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Silly Goose’s BIG Story

by Keiko Kasza

            I’m always looking for great read aloud; books that cry out to be read in your favorite “Snuggery” with an arm around a child and characters that lend themselves to a variety of voices parents can mimic and kids will love. Well, in Silly Goose’s BIG Story, I’ve discovered a great summer read AND read aloud. Goose has a definite flair for storytelling and holding his friends Squirrel, Porcupine and Beaver enthrall. (I can just hear parents inventing voices for this trio).

            Big problem though, Goose is always the hero of his stories, with his friends as the minor cast of characters. Eventually resentments build. Can this be the end of the friendship? Goose finds himself alone and in trouble with a goose-hungry wolf and, of course, no friends in sight. Can Goose survive alone and friendless? Will Goose’s storytelling capabilities hold up with his quick thinking imaginative tale told to the wolf of the horrible “WEM”, (Wolf Eating Monster to the unenlightened) summoned ultimately to save the quick thinking Goose?

   But is this wily wolf so easily deceived? Will he see through Goose’s storytelling deception? Wait! What if there really is a WEM, called forth by the creative powers of Goose’s storytelling imagination? Or is it the power of friendship that makes the WEM appear? Kids will relate to this story of someone in their crowd who always wants to be “it.” But the larger lesson in this free wheeling romp is that when it comes to crunch time, buddies band together for the sake of friendship and baddies bolt. Lesson: Hold onto the friends you have and forgive them their temporary flights of ego.

Back of the Bus

By Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

It may seem strange perhaps to post a book on Rosa Parks’ act of defiance on December 1, 1955, to honor Martin Luther King on his national holiday, but as so many other events in history, they are interlinked. When Rosa Parks defied the Montgomery, Alabama city code that required them to not only sit in a separate section of the city buses, but to give up their seats if white passengers boarding, could not find seating in the all white section! Young readers need to be reminded how life was for many of our citizens in the not too distant past. And that is what “Back of the Bus” helps to achieve in telling the Rosa Parks event through the eyes of a fictional black child and his mother seated on the bus that day.

Aaron Reynolds fills his book with small events to portray the small boy as just a child riding the bus with his mom as an everyday event in his life; a day just like any other except it turned out to be a defining moment in history he chances upon. He takes out his bright, shiny marble, a tiger’s eye, and rolls it. As the bus slows, it follows the law of gravity away from him and rolls right into the hand of Rosa Parks who rolls it back with a grin. More passengers get on.

Then it happens. Mr. Blake, the driver growls out, “Y’all gotta move, now.” Some people do get up and move, but the bus is at a dead standstill. Somebody is speaking up. But the words of the bus driver carry to the back of the bus, “I’m gonna call the police, now.”

Whispers fill the halted bus and the boy can see from his perch at the back of the bus that the speaker was Rosa Parks.

She doesn’t belong up front like that,

and them folks know it.

But she’s sittin’ right there,

her eyes all fierce like a lightnin’ storm,

like maybe she does belong up there.

And I start thinkin’ maybe she does too.

Words may be instructive as we parents know, but I still think example is the strongest teacher. And in Ms. Parks her subsequent arrest and fine because of the violation of Montgomery’s city code was a watershed event.

The boy’s mother placates him with the words, “Tomorrow all this’ll be forgot.” Though his mother says the words, he too takes note of the new “lightning” storm” in her eyes. And instead of feeling afraid, he feels a new strength.

Taking out his tiger’s eye marble from the tightly closed fist, instead he holds it up to the light with a new pride. I love the illustrations that seem a bit out of focus and muted until Rosa Parks takes her stand. The defining lines and shapes seem dim with everything hazy and unclear, including the people on the bus. Mr. Cooper’s artistic technique changes with Ms. Parks’ refusal. Images are sharp and clear. People, including the young boy’s mother are drawn with clear and delineated thoughtful feelings of emotion at what has happened. Art and narrative blend beautifully to display the change that is afoot. 

