Day 220: Leaf Man

We've been in all-out leaf tackle mode here for the past few weeks, and have raked our entire yard no fewer than 5 times already.  As much as I love nature and the outdoors, I'll be honest -- I wouldn't mind if we lost a few of the oak trees in our yard.  The leaves are a great source of entertainment for my kids, of course, and they've had endless fun jumping in leaf piles, "helping" us rake, and racing around the tracks we rake amidst the blanket of leaves that cover the yard.  We've enjoyed collecting leaves of all kinds, as well, whether we set out to see how many vibrant colors we can find or simply go on a nature walk to see how many different types of leaves there are in our neighborhood.  The leaves are just about all down now, but our fun has continued this week after we found this fabulous book at the library!

Lois Ehlert's artwork is always colorful, engaging, and fun, and Leaf Man is no exception.  The story itself is simple -- a leaf man blows away, over marshes, fields, meadows, and mountains, going wherever the wind takes him -- but the die cut pages and clever artwork make for a great deal of creative fun.  All of Ehlert's images are composed of real leaves of various kinds, combined to make different shapes and creatures:  turtles, fish and ducks in a pond, squirrels with their acorns, butterflies, and even a garden of pumpkins and squash.  There is also a guide to the types of leaves featured on the book's cover pages, which I just love.  Each colorful page within is cut and sculpted across the top to make the background of the combined pages appear like rolling hills in the distance, and Ehlert's leaf creations are simply fabulous.  They are not always easy to see at first, which is what makes the book so fun to read.  My kids love looking at the illustrations to see what creatures are hiding among them, and I challenge child to read this book and not want to immediately run outside and collect leaves to make creations of his or her own.  My son made leaf creatures for over an hour yesterday afternoon after reading this book, and I had fun joining in the crafting, too.  I was pretty impressed by some of his creations, and, as so often happens when watching kids create, I loved the ease with which he went from one idea to the next.  He came up with creative designs so much faster and easily than I did!  Thanks, Lois Ehlert, for inspiring him to make some fun leaf art!  Here's a sample of some of the leaf creatures he made:

His first design, which he composed while my daughter and I were still out collecting leaves:  It's me, complete with the green scarf I was wearing yesterday

A deer

A bird

A hummingbird (my favorite!)

A poinsettia (I made the flower part at the top, he quickly added a stem and some leaves to make it even better)

The scene on my coffee table while we were creating

A giraffe

An aardvark

And of course, a Thanksgiving turkey

We hope that this book inspires as much fun for you and your little ones as it did for us!  Enjoy!

Day 219: On a Beam of Light

"The important thing is not to stop questioning.  

Curiosity has its own reason for existing."

~Albert Einstein

I've been on a bit of a "new books" kick lately, having discovered some fabulous new titles at our local library that I was lucky enough to snatch up and bring home.  In fact, later this morning, I need to make a library run to return them, since they are on hold by other eager readers and I'm unable to renew them.  
On a Beam of Light is one of these books, so I figure I'd better write about now while I can.

I have heard great things about this story, which was published a few months ago in April, 2013, so I was excited to finally track down a copy and read it.  It's a lovely, informative, and inspiring book about the life and work of Albert Einstein.  Author Jennifer Berne manages to tell his story in a way that is interesting and accessible to children; not easy, given that so many of his discoveries and theories baffle even adults.  Vladimir Radunsky's illustrations are a lovely match for the story, as well, especially those that accompany the thoughts of one of the most creative and brilliant minds the world has ever known.

Berne begins the story by telling us about the early life of young Albert:  about how he turned a year old and didn't say a word.  How he turned two and didn't say a word.  And how he turned three, and hardly spoke at all.  "He just looked around with his big, curious eyes.  Looked and wondered.  Looked and wondered."  We follow along as Albert grows older and begins asking questions; so many, in fact, that his teachers criticize him for being too disruptive and not behaving like all the other students.  "But Albert didn't want to be like the other students.  He wanted to discover the hidden mysteries of the world."

