Emmy's Book of the Day

10 Little Rubber Ducks

2011-11-26T12:21:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

Life has gotten in the way of this blog lately. It's been four months since I posted last. I've never been away from this blog for that long! Emmy and I have continued to read wonderful books and I have a nice pile of books on my desk which I've been meaning to write about and share. SIGH! I have added two jobs (playgroup instructor and curriculum writer at Play Makers Family Enrichment Center and substitute teacher/floater at my daughter's school) to my life which has taken away a lot of my time to blog.

I hope to carve out some time for blogging each week. I really enjoy sharing the books we read and writing about them. Emmy and I have gone to three book signings in the past couple of months and we are both excited to share these experiences with you.

Forgive me for my absence from the blogging world! I hope you will continue to read Emmy's Book of the Day and share it with your friends!

All my best,

Amy

Now onto the post:

Emmy and I recently received a wonderful gift from my best friend and Emmy's "fairy" godmother. The gift was presented in a book bag from Strand Book Store in New York City where my friend recently visited at my suggestion. Emmy and I were both delighted at what we found inside the book bag!

For Emmy, the book 10 Little Rubber Ducks

written and illustrated by Eric Carle.

Emmy's favorite illustration is of the rubber duck with the whale.

Eric Carle continues to amaze us with his unique illustrations!

Thanks to this book's focus on ordinal numbers,

Emmy can be found lining things up and counting them

first, second, third, fourth, etc.

For me, the book Moby-Duck written by Donovan Hohn.

Hohn tells the true story of what happened to a large number of rubber ducks when they mysteriously start showing up on several beaches. Eric Carle's book is based on this incident.

Emmy loves "reading" my grown up books.

She enjoys marking her place with a bookmark.

Here she is reading Moby Duck.

For more about the book Moby Duck, check out this book trailer:

And for both of us...rubber ducks!

This was just the perfect gift for the two of us! Themed gifts are such a wonderful idea. It's a way to showcase your own personality and that of the intended recipient or in our case recipients.

Here are a few of our gift ideas using a book theme:

The Art Series Books along with colored pencils and a sketch pad all tucked inside a zippered portfolio type of bag (add a beautiful coffee table book by a favorite artist for the adult).

Tuck the book Bridget's Beret into a basket with a beret, sidewalk chalk or watercolor paints and paper (add a beret for the grown up and a travel book about France or a loaf of french bread and a bottle of Beaujolais).

Ballerina Books tucked inside a cloth bag with ballet slippers and a tutu (for the adult, add a framed print of one of Degas' works such as Dancer With a Bouquet of Flowers and a CD of music from a favorite ballet such as Swan Lake).

Beach Books tucked inside a pail with a shovel and a beach towel - if it's too chilly to visit the beach, add a small bag of sand and some seashells for some fun indoor play (add a pair of silver starfish earrings or a pretty seashell necklace for the adult).

Tuck a few Night-Night Books inside a pillowcase with a stuffed animal and a nightlight (for the grown up, lavender hand/foot lotion with a pair of comfy socks).

Put this Gardening Book or one of these Gardening Books in a gardening tool bag with kid sized gardening gloves and tools as well as a couple packets of seeds or bulbs - if the weather is not suitable for gardening, pack the book into a pot with soil and seeds for planting indoors (add a potted plant or a few grown up tools as well as a flower or vegetable planting guide).

For someone who lives far away, place this book about sending a letter into a large mailing envelope with paper, envelopes, stamps and colored pens (include a box of blank cards and a nice pen for the adult).

I hope these ideas spark some wonderful book themed gifts for the upcoming holidays!

The July 2011 Carnival of Children's Literature

2011-07-27T03:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the July 2011 Carnival of Children's Literature!

My childhood memories of carnivals are filled with warmth and joy. From our church carnival to the county fair, games of chance, exciting rides, delicious food, foot tapping music and smiling people were always guaranteed. Emmy has already acquired quite a few carnival memories and looks forward to the Topsfield Fair (America's oldest agricultural fair) every year. She likes to see the animals especially the mama pigs with their piglets, but her favorite thing to do is experience the rides and she is willing to try just about anything.

Emmy at the Topsfield Fair October 2010

I hope your memories of carnivals sets the mood as Emmy's Book of the Day hosts this month's Carnival of Children's Literature. There are exciting books, great tips and wonderful projects. You cannot help but leave this carnival with a smiling face! Emmy likes to be in charge of the tickets for the rides, but she is willing to share them with you. So grab your tickets and get ready to explore some wonderful posts by some very talented bloggers!

Ali B at Fantastic Reads starts us off with a wonderfully titled post: Nannies and Grannies and Governesses, Oh My! (fiction). Did you see the movie Nanny McPhee? Be sure to check out this review of the Nurse Matilda books which the movie was based on. There's of course Mary Poppins, but new for me was Granny Nothing and The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place.

Amy Broadmoore at Delightful Children's Books presents 12 Children's Books About Birds (non-fiction). This post showcases 12 favorite picture books (a mix of fiction and non-fiction) about birds. In addition, there are recommendations for three fantastic websites for young bird watchers and their parents and teachers.

Amy Pertl-Clark (that's me!) at Emmy's Book of the Day (you're here) presents Fairy Tales With a Modern Twist (fiction). Rapunzel living in the 1970's, Cinderella living in the Jazz Age and Little Red Riding Hood living in Colonial America??? A terrific twist on three classic fairy tales.

Anastasia Suen at Chapter Book of the Day presents Who What Wear (Book Projects). The author, Olivia Bennett, of this novel about a teen fashion designer (in disguise) has created a DIY project for you to try.

Angela Craft at Bookish Blather presents Book Thoughts: Why I'm Not Worried About Boys (or Men) (book projects). This post addresses the problematic nature of the "boy book" question.

Carmela Martino at Teaching Authors presents Book Giveaway and Guest Teaching Author Interview With Deborah Halverson (interviews). Although the giveaway contest is over, stop by to read an interview with editor and YA author Deborah Halverson, author of the new craft book Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies.

Carol Hampton Rasco at Rasco From RIF presents A Bell for Ursli (fiction). Read about one of the most revered folktales in Switzerland about a young boy and a festival that continues to this day.

Catherine Nichols at The Cath in the Hat presents An Interview With Stephanie Barden (interviews). A fun interview with Stephanie Barden who is the first-time author of the novel Cinderella Smith, the story of a girl who is always losing her shoes!

Danielle Smith at There's A Book presents I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klasser (fiction). A bear's most prized possession, his hat, is gone! Danielle's children "Turkeybird" and "Littlebug" do a great job recreating this story!

Gail Gauthier at Original Content presents Loved It! (fiction). Gail writes a review of the book Dust City by Robert Paul Weston. The back cover of this book states, "When your dad is the wolf who killed Little Red Riding Hood, life is no fairytale." I'm intrigued!

Jeff Barger at NC Teacher Stuff presents Aggie Gets Lost (early literacy). Aggie Gets Lost is a terrific early reader chapter book. Ben's beloved dog Aggie doesn't come back after chasing a ball. Will he ever find her? Young readers will easily connect with this book.

Jen Robinson at Jen Robinson's Book Page presents Forever: Maggie Stiefvater (fiction). A review of the final book in Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. Sounds like this one will not disappoint her fans!

Jennifer Wharton at Jean Little Library presents Finding Books for Boys at the Library (book projects). The logistics behind why there are more books for girls than boys in the library.

Josh Hanagarne at World's Strongest Librarian presents Book Review: Goodnight Moon (early literacy). There is a reason why parents have been reading Goodnight Moon to their kids since 1947. The combination of words and illustrations create a lovely, irresistible mood.

Kathy Stinson at Turing the Pages: Kathy Stinson's Blog presents Reading Liberia - June 2011 (book projects). Reading Liberia is a program through which books for Liberian children are being written by Liberian authors and Liberia’s teachers are being trained how to use them effectively in their classrooms.

Katie at Secrets & Sharing Soda presents Review: One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street by Joanne Rocklin (fiction). A contender for the 2012 Newbery Medal, this book captures and distills exactly what it means to be a kid.

Katie Gilbert at Best Online Colleges presents 15 Insightful Blogs for Book Club Leaders (book projects). Leading a book club can be hard work but very rewarding at the same time. Check this post out for some great blogs that will help get your book club started or breathe new life into it.

Laura Grace Weldon at Laura Grace Weldon presents The State of Library Addiction (interviews). Children's lifelong literary connections to knowledge, awe, even awakening to other languages often have to do with libraries. Here are 9 reasons for developing a library addiction.

LH Johnson at Did you ever stop to think and forget to start again? presents "Gosh, odds bodkins!" expostulated Jemima: The very curious tale of the British Boarding School story (fiction). There is a very distinct identity given to the genre of boarding school stories and Johnson gives her thoughts on some of her favorite ones.

Lisa at Shelf Employed presents Dear Hot Dog (poetry). In Dear Hot Dog, Mordicai Gerstein brings us three friends and the mundane, but infinitely wonderful things that bring them joy and for which they are thankful.

Liz at Children's Books to Love presents Ladybug Girl (fiction). Ladybug Girl is a book about creativity and imagination. Everything in it is real, and more than that, rings true.

Margo Tanenbaum at The Fourth Musketeer presents Book Review: Sylvia & Aki, by Winifred Conkling (Tricycle Press, 2011) (historical fiction). This is an excellent novel about a little-known landmark civil rights case in California, Mendez vs. Westminster, that helped pave the way for school desegregation. A must for California libraries in particular.

Mary Ann Scheuer at Great Kid Books presents Sidekicks by Dan Santat - Superhero Pets Take Over a Graphic Novel (ages 7-12) (fiction). This graphic novel has it all - superheroes, pets, friends loyal to the end, and illustrations with enough POW to knock your socks off! Lots of fun!

Myra at Gathering Books presents Here Comes the End of July: A Round Up (fiction). Gathering Books celebrated their one year anniversary! This post gives a summary of things that have happened, over at Gathering Books, in the month of July in connection to children's literature and the kidlitosphere. Check out their bi-monthly Fractured Fairy Tale theme.

Pat Zielow Miller at Read, Write, Repeat presents Kid Review: Faith Finds "Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown" Funny (fiction). Young guest reviewer, Faith, gives her two-cents about this book in Jarrett Krosoczka's lunch lady graphic novel series.

Rachel Yap at Nurturing Kids: How One Mom Did It presents When Did I Start Reading to my Kids? (early literacy). Rachel shares how and when she started reading to her children and mentions the first books she read to them.

Read Aloud...Dad at Read Aloud Dad presents The #1 Way to Excite Children About Reading (early literacy). Do you want your kid(s) to love reading and learning? Ahhh, yes...the ultimate parental fantasy.

Roberta Gibson at Wrapped in Foil presents Sarah Emma Edmonds in the Spotlight (non-fiction). A wonderful comparison between two picture book biographies about Sarah Emma Edmunds that came out this spring.

Sam at Parenthetical presents Harry Potter, Schmarry Potter (fiction). Would the Harry Potter series have been more interesting if it had been about Hermione? Interesting question.

Sandie Mourao at Picturebooks in ELT presents A Fishy Exuberance (early literacy). Hooray for Fish by Lucy Cousins is a great choice for young children and always a favorite!

Shirley Duke at Simply Science Blog presents Rah, Rah, Radishes!
(non-fiction). Visit the vegetables in this rollicking chant book by April Pulley Sayre to learn their names and see the gorgeous photographs used to illustrate the text. (No Bows is one of Emmy's favorite books. Thanks, Shirley, for autographing it for me many years ago in Austin, Texas.)

Susan Stephenson at The Book Chook presents Our Garden, Our Library - Guest Post (book projects). An Australian mum, Holly Cardamone of Adventures in the Land of Cherubs, shares her delight in children's literature and the garden - a wonderfully creative combination!

Toni at Wifely Steps presents A is for Adobo, B is for Bagoong (illustration). "Don't read this book on an empty stomach!" The alphabet and Filipino food - YUMMY!

Wendy Braun at Good Books for Young Souls presents Happy Birthday to THE SECRET GARDEN - 2011 is its Centennial Year! (fiction). Loved seeing all the book covers of The Secret Garden over the years.

Zoe Toft at Playing by the Book presents The Perils of Pet Sitting (fiction). Leaving a pet in the care of someone else? Present the book, Thank You for Looking After Our Pets by Tim Hopgood, to show your appreciation.

Thanks for stopping by Emmy's Book of the Day and may I recommend...

Finale

Our carnival is ending soon,
As all things must in time.
The music's almost over -
We approach the final rhyme.
In moments all the animals
Will take their parting bow.
We hope you'll visit us again,
But say farewell for now.

Camille Saint-Saens composed The Carnival of the Animals in 1886 to express in music some of the silly habits his friends shared with animals. To compliment this composer's work, many acclaimed modern poets have created poems to go along with each animal.

Emmy's choice is Jack Prelutsky - America's first Children's Poet Laureate. Beautifully illustrated by Mary GrandPre and accompanied by a CD featuring Prelutsky reading each poem followed by the musical piece and ending with the entire musical score. Children will delight in moving with the rhythm of the music and imitating the sounds. They'll walk like an elephant, swim like a fish, hop like a kangaroo, and so on. Older children will begin to hear and identify the various instruments used to exemplify the animals. The Carnival of Animals is a definite winner!

Also worth looking for is this book/CD package featuring eleven poets and riotous illustrations by Satoshi Kitamura.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Children's Literature. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Children's Literature using our carnival submission form. Next month's Carnival will be hosted by Mary Anne Scheurer at Great Kid Books. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. (Yes, we have been around since 2006!) For an email reminder of the location of the next carnival and announcement when it is posted, subscribe to the Carnival of Children's Literature Round-up Information blog.

A Tree for Emmy

2011-07-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

Emmy's name is in a book!!!!!!!!!

How exciting to be given this book by a very special girl and her just as special nanny. Thank you Sydney and Lauren!

The book, A Tree for Emmy, couldn't be more perfect for my little Emmy. She has always loved trees and the little girl in this book does too.

"Emmy loved all kinds of trees. Oak trees with acorns. Pine trees with cones. Willows with long, swishy branches. But best of all, Emmy loved the mimosa tree in Gramma's pasture."

This story is told through the words of Mary Ann Rodman and the gorgeous illustrations of Tatjana Mai-Wyss. The two of them have created a book that showcases the beauty of nature all around and encourages us to cherish our special dreams.

Emmy's favorite character in the book is of course the little girl Emmy. She can be seen doing lots of things that my Emmy likes doing, for example, collecting pine cones, having a tea party, swinging on a tree branch, dancing in a tutu, playing on a hippity-hop ball, and eating cupcakes on her birthday. When the Gramma declares, "That ol' tree is a lot like you. Stubborn and strong and a little bit wild." I also knew that my Emmy had much in common with this delightful character.

In the story, Emmy wanted a mimosa tree for her birthday, but no one sold the wild trees with fuzzy pink blossoms and seed pods that sounded like maracas when shaken. Emmy was about to give up when she discovers a small mimosa sapling growing in Gramma's yard. With Gramma's help, she carefully digs up the tiny tree, wraps the roots in wet newspaper and puts the mimosa in a big tomato can. Once home, Emmy plants the tree right under her bedroom window, but then realizes that this little tree won't have pink blossoms and seed pods for quite some time. This is disappointing until she realizes that if she keeps it safe, loves it and waters it, the tiny tree will grow up tall one day.

My Emmy wishes that she could see a Mimosa Tree, but the best that I can do for her are photographs of these beautiful trees like this one showing the fuzzy pink blossoms.

Let's Plant a Tree

Eileen Fisher

It's time to plant a tree, a tree

What shall it be? What shall it be?

Let's plant a pine - we can't go wrong:

A pine is green the whole year long.

Let's plant a maple - more than one,

To shade us from the morning sun.

Let's plant a cherry - you know why:

There's nothing like a cherry pie!

Let's plant an elm - the tree of grace,

Where robins find a nesting place.

Let's plant an apple - not too small,

With flowers in spring and fruit in fall.

Let's plant a fir - so it can be,

A lighted outdoor Christmas tree.

Let's plant a birch, an oak, a beech,

There's something extra nice in each...

In winter, summer, spring or fall.

Let's plant a...

Why not plant them ALL?

(Prescott Park - Portsmouth, NH 2011)

Fairy Tales With a Modern Twist

2011-07-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Albert Einstein once said,

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.

If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."

I definitely agree and have shared many fairy tales with Emmy as well as with the students that I once taught. I have quite a collection of fairy and folk tales written by amazing authors each putting his or her own twist on the classic tales. I will be sure to share these books in many upcoming posts, but for now Emmy has three favorites that she would like me to share with you. All three are written by Lynn Roberts with illustrations by her brother David Roberts. If you are a fan of revamped fairy tales with a modern twist and a bit of nostalgia thrown in, then these books are for you!

