first on the stack in the first picture), we checked out a whole lot more.  I went a little crazy, I admit, and came close to the 50 book maximum.  Who does that?!  We do.  Anyway, Lorelei doesn't nap but has quiet time, a minimum of 40 minutes reading books quietly.  Sometimes it lasts 2 hours!  She reads each book one at a time, reciting it if she knows it by heart or making up the words if she doesn't.  She almost always follows along the text with her cute little finger, even if there is little similarity between the words coming out of her mouth and those in the book.  These pictures were taken by GrandBill, who was half of the babysitting team while my husband and I scooted away to Colorado, of Lorelei during her quiet time one day.  I like the triumphant "after" shot, after she read those two dozen books!



Pete's a Pizza by William Steig

Pete's a Pizza by William Steig

Rating: 5 pepperoni stars

Ok, stop what you're doing and order this book.  Right now.  It is such a wonderful book!  It's the book equivalent of a tummy tickler hill--it makes you giggle with each turn of the page.  Lorelei was laughing by page 5 and didn't stop until the end.  Every family should have a few books on your shelf of books that make everyone laugh--these are the types of books worth the purchase price.

Here's the story: Pete is sad because it's raining out and he can't go play ball with his friends.  So his dad cheers him up by making him into a pizza.  That's it!  Each page is a simple illustration of Pete's dad, and then his mom, who simply can't sit by and watch this funny game, making Pete into pizza.  He kneads Pete, stretches him out, then tosses him up in the air, pizzeria-style.  Then he adds tomatoes, cheese, and pepperoni.  Pete tries to keep a straight face but every now and then Pete the pizza can't help but laugh, to which his father replies: "Pizzas don't laugh!"  They "bake" Pete on the sofa, but right before they slice him up, Pete runs away. 

Ben likes reenacting this part.  He is very good at running very fast, especially if someone is after him with an imaginary fork and knife.  Don't worry, it doesn't happen very often.

This is such a fun book!  Definitely check it out at the very least, but consider buying it, too. 

P.S. Thanks for the recommendation, Beth!

My 100th post! And a book raffle!

YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A FREE CHILDREN'S BOOK!

This is my 100th blog post.  Hooray!  I thought that, to make it a little bit more fun than just a regular review, I'd hold a raffle.  Anyone who comments on this blog post is eligible, and I'll choose one person on my birthday, next Saturday, 31 July. 

If you win, you can choose ONE of the books I've blogged about in July.  (The exception being Have You Seen Trees? because it's out of print.  Oh, and only ONE of the Fancy Nancy books if you'd really want one of those.)  I'll probably add a good 15 more books between today and my birthday, so you'll have even more to choose from!

All you have to do is comment--and make sure I have a way of contacting you!  I'm pretty sure that most of you I know and contact via email or Facebook.  But if I don't know you (and how excited am I at the prospect of a non-family member or friend glancing at this blog!) please attach your name and email address so I can contact you to get your address.  I'm also kind of curious about who reads this...so let me know if who you are!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

Rating: 5 blind stars

This is a different type of children's book.  It's a book-turned-guessing game, and your kids play along with the seven sight-impaired mice, who are trying to figure out what animal is near the watering hole. 

One at a time, each mouse scurries around one part of the animal--on Monday, its toe; on Tuesday, its trunk; on Wednesday, its tusk, and so on.  And then they guess what it is.  Monday's mouse thinks it is a pillar while Tuesday's mouse is sure it's a snake but Wednesday's mouse believes it is a spear.  The final mouse scurries along each and every part and declares, along with your kids: An elephant!  The book doesn't end there.  An additional page states: the morale of the story: "Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole."  What fine advice!

Ben and Lorelei have enjoyed this book, and it's a great book to read aloud.  It helps that I am a ham; my hand became the mouse and I "scurried" up and down Lorelei and Ben's arms and legs and heads and made guesses about what I was touching each time, with my eyes closed, of course.  It's a good book to read because there are so many ways to use it to make hypotheses, predictions, and guesses.  It also could be an example of how to write a fable, something that I'm sure is a required activity in grade school...maybe second grade?  It also teaches the days of the weeks and ordinal counting, so there's a lot of information within the pages of this book.

I also have to brag here: this is the only book I've ever read in Thai.  My reading is not so good, probably because the language is fun to speak but a bear to read and write.  I can do it, but...as you can see children's books are all that I got through!