From there, we learn about Albert's quest to learn and understand, and the many ways in which his ideas forever changed science and the what we know about the world.  He asked questions about simple things like why sugar dissolves in hot tea, and set out to find answers by doing what he loved best -- "imagining, wondering, figuring, and thinking."

While the story starts out telling us about Einstein's young life and progresses to teach us about his work and discoveries, I love that it also explains about what he was like as a person, as well.  So often, we learn about important historical figures in a factual, contextual way, so I enjoyed learning about the more ordinary traits of such an extraordinary man.  For example, Albert did some of his best thinking in his sailboat or while playing his violin, or while wearing his favorite combination of baggy sweaters, comfy pants, and shoes without socks.  I just love that!

Most importantly, though, I love the way this story encourages children to ask questions, imagine, and dream.  The book ends by reminding young readers that while Einstein found many answers, there are still many unanswered questions about our world... questions that someday they may go on to answer.

On a Beam of Light is a wonderful way to bring science and biography into your child's reading repertoire. My 5 1/2 year old son enjoys this book, though it didn't quite capture the attention of my 3 year old daughter.  I think she's still a bit young to fully appreciate this story.  In my opinion, this is a perfect book to use in early elementary classrooms to get children excited about science and physics and introduce them to one of the world's most brilliant thinkers.  Curiosity is a wonderful thing, and this book celebrates that in the most marvelous of ways.

Day 218: Journey

I took one look at this book in a bookstore the other week and was instantly drawn in.  And really, who wouldn't be?  Just look at that cover illustration!  I was fascinated by the artwork and immediately curious about the adventures awaiting the young girl in the red boat.  Fortunately, our local library had this on its new arrival shelf, so I excitedly snatched it up and couldn't wait to read it with my kids.  What an enchanting, magical book!

Journey is a stunning, wordless picture book that is sure to captivate imaginations of all ages.  In it, we meet a lonely, young girl who ventures through a magic door she has drawn on her bedroom wall.   I absolutely love the illustration below, which shows what she sees upon leaving her room:

Armed only with her red marker, our brave heroine sets out on a journey full of wonder, adventure, suspense, danger, and finally, friendship.  Journey is similar to Harold and the Purple Crayon in many ways (which isn't a bad thing), yet the detailed illustrations are a striking contrast to the simplicity of those in Harold and the story is uniquely its own.  

I love the way wordless picture books tell stories and the way my children notice details in the illustrations that I so often miss.  They are also a great way to empower children who can't yet read to be the storytellers.  I'm sure people read wordless picture books in different ways; I know I do.  Sometimes, I tell the story out loud as we point out different details in the illustrations together.  Other times, I let my children do the story telling and I just sit and listen.  And some times, we don't try to tell a story per se, but rather study the illustrations and simply talk about what we see.  Wordless picture books are an art form all their own, and Journey is not to be missed.

Journey is Aaron Becker's first book, and what an exceptional debut it is!  I'll be surprised if it doesn't end up on the Caldecott committee's list of honorees for this year, for it's a definite contender, in my opinion.  Journey is certainly one of our favorite books of 2013.  I look forward to seeing what Becker dreams up next!

Day 216: The Day the Crayons Quit

Last weekend, I had the immense pleasure of browsing in a bookstore all by myself.  I immediately went to the children's section, of course, and spent over an hour picking books off the shelf and reading them at my leisure.  It was wonderful.  I had a gift card to this fabulous little independent bookstore, and I was eager to bring home a few new books for my kids.  I was tempted to get The Circus Ship and a few other titles that are on our "must own"list, but I decided instead to bring home a few fabulous books that we had never read or seen before.  I had heard about The Day the Crayons Quit, and knew as soon as I read it that my kids would absolutely love it.  I could hear my kids giggling as I sat reading this delightful story written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, and couldn't wait to get home and read it to them.  It was as big a hit as I thought it would be!

