Day 234: Owl Babies

My cousin passed this book along to us a few years back, but for some reason, we didn't read it much until recently.  My daughter pulled if off her shelf a few weeks ago, and it's been one of her most requested bedtime stories ever since.

Three owl siblings, Sarah, Percy, and Bill, awake one night to discover that their mother is gone. Sarah thinks their mother must have gone off hunting ("To get us food!" Percy adds), while Bill, the youngest, simply cries, "I want my mommy!"  Together, the three owlets watch and wait, hoping and wishing that their mother will return.  Sarah remains the reassuring optimist (at one point suggesting that they all sit on her branch), Percy seems to follow Sarah's lead (I love when he reaches out to hold Bill's wing!), and poor, worried Bill continues to cry, "I want my mommy!" In the end, of course, the mother owl does return to the sheer delight of her little ones, comforting them with the knowledge that she will always come back. I love the way the owls' personalities show through in Martin Waddell's charming story, and Patrick Benson's illustrations are remarkably expressive.  I adore listening to my daughter chime in as Bill each time we read, too.  It's natural for children to feel a little separation anxiety from time to time, so they will likely find both comfort and humor in this sweet, lovely bedtime story.  

Day 224: Pictures From Our Vacation

It's February:  that ironic month in New England that seems oh-so-long, despite being the year's shortest.  Naturally, given the weeks of sub-freezing temperatures and sicknesses that always grace our household at this time of year, I'm dreaming of summer.  Sweet, sweet summer, with days spent playing on the beach and swimming in the lake and hiking in the mountains of New Hampshire.  Ahhh….. Alas, warm weather is still a few months away, so I'll have to settle for looking at pictures of sunny places, dreaming about vacation, and drinking coconut coffee.

When we went to the library last week and my children happily picked random books from the shelves, I turned to my trusty list of books to find, hoping to bring home a few new titles I've been wanting to read for a while.  Pictures From Our Vacation was one such title on that list, having been recommended by my fabulous friend Melinda, children's librarian extraordinaire, who hailed it as one of her kids' favorite books last summer.  I was thrilled to find that our library had it available and added it to our pile, eager to bring it home.  Thanks, as always, Melinda, for the fabulous recommendation!

I absolutely love this story! I've never read anything by Lynne Rae Perkins before, but there are many Cynthia-Ryland-esque qualities about this book that I just love.  It's a wonderfully sweet story about a family's vacation to visit relatives and the memories they make along the way.  At the start of the trip, the mother gives each of the children a Polaroid camera and a scrapbook in which to place their pictures so that they can have a nice souvenirs from their vacation.  The kids snap pictures along the way -- of hillsides, the sky, the back of their dad's head as he drives -- but as they are returning home, they realize that the photographs hardly remind them of their vacation at all.  Rather, it's the time spent with family, the laughter, the stories, the cool feel of the water in the lake -- all of the things that they couldn't capture on film -- that were the most memorable. The snapshots, images, and maps with which Perkins illustrates the book are perfect, and I couldn't love the message of this story any more.  This will definitely be a book that we add to our summer vacation collection.

I'll end this post with my favorite excerpt from the book. While I will always take pictures to capture the moments that we spend together as a family, I hope that my children will believe, as I do, that it is the time we spend doing those things together that is the most wonderful of all.

"I looked out the window.  There were big electrical towers alongside the highway.  I took a picture of them.  In my mind they looked like giant robots marching across the earth, carrying the electricity along in their hands.  It's probably hard to take a picture that shows that, even with a really good camera. And it's hard to take a picture of a story someone tells, or what it feels like when you're rolling down a hill or falling asleep in a house full of cousins and uncles and aunts.  There are a lot of things like that.  But those kinds of pictures I can keep in my mind."

Day 202: Grandpa Green

We've gotten this gorgeous story out of the library several times now, and each time, I've vowed that I'm going to go home and blog about it.  Grandpa Green is an absolutely beautiful book, brought to life by some of the loveliest, most creative illustrations I've ever seen. 

In this heartfelt, poignant story, a young boy recounts the life of his great-grandfather, a remarkable man whose experiences and memories have been magically preserved in his garden.  As we wander among Grandpa Green's topiary trees, we learn of his childhood on a farm, time as a soldier in a world war, how he met his wife in a French cafe, and of the family they went on to create together.  Along the way, the great-grandson is seen admiring the memories so beautifully sculpted for him.  If you look closely, you'll also notice that he is gradually collecting gardening tools that have been left behind, as if to reassure us that his great-grandfather's memories and talents will live on long after he is gone.   