Where does Martin Luther King’s life intersect with Rosa Parks? Following this event, the Mt. Zion Church of Montgomery spurs the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association, lead by Martin Luther King. Their initial goal is to effect change starting with the very segregation bus code effecting Ms. Parks. The MIA organizes a very successful boycott of the buses for 382 days with some 40,000 black riders cobbling together alternate means of transportation to get to work. They included walking, carpooling, riding in African-American operated cabs. Martin Luther King’s home was attacked in the ensuing violence the boycott began.

Rosa Parks single act of defiance with the words, “I don’t think I should have to stand up,” was the catalyst for change. Books and the ideas they foster have done the same thing for people with each turn of the page. And for your young readers, “Back of the Bus” may not only provide a look back in history at a single and seminal act of defiance that changed an unjust law, but a model for a way to stand up for something they believe in when the still, small voice in each of us tells us to do so.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

This Monster Needs a Haircut

by Bethany Barton

Do you have a child who balks at barbershops, cringes at clippers and generally howls pre-haircut? Well I have the book for you. Every parent has gone through that rite of passage-the first haircut. It can be preceded by foot dragging, multiple and myriad excuses, tantrums, tears and all out war. Well, at the beginning and end of summer, haircuts are usually the order of the day, whether before camp or before school reopens

This Monster Needs a Haircut is the perfect picture book to ease the snipping. Kids will identify with Stuart the monster and his elaborate defense tactics against haircuts. His father is understanding and patient as he relates to Stuart his own bouts with haircut issues in his youth. Kids and parents will howl at the evolution of Stuart’s hair and the interesting objects that begin to inhabit it such as growing flowers, half eaten apples, lollipops and baseballs to name a few. How Stuart and family solve this haircut hiatus is laugh filled and the tactics to overcome the stubborn monster are illustrated to perfection. This is a book a child could bring to the cutting event and even share with the scissor wielder aka barber.

Ready or Not, Dawdle Duckling

by Toni Buzzeo and illustrated by Margaret Spengler

            Four ducklings, Mama, and a perfect summer day playing Hide-And-Seek-what could be more perfect for a summer read! Toni Buzzeo has captured the exuberant spirit of the sheer joy of play for its own sake in this summer read for your youngest where bright blues, oranges and yellows bring beach days winningly alive. Duckling cavort forming sand castles and cementing a series of new friendships that provide perfect “hide behinds” in this duckling game of Hide-And-Seek with Mama. A turtle, frog and fish join in the fun providing camouflage as Mama quacks, “Ready or not, here I come.” The repetitive cadence of the story is sure to appeal to young readers and the pictures of the banana yellow ducks with bands of blue, red, green and orange ribbon surrounding their hats are adorable atop these orange-billed cuties. Dawdle is the duck determined to elude Mama. Will Dawdle be the duck that gets to say with unrestrained glee,

“Ollie, Ollie, in free!”

Dawdle Duckling calls.

“You didn’t find me!

           Ready Or Not, Dawdle Duckling is waiting to be discovered by you and your child as the perfect intro to the game of Hide-And-Seek and the need for friendship and cooperation.

Squish Rabbit

by Katherine Battersby

            Squish Rabbit is a book that is a perfect read for the youngest in your family because sometimes as adults, I guess we forget how big the world can seem when we were young and small. In mind of that, I recently drove slowly down the street where I grew up. It was a revelation. As an adult everything seemed so small. Driveways I roller-skated down as a child seemed unbelievably wide and steep. But as I looked at them that day through adult eyes, the driveways seemed narrow. And as for steepness, there was barely any elevation at all!

            Well here in Katherine Battersby’s Squish Rabbit, Squish is decidedly at that same stage of life when being small and hard to see makes it seem as if life is passing you by. Everyone is busy with grown up things, so even Squish’s stories are ignored. Being lonely, Squish sews a friend literally out of blue plaid cloth but quickly finds this pretend friendship can only fill half the gap. Trees are nice too as potential friends but somehow fall short of expectations.

            How Squish in a moment of pique kicks an apple and finds a friend echoes the moment of discovery for each child when he or she finds someone to share and play with. And when the friendship starts with a rescue, so much the better. Squish is a gentle book for the shy child who longs to join the group but may have trouble getting his feet wet or making the first awkward moves towards, “Wanna be friends?” Squish can definitely help your child bridge the gap.