We'll begin with Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale since Emmy is fascinated with long hair and would like her hair "to grow so long that it trails behind her for 1oo miles."

With bell-bottomed trousers, frilly cuffs, gaudy ties and platform shoes worn by Rapunzel and the "prince" character, Roger, the 1970's are in full swing in this adaptation of the classic tale. Rapunzel's tower is a deserted high rise apartment in the middle of a big city and keeping Rapunzel locked away is her Aunt Esme. Emmy thinks Aunt Esme is just silly and mean because she doesn't let Rapunzel leave the apartment, uses Rapunzel's braid, thrown over the balcony, to enter and exit the apartment and rides to work on a motorcycle. We both like Roger who is the lead singer in the high school band and notices Esme, who is the mean lunch lady at school, climbing down the long red braid. Of course, he climbs up and Rapunzel and Roger immediately become friends. I like the ending of this retelling. Rapunzel is not a damsel in distress, but rather a girl who is able to find her way in the big city and make it on her own.

Next is Cinderella: An Art Deco Love Story Set during the Jazz Age of the 1920's and 30's, this version of Cinderella is full of flapper fashions and art deco style. Emmy loves the updated carriage - a silver roadster! I love the stepsisters dancing the Charleston at the Royal Ball which Greta, aka Cinderella, found out about on the radio. After reading this book, we cranked up the phonograph (OK - iTunes) and practiced the Charleston with much enthusiasm! Here's a clip of Ginger Rogers doing her thing in a deleted scene from the movie Roxie Hart (1942).

And finally Little Red: A Fizzingly Good Yarn. With its setting in 18th century America and Little Red being a young boy with a red coat, this retelling is full of fun references to Colonial America. Little Red is the hero of this story, not the huntsman, as he saves his grandmother from the wolf with a fizzy jug of ginger ale. The gigantic belch that erupts from the wolf after drinking the ginger ale is Emmy's favorite part. It sends grandma hurling through the air like a cannonball! A deal is made with the wolf, who has acquired quite a taste for the fizzy drink, that he will leave grandma and the rest of the family alone if Little Red keeps a steady supply of ginger ale coming his way. Emmy has never had soda, but after this story, we had to give ginger ale a try. Her nose wrinkled up at the taste and she tried very hard to burp, but that didn't happen. Instead we just giggled and were reminded of Charlie and his grandfather drinking the fizzy lifting drink in the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Lynn Roberts gives us such wonderful retellings of these three classic tales, but I must say that David Roberts really fills in the details with his illustrations. Look carefully at the pictures and take a trip down memory lane! Look for the poster of John Travolta on Rapunzel's wall, the hand-cranked wringer used by Greta to launder the stepsisters' silk stockings, and the reference to Ben Franklin on the front page of the newspaper in Little Red.

One more quote to end this post by my favorite film star, Audrey Hepburn, as well as one more book suggestion.

"If I'm honest I have to tell you I still read fairy tales and I like them best of all."

I have always admired Audrey Hepburn and her sense of self. I recently read a picture-book biography of Ms. Hepburn titled Just Being Audrey which shows how her experiences as a young girl in Nazi-occupied Europe shaped her being, making her one of the most giving, inspiring and kind starlets of her time.

Wishing all of you a "happily ever after!"

Derrick Brown

2011-06-12T07:01:00.000-07:00

Derrick Brown + Poetry = Performer Extraordinaire!

Recently, Emmy and I had the wonderful opportunity to read and review two new books by
an amazing independent publishing company named Write Fuzzy. I just love their tagline, "The books we wish we had when we were kids." Write Fuzzy is part of Writebloody Publishing - an independent literary press (think mission-driven not market-driven) whose mission is to bring the spoken word to the masses.

Derrick Brown, a writer of poetry and performer of his original works, is also the man behind this mission. "Brown was seeing young, smart, page savvy poets, prose writers and poetry performers sell out shows, with only self-published, junky looking books available for sale." By bringing works by these important and often neglected authors/performers to the widest possible audience, Brown and his hard working staff of artists, authors, poets and performers hope that going to a reading will be as common as going to the movies or to see a band. In Brown's own words, "...he is dedicated to bringing American poetry into rock and roll status." I think Writebloody is on the right track and am very excited to watch as this movement soars across the United States and continues throughout the world.

Derrick Brown has recently ventured into writing books for children, which Emmy and I discovered when Write Fuzzy sent two books in a big envelope addressed to her! Emmy was over the moon when she received the package. Getting mail is one of her favorite things. I explained to Emmy that we were to read the books and give our opinions of them on our blog. Emmy took this job very seriously. She immediately sat down and looked through both books carefully. She then asked me to read them aloud. I usually like to read new books first before reading them to Emmy, but with her excitement building who could wait!

The first book we read was Valentine the Porcupine Dances Funny written by Derrick Brown and illustrated by Jenny Lewis. Emmy LOVES to dance so she LOVED this book. She thought Valentine looked so cute in her red polka dot shoes and matching bow in her prickly hair. She felt empathy for Valentine as she struggled to find a friend that would dance with her. Many of the other animals that Valentine meets thinks she is strange and are not always nice to her. "Valentine is just plain silly. Valentine is kooky. Valentine is willy-nilly when she shakes her booty!"

However, with her mom's loving support, "Strange is cool, Valentine, I hope you never change?" Valentine sets off to find to find someone who would dance with her and share their heart with her. Who she finds makes Emmy laugh and laugh - it's someone else with prickles and pokers just like her - a blowfish! "I knew that if I waited, I would find a special friend to laugh between the butter flowers and dance along the wind."

Take a look at...The Art of Valentine the Porcupine Dances Funny - Artist: Jenny Lewis

The second book we read was I Looooove You, Whale! written by Derrick Brown with illustrations by Amanda Atkins. This one definitely needed to be read first to understand the story and be able to read it aloud with the appropriate voice. Emmy and I both love Beluga Whales, which is the type of whale that the boy, Steven, befriends in this story. When we finished reading, we began singing Baby Beluga, a song by Raffi, that we have sung together since Emmy was a baby. Emmy thought it was amazing how Steven became friends with a whale and would love for that to happen to her one day. In fact she said, "Wouldn't it be so cool to swim with a whale in the deep blue sea."

I liked how the book addressed the important issue of keeping the ocean and beaches clean. Emmy and I often talk about how it is our job to take care of our planet, the creatures and plants that live here, and to also take care of each other. Whenever we are at the beach, Emmy notices and picks up any trash that she sees. It is her mission (and mine, too) to keep our beaches clean!

Thanks to Derrick Brown's inspiration, Emmy has put together her own short spoken word performance titled "The Woods."

My dad, Emmy's Papa, was self-employed and owned his own painting and wallpaper hanging business (as in exteriors and interiors of houses) for many, many years. From him I learned how important it was to support local, independent businesses and I express this to Emmy whenever we visit our local shops and farms. Emmy and I hope you feel the same way and will support independent authors, artists and presses. Be sure to check out Write Fuzzy, Writebloody Publishing and The Poetry of Derrick Brown.

Books About Ballet

2011-05-14T15:10:00.001-07:00

Emmy began taking ballet and tap lessons almost two years ago. She enjoys going to her weekly dance class and showing off her moves! Since Emmy rolled over, she has been a very physical child liking movement over being still. It is amazing to watch her balance, twirl and leap. Recently, she has begun to choreograph her own dances and put on shows for her Daddy and me. These moments are precious and are the memories that I will recall as she grows as a dancer.

Emmy and I are always on the lookout for books about dance and wanted to share a few of our favorites with you.

*Our very first book about ballet, Ballerina by Peter Sis, was posted here in April of 2009. I knew then that Emmy would want to take ballet especially since she wanted to wear a tutu every single day!

*Brontorina written by James Howe with illustrations by Randy Cecil is a book that we check out of the library quite often. Brontorina Apatosaurus is determined to become a ballerina. Despite being quite agile, her size gets in the way as she leaps along with the other dancers and often crashes into things. Madame Lucille decides that it is not Brontorina's size that is the problem, but that the studio is too small for Brontorina. The children and Madame Lucille search together for the perfect space which is found in the great outdoors. Emmy's favorite page is the very last one where Brontorina is being lifted so gracefully by her dance partner, a triceratops. "Brontorina's dream came true!" says Emmy as she cheers for Brontorina.

*Another favorite book about ballet is Miss Lina's Ballerinas by Grace Maccarone with pictures by Christine Davenier

"In a cozy white house, in the town of Messina, eight little girls
studied dance with Miss Lina. Christina, Edwina, Sabrina, Justina,
Katrina, Bettina, Marina, and Nina."

And then came Regina!

Check out the trailer for this, as Emmy says, "adorable book":

We are looking forward to reading the follow up to this book...Miss Lina's Ballerinas and the Prince.

"Then one sunny day, as class came to close, Miss Lina, while taking a classical pose, announced to the girls, in her elegant way, a dance would join them the following day 'He's a boy,' says Miss Lina. I want you to know. He will join us for class and our end-of-year show."

Both books end with a page of ballet terms which is helpful to this non-dancing mom!

*Josephine Wants to Dance, by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley, has two wonderful messages...to never give up and always dance to your own music. Even though Josephine is reminded quite often that kangaroos don't dance - they hop, she dreams of wearing a tutu and silk ballet shoes and dancing on a stage. She sneaks off to the city to watch the ballerinas practice and when the prima ballerina twists her ankle, and the understudy also suffers an injury, Josephine leaps to the rescue.

You may recognize a familiar character in this story...it's Mothball the wombat from the book Diary of a Wombat which is the first book from the team of French and Whatley.

*Time for Ballet, by Adele Geras and Shelaugh McNicholas, is the story of Tilly and her weekly ballet class. It is told by Tilly and most closely resembles Emmy's dance class experience.

The sequel, L ittle Ballet Star, shows Tilly's birthday surprise when she goes to see her Aunt Gina star in the ballet Sleeping Beauty.

*Next up for Emmy and me will be the Belinda the Ballerina series by Amy Young. Belinda loves to dance, but her problem is her long feet. We'll check out the first one on our next trip to the library!

This photo is of Emmy at her dance recital last year where she danced to the song Baby Face. This year we are looking forward to watching her dance to Music, Music, Music!

Happy dancing everyone!

In the Garden: Who's Been Here?

2011-05-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

Spring has arrived! Every shop in our little town has flower boxes full of the most colorful and fragrant flowers. Emmy and I stop and smell the flowers every day on our way to and from school. We also marvel at the blossoms on the trees. So beautiful!

When we went to the library, we asked the librarian to suggest a book for Spring and she recommended Lindsay Barrett George's In the Garden: Who's Been Here? Perfect! Two children, Christina and Jeremy, and their dog, Sonny, are sent to pick vegetables in the garden where they discover quite a few other creatures who have already been to the garden that day.

George's illustrations are so realistic that you really feel a part of the story. Emmy's favorite page is the one with the chipmunk nibbling the seeds in the sunflower.

"Christina looks down into a large sunflower. Something's
been eating the seeds in the middle of this sunflower.
I wonder... Who's been here? A chipmunk."

Emmy loves giving a guess after the repetitive phrase I wonder...Who's been here? and is delighted to turn the page and discover the two page spread showing a close up of the creature and the plant.

This is George's fifth book in the Who's Been Here? series. The first three starred George's own children Campbell (Cammy) and William and are each set in nature surrounding their home (woods, snow, pond) giving the reader a wonderful sense of the great outdoors. The fourth in the series has a slightly different format as it follows a teacher who is traveling the world and reporting back to her students through letters, sketches and maps. Each book in the series has a reference page at the end highlighting the animals giving the reader even more information.

If your child loves nature, then these books would be perfect.

In the Woods: Who's Been Here?

In the Snow: Who's Been Here?

Around the Pond: Who's Bee n Here?

Around the World: Who's Been Here?

Here are a few songs about gardening that Emmy and I have been enjoying!

Little Seed (tune: I'm a Little Teapot)
Here's a little seed in the dark, dark ground.
(crouch on the ground)
Out comes the warm sun, yellow and round.
(stand up and connect hands over head)
Down comes the rain, wet and slow.
(flutter fingers and slowly squat down)
Up comes the little seed, grow, grow, grow!
(jump up - jump, jump, jump)

Plant Your Seeds (tune: Row Your Boat)
Dig, dig, dig the earth
(make digging motion)
Then you plant your seeds
(pretend to drop seeds)
A gentle rain
(flutter fingers down)
And bright sunshine
(circle arms above head)
Will help your flowers grow.
(squat down and stand up raising arms above head)

Move Over, Rover!

2011-04-30T05:25:00.001-07:00

Move Over, Rover! by Karen Beaumont, with illustrations by Jane Dyer, is Emmy's favorite book at the moment (mine, too). The sweet and gentle dog, Rover, is enjoying a bone in his doghouse when a thunderstorm comes along. Generously, Rover allows some other animal friends (cat, racoon, squirrel...) to seek shelter in his doghouse to keep warm and sleep through the storm.

"Squirrel's in the doghouse,
sleeping through the storm...
Blue Jay's looking all around
to find a place that's warm.
Squeeze in, squirrel!
Make room, Racoon!
Skit-scat, Cat!
Mover over, Rover!"

Karen Beaumont uses a familiar motif - generosity leads to overcrowding - that can be found in Jan Brett's The Mitten as well as the use of a cumulative story like Audrey Woods' The Napping House (click here to find more cumulative stories).

When Emmy and I read Move Over, Rover the first time we missed a very important part of the story shown in the illustrations - a skunk hiding behind the doghouse who slips inside when Rover goes out to check out the rain. The skunk is snuggled inside as all the other animals find warmth in Rover's house. Skunk's fur can be seen (if you look closely) in all the pictures and when the inhabitants in the overcrowded house suddenly catch a whiff of something they all skitter, scatter leaving skunk comfortably sleeping through the storm. The story ends with the sun shining and Rover once again chewing on his bone in his doghouse very happy that he's alone.

Hearing Emmy read this story is simply delightful. Her favorite line is "Skit-scat, Cat!" She always wants me to read the back jacket flap where it is shared that Move Over, Rover was inspired by Karen's childhood in Oregon when one rainy night her dog let a goat into the house and she found them both curled up on her parents' bed!!! Emmy likes to imagine how many animals could fit inside her house which makes me think that I should share Margot Zemach's book It Could Always Be Worse which tells of a family complaining about their crowded and noisy house and the interesting advice that a wise Rabbi gives to them.

Emmy and I have been enjoying this poem by Ken Nesbitt about a "watch dog."

My Dog is Not Like Other Dogs

My dog is not like other dogs.
He doesn't care to walk,
He doesn't bark, he doesn't howl.
He goes "Tick, tock. Tick, tock."

He beeps each day at half-past nine.
At noon he starts to chime,
I have a strong suspicion
that my dog can tell the time.

Another dog might run and play,
or smother me with licking,
but my dog just annoys me
with his beeping and his ticking.

Should you decide to buy a dog,
consider my remarks:
When looking for a "watch dog,"
get yourself the kind that barks.

Hunwick's Egg

2011-04-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

Have you ever met a Bilby? Emmy and I haven't, but we are hoping to one day. Emmy is so full of anticipation for the Easter Bunny's arrival tomorrow morning, but after reading the book, Hunwick's Egg, she is wondering about a visit from an Easter Bilby. The Easter Bilby is the Australian alternative to the Easter Bunny. Bilbies (a type of bandicoot) are marsupials. They are about the size of a rabbit and like rabbits have large ears. Bilbies are nocturnal, omnivore animals living in the arid areas of central Australia. They are endangered due to habitat destruction.

Mem Fox and Pamela Lofts have created a story of hope celebrating the warmth and power of an unexpected friendship. When after a storm, Hunwick discovers an egg he is determined to take care of it until it hatches. Hunwick's neighbors (emu, cockatoo, echidna) are concerned when the egg doesn't seem to be hatching, but Hunwick realizes that his egg is actually a perfectly shaped stone and continues to "love it with all his heart." The illustrations add an interesting element to the text and showcases the flora and fauna of the Australian landscape.

Making connections while reading is an important part of the process and Emmy is on her way. She was able to use prior knowledge to make a connection from this book to one we had previously read (text to text connection...there is also text to self and text to world connections). After reading Hunwick's Egg with her, Emmy immediately compared it to The Odd Egg. She realized that the duck and the bilby both needed a friend and wanted to take care of something special. Even though Hunwick's egg did not turn out to be an egg, Emmy understood the stone's special meaning to Hunwick as she has a rather large collection of rocks that each mean something special to her.

Click here to read an interview with Mem Fox about this amazing story.

This is Mem Fox's second collaboration with illustrator Pamela Lofts - the first being the wildly successful classic Koula Lou.

"There was once a baby koula, so soft and round

that all who saw her loved her. Her name was Koula Lou.
The emu loved her. The platypus loved her.
And even tough little Koala Klaws next door loved her.
But it was her mother who loved her most of all..."

