2013 Holiday Gift Guide!

Books are always among my favorite gifts to give and receive, for a whole variety of reasons.  If you're looking for gift ideas for your little one this holiday season, here are a few of our favorites:

New favorite finds of 2013:

The Day the Crayons Quit, by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

Journey, by Aaron Becker

Extra Yarn, by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen

On a Beam of Light, by Jennifer Berne, illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky

Sleep Like a Tiger, by Mary Logue, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

  I'm a Frog! by Mo Willems 

What we're putting under the tree for our kids this year (I can't wait!):

Andrew Henry's Meadow by Doris Burn (I am SO excited to add this to our home library!)

The Animal Book by Steve Jenkins (Daddy's pick -- our little guy will LOVE this!!)




Other classic favorites:

Silly fun!

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems

We Are in a Book! by Mo Willems

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler


King Arthur's Very Great Grandson by Kenneth Kraegel


For your animal lover:

Over in the Jungle by Maryann Berkes

Over in the Ocean by Maryann Berkes

National Geographic's Animal Encyclopedia

Dinosaurs!

Flip-O-Saurus by Sara Ball

For your truck lover:

Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

Little Blue Truck, by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Jill McElmurry



For your little inventor:

If I Built a House, by Chris Van Dusen

If I Built a Car, by Chris Van Dusen


Our favorite chapter books:

Henry and Mudge series by Cynthia Rylant

The Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne

Day 221: Sleep Like a Tiger

My son likes to tell me that he never sleeps (and sometimes, it certainly feels as though he's right.)  Even if he sees a picture of himself sleeping, he says, "I wasn't really sleeping.  I was just pretending."  He also routinely claims that he is going to stop the earth from spinning so that it will always be daytime.  If only our children could look forward to and appreciate bedtime as much as we do, right?!  When I saw this book at a local bookstore a few months back, I just knew I had to bring it home to my little sleep-averse guy.

Sleep Like a Tiger is a beautiful story that is perfect for snuggling up and reading at bedtime.  When a little girl tries to convince her parents that she is not at all tired and doesn't want to go to bed, a sweet, clever conversation ensues between them.  "Does everything in the world go to sleep?" the little girl asks?  "Yes," her parents told her.  "Our dog is sleeping right now, curled up in a ball on the couch where he's not supposed to be.  And the cat is fast asleep, stretched out in front of the fireplace, the warmest spot in the house."  The girl proceeds to inquire about all kinds of other creatures -- bats, whales, snails, bears -- and whether or not they sleep, too.  Finally, she mentions an animal who sleeps a lot -- the tiger -- and the way he stays strong by finding shade and resting in the jungle when he's not off hunting.  I love the parents' calm, patient manner as they subtly bring their daughter closer to sleep, and author Mary Logue's language throughout is wonderfully vivid and descriptive.  In the end, of course, the little girl drifts off to dreamland, in a delightfully woven sequence of rituals that mimic the very creatures she has just discussed.

The artwork in the story is gorgeous and is what drew me to the book in the first place.  Pamela Zagarenski's illustrations are simply delightful; peaceful and fanciful at the same time.  There are several wonderful literary allusions in the story, as well, and plenty of small details within her artwork that I just love.  I will say, though, that there is something about the illustrations that doesn't really appeal to my 3 year old daughter.  Perhaps they are a bit too abstract for her liking.  My son seems to like them well enough, though even he is not nearly as impressed by the illustrations as I am.  Sometimes art is just like that, I suppose.  Regardless, Sleep Like a Tiger is a wonderful story that is one of my favorite new finds this year, and I'm thrilled to have added it to our home library.

 

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!

Halloween fun!

We love Halloween and we love Elephant and Piggie, so we couldn't resist carving a pumpkin in their honor.  Wishing you and your little ones a safe, fun, and happy Halloween!

Fall favorites

Fall is my favorite season.  I've been a New Englander my whole life (minus the two times I've lived abroad), and I can't imagine autumn without the simple beauty of the changing leaves, apple picking, crisp days, and cool nights.  The first crackling fire of the season, wearing my slippers, pumpkin coffee.... ahhhh... fall is the best!

Here are a few of our favorite stories at this time of year.  What would you add to this list?

Happy reading!

The Ox Cart Man by Donald Hall -- one of my favorite children's books of all!

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert - Be sure to create your own "leaf people" after reading this one!

A Leaf Can Be by Laura Purdie Salas

 Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson -- our Halloween favorite!

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams

 John Pig's Halloween by Jan L. Waldron

 Bear Has a Story to Tell by Philip C. Stead