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My kindergartener has a love of words or, more accurately, a love of made-up words. She's not able to sit down and write words by sounding them out yet, but lately she's shown a lot of interest in arranging letters together to form pretend words. After she finishes writing her string of letters, she asks, "Mommy, what does this say?" We sound the word out together and laugh. She originally created a lot of words with only consonants, until I explained to her that all words usually contain vowels between the consonants. Our pretend word play turned into a simple lesson about vowels and consonants, and I provided her with a list of the vowels to use as a reference when making up words.

Here are a few of her made-up dictionary entries:

Eef: a type of lettuce that looks like a leaf

Amomilis: a kind of fruit that looks like a blueberry that grows on a pink bush. They are smaller than your pinky. If you drop one, it will disappear.

Coymix: type of food you need to mix. Need to make sure it doesn't have too much sugar because it might get very tall and all messy. It's a different kind of cake that has nuts in it.

Cobwixu: type of animal like a giraffe but it doesn't have any spots.

My daughter drew accompanying illustrations for each of her entries. Below I've included a few of her completed pages with illustration.





Most kids I know find dictionaries fascinating. Every home library should include include at least one printed dictionary, preferably more. Yesterday, I read an article in the Washington post titled, "Internet may phase out printed Oxford Dictionary." (Today the Oxford University Press issued a statement contradicting all the online buzz that they plan to stop printing the dictionary.) I use online dictionaries quite often when trying to find the correct spelling or meaning of a word, but I've never referenced the OED, print or online. However, we do own a massively large, one volume Webster's Third New International Dictionary and even though it is not as complete as the 20 volume Oxford English Dictionary, it is still very fun to browse though and use as reference. Last year we refer

Even though I don't write many posts focusing on nonfiction books, we actually read several nonfiction books each week. In fact, my preschool-aged daughter nearly always picks out a nonfiction book to bring home from the school library. She especially adores books about animals or nature.

Today, Travis at 100 Scope Notes is hosting a Nontraditional Nonfiction Monday. He has challenged participating bloggers to think creatively and go a different direction with their reviews. To change things up, for this post I was planning to have my daughter post her own review of whatever book she brought home from school, fully expecting it to be a nonfiction selection. However she caught me off guard last week and brought home Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas. Surprise, Mommy! Not exactly nonfiction, but a great book nonetheless (if you haven't read it, shame on you). So we adapted our plan, checked out a nonfiction book about bunnies from the public library and found a way to work those silly rhyming dust bunnies into the post with a Q&A about our nonfiction pick of the week. Now, without further ado, let the craziness begin...

Rabbits (Blastoff! Readers: Farm Animals) by Hollie Endres. Bellwether Media (2008); ISBN 9781600140853; 24 pages
(Book Source: Copy from our local library)

Brimful: Hello, Rhyming Dust Bunnies! Ed, Ned, Ted and Bob, it's so nice to have all four of you join us today on Brimful Curiosities. Thanks so much for letting us know what you think about the book, Rabbits (Blastoff! Readers: Farm Animals).
(Just a note to those not familiar with the Rhyming Dust Bunnies -- they love to speak using rhyming words...that is all except Bob, the observant one. He tries to impart useful information.)

Almost two weeks ago on the evening of April 14th, my husband and I were just starting to get ready for bed when a flash of light outside lit up our entire home. A little bit later we heard a huge boom. Puzzled, my husband went outside to investigate, thinking it might have been a thunderstorm coming but the sky was perfectly clear. Later on we learned that the bright light and boom was a meteor. According to news reports, the meteor shot across the sky a little after 10:00 p.m. and was witnessed in at least six states including Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and Michigan. One of my high school friend's parents found a meteorite on their farmland. Farmers in the rural Southwestern part of Wisconsin are finding meteorite fragments in their fields and meteorite hunters are canvasing the area, hoping to find one of those special chunks from the sky.

My daughter upon hearing the news, looked extremely disappointed. She wished she had been awake to see the light and hear the boom. Even though she didn't witness the fireball, she still is quite interested in learning more about them. We've watched a few of the news updates that have featured people talking about the meteorites and read a few of the news articles online. This week we also checked out a couple of books from the library about meteors and meteorites.

Meteor Showers (True Books)
by J.A. Kelley. Children's Press Scholastic (2010); ISBN 9780531168974; 48 pages
(Book Source: Copy from public library)

Taking a walk with children is sometimes a slow journey. The kids love to stop, look and explore nature, taking in all the sights and sounds. Last spring when my son first started walking, he spent a lot of time checking out all the bugs on the ground. He particularly liked watching the ants because they moved around a lot and he could easily follow them around on the pavement. We spent this week learning about ants and their habitat by reading a Smithsonian Backyard book about little black ants written by Wisconsin author Janet Halfmann.