Whether you enjoy a chocolate bunny or a chocolate bilby
(profits help protect these animals from extinction),
Emmy and I wish you a very happy Easter!

Listen to the Rain

2011-04-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

Last night the rain fell and Emmy awoke talking about the sounds she heard. She wondered if it was a dream, but when I opened her curtains she saw the wet ground and the raindrops that clung to her window. "Mommy it was real!" I also heard the rain and was reminded of a beautiful poem by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault titled Listen to the Rain.

Listen to the rain,
the whisper of the rain,
the slow soft sprinkle,
the drip-drop tinkle,
the first wet whisper of the rain.

Listen to the rain,
the singing of the rain,
the tiptoe pitter-patter,
the splish and splash and splatter,
the steady sound of the rain.

Listen to the rain,
the rouring pouring rain,
the hurly-burly topsy-turvy
lashing gnashing teeth of rain,
the lightning-flashing
thunder-crashing
sounding pounding roaring rain,
leaving all outdoors a muddle,
a mishy mushy muddy puddle.

Listen to the quietude,
the silence and the solitude of after-rain,
the dripping, dripping, dropping,
the slowly, slowly stopping,
the fresh wet silent after-time of rain.

I now know that this poem is in book form (Listen to the Rain) beautifully illustrated by James Endicott. The melody of the poem and the abstract designs of the illustrations offer new ways of listening and seeing. This book is a wonderful introduction to onomatopoeia which was always a favorite with my second graders, and a beginning to an understanding for Emmy of words that represent sounds.

Besides "Singing in the Rain," another favorite video that Emmy and I have been enjoying lately is a performance of Toto's "Africa," by a Slovenian jazz choir called Perpetuum Jazzile. The group begins and ends the song by simulating the sound of rain with their hands and feet - amazing!

April Rain Song

Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drips
Let the rain sing you a lullaby

The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter
The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain.

~Langston Hughes~

Rainy Day Books

2011-04-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

"April showers bring May flowers."

Emmy and I have been so excited for Spring to arrive and we are happy to announce that it is HERE! Our walks to and from school are full of the sights and smells of this beautiful season. We've noticed buds on the trees, sprouts coming out of the ground, birds singing their wonderful songs and grass turning green.

Today's walk was a splashing good time as the rain came down. Emmy was delighted to wear her rain gear. She stomped in the puddles and twirled her umbrella. Emmy noticed how the raindrops created rings in the puddles just like when she throws a rock into the pond. We stopped and closed our eyes and listened to the sounds that the rain made. Emmy happily announced that the rain had many different languages. Here are a few of her examples, pitter-patter, splish-splash, drip-drop, drizzle-drizzle, whoosh-whoosh and ssssplosh!

Emmy had many questions about rain and to help answer these questions I searched our house for all the books I could find that had to do with rain. We have several great ones to share with you starting with Emmy's favorite.

The Rain Came Down, written and illustrated by David Shannon, really shows how the weather can affect people's mood. The rain is the cause for many noisy events beginning with the squawking of the chickens.

"On Saturday morning,
the rain came down.
It made the chickens squawk.
The cat yowled at the chickens,
and the dog barked at the cat.
And still, the rain came down."

These noisy events continue until complete chaos reigns. "What is all this ruckus about?" And then the rain stopped! And with the rain went the noise. The sun came out and one by one each character ends up smiling and helping someone else.

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema with pictures by Beatriz Vidal - a cumulative rhyming tale (think The House That Jack Built) set in Africa. Emmy loves how the main character, Ki-Pat, solves the problem of the drought. She also likes to stand just like him "on one leg like the big stork bird."

This is the Rain by Lola M. Schaefer and illustrated by Jane Wattenberg - also a cumulative story told in rhyme that simply explains the water cycle. Illustrations are vivid with a mix of real photographs and computer generated images. Emmy loves the last page where she giggles at the sight of seahorses, birds and even a dinosaur holding umbrellas!

Who Likes Rain by Wong Herbert Yee - We are such big fans of Yee. His illustrations are soft, gentle and gorgeous! In this story a young girl explores the rain by asking riddling questions such as, "When it rains, Who's the first to scat? I know! Do you? Mew, mew . . . It's the cat!" Emmy says, "This is a delightful book Mommy!" See what we have to say about Yee's book Tracks in the Snow here.

Rain by David Bennett with pictures by Rosalinda Kightley is part of the Bear Facts series which invites young readers to discover the wonders of science and nature. In Rain, the water cycle is explained with the help of an adorable bear with an umbrella. Emmy wanted to read the pages about lightning and thunder over and over again.

The Kids' Book of Clouds & Sky written and photographed by Frank Staub - a beautifully photographed resource book that answers many questions that children have about clouds and the sky. For example, What is the sky made of? What are clouds? What causes rain and snow? Where does the wind come from? Why is the moon white, and Why does it look so big? Emmy sat and looked at the pictures in this book for a very long time.

After our long reading and snuggling session, Emmy and I enjoyed acting like rain. We moved like raindrops and did the water cycle dance! The best time was creating our own rainstorm using our hands and feet. Here's how we did it:

To make the sound of rain, first rub your hands together slowly and then a bit faster. Next snap your fingers (or clap) going a bit faster. Now slap your thighs and go faster and faster. Next stomp your feet even faster and give a jump for thunder! When you're ready slow it all down repeating the steps backwards - stomping feet, slapping thighs, snapping fingers (or clapping hands), rubbing hands - going slower with each movement until there is silence. Now you give it a try!

I have mentioned before that I am a big fan of "old" song and dance movies so I was sure to show Emmy the ultimate rain dance starring Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain (1952). She loved it. Tomorrow we will be swinging from the lamp posts!!!

To end this post, please enjoy a poem from Emmy's
favorite poet of the moment - Shel Silverstein!

Rain
I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed in my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.

I step very softly,
I walk very slow,
I can't do a handstand--
I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said--
I'm just not the same since there's rain my head.

Thank You Bear

2011-03-28T03:29:00.000-07:00

Both Emmy and I are excited to share the book, Thank You Bear, with you! It is written and illustrated by Greg Foley. We feel a kinship with Mr. Foley because he grew up in Austin, Texas.

Thank You Bear is the gentle story of a bear who finds a treasure that he thinks will be perfect for his friend Mouse. It goes along with the old saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure." as Bear finds great value in the object, but begins to feel differently as he shows it to some of his other animal friends.

"On his way to find Mouse,
he showed it to the monkey.
Monkey said, "That's not so great."
He showed it to the owl.
Owl said, "I've seen those before."

Foley's illustrations are so soft and serene. They are a pleasure to look at. Emmy noticed right away, through Bear's face and posture, that he was becoming discouraged by his friend's words. We think all children can relate to Bear as he sits wondering if his treasure is so great after all. Our lives can be full of discouraging words, but as often happens, someone comes along to give us the encouragement that we need as Mouse did for Bear.

"Then Mouse crawled inside the empty box and said,
"It's the greatest thing ever!"

Foley makes the reader wonder about the contents of the box, but it is on this page that it is discovered that the treasure is the box itself and is the perfect snugly place for Mouse.

After reading this book many times, Emmy found her little mouse, her special bear and a tissue box and started to act out the story. I made copies of the other animals in the story to add to her retelling. Here are the props:And here is Emmy acting out the story Thank You Bear:

Foley has written two more books about Bear that Emmy and I are excited to read. Both sound perfect for Springtime!

Don't Worry Bear

Good Luck Bear

The Odd Egg

2011-03-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

Could it be that Spring is here? With the warmer weather over the weekend, it seems like it may really have arrived! Emmy enjoyed wearing a sweater rather than a bulky coat and getting her scooter out and riding around town. We've spotted some buds on a few trees and some sprouts from the bulbs we planted last Autumn!

With Spring, Emmy is most excited about seeing baby animals. She listens carefully for the chirp-chirp of birds and wonders if there is a nest with babies nearby.

On our last trip to the library, we looked for a book about baby birds and came across the book The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett. Quite amusing! The story stars Duck - the only bird who hasn't laid an egg. Not uncommon considering he is a male duck! But Duck finds an egg with spots the same color as the feathers on his head. "He thought it was the most beautiful egg in the whole wide world" and decides to take care of it himself. The other birds were not impressed by Duck's egg. They thought it was quite odd. As the eggs begin to hatch, the birds cuddle their new babies while Duck passes the time waiting for his egg to hatch by knitting a scarf. Everyone is in for a BIG surprise when Duck's egg finally hatches.

Emily Gravett's simple text is paired with delightful pencil and watercolor drawings. With each "Creak Crack," the eggs hatch in ascending order on specially cut flaplike pages showing each baby greeting its mother. The suspense builds for Duck's egg to hatch until "SNAP!" Emmy's favorite page is on the inside of the back cover where the inhabitant of the egg marches off with it's "Mama" wearing the knitted scarf as well as booties that look like webbed feet!

Emmy and I are now fans of Emily Gravett!!!! She has written and illustrated some brilliant books. Here's a few of our favorites:

Polly's Pink Pajamas

2011-03-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

Emmy became her own event planner for her fifth birthday. The one thing she was absolutely sure of was that she wanted a Pajama Party! We have always held a birthday party for her in our own home, so when I agreed that a pajama party would be a lot of fun and started telling her what we could do at home, Little Miss Party Planner informed me that the party would be held at Play Makers Family Enrichment Center (check it out here) where I have been working a few mornings a week. Emmy enjoys coming with me when I teach a play group at Play Makers. This really is the perfect place for a party...room to play, cook and do art projects.

The first thing Emmy looks for when she gets to Play Makers is which swing is hanging in the Mobility Studio. Luckily on the day of her party the boat swing was hanging, which is her favorite swing. Here she is swinging with a few of her friends.

In addition to playing, Emmy and her friends did some cooking during her party. They made chocolate chip pancakes and banana milkshakes. Both were delicious. Seeing her number five candle sitting on top of a stack of pancakes was a great surprise. It was such fun to see Emmy surrounded by her friends and all of them really enjoying themselves.

After cooking, Emmy and I shared the book that inspired her pajama party - Polly's Pink Pajamas by Vivian French with illustrations by Sue Heap.

"Polly loved her pink pajamas.
What did she wear when she went to bed?
PINK PAJAMAS!
What did she wear when she got up?
PINK PAJAMAS!
What did she wear when she ate her breakfast?
PINK PAJAMAS!
What did Polly wear all day long?
PINK PAJAMAS!"

Emmy LOVES wearing pajamas and would much prefer wearing
them everyday/everywhere than anything else in her closet. She also loves the color pink so this book was a great match for her. Emmy laughs as Polly enlists the help of her friends to find an outfit to wear to Fred's party. When Polly takes a look in the mirror and sees her mismatched outfit, she becomes sad, but not for long. Fred calls to find out why Polly is not at his party and quickly informs her that it is a PAJAMA PARTY!

"And what do you think Polly wore to Fred's party?
PINK PAJAMAS!"

After the story, Emmy and her friends each decorated a pillowcase with fabric markers. Emmy thought this would be a great project because then she could share her sweet dreams with all of her friends. Here is Emmy's pillow front and center on her bed. She decorated it with shooting stars!

All in all having a party at a location other than home was wonderful. There was lots of room to move and play and absolutely no set up or clean up. I actually got to engage in the activities and feel a part of the party rather than worrying about each little detail.

Turning five certainly is extraordinary!

St. Patrick's Day in the Morning

2011-03-17T05:11:00.000-07:00

Young children hear quite often that they are too small to do some things and this is the case for young Jamie in the book St. Patrick's Day in the Mor ning written by Eve Bunting with illustrations by Jan Brett.

Jamie is told by his family that he cannot participate in the St. Patrick's Day parade because he is too small to make it to the top of Acorn Hill. Jamie is determined to prove them wrong.

"It's not fair, Nell," Jamie Donovan said to his sheepdog.
"I want to walk in the parade, too. They say I am too small -
that I couldn't get to the top of Acorn Hill alone.
But what do they know?"

With his flute in hand, Jamie and his loyal dog Nell set off together to make their own parade while the village is still asleep. They excitedly greet the morning sun at the TOP of Acorn Hill.

The clever illustrations by Jan Brett are rich in detail but minimal in color highlighting the greens and golds of Ireland and the orange of the flag.

After reading this story in my best Irish accent with an Irish jig playing in the background, Emmy quickly got her flute and made her own parade around the house and up the stairs to the top landing announcing that she had made it to the top of Acorn Hill! Every time she did her parade, my camera was nowhere to be found. I guess a mental snapshot will have to do.

Another great book for St. Patrick's Day is Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato. Read all about it here.

Emmy has decided that leprechauns can be quite mischievous. See what they did to her milk!!!

May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.

Eve Bunting and Jan Brett make a fantastic team. Check out another book, The Valentine Bears, by this "dynamic duo" here.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

2011-03-14T18:32:00.001-07:00

I recently heard a rumor that The Invention of Hugo Cabret, written and illustrated by Brian Selznik and winner of the 2008 Caldecott Medal, was going to be made into a movie! I rushed home to do some research and low and behold found out that it was true - this book really is going to be made into a movie. A movie directed by Martin Scorsese and in 3D - a first for this extraordinary director.

I know that this blog is all about the books that I share with Emmy, but I must "push her to the side" and tell you how much I - the Mommy - LOVE this book. I still remember picking this book up in the bookstore. It looked so intriguing. As I flipped through the pages, I literally fell in love. AMAZING!

Here's a snynopsis:

Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl and the owner of a small toy booth in the train station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message all come together...in The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

The story is told in 526 pages with 300 of them in pictures! The Invention of Hugo Cabret is not exactly a novel, and it’s not quite a picture book, and it’s not really a graphic novel, or a flip book, or a movie, but a combination of all these things. If you haven't experienced this book yet, you must get your hands on it and quick. It is a one-of-a-kind!!!!

Click here to watch the opening sequence of drawings in the book.

Another reason to be so excited for this upcoming movie...Ben Kingsley!!!! He plays Georges Melies (a famous filmmaker who worked from the 1890s through the 1920s. He made the world’s first science fiction movie called A Trip to the Moon).

I will end this post with a quote from Sir Kingsley:

"The movie Hugo Cabret examines the early days of cinema through the eyes of a child. You know how Martin Scorsese is devoted to cinema and its evolution. We go right back to those first flickering images, so it's about memory, it's about childhood, it's about invention. It's a very, very beautiful film."

Actor Ben Kingsley

Birthday Traditions in the Classroom

2011-03-08T04:45:00.000-08:00

My previous post was all about Emmy turning five and the traditions that we are building in our family to help celebrate her birthday. When I was teaching, I also worked hard on building traditions in the classroom in order to create a community of learners who truly cared for one another. A child's birthday is such a special day and as such should be recognized and honored.

At the beginning of each school year, the children and I would spend time working with two things that meant a lot to them...their names and their birth dates. We would write and build our names with different materials (pencil, marker, yarn, glitter, letter magnets, letter tiles, block letters, etc.) and compare our names to each other. For example, Who had the longest name? The shortest? Which names started the same? Did any of the names rhyme? We would also compare our birth dates by creating a Birthday Graph. Here are three examples:

Using cake die-cuts,
the children wrote
their name and birth
date and decorated
their cake.

Using colored chips,
the children placed
a chip next to their
birth month.

Using Unifix cubes, the children would count out
the number of their birth date by placing the cubes
in pairs to see if the number was odd or even. They
would then add their number in the correct
place on the graph.

The resulting graphs would be used to answer questions such as, Does anyone have the same birthday as someone else? How about the same number or the same month? How many birthdays are in January, February, etc.? Which month has the most birthdays? The least? Are there any months with the same number of birthdays? Do we have more odd numbered birthdays or even? How many more?

Once we established when our birthdays were, we moved on to setting up our birthday traditions. My birthday is at the beginning of the school year so I used my own birthday to show the children what our classroom birthday traditions would be like.

Here is a list of the birthday traditions used in my classroom:

*The birthday child's chair and table top would be decorated for the occasion. The back of the child's chair would be covered with felt. The child would be provided with felt cut out pieces (birthday cakes, candles, crowns, party hats, confetti, balloons) that he or she could use to decorate the chair. We kept our felt pieces in a wrapped birthday box. (Sadly, I couldn't find a photo of this!) The table top had a birthday "place mat" and a birthday sign as well as a cape and a fun hat or crown to wear for the day.

*A birthday gift bag would also be at the child's spot. Inside would be a Birthday Journal, a birthday bear, a fancy pen and a few fun surprises to keep (bottle of bubbles, stickers, colored pencils and pencil sharpener, etc.) This bag would go home with the child and be returned at his or her earliest convenience. The first page of the journal provided directions for the family. The idea was for the birthday child to add photos or drawings and write about his or her special celebration. The bag would be returned and the child would share her page in the journal.

