Day 245: The Bear Ate Your Sandwich

By now I think you know what happened to your sandwich.

But you may not know how it happened. 

So let me tell you.

It all started with the bear... 

Hooray for random books picked off the shelf at the library that turn out to be awesome! I love it when this happens! We are not familiar with this author, but are thrilled to complement her on such a fun, clever story! We brought this book home from the library a few weeks back and it quickly became bedtime favorite. My kids love the story of this hungry bear who wakes up in the city after a post-berry-binging nap in the back of a pickup truck.

This new forest is obviously unlike anything he has seen before, but it still has good trees for scratching (telephone poles), interesting smells (trash cans), and plenty of places to explore. The bear makes his way to the park, and that is where he sees it: the sandwich! 

The ending of this story is so cute, and my kids were delighted to discover the identity of the narrator. My son picked up on it right away, but it took my daughter a minute or two to figure out what really happened. Her reaction when she did was priceless (and resulted in a giggling request to read it again!)  I do not want to give anything away, but this clever, convincing storytelling is bound to make you smile. The cute illustrations add so much to the story, so be sure not to turn the pages too quickly! 

Day 242: Found

Salina Yoon is another recent favorite of ours, thanks to her sweet, charming stories and simple yet wonderfully expressive illustrations. We first discovered her work when we read Penguin on Vacation, and have loved the Penguin series ever since.  Found is another of my daughter's new library favorites, and has been on heavy rotation at bedtime for the past few weeks.

In Found, Bear comes across a toy bunny in the forest. Right away, he thinks it is the most special thing he has ever seen, but he knows that a toy this special must belong to someone else. He sets out to help the bunny find its owner, posting flyers on every tree in the forest.

Try as he might, Bear cannot find the owner. All the while, of course, Bear is loving the bunny more and more and wishing it could be his forever. He takes care of it, plays with it, and even makes the bunny a comfy bed next to his. One day, as Bear and the bunny are out riding on Bear's bike, bunny's owner appears. In his heart, Bear knows what he must do. He tearfully returns the bunny and sets off on his way. In a sweet, touching ending, however, Bear and his beloved bunny are reunited and able to return home together, safe and found! (Warning: if the ending of Toy Story 3 made you tear up, this book might, too.) 

I love so many things about this adorable book: the touching story line, Yoon's fabulous illustrations, and the message about the importance of doing the right thing even when it is hard. I especially love the collection of "Lost" posters on the inside covers -- they are clever and fabulous and not to be missed! Most importantly, though, this is a sweet story about love, kindness, and the bonds of friendship. What's not to love about that?

Day 239: All By Myself

Recently, we have been revisiting some of our favorite classics. My daughter, now four and a half, is old enough to enjoy most of the books my son (7) loves to read. While this has always been true to an extent, there have been times where the level of books my kids wanted to read varied such that it was difficult for me to read them the same book at the same time. Once my daughter had the attention span to read longer stories, however, this got easier. As a result, though, I found that I had inadvertently neglected to read her some of the stories that were my son's favorites at that age. It wasn't that he didn't like those stories anymore, but rather, they often were overlooked in favor of other stories. (The fact that those thin little paperbacks are so easily lost on the shelf or in the bottom of the book bin doesn't help, either.) Fortunately, my daughter recently found our collection of Mercer Mayer's Little Critter stories, and she has been hooked ever since.

I wrote about my favorite, Just Go To Bed, way back on Day 32. I can say with 100% certainty that anyone who has ever tried to rein an energetic little one into bed will both adore and relate to this story (perhaps all too well!) As you can probably guess by the picture above, All By Myself rings equally true to parents and children, alike. Little Critter can do so many things by himself: get dressed, brush his fur, tie his shoes, color a picture. And of course, there are some things he says he can do which could really use a little more practice. There is one thing, though, that he can't do on his own -- and that is go to sleep without a story. Sweet and fun, this is one of my daughter's new favorites, and I was surprised to realize that I had not yet featured it here on this blog. If you have a preschooler and have not yet discovered these gems, we highly recommend them! 

Day 228: The Pigeon Needs a Bath

We LOVE Mo Willems in our house, and we were thrilled to get a copy of his latest book last week. (Thanks, Uncle Jeff!)  Since then, we've read the book I don't even know how many times, shared it with my son's kindergarten class and my daughter's preschool class, and laughed our way through countless fits of giggles.  I'm pretty sure my daughter has memorized it already, as well, since when we were reading it at bedtime last night, she insisted on saying all of the Pigeon's lines herself.  I told myself that I would stop featuring Mo Willems' books on this blog because I've already written about so many of them, but when a book is this fun and silly and wonderful, it simply must be shared!