We Planted a Tree by Diane Muldrow

We Planted a Tree by Diane Muldrow, illustrated by Mike Lynch

Rating: 3.5 stars

I'd love to flip through this book as I review it--that's what I normally do--but it's in Ben's room, and he's fast asleep.  Library books usually stay in our playroom, but this book has been in Ben's room for the past week.  We read him two books before naptime and bedtime; he gets to choose, and he has been choosing this one.  Twice.  Twice a day.  So...I think it's okay that the book is not next to me, because the images are pretty clear in my mind!

I really want to love this book.  If you took away the illustrations, I might give it a higher rating.  It's not that the illustrations are bad; I like them.  But they just don't seem to complement the text really well.  And the text is rolling, but...odd.  I don't know.  I love the cover, how two families--one western and one African--stare at the same tree.  And the book often brings us back to those two families, but it also bounces around all over the globe.  Shouldn't I like that the "we" is wholly inclusive?  Normally I'd like that, but I think that because the book ends with "We planted a tree and it grew up...and so did we" I think I'd like to see the same one or two families shown throughout the book.

I think I'm splitting hairs a bit, so I'll stop now.

Having gotten out the un-good parts of the book, let me tell you why I do like this book and why it's a really good one to remember come Earth Day or Arbor Day (also in April).  The book teaches kids the many wonderful things that trees provide for us: fruit, shade, and even more complicated things (in an uncomplicated way) like enriching the soil to improve a harvest.  It is a terrific educational tool for those of you formal educators out there and those of you like me, "just" parents.

I found on the cartoonist Mike Lynch's blog a cool sketch of one of the pages, actually my favorite page (but not Ben's--Ben likes the one of the baseball game that looks like it's being played in Atlanta).  It's a before, his first rendition of the illustration, and the after, as it appears in the book.  Pretty neat!  I find the processes of most things pretty fascinating.

Finally, here's a YouTube trailer about the book.  I think it's worth checking out (it's only 15 seconds long) if you're interested in the book.

Elmer and Rose by David McKee

Elmer and Rose by David McKee

Rating: 4.5 stars

This book will always make me think of Julia.  Julia is my friend's blue-eyed daughter who seems to be constantly smiling or laughing.  She's about two years older than Lorelei, so whenever I'm lucky enough to cross paths with Julia I feel like I get a sneak peek at what sort of girl Lorelei will be in two years, if I'm lucky.

Julia (and her mom and older brother) came over to our house for a playdate a few weeks ago.  In between some serious splashing in the hot summer sun and getting crumbs everywhere while eating blueberry bar, we managed to squeeze in some reading.  (What a good sign of a child's attention span when they can stop and concentrate on a book while there are seven children running around!)  I was reading a few books to my twin nieces and Lorelei when Julia shyly asked her mother something, who then encouraged Julia to come to me and ask.

"May I read you a book?" asked the sweet Julia.

WOAH!  I forgot that, at some point, kids can actually read themselves!  I know that this is the end result, but since our oldest is three, I'm still a very necessary part of the book reading activity.  But of course, I said yes and sat and listened to 4 1/2 year old Julia read Elmer and Rose.  I admit that I am pretty easily amused and impressed and satisfied in this world, but...I was deeply impressed when the tables turned and I was fortunate to listen to Julia read this book, an extension of the original Elmer, in her wonderful young voice.  As the other six kids ran around, mostly loudly, Julia and I sat.  And read.  I got to be the listener.  What a treat!

I do have to write a few sentences about the book.  It's good!  It is as if David McKee realized that all his books had lots of boys--good boy characters, ones we love like Wilbur and Kangaroo--and needed to gain the little girl's vote out there.  So what did he do?  Create a pink girl elephant!  Rose the pink elephant gets lost and Elmer and Wilbur help her find her way back to her all-pink herd.  The morale of this book is that everyone is unique, something that is a nicely illustrated with a funny patchwork elephant and now a pink one.

Definitely one to check out, even if you're not lucky enough to have Julia read it to you!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Red Truck by Kersten Hamilton

Red Truck by Kersten Hamilton, illustrated by Valeria Petrone

Rating: 5 stars

I just finished up my review of A Fly Went By , where I explained how, if you read this book to your kids, they will soon have a few vocabulary words that, while inevitable, are not exactly desirable.  Words such as kill, whip, and gun.  So maybe that's not the best book choice out there.

