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Did you know that a crocodile goes through at least 3,000 teeth in its lifetime? Keep reading… Les sciences naturelles de Tatsu Nagata is a French series of nature books written by Japanese scientist Tatsu Nagata and illustrated by French illustrator Thierry Dedieu. Each title focuses on an animal; the one I borrowed from the [...]

September 8th is International Literacy Day. Keep reading… One day is just not enough to celebrate all the great books out there, so B is for Books is going to declare September International Literacy Month. For the next few of weeks in September, we will explore children’s books from around the world and embrace this [...]

As a kid, Saturday mornings were spent in my PJs with a big bowl of sugar cereal (breakfast of champions), glued to the telly watching The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, and The Smurfs. Rituals are not meant to be broken. Keep reading… Huckleberry Hound Safety Signs was written by Ann McGovern and [...]

Every time I hear a siren, I think about all the brave men and women whose jobs it is to keep us safe and the courage it takes to rush into danger as people are fleeing the scene. Keep reading… Fire Engines is part of the Little Golden Book series and is illustrated by Tibor [...]

Summer is flying by. I am going to keep things short and sweet so we can all head outside and soak up remaining summer sun. Keep reading… I found this wondering through the antique market this summer. The illustrations in Counting Rhymes remind me of the work of Mary Blair but the artist is Virginia [...]

Happy birthday to a very special boy! Keep reading… First published in 1964 The Giving Tree has been translated into more than 30 different languages. Written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein, this story is about a relationship between a boy and a tree. The tree loved the little boy very much and the little boy [...]

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Hi Folks, A family emergency came up so posting for B is for Books will be spotty for the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile I’ll be posting scans from my library of Richard Scarry collections. Thank you for your patience! Thao Keep reading…

May 13th had been circled on my calendar for a while now as it’s the date of the Toronto Book Fair & Paper Show. According to its’ website, the show is the place to be if you are searching for rare and used books. Being that this was my first time, I was super excited. [...]

I am looking for a book. I was a tiny tot than but I remember borrowing this book a dozen times from the library. It was about an animal architect who built home for other animals. The creativity in the design of each home was incredible; I spent hours absorbed in the detail and coming [...]

Is graffiti art or vandalism? Keep reading… Our Mayor has been on a warpath, making it his agenda to clean up the city. I happen to live behind one of the city’s most notorious graffiti alleyways, and I think it’s beautiful. These pieces aren’t made by gangs marking their territory and damaging private property, these [...]

Last Wednesday on my way to swimming lessons a wide grin spread across my face when I noticed the lights were on in the library. After 10 days of negotiations both sides have reached a deal. Phew! I wasn’t quite panicking as the strike rolled into day 10. Owlkids Books had generously sent me enough [...]

Binky goes to work every day. Very punctual, you can be find Binky curled up under the office desk sound a sleep by 9 am morning. He has great work ethic and puts in long hours when needed (Binky will remain sleeping until quitting time). He is a caring coworker; if he thinks you are [...]

I get an obscene amount of spam offering me everything from a good time to magical pills that would enhance body parts I don’t even have. Recently I found buried among the junk an email from Owlkids Books that knocked my sock off. It was an offer to go through their 2011 catalog and pick [...]

As seniors in high school we got to go camping for a couple of days as a class field trip. It was an attempt to recreate the trips taken by the Group of Seven, a group of Canadian landscape painters who spent days in the wilderness drawing and searching for inspiration. Since I had never [...]

Grandpa loved two things; wrestling and fishing. I spent hours watching WWF* with Grandpa, learning how perform the chokeholds and body slams, useful skills to learn when you are the smallest on playground. With all the time I spent with Grandpa I only went fishing with him once. It only took one trip for us [...]

I can’t remember the last time I went to the zoo. When we were kids we used to go all the time. All of us would pile into my dad’s red station wagon and head off to the zoo; by the end of the day we would all be tired and smelly from having spent [...]

Sometimes you just need to take a walk to clear your mind. Read more after the jump. Best described as “A sunny, slapstick silent comedy” by The New York Times, Rosie’s Walk, written and illustrated by Pat Hutchins is a story about Rosie the hen, who went for a walk blissfully unaware of the fox trailing [...]

My 2010 New Year’s resolution was to bake a pie every month, along with keeping fit and eating healthy. So far it’s been a challenge. Baking a pie every month has been a hard resolution to keep and in order to keep my other two resolutions, I have been giving my pies away. So far I [...]

This week we continue our themes of overwhelming cuteness and wombats. Read more after the jump. Following the success of Sometimes I Like to Curl up in a Ball, illustrator Charles Fuge launched Little Wombat into a collection of board books becoming both the author and the illustrator. Following the same successful format as his first [...]

Church

I don’t remember how old I was when I cooked my first meal. I was definitely shorter than the kitchen counter, but trustworthy enough to handle a butter knife. I started off with the classic peanut butter and jam (heavy on the peanut butter) and when I finally was tall enough to reach the stove, [...]

Shhhhhhhhhhh… Read more after the jump. From morning to night, we are constantly hustling and bustling, our senses bombarded by noise and images. Every minute filled and counted for, down to the tenth of the second. It is amazing that we can still find pockets of quiet in an over-stimulated world. The Quiet Book, written by [...]

(Insert awkward giggling.) I’m sure you’re not anxious to hear my p_ _ p stories. (Is anyone else feeling flushed?). What?!? Everyone does it. (Insert more awkward giggling.) Read more after the jump. Critics can be harsh. A book review can say a lot about the reviewer’s personality, beliefs, generation, cultural and social values. On the [...]