*My classroom had baskets of books sorted by subject, character, or author. One of these baskets was filled with birthday books. The birthday child got to choose one book to borrow from this basket and placed it in the birthday gift bag. Some years I gave a book to the birthday child to keep and other years I asked for parents to donate a book to our library in honor of their child. I attached a book plate to the inside front cover with the child's name and birth date. When not in use, the Birthday Journal would be kept in this basket. It was always a favorite book to read. (See below for a few of our favorite birthday books).

*A large piece of paper would be placed in the Art Center where the children could go throughout the day to draw and write birthday messages to the child. This paper would be rolled up, tied with a bow and presented to the birthday child at the end of the day.

*Our Writing Center was always stocked with a variety of paper and card making was always a favorite activity. Another idea is to create a birthday book full of letters to the birthday child. We always began with a brainstorming session where we created a web of ideas about the birthday child. Each child would then write a letter filled with good wishes. The birthday child decorated the front cover and then the pages were stapled together and presented, along with the "web," at the end of the day.

*Our day always began with Morning Meeting. I had a collection of birthday songs that I slowly introduced to the children so that the birthday child could choose the song sung during the meeting.

*Our day always ended with a Closing Circle. This was the time to present the birthday child with the projects worked on during the day. We also had a variety of birthday poems and the birthday child chose one for us to recite to end the day.

Today
by John Archambault

Glory may
I like today.
Today, today
I like today.

No other day's
quite like today,
Not tomorrow
or yesterday.
I like today
in every way.
Today, today,
Today
My birthday!

All of these traditions were looked forward to by the children as well as by me. It may seem like a lot, but the materials were always prepared ahead of time and the children knew just what to do. I hope these ideas will inspire some fun birthday traditions in your classroom or in your home!

Go Tell it to the Toucan by Colin West (Emmy's favorite!!!)

The Secret Birthday Message by Eric Carle

Little Go rilla by Ruth Bornstein

Happy Birthday, Moon by Frank Asch

The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli

Happy Birthday to You! by Dr. Seuss

And so many, many more!!!!

For previous posts about birthdays, click here and here and here.

Happy Birthday Emmy!

2011-03-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Fifth Birthday to the most amazing little girl - my sweet Emmy!

She is my love, my light, my inspiration, my passion, my devotion, my life.

Turning five is HUGE! My emotions are all over the place. She is my baby girl, yet she is growing into a little girl who wants to be BIG. Emmy likes to say that she is a 'whole hand old.' I just want to hold onto that sweet hand and never let it go. She also likes to tell me, "You know Mommy, I'm five now." then there is this pause as if she is trying to figure out exactly what that means. I hope she doesn't remember things I've said in the past to answer questions like "When can I watch Spider Man?" because they seemed to always be..."Well, maybe when you are five." Turning five comes with a lot of expectations especially with Kindergarten coming up. I say there is plenty of time for these expectations. Let's just slow it down and PLAY!

We are big fans of Tom Chapin in this household with our favorite song being This Pretty Planet featuring Joni Mitchell. It is from him, as well as from the Montessori school that Emmy attends, that we sing this beautiful birthday song:

Happy birthday.

We love you!

Happy birthday and may all your dreams come true.

When you blow out the candles

One light stays aglow

It's the love-light in your eyes

Where-ever you go.

This song makes me weep every time I hear it, let alone sing it. It is simply so very sweet!!!! I was visiting a Montessori classroom once and was blown away by the teacher who was demonstrating what our love-light was. She held up a piece of paper with a cut out shape of a person. The cut out was filled in with tissue paper and she was using a flashlight held behind the tissue paper to demonstrate the glow that comes from within our heart. She talked about how this light connected each of us to each other. The children were mesmerized and I realized that many of us walk around without the glow of this light. I've never forgotten this demonstration and wish everyday for Emmy's love-light to stay strong, to bring her warmth even in the harshest of conditions.

"From within or behind, a light shines through us upon things,

and makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is all."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Building traditions is something that I feel very strongly about. When you consciously create an atmosphere with special meanings, it will stay with your child throughout his or her lifetime and is then often included in his or her family life. I would like to share some of the birthday traditions that Emmy enjoys and now looks forward to each year.

*New this year...a countdown chain begun when I was tired of answering "How many days until my birthday?"

*Waking up to balloons in her room. Five years old = five balloons.

*Streamers hanging in the bedroom doorway. Five years old = five streamers.

*The house decorated for the big day with streamers, balloons, and whatever special thing is delighting Emmy at that time - flowers or butterflies or fairies, etc.

*The dining room table decked out for the festivities - pretty tablecloth, napkins, birthday plate and bowl, fresh flowers, birthday cake (waiting for the cake doesn't happen with us), a special book (more information here and here), numbered birthday candle and birthday ring *details below.

*Decorating her birthday cake made by Daddy usually with chocolate chips.

*Wearing her special birthday dress that she chooses at the store.

*Sharing her birthday poster made by Mommy with her friends at school during her Birthday Circle.

*Birthday Ring

We celebrate each year of Emmy's life using a Birthday Ring, a tradition that begun in Germany and is popular with families following a Waldorf Education. This is such a beautiful tradition that reminds the child just how very special he or she is.

At every birthday celebration, we gather around and light Emmy's numbered candle in the center of the ring to symbolize Emmy's birth. We then tell the story of her birth beginning with, "On Tuesday, February 28, 2006, Emerson Elizabeth Clark was born to Chatrick and Amy Clark in Austin, Texas." As the story moves on, we go into a couple of details of her first year ending with, "And then Emmy was one." We light one candle on the ring. The story then goes on to tell things that happened after she was one ending with "And then Emmy was two." We then light the second candle. We continue the story lighting each additional candle, "And then Emmy was three (four, five)" After the last candle is lit, we ask Emmy what she is looking forward to doing/learning in the next year. Her answer this year was "I would like to learn how to snap my fingers and whistle." Seeing her life represented by such beautiful light brings my husband and me such joy and the look in Emmy's eyes shows us that she feels the same way.

In honor of Emmy's first birthday, we had a book made that tells the story of her first year. It's called The Rainbow Bridge Story of Emerson Elizabeth Clark.

Crossing the Bridge Books created this very special book with beautiful watercolor paintings, a personalized story and photographs. This site has changed 'webmasters' and now offers audio books to go along with the rainbow bridge stories as well as other personalized stories. What a wonderful keepsake! We read this book to Emmy right before bedtime on her birthday and hope she dreams of rainbows and angels!

These traditions will continue and more will come as Emmy, her Daddy and I continue to live our very best lives together.

Another Year

(Joanna Fuchs)

I'm wishing you another year

Of laughter, joy and fun,

Surprises, love and happiness,

And when your birthday's done,

I hope you feel deep in your heart,

As your birthdays come and go,

How very much you mean to me,

More than you can know.

XXOO

Where's Walrus?

2011-02-08T19:32:00.000-08:00

Looking for a new book for your little one?

Look no further says Emmy!

Where's Walrus? is a wordless picture book illustrated by Stephen Savage. Using a retro graphic style, Savage creates a delightful world for a bored walrus who escapes from the zoo to explore the city. Walrus uses various hats to disguise himself from the zookeeper who is hot on his trail.

Emmy is completely infatuated with this book. She is delighted by the Walurus' disguises especially the red swimming cap.

Don't underestimate the value of a wordless picture book. Such wonderful language and thinking skills come from this type of book experience. If you haven't tried a wordless picture book with your little one before, you must give Where's Walrus? a try!!!!

Take a look at the trailer which truly captures the spirit of the book:

Tooth Fairy Books

2011-02-06T08:06:00.000-08:00

With the recent loss of her two bottom teeth, Emmy's tongue has found a permanent place to rest in what we call her little window! It is funny to see her rubbing her tongue in the place where her teeth used to be. Emmy can often be found looking in the mirror to see if her permanent teeth have arrived yet. Today, there is evidence of a new tooth. VERY EXCITING!

As I said previously, in this post where Emmy and I were pondering the tooth fairy, many of the books on this subject do not convey the message that I wish to give to my baby girl. Of all the tooth fairy books out there *sigh* none of them have truly been what I am looking for. Childhood is so full of wonder and magic and I feel that it is my job as Mommy to keep it that way as long as possible. Until a publisher decides that my book about the tooth fairy should be published (well, the book in my head anyway), here is the best loose tooth book that we have found and a few others that we have enjoyed.

The Best: Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth by Lucy Bate pictures by

Diane deGroat. This book was written in 1975 and has since been republished with updated illustrations (stick with the original illustrations if you can - they are so warm and

so sweet!).

Emmy and I love this book the most for several reasons:

(1) Little Rabbit's loose tooth falls out in a bowl of chocolate ice cream which is Emmy's very favorite treat!

(2) Little Rabbit discovers she has a "window in her mouth" when the tooth falls out which is how Emmy describes the space where her teeth once were.

(3) Little Rabbit gives her tooth a bath in the sink just like Emmy did when her first tooth fell out.

(4) Little Rabbit put her tooth under her pillow just like Emmy did with both of her teeth.

(5) Little Rabbit has many good ideas about what the Tooth Fairy might do with her

tooth, but her first thought is that the Tooth Fairy will give the tooth to a baby rabbit that was just born, and that's how little baby rabbits get teeth which is what Emmy and I believe!

(6) Little Rabbit found a shiny coin in place of her tooth just like Emmy.

(A word of caution: Little Rabbit does wonder about the existence of the Tooth Fairy and even says she doesn't believe, but I just skipped over those lines. Always, always read - or at least scan - a book prior to reading it with your child)

A few other tooth fairy books that we have enjoyed:

Charming Opal - a Toot & Puddle book - written and illustrated by Holly Hobbie. This book is dear to Emmy and me as it portrays the story of two friends who take such great care of little Opal as she loses her very first tooth.

Silverlicious, which is the most recent addition to the Pinkalicious series by Victoria Kann, tells the story of Pinkalicious who doesn't just lose any tooth, she loses her SWEET tooth and now nothing tastes sweet. With visits from Cupid, the Easter Bunny, an elf and finally the Tooth

Fairy, aka Tootheetina, Pinkalicious finally discovers where sweetness really comes - from within "Always be as sweet as your sweet tooth."

(Click here to see our previous post about Pinkalicious.)

Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions from Around the World, by Selby Beeler and G. Brian Karas, is a wonderful resource book. When the author posed the question, "What did you do when you lost your baby teeth?" he was fascinated by the amusing answers he received so he put these traditions together in a simple yet entertaining manner. Also included in the book are the names, parts and functions of our teeth!

For our final recommendation, we would like to share Gone With the Wand, by Margie Palatini and Brian Ajhar, with you!! It is a very funny tale of how the Tooth Fairy helps the Fairy Godmother when she has "a very bad wand day."

"I'm Kapoofski is what I am!" cried Bernice. "Edith, I think my wand is -- gone." I almost choked on my crumpet. What Bernice Sparklestein, gone with the wand? Rubbish! Why her work was legendary! the stuff stories were made of. And she had the pictures to prove it!

Be sure to read this one for some good enchanting fun!!!

And that about wraps it up. We hope these book recommendations will help you when a little one in your life loses his or her first tooth. By the way, a book under the pillow to replace the lost tooth is a 'tootherific' idea!

Read-to-Me Picture Book Challenge

2011-02-06T05:09:00.001-08:00

I am a regular reader of the blog Together Time 4 Families written by Susan, a retired teacher of young children. Like Susan, teaching is a passion of mine - once a teacher, always a teacher! Susan creates wonderful posts about early literacy activities that foster a love of learning. Susan is a wonderful resource for parents and teachers alike. Please stop by her blog, Together Time 4 Families, and see how you can easily bring literacy into the lives of your children.

As often happens in the blogging world, I discovered another blog, Happy Birthday Author, through one of Susan's posts. Celebrating author's birthdays were always a big hit with the students when I taught elementary school. Eric, of Happy Birthday Author, highlights a different author on his or her birthday. He shares information about the author, which I love to learn about and share with Emmy, and his own personal insights and stories from using these books with his students as well as with his children. If your child loves a particular author or you are doing an author study on a particular author, be sure to check out Happy Birthday Author for some wonderful information and ideas.

From reading Eric's blog, I learned about a reading challenge that I am going to participate in. The Read-To-Me Picture Book Challenge, hosted by There's a Book, is designed for families who love picture books (I think that pretty much describes Emmy and me!!!). Three contributors make up this blog with the purpose of sharing a child's love of books as he or she grows.

Participants in this challenge can either read with a child or to themselves. I will be reading with my little bookworm, of course. There are five levels of challenges when reading with a child:

Reading with a Child:

"Planting" - Read 12 picture books with a child during the year.

"Watering" - Read 36 picture books with a child during the year.

"Feeding" - Read 72 picture books with a child during the year.

"Growing" - Read 120 picture books with a child during the year.

"Harvesting" - Read 200 picture books with a child during the year.

As you know, Emmy and I read LOTS of picture books so I am confident that reading at the Harvesting Level will be perfect for us. Writing about that many books will be more difficult, so please don't expect me to share all 200 of them, but Emmy and I will be sure to continue to share the books that mean the most to us!

If you would like to learn about this challenge, you can read more and join in the fun at There's A Book!

Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox

2011-02-01T11:43:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day! The day everyone waits to hear what kind of weather we can expect for the next six weeks. According to legend, if the groundhog peeks out of its hole and sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If not, then spring is right around the corner. We've had plenty of winter here in New England so a sign of spring would be a very welcome sight.

When I was teaching young children, Groundhog Day was always a day

that we looked forward to. The

anticipation would build as we predicted whether Punxsutawney Phil would see his shadow or not. We would learn about the legend behind Groundhog Day, research groundhogs and find Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on the map. On the morning of February 2nd, the children would arrive in top hats to tell

me what Phil's forecast had been.

I am anxious to share my Groundhog Day books with Emmy, but this year I am really looking

forward to reading the book Brownie Groundhog and February Fox with her. Susan Blackaby wrote the text to accompany Carmen Segovia's gorgeous illustrations. In this book a groundhog "shimmied up the passageway of her cozy den" to find not only her shadow "stretched across the frosted field," but also a hungry fox..."Hold still," he said. "I'm trying to eat you for

breakfast." I know that Emmy will relate to both the groundhog and the fox as they both don't like to wait whether it's for spring or the next meal just as Emmy doesn't like to wait for lots of things especially Mommy's attention. As the story unfolds, the groundhog successfully talks her way out of being eaten by distracting the fox until she shares her snack of cinnamon toast and cocoa. In the end the two are unlikely friends who look forward to seeing each other the next day.

It looks like tomorrow will be another snow day for Emmy and me. That makes four snow days this winter! These days are great for snuggling and baking so perhaps we'll bake up some yummy cupcakes and add toppings to create Groundhog Day Cupcakes - vanilla wafers for ears, M&M's for the eyes and nose, mini marshmallows for the teeth.

To add a little music to the occasion, Emmy and I will try out this catchy little tune.

Be sure to check out this website shortly after sunrise on Groundhog Day for Punxsutawney Phil's official forecast!

Winnie-the-Pooh

2011-01-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Celebrate with Emmy and me the birthday of A. A. Milne!

Born in London on January 18, 1882, Milne is perhaps the greatest children's storyteller of all time. His most notable works are about a lovable bear named Winnie-the-Pooh. Pooh was first introduced to the world in 1924 with the publication of a book of verses titled When We Were Very Young. The 38th verse in the book, "Teddy Bear," was Pooh's first appearance. Bringing this adorable bear to life through illustration was the very talented Ernest Shepard.

A bear, however hard he tries,

Grows tubby without exercise.

Our teddy Bear is short and fat,

Which is not to be wondered at.

But do you think it worries him

To know that he is far from slim?

No, just the other way about -

He's proud of being short and stout.

Following this first book of verses came Winnie the Pooh (1926), Now We Are Six (1927) and The House on Pooh Corner (1928).

A. A. Milne was inspired to write the Pooh stories after watching his son Christopher Robin playing with his stuffed animals. Milne's books continue to delight me and it is my hope that they will do the same for Emmy. She is already in love with all of the characters who live in The Hundred Acre Wood and delights in their antics. She giggles at Pooh's tummy whenever it rumbles and that happens quite often! She can be heard announcing that "there is a rumbly in my tumbly!" whenever she is feeling like a little smackerel of something good to eat!

Continuing our love for poetry, Emmy and I have been reciting this poem quite often (from the

book When We Were Very Young).

Tiddly Pom

(Tiddly Pom)

The more it goes

(Tiddly Pom)

The more it goes

(Tiddly Pom)

On snowing.

And nobody knows

(Tiddly Pom)

How cold my toes

(Tiddly Pom)

How cold my toes

(Tiddly Pom)

Are growing.

And we've been listening to the songs Return to Pooh Corner by Kenny Loggins and Winnie the Pooh written by the Sherman Brothers.