You should read this book to your child for the exact opposite reason--to add the word "hero" to his or her vocabulary.  Shouldn't all kids know it as soon as possible?  In this simple tale, a school bus gets stuck on a rainy and snowy day (it's called "wintry mix" here in the DC area) and Red Truck comes to rescue it.  "Splishy-splashy wet HOORAY! / Our hero for a rainy day... / is RED TRUCK!"

The friendly illustrations, while very cute, do crack me up a little.  Can you imagine the truck that would be required to rescue a school bus in those conditions in real life?  A Ford 250, or some gas guzzler, dude car like that.  Now that you've got that vision in your head, glance at the cover of the book.  Look at those dinky tires!  That just makes me smile, though I didn't share this little joke with the kids...I don't want it to be me who spoils the fun.

A Fly Went By by Mike McClintock

A Fly Went By by Mike McClintock, illustrated by Fritz Siebel

Rating: 2.5 stars

I need to learn to preview books before reading them to my kids!  I have learned this the hard way several times.  Once, I was "reading" a wordless picture book to Lorelei and was, obviously, describing the images on the pages in a story-like way.  A little boy and his dog went fishing, they saw a turtle, the dog went into the water to chase the turtle, they wrestled in the water and...then...oh, my...  I see a picture of the turtle floating, belly up, in the water!  How to explain this one?!  Um, the turtle floats on his back, looking up at the sky, and the boy goes in to the water to get the turtle, and then (oh, I see--the turtle was just playing dead) the turtle jumps up and they all become friends.  That was a library book I hid after a single reading. 

You'd think I learned my lesson!  Of course not.

We checked out this book, one of the I Can Read It Myself Beginner Books, in a fit of nostalgic hysteria--don't you remember this book?!  I think it was a good one...right?  Lorelei and I started reading it, and it starts off innocently enough.  A boy sits watching the sky, then a fly zooms by because he is chased by a frog, which wants to eat him.  The frog hops by because he is chased by the dog, which wants to grab him.  The dog runs by because he is being chased by a pig, which wants to bite him.  The pig runs from cow, and the cow and her calf run because "someone bad has made us run! / He wants to kill my Little One!"  Oh. 

Kill?!  I mean, I know it's part of life, and poor Lorelei and Ben have been introduced to animal death a few times because our crazy weimaraners have killed a cute baby raccoon (poor guy) and chipmunk (we'll miss him) in the past year, but...  Do I really read this to them?  I didn't.  I substituted "hurt" and moved on, thinking that once the fox who wanted to kill the little cow was out of the way, I'd be in the clear.

Nope.  No such luck.

Soon, the little boy yells at the fox and tells him that if he doesn't stop trying to kill the cow, the boy will whip him.  Great.  That's a word I want in Lorelei's vocabulary.  Whip.  And then, two pages later, we find out that the fox is running because a man with the gun wants to get him.  Great!  Another quality vocabulary word for my three year old: gun!  Her preschool teacher will be unduly impressed.

So, I'd steer clear of this book.  It's not that it's the worst out there, but there are so many other I Can Read It Myself books that you should be able to find another one quite easily.

Mama's Wild Child by Dianna Hutts Aston

Mama's Wild Child by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Nora Hilb

Rating: 4.5 stars

We went to the "big zoo" (compared with the local zoo 10 minutes away from us) this morning.  We had a great time, despite the heat, which provided the opportunity to enjoy a watermelon-frozen-thingie, a treat both kids thoroughly enjoyed.  Last week I checked out as many animal books I could find, with the added challenge that, crisis of all crises, we lost our library card so I couldn't pre-order our books.  We had to go and grab on the fly!  Luckily we found some good ones, including this one.

This is a flip-me-over book, so the blog entry could or should be called Father's Wild Child, too.  Basically, the book is about animal mothers or fathers and their babies.  Each page has a sweet, non-rhyming poem said in the voice of the human parent.  For example:

If I were your swan papa and you were my cygnet,
I would lead you across the lake,
and if you were cold or tired,
I would let you ride in my back,
between my wings,
where it is soft and safe.


And then, next to the image, is a random but super interesting fact about the animal.  For the swan, it is: "A mute swan father will take the first hatchling to the water while the mother keeps the nest of eggs warm."  Love the teamwork between the parents!  My kind of animal!

My favorite little factoid is about the ostrich; Aston explains that the black-feathered dad guards the nest of eggs at night while the earth-colored mama guards by day.  And another of my favorites and utterly fascinating is about the sea horse: "A sea horse father can finish giving birth to up to 1,500 fry in the morning and become pregnant again by evening."  Holy smokes!  That is bananas!  Absolutely incredible.