If you aren't familiar with the Pigeon series, you need to get yourself to the library right now and take out one of these books immediately! Seriously. Go now. Read the rest of this post later. You're missing out!!  These books are absolutely hilarious and my children and I can't help but smile and laugh out loud at the Pigeon's antics each time we read them.  The Pigeon Needs a Bath is the most recent in the series, and might just be one of my favorites yet.

The cover itself lets you know just where this story is headed.  The Pigeon is filthy and needs a bath, but he insists he does not.  After all, he just took a bath last month! "'Clean.' 'Dirty.' They're just words, right?" He feels clean! As for those flies that are swarming around him? "Purely coincidental."  In true Pigeon form, he finally agrees -- reluctantly, of course -- to get into the bath, but not without one of Mo's classic multi-framed page spreads of Pigeon banter.  "The water is too hot… Too cold… Too deep!  Not deep enough… Too lukewarm… Too cold… Too hot again!… Not enough toys… Too many toys… Still too hot…"  And once he finally gets in (as I have experienced with my own children time and again), he naturally changes his mind and doesn't want to get out!  Right. On. In every way. So fun!

I suppose really needn't say anything else, other than that I hope you are able to get your hands on a copy of this fabulous book as soon as possible! Mo Willems, thank you for creating so many fantastic stories that we will remember fondly for years to come.

Day 212: Penguin on Vacation

My daughter received this adorable book recently when we were on vacation with the ever-generous Uncle Jeff, and both she and my son have loved it ever since.  I found my son reading it on his bed many times throughout the week, and I loved listening in when he'd read it to my daughter as they snuggled up next to each other.  We all read it each night at bedtime, too -- usually twice.

The story is simple but sweet, with charming, colorful illustrations to match.  After growing tired of his cold climate living, Penguin decides to set off for warmer shores.  When he finally arrives on a tropical island, though, he's not so sure what to make of the place.  He can't do any of his usual vacation activities such as skiing, skating, or sledding, and starts feeling a bit lost and lonely.  Fortunately for Penguin, he is befriended by a fun-loving crab, who shows him that the best part about vacation isn't always what you do, but who you spend it with.

The first time I read this book, I thought it was cute and sweet.  The more I read it, though, the more I really came to love it.  As so often happens, this was partly because I saw how much my children love this book.  It was a gift for my daughter (who just turned 3), and given that my son has been really into reading the Magic Treehouse Series lately, I worried that perhaps it wouldn't hold his interest as much because it is shorter than most of the books he's been reading.  It only took one read through for me to realize that I needn't worry.  He's not too old to love this book at all; in fact, he might even love it more than his sister.

I had never read anything by Salina Yoon before this book, so I'm eager to check out some of her other work the next time we're at the library.  I've heard that another book in the series, Penguin and Pinecone, is quite endearing, too.  (And with a silly title about a pinecone, my kids can't wait to get their hands on it.)  If you're looking for a good pre-beach vacation story or just an all-around sweet book about friendship, Penguin On Vacation is a must for your book list.

Oh, and if you do go looking for it the next time you're at the library, you might need to check the new arrivals shelf as it just came out a few months ago (April 2013.)  Enjoy!

Day 198: How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends?

As I read this book for the umpteenth time with my daughter last night, I realized that I should probably write about it and share it with you here.  I also got to thinking about how much I love putting a little book in each of my kids' Easter baskets, and that the board books in these series would be perfect for anyone looking for a great non-sugar basket stuffer.  I just love the sturdiness and convenience of board books such as this one, which are always perfect for stuffing in a diaper bag or purse when we're on the go. But back to why we love this book...

