Day 115: Big Red Barn

This was one of the first books my mom gave to my son after he was born.  The way I saw it, any book picked out by someone who had raised three kids over twenty years and read hundreds of children's stories along the way just had to be good.  It took a while for this story to become one of my son's favorites, but as he neared his first birthday, he fell in love with it!  Thank goodness it comes in board book form, as it wouldn't have lasted two days otherwise.  This is definitely my favorite of Margaret Wise Brown's books, and I only recently made the connection that illustrator Felicia Bond is the same artist for the "If You Give a Mouse" series. Big Red Barn is a perfect story for toddlers, telling the story of the animals' day on the farm in gentle, rolling verse with cute, charming illustrations.  "By the big red barn in the great green field, there was a pink pig who was learning to squeal.  There was a great big horse and a very little horse.  And on every barn is a weathervane, of course... a golden flying horse."  My son used to ask me to read it to him over and over in the car as he turned the pages, and he just loved all the sounds the animals made on the farm.  I think there must have been at least a two-month period in which he wanted to read this several times a day.  (My daughter is just now starting to love this book, as well.)  My two favorite pages show the animals playing together in the field, then later seeking the warm shelter of their barn to settle in and sleep for the night.  It's a wonderful bedtime story, and although I think the meter could be a little better at times, it is soothing and perfect for lulling little ones to sleep. 

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 113: Mouse Soup

Today, in what was probably just the first of many times this will happen, my son sat down to read a story and informed me that he wanted to read it all by himself.  I asked if I could just sit and listen to him while he read, and he said, "No… I just want to read it myself this time."  He proceeded to read the book carefully and slowly under his breath, while I pretended not to be paying attention from the other side of the room.  I loved it.  What made it even better was the fact that when he finally finished the book, he proudly came running over to me and said, "I read the whole book all by myself!  Now you read it to me, Mum Mum," and we snuggled up on the couch to do just that.  It was really the best of both worlds:  I got to hear my (fiercely independent) little guy read a book to himself, and then cozy up next to him to read it with him again.  The book was Mouse Soup, one of our other Arnold Lobel favorites.  We borrowed it from the library once a while back, and my son loved it so much that I was thrilled to find a copy at our last library book sale (and for only 50 cents!)  It's an early reader chapter book, but unlike the Frog and Toad series, is really one longer story broken up into separate chapters.  In this fun tale, an unsuspecting mouse is caught by a weasel, who threatens to make him into mouse soup.  The clever little mouse convinces his captor that the soup will not taste good without several stories added to it, and proceeds to tell four silly stories -- Bees and the Mud, Two Large Stones, The Crickets, and The Thorn Bush -- all of which are as delightfully entertaining as the end of the story itself.  Our favorite ingredient in the soup has to be "The Crickets," for neither my son nor I can make it through this chapter without giggling.  I love the creativity of the whole book and the silly events within, but I think what I love most about Mouse Soup is how it highlights and encourages the art of storytelling.   I also should add that this book lends itself quite well to reading in fun, different voices, and is far more enjoyable when read aloud this way.  (I just love hearing my son try to imitate my voices for the weasel, the crickets, and the old woman in "The Thorn Bush.")   While I don't love this book as much as Frog and Toad, it is still a great read that never fails to make us laugh.

Day 112: Listen, Listen

Fall has finally arrived here in New England and it is by far my favorite season of all!  It's why I love living here, and is what makes me tolerate the long, cold winters and those hot, humid summer days that can be so unbearable in a house without air conditioning.  The air turns crisp and the days, though growing shorter, are positively lovely.  I love the smell of the air as the nights get cooler and the leaves turn their gorgeous shades of yellow, orange, and red... even when I know that soon enough, we'll be spending countless hours raking them off of our lawn.  I love the sounds of leaves swishing and crunching under our feet, and the way the late-afternoon light hits the trees and makes those radiant colors glow.  The change in seasons can be magical, and I am always very happy to live in a place that has such variety among them.  Listen, Listen is a beautiful story that captures the wonderful sounds of the seasons as they gracefully turn from one to the next:  summer to autumn, winter to spring, and back to summer again.  Phillis Gershator's rhythmic verse and Alison Jay's beautiful illustrations complement each other perfectly, making Listen, Listen a delight to read, hear, and see.  "Listen, listen, what's that sound?  Insects singing all around! Chirp, chirp, churr, churr, buzz, buzz, whirr, whirr... Plop, plop, acorns drop.  Hurry, scurry, squirrels hop... Crunch, crunch, boots clomp.  Grown-ups shovel, children romp... Pop, pop, bulbs sprout.  Leaves grow, flowers shout."  The rolling verse is soothing and engaging to children at the same time, and Jay's crackle-varnish illustrations evoke a sense of timeless wonder and nostalgia.  Take your time to look at the pictures in this book, as well, for there are lovely little details to be found on each page.  Both my son and daughter love reading this story, and it is definitely one of our seasonal favorites.  My daughter loves hearing all of the different noises and sound effects throughout, and my son especially loves the hide and seek pages for each season that appear at the back of the book.  Available in both hardcover and a large board book format from Barefoot Books, Listen, Listen is a beautiful addition to any child's library.  What are your favorite sounds of the seasons?