In The Day the Crayons Quit, Duncan opens his box of crayons to color one day and is greeted by a pile of letters, one from each crayon.  Each crayon has taken a moment to tell Duncan how they really feel, and their personalities and voices are fantastic. Red is tired of never having holidays off, orange and yellow aren't speaking to each other because each is convinced he is the true color of the sun, and blue has been used so much he is too stubby to see over the railing of the crayon box anymore.  Black is sick of always being an outline -- is it too much to ask for a black beach ball sometime? -- gray is exhausted from always coloring huge animals like elephants and hippos and humpback whales, and peach crayon has lost all of his paper and is embarrassed to leave the box because he's naked!  Only green seems happy about coloring all of those dinosaurs and trees, though he can't wait for yellow and orange to finally settle their dispute.  All Duncan wants to do is color, but he wants his crayons to be happy.  What can he do?  The story has an adorable ending and I just love the creativity it inspires.  My husband and I enjoy reading it just as much as our children do, and we have yet to read it just once in a sitting.

If you're looking for a great, fun new story to read with your child, this one won't disappoint.  Teachers might find reading this story is a great way to introduce voice, point of view, and persuasion in children's writing, not to mention encouraging them to think outside the box with their art and creativity.  This story is definitely going to rank among our favorite books published in 2013, and I'm thrilled it now has a place in our home library.

Buy new at Amazon for just $10.49

by clicking the image above!

Day 205: Green

Spring has finally sprung, and we've reached that magical time of year when the leaves are popping open on trees throughout town.  (Yes!  Finally!)  When I saw this stunning book on the "New Arrivals" shelf at our local library, I just had to bring it home.  Featuring only two words per page, Green seems extremely simple at first glance, but really, it is a work of beautiful complexity from beginning to end.

The simple language of the book is remarkable.  With each turn of the page, we are introduced to another shade of green:  "Forest green, sea green, lime green, pea green" and so much more.  As described on the book's jacket cover, "there's the lush green of a forest on a late spring day, the fresh, juicy green of a just-cut lime, the incandescent green of a firefly, and the vivid aquamarine of a tropical sea." I absolutely love the way the whole story encourages children to delve into the wonderfully descriptive world of language, showing them how something as simple as a color can be described in so many different and unique ways.  The verse is lyrically written, too, though we never manage to read it quickly enough to notice the rhyme scheme as we read aloud.  In fact, I don't think I even realized that the lines rhymed until the fourth or fifth time we read it, since we were always too busy studying the illustrations.

And oh, the artwork!  The texture of Seeger's acrylic paintings is simply gorgeous, and every time I read this book, I just want to reach into the pages and touch the illustrations.  Her use of die-cuts is brilliant, as well, perfectly placed on each page in a way that never fails to delight and surprise us.  My children and I just love flipping the pages back and forth after we peek through the cut outs, eager to see just what those colors were on the page before.  Seeger's creativity and designs are simply incredible!  They make me want to try our own die-cut artwork and see what we can come up with.  Hmm...  Perhaps I know what our art activity will be this afternoon...

Green is a 2013 Caldecott Honor book, and deservedly so.  It also is a Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of 2012.  Creative, engaging, and positively lovely, Green is one book that's not to be missed.

Day 204: Andrew Henry's Meadow

Before I go on and on about how amazingly fabulous this book is, I have to give a big thank you shout out to my fellow picture book lover and blogger, Read Aloud Dad, who first introduced me to this book a month or two ago when I read his review of it here.  As soon as I read his glowing review, I logged on to my library system's website and set out to find a copy that we could borrow.  Surprisingly, there were only 3 copies of Andrew Henry's Meadow in the whole system.  Only 3!  Why every library in the world doesn't own this book, I have no idea.  It is truly one of the most wonderful stories I have read in a long time, and I'm so happy to have discovered it. Thank you, Read Aloud Dad!

Andrew Henry Thatcher lives with his family in the small town of Stubbsville.  He has two younger brothers who are always playing with each other, and two older sisters who are always with each other, leaving Andrew Henry alone most of the time.  Fortunately, he doesn't much seem to mind, happily passing the time creating clever new inventions.  He makes a helicopter in the kitchen, an eagle cage in the living room, and a merry-go-round from his sisters' sewing machine.  Unfortunately, though, Andrew Henry's inventions aren't exactly appreciate by his family.  