We have many of the books in the "How Do Dinosaurs" series (again, thanks to our ever-generous Uncle Jeff), but this is one of our favorites.  It lives in a permanent pile on the little table next to our reading chair in my daughter's room, along with How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Dogs?, How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms?, Jamberry, and whichever Sandra Boynton book happens to be our favorite at the moment.  Our first experience with this series was the original How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, which, given my son's infatuation with dinosaurs, was an instant hit.  My 2.5 year old daughter loves these books, as well, and I always love:

1) How short they are.  They offer the perfect solution to the nightly requests for "Just one more story... please!" because they take less than a minute to read;

2) The cute little messages within each story to which my kids can always relate; and

3) The variety of dinosaurs featured in each book, along with the fact that their names appear somewhere on the page

The only down side to the board book versions is that they don't have the spreads on the inside cover featuring illustrations of all of the dinosaurs in the book, but the small, handy size more than makes up for that for me.  This particular story is especially perfect for any little ones who might be struggling to learn to share and play nicely with their friends.  I like the way the story demonstrates the wrong way to play (always prompting my daughter to say, "No!"), followed by the nice way.  When a dinosaur's friends come over to play, "Does he hog all the swings and the sandbox and slides?  Does he not give his friends any tricycle rides?"  No, a dinosaur doesn't!  "He shares all his toys and gives turns on his bike.  His friends get first choice for the games that they like."  It's a fun, quick, enjoyable read that my kids and I love.  If you haven't yet discovered this wonderful series by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague, look for it the next time you are at your library.  We hope you and your little reader will love it as much as we do!

Day 148: Where's Walrus?

When I first started delving into the wonderful world of children's literature with my first child, I lacked a proper appreciation for wordless picture books.  I don't know why, exactly, other than that perhaps my adult brain had simply grown accustomed to pictureless books and I was used to relying on words as they appeared on the page to tell the story.  I didn't take long, however, for me to realize that to young children, the story is told in the pictures, not in the words above or below them.  Sure, text is important and usually essential to a story, but I have come to learn that wonderful stories can also be told without any written words at all.

Where's Walrus? is one such story.  It's playful, fun, clever, and a recent favorite of my two children (ages 4 and 20 months).  They both love flipping through the pages on their own, and I love that we can not only read this together, but that my son can read this to my daughter all by himself.  (He loves that, too.)  The cover page of the book features a headshot of the soon-to-be-elusive walrus, giving us a sly little wink.  We know from the get-go, then, that this walrus has a definite plan in mind for what he is going to do today.  We then turn to see an overhead view of the zoo, where the other animals are lazing about and the zookeeper is caught taking a snooze at his post.   When the walrus decides to make a break for the exit, he leads the zookeeper on a chase throughout the city.  With each turn of the page, we see the walrus hiding in a new place or disguise -- in a fountain, helping construction workers, dancing the can-can -- but the puzzled zookeeper does not.  My kids delight in the simple fact that they can always spot the walrus but the zookeeper can't, and it naturally leads to an excited chorus of "Where's Walrus?" on each page.

The ending is quite clever (I won't give it away), and the illustrations throughout contain wonderful little subtleties that bring the story to life even more.  (My son noticed, for example, that at the beginning of the story when we first meet the walrus, the peacock's feathers are down, the other animals are sleeping, and there are no visitors at the zoo.  On the last page, though, the peacock's plumage is on full display, the other animals are awake, and the zoo is full of happy visitors.  I had noticed the addition of visitors, but I'm not sure I ever would have picked up on the change in the peacock's tail feathers.  I just love seeing what little details kids notice in books, don't you?)  The choice of bold colors on neutral backgrounds coupled with simple lines and shapes makes the book very visually appealing, too, especially for younger readers.  I'm not quite sure under what genre I should categorize the artistic style -- art deco, maybe? -- but whatever it is, I love its funky, retro feel.  (I also think the zookeeper looks just like the Monopoly guy.)  If you have a preschooler or younger child and are looking for a great wordless picture book, this is one you won't want to miss.   