I’m Trying To Love Spiders

By Bethany Barton

Something tells me that Bethany Barton has a whole lot of love in her heart for many things – even the most loathsome, that leave some of us screaming into the night, searching for safety or a swatter.

In her latest picture book, “I’m Trying to Love Spiders,” she does her darndest to deter the arachnophobia in her reader, (fear of spiders) and herself, with a book, as the cover says, “chock-full of amazing arachnid facts.”

Let’s face it, it’s that time of year when the creepy crawlies come out of the woodwork,  perch in the safety of our homes, and scare the living daylights out of us.

It sort of does defy logic how we huge humans are super scared of these eight-eyed, multi-legged critters that are so small – most of the time.

I have seen some BIG spiders that make me scream, “DAVID!!!” After all, men were the hunter/gatherers, no? After all if they could topple a T-Rex, what’s a eight eyed, seventy-five pounds of bugs a year, eating spider? Easy peasy!

Knowledge is power and Ms. Barton takes that approach with her picture book that admits her own trepidation with spidey.

Why not take the “Official Spider Test” she offers on the inside cover to determine your comfort level with the creepers? Here it is:

What do you do when you see one of these? (picture a spider)

1. Lay on a BIG spidey smoocheroo.
2. Smile, but back away slowly.
3. Grab the closest object and aim it at the spider.
4. Run away screaming. I picture them with families, you see!

Kids who love the loathsome will love this spider fun fact book. I truly did not know there so many KINDS of spiders. Here are some: ST. Andrews Cross spider, the smallest in the world called the Patu Digua spider, the Happy Face spider( yes, he does have a happy face on his back), and the Peacock spider that displays a colorful fan on his tummy, waving its arms and leg to attract a mate.Trust me, kids will love the Bird-Dung Crab spider the most. He hides in plain sight by looking like bird poop! Hmmm. And interestingly enough, today, our 42nd wedding anniversary, think I will withhold from my husband this cool spider fact that the black widow usually eats its mate!

Maybe you won’t want to ask an arachnid to dinner, after reading this picture book with, and to, your young readers, but you will at last ask him to leave gently!

I am comforted knowing there is a better chance statistically of being struck by lightning, than of being bitten fatally by a spider.

My favorite was the Writing spider that draws zigzag patterns in its web. There is even a spider that can do “cartwheels”  down sand dunes to escape danger. He’s called the Golden Wheel spider.

I have to say that I have taken none of these. Over time I have gotten into the practice of scrunching up a rather large wad of tissues and gently transporting the arachnid to the front door when I see him or her skitter away.

It’s Only Stanley

By Jon Agee

Does your dog howl at the moon longingly? Does he keep you up nights with odd tinkering noises reminiscent of a Mr. Fix it Fido?

Be very careful. For if he does any or all of these nighttime endeavors, your pooch may just be another Stanley, and that means you and your family may just be in for the ride of your lives.

What appears on the surface (of the earth) to be the skillful Stanley working on needed house hold repairs on the bathtub drain, oil tank, old TV, not to mention a concocted perfumed odor of catfish stew brewing (think rocket fuel), it may really be a whole lot more. Much more.

For the Wimbledon family, kept awake at night by Stanley’s plumbing and electrical exploits, are in for an early Richard Branson-like flight to other realms, at no cost to them, to a place beginning with M and ending with N.

Jon Agee’s fantastic configurations of Stanley’s aeronautical attempts are nothing short of dog gone good. Sorry!

What drives Stanley? An other worldly pink poodle’s my best guess. How did they first discover one another? And how, bow wow, do they communicate, is anyone’s guess.

Nothing can stand in the way of true love’s first doggy date on the moon when you have a dog like Stanley. Let’s face it, Wimbledon family, you’re just along for the ride.

Trust me. If Stanley can get you there. He’ll get you back in time for breakfast.

Where Bear?

By Sophy Henn

I’m staring out of the window at yet ANOTHER snow storm, and I’m wondering, probably like a ton of east coast people right about now, “Where Liz?”. Where does one go when you’re not content to be where you are? Where do you go?

