a celebration of childrens books
What a lovely book this is! The daughter’s love and admiration for her mother shine through on every page of Ebony Glenn’s beautifully vibrant illustrations. It’s a tender story of how the daughter loves to wear her mommy’s khimar (also known as a hijab, or headscarf) because it makes her feel like a superhero, a queen, and a mother bird– in short, it makes her feel like her beloved mom. What I love most about […] Read More
I first got hooked on Oliver Jeffers’ stories and illustrations with The Incredible Book Eating Boy. When I found this book at the library, I had to snatch it up. It didn’t disappoint! The Great Paper Caper is an entertaining tale of a forest whose trees are mysteriously disappearing. The forest animals cordon off the crime scene and investigate the clues. They discover that a bear has been cutting down the trees to make paper to fuel his […] Read More
I think it’s strange that my son instinctively gravitated to dinosaurs as soon as he turned two. It’s not like we are a dinosaur-centric family– seeing life-sized Jurassic Park at the drive-in theater as a child scarred me for life– so I’m not sure where the fascination comes from. As soon as he saw this book on the shelf at Target, though, he had to have it. I must say, I can’t blame him! Never […] Read More
One of the very first crafts I learned how to do when I was little is origami. My Japanese grandfather always had a few squares of paper in his pocket for folding emergencies. The first origami I mastered was the samurai helmet, followed by flapping birds, flowers, and eventually, the classic crane. My friends and I even made giant newspaper hats at one of my birthday parties. It was a hit! While I haven’t […] Read More
One of the things I miss most about teaching elementary grades is the Scholastic Book Club. When students order books, teachers earn points for free books! It’s a win-win. Luckily, we live minutes away from a huge Scholastic warehouse, and they have sales a couple times each year. The last two sales have been BOGO sales, which, let’s face it, basically means I end up buying twice as many as I planned. What a shame! […] Read More
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there in the trenches! I always say that being a mom is NO JOKE. Seriously. I miss my sleep, my snacks, my peace and quiet, my sporty little car, and my library-turned-nursery. Still, I love these little scallywags to pieces. In honor of Mother’s Day, we are reviewing How to Raise a Mom by Jean Reagan. It’s a cute story written from the children’s point of view. […] Read More
Confession: I hate Goodnight Moon. I know, I know, it’s a classic. You probably have it etched into your memory from lovingly reading it to your sweet babe every night at bedtime, and that is beautiful. I don’t mean to offend or pass judgment on your cherished moments. But to me? Ugh! The garish colors, the “goodnight nobody”…. No thanks. This book, though, is a masterful parody. Author Chris Ferrie (he of Quantum Physics for Babies […] Read More
We still have a basket full of unread library books, but I had to pick up all of the ones I had requested before they sent them back, so we made a library trip today. (Does your library limit the number of books you can have on hold? So far, the most I’ve requested at once is 12. I am tempted to see how many I can get away with!) Here’s what we came away […] Read More
Whew! We just returned a trunk load of books to the library. No exaggeration– we had three totes chock full of books. Maybe next time we should bring a suitcase! Here’s what we took home to read this week: What the World Needs Now Is Love by Burt Bacharach and Hal David Knuffle Bunny, Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems The Secret Science Project that Almost Ate the School by Judy Sierra Tiger in My […] Read More