One day, after thinking about it for some time, Andrew Henry packs up his tools and runs away, setting off through the woods to build a house of his own.  He soon finds the perfect place for his house -- a lovely meadow, complete with a stream and a tall, strong fir tree.  "He set to work, and before long the house was finished.  The walls were made of clay and rocks and poles.  The roof was made of fir boughs, and outside one window there was a fine landing field for dragonflies.  But Andrew Henry wasn't alone long..."  

Soon, other children from the town, with unique qualities and interests of their own, are eager to join him.  Andrew Henry sets to work building the children their own customized houses, perfectly suited to their tastes and talents.  Alice Burdock's house was just right for a person who loved birds, high up in a tree with birdbaths, feeding stations, and "even a hand rest for Alice's binoculars when she wasn't using them."  George Turner's house is perfect for fishing, Joe Polasky's underground quarters are ideal for him and his many pets, and Margot LaPorte's house is well-suited for her music rehearsals.  The children all live quite happily in their meadow for a few days and nights, but back home, their families are frantically searching for them.  Where could they have gone?  Finally, of course, everyone is reunited, and the families are more accepting of their children in the end.  It's sad, in a way, that it took the children running away for this to be the case, but without doing so, we'd have missed out on all of the wonderful magic of that meadow.  

The little details throughout this book are simply perfect, in both the illustrations and the story, itself.  I love Doris Burn's descriptions of the houses, and her black and white sketches are even more wonderful and clever.  My son gets such a kick out of the different houses Andrew Henry builds for the other kids in the meadow, and it's always fun to brainstorm what type of house we would want to live in there.  I love the way this story inspires creativity and imagination, for Andrew Henry's inventions and houses are truly fantastic.  More than anything, though, I love the way this story reminds us all to appreciate our children's unique gifts and talents and love them exactly for who they are. 

Andrew Henry's Meadow was first published in 1965, with its most recent edition coming out last year in 2012.  It's a longer than your average picture book -- more like a chapter book, but without the chapters -- so probably better suited for children ages 4 and up.  That said, though, my 2 1/2 year old is quite content to sit and read this with me and my 5 year old.  This is one book that has certainly made itself on to our "must own" list, and is one that I'm sure we will treasure for years to come.  If you can manage to get your hands on a copy of this amazing book, please do.  I promise you won't be disappointed.

Day 203: My Heart Is Like a Zoo

My son picked this book up off the "New Arrivals" shelf at our last library visit, excitedly showed it to me, then immediately ran over to a chair to sit down and read it.  Needless to say, we checked it out and brought it home, and have read it many times since then.  Michael Hall's illustrations are colorful, creative, and engaging, and his short, well-rhyming text makes this book a wonderful one to read with your little one.

As you can probably guess from the cover illustration, the pictures of zoo animals in this book are made up almost exclusively of heart shapes.  The bold, simple design is very clever, and the text includes some great adjectives, as well.

My heart is like a zoo --

Eager as a beaver, 

Steady as a yak,

Hopeful as a hungry heron fishing for a snack...

See how cute these are?

My son, 5, loves the different animals and counting all of the heart shapes he can find within their designs, while my daughter, 2 1/2, loves the animals and pointing to the hearts, too.  My son also loves being able to read it to my daughter himself, which is always cute to see.  The bold, colorful designs and rhyming text would make this a great book to read with babies, as well.  It's currently only available in hardcover from what I can tell, but I wouldn't be surprised if a board book version will be in the works sometime in the future.

I especially love the way this book inspires creativity.  After reading it for the first time, my son said, "We should make our own animals out of hearts!"  He was so excited to create his own creatures using shapes once we got home, and couldn't wait to get started on a peregrine falcon picture.  He told me which animals he wanted to make, and then we brainstormed together about what colors to use and what size hearts we might need.  I just loved watching his creative little mind work!  I include a few pictures of his creations below.

Whether you're a teacher looking for a great art-inspiring book to share with your class or a parent looking for a fun, easy story-themed craft to do with your child, My Heart Is Like a Zoo is the perfect book.  We hope you love it as much as we do!