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 110: Blue Hat, Green Hat

My daughter (14 months) cannot get enough of this book lately, so I figured it was well-deserving of a post here this week.  Seriously, it is the first book she wants to find when we sit down to read stories, and she'll reach and squirm and fuss until she has it in her cute little hands.  I'd say we read it repeatedly for a good 5 to 10 minutes before she'll be content with moving on to another book.  That's how much she loves it!  Now, I'll admit that there are other Sandra Boynton books that I personally like better (Moo, Baa, La La La is one), but the simple silliness of Blue Hat, Green Hat makes it perfect for little readers.  There are four characters in this book -- a moose, a bear, an elephant, and a turkey -- and each page features them wearing an item of clothing in different colors.  Big as they are, the animals all seem to be able to manage getting hats on their heads and pants on their legs, but not the turkey!  Try as he might, he gets it wrong every time.  He stands in his hat, puts his pants on his head, wears his coat backwards... and when he finally does manage to dress himself properly, he commits the ultimate "oops" and jumps into the pool with all of his clothes on.  My daughter loves the simple, bold illustrations and the brevity of this book (she's a speedy page-turner), and my son finds the turkey to be simply hilarious.  In between the giggles and cries of "oops!", children also learn some of their colors and items of clothing, too.  Sandra Boynton has a seemingly endless collection of  board books that are particularly adored by toddlers, and this one gets an emphatic seal of approval from our littlest reader. 

Day 109: Blueberries for Sal

We're heading to Maine for a wedding tomorrow, so got several books on cd out of the library today for my son to listen to on our roadtrip.  And, since we're going to Maine, I thought Blueberries for Sal would be a perfect story to take along with us!  I just love Robert McCloskey's timeless tales that are so beautifully and masterfully crafted, and Blueberries for Sal is no exception.  You might remember little Sal from One Morning in Maine.  This time, she is venturing off to Blueberry Hill to collect blueberries with her mother.  Tin pail in hand, Sal picks blueberries the way I always did as a child (and still do, sometimes,) eating three handfuls for every one berry that ends up in the pail.  Her mother, of course, is focused on the task at hand, picking as many berries as possible so that she can preserve them for the winter months ahead.  Sal snacks while her mother picks, eventually wandering off toward the other side of the Blueberry Hill, where we meet another mother/child pair intent on eating their share of berries and storing up for the upcoming winter:  a mama bear and her cub!  In a clever juxtaposition of motherly love, nature, and young curiosity, we follow Sal and the little bear as they stray from their mothers in search of berries of their own, only to end up with the mother of the other.  McCloskey's drawings are fabulous, as always -- this is another Caldecott Honor book -- and capture the wonder of that summer afternoon perfectly.  I particularly love the illustration that appears on both the first and last page of Sal "helping" her mom can the berries in their kitchen.  I think Sal and my son must have a lot in common.  I also can't help but be reminded of the many summer days I have been fortunate to spend in my grandmother's Maine field, sitting down in the middle of a large clump of wild, low-bush berries, picking to my heart's content, dreaming of the pie that we'll later make and knowing that what we don't pick today, the deer might eat tonight.  As with One Morning in Maine and Make Way for Ducklings, McCloskey captures the  essence of a time gone by, forever preserving it for future generations.  Fall might have officially arrived here in New England, but this is one book that will remind us of the simple joys of summer all throughout the year.