Friday, December 31, 2010

Every Friday by Dan Yaccarino

Every Friday by Dan Yaccarino

Rating: 5 stars

It's official--we love this Dan Yaccarino guy.  We've only read a fraction of his books, but we are totally hooked.  And if I didn't love him because of his books, I read this neat little interview with him on a cool book blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  Yup, we're in love (thanks, Beth, for the recommendation!).

This book is one of my favorites of his, of the 6 books of his we've read so far.  It's a simple, short tale with simple, gorgeous illustrations of a boy and his father's Friday ritual: going to the diner.  The book starts with the father kissing the mother good-bye (it's the best of many great pictures; there's so much going on in the picture that Lorelei and Ben and I take a few minutes to look at it) and follows the boy and his father through three city blocks.  They pass shops, wave to familiar faces, and walk slowly amidst everyone else who is hurrying.  They arrive at their destination: the diner!  Clearly regulars, the waitress asks: "Pancakes?" and gets a nod.  She waves farewell to them and adds, "See you next Friday!"  "Already, I can't wait," the book ends.

The story was inspired by Dan Yaccarino's Friday ritual with his son; the book starts with a nice suggestion to start rituals like this in your family.  So, we took his encouragement and the kids and I "took Daddy to the diner!"  We had a great time, and Lorelei and Ben were amazed at the music at our table and the busy-ness of the joint.  The bacon was the biggest hit (of course!) but the blueberry pancakes were a close second.  But the best part was doing something a little different, and how wonderful that the something a little different didn't involve any cleaning up on my part!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O'Connor

Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O'Connor, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glassner

Rating: 3.5 stars

A friend of mine whose daughter is into anything and everything princess asked me what I thought about Fancy Nancy recently.  She and her daughter had read all of the Ladybug Girl books (read my review of Ladybug Girl at the Beach here) but my friend didn't like Lulu the Ladybug Girl very much--"she's kind of a brat," she said.  I agree, though the books are still pretty good.

I was hesitant about Fancy Nancy (here's my review of a bunch of Fancy Nancy books all in one post), but now I like her.  Love?  Not quite yet.  But I appreciate her a little more now, maybe because Lorelei's a tiny bit older than when we first read the books.  Her outfits are definitely outrageous and her insistence on looking her fanciest every moment of the day makes me want to roll my eyes while Lorelei isn't looking.  But, and here's the good part: Nancy always does the right thing.  Sometimes she pouts on her way to doing that right thing, and while I don't even want Lorelei knowing what pouting is--let alone doing it!--at least Nancy arrives at a good ending.

In this book, Nancy and her family go get a Christmas tree and wait for her grandfather to arrive to decorate it.  While waiting for him, Nancy pleads with her parents to let her put up the new tree-topper, a super annoying angel thing that rotates and shines and might do flips, too.  They let her, of course, so the tree is bare except for the enormous tree topper.  Then she and her dog are playing tug-of-war and she knocks the tree over, breaking her beloved tree topper.  Her grandfather arrives and tells her "if you break eggs, make eggnog!" or to improvise.  The whole family gathers around to make a new tree topper with all the glitter, pom-poms and other fancy stuff they can find.

That's the other thing I like about this series: they really do teach new vocabulary words.  Many times the words are great--improvise is probably one of my favorites.  We use it every day when we have something that Lorelei thinks we should (I forget a lot of stuff at the grocery store).  So, we improvise! 

Another thing Fancy Nancy helped us with was our field trip "uniform" the other day.  Lorelei's teachers told her to wear her green school T-shirt, something Lorelei didn't want to do.  I asked her, "What would Fancy Nancy do?"  We didn't wear every necklace and bracelet she owned like I suggested, but we did wear it with polka-dotted leggings, a tutu-like skirt, and big green bows in her hair.  My husband gave me a look, but luckily didn't question the outfit out loud.  It was hilarious, but she was happy and the T-shirt stayed on (until they got back from the field trip, when she asked her teacher to help her take it off). 

So we'll keep reading them--but not buying.  Not sure if I want them just lying around the house for her to get inspiration for her outfits everyday!  Boas and feathers are just not my thing...

