Children will enjoy this picture book, featuring a boy named Will on his sled. It contains rhyme and rhythm and repeating - loved by all children - plus a surprise ending. Adults will enjoy all of the above, and the interesting illustrations. Vladimir Radunsky illustrated The Story of a Boy Named Will by Daniil Kharms,... Continue Reading →
How Santa Got His Job
Perhaps you, and the children in your life, are wondering exactly how Santa got his job. Apparently Stephen Krensky wondered too, and so he wrote about Santa's job history in How Santa Got His Job. This creative picture book is fun to read aloud, and may illicit some giggles from your crowd, depending upon how... Continue Reading →
It Could Always Be Worse
Complaining? Bad attitude? Frustration? Whatever is causing the above in your house will be put into perspective after reading It Could Always Be Worse by Margot Zemach. Zemach retells a Yiddish folktale about a family of eight crammed into a one-room house. The father can no longer take the chaos, so he goes to the... Continue Reading →
Chicken Soup with Rice
Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak sounds like a book about food. But really, it's a book about months of the year. As it says on the front flap: Each month is gay, Each season nice, when eating chicken soup with rice. Sendak takes readers through each month of the year, espousing the wonders... Continue Reading →
Alligators All Around
You can find alphabet books galore at your local library or bookstore. Every popular cartoon character has one, every cultural icon for the under-five crowd. But hidden behind or between those books are gems worth reading again and again. Alligators All Around by Maurice Sendak is one of those jewels. Sendak works his way through... Continue Reading →
A Boy, A Dog and a Frog
A friend of mine reminded me of this little storybook series after she had read my review about Mercer Mayer, one of my favorite children's authors. Although I put it in the "Read-Aloud" category, these are picture books - literally. None of them have any words - which I love! Preschoolers can 'read' these books... Continue Reading →
Little Critter
When my kids were little, some of the books we read over and over and over again were Mercer Mayer's Little Critter books. Little Critter is a... well... critter who finds growing up hard at times. He tries his best, but makes mistakes. He learns to love his little sister in The New Baby. He... Continue Reading →
The Berenstain Bears
Recently, we were visiting family, staying with my husband's uncle and aunt. Their grandchildren are younger than my children, so we were scrounging around for books for my children to read before bed. Imagine my surprise when I heard shouts of joy. What were they excited about? They found their great-aunt & uncle's stash of... Continue Reading →
I Stink!
Alphabet and counting books fill the shelves of libraries. Some of them are cute and some are beautiful. Then there is I Stink! I Stink! by Kate and Jim McMullan is the perfect alphabet book for boys, and girls who love gross things. I Stink! follows the journey of a garbage truck through the dark... Continue Reading →
Madeline and the Cats of Rome
I've already written about how much my girls and I love the Madeline books, but I think the newest Madeline book deserves some attention of its own. You're thinking, "Newest Madeline book? I thought the author, Ludwig Bemelmans, died a long time ago." Yes, he did. Yes, there were only a few Madeline books. But... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 