School is out, and my daughter is feeling a little sad about the end of kindergarten. While she enjoys her time at home, I think she is missing the structure of school. Things are a little more laid back and haphazard here. While I think it is important for kids to have plenty of unstructured play time, I do think that it is also just as important to keep some things predictable and familiar.
One of the changes we're making this summer is in our reading. So far, for the most part, we've neglected the audio book world. In an effort to shake up our routine this summer, we're incorporating audio books into our reading rotation. I'm not really interested in introducing my kids to the fancy, interactive book apps yet, but audio books we can manage. My daughter is already familiar with listening to audio versions -- she listened to plenty of stories at school. Audio books are great tools to use to help beginning readers become proficient readers. 
Last night we sat down as a family and listened to our first audio choice: Frog and Toad Are Friends
The narrator of this particular recording is Arnold Lobel himself. His expressive narrating skills are marvelously entertaining and the reading is accompanied by a nice, jaunty melody. If you're not already familiar with the book, the two main characters, Frog and Toad, reside near each other and spend their days together, living simply and supporting each other through various trials. Lobel's gentle humor is prevalent throughout the book. Frog and Toad's different personalities really shine through in his writing. The book is divided into 5 different stories about the friends' adventures: "Spring" - "The Story" - "A Lost Button" - "A Swim" - "The Letter." The reading level is just about right for my recently graduated kindergartener -- she can read the book with very minimal assistance.
My daughter loved the button story best of all. Poor Toad gets quite frustrated as he searches for his missing button. In "The Story" there's a picture that shows Toad dumping water on his head, and it baffled my son. He's still convinced the liquid in Toad's cup looks like milk, not water. And my favorite exchange: "One day in summer Frog was not feeling well. Toad said, "Frog, you are looking quit
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By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 6/11/2011
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JacketFlap tags: What my children are reading, HarperCollins, Classics, Award Winner, Animals, Beginning Readers, Audiobooks, Early Readers, Summer Vacation, Add a tag
By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 4/27/2011
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JacketFlap tags: Book Review, Picture Books, Animals, Read Aloud, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, What my children are reading, Bantam Books, Add a tag
My daughter has been a little obsessed with peacocks after reading Three Hens and a Peacock last month so I tracked down a few more peacock tales (hee hee) at our local library. Peet and Polacco are both master storytellers/illustrators and these two peacock books did not disappoint. Both stories are on the longish side, and they are probably best for children that don't have limited attention spans. 
The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock
Book Source: Copy from public library
"My tail has gone wild!" exclaimed Prewitt. "It's turned into a green-eyed monster! What a terrible tail! But then, after all," he sighed, "I grew it, so I suppose I'll just have to get used to it."
Prewitt the peacock is anything but proud. His pathetic, scraggly tail with only two eyespots is nothing to boast about. Even worse, one day his tail goes wild and turns into a "green-eyed monster." The two eyespots grow larger, fierce eyebrows and a mouth appear and two of the feathers look like scary arms. The other peacocks don't like the look of his new, spooky tail and tell him to leave or get rid of his monstrous feathers. However, Prewitt's weakness becomes his strength as his unique tail becomes a useful weapon in a dangerous jungle.
Tsk-tsk! I'm ashamed to admit this is the first book written by Bill Peet we've read, but let me tell you, it certainly won't be the last. Peet's story is funny and memorable plus it also teaches a valuable lesson, the importance of being who you are by maintaining your individuality despite oppression. The illustrations are spot-on and full of expression (and a monstrous face). You can't help but feel sad for poor Prewitt and cheer when he triumphs.
Related Link: Bill Peet Website 
Just Plain Fancy
Book Source: Copy from public library
"What are we going to do?" Ruth asked. "Fancy is too fancy to be Amish!"
While a peacock plays a big role in this book, the main focus is on Amish life. Two Amish sisters, Naomi and Ruth, find an unusual egg in the field outside their home. Longing to own something fancy, Naomi gently takes the "fa
By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 4/16/2011
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My kids did not get the chance to go on an outdoor Easter egg hunt today because the weather in our area was awful! Snow, wind and freezing temperatures do not make for good egg hunting weather. Instead, we ended up searching for egg picture books and noticed that many of them describe some very unusual, not-what-they seem eggs. Here's a list of our favorite "strange egg" children's books perfect for Easter or really any time of the year:
Duck & Goose
Book Source: Copy from personal library
"That's a silly question," Goose honked. "It is a big egg, of course."
"Of course it is an egg. I know that!" huffed Duck.
Duck and Goose encounter a round, spotted object that vaguely resembles an egg. They squabble over the "egg," each declaring ownership. Finally, after much fuss, they sit side by side on top of the egg, waiting patiently for it to hatch. In due time, a little blue bird comes along and offers an interesting explanation as to the identity of the "egg."