It is both sweet and informative--a rare combination in a children's book, I think--that really works.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle

Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Jill McElmurry

Rating: 5 beep! beep! beep! stars

This is the classic story of a country boy, or, in this case truck, coming into the fast-paced, rude, impatient, loud, and noisy city and teaching the other boys, or other vehicles, a lesson: how to take turns.  And then everybody just gets along and there are no more traffic violations for the rest of the city's lifetime.  That's it--no more, no less.

I can't say enough how much we all love this book.  Lorelei loves how all of the vehicles have faces with different expressions on them in each page--she cracks up at the limo's tongue when his engine dies.  Ben loves to find Little Blue, a bright little character, amidst all the buses and taxis and cars and trucks and motorcycles.  I love how there's a lesson to draw out: Everyone, not just the little brother and sister in our household, has to be patient and take turns.

But there's some magic in the pages.  It's that can't-put-your-finger-on-it stuff that makes one book about a truck brilliant and the other one silly.  Jill McElmurry's illustrations definitely have something to do with it.  They are captivating, especially to us non-city folk.  (I always glance up at those tall buildings whenever I'm downtown or in New York--they are just so impressively and oppressively high!). 

And Alice Schertle's poem like a song you can't get out of your head--but in a good way.  Sometimes I'll blurt out one line from it and Lorelei will follow up with the next line or two.  We wave to Little Blue as he leads the way (see picture) and we clap and cheer when the poem instructs us to do so.  I think that the first book is a little stronger than this one, but they are both so wonderful I'm left wondering how a beat up old truck could be so endearing.

This is a fantastic book for babies and toddlers, boys and girls, one that you can't go wrong in gifting to someone.  I'm going to try to resist the urge to buy it, but my confidence in myself is quite low because this, along with the prequel, Little Blue Truck (review here) is a Great One!

Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

Rating: 4.5 stars

I think that Lois Ehlert is an acquired taste.  So maybe I just haven't read enough of her books?  I know that there are plenty out there--even in our small local library there are a dozen through which I've flipped a few times but, for whatever arbitrary reason, I've put back on the shelf.  Her images are somewhat Eric Carle-like, and we like him, so...what's the problem?

But this book is definitely a good, despite my lack of love for the author.  It is nonfiction; it tells the story of how caterpillars become butterflies through a nice poem and beautiful artwork.  I like that the focus is the butterflies themselves, and that the story doesn't end when they come out from the cocoon.  They fly out and "catch a whiff of something sweet. / They follow that fragrant scent of perfume, / until they find our garden in bloom."

The fact that we have several unruly butterfly bushes that are nearly trees helps make this book attractive to us.  On any given day and at any given time, we can walk out and watch four or five huge butterflies feasting on the flowers.  This book provides a little bit more information--just the right amount for a 3 year old or 4 year old--about what the butterflies are doing on our butterfly bush.  Lois Ehlert also includes that butterflies unroll their tongues to eat, so that's been fun to mimic both while we're watching our butterflies and while we're eating our own feasts.  Ben's attempts to "unroll" his tongue is pretty funny!

The other nice thing about the book: It doesn't end when the poem does.  There are two huge pages dedicated to butterfly identification, one of which included the Tiger Swallowtail that is the main feeder at our bush.  There's also one page for flower identification, with pretty pictures of all the different flowers that attract butterfly.  Sadly for us, deer are also attracted to many of them, but we still manage to squeeze in some so that our family can watch these flying beauties all summer long.

I love that there Ben and Lorelei are learning, through this book and others, about how species are unique within their own category.  That'll be the same when Lorelei starts preschool next year, so I'm glad that our butterflies and this book are teaching her that lesson a little sooner than she needs it.

Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire

Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire

Rating: 4 stars

We've discovered the I Can Read It All By Myself Beginner Books.  (For a complete list, click here, and make sure you click to show all 70 book covers...what a trip down memory lane!)  I am having a great time introducing them to Lorelei and Ben.  They both really enjoy them, and Lorelei is really enjoying being able to read a few words on each page. 

But we are also discovering that not all of the books are awesome.  According to my standard, that is, which includes my children's reactions and opinions.

This book is a funny little rhyme where a lioness-like creature really, really, really wants to live in the zoo, but the zookeeper says no.  He shows off all of his neat tricks to a little boy and girl standing by, who are super impressed and thus inform him he belongs not in the zoo, but in a circus.  (Don't they know that circuses are sad, scary places for animals?!?)

