Back to School We Go...

I had a heck of a time finding good new picture books intended for new students. Even harder was finding good new books that were really interesting stories, rather than primarily designed to reassure, a la The Kissing Hand.

Not that there's anything wrong with The Kissing Hand - but my son was rarin' to go to school, not worried about it.

Here, my review in The Plain Dealer of five books young students (and their parents) can enjoy.

Happy reading!

Moving Beyond ABC: Recommendations for the Pre-K Set

Reading is fun; perhaps most of all when you're reading to a child. Silly voices and fantasy lands and ABCs are the DNA building blocks of all future learning...ah, I can get lost in the grandeur of it all. A few of my long-time favorite and other, more recent picks are listed here for a pre-K, just-about-to-learn-to-read audience. Enjoy-add recommendations of your own-just read!!!!!!!!!!!

A is for Salad by Mike Lester
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
George Upside Down by Meghan McCarthy
ABC3D by Marion Battaille
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin - see fun related activities here and enjoy the superbly sung version here.

Of course the Dr. Seuss books are wondrous and rollicking reads, but in our house they were so well read, to both kids, that I consider them early preschool rather than pre-K/kindergarten books.

Frog and Toad Are Friends, by Arnold Lobel, is a classic I still enjoy, as are several of the other older titles I remember reading (or being read to?) as an young page-turner:


My daughter enjoyed the Bob books series during kindergarten, and I think their simple method can truly help young readers practice basic skills. I bought 'em from Scholastic, 'cus i love the fact that when you buy books through the school program, teachers get credits they can use to buy new books for their classrooms. That said, the Bob books also appear on this
handy list at Amazon.com.

Happy reading out loud!

Words are Cheap, Laughter is Free

Recently I wrote about what fun my son and I had just hanging out the library. I didn't mention the oodles of hand puppets, games, puzzles, and friends we enjoyed there, nor did I mention that we went to the library that day to sign up for one of its many upcoming programs for children. I didn't mention it because I think we all know: libraries are fun. They're also a great source of free entertainment, and I'm talking about more than just being able to borrow a bazillion books, for nuthin.'

But as we enjoyed several of Doris Cronin's books (Click, Clack, Moo; Diary of A Worm) it occurred to me - she's one of those authors whose books all but guarantee belly laughs. Great big guffaws, even. We laughed so loud I was afraid we might be asked to leave :-0

What authors do that for you? Let me know!

Hoberman's Seven Silly Eaters Still Magic

I've been reading The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman for nearly a decade.

The picture book written in Hoberman's pitch-perfect verse tells the story of the Peters family with not one, not a handful, but seven (!) very picky eaters.

Mrs. Peters goes from the epitome of patience to nearly-undone in the course of the story; in the end, the whole family finds an accidental but delightful solution: they eat cake!

(Trust me, Hoberman does a much better job with the story than I do.)

My son, nearing the five-year mark, requested it again last night; then my just-turned 13yo daughter curled up on the couch to hear it for the upteenth time!

What? The same children who had spent most of the previous four hours trying to confound, maim, or kill each other? Yes. The same kids who nearly caused their not-so-patient mommy to crack up? The same.

Hoberman's magic worked again; providing yet another very happy ending to our evening.

Neat trick!

Need I say it? If you're looking for a gift for almost any young reader/listener, I recommend this one.

Censorship Sucks, I Hate Shopping, and ...

Happy Thanksgiving. But seriously, I do hate shopping.

Regardless, I was thrilled to find this site, where book-lovers can buy buttons and stickers and even t-shirts that proclaim, "I read banned books."

Because a genuine ho-ho-happy holidays spirit never catches up with me until my Christmas shopping is done, I tend to rush through stores, online and off, before Halloween. This year, I'm behind schedule, and taking a different tack - one that, I hope, results in giving more gifts "made in the USA" than made in China. It ain't easy, but fortunately, I've found many books that are printed in the USA. Ditto for Post-it notes, and a lot of specialty paper items. Go figure. Or go write.

My favorite gift items this year are show tickets. I suspect the US exports more "entertainment" than anything else, so I feel like I'm supporting the home team with my purchases of DVDs, movie theater passes, and tickets to local and regional theater productions. Plus, it's nice to get out with the family to be entertained.

Heaven knows I could entertain myself for years with all the books on my shelves and at the library, but let's face it, once the kids hit a certain age, we just don't do a lot of reading to each other. Sigh.

Speaking of books for the read-to-me set, though, those certainly make great gifts. To make bookish gifts extra-special, I've enjoyed picking ones penned by local authors and getting autographed copies. Ohio authors you might be lucky to catch at area bookstores:

LeeAnn Blankenship, author of Mr. Tuggle's Troubles (Boyd's Mill Press, 2005)
Jeanine Garsee, author of Before, After, and Somebody in Between (Bloomsbury, 2007)
Annette Sheldon, author of Big Sister Now (Magination Press, 2006)
Joan Arbogast, author of Buildings in Disguise (Boyd's Mill Press, 2004)

If you've got favorite local authors, speak up!