Winter is long and harsh this year, but there are a slew of picture books out there that can make the down time fun and productive. And these wonderful books can certainly take you on a journey to places you’re never been, with people you’ve never met.

Former president Harry Truman used to call his places, the “foxholes of the mind.”- places to visit in memory that are comfy and familiar. And in this picture book, it’s someplace new and exciting!

All that’s needed is a little planning – just like boy and bear in “Where Bear?”

Sophy Henn, in her debut picture book, introduces a bear and boy that are fast friends. Then, things change, as that has always been the guaranteed state of the world, right? Things do change. How do you explain THAT to a child or here, a bear, that craves permanence and stability, yet his bearishness and bigness needs a big place to do both. Answer? You find the best possible next step or place to be. And what’s needed here is a bit of research on the part of both boy and bear – together. They search in a variety of settings from jungles to zoos, from circuses to woods and into dark caves. No fit is found….until they share a cold, blue ICE pop. Ah, now you’re onto something. Colder climes are just the ticket for this polar bear.

Remember Elsa, the lion cub, in the movie, “Born Free?”It was made from the book by Joy Adamson of she and her husband George’s experiences with the rescued and domesticated lion cub, Elsa that had to be retrained to live again in the wild. It was translated successfully into a movie version. I saw it again the other night.

This picture book, “Where Bear?”reminded me of that scenario in a much simpler set of settings. But the themes are the same; helping the one we have been close to, and no longer can be, through the transition phase to a newer and better life.

Things do keep changing; it’s a life lesson for kids – and adults. Cubs turn into big white polar bears and boys grow up as well. But as much as things change, some things are forever if we make the effort – and that is key. Things like friendship can last through all sort of life changes, if we make the effort to stay in touch. Even though we are no longer living physically close to that bear or person we know and love, if we have shared something of ourselves with them, they remain a part of who we are and will be.

And what about shared vacations together? But, where to go? I’m sure they’ll figure it out. Where, Bear? How about someplace warm and sunny?

Matt Monro – Born Free – YouTube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISWOrI0WaLs

Back of the Bus

By Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

It may seem strange perhaps to post a book on Rosa Parks’ act of defiance on December 1, 1955, to honor Martin Luther King on his national holiday, but as so many other events in history, they are interlinked. When Rosa Parks defied the Montgomery, Alabama city code that required them to not only sit in a separate section of the city buses, but to give up their seats if white passengers boarding, could not find seating in the all white section! Young readers need to be reminded how life was for many of our citizens in the not too distant past. And that is what “Back of the Bus” helps to achieve in telling the Rosa Parks event through the eyes of a fictional black child and his mother seated on the bus that day.

Aaron Reynolds fills his book with small events to portray the small boy as just a child riding the bus with his mom as an everyday event in his life; a day just like any other except it turned out to be a defining moment in history he chances upon. He takes out his bright, shiny marble, a tiger’s eye, and rolls it. As the bus slows, it follows the law of gravity away from him and rolls right into the hand of Rosa Parks who rolls it back with a grin. More passengers get on.

Then it happens. Mr. Blake, the driver growls out, “Y’all gotta move, now.” Some people do get up and move, but the bus is at a dead standstill. Somebody is speaking up. But the words of the bus driver carry to the back of the bus, “I’m gonna call the police, now.”

Whispers fill the halted bus and the boy can see from his perch at the back of the bus that the speaker was Rosa Parks.

She doesn’t belong up front like that,

and them folks know it.

But she’s sittin’ right there,

her eyes all fierce like a lightnin’ storm,

like maybe she does belong up there.

And I start thinkin’ maybe she does too.

Words may be instructive as we parents know, but I still think example is the strongest teacher. And in Ms. Parks her subsequent arrest and fine because of the violation of Montgomery’s city code was a watershed event.

The boy’s mother placates him with the words, “Tomorrow all this’ll be forgot.” Though his mother says the words, he too takes note of the new “lightning” storm” in her eyes. And instead of feeling afraid, he feels a new strength.