Even though the book is not exactly about an egg, it tops our list because it provides a sweet and humorous lesson about working together as friends. We first saw this book mentioned on Almost Unschoolers and immediately bought our own copy afterward. 
The Odd Egg
Book Source: Copy from public library
"All the birds had laid and egg. All except for Duck. Then Duck found an egg!"
A male duck feels left out because all the other birds have laid eggs. Then he finds a glorious large egg with green spots. The other birds make fun of him, and celebrate gleefully when their eggs hatch "Creak-Crack" one-by-one. Duck never gives up hope and finally with a surprising CREAK-CRACK-SNAP, Duck's egg hatches, sending all the birds into a frightened flurry.
Gravett's book is very clever, both in design and plot. The center part of the book where the eggs hatch is so neat! In pages of graduated size, all the eggs are lined up, each egg hatches one-by-one and you turn each segmented page to view the mother's response. The surprise ending delighted my children, though I suppose it could scare sensitive children.
By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 4/2/2011
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JacketFlap tags: What my children are reading, Feed Me Books Friday, Kid Konnection, HarperCollins, Book Review, Picture Books, Beginning Readers, Chronicle Books, Wordless Picture Books, Add a tag
When encouraging a new reader, it's important to find books that fit the child. Book Aunt wrote a great post a few weeks back about choosing the right books, if you are looking for specific tips. I've noticed that my daughter has definite preferences when it comes to books she wants to read independently. She loves books about baby animals, especially kittens, and she also gravitates towards books with a little girl as the main character.
We recently stumbled upon an I Can Read! book series by Lola M. Schaefer about a little gray kitten named Mittens. The books are "My First Readers" and are on the easier side of the beginning reader levels, perfect for preschoolers, kindergarteners and emergent readers. She adores this series because a). a cute little kitten is the main character and b.) she can read the books herself without any trouble whatsoever. We own all four in the series, and they've been in her book rotation all week long. The books remind me a of the popular Biscuit series books, except, of course, they are about a cat instead of a dog. My daughter wishes that Mitten's owner was a little girl instead of a boy.
Mittens
Follow Me, Mittens
What's That, Mittens?
By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 3/26/2011
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JacketFlap tags: Book Review, Picture Books, Art, Imaginative Play, 2010, Henry Holt and Company, Macmillan, Philomel Books, Penguin Young Readers, What my children are reading, Feed Me Books Friday, Kid Konnection, Add a tag
Two of the books we brought home from our last library visit contain famous works of art. What an excellent opportunity to introduce my children to a few famous artists! This week we talked about Monet, Van Gogh, O'Keeffe, Matisse, Cézanne and more. It was a completely unplanned educational activity.
Have you discovered any other picture books that contain versions of famous works of art?
Bridget's Beret
Book Source: Copy from local library
"Before Bridget made any kind of art, she'd put on her beret and adjust it just right."
Bridget's favorite pastime is drawing. She has many art supplies, and, most importantly, like all great artists, she owns and wears a beret. Sadly, on a very windy day, her fabulous black beret blows away. Without the special hat for inspiration, Bridget finds herself suffering from -- *gasp* -- artist's block! Thankfully her sister comes to the rescue and helps her remember that when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade.
Lichtenheld's book overflows with creativity, cuteness and plenty of clever quips and illustrations. My family is a huge fan of Lichtenheld's previous books (Duck! Rabbit! & Shark Vs. Train) and love his entertaining comic illustration style. A talking rabbit is just one of the many funny touches. He manages to craftily work in a few interpretations of famous art into this book. Bridget creates lemonade poster renditions including one of van Gogh's "The Starry Night" and another inspired by "Whistler's Mother."
As soon as I read the inside jacket flap and discovered that this book was about a girl who loves to draw, I knew I wanted to read it with my daughter. Bridget's Beret is the perfect book for budding artists.
The book includes a handy "How to Start Your Art" guide in the back that discusses several famous works of art: Giuseppe Arcimboldo, "Summer" - Mary Cassatt, "Child with a Red Hat" - Paul Cezanne, "Still Life with Peaches and Pears" - Vincent van Gogh, "Bedroom at Arles" - Henri Matisse, "Icarus" - Claude Monet, "Still Life with Sunflowers" - Georgia O'Keeffe, "Above the Clouds I" - Pablo Picasso, "Bull's Head" - Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, "Self Portrait in a Cap, Open-Mouthed" - Georges Seurat, "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" - Alfred Sisley, "The Boat in the Flood"
Related Links:
Tom Lichtenheld Website
By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 3/5/2011
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JacketFlap tags: HarperCollins, Book Review, Picture Books, Candlewick Press, What my children are reading, Add a tag
Silverlicious
Book Source: Copy from personal library
When I purchased a copy of Silverlicious (the newest Pinkalicious book) at the school book fair, I didn't realize it was about a tooth fairy. The shiny silver front cover illustration provides very few clues as to the book's content. The tooth fairy storyline is immediately evident though beginning with page one.