Grandpa Green is definitely the type of book that kids and adults of all ages will love for different reasons.  My children love studying the illustrations and quietly observing new details each time we read it, especially given their love of nature.  In many ways, though, I think this book is one that I love and appreciate far more than they do.  There are so many clever little things within the story that might be missed by kids but exhibit exactly why this book is so brilliant, such as the topiary sculpture of an elephant on the page that tells us how the great-grandpa sometimes "forgets things like his favorite floppy straw hat," or the way that the leaves on the tree gradually fade from green to brown when we learn that now Grandpa Green is pretty old.  I feel like we could read this story 100 times and discover something new each time.  

Grandpa Green was a Caldecott Honor Book in 2012, and deservedly so.  The text is brief, but the illustrations add volumes to this touching, whimsical story.  The description on the jacket cover describes this lovely book as exploring "aging, memory, and the bonds of family history and love."  The New York Times Book Review calls it "an unassuming little masterpiece" whose "power lies in its rich, allusive artistry."  I couldn't agree more.  

Day 135: I Can't Talk Yet, but When I Do...

We brought this adorable book home from the library last week and it is so sweet that I just had to write about it.  Told from the perspective of a baby brother to his older sister, it tells of all the things he would say to her if he could.  "I can't talk yet, but when I do, I'll say thank you for helping to take care of me... for sharing your toys and making me laugh, and for helping me when I was learning to walk."  The little brother can't wait to be able to tell his big sister how much he loves it when she sings him songs, or that he is sorry about the time he tore the painting she brought home from school.  He'll let her know that when he grows up, he wants to be just like her, and he'll finally be able to say the one thing he wants to tell her most of all: "I love you."  The illustrations are darling, and I just love the different scenes and interactions between the two siblings throughout the book.  My favorite is the one of the brother and sister snuggling together in her bed while she reads him a story by flashlight.  The whole book seems to capture the relationship between my two little ones perfectly, which is why I think I love it so much.  My daughter is starting to be able to say some words, and my son loves asking her to repeat them as often as possible:  "Can you say Ma Ma?  Can you say Da Da?  Can you say Ba Ba?" (which is what he tries to get her to call him.)  I always feel so incredibly fortunate that my children absolutely adore each other, and I know that my daughter idolizes my son in every way.  There is no doubt in my mind that she wants to be just like him, but I know it can still sometimes be hard for my son to understand why my daughter does some of the things she does.  If you have or know a child who has recently become a big brother or sister,  read him or her this book, especially if they are having trouble adjusting to their new role as an older sibling.  It is a charming, sweet, and funny story about the love siblings have for one another, and is a wonderful reminder to all of the big brothers and sisters out there just how much they are looked-up-to, appreciated and loved.

Day 120: Ox-Cart Man

I've been waiting to write about this book since the day I started this blog.  Now that fall is in full swing and it is October, I just can't wait any more!  The Ox Cart Man has long been one of my absolute favorite picture books.  There are so many things that I love about this story that I hardly know where to begin.  From its very first line, the Ox Cart Man takes us into the life of a family in early nineteenth century New England: "In October he backed his ox into his cart and he and his family filled it up with everything they made or grew all year long that was left over.  He packed a bag of wool he sheared from the sheep in April.  He packed a shawl his wife wove on a loom from yarn spun at the spinning wheel from sheep sheared in April.  He packed five pairs of mittens his daughter knit from yarn spun at the spinning wheel from sheep sheared in April."  And so it goes.  We follow the ox cart man as packs up the things his family has worked so hard to make and grow throughout the year and brings to Portsmouth Market to sell:  birch brooms, woven linen, candles, potatoes, apples, goose feathers, maple sugar.  He proceeds to sell everything he has brought with him, including the wooden box he carried the maple sugar in, the barrel he carried the apples in, the bag he carried the potatoes in, his ox cart... even his beloved ox.  (I'll admit that part makes me a tear up sometimes.  I know.  I'm a sap.)  When he has nothing left but a pocketful of coins, the ox cart man wanders through the market himself, buying new things for his family to get them through the year ahead.  An embroidery needle for his daughter that had come all the way from England on a boat.  A Barlow knife for his son for carving birch brooms.  An iron kettle to hang over the stove.  Two pounds of wintergreen peppermint candies.  And when he finally returns home to family, we see the whole cycle begin once again.  "His daughter took her needle and began stitching, and his son took his Barlow knife and began whittling, and they cooked dinner in their new kettle... and that night the ox-cart man sat in front of his fire stitching new harness for the young ox in the barn..."  