I am bubbling with excitement about the upcoming Winnie the Pooh movie premiering in July of 2011. Having watched many episodes of My Friends Tigger and Pooh with Emmy, I am looking forward to seeing the characters once again portrayed as they were in the film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) through classic hand-drawn animation. The new film will feature the vocal talents of Jim Cummings as Pooh and Tigger, Peter Cullen as Eeyore, Tom Kenny as Rabbit, Craig Ferguson as Owl and John Cleese as the narrator. Here's a look at the trailer for the film (Emmy and I both love the featured song Somewhere Only We Know by Keane).

"Sometimes Winnie-the-Pooh likes a game of some sort when he comes downstairs, and sometimes he likes to sit quietly in front of the fire and listen to a story. This evening...

“What about a story?” said Christopher Robin.

“What about a

story?” I said.

“Could you very sweetly tell Winnie-the-Pooh one?”

“I suppose I could,” I said. “What sort of stories does he like?”

“About himself. Because he’s that sort of Bear.”

~Winnie the Pooh Chapter One: In Which~

Now off you go to enjoy your own story about Winnie-the-Pooh with your favorite little one!

Snow

2011-01-09T13:51:00.001-08:00

The snow has finally arrived here on the North Shore of Massachusetts and Emmy is delighted! We've had a great time sledding, building snowmen, having snowball fights and stomping through the snow.

Here are a few of Emmy's observations about snow:

*Snow is freezing cold. It's like a freezer for the Earth.

*Look at the tiny crystals. The snow fairies must make those sparkly colors.

*Where do the trucks put all of the snow? Maybe they

take it to the North Pole.

*Somebody's shaking the clouds!

*It's so quiet. Is the snow sleeping?

There's no doubt that children love rhyme and Emmy is no exception. She frequently plays with words and can be heard going around the house saying, "cat-hat; yes, those rhyme" "cake-bake; yes, those rhyme." Adding poetry into our day is something that I am trying to be more mindful of. I love the rhythm and rhyme of poetry and the extraordinary pictures that are formed in your mind when poems are spoken aloud. Here is the latest poem that I have shared with Emmy. I hopeit has you "in stitches" as it does for Emmy and me.

Snowball

by Shel Silverstein

I made myself a snow ball

as perfect as could be.

I thought I'd keep it as a pet

and let it sleep with me.

I made it some pajamas

and a pillow for it's head.

Then, last night it ran away.

But first -- it wet the bed.

In the book, Snow, Cynthia Rylant charms us once again with her poetic interpretation of a winter wonderland. Rylant makes the reader aware that there are different types of snow...soft, fat, a little, a lot, etc. and in her masterful way she creates images so vivid that you feel like part of the story. "The best snow is the snow that comes softly in the night, like a shy friend afraid to knock." Emmy enjoys the page where the snow falls so heavy it buries cars up to their noses. As we walk around town, Emmy will point out the cars covered with snow and just laugh and laugh. Adding to the glory of the words in this book are the illustrations by Lauren Stringer. They are filled with blue-white crystal creations showing snow flurries, snow drifts and snowflakes (no two alike).

Creating art with snow and representing snow through a variety of art materials allows Emmy to explore with all of her senses and bring about a deeper understanding of the magic of snow.

Building a baby snowman.

Working with "squirt" glue and cotton balls to create an indoor snowman.

The finished product.

Add a little bit of snow to your pancakes with powdered sugar dusted on with a sifter!

One of my all time favorite movies is White Christmas starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney. I am looking forward to sharing my love of "old" song and dance movies with Emmy and in the meantime will show her bits and pieces of my favorites like this scene highlighting Irving Berlin's song Snow.

Emmy and I hope you've enjoyed our celebration of snow! If you're looking for more books and poems on winter, take a look at these posts:

And for another gorgeous book by Cynthia Rylant, check out this post and look for the book In November.

Pondering the Tooth Fairy

2011-01-05T10:34:00.000-08:00

"Other than a dimple

in a cute little chin,

What's more adorable

than a toothless grin?"

Emmy lost two teeth!

With the first tooth, Emmy and I were both in shock. She kept telling me, "Mommy, I lost a tooth." and I know I nodded and said something not very enthusiastic like "Really?" and continued to fold and put away the laundry until I finally tuned in and realized that she was serious and in her hand was her teeny, tiny tooth. On the inside, I was completely freaking out (she's not yet five years old)! On the outside, I celebrated by taking her up in my arms and dancing the 'Lost First Tooth Dance' around the house.

Emmy's Daddy and I had not yet devised a plan for the whole Tooth Fairy thing, but we quickly got our acts together. Emmy placed her tooth in a little box and placed it carefully under her pillow. She awoke to find a spinning toothbrush that she could decorate with stickers, animal flossers, and money under her pillow!

Truth be told, I had a really hard time with the loss of this first tooth. I was just not prepared. There are so many milestones during the first two and a half years of life and then things just kind of level off. Now I am realizing how much Emmy has grown these past couple of years...she feeds herself, dresses herself, brushes and does her hair, brushes her teeth, plays independently, shares with others, draws detailed pictures, writes words, speaks clearly, uses a vast vocabulary, initiates conversations and so much more!!! Emmy is just so sure of herself. With the loss of the teeth and her upcoming fifth birthday, I am certainly not feeling very sure of myself, but all I have to do is look in her twinkling eyes to know that everything is right where it is supposed to be and happening at the exact right moment!

As with most things in parenting, the tooth fairy story was thought of on the spot. With a bit more research on customs pertaining to tooth loss, this story has been refined and continues to build as more and more questions are asked by Emmy.

"How does the tooth fairy get into the house?"

"What does she do with the teeth?"

"Why does she leave money?"

"How does she carry all of the teeth?"

"Can you see the Tooth Fairy?"

"Where does the Tooth Fairy live?"

Worldwide there is much folklore, interesting tales, stories, fables, myths, and legends about the customs and beliefs surrounding lost baby teeth. The ancient Egyptians believed the sun made teeth strong, so they threw lost teeth towards the sun. Centuries ago in Europe, parents ground children's teeth into a powder and ate it to protect their children from witches. And one of my favorites...In Mexico, the little Tooth Mouse would take baby teeth and leave a coin in payment. He would use the teeth to replace the ones he lost from chewing on tough stuff.

With another tooth wiggling its way out of Emmy's mouth, I shared with her that the Tooth Fairy spoke to Santa Claus about her lost tooth, as well as her wiggly one, so he left her an extra special gift under the Christmas tree - a tooth fairy pillow! Moments later, as Emmy bit into her chocolate Santa on a stick, out popped her second tooth! It was so wonderful to have a special place to put the tooth. The pillow was rushed upstairs and placed under her bed pillows. The next morning the tooth was replaced with a shiny coin, some dollars and a bit of fairy dust left behind (glitter).

I am still searching for a book to share with Emmy about the tooth fairy. There are quite a few out there, but the messages given are not the ones that I want to share with Emmy. For example, a tooth fairy that keeps the teeth to make a necklace or adorn her throne or build her castle doesn't follow my story. I've explained to her that the tooth fairy collects the teeth, polishes them and tucks them inside the gums of brand new babies. The tooth fairy leaves behind a bit of fairy dust where the baby tooth used to be to help the permanent tooth grow healthy and strong. This story has really helped Emmy with her daily brushing as she wants her teeth to be well cared for so that the new baby will have pretty white teeth. She has also decided that every time she brushes, the fairy dust is pushed into her gums to ensure a healthy new tooth will grow just for her.

As I continue to search for a "just right" book to share with Emmy and with you, as well as help to honor this important milestone, I'll leave you with this poem - Emmy's favorite at the moment.

In this pocket you will find

A teensy, tiny tooth of mine.

So while I sleep where

dreams are made,

Let's see if you

Can make a trade.

In this pocket

I will lay,

the little tooth I lost today.

Please, dear fairy,

tonight as I sleep

leave me a coin.

My tooth you can keep.

Off We Go!

2010-12-13T17:46:00.000-08:00

We recently went on a trip to Ohio to visit Emmy's Yaya. We made this trip by car. It wasn't our first time to travel thirteen hours by car, but with this trip came more of an awareness of time. "Are we there yet?" was uttered often by Emmy especially when going through Pennsylvania where we heard "Are we still in Pennsylvania?" at least three times an hour (and PA takes up most of the trip).

Emmy has always been a great traveler - the only hitch is she rarely sleeps in the car so that makes for a long ride. On this trip, Emmy watched her favorite movies and even used headphones. This gave the adults a chance to listen to their own music! For Emmy, car trips mean adventures and meeting interesting people. She loves to talk and socialize. It is the only time we visit McDonald's and she definitely lets us know when she sees the golden arches. It's also a time to explore rest areas, truck stops and gas stations. There really is so much to see, do and learn. Emmy now knows what a vending machine is and that some people shower at the store (truck stop). Emmy and I read the signs together and cheer when we cross a state border. We keep track of our travels on a placemat map. We LOVE to cross bridges and see the hustle and bustle of a city. I'm looking forward to Emmy getting older and keeping a travel journal full of drawings, words and mementos. Her favorite purchase from our car ride is a set of magnets in the shapes of the states that we drove through. I know that driving long distance with your children can seem daunting, but the pros really do outweigh the cons!!!!

If you are planning a trip to grandma's house, then Emmy and I would like to recommend the book Off We Go! by Jane Yolen with illustrations by Laurel Molk.

Join Little Mouse, Little Frog, Little Mole, and other baby critters as they make their way to their respective Grandma's houses.

"Tip-toe, tippity toe
Hip-hop, hippity hop
Dig-deep, diggity deep
Slither-slee, slithery slee
Scritch-scratch, scritchity scratch
Creep-crawl, creepity crawl

Wherever Grandma's house is found -
In hole, in tree, or underground,
In web, or bog, or in a nest -
Why, Grandma's house is always best."

This book is a delightful journey through beautiful watercolor scenes and rhythmic verse.

Emmy's anticipation throughout the long drive to her Grandma's house is rewarded as we pull into the driveway, watch the front door open and see Yaya's smiling face.

Click here to read our previous post about a wonderful book about grandmothers.

Santa's Stuck

2010-12-12T07:55:00.001-08:00

Rhonda Gowler Greene and Henry Cole team up to bring us a humorous tale of Christmas.

Santa's Stuck tells the story of Santa and all of those delicious snacks left out for him on Christmas Eve. A nibble here and a nibble there shouldn't hurt...right? Well on Santa's last delivery he decides to put his feet up and eat a feast of sweets. When it's time to go back up the chimney, Santa discovers a problem. Santa's stuck! With one word from Santa - Help! - the reindeer, assisted by the family dog, push and pull Santa...

"No-o-o-o-o luck --- Santa's stuck!"

Next to help is the family cat and her six kittens...

"No-o-o-o-o luck --- Santa's stuck!"

And finally a mouse, who is awakened by all of the commotion, comes to their aid. Santa is again pushed and pulled, pushed and pulled until the mouse comes up with a clever idea...

"Wh-oo-oo-oo-oo-oosh!

Santa's out! A silent cheer!

Reindeer harness up their gear.

Back inside his Christmas sleigh,

Santa shouts, 'Now dash away!"

Emmy and I just crack up at the idea of Santa eating so many sweets that he gets stuck in the chimney. After a fulfilling meal in our house, Emmy will rub her tummy and then when trying to get down from her chair will say, "Oh no. I'm stuck." This is followed by lots of giggles.

Henry Cole's illustrations add so much to the text. Each two-page spread is visually exciting and most include a smaller illustration set inside a filigreed circle which provides views of

other events occurring at the same time. Emmy's favorite illustration inside a cricle is the one showing Santa's bottom as he attempts to go up the chimney.

Here is Emmy's interpretation of the story using her baby doll's high chair as the chimney, her Polar Express Santa, her mouse named Oatmeal and a toy bulldozer (Mouse's clever idea!).

Emmy loves her stuffed mouse Oatmeal. She goes everywhere with us even on a visit to Santa Claus!

Merry Christmas!

Click here to read about our favorite Christmas books from last year!

The Robot Book

2010-12-01T07:52:00.001-08:00

You know that old saying "It's what's inside that counts." Well the book The Robot Book shows us the importance of the inner workings of a robot with gears and cogs that actually work, but it's the last page of this book that really speaks to this saying - it isn't a gear, or bolt, or some other mechanical part, it's what's in the heart that counts the most. This interactive book is charming and well suited for all ages especially for any tinkerers out there!

After reading this book, Emmy searched and found this wind-up robot that she had given to her Daddy for a Father's Day gift a few years ago. If only it would come apart to show her it's inner parts especially its heart!

Literacy Lava

2010-12-01T06:39:00.001-08:00

I just came across this terrific digital magazine - Literacy Lava - and wanted to share it. It is chock full of wonderful ideas to promote literacy with your little ones. It is edited by Susan Stephenson of The Book Chook. Definitely check out the new issue (#7) as well as the others in the archives. The magazine is in pdf format and is available for you to read, download and use, share with others, or print and keep.

Click HERE to view Literacy Lava 7.

I Call Mine Mimi. What Do You Call Your Grandmother?

2010-11-27T06:29:00.000-08:00

We are celebrating our second anniversary here at Emmy's Book of the Day! Looking back through all of our posts, I am feeling such gratitude. I am grateful for such a wonderful daughter who loves books just like her Mommy. I am grateful to have such a wide collection of books to share with Emmy as well as places to go that have shelves stocked with wonderful books. I am grateful to all of the authors and illustrators who continue to write and illustrate beautiful books for children. I am grateful to our readers who inspire us to keep on reading books and writing about them! It is our hope to continue reviewing books that ignite a love for reading that will last a lifetime.

Emmy and I are very excited to tell you that she is featured in a wonderful book titled I Call Mine Mimi. What Do You Call Your Grandmother?

This book was written by a good friend of mine - Jennifer Bailey. Jen and I taught together at Boggy Creek Elementary in Kissimmee, Florida many moons ago and also attended the graduate program at The University of Southern Mississippi together. She is the ultimate teacher of young children and adults and is now a published author! I often think that I have a story to write, but can't seem to put it together so seeing Jen's story in published form is just so inspiring! I am so proud of her.

I Call Mine Mimi. What Do You Call Your Grandmother? is a book about the different names for grandmother. Emmy calls hers Yaya and is featured on the front cover of the book as well as inside - left side on this spread ---------------------------->

"There are so many neat names for grandmothers. Some grandmothers use their own names. Some use funny sounding names. Some are just called Grandmother. No matter what, she is your special grandmother. What do you call your grandmother?"

Mimi, Abuela, Nonna and Grammy are some of the names of grandmothers featured in this endearing book. This would make such a lovely gift for your child's grandmother especially since the last page is reserved for you to glue a photo of your child and his or her grandmother and then add the text underneath: _________ calls ______ ______________.

I love the photo of Emmy and her Yaya that is in the book. She was just nine months old and full of curiosity (that hasn't changed). Here is an updated photo of the two of them together.

Emmy calls hers Yaya.

"A grandmother is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher,

and a little bit best friend." ~ Author Unknown

The Pout-Pout Fish

2010-11-21T12:10:00.000-08:00

Have you read The Pout-Pout Fish yet?

FANTASTIC is Emmy's review of this rhthymic book about a fish who is always glum. The book is so fun to read and lends itself to funny voices and funny faces! The best part of the book is the refrain which Emmy loves to read with me:

"I'm a pout-pout fish

With a pout-pout face,

So I spread the dreary-wearies

All over the place.

Blub

Bluuub

Bluuuuuuub!"

Many of the fish's ocean friends have advice on how to turn his frown upside down, but it's the appearance of a mysterious female fish, who approaches silently and plants a kiss firmly on the fish's pout, that turns the dreary-wearies into the cheery-cheeries!

"Smooch, smooooch, smooooooch!"

This amusing book was written by Deborah Diesen with illustrations by Dan Hanna and is sure to be a hit with children of all ages.

Check out this short film for The Pout-Pout Fish:

And if you love it like we do, then check out the sequel -

The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big, Big Dark.

Thanksgiving Books

2010-11-18T12:03:00.002-08:00

In addition to One is a Feast For Mouse: A Thanksgiving Tale, Emmy's pick for her favorite Thanksgiving book would have to be A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting illustrated by Diane de Groat. In this story, Mrs. Moose asks Mr. Moose to get her a turkey for Thanksgiving.

"Everyone has turkey for Thanksgiving.

Everyone but us."

With a nuzzle to Mrs. Moose's head, Mr. Moose heads out to find a turkey. He is joined in the hunt by his soon-to-be dinner guests Rabbit, The Goats, Sheep and Porcupine. Turkey is found hiding in his nest with signs discouraging visitors.

Do not disturb! (come back after Thanksgiving.)

AND

No turkey here!

Upon seeing Mr. Moose and his friends, the bird is terrified and tries to run, but is caught by Mr. Moose who smiles a toothy smile and says,

"I hope you don't have other plans

for Thanksgiving, Turkey."