Taking out his tiger’s eye marble from the tightly closed fist, instead he holds it up to the light with a new pride. I love the illustrations that seem a bit out of focus and muted until Rosa Parks takes her stand. The defining lines and shapes seem dim with everything hazy and unclear, including the people on the bus. Mr. Cooper’s artistic technique changes with Ms. Parks’ refusal. Images are sharp and clear. People, including the young boy’s mother are drawn with clear and delineated thoughtful feelings of emotion at what has happened. Art and narrative blend beautifully to display the change that is afoot. 

Where does Martin Luther King’s life intersect with Rosa Parks? Following this event, the Mt. Zion Church of Montgomery spurs the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association, lead by Martin Luther King. Their initial goal is to effect change starting with the very segregation bus code effecting Ms. Parks. The MIA organizes a very successful boycott of the buses for 382 days with some 40,000 black riders cobbling together alternate means of transportation to get to work. They included walking, carpooling, riding in African-American operated cabs. Martin Luther King’s home was attacked in the ensuing violence the boycott began.

Rosa Parks single act of defiance with the words, “I don’t think I should have to stand up,” was the catalyst for change. Books and the ideas they foster have done the same thing for people with each turn of the page. And for your young readers, “Back of the Bus” may not only provide a look back in history at a single and seminal act of defiance that changed an unjust law, but a model for a way to stand up for something they believe in when the still, small voice in each of us tells us to do so.

No Fits, Nilson!

By Zachariah Ohora

Mr. Ohora has found a charming device in his “No Fits, Nilson!” picture book to take the onus of “having a fit” or meltdown, from small, bob-haired Amelia, and transferring it “fittingly” enough onto her seemingly huge blue toy gorilla, named Nilson. Nilson wears a jaunty cap and three watches attached to each hairy blue wrist.He’s pretty endearing and so is Amelia – when he’s not having a fit.

Is Nilson really that BIG and is HE the one having the meltdowns or is it Amelia, providing her with the opportunity to emotionally distance herself from the consequences that flow from them? You tell me, when you read along with your young one.

Nilson and Amelia are seemingly joined at the hip. They do everything together from uke playing to block tower building. The fly in the proverbial ointment always occurs when things don’t go as planned, as in Amelia’s scooter bumping the blocks.

Nilson throws a fit of gigantic proportions, completely out of sync with the offense. Strange indeed that they BOTH get a time out from mom!

Amelia is nothing if not understanding, in that she does her darndest to help Nilson gain some emotional control over HIS fits. Diversion is her primary tactic, and a good one, as she diverts both Nilson and herself with a banana pancake breakfast.

Nilson is not the most compliant of gorillas, Amelia finds as she coaxes him on an errand run with mom, deeming it an ADVENTURE, but a very long line in the Post Office brings forth the “No fits, Nilson”! mantra as she hands him a coin purse as a diversionary tactic.

With each near meltdown, Amelia’s mom cautions Amelia aka Nilson that sitting quietly NOW may bring something better later, like banana ice cream on the way home. Is this bribery? Maybe. But what parent when faced with a public display of tantrums has NOT used this device on at least ONE occasion.

Let me go on record as saying I do not recommend this tactic as an ongoing solution to “fits” as it can indeed get out of hand as the stakes and bribes get higher. Learning to self soothe in the long run is the better tack, as for instance when mom is not around for a meltdown, what then?

Ah, the longed for banana ice cream arrives and there is but ONE scoop left that is taken by Nilson. The gloves are off and the ladylike Amelia suddenly turns into a growling, stomping, roaring Nilson or was it Amelia all along with Nilson, the perfect alter ego, to whom the blame is shifted?

THIS time it is NILSON that calms down the growling gorilla aka Amelia and ceding his cone to her and opting for a choice of chocolate, a new taste treat is born called Choco-Banana-Twist! Compromise seems key here.

Mr. OHora’s art is bright and the bouncy blue of Nilson looms large as if it is the personification of the literal “gorilla in the room” that pops out from Amelia at odd times. Seems Mr. OHora has a menagerie of some fifty-seven stuffed animal friends living at HIS home along with he and his wife. Wonder if a gorilla is among them?