Pinkalicious loses her wiggly tooth when she bites into a cookie she stole from her brother. The cookie tastes terrible. She assumes that she didn't lose an ordinary tooth; instead she remarks she has lost her "sweet tooth." She writes a letter to the tooth fairy asking for something sweet to eat until her new tooth grows in. Unfortunately, Tootheetina, her tooth fairy, is very busy and doesn't visit right away. In the meantime the tooth fairy sends Carlos Cupid, Edgar Easter Bunny, and Elf #351 to fill in during her absence. Pinkalicious isn't at all happy with the offerings from the substitutes, and her reaction is certainly not that of a sweet-tempered girl. Finally her tooth fairy visits and leaves a few words of advice along with three "Silverlicious" coins.
Silverlicious is predictably enjoyable, and kids that are going through the losing teeth phase will especially appreciate the plot. The letters from the various characters are great fun. My daughter loves the elaborate room decorations the characters leave behind for Pinkalicious. Many of my daughter's friends have started losing their teeth, and she's getting a little anxious about her own teeth. Tooth fairy books are among those most requested in our home lately, so it turns out Silverlicious released at exactly the right moment for our family.
Related Links:
ThinkPinkalicious.com
Victoria Kann Website
April and Esme Tooth Fairies
by Bob Graham. Candlewick Press (September 2010); ISBN 9780763646837; 40 pagesBook Source: Copy from public library
Flaunting an equally shimmery cover, April and Esme Tooth Fairies provides a fascinating look into the everyday life of a tooth fairy family. April (age seven) and Esme (age six) are tooth
By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 1/8/2011
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JacketFlap tags: Classics, Winter, Book Review, Picture Books, Random House, Board Books, Wordless Picture Books, What my children are reading, Feed Me Books Friday, Kid Konnection, Add a tag
Even though we've received plenty of snow this winter, we still haven't had the chance to build a snowman. The cold weather and a few illnesses have put a wrench in our outdoor play. But there's plenty of winter left to build a snowman, so there's still hope. In the meantime, we'll have to remain content with reading about the white creations and imagining what would happen if one came to life.
The Snowman
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs is quite possibly one of the most famous children's books to feature a snowman. A series of small frames on each page tell the tale in this wordless picture book about the adventures of a little boy and his snowman. The softly hued illustrations are action filled and my kids really enjoy narrating the sequence of events.
A little boy wakes up to a snowy morning and runs outside to build a snowman. Later that night, the snowman comes to life. The little boy invites the snowman inside and they explore the boy's home. They do many things together--they switch the lights off and on, eat ice, the snowman tries on some clothes, they skateboards around the house and they even eat a snack. The snowman returns the kindness by taking the boy back outdoors for a magical nighttime flying adventure. Morning arrives and the boy must say goodbye to his friend.
My toddler son enjoyed paging through this book...that is until the last page. He wasn't fond of the ending. However, it gave us the opportunity to discuss snowmen and talk about how they don't last forever. The sun is a powerful foe. We found a few things interesting in the book. The boy doesn't design a typical three-ball snowman. His snowman is made from two segments and has arms and carved legs. Also, there's a little geography in the book. The boy and snowman fly over the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, England.
We own a lift-the-flap version of The Snowman and it ends happily. Perhaps that is why my little guy was shocked after finally reading the original version. He was expecting it to end like his board book version. In fact, several editions and versions of The Snowman exist and not all are wordless. The online reviews for all the books are combined together, making it difficult to determine what to expect if you purchase something other than the original. Here's our review of the Nifty Lift-and-Look Book Series version:
By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 9/11/2010
Blog: Brimful Curiosities (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Book Review, Picture Books, Animals, Simon and Schuster, Macmillan, What my children are reading, Kid Konnection, Farrar Straus Giroux Publishing, Add a tag
What Are We Reading? Once again it's time to share favorite books of the week:
My daughter is Elisa Kleven's newest admirer, and she's requested Kleven's books nearly every night since we borrowed them from the library this week. So far we've read three of her books: The Apple Doll, A Carousel Tale and The Paper Princess. How is it that we've never read any of Elisa Kleven's books until just now? I just can't understand how this we missed this author/illustrator. Kleven's books are enchanting. Truly and remarkably enchanting. Her stories delight and her illustrations seem to swirl and dance right before your eyes. It's like opening up a bottle of captured, fond childhood memories. While we love them all equally, I only have time to review one of Kleven's books this week.