Mrs. Moose is delighted when she sees her guests for Thanksgiving dinner especially Turkey. Mrs. Moose shows everyone where to sit and when a chair is brought from the other room for Turkey he is very much surprised,

"A...a chair?" Turkey stammered.

With a table filled with acorns, alfalfa sprouts, willow bark, cured grasses, wild parsley and pressed leaves, Mrs. Moose is sure that Turkey will find something to his liking. Turkey is just over the moon at the idea that he is sitting AT the table and not ON it. Kudos to Eve Bunting for introducing us to a vegetarian-themed Thanksgiving dinner!!!!

Two more wonderful books for this time of year are Feeling Thankful and In November.

The book Feeling Thankful, written by Shelley Rotner and

Sheila Kelly with photographs by Shelley Rotner, is an invitation to smile and be thankful as it celebrates life and the many things in the world for which people have to be thankful through beautiful photographs of children. This book will inspire your young one to express what he or she is thankful for. It is also a great model of a book that an older child could make on his own or that families could make together.

Feeling Thankful

I'm thankful for me.

For the things that I have and the things that I do.

I'm thankful for all the

people that are special to me:

My family...my friends...and my teachers too.

I'm thankful I have a home and good food to eat.

I'm thankful for the places where I play.

I'm thankful there are birds, butterflies, flowers, and trees.

I'm thankful when I walk in the rain.

I'm thankful for the moon and the morning, when it comes.

I'm thankful for the whole wide world.

In November by Cynthia Rylant illustrated by Jill Kastner is a beautiful book for this time of year. It is a quiet story about nature preparing for winter. The poetic words and rich paintings work well together to create a calm and peaceful transition between seasons.

In November, at winter's gate, the stars are brittle.

The sun is a sometime friend. And the

world has tucked her children in,

with a kiss on their heads, till spring.

And now for the good part!!!!!!!!! A turkey treat!

To make your own, you will need:

one package of cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreo cookies)

one package of red cinnamon candies

one box of malted milk balls

one package of candy corn

one container of ready-to-spread chocolate frosting

1) Carefully separate the cookie leaving the cream filling on one side. Set cookie half without filling aside.

2) Attach a red cinnamon candy (head) to the malted milk ball (body) with a dab of frosting.

3) Attach the turkey body to the center of the cookie half with cream filling using a dab of chocolate frosting.

4) Spread frosting on the inside of the cookie half that doesn't have filling.

5) Arrange the candy corn on the chocolate frosting with the wide end along the edge (turkey's feathers).

6) Attach the cookie with the turkey's feathers to the cookie with the turkey body using the chocolate frosting.

7) Gobble it up!

Hello Mr. Turkey

(Tune: If You're Happy and You Know It)

Hello, Mr. Turkey - How are you?

With a gobble, gobble, gobble.

And a wobble, wobble, wobble.

Hello, Mr. Turkey - How are you?

Happy Thanksgiving!

And the winner is....

2010-11-07T16:47:00.000-08:00

And the winner is...SARA!

Congratulations, Sara! Emmy is so excited to put the Book Giveaway package into the mail. She LOVES all of the surprises that are included for you and your little ones.

Choosing a name out of a hat was very funny to Emmy. She really wanted to send a book to everyone so plans are already underway for another Book Giveaway! Thanks to all who entered our contest.

Emmy's choice for her favorite Thanksgiving book is One is a Feast for Mouse - A Thanksgiving Tale by Judy Cox with illustrations by Jeffrey Ebbeler. As we all know, our eyes are often bigger than our stomachs when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner and Mouse is no different. When everyone in the house falls asleep after sharing their Thanksgiving feast, Mouse comes out of his hidey-hole in search of leftovers. He spies a "teensy-tiny toothsome green pea all by itself under a plate. Give thanks, he thought. One will be a feast for me." As Mouse makes his way across the table with the delicious pea he sees six leftover cranberries, "I'll just take one, he said to himself. One is a feast for me." and continues across the table balancing the cranberry on top of the pea. This journey across the table allows Mouse to add more things to his stash: an olive, a carrot, a plate of mashed potatoes, gravy in a boat, pumpkin pie and a platter of turkey - all balanced strategically on top of each other. As Mouse nears the edge of the table, he meets CAT! What follows is catastrophe as Mouse tries to keep his loot, run from the cat and get back to his hidey-hole. He manages to escape, but without his Thanksgiving feast. As he sat trembling in his hole, he spotted that teensy-tiny toothsome green pea in the corner. And so the story ends with Mouse gratefully cutting into that luscious green pea. "Give thanks! One is a feast for me!"

As the story unfolds, Emmy is delighted in Mouse's attempts to balance all of the food. She likes Mouse's solution of placing the carrot stick into the hole of the olive to make it easier to carry. Just like Emmy, your little one will chime in when the food items are repeated in a similar style as the story The House That Jack Built.

Click here for the video trailer for the book One is a Feast for Mouse - A Thanksgiving Tale with the soundtrack provided by the illustrator's rockabilly band!

If you LOVE this book as much as Emmy and I, then get ready to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Judy Cox and Jeffrey Ebbeler as they also created the book Cinco De Mouse-o!

Stay tuned for our next Book Giveaway!!!

Book Giveaway!

2010-11-02T04:29:00.000-07:00

Spread the word - Emmy's giving a book away!

Just add a comment to this post about a book that you remember from your childhood. Your name will be put into a hat with all the other entries and a name will be pulled out by Emmy herself.

I've been asked to keep the book a secret, but Emmy wants you to know that it will be one of her favorite Thanksgiving books and included with the book will be a poem, recipe and craft project.

The drawing will be the afternoon of November 12th.

The winner will be notified by email and announced on Emmy's Book of the Day.

Best of luck!

Not So Creepy Halloween Stories

2010-10-17T06:23:00.000-07:00

"Mitzi liked creepy things.

Creepy bedroom slippers

Creepy breakfast cereal.

Creepy relatives.

So, naturally, when she

decided to get a pet,

she wanted the creepiest

pet possible."

Despite Mitzi being a witch and loving all things creepy, the book Hoodwinked, by Arthur Howard, is a wonderfully non-creepy book for those of us just getting into spooky things. After several attempts at finding the perfect creepy pet at the Cackle & Company pet shop, Mitzi discovers her perfect pet is an adorable orange cat she names Hoodwink.

"And strange as it seems, she didn't mind one bit

that he was adorable. After all, she said,

looks aren't everything."

I have read this book to Emmy every day for weeks, but the best reader of this creepy book is Emmy herself. So listen in as she reads aloud Hoodwinked.

(By the way, anytime Emmy starts to read a book to me, she will say..."I'm going to read it differently." I find this so cute. She usually has the character's names and the plot down pat, but will add her own lines and voices which makes listening to her read a complete joy.)

If you have a beginner reader at your house, you may be familiar with Arthur Howard's illustrations as he draws the pictures for the Mr. Putty and Tabby books written by Cynthia Rylant.

If you are looking for another Halloween book that is a bit scary, but not too much, try There Was An Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams. Emmy LOVES this one especially when the the pumpkin head says "BOO, BOO!" The assorted items of clothing found in the story have a calling to scare something, but when the old lady bravely says, "I'm not afraid of you." the unhappy look on the pumpkin head gives the the old lady an idea. I won't give away the ending, but here is a hint in the form of a song:

Scarecrow

(tune: I'm a Little Teapot)

I'm a little scarecrow

Stuffed with hay,

Standing watch in my field all day.

When I see a crow

I like to shout:

"Hey, Mr. Crow, you'd better get out!"

Oh, and one more sweet book that is a bit of a creepy Halloween story and a

great book for bedtime - Who Wants a Dragon? by James Mayhew. An adorable pink dragon is lost in the night looking for his home and his adventures take him around the kingdom where he ends up frightening most everyone until his Mommy flies by... "She'll cuddle him, and kiss him, and help him sleep tight."

Emmy and I really enjoy books by James Mayhew. You may remember our post on Katie in London. Mr. Mayhew writes a wonderful blog where I just found out his struggle in creating another series of books based on his son during the boy's younger years. The first book is titled

Boy and is set to be republished next summer. It looks so

endearing! If you are interested in finding out about the struggle to get this series going and published check out this post on Mayhew's blog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Happy Halloween!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zoe Hall

2010-10-03T15:18:00.001-07:00

As we approached the month of September here on the North Shore of Massachusetts, Emmy and I wondered if Autumn would ever arrive. The heat crept its way into the middle of September and then WHAM, Autumn was here. There really wasn't much of a transition...80 degree weather to 50 degree weather practically overnight! And the wind...BRRR (temperatures feel more like 40 degrees)! Now I know what New Englanders mean by a Nor'Easterner!

With Autumn upon us, it was time to bring out our collection of books on the subject. We've posted about our favorite Autumn

books from last year here, but we have plenty more to share! It seems like the books that Emmy is enjoying the most this time around are all written by Zoe Hall! First up is It's Pumpkin Time with illustrations by Shari Halpern. This book is a pleasant celebration of Halloween and an excellent lesson on the science of how pumpkins grow.

"All summer long, my brother and I get ready for our favorite holiday.

Can you guess what it is? Halloween! And can you guess what

we do to get ready? We plant a jack-o'-lantern patch?"

Ms. Hall's text is simple and informative and Ms. Halpern's illustrations are vibrant and engaging. They make a great team! A great bonus is the last page where you can find a diagram of how a pumpkin seed grows underground.

Emmy and I recently went to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkin. We brought along the book It's Pumpkin Time and read it before we set off into the pumpkin patch. Emmy was delighted to discover the vines that once held the pumpkins. She even tried to figure out which pumpkin stem went with which vine!

To prepare for carving our pumpkin into a jack-o'-lantern, Emmy

is using a washable black marker to draw different faces on

the pumpkin. With a damp cloth (or sponge), the marker wipes clean and the pumpkin is ready for a new look! We also keep a dry cloth near by. Another great way to practice a variety of faces for a jack-o'-lantern is to cut a pumpkin shape out of orange felt and then cut different eyes, noses, and mouths out of black felt. Voila - a Mr. Pumpkin Head!

Emmy has suggested that I add her favorite pumpkin finger play to this post so here it goes:

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.

The first one says, "Oh my it's getting late!"

The second one says, "There are witches in the air."

(OR "There is something in the air.")

The third one says, "But we don't care."

The fourth one says, "Let's run and run and run."

The fifth one says, "I'm ready for some fun."

Then whoosh went the wind and out went the lights

And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

Second up is The Apple Pie Tree. Hall and Halpern team up again to create a wonderful tale that follows two sisters and an apple tree through the seasons.

"My sister and I have a tree that grows the best part of apple pie.

Can you guess what that is? Apples!

And every year, we watch our apple tree grow."

Also hidden among the tree's branches is a family of robins which shows the importance of the tree providing shelter for the birds. Emmy and I enjoy the last page where you will find a

diagram showing how bees help apples to grow and Zoe Hall's own recipe for making apple pie!

Apple picking season was early this year so we missed our opportunity to pick our own apples. However, Emmy enjoys going to the Farmer's Market and choosing an apple for a treat. Here she is biting through the skin of the apple and eating it whole - FINALLY!

Next up is Fall Leaves Fall! Once again Hall and Halpern create an autumn tale where two brothers anticipate their favorite season.

"All year long, my brother and I wait for our favorite

season to come. Can you guess what it is? FALL!

How do we know when fall is coming?

We watch the leaves."

The children watch the leaves, catch them, stomp them, kick them, collect them, compare them, rake them and jump into them!!! These activities as well as labeling the leaves and creating leaf pictures are all introduced and invites readers to do the same things! And of course the last page includes a diagram describing how leaves grow throughout the year.

Emmy and I recently went on a leaf collecting walk and talked about the

different types of leaves we found - mostly maple and oak. Emmy really wanted to find a Ginkgo leaf like in the book, but there are no Ginkgo trees in our neighborhood!

And finally, Surprise Garden. This Hall and Halpern story follows three children as they plant a garden...loosening the soil, poking seeds in one by one, watering the garden, and watching the small green shoots grow. Surprise!

"We're planting the seeds for a surprise garden.

Can you guess what we will grow?"

When it's harvest time, the children have a garden party to eat all their delicious produce. Following the pattern in all of Hall's and Halpern's books, the last page includes a helpful guide linking seeds to plants.

Speaking of harvest time...check out another one of our favorite Autumn books here and laugh along with Emmy to Big Anthony's antics in the book Strega Nona's Harvest by Tomie dePaola. Also check out this post if you are interested in gardening with your child. Included is the delightful book How Groundhog's Garden Grew which is a wonderful book for Thanksgiving.

Emmy and her classmates planted bulbs outside of their school last week.

We are looking forward to a spring surprise of daffodils and tulips!

Lastly, here is one of Emmy's beautiful pieces of Autumn art. So easy to make!!!! Emmy's favorite part...tearing the paper into small pieces.

Happy Autumn everyone!

Sophie's Masterpiece: A Spider's Tale

2010-09-21T08:31:00.001-07:00

Sophie's Masterpiece: A Spider's Tale, written by Eileen Spinelli and illustrated by Jane Dyer, is the story of the most sweet and generous spider anywhere - well, next to Charlotte. Sophie is certainly not an ordinary house spider she is an artist creating wonderful masterpieces with her silky thread.

When it was time for Sophie to strike out on her own, she moved into a boardinghouse where she got right to work beautifying the place by weaving a web of curtains for the front parlor. The landlady did not appreciate this work and swatted at Sophie. And so the story goes as Sophie travels from the bottom floor of the boardinghouse to the top floor where she wearily slips into a young woman's knitting basket.

"By this time, many spider years had passed. Sophie was older.

She only had energyto spin a few small things for herself...

a tiny rose-patterned case for her pillow,

eight colorful socks to keep her legs warm.

But mostly she slept."

When Sophie is discovered in the basket, she is frightened by the thought of another journey, but instead she is relieved as the young woman carefully picked up her needle and thread without bothering her. To Sophie's delight she notices the woman busily knitting a pair of baby booties and a sweater for her baby which soon will be born. When the yarn is all gone and the woman cannot afford to buy any more, Sophie takes over and begins to spin the masterpiece of a lifetime. Woven into the thread, Sophie carefully places...moonlight, fragrant pine, wisps of night, old lullabies, playful snowflakes and finally her very own heart. As the woman was about to cover her infant with an old brown quilt, she notices something on her windowsill and with love and wonderment places it on her sleeping baby - Sophie's masterpiece!

This book would be such a wonderful gift for a new baby with a beautiful knitted blanket to go with it. For more ideas on books for new parents and babies, check here and here and here. And while you're at it, check out this post about some of our favorite Autumn books including Three Pebbles and a Song also by Eileen Spinelli.

Do you know about Just One More Book? It is a thrice-weekly podcast

which promotes and celebrates literacy and great children's books. Click here to read a post and listen to a podcast about the illustrator of Sophie's Masterpiece - Jane Dyer.

And before "the readers leave," as Emmy refers to you, take a look at her spiders! Three little spiders ready to create magic of their very own.

Bridget's Beret

2010-09-17T08:39:00.001-07:00

Bridget's Beret by Tom Lichtenheld is simply...remarkable. Let me introduce you to Bridget. Bridget is an artist following in the footsteps of the Great Artists. Her masterpieces are on permanent exhibit - on the front of the refrigerator - while other pieces are available for limited viewing - on the sidewalk.

Bridget's favorite place to draw is outdoors where she feels like she is right where she belongs. Bridget has many art supplies that she uses to create these masterpieces, but her most important art supply is her hat - a big, black beret which she carefully places on her head before she creates any kind of art adjusting it until it sits on her head just right. Emmy and I love saying these lines (referring to the hat)

"It had to have that certain je ne sais quoi. She had no idea what that meant,

but she knew all Great Artists needed it to make art."

Emmy and I now know that je ne sais quoi is a French phrase meaning I-don't-know-what...

that indescribable something which distinguishes one object from another which is similar on

the surface. What a fun phrase to say...je ne sais quoi!

Emmy has now taken over my black beret and uses it whenever she needs some inspiration for her art. ADORABLE!

Tom Lichtenheld's illustrations aren't new to me (Have you read Duck! Rabbit! - it is the funniest children's book ever based on a 19th century style optical illusion) nor are his books (Everything I Know About Pirates and What Are You So Grumpy About?), but I love that this book follows a typical plot. Well, let's let

Mr. Lichtenheld describe it..."Girl loves hat. Girl loses hat. Girl can't draw sans hat, TRAGEDY, DRAMA, HUMOR!"

To find out what really happened to Bridget's stray beret and see the original back-matter for the book drawn in a graphic novel approach click here and find the birds in the lower right hand corner! Lichtenheld opted for the "How to Start Your Art" spread as the back-matter which uses famous paintings to help kids find inspiration for their own art.