Hall's prose is beautifully written, and I can't help but feel like I am a part of the story while I am reading it.  Each time, I am overwhelmed by a sense of what life was like in those days gone by, and am in awe of its simplicity and difficulty all at the same time.  The gorgeous illustrations, done by the amazingly talented Barbara Cooney, earned this book the Caldecott Medal in 1980, and they are the perfect accompaniment to Hall's story.  Simple, soothing, telling, and beautiful.  At first, I was worried that my son might find this book boring, but he never has.  I think he, too, is fascinated by how our ancestors lived and the ways they depended on nature and the land for their survival.  Seasons change, years pass, and life goes on, but this book will always be one of my favorites. 

Day 111: Chrysanthemum

Choosing what to name our children was always an exciting and important decision.  Both times I was pregnant, we found out what we were having -- the first time a boy, the second a girl -- and I loved knowing so that, among other reasons, I could start calling the baby by name.  My husband and I were very much on the same page when it came to selecting names, fortunately, both preferring classic names to trendy or unique ones.  Both of our children have very traditional English names:  Will and Emma.  I'll admit that as teachers, two other factors crossed our minds during our name selection process:  when our children's teachers looked at their class rosters someday, they would be able to pronounce their names properly and know whether they were looking for a boy or a girl.  Silly, perhaps, but true.  We also hoped that our children would love their names, since to us, they were as perfect as our little ones themselves.  Chrysanthemum's parents felt much the same way.  "Her name must be everything she is," said her mother.  "Her name must be absolutely perfect," said her father.  And it was."  Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum.  Kevin Henkes has created another masterpiece is this adorable and clever story.  Chrysanthemum loved every thing about her name -- the way it sounded when her mother woke her up or her father called her for dinner, the way it looked when she saw it written in ink on an envelope, in icing on her birthday cake, and when she wrote it herself with her fat orange crayon -- until she started school.  Other students laughed when the teacher read her name during roll call, and girls teased her:  "It's so long... It scarcely fits on your name tag... You're named after a flower!"  Each day after school, Chrysanthemum returns home feeling a bit sad and wilted, and each evening her parents manage to cheer her up.  Still, Chrysanthemum can't help but wish she had a different name... that is, until she meets the ever-so-fabulous music teacher, Mrs. Delphinium Twinkle.  Like so many of Henkes' books, this story is wonderful on many levels.  He is a master of addressing issues that are common among preschoolers and elementary aged children (in this case, teasing and wanting to fit in), while at the same time teaching children more appropriate ways to behave and treat one another.  In this case, he celebrates the beauty of being yourself and not only appreciating differences in one another, but celebrating them.  I also LOVE his illustrations and the way in which he portrays the unconditional love of his characters' parents.  There are so many clever little details in his drawings that are not to be missed:  the hilarious face on the very pregnant Mrs. Twinkle's dress, the map of Wisconsin and its cheese on the bulletin board, and especially the books Chrysanthemum's father can be seen reading throughout the story -- The Inner Mouse Vol. 1: Childhood Anxiety and A Rose by any Other Name... Understanding Identity.  We highly recommend this book to any young reader, particularly one whose name is different or who might be teased by her peers.  If you love Kevin Henkes as much as we do, you won't be disappointed. 

Day 108: We're Going On a Bear Hunt

"We're going on a bear hunt.  We're going to catch a big one.  What a beautiful day!  We're not scared."  Come along with a father, his four children, and their faithful border collie as they set out for an afternoon of adventure in Michael Rosen's fabulous version of the classic We're Going On a Bear Hunt.  My son has become quite fond of this story lately, and with good reason.  It's delightfully fun to read, and we can't help but feel the excitement building with each turn of the page.  Will they ever find a bear?  Once they do, will they be able to outrun it?  Will they shut their door in time??  The sound effects, of course, are my son's favorite part, and I always find my pace quickening along with the family's footsteps at the end of the book as they race towards home:  "Back through the cave!  Tip toe, tip toe!  Back through the snowstorm!  Hooo woooo, hoooo woooo!  Back through the forest!  Stumble trip, stumble trip!  Back through the mud!  Squelch squerch, squelch squerch!  Back through the river!  Splash splosh, splash splosh!  Back through the grass!  Swishy swashy, swishy swashy!" Never being one to go around, over or under things, my son also loves that the family has no choice but to boldly go through each obstacle they encounter.  Why go around the mud when you can squelch right though it?  Helen Oxenbury's illustrations are wonderful, and they do a great job of making the story come alive and feel exciting rather than scary.  One of my favorite images is the one on the last page, with the bear slowly heading home along the beach, hanging his head in defeat as the sun sets over the water.  As Rosen asks in his introduction, what is the bear thinking there?  This book is sure to make your child laugh with delight and ask to read it again and again.  I would prefer to stay snug under the covers, but perhaps after reading this story, your little adventurers will be asking to go out on a bear hunt of their own.