It's funny and silly and catchy and inviting, all good things for little kids who are trying to read.  We're heading to the zoo tomorrow, so I was trying to find a book about zoos.  This one won't exactly prepare the kids for what they'll see at the National Zoo, but...it was a fun read anyway.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Have You Seen Trees? by Joanne Oppenheim

Have You Seen Trees? by Joanne Oppenheim, illustrated by Jean and Mou-Sien Tseng

Rating: 5 beautiful stars

This is a must-read book for any teacher or parent.  I know that the picture on the left is unusually and perhaps obnoxiously large, but a) I couldn't find the right book on my Amazon.com link-thingy on Blogspot and b) the poem is beautiful but the pictures are even more beautiful.  So just breathe in the beautiful spring blossoms on that tree and enjoy...and be annoyed with me that I couldn't find more images for you to check out.  I might have to break out the camera to add some images myself.

The watercolors in this book are breathtaking, truly frame-worthy.  They even make chatterbox Lorelei quiet--especially the page with the weeping willow (her favorite tree since she read Dandelion), where the bright green weeping willow covers 80% of the two huge pages. 

And the text, save for the slightly un-enticing title, is great, too.  There are rhymes within the lines--I'm sure that my English teachers would be sad I didn't remember the word for this--that make this one of the best read-aloud books I've ever read.  Joanne Oppenheim describes different trees in different seasons, starting each season with a question: "Have you seen Winter trees?" or "Have you seen Spring trees?"  She thus provides the opportunity for chatting on about which season we're in now, and what sorts of things we see in our trees.  On the winter page, Lorelei always makes me tell her about the snowstorm she probably doesn't remember but did, in fact, live through--when our very own trees somehow balanced a foot of snow on their branches; some were successful, others not.

And the best part is, both Lorelei and Ben love it.  Whenever I read the title to them, they look out of our big windows and Lorelei says, "Yes!" and Ben points and says, "EH!"  (That's Ben-speak for "yes!")  Ben especially chooses it again and again and again.  He'd probably sleep with it if I let him, but we try and keep library books downstairs, especially one this fragile.

I think the best part of this book is that it's nonfiction and doesn't "just" tell a story.  It teaches kids about the importance of trees, and to appreciate the variations among the trees and between the seasons.  We've read a few books about trees lately, and they all helped Lorelei answer well my question today: "What do trees give us?"  She said that they gave us fruit like apples and mangoes and shade from the sun and wood for clubhouses and a home for birds.  I was really proud of her.  And I realized that all these books that I sometimes feel like I'm shoving in her face actually impact her in more ways that I realize.  She's listening, and I'm so thankful that I have a book like this to share with her during these sponge-like early years.

This is a great, great book.  It seems like it's available through multiple sellers, but also through your local library.  I found it through Childsake, an organization dedicated to nature and the environment.  They have a hefty list of children's environmental books.  Check it out, especially if you have older kids.  It's a great resource.

I Love Bugs! by Philemen Sturges

I Love Bugs! by Philomen Sturges, illustrated by Shari Halpern

Rating: 4 stars

I'm not sure when to break it to Lorelei and Ben that I've actually tasted a few bugs, and not just when I was running really fast on a particularly gnatty day.  When I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Thailand, I clearly remember the khun yaais or grandmothers of the village standing by the porch light grabbing the flying whatever-they-were and yanking their wings off of them, then throwing them into a bucket, where they'd soon become part of an omelet.

Yum!  Are you hungry now?

I think I have a year or two until I can start with my Peace Corps stories.  I'm going to save them in my back pocket until I need Lorelei and Ben's full attention, because there are some good ones tucked away for that day.

Until then, we have this book, which Ben LOVES.  He might cry when we return it to the library (but, luckily, our local library has a copy of it, so we can check it out almost anytime we want).  It's a simple little book with just a few rhyming stanzas that outline the simplest things that bugs do.  There are more words on the front and back jacket of the book where all the bugs are drawn, labeled, and described.  I've read this to Ben a few times a day for the past week, and he seems to love it even more each time.

Since our house is surrounded by woods, we see a lot of bugs--and not in our omelets.  So it's fun to see them where they should be (i.e., in the pages of a book) rather than where they shouldn't be (i.e., eyeing me up in the shower).  Philemon Sturges has a whole series of books like these--she seems to love all the things Ben loves, including trucks and planes and trains and tools--so we'll be checking those out soon.