An interesting tidbit that I learned after researching Bridget's Beret is that all of Bridget's artwork in the book is based on children's artwork received by Lichtenheld and his inspiration for Bridget - Lichtenheld's niece Madeline.

If you're looking for a book to help inspire your own artwork or that of a child's in your life, definitely check out Bridget's Beret.

To read some older posts related to art click here and here and here.

The Sandwich Swap

2010-08-26T23:34:00.001-07:00

I absolutely adore her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan! Yes, she's a Queen and yes, she's beautiful, but it's more than that. If I am going to admire someone, it's going to be for her acts of kindness, her compassion for others and her humanitarian efforts and not what she is wearing, who she is dating or what movie she recently starred in. Queen Rania is just this sort of person. With her emphasis on education for all and promotion of human welfare and social reform, she is the type of person that I strive to be and hope that Emmy will be too. Emmy has asked me on numerous occasions why she is here on Earth (not sure where this stems from...maybe her study of planets with her friends at school). I always tell her that she is here to love others and help whenever needed. I've said it so often that she will now tell me that her "purpose is to help all people." I applaud her for knowing her purpose and focusing on people and not things.

Finding books that help communicate the idea that we are all citizens of this wonderful world is not always easy. However, Queen Rania has written a book that celebrates our differences in a way that is easily understood by young children. Written along with Kelly DiPucchio , (check out this post on Kelly's Blog). The Sandwich Swap is a picture book based on Queen Rania's childhood experiences.

Emmy really enjoys this book! It has been taken off the shelf so often at our local book shop that we may be wearing out the pages! Here's a sneak peek at the beginning of this amazing book:

It all began with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich…and it ended with a hummus sandwich.

Salma and Lily were best friends at school.

They drew pictures together.

They played on the swings together.

They jumped rope together.

And they ate their lunches together.

But just what they ate was a little different.

Lily ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for lunch.

Salma ate a hummus and pita sandwich every day for lunch.

And although Lily never said it out loud, she thought Salma's sandwich looked weird and yucky. She felt terrible that her friend had to eat that icky chickpea paste every day. EW. Yuck.

And although Salma never said it out loud, she thought Lily's sandwich looked strange and gross. She felt just awful that her friend had to eat that gooey peanut paste every day. EW. Gross.

I for one love the use of this metaphor (lunch sandwiches) for the differences between two friends from different cultures and am delighted by how the two girls come up with a solution at the end of the story that not only unifies their friendship, but gives all the children the chance to celebrate their uniqueness! Even Emmy, who is not one to try new foods, asked to have hummus for lunch after our first reading.

Listen to her Majesty as she describes how "our differences can enrich our lives."

The Giant Hug

2010-08-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

Hugs, hugs, hugs. Nothing is better than a special hug from someone who cares about you and this book celebrates this from the very first page all the way to the end.

The Giant Hug, written by Sandra Horning and illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev, is a cheerful and heartwarming tale of a pig named Owen who wants to send a hug to his Granny and a picture just will not do.

"I want to send a real hug. I'll give the mailman a hug

and ask him to send it to Granny."

Owen finds a lot of supportive mail carriers who help him to pass his giant hug from his hometown to his Granny's. Each postal worker provides a link in the hug passing chain from the local mail sorter to an airplane pilot to Granny's mail carrier. I absolutely love the way that Owen's hug creates such harmony and acts of kindness. Captain Johnson bellows, "Now isn't that a grand way to start the day!" as he receives a hug from a driver.

This book reminds me of a previous post where I wrote about What Can I Do Today which is a book that also focuses on how an act of kindness makes us all feel better. In addition to spreading warmth, this book gives a wonderful look at how the postal service works and Ms. Horning should know as her father worked at the post office for many, many years.

If you're not sure your's or your child's hug will make it through the mail system as Owen's did, check out Sandra's website for a printable certificate good for one giant hug! I'm sure anyone, especially grannies, would love to receive this certificate along with a photograph of you or your child with arms open wide.

"Please make the hug just as giant when you pass it on to the mailman," Owen said.

Hugs, especially a child's, are precious and instantly change your whole outlook for the better.

Here is Emmy hugging her Granny who we call Yaya.

Pinkalicious

2010-07-29T19:13:00.001-07:00

The book Pinkalicious is certainly not a new one for Emmy and me, but whenever I sat down to write about it another book would come to mind and get written about first.

Well, Emmy recently had a rash that began on her face and traveled down her body (Fifth Disease).When the rash appeared on her face, she looked in the mirror and said, "Mommy, I'm Pinkalicious! I must have eaten too many pink cupcakes." She then diagnosed herself with Pinkititis and prescribed herself a diet of green foods just like the main character in the book!

After this connection to the world of reading, I thought I had better write a post about this very entertaining book especially since every time we go to our local bookstore Emmy takes Pinkalicious off the shelf and insists that we read it first!

Reading Pinkalicious is a delightful way to celebrate the color PINK! Victoria and Elizabeth Kann are the creators of the charming Pinkalicious who is completely enamored with the color pink. This is also Emmy's color choice for just about anything...crayons, clothes, stuffed animals, and, of course, cupcakes! When Pinkalicious eats one too many pink cupcakes, she

turns pink! This was at first delightful, but turns into a problem when she awakens the next day looking more red than pink.

One of Emmy's favorite pages in the book is when Pinkalicious is surrounded by bees, butterflies and birds because they mistake her for a pink flower. I love this line spoken by Pinkalious' mom when Pinkalicious begged for one more pink cupcake..."You get what you get, and you don't get upset." Adding to the fun of this tale is its clever ending. When dad asks what happened to all of the pink cupcakes, Pinkalicious' brother comes around the corner saying "Pink-a-boo!" And of course he is completely pink!

Enjoy this book with a yummy cupcake with pink icing and enter the imaginative world where everything is better when it's PINK!

Make Way For Ducklings

2010-07-18T17:51:00.001-07:00

Boston, Massachusetts is a vibrant city full of history and charm. Emmy and I can be in the heart of Boston in just under 45 minutes and we love it! We've discovered the Boston Children's Museum, the New England Aquarium, Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, Mike's Pastry in the North End, Rose Kennedy Greenway, the Boston Common and the Public Garden. All of these sights are easily traveled by foot, but Emmy's dream is to ride 'The T' - Boston's subway system. Maybe the next trip!

One of my all time favorite children's books is Make Way For

Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. It is a touching story of two ducks who search for the perfect place to build their nest and hatch their ducklings because just any old place won't do for raising a family of ducklings.

I've waited to share it with Emmy because I wanted to be able to visit all of the places that Mr. and Mrs. Mallard, and the ducklings visit. This past weekend was our duckling adventure and we had a fabulous time!

Here is a photo of Emmy as soon as we got into the car to head to Boston. She was so excited to be going to the duckling's island! She listened intently as I told her what to expect on this adventure. How we would park underneath the Boston Common and visit the Carousel on the Common, swim and play in and around the Frog Pond, eat lunch at the Lily Pad Cafe and then cross

Charles Street and enter the Public Garden where we would ride the Swan Boats and visit the Make Way For Duckling's Statues. She chit-chatted with me the entire way about the book and wondered if we would see the featured police officer, Michael.

We had a lovely time riding the carousel and splashing in the Frog Pond, but entering the Public Garden was true magic! "Look Mommy! I see the Swan Boats." "Oh, look at all of the ducks." "Now where is that Mr. and Mrs. Mallard." "I see the bridge that's in the book!" Simply delightful!

Riding on the Swan Boat was so much fun. I've done it before, but not with a child. Completely different. Children have a way of noticing things that adults simply don't. Such as, the way the duck's feather's shine in the sunshine, the sound of the boat as the driver pedals through the water, and the way the weeping willow trees are just touching the water. "Look Mommy - the trees are

thirsty." The best part of the ride was seeing little ducklings on the ramp up to the little island. "I see Quack! I see Quack! Hi Quack. Hi Mr. and Mrs. Mallard!"

After the ride, we were off to find the statues of the ducks. The Public Garden is such a beautiful place to wander around. It is full of tucked away places perfect for the little ones. When Emmy

spotted the statues, she just took off and immediately went to the very last duckling and gave him a big hug. If

you haven't figured it out yet, Quack is her favorite duckling who follows

along behind Mrs. Mallard and Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack and Pack to be last in line.

Be sure to share this brilliantly illustrated book with the little ones in your life. It will surely please them! As Emmy says, "This book is so special because it won a trophy!" Make Way For Ducklings was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1941 for its distinguished illustrations.

Two thoughts by Robert McCloskey to end this post:

1) Mr. McCloskey often said that he didn't know anything about children's literature.

"I think in pictures. I fill in between with words. My first book I wrote in order to have something to illustrate."

2) Mr. McCloskey thought that while the hand was trained, drawing was really a way of seeing and thinking.

"Most of my friends and neighbors just don't seem to see as I do, even looking at simple things like a ball of string. But I'm not a nut, really, as anybody can see. I have one foot resting on reality and the other foot planted firmly on a banana peel."

Hope your foot finds itself planted on a banana peel!

The Handiest Things in the World

2010-07-16T14:16:00.002-07:00

This post is a bit late as I am going to write about end of the year teacher gifts, but Emmy and I really love this book by Andrew Clements and wanted to be sure and share it with our readers!

The gift of a book is always appreciated and when it came time to give end of the year gifts to Emmy's teachers, we knew just the books to give. The book, The Handiest Things in the World, was given to Emmy's teacher with an inscription thanking her for helping Emmy learn to write her name using her hands. We included a tracing of Emmy's hands with the inscription. To Emmy's assistant teacher, we gave the book, Look! Look! Look! since she borrowed this book from us when the children were learning about Matisse. To read our post about this clever book click here.

The Handiest Things in the World is such an insightful book. It is full of photographs of children using their hands to do all sorts of things from eating, digging, catching insects and walking a dog. Each spread shows a child using her hands to complete a task and on the opposite page a tool that can assist the hands such as eating with your fingers and using chopsticks. "Mealtime happens every day. Keep your fingers clean this way."

The final image is of two children holding hands reinforcing the fact that no matter what new devices are created, the hands remain indispensable. "For sharing love with tenderness...the hand itself is handiest."

Here are my favorite hands - capable of so many things. My favorite thing that these hands can do is hug their Mommy!

Before I end this post, I wanted to be sure to tell a bit about the author Andrew Clements. In my second grade classroom, we ended each day cozy on the floor with our reading lamp lit and me reading a chapter from a book. Clements first book titled

Frindle was always a favorite. This book, about a boy who made up a new word, turned Clements from an editorial director into a full time author. I love this piece of advice that Clements offers to young writers:

"Sometimes kids ask how I've been able to write so many books. The answer is simple: one word at a time. Which is a good lesson, I think. You don't have to do everything at once. You don't have to know how every story is going to end. You just have to take that next step, look for that next idea, write that next word. And growing up, it's the same way. We just have to go to that next class, read that next chapter, help that next person. You simply have to do that next good thing,and, before you know it, you're living a good life."

The next book, by Andrew Clements, that I am going to introduce to Emmy is Big Al. This is a brilliant book about a friendly fish who just wants to make a friend, but his large and scary looking appearance makes this extremely difficult for him. With a heroic act that shows his strength, courage and bravery, Big Al makes a sea full of friends.

There's No Such Thing as a Dragon

2010-07-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

There's No Such Thing as a Dragon by Jack Kent (known for his syndicated comic strip King Aroo) is the hilarious story of Billy Bixbee who awakes one morning to find a dragon, the size of a kitten, on his bed. He pats the dragon on its head and its tail begins to wag. When Billy goes downstairs to tell his mom about the dragon, he hears, "There's no such thing as a dragon." Billy returns to his room and ignores the dragon since there's no such thing. As Billy continues with his day, the dragon works very hard to make his presence known. It tries on Billy's pajamas, eats his pancakes, takes a nap and chases the bread truck. With great determination, Billy and his mom continue to ignore the presence of the dragon even though it has now grown from the size of a kitten to the size of the house. It's Billy who realizes that the dragon simply wants to be noticed and pats the dragon on the head. This allows the dragon to become smaller and once again the size of a kitten. With the dragon laying in mother's lap, she exclaims, "I don't mind dragons THIS size. Why did it have to grow so BIG?" To which Billy replies, "I'm not sure, but I think it just wanted to be noticed."

This story brings Emmy great giggles! She enjoys the cartoon like illustrations and especially likes the page when the dragon chases the bread truck since the entire house goes with it. Whether Jack Kent realized it or not, he wrote a story that speaks to anyone who deals with the emotions of a young child on a daily basis. Parents and teachers alike will understand the dragon's determination to be noticed as it parallels the behavior of a child who MUST be seen and heard! This story reminds me that anything, whether it is an emotion or a problem, is much more manageable if we acknowledge it, rather than ignore it and allow it to grow bigger.

(Thanks, Carrie, for reminding me of this book and allowing the message of emotional connection to sink in even deeper!)

The Busy Tree

2010-05-10T17:47:00.001-07:00

"I'm a tree, a busy tree...come and see."

So begins the story The Busy Tree by Jennifer Ward with illustrations by Lisa Falkenstern. In beautiful rhyme, Ms. Ward explores every part of an oak tree from its roots to its boughs introducing such wonderful words such as hollow, prowl and hatchlings. As the oak tree grows tall, the reader sees the many creatures that rely on the tree to live. Ants, chipmunks, and spiders are among the creatures that the illustrator brings to life through her oil paintings. The story comes full circle as the children who play in the shade of the tree plant an acorn which creates another busy tree.

"These are my boughs that creak, bend, and sway,

shading the children below as they play."

This is Emmy's favorite page as she wishes that she could be on the swing hanging from the

tree branch. We've had the opportunity this year to really watch the trees change through the four seasons and Emmy has shown such interest in these changes. Each morning, when I open her curtains, Emmy will tell me what the tree outside of her window looks like. Right now its branches are fully covered in the most beautiful bright green leaves.

Not only is Jennifer Ward instilling the importance of literacy through her books, she is also encouraging her readers to get out into nature and discover its beauty. In addition to her large number of children's books with a focus on nature, Ms. Ward has created two wonderful resources for parents and teachers.

(best for ages four to nine)

(best for ages eight to twelve)

What I love most about both of these books is the way that Ms. Ward presents ideas that allow parents and children to slow down and really engage with their surroundings. Each book has 52 activities designed to capture young minds and all four senses. These books, along with an explorers kit full of essentials such as, binoculars, magnifying glass, cloth bag for collecting, notebook and pencil, field guides, camera, bottles of water, sunscreen and insect repellent, would be a great thing to have on hand for the upcoming summer months. I think I will create my kit and keep it in the car.

"The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Goldie and the Three Bears

2010-05-02T08:32:00.001-07:00

It's always fun to read a different version of a classic fairy/folk tale. When I taught second grade, adaptations of well-known stories were always a big hit. The kids were so impressed with how you could rework a story to create something new. This always sparked a lot of ideas for use during writer's workshop.

To my delight, Emmy and I discovered Goldie and the Three Bears by Diane Stanley. In this version a little girl is looking for a just right friend! When her parents encouraged Goldie to invite a friend over and reminded her that "Nobody's perfect." she had a very difficult time because she knew exactly what she liked and what she didn't. "Goldie didn't want somebody perfect. She just wanted someone she could love with all her heart." One day when Goldie gets off at the wrong bus stop, she discovers a cute little house at the end of a tree-lined lane. In typical Goldilocks fashion, she enters the house and tries out three sandwiches (loving the third sandwich of peanut butter, with chunks, white bread, no jelly and no crusts), three chairs and three beds. When she is awoken from her nap on the just right bed, she is amazed to be find herself flying into the air. "Whee!" said Baby Bear. "Whee!" said Goldie. "Stop it," shouted the other bears. "You'll break the bed." Being very understanding, the bears invited Goldie to stay and play and she did discovering a friend that is just right! Emmy loves when Goldie and Baby Bear are bouncing on the bed and delights at the illustration on the last page where there are two photos in frames...one of Goldie and one of Baby Bear both in the same green dress with a yellow flower on the front. When I ask her which friend she loves with all of her heart, she always responds, "My Beshaboo." referring to her best friend in Austin, Texas. We love you Besh!!!

After reading this book, we searched for the very first version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears that Emmy and I read when she was (as Emmy says) "just a baby" - Byron Barton's version titled The Three Bears. I've mentioned our love for Barton's books in a previous post. Going back to reread books that we love is really important to us. I always tell Emmy that books are the most precious gift as they allow us to go so many places in our imaginations.

I've traveled the world twice over,

Met the famous; saints and sinners,

Poets and artists, kings and queens,

Old stars and hopeful beginners,

I've been where no-one's been before,

Learned secrets from writers and cooks

All with one library ticket

To the wonderful world of books.

~ Anonymous ~

By the way, Emmy and I love the song from the Page Cavanaugh Trio titled The Three Bears. If I could figure out how to upload a music file, I'd have it here for you, but alas my computer skills are failing me!!!!