Day 69: I Love My Daddy Because...

I hope all of your fabulous dads out there had a wonderful Father's Day!  In honor of you and your special day, I thought it only appropriate to feature our favorite Daddy book, I Love My Daddy Because... I featured its sister story, I Love My Mommy Because..., around Mother's Day, and we adore this one for the same reasons.  The illustrations of the different species and their babies are beautifully done, and I just love how the story shows animal fathers caring for their young.   "I love my daddy because he plays with me.  He keeps me safe and warm (emporer penguin and chick)... He is big and strong (bald eagle and chick)...  He takes naps with me (lion and cub)...  He makes me laugh (chimpanzee and baby)... He helps me reach things (giraffe and calf.)"  I also like that the proper names of the animals and their babies are featured on each page.  This is another great book for babies and preschoolers, alike, and both of my little ones just love reading it.  We gave this book to my husband for his first Father's Day, but it is a favorite in our house all year round. 

Day 47: A Mother for Choco

This adorable story of motherly love was recommended by Jenny Remley Whittaker.  (I just love getting great new suggestions from facebook friends or followers of the blog.  Thanks, Jenny!)  We brought this book home after our recent library visit, and my son just loves reading it.  I can tell he loves a story when he becomes one of the characters, and before we even finished reading it for the first time, he was flapping his wings and pretending to be Choco.  Choco is a lonely little bird in search of a mother.  He seeks out several animals who he thinks look like him, but each time, is sent on his way to continue his search.  In the end, it is a very unlikely mother -- Mrs. Bear -- who brings him into her family and shows him that the only common trait parents and children need to have in common is love.   A charming story of adoption, diversity, acceptance, and unconditional love, I think this is a wonderful story for children of all backgrounds.  While it might resonate most with adopted or foster children, all kids can learn from the book's message that parents, children, brothers, sisters, and relatives needn't look alike to be a family.

Day 22: Waiting for Baby

I have a lot of friends who are pregnant right now, some of whom are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their first child, and others who already have a little one at home and are awaiting number two.  Two friends are "waiting for baby" any day now, and dear friends of mine just welcomed their son into the world yesterday.  (Congratulations Josh and Becca and big sister Sophie!)  It's serious baby mania, and it's wonderful!  As I've naturally been thinking a lot about these friends lately, I thought I would feature a book today that was one of my favorites when we were expecting our second child.  Going into my third trimester, I really wanted to find a great book to read with my son that would get him excited about becoming a big brother.  I was exceptionally nervous about how he would handle this, given that he went through a rather long phase of seeming to despise babies.  He was a little more than two at the time, and whenever he saw a baby anywhere or even a picture of one in a book, he would point at it and say, "No baby!  No baby!"  (For some reason, he would also say he wanted a girl but "no boy!"  Phew!)   I was thrilled, then, when my cousin sent us some of the books that had helped her eldest son get ready for becoming a big brother, too.  Waiting For Baby was by far the biggest hit, and we read it before bed every night.  It tells the story of Max, who knows his mommy is about to have a baby any day and can't wait to meet his new sibling.  Each day of the week, Max tries a new strategy to encourage the baby to come out, and each day, he is disappointed that "no baby came."  My son's favorite was the song he would play on his drum:  "Rum tum tum, baby come!  Rum tum tum, baby come!"  At week's end, of course, Max's little sister finally arrives and he gets to go to the hospital and meet her.  To me, this book was a perfect way to get my son excited about becoming a big brother and a wonderful teaching tool about what to expect.  We changed the title to "Waiting for Emma," and he loved to hear me explain how he would get to do the same thing as Max:  Grammy would come and stay the night with him while Daddy and I went to the hospital, and then he would get to come to the hospital to meet his baby sister!  I explained what things would be like at the hospital -- how I would be in a big bed and he would be able to sit on it with me and hold Emma -- and how after that we would bring Emma home with us.  We especially loved looking at the series of illustrations on the inside covers of the book, which show the things Max and his family do together before and after the baby is born.  If you or anyone you know is expecting #2 and looking for a great book to share with the big brother or sister-to-be, this is the one!  Oh, and it turns out I needn't have worried at all.  My son adores his baby sister more than anything in the world.