But I would be less than honest if I did not express some reservations about the compromise tactic. Perhaps I would feel better about it if it could have been modeled early to Amelia that even in the world of childhood, someone else may be ahead of you at some time in life and that last scoop of banana ice cream may go to someone else. Her disappointment was real, but perhaps there is a way to grow to accept that fact. It is a learning curve for the young, but a much needed one.

For that that is how young Amelia will learn to deal with disappointments on a small basis when she is young and as she grows, to navigate bigger ones. Immediate gratification is something we all struggle with in a culture that makes instantaneous satisfaction very appealing. Delayed gratification is a harder thing to learn, but a builder of character and learning in school. We don’t learn in school without some patience and sustained attention span with a primary example being learning to read!

But, in the final page of the book, we see Anna and the the real, very SMALL stuffed Nilson, tucked cozily beside Amelia in bed as she whispers to her alter ego, in the guise of a tiny gorilla, “No fits, Nilson!” Amelia is a young lady on a learning curve with a trusty gorilla by her side. My bets are on her and Nilson – and mom!

Hopper and Wilson Fetch a Star

By Maria van Lieshout

Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket

Never let it fade away.

 

Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket

Save it for a rainy day.

The lyrics to this 1957 song, sung by the inimitable Perry Como, slipped into my head as I read the picture book, “Hopper and Wilson Fetch a Star.” What’s the difference between fetching and catching, anyway? They both seem to involve a task that is taken up with a fair amount of some sort of energy and even adventure in the air.

And it IS a second adventure for the two fast friends of Maria van Lieshouts’ “Hopper and Wilson.”

Hopper, a stitched up the front, pale blue cuddly elephant and his best friend, a small yellow mouse named Wilson are in search of a star. So odd that I am writing this blog on the Christian feast of the Epiphany when magi from from the east sought a star too! I just love synchronicity, when events tumble together in life that just seem to align all by themselves!

I guess I just feel a certain connection with this simple picture book and these two fast friends on a mission aboard the slimmest of neatly folded paper airplanes to find the PERFECT star; a star all their own. What is it about the kid gene in Hopper and Wilson that can conceive and dream such plans, as it urges them on, and with sometimes needed courage, sees it through to its completion? When did we, as adults, lose the kid gene? Guess that’a a blog for another day.

The dock from which they first gaze out at the starry night sky and concoct the plan looks like our dock. The only thing missing is the lonely cactus in a pot that sits beside the duo. Zooming into space aboard their paper ship, these two are VERY picky about their choice in stars. Brightness, pointiness,and sparkliness are all non negotiables that factor into the ONE!

Wouldn’t you know their search takes one of them, solo, to the dark side of the moon! With one phrase of “He leapt into the darkness,” Ms van Lieshouts‘ picture book opens the door to all children’s longing for, and sometimes fear of, the new, the changeable, and the unfamiliar. Wilson feels lost and alone on the dark side of the moon.

But Ms. van Lieshouts‘ reasoning is very true in her deceptively simple tale. Nature IS healing and the more we align ourselves with it, it can, like it did with Wilson, light the way for the oneness we seek with each other and the world we live in.

I must remember to, as Wilson does, say a “Thank you” to all the twinkling stars and the firmament that lies below it.

Best friends Wilson and Hopper seem to get it, and so will your young readers, in this amazing picture book of seeking, losing and finding ourselves in nature and each other!

Maybe this book will make you and your kids feel like singing along with Perry to “Catch a Falling Star.” Great song to sing along to with Hopper and Wilson!

youtube.com/watch?v=5t_PDU5RmBw

Baking Day at Grandma’s

By Anika Denise; illustrated by Christopher Denise

         “Over the river, and through the wood,

         To Grandfather’s house we go.

         the horse knows the way to carry the sleigh

         through the white and drifted snow.”

 

Remember this Thanksgiving poem of six verses by Lydia Maria Child? Originally called “The New England Boy’s Song about Thanksgiving”, it spoke of fun, frolic and festivities with these original lines:

        “Over the river and through the wood,

         When Grandmother sees us come,

         She will say, “Oh dear, the children are here.

         Bring a pie for everyone.”