Seven Hungry Babies

2010-04-25T16:28:00.001-07:00

Any mom who has had that feeling of total exhaustion from taking care of little ones all day long will treasure the book, Seven Hungry Babies, by Candace Fleming with illustrations by Eugene Yelchin.

In this story a mother bird coos as she flies hither and thither finding food for her young brood. "Feed us! Feed us!" the little ones shout. Mama Bird brings back delicacies such as a cricket, a cherry, a pea pod and an earthworm to satisfy her hungry babies. After each baby bird eats, he or she falls into a peaceful sleep. It is the mother who goes from sweet and patient... "Of course, my precious cuddle fluffs." to tired and impatient... "Hush, you little egg-crackers." When all seven babies are quiet and napping in the nest, Mama Bird settles down for some rest of her own only to hear, "Peep! Peep! Peep!" Her answer to their calls is my favorite part of the story. "Oh, no, not this time," Mama Bird chirps..."It's Daddy's turn to fly." Emmy joins in when the Mama Bird flies off to find food as the words are repetitive and associated with the sound of her flying, "Flappa-flap, swoop-swoop, zoom-zoom, yum!" as well as when the baby bird says, "G-u-u-u-l-p!"

As I've mentioned in previous posts (here and here), books make great gifts for a new mama or a new papa. This book is a definite must as I feel that Ms. Fleming and Mr. Yelchin are spot-on in their interpretation of the daily life of a mom with her kiddos.

Penguins

2010-04-12T07:07:00.000-07:00

We recently went to the New England Aquarium and were absolutely enamored with the penguins. They have a wonderful exhibit where you can watch the penguins race through the water and hang out on the rocks. Imitating the penguin's walk is a favorite pastime - waddle, waddle. On our next trip to the library, Emmy and I decided to find a book about penguins. Although we were looking for a non fiction book, we ended up coming home with Penguins, by Liz Pichon, and couldn't be more delighted. Penguins is the story of a group of penguins who live a fairly predictable life at the zoo: swim, eat fish, play penguin games, sleep standing up, look at people and look at more people. An ordinary day turns extraordinary when a little girl drops something into the penguin's pen.

After all the people have gone, a little penguin notices something. "DON'T TOUCH IT!" says his mother. "Somebody will be back for it." But nobody comes back. The little penguin moves closer for a better look. He goes over and picks it up. "It's a camera!" says the little penguin. "What do you do with a camera?" the other penguins ask. "You smile at it!" says the little penguin, grinning.

The best part of this book, according to Emmy, is the viewfinder page where the little penguin looks through the camera lens, puts his flipper on the button and says, "Everyone look at me

and say FISH!" The penguins are hilarious as they "ham it up" for the camera until it stops working (think back to the days of a film, rather than a digital, camera). The little penguin puts it back where he found it. When the zookeeper comes across it, he takes it to the lost and found where it is returned to the little girl with a few peck marks. A few days later the pictures are developed and what a surprise! Emmy LOVES the set of photographs at the end of the book and you will too!!!!

Princess Peepers

2010-04-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

Emmy and I cannot get enough of Princess Peepers! As a Mom, it is such a relief to read about a princess who is not perfect. This princess wears glasses and she has quite a collection! There are bug glasses for Peeper's annual bug hunt and sparkly ones to go with her Halloween costume. Emmy's favorite pair of glasses is Peeper's rose-colored pair that matches her rose-colored roller skates. It isn't until Princess Peepers enters The Royal Academy of Perfect Princesses that she realizes that wearing glasses is not a fashionable choice, at least according to the other princesses in attendance.

Emmy has such empathy for Peepers as the other princesses say such unkind things to her. "That's not very nice!" she proclaims as we read the reactions of the other princesses to Peepers glasses. These reactions cause the Princess to go back to her room and dump all of her glasses into a trunk. She is determined to show the other princesses that she doesn't need to wear glasses, but instead makes quite a few mistakes as she tries to get along without being able to see. With great humor, Pam Calvert and Tuesday Mourning, help Peeper and the reader to understand that trying to go through life as something that you are not is going to cause quite a few obstacles. I remember resisting my glasses when I was a young girl and could often be found squinting in order to see clearly. I for one am glad that Ms. Calvert has taken on this important topic and created a princess that we can relate to. And the ending of this story doesn't disappoint for the prince also wears glasses and when the two bump into each other, "It was love at first sight...after they put on their glasses!"

There are quite a few expressions that Emmy and I have borrowed from Princess Peepers such as, "Holy pumkins," "Jeepers," "Oh, fairydust," "Holy glass-slippers," "Oh, magic-mirrors." Any one of these can be heard throughout our house whenever we stumble, drop something or bump into each other. It's cause for some serious belly laughs. On a recent trip to Boston, Emmy donned her pink sunglasses and proclaimed herself Princess Peepers!

Millie's Marvellous Hat

2010-04-02T06:45:00.000-07:00

Visits to our local library are a weekly event for Emmy and me. It is so wonderful to watch Emmy say hello to the librarians and carefully return the books to the book slot. Even better is the obvious joy she has scanning the shelves and choosing new books to place into her library bag. This picture shows just how comfortable she is at the library. We can spend hours there. Also important to point out is the satisfaction she feels in knowing that Fridays are library day. Creating a routine that is predictable allows your child to feel safe. Emmy measures her life by the order of events in it so our routine helps her make sense of her world and develop a sense of security as well as independence.

On our last visit to the library, Emmy disovered the book Millie's

Marvellous Hat written and illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura. It is the story of a little girl who comes across a hat shop as she is walking home from school. She admires the hat with colored feathers and goes inside to try it on. My favorite character is the hat shop clerk. He exudes a stiff, formal manner and has the best little mustache!

"May I see the hat with the colorful feathers, please?' she asked the man behind the counter. 'Certainly, Madam,' replied the man, and he fetched the hat from the window. Millie tried it on. It suited her perfectly. 'I'll take it,' she said. 'An excellent choice, Madam,' said the man. 'That will be five hundred and ninety-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents.' Millie opened her purse and looked inside. 'Oh, dear,' she said. 'Do you have anything cheaper?' 'What sort of price were you thinking of, Madam?' asked the man kindly. 'Well...about this much,' said Millie and showed him her purse. It was empty. 'I see...' muttered the man, and he looked up at the ceiling."

What happens next is so endearing. The clerk goes to the back of the shop and returns with a hat box. He opens it with a flourish and with great care places a hat on Millie's head.

"This is a most marvellous hat, Madam." said the man. "It can be any size, shape or color you wish. All you have to do is imagine it."

Emmy and I love the way the clerk and the little girl pretend together as the hat is just imaginary, but the exchange between the two continues to be a formal affair. As Millie walks home, she imagines her hat to be many different things: a peacock hat, a flowery hat, a fountain hat. Emmy's favorite is Millie's cake hat! I love it when Emmy walks around the house pretending she is wearing a cupcake hat or an ice cream hat!

After reading a bit about Satoshi Kitamura, I am anxious to take a look at the book Once Upon an Ordinary School Day which is a collaboration between Kitamura and Colin McNaughton. It is the tale of an 'ordinary' child and an inspirational teacher. I believe this story will speak to my past life as a primary school teacher!

Taking some inspiration from Millie, Emmy and I will imagine our different hats as we walk to the library today.

"Limitations live only in our minds.
But if we use our imaginations,

our possibilities become limitless."
Jamie Paolinetti

Little Bunny's Sleepless Night

2010-03-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned in a previous post that reading right before bedtime is a ritual that we cherish in our household. Emmy takes such care in choosing two books that she wants me to read to her. This choice has gone through some changes from the number of books and types of books to who is doing the reading. We now stick to the - two books that Mommy reads to Emmy - rule which, to be perfectly honest, is all that I can handle at the end of the day.

Emmy's favorite bedtime book right now is Little Bunny's Sleepless Night by Carol Roth with illustrations by Valeri Gorbachev. It is an endearing story of a bunny who gets lonely when falling asleep and decides one night that it would be nice to have "the company of a good friend." So off Little Bunny hops to the homes of his friends: squirrel, skunk, porcupine, bear and owl only to find out that his bed is the absolute best place for him.

This book gives a gentle reminder to those children, who often migrate from their room to the room of their parents, that there really is nothing as nice as one's very own bed. As a Mommy to one of these "nocturnal creatures," I very much appreciated Roth's humor and Gorbachev's cozy sketches as I talked with Emmy about how her very special bed is the best place for her. Though I must say that what I love best about these nighttime visits, is the tenderness in her voice as she asks me to accompany her back to bed and give her a gentle back rub. Who wouldn't love that!

Easter Favorites

2010-03-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung here on the North Shore of Massachusetts and Emmy and I are ready! We are so happy for the warmer weather to play outside, the sound of the birds chirping throughout the day and the tiny sprouts we see coming out of the ground. We are looking forward to seeing our favorite spring flower - the daffodil.

With Spring comes the anticipation for Easter and this year it is fast approaching! Emmy is determined to get a picture of the Easter Bunny this year and has her camera ready. We'll be sure to post the photo if Emmy is fortunate enough to catch the Bunny in action!

We have decided on two favorite books for Easter. The first one is Owen's Marshmallow Chick by Kevin Henkes (see previous post for mention of the boxed set). Owen is a beloved character in several of Mr. Henke's books. Owen's favorite possession is a fuzzy, yellow blanket that goes with him wherever he goes. "Upstairs, downstairs, in-between. Inside, outside, upside down." (excerpt from Owen by Kevin Henkes). In our house there's a fuzzy, green blanket that goes with Emmy wherever she goes. In Owen's Marshmallow Chick, Owen discovers that the chick is the same color as his prized blanket and becomes a plaything rather than a treat. "My favorite, he said. And he kissed it goodnight."

One of the most amazing things happening in Emmy's world is that she is now the reader and I am the listener. This reading behavior has always been there, but the amazing part for me is how she orchestrates the reading. Now storytime is announced with a flourish and those in attendance must be quiet listeners as she reads aloud with the BEST voice full of inflection. Here is Emmy in her video debut reading Owen's Marshmallow Chick.

Our second favorite Easter book is the newest book by Jan Brett titled The Easter Egg. Amazing! We read it at the bookstore and Emmy so wanted it to come home with her, but she'll have to wait to see what the Easter Bunny has in store for her! Wink-wink!

The Easter Egg is an intricately illustrated story about Hoppi the bunny. Hoppi is old enough this year to join in the egg decorating and hopes that his egg might be chosen by the Easter Rabbit so that he can help hide the eggs on Easter morning. Hoppi is excited, but unsure of his design. "I need an amazing idea, he thought."

As Hoppi goes about Rabbit Town, he notices many dazzling eggs that the rabbits are working on. Each rabbit gives to Hoppi something to help him on his design...a basket to collect flowers, some chocolate squares, pieces of wood and pots of paint. He gains inspiration from all of his fellow rabbits, but thinks to himself, "Making a beautiful egg is harder than I imagined. I guess I don't have to win. I just want to make an egg I am proud of."

As Hoppi sits down to rest and think, a mother robin wildly calls for an egg that has fallen out of her nest. Hoppi knows just what to do and what do you suppose that is? I am begging you to pick this book up to find out what happens and to share it with a special someone in your life.

As you do, be sure to point out the different breeds of rabbit that Jan Brett used as her models for the rabbits in the town (Flora is an Angora, Aunt Sassyfrass is a Lop, Hans Vanderabbit is a Havana and the Easter Rabbit...a Flemish Giant which can weigh as much as twenty pounds!).

May the Easter season bless you with warm winds and sunshine!

Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato

2010-03-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

Every evening after bath, Emmy and I cuddle up and read from the stack of books that can be found on the floor next to her bed. Last night, in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day, we read Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie dePaola (for a previous post about Tomie

click here). This book really got Emmy excited about celebrating St. Patty's Day. She laughed at lazy Jamie and how the clever leprechaun tricked him out of the pot of gold. I am always in awe of Tomie's illustrations. His style is one of the most recognizable and for good reason. As a reader, you just fall in love with the faces of all of his treasured characters and Jamie is no exception. You will want to read this one again and again. Be sure to look for the dog and cat as they are almost always at Jamie's side.

On the morning of St. Patrick's Day, Emmy was eager to find out if a leprechaun had visited while she was sleeping. We snuck downstairs and this is what we found!

Emmy quickly grabbed the pot of gold and smiled at her own cleverness as she announced, "I outsmarted the leprechaun and took home his pot of gold!"

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!

For Just One Day

2010-03-10T16:50:00.001-08:00

For Emmy's birthday, she received the wonderful book, For Just One Day, by Laura Leuck. It is a book full of inspiration for imaginative play where the characters pretend to be 'for just one day' a variety of animals beginning with a bumblebee and ending with a whale.

"But what if I could swim the Nile and be a creeping...Crocodile! I'd have the sharpest, snapping smile, if I could be a crocodile."

The book concludes with a sweet and important message to children that even though it's fun to pretend to be something else, the very best thing that they can be is exactly who they are. Emmy loves the attached mirror on the last page where she can see just how extraordinary she is!

Emmy's favorite pretend play is as a princess!

Happy Birthday

2010-02-28T20:00:00.000-08:00

We recently celebrated Emmy's fourth birthday! Four years seems so surreal. I waited so long to be a Mommy and now my baby girl is growing way too fast.

As we begin another year, we celebrate Emmy's wonder at the world, her insatiable curiosity, her kindness to others, her creative spirit, her tight embraces and her warm smile. I celebrate four years of becoming the best Mommy possible thanks to the support of my family and friends.

Speaking of becoming the best Mommy...I must share two pieces of parenting advice that have made my journey so much easier. The first is to take a thoughtful pause when bombarded with what seems like endless questions. Rather than a quick yes or no, a thoughtful pause gives you a second to make a decision that you feel good about. This statement is heard often in our household..."Hmm. Let me think about that." The second is to remember that when things are falling apart, ALWAYS go back to loving connection. (Thanks to Bethany Prescott for these wonderful tips.)

I mentioned in a previous post that a book is given to Emmy on each of her birthdays. For her four year old birthday, the book A Birthday Cake Is No Ordinary Cake by Debra Frasier was presented to Emmy. Ms. Frasier combines earth science and baking and creates a birthday book unlike any other. A wonderful connection is made between the celebration of a birthday and the progression of a calendar year. I LOVE the way the author portrays a birthday cake as a symbolic product of a physical year. Ms. Frasier's illustrations pop off the page with vibrant colors that create beautiful collages which capture the fanciful and factual concepts contained in this book. The idea for the story came after Debra celebrated her daughter's first birthday. Frasier wrote, "She's finished her first circle around the Sun, and now she's one."

This book is extremely special to Emmy and me as it reminds us of celebrating a Birthday Circle in our Montessori school. The birthday circle is a wonderful ritual and so meaningful to the child and her parents. The Birthday Circle may look a bit different depending on the teacher, but certain elements remain the same. The birthday child holds a globe and circles the sun symbolized by a candle or a yellow sphere. As she walks around the sun, once for each year of her life, the teacher or parent tells the story of the child's life through photographs and words. Debra's book A Birthday Cake Is No Ordinary Cake is a wonderful complement to the Birthday Circle.

"At last, your cake is done! Let's light a candle for each time

you've circled the sun. We'll sing. You'll wish.

Then...we'll cut the cake!"

The Valentine Bears

2010-02-04T07:02:00.000-08:00

It's looking a lot like Valentine's Day in our house and Emmy is DELIGHTED! When I brought out the box of Valentine decorations, Emmy got right to work finding places to display all of the red and pink treasures. She found several heart boxes and baskets and when I explained that I fill them up with surprises and place them on the table on Valentine's morning, she took it upon herself to fill each one up with...well, I'm not sure because it's a secret, and hid them around the house! I guess I'll be getting three new heart boxes to fill this year!

Our favorite Valentine's book is The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting with illustrations by Jan Brett. Such a sweet story that tells of two bears who wake up to celebrate Valentine's Day for the very first time. I cannot think of a better match for creating a children's book than Eve Bunting and Jan Brett both accomplished in the field of children's literature with hundreds of books published. Both Eve and Jan bring an undeniable sweetness to this Valentine's story. Emmy's favorite part of the book is when Mrs. Bear fills a bucket with cold water from the stream to splash on Mr. Bear in the hopes of waking him up for Valentine's Day. Surprise, surprise...Mr. Bear is awake and the cold water splashes on Mrs. Bear instead!

After reading this book, Emmy wanted to create her own large valentine heart just like the one Mrs. Bear made for Mr. Bear so we got out some materials and set to work.

Emmy has decided that this Valentine will be given to her friends in her classroom!

Jan Brett offers postcards to be sent via email and if you love The Valentine Bears as much as Emmy and I then you might want to send this one to a friend.

Happy Valentines Day from Emmy and me!