"Little Black Ant pokes her head from a tiny sandy hill dotting the lawn of the house on Park Street. It is summertime and the anthill is a flurry of activity. Beneath the hill lies a busy ant city, with many rooms connected by little tunnels." - Little Black Ant on Park Street by Janet Halfmann, illustrated by Kathleen Rietz

Author Janet Halfmann, through her non-fiction picture book, helps children learn about ant colonies and the life cycle of a little black ant (the common picnic ant). One summer a little black ant emerges from the colony and she searches for food along a city street. Her job presents several challenges including figuring out how to move a large, dead caterpillar and fighting a large carpenter ant. A bird scoops her in the air on a gum wrapper and she must find her way home. She and her friends feast on cookie crumbs and sweet juice from aphids. The busy ants work energetically all summer long and into the fall when they return below to winter underground.

This is the first book we've read from the Smithsonian Backyard Series, and I'm very impressed by the writing and illustrations in this large paperback. This isn't written in the usual textbook non-fiction style, but instead reads exactly like an entertaining picture book. Little Black Ant on Park Street successfully introduced my children to a typical ant species. They easily became engrossed in the story of the little black ant, and they learned a lot of factual information along the way. Illustrator Rietz uses unique angles and perspectives in her colorful drawings and gives a detailed, almost microscopic look at the life of an ant. My preschool daughter asked several questions about the colony underground and loved seeing all the tunnels and rooms. My son focused longingly on the picnic cookie illustration and pointed out the ants carrying crumbs away. One page shows children quietly and carefully observing the ants, making sure not to disrupt or harm them. Several other species of plants and animals are featured throughout the pages and the last page highlights these as "Points of Interest." The last page also includes a more scientific summary about the Little Black Ant and a glossary defines a few of the key terms used in the book. The book is also available in hardcover or microbook format and a read-long CD/book combo or plush ant toy can be purchased as well.

"Whenever he can, President Obama likes to share dinner with his family. During their evening meals, the First Family has a tradition they refer to as "Thorns and Roses." They will go around the table, telling one another about something good and something bad that happened during their day." - TIME For Kids President Obama: A Day in the Life of America's Leader

Just a month ago, President Obama delivered a televised back-to-school address to the school children across the nation. At that time he asked them to "put in the hard work it takes to succeed." President Obama knows quite a bit about hard work and responsibility. His job requires both. Kids can read about his daily life as President of the United States in the paperback book released this week, TIME For Kids President Obama: A Day in the Life of America's Leader by the editors of Time for Kids Magazine.

TIME For Kids President Obama is laid out a bit like a magazine, with eye-catching color photos on each page and short text segments illustrating various parts of the President's day. The book starts with a brief introduction of his journey to the White House, the campaign trail and election day. Kids will love the informative descriptions of the White House complete with rendered drawings and a Washington, D.C. city aerial picture map. Then, going from morning to night, readers are shown behind-the-scenes aspects of the President's daily life. The morning workout, briefing, a sample daytime agenda, family time and staying up late -- President Obama leads a busy life. Besides daily life facts and tidbits, the book is chock full of educational features like a chart of all the U.S. presidents, the order of presidential succession, branches of the federal government and the Cabinet. A short quiz in the back of the book tests readers' knowledge and an alphabetical index directs readers to specific subjects.

I really can't say enough good things about this informative yet entertaining book about President Obama. I learned quite a few facts from reading it. Did you know there are 87 phone lines on board Air Force One and that President Obama receives over 40,000 letters a day! The book would make a great gift or possible collector's book for boys and girls, and I think it would be a useful educational tool for schools, especially for kids in the middle grades. It is written in such a way that even those reluctant readers should find it interesting.

On page 71 of the book, the Easter Egg Roll is featured and it shows a picture of the President reading Where the Wild Things Are at the 2009 White House Easter Egg Roll on April 13, 2009. If you were wondering what it's like listening to President Obama read a children's book, check out this highly entertaining YouTube video of the event. Reading aloud is just one of the many things the President does well. "Let the wild rumpus start!" (Just in time for the movie release on the 16th.)

TIME For Kids President Obama: A Day in the Life of America's Leader the editors of Time for Kids Magazine. Time For Kids (October 2009); 128 pages; ISBN 9781603208291; (Ages 6-13)
Book Source: Review copy provided for free by the publisher (View my full disclosure statement for more information about my reviews.)