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Geez Louise! by Susan Middleton Elya

Geez Louise! by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Eric Brace
Rating: 4 stars

Had any stink bugs around your house in the past few months?  We had, like a bunch of people in the mid-Atlantic, hundreds of these little bugs clinging to our house for a few weeks in early Fall.  They were only a little stinky, but very gross. 

Why am I writing about stink bugs in this blog entry about this book?  Because Louise, of Geez Louise! is a stink bug!  I laughed as I read that for the first time, and kept chuckling throughout this book.  Another funny thing: explaining to Lorelei why the illustrator, Eric Brace, put wafting green squiggly lines behind Louise in every page.  To show the reader that Louise was stinky!  That alone made this book worth a checkout!

But the story is great, and a better reason to go find this non-stinky stinkbug book.  Basically, it's about a bully who gets put in her place (in a good sorta way). 

No one likes Louise the stinkbug because, well, she stinks, except her one faithful friend (Termite Tara).  Louise is a talented ice-skater; it's the one thing she really enjoys.  When there's an ice-skating contest, Louise is excited to finally show people that she's more than just a stinky bug.  But the mean bully Kiki the Cockroach (Boo! Hiss!) is competing, too.  Kiki intimidates everyone into not competing against her, but Louise is brave--and a little nervous, too, of course.  Louise skates first, and does really well.  Kiki skates second, and does okay until she skates past Louise, whose stinkiness affects Kiki's concentration!  Louise wins and Kiki never bullies her--or any other bug--again.

A stinkbug who takes on a bully and, with some talent (the hard-earned kind of ice-skating and the natural kind of flatulence-esque smell), gracefully wins in the end.  Hooray!

Away We Go! by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

Away We Go! by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

Rating: 5 stars!

A friend of mine suggested we read more Dan Yaccarino books, so we checked out eight of them at the library.  Overkill?  Nah!  This one isn't written by him; like our first book with his name on the cover (Trashy Town), he illustrated this one.

I LOVE IT!  I am going to buy it for a few Christmas gifts.  Wait, after some Googling I just realized that I can't find it new anywhere except here, used (and a new one that would put me back $140!  It's good, but not that good).  That's a bummer. 

But it should be available at your local library, and it's really worth checking out for your little one.  Lorelei likes it, but it is really better for Ben's age (2) or even younger.  It has wonderfully bright, unambiguous pictures that we've looked at a dozen times already.  It's just your basic transportation book, with a little guide on the back on how to use it to teach your child a few things in addition to the idea that you can go places by bike, horse, hot air balloon, etc.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates

Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates
Rating: 5 stars

There seems to be a few books out recently where dogs love to read!  This book is just as wonderful as How Rocket Learned to Read, though a little different.  Dog Loves Books is a simply wonderful book.  I mean, it is one of the books that I always hope Lorelei chooses for me to read to her because it makes me smile inside, realizing why I love books.  Dog and I have a lot in common...  I'll explain.

Dog loves books so much he opens a bookstore.  But no one comes (right away) to buy any books.  So he makes himself some tea and waits.  Then he can't wait any longer; with a room full of books he decides to start reading while he waits. 

I can't help but stop and say: Such a good habit!  You know the saying "always bring a book:, right?  In Peace Corps we'd say "Always bring two" because there's a whole lot of waiting, especially when waiting for transportation in developing countries!  And on that transportation, too... 


Simple drawings illustrate a simple story of dog's love of books.
 Ok, back to the book.  So Dog reads a few books and is instantly transported into the books.  His bookstore gives way to a dinosaur-filled jungle, and when he's done with that adventure he opens another and hangs out with a kangaroo and her joey.  When his first customer comes in, he's more than ready, because he knows what books to recommend to her. 

This, of course, totally takes me back to my days in India and Thailand, where I'd spend hours and hours reading, completely getting swept away by whatever story I was reading.  This skill was such a gift, especially when I could really feel the hundreds of miles between me and my family.  I'm doing my best to build this skill with Lorelei and Ben, mostly by having books available to them at all times, especially when they are falling asleep or waking up, and when we're in the car (are you surprised I don't have a video player in my car?).  Habits start young... 

The story ends: "Dog loves books, but most of all...he loves to share them!"  I'm right there with you, Dog.