My son's favorite animal, the peregrine falcon

A butterfly

Crocodile

Poison Dart Frog (inspired by the frog in the book)

Yeti Crab, inspired by Wild Kratts (our favorite show)

 * the red dots on the claws are the bacteria it collects and eats - fascinating!

Day 201: Sky Color

I have always loved art and being creative.  I was disappointed not to have a chance to take art in high school, but I loved music, too, and there just weren't enough classes in the day for me to take band, chorus, and art at the same time.  By my junior year of college, I was feeling a need to let my inner artist come out to play a bit more, so I signed up for a drawing class.  I absolutely loved it, and my final project hangs framed (thanks, Mom!) in my living room to this day.  

My senior year, I took Painting I.  I had never really had much specific instruction in painting techniques, and it ended up being one of my favorite courses of my college career.  My final project for that class was a landscape portrait of Milford Sound in New Zealand, to which I had been the year before while studying abroad.  (It also hangs in my living room. Again, thanks for framing it and convincing me I'd want to keep it forever, Mom!)  It was a beautiful image that depicted streams of sunlight shining through gray clouds on to the towering fjords of the sound.  I remember my professor showing us all, earlier in the semester, about how to blend colors when painting the sky, and depicting the light and warmth and color of that cold, New Zealand sky was my favorite, most challenging part of my final piece.  We've all seen it before; the way the sky looks as storm clouds are gradually being burned off by the sun, whose rays are desperately trying to make their way to the earth below.  It's cold and warm at the same time, with hints of gray and blue and pink and yellow mixing together in an unlikely harmony.  To this day, each time I see a particularly beautiful sunset or color in the sky, I think about how I would paint it.  What colors would I mix to get those hues just right?  How would I create that sky color?

I love all of the books in Peter Reynolds' cleverly titled Creatrilogy:  The Dot, Ish, and now, Sky Color.  My son got this beautiful book in his Easter basket this year, and we absolutely love it.  Like the other books in Reynolds' series, Sky Color inspires all children to embrace their inner artist, be freely and fabulously creative, and to think outside the box.  

If you remember Ish, you'll remember Marisol, the younger sister who saves all of her brother's rejected drawings, cherishing them instead as beautiful works of art.  When she and her classmates set out to paint a mural in the library, Marisol is responsible for painting the sky.  But how can she do that without any blue paint?  

I just love the message of Peter Reynolds' books, and Sky Color is a wonderful story that encourages us to think creatively, appreciate the beauty of the world around us, and view the world from a different perspective.  After you've read it, sit  down with your kids and some paints and challenge yourselves to make your own sky colors.  You might never look at the sky the same way again.  

  

Day 194: The Dot

We're on a big Peter Reynolds kick in our house lately... and loving it!  This is partly due to my son's sudden love of drawing, but also because Reynolds' books are simply fabulous and worthy of reading again and again.  My first encounter with his illustrations was in Someday, written by Alison McGhee, a beautiful book that makes me cry every time I read it.  I discovered The Dot and Ish last year, and they, too, were love at first read.  I've written before about how Ish inspired my son to be more confident about creating his own art, and have been incredibly thankful to have found these books ever since.  A few weeks ago, though, things really clicked and it was as though my son suddenly flipped his artistic switch to "on."  I honestly never thought I'd see the day when he'd want to sit and draw for hours, but now he does.  It's so wonderful to watch.  I got Ish and the Dot out of the library again last week to help keep inspiring his creativity, and was shocked when I realized I hadn't written about the Dot yet!  So without further ado, here's my take on this amazing picture book:

Sitting in her art class, Vashti is convinced she is not an artist.  Frustrated by her blank piece of paper, she isn't afraid to tell her teacher as much: "I just CAN'T draw!"  Smiling sweetly, her teacher gives the perfect, encouraging response:  "Just make a mark and see where it takes you."  Annoyed, Vashti grabs a marker and jabs at her paper, leaving only a dot.  "There!"  Much to her surprise, her teacher asks her to sign it, and Vashti returns to art class the following week to find her dot framed on the wall.  Little does Vashti know how much that one little dot would change her perspective and encourage her to express herself in ways she never thought possible.  