The Apple Dollby Elisa Kleven; Farrar, Straus and Giroux (July 2007); ISBN 9780374303808; 40 pages;
Book Source: Copy from public library
We picked up The Apple Doll
at exactly the right time of year. Kleven cleverly interweaves a story about starting school for the first time with the delights of freshly picked apples. On her first day of school, Lizzy picks an apple from the apple tree in her yard, gives the apple a twig body and names her newly-made apple doll Susanna. She whispers all her worries about school to Susanna and takes her new apple friend along to school for comfort. The other children make fun of her apple doll so Susanna stops taking Susanna to school even though she feels lonely without her. She confides to her mother that she wishes Susanna would last forever and her mother shows her how to turn her into a dried-apple doll. Lizzy is finally able to overcome her school-related anxieties and makes new friends after she proudly shows her new doll during sharing time.The best part of this book besides the glorious watercolor and collage illustrations? -- In the back of the book, Kleven includes instructions on how to make your own apple doll. My daughter has been begging and begging to make one so you can bet we're going to give this activity a try this week (a perfect activity for our Science Sunday post). At first I wasn't sure how my daughter would react to the sight of the wrinkled grandma apple doll in the book, but she adores it and thinks "grandma dolls" are pretty neat. Too bad my daughter doesn't have show-and-tell at her school! We're going to start our activity tomorrow
By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 4/10/2010
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JacketFlap tags: Book Review, Picture Books, Animals, Educational Resources, What my children are reading, Feed Me Books Friday, Kid Konnection, Add a tag
I mentioned in an earlier post that my daughter's pre-kindergarten class is waiting for three duck eggs to hatch. The eggs are inside a mini 3-egg incubator. On Thursday the teacher showed the children how to candle the eggs by shining a bright light through each of eggs. Apparently all the embryos are developing. We checked out a few books from the library about eggs and chicks this week. If you know of a children's book about ducks and eggs, let me know!
An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long.
This informative and detailed book has gorgeous ink and watercolor illustrations of various eggs from numerous different types of species (over 60). My daughter was surprised how varied the eggs are in color, shape and size. A detailed egg diagram shows the parts of an egg. The main text uses the repetitive phrase, "An egg is..." to talk about egg differences. Beautiful book!
This Little Chick by John Lawrence
We picked this book up for its unusual engraved illustrations. Appropriate for toddlers and preschoolers, the simple, repetitive text tells about a little chick that explores the farmyard and listens to the noises the other animals make. He meets pigs, ducks, cows, frogs, and lambs and heads back home to his mom and has plenty to say after his journey. The eye-catching engravings make this book stand out from other barnyard animal books. My daughter loved the duck illustration, of course!
Little Chick by Amy Hest, illustrated by Anita Jeram
Three stories in one book, this gem by Amy Hest is a quiet and thoughtful storytelling read. The short entries include "The Carrot That Would Not Grow," "The Kite That Would Not Fly" and "The Starry Night." In all the stories a wise and kind Old-Auntie chicken patiently offers guidance to a yellow Little Chick. Kids will sympathize with Little Chick's frustration. My daughter commented that she has a hard time making kites fly, too. Anita Jeram's soft watercolor illustrations pair wonderfully with the gentle tone of the stories.
by Carin Berger. 
by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Matt Faulkner 
by Barbara Seuling, illustrated by Greg Newbold. 
. At the time of the book's publication, I was working as a children's librarian at a small rural library. I pre-ordered a copy thinking that it would be fun to read or sing aloud during storytime. As soon as I saw the actual book, I knew I also wanted a copy for my own home library. The clothbound book came with this beautiful, shimmery foil-enhanced dust jacket and inside gorgeous, full page bleed illustrations by the talented Eric Puybaret. 
by Ed Emberley. This monster book has become quite a popular classic. By turning the die cut pages kids "build" the face of a green monster and then make the green monster "Go Away!" piece by piece. Perfect for toddlers through early grade schoolers, the book helps teach colors and parts of the face (nose, eyes, etc.) For those children afraid of monsters, the book may help alleviate some of their fears because they can control the monster and make it disappear. The dazzling, sparkly cover on the newer editions really entices kids to pick this book up. Plus, it makes a great Halloween holiday read. 
"Frog and Toad Are Friends" is a wonderful book. I've never heard it as an audio. How wonderful that the author read the book for the audio.
we'll have to check this out. How fun!
Thanks for bringing up the audio book subject because they are readily available at the library and can be a fun addition to a reading routine.
Oh, I love Frog and Toad. I used to use it when I taught. I wonder if my 3 year old would get into listening to it in the car on an upcoming trip? We may have to see if our library has it.
We love the Frog and toad books, too. How wonderful to have a recording by the author! I don't think our library has this , but I"m going to check. thanks!
vanessa
I'm so glad you linked this up to the summertime fun party. I always forget about audio books and they are great for short or long summer travels. Great reminder!
I should try some FROG AND TOAD out on my recently graduated kindergartener. Right now, he will only read Dr. Seuss books.
This is a new book to me and souns something like my D. would enjoy. I would love it if you linked up to my Book Sharing Monday.