In the meantime, we love bugs!  We love them outside more than inside...

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Wow! City! by Robert Nuebecker

Wow! City! by Robert Nuebecker

Rating: 4.5 stars

Dorky library confession #253: When I saw that this book was finally en route to our library, and therefore to our library bag, and thus into our very own home for some weeks, I did a Home Alone Macauly Culkin-style  "YESSSSSSSSSS!"

I know, I know.  I'm a dork.  That's okay; I've embraced it.  But I was really excited, because we thoroughly enjoyed Wow! School! and Wow! America! (review for the latter here).  We loved looking through the huge pages, finding the red-haired Izzy and her dog. 

We liked this book because we don't live in the city--and while familiarity is definitely comforting, different is indeed intriguing.  (We went to visit my step-sister in Baltimore last month, and seeing the billboards and train tracks alongside the highway was super cool.) 

So we looked through this book a zillion times while it was in our appreciative possession, watching Izzy and her father travel by plane to New York, where they took a taxi, looked at the fire station, looked up to the tall skyscrapers, and other things.  In fact, pajama-clad Ben (see picture) looked at this book first thing most mornings for three weeks straight!

It's a great, great book, but Wow! America! is definitely the best in my opinion.  But maybe that's because we don't know how this book ends...the last page was ripped out.  Drat!  What, oh what, is the last WOW?  We'll never know... 

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

Rating: 4 stars

I think we're the last ones to find out how fun this book, and the others in the series, is to read.  I saw it at Lorelei's preschool (she starts in just two months!) when we were visiting a few months ago, and it took me a long time to simultaneously remember it and order it up from the library.  Oops.  That happens a lot... 

But when we did order it, Lorelei couldn't get the title out of her head.  Days after we ordered it (together, at the computer) and days before we picked it up, she would walk around the house, reciting "llama llama, red pajama!"  She was SO excited to read it, and that was fun to watch.

But it's a really cute book with awesome pictures (the one of llama llama yelling for his mama makes Ben belly laugh every time) and a very fast rhyme.  I didn't realize how many words rhymed with llama till I read this book! 

I think the only downside, which is only a downside for some parents and their kids out there, is that this book is about being afraid of the dark.  If your child is currently afraid of the dark, I think it's a good book to check out or buy and read, because, of course, llama llama gets to sleep (on his own, and presumably through the night) at the end of the book.  But if your child is not afraid of the dark, like Lorelei wasn't before we read this book, a new complaint might crop up, as it did in our house: All of a sudden, Lorelei realized how dark her room is.  Humph.  So she has a new nightlight (that makes three) in her room, and that works.  For now!

For that reason, we've not checked out Llama Llama Misses Mama.  Yet.  Is it good?  Have you read it?

Another good thing about this book is the idea of "llama drama."  Like the other llama book we read, Llama Llama Mad at Mama, there is a page where Llama Mama scolds her baby, kindly but sternly scolds her: "No more of this llama drama!"  which is a good phrase to have in your back pocket if, by chance, there is a touch of child-caused drama in your house.

And here's a link to a video, not of us, but of another mom and daughter reading the book together.  It's cute and shows you every single illustration (including the funny one of llama llama yelling at the top of his lungs) and every single word of the book.  What a great way to preview a book!  Check it out by clicking here.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

All In A Day by Cynthia Rylant

All In A Day by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Nikki McClure

Rating: 4.5 stars

I just finished reading an actual chapter book--The Idle Parent: Why Laid-Back Parents Raise Happier and Healthier Kids by Tom Hodgkinson.  It was funny and refreshing.  I loved that he tries to stay on the sofa as long as possible, and that he and his wife try to stay in bed as long as possible on the weekends.  I don't love the fact that he doesn't think swaddling is good...I thank our well-worn Miracle Blankets (thanks, Stacey!) for many good nights sleep.

Anyway, among the tidbits I picked up from this book is this: Learn how to live in the moment just like your kids do.  They don't want to stop what they are doing to ____ (fill in the blank with: eat dinner, clean up, go run errands, go to a friend's house, do whatever!) because this moment is great and they don't want it to end.  We're constantly asking them about what they just did ("What did you guys do with Miss Chloe?" I asked Lorelei when I came home this morning) and what they're going to do ("Do you want to go to the pool after Ben wakes up?").  How many times have I called my friends to ask them if it's bedtime yet at their house...??  An embarrassing number of times.  So I'm trying to be better about letting them just Be, and Be-ing with them.  Trying to live in the moment, and not worry too much about the before and after.