Inspiring and heart-warming, the Dot is an absolutely wonderful story with an even lovelier message.  I just love Reynolds' illustrations, as I do in all of his books, and it's as though I can feel Vashti's creative energy flowing into her work on each page.  I just adore Reynolds' watercolor and pen and ink style and the charming, sweet life it breathes into his illustrations.  He is definitely among our favorite authors and illustrators.

We've all had times in our lives where we're convinced we absolutely can't do something and don't even want to try. The Dot is an empowering, beautiful story that will inspire readers of all ages to believe in themselves, try new things, and see just what they can become if they simply take the chance.   We all have something special to share with the world; we just need to have the courage to make our mark and see where it takes us.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." 

~ Lao Tzu

Day 193: If I Built A House

In honor of World Read Aloud Day this coming Wednesday, I thought I'd feature our current favorite book to read aloud: If I Built a House.  I can't even begin to tell you how excited we were to discover Chris Van Dusen's latest book on the shelf at the library the other day.  I didn't even know there was going to be a follow-up to the amazingly fabulous If I Built a Car, and I knew -- just KNEW! -- that it was going to be awesome.  And let me just tell you:  it is!  In every possible way!

If you've never read one of Chris Van Dusen's stories, you are seriously missing out!  Pack up the kids and head to your nearest library as soon as you finish reading this to try and track one down.  The Circus Ship, all of the Mr. Magee books (we've already featured Down to the Sea With Mr. Magee and A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee), If I Built a Car, and If I Built a House are some of the absolute BEST stories to read aloud, and I know they are books that my kids will remember fondly and want to read with their own children someday.  Van Dusen's illustrations are incredible -- I just love his bold, unique, retro style -- the story lines are clever, and oh, the rhymes! They are seamlessly crafted, brimming with creativity, and ridiculously fun to read.  If I do say so myself -- and I do -- Van Dusen belongs right alongside Seuss when it comes to brilliant rhyme design.  He's really one of the best there is.

One of my favorite things about If I Built a House (and If I Built a Car) is the way it encourages and captivates children's imaginations.  Now that he's designed his dream car, our favorite young inventor Jack is back, this time, to design the coolest, most amazing house on the block!  I wish I had been able to take pictures of my son's expressions when we read this book for the first time, for each time we turned the page, he beamed with amazement and excitement about what he was seeing. A gravity-free flying room, racetrack room, giant aquarium/water-filled room, living room with trampolines in the floor that lead to a giant ball pit, a bedroom in a tower that's accessible by elevator and giant twisty slide... this house has it all!  My favorite might just be the art room:  "You know how I constantly like to create?  Well, this is my art room.  Isn't it great?  You draw on the wall.  Don't worry, it's cool.  Hung way up high, on a big giant spool, is a huge roll of paper that hangs to the floor.  Just draw till you're done, then pull down some more!"  How incredible would that be?! The self-cooking, dish-cleaning kitchen is pretty amazing, too.  Whenever we read the lines that say, "It makes all the meals and the food is deeelish, Then it washes and puts away every last dish," my son looks at me and says, "That would be your favorite part!"  (Guess it's no secret how much I loathe doing the dishes.)

Be sure to check out the sketches on the inner covers of the book, too.  They show Jack's design from a slightly different point of view, complete with all of the fabulous features and notes on what he wants his house to be like.  This story can't help but spark young (and old!) imaginations, and we always love talking about which cool features and rooms we'd have in our dream house.  I can't wait to read this to my son's preschool class this coming Friday when it's my turn to be the surprise parent "mystery reader."  It's Lego week at his school this week, too, so I can't wait to see what cool creations he and his friends can dream up after reading this story!

Usually, when we discover a book that we really love, I add it to my Amazon wish list or keep a note of it to suggest to family as a gift idea when my kids' birthdays roll around.  Sometimes, though, as is the case with this story, I simply can't wait for a special occasion.  I grab my gift cards and put that book in my Barnes and Noble shopping cart faster than my kids race around the house after dinner.  I'm sure you're well aware of how much I love this book by now, but believe me:  it's one you simply cannot miss.