Day 114: The Pigeon Wants a Puppy

If you have a preschooler and have not yet discovered Mo Willems' Pigeon books (or any books by him, really), you must go to your local library immediately and find one!  Seriously, you are missing out and need to read one of his fabulous stories as soon as possible.  You won't be disappointed, I promise.  We LOVE Mo Willems here in our house, and he is one of the few authors for whom I feel the need to own every single one of his books.  We featured one of all time favorites Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus back on Day 64, but felt we just had to share one of the equally hilarious sequels, The Pigeon Wants a Puppy.  If you're familiar with the Pigeon, you know that he pretty much is a preschooler in bird form:  he is funny, independent, charming, cute, clever, and wants what he wants when he wants it (which is usually NOW!)  He can go from endearingly sweet to tantrum mode in about .5 seconds, and doesn't like taking "No" for an answer.  The story begins in Willems' classic conversational form, with the Pigeon greeting us with a friendly, "Oh, hello.  How are you?  I'm fine.  Thanks for asking."  And then, as would any three year old intent on getting something he wants, he gets right to his point.  "By the way, do you know what I want?  What I've wanted forever...? [and then, in more of a secret whisper] At least since last Tuesday...?  A PUPPY!!"   He promises to take care of it and water it once a month (insert fits of child giggles here), only to then get mopey and defensive that we don't seem to be buying it. "Oh... I get it.  You don't want me to be happy, do you?  You don't want me to take a piggyback ride on my puppy!  Or play tennis with it!"  Just as his fit reaches its peak, we hear a "Woof!" off in the distance... and the pigeon gets his wish!  The comedy ensues as the pigeon meets the puppy (who is much bigger and slobbery than expected) and ultimately decides that he has changed his mind:  what he really wants is a walrus!  I'm always amazed at how much emotion Willems can convey in such simple drawings, and love the way he uses the text to emphasize the Pigeon's mood.  The font gets smaller when the pigeon is feeling sad, and bigger as his intensity and volume increase.  Be sure to read the pigeon's list of "Things I Want" on the title page; it is positively hilarious!  I know the day will come when my children are begging and pleading for a puppy in their own pigeon-style, but until then, I can simply sit back and enjoy reading this delightfully silly and engaging story.  Enjoy! 

Day 95: The Please and Thank You Book

My son received this as a gift from his grandmother when he was two and it was an immediate hit!  The Little Golden Please and Thank You Book contains fifteen little tales about manners that are perfect for preschoolers.  The rhymes are short -- more like poems, at times -- so are quick and fun to read.  They also address topics that are particularly relevant to the preschool demographic, such as sharing, playing fair, and how to be a polite guest. Ironically, none of the verses is specifically about saying "please" or "thank you," but the book does a great job of reminding children of the proper ways to (and not to!) behave.  Ricky Raccoon provides a perfect example of how to act when playing at a friend's house, "the Ox always knocks before opening a door," and "thoughtful elephants always remember to wipe their muddy feet" before coming inside. Leopards always wait for the light and stay to right when crossing the street. Then there is my son's favorite, "Don't Be Grabby, Gorilla," a title we find ourselves repeating to our son when he forgets to ask politely for something.  Of course, we also encourage him to be like the rabbit twins and try new foods when he is at the table -- "Funny or runny or something new, they try at least a bite or two" -- though he is not always as adventurous.  Does your little one have the tendency to slam doors?  You'll love "Not So Wild, Cats!"  "Wildcats make their mother roar, the way they slam the kitchen door.  If they would close it quietly, they'd see how pleased their mom would be."  Now that I think about it, my son actually likes the stories about how not to act the most ("Terrible Tigers" is another favorite.)  Hmm..... Regardless, this cute collection is a great way to remind our little ones about the importance of good manners while making them smile in the process.

Day 64: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

I usually try to spread out posts by authors that we love, but my son is so excited by this book right now that I couldn't resist!  When his amazingly generous Uncle Jeff found out how much my son loved Knuffle Bunny, he sent it (and the fabulous sequels) to us, along with another Mo Willems classic, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!  (Thank you, Uncle Jeff!)  Like Knuffle Bunny, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! is a Caldecott honor book with fabulous illustrations and fantastically comical text that immediately engages young readers and makes parents smile.   Upon opening the book, you see Willems' simple, vintage-style illustrations of a pigeon dreaming about driving a bus.  Turn the page once more, and you meet the bus driver, who kindly asks you before the story even starts not to let the pigeon drive the bus.  Finally, we meet our determined little pigeon, who immediately says, "I thought he'd never leave!"  Then pausing, looking oh-so-innocent: "Hey, can I drive the bus?  Please?  I'll be careful."  And from the very first time we read this story, my son immediately yelled out, "No!" after each of the pigeon's requests with an ever-growing smile on his face.  I was amazed by how he immediately interacted with the story so fully, never doubting for a second that the bus driver was talking directly to him and that he was now in charge.  The pigeon's expressions in this book are priceless, as are my son's reactions to his incessant pleading to drive the bus.  The pigeon is clever and persistent in his requests until, after repeatedly being told "No!", he breaks down into a perfectly three-year-old-esque tantrum: "LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!!!"  Any parent will be able to relate to the continuous pleading, and any child will be delighted to be the one finally saying, "No!" over and over and over.  There are a bunch of other Pigeon books in the series, and given our recent love affair with Mo Willems, I have no doubt we'll be bringing them home from the library soon.