I'm doing ok; I give myself a B-.  For over-achieving me, I think I can do better.

And here comes Cynthia Rylant to help me!  And the ever-wonderful, ever-talented Nikki McClure, who illustrated this amazing book.  This book is like a slow afternoon that you don't want to end, when you're at your best as a parent, full of appreciation for your kids at that moment.  Here's a snippet of text, and a gorgeous image to go along:

Underneath that great big sky

the earth is all a-spin.
This day will soon be over
and it won’t come back again.

So live it well, make it count,
fill it up with you.
The day’s all yours, it’s waiting now . . .
See what you can do.

I wrote earlier about Nikki McClure and her ways with her X-acto knife here; her website is really worth checking out if you're at all intrigued by the picture above.

I was so happy that Ben and Lorelei loved this book.  There's one page that Ben loves (see left)--Nikki McClure hides a dozen or so wild animals in one single, huge image, and Ben likes to find the snail, lizard, raccoon, deer, and especially the woodpecker.  This poem is one that I want to memorize so I can recite it to them when they are upset or having difficulty falling to sleep because it is so relaxing and enjoyable.

This is a wonderful book to give--I have to say it's going to be one of our go-to books for 3 year olds for the next few years, and is also a wonderful book for adults who might just need to be reminded of the importance of living in the present. 

Enjoy today, my imaginary friends!  Live it well.

Jamberry by Bruce Degan


Jamberry by Bruce Degen

Rating: 5 berry good stars

This is a rollicking good rhyme--I feel like I should say that in a fake, Madonna-like British accent. I know that rollicking is a silly word to describe a book or poem, but this book has such a good rhythm to it that Lorelei and Ben choose it again and again and again for me to read out loud. We know the whole thing by heart--well, Lorelei and I can recite it, and word-less Ben grunts along excitedly in his own way.

Here's a little sneak peek if you don't already know and love this book: "Blackberry / Quackberry / Give me a blackberry!" and " One berry / Two berry / Pick me a blueberry / Hatberry / Shoeberry / In my canoeberry."

It is WONDERFUL. Beyond a must-read, it's a must-buy. I put the link to the board book up because this is a wonderful first book, meaning you better buy a near-indestructible board book so your child can go to sleep with it. 

I had to write about this book today not just because we checked it out again but also because this morning, before leaving the kids with their much-adored sitter, Miss Chloe, the three of us made blackberry cobbler. We didn't pick the berries this time, but the recipe looked so easy that I decided to try it. It really was fool-proof and toddler-friendly.  Here's what we did:

1.  I sprayed a 8-inch square baking dish.
2.  Ben and Lorelei helped mix together 2 tablespoons of confecioners' sugar, 2 cups pancake mix, 1 cup whole milk, and 2 large eggs.  Ben shook lots of cinnamon into the batter--we add cinnamon to everything we bake.
3.  We each threw in one half-pint containers of fresh blackberries into the dish (so three in all).
4.  I poured the pancake batter-mix of the stuff on top of it.
5.  I baked at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Here's the best part--it can be breakfast with milk, or dessert with whip cream or ice cream! Yum. The whole recipe can be found here. Everyone, including Miss Chloe, gave it two thumbs up. Try out the book and the recipe!

Fancy Nancy series by Nancy O'Connor

Fancy Nancy series by Nancy O'Connor, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser

Rating: 3.5ish stars, depending on the book (see below)

I've written before about our second grader-neighbor for whom we often cheer as she steps off the school bus in the afternoon.  A few months ago this lovely little girl was carrying a few new books, all of them Fancy Nancy books.  Guess what books were the ONLY ones Lorelei wanted from the library that week?

Sigh.

Fancy Nancy and her fancy ways are here at our house.  I'm trying to support this phase; I am trying to pretend like it's a future teenage stage that Lorelei will inevitably go through that I certainly don't encourage or prefer but...I should nonetheless support. 

I really, really, really dragged my feet on this one, trying to delay the inevitable for as long as possible.  Many of my seemingly sane friends and mothers of girls always asked me, "Have you read Fancy Nancy yet?"  Um, of course not!  Tomboy at heart, right here!  Yet Lorelei walked around with sunglasses and two watches and a random necklace, telling me she was getting fancy for Dawn's (my cousin) wedding (see picture on right).

So we've read almost all of them and, I'm really surprised to say, I've learned little facts from each of them.  Not just the fancy words--I know most of those!--but actual facts about butterflies or poison ivy.  And that, of course, humbles me a bit and makes me realize that this is a pretty good series of books.

If only Nancy didn't wear so many friggin' tiaras and beads and feathers and heels!  I really could come to like her if the illustrations weren't so over-the-top frilly.  But, of course, it's hard to be fancy without being frilly.

So here's a short synopsis and rating of the ones we've read so far:

Fancy Nancy  (4 stars)  This is the original, and it's pretty easy to see why so many little girls fell in love with Fancy Nancy.  It's a good read, and there's a lot to look at in the little pictures, though I don't really encourage careful study of Fancy Nancy's room because over my dead body would Lorelei's room look like that! 

Fancy Nancy and the Late, Late, LATE Night  (3.5 stars) Nancy stays up late looking at the photo album that belongs to her neighbor, and then she realizes how tough it is to be sweet and fun and engaging without a good night's sleep.  This is a must read if you have a newborn in the house, so your kids gain a TINY bit of understanding about why you're so tired, and maybe just a little crabby.

Fancy Nancy: Ooh La La! It's Beauty Day  (2 stars)  This book was hard to get through.  I skimmed it while reading it to Lorelei.  The sub-title should be: How to have your very own spa day.  Fancy Nancy gives recipes/instructions for facials and pedicures and stuff like that.  I think it'd be fun if your daughter is 5 or 7 and can do everything herself, but this is not the bonding activity I prefer at this age.  That type of thing is my escape!  Don't make me do it at home! 

Fancy Nancy: Bonjour, Butterfly  (4 stars)  We like this one, mostly because we have some gigantic butterfly bushes (they are seriously out of control) that magically attract some gorgeous butterflies.  Today we tried to catch them with a net--I wish I had a camera because Ben was holding the net and trying to stick the poor butterfly with the rod attached to the net.  Oops.  We'll have to reread this one again, so I can show Ben how to catch a butterfly, not stab it.  Also, we're planning a trip to the butterfly garden in DC because of this book.

Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy (4 stars)  This is actually a great book if you're thinking about getting a dog, because Nancy really wants a tiny little dog like her neighbor but, when she takes care of it for a few days, she realizes it's not the dog for her, or for her family.  (Check out our own posh puppy in the picture.  That's Guidry, one of our rescued weims.)

Fancy Nancy's Favorite Fancy Words: From Accessories to Zany (3 stars)  Silly, but Lorelei's really into words, and she really likes alphabet books right now. 

Fancy Nancy: Poet Extraordinaire!  (3 stars)  I do like the poems at the end, but the story before you get there is annoying.  Nancy whines about not being able to write a poem even though everyone else can do it so easily.  She finally writes an ode to her teacher and I can't believe that the illustrator resisted the temptation to draw in a few of her classmates rolling their eyes at Nancy's brown-nosing poem. 

Fancy Nancy: Pajama Day (I Can Read Book 1) (4 stars)  This book was within a great find--the I Can Read section of our library.  These books are mostly just the right length (in my opinion, the Berenstain Bears or some Dr Seuss books are long enough to qualify for one bedtime book, rather than two shorter ones) and actually teach a simple lesson or tell a simple story.  The words are all short and simple, so wanna-be readers like Lorelei have a good chance of looking at the word and guessing what it is, especially if they know the gist of the story already.  This book is, you guessed it, about the day Nancy wears pajamas to school.  She feels excluded because she chooses to wear frilly ones instead of the ones her pal Bree suggested.

Fancy Nancy: Every Day Is Earth Day (I Can Read Book 1)  (5 stars)  This is the only one I'd buy, and it might go on Lorelei's Christmas list.  I really think that it's hard to find a good book that introduces kids to green concepts in just the right way--not too much, not too little--and this book does a good job.  Nancy makes up little rhymes (such as, "Less than a mile, ride in style" to encourage bike riding instead of car driving) so she and her family can be make better choices for the environment.

Fancy Nancy: Poison Ivy Expert (I Can Read Book 1) (4.5 stars) Another good one for our neck of the woods--because we have a bunch of poison ivy in our woods and I don't even know what it looks like!  But now Lorelei a) knows what it is and that it's better to stay away from it, b) knows what it looks like, and c) knows the rhyme "Leaves of three, let it be!"  This is a book we'll check out again and again--each time we go camping, or every now and then to remind ourselves of the not-so-great stuff in our backyard.