How about a picture book perfect to go along with Thanksgiving prep or the trip to Grandma’s house this holiday season? “Baking Day at Grandma’s” displays in wonderfully evocative deliciously homey art by Christopher Denise, the wholesome New England coziness of a trip to Grandma’s for a day of baking fun.

Only as an additional picture book perfect plus, THIS Grandma happens to be a huge, maternal fur laden, bespectacled bear whose house is nestled deep in the wintry countryside.

Three small bruins are on an adventure, passing icy ponds, dressed in Nordic caps and sweaters, towing the smallest of the three in a wooden sled. Destination? Grandma’s house! Arriving at Gram’s, they are greeted by a shawl around her shoulders, image of “grandmotherhood” itself, in the persona of a bear. Kids will just imagine being scooped up in a furry hug by those gentle paws. Of course, Mr. Denise, the author’s husband has fashioned an amazingly cozy Grandma’s house for this baking day. His attention to detail is faultless with its log cabin lines, farm sink, hand turned victrola, wide pegged wooden floors topped with a glass fronted cupboard, AND even the MIXING bowls pattern I remember from MY childhood!!

This bear trio measure, stir, lick wooden spoons and bake to their heart’s content with their kindly Grandma guiding the day’s activities of hot cocoa and old-time music and tapping feet, passing the time while the kitchen timer ticks away! Love that hooked rug they prance their paws upon.

Brownies iced and bagged AND wrapped to perfection with red ribbons are the ultimate take away from a day spent with someone you love DOING SOMETHING you love.

And as those bears don their outdoor togs for the trek back home with warm hugs all around, Ms Denise has created the picture book that will cause YOU to want to ring up your own children’s Grandma and ask HER to echo the lines that dot this picture book,

                 “It’s baking day!

                 It’s baking day!

                 It’s baking day at Grandma’s!”

Jack

by Tomie de Paola

Jack is on a journey – and the message is – so are we! That is what is so unbelievably appealing to me about the picture book. For our very young readers, it takes them on their very FIRST journey into reading with stories told in pictures and a chance to see what lies ahead for a lifetime of reading.

And who better to be their escort on these early journeys than the inimitable picture book author, Tomie de Paola? His picture books are legend and his awards in the arena of the picture book are legion. And here in ‘Jack” is a deceptively simple tale of a young boy living on a farm with his grandpa “way out in the country” who goes to the city to seek his future. But, as you may see it has a powerful message

According to Jack, HIS perfect future involves an opportunity to “see the world and make new friends and live in a house in the city?” Sounds doable, right? And it sounds like the dreams of thousands of young people today as they enter young adulthood. But Jack relies on Grandpa for a plan and a mentor at the journey’s end. Smart Jack! The wisdom of the older generation is a treasure just WAITING to be plumbed – and so many times – it isn’t!

Kings too, make great mentors, being “wise and generous men, says Grandpa. And off Jack goes – alone – but not for long. He is joined on his journey to the city by a very noisy and diverse group of tag alongs. After hearing Jack’s plans, they, too, want to come along for the ride er walk. In beautifully nuanced artistic succession, Jack takes on a veritable armada of animals, all added on after a simple Q and A of “Where are you going?” and “We’re going to the city to ask the king for a house.” Naive? Maybe. But in the words of a Rogers and Hammerstein song called, “ Happy Talk”, it affirms the truth that Jack knows. And that is “You gotta have a dream – If you don’t have a dream – How you gonna have a dream come true?”

Jack has a dream and it is shared by a quacking, squawking, barking, cheeping, mooing, oinking, croaking menagerie of add on dreamers. I forgot the ones that are the late comers like the ones that baa, neigh and hoot!

I had to chuckle when I read the answer the guard gives Jack at the palace when he asks for admittance. ‘Go right in.” says the guard. The parallel to modern “white houses” is pretty funny – or not.

Jack gets his audience with the king accompanied by his noisy companions where he is handed the “key” to a house that is a veritable fixer upper – but doable as the king expresses confidence in Jack’s abilities.

Some say, as Jack moves in, “There goes the neighborhood,” as people have mimicked for years, BUT, others chime in with – “And it’s about TIME.”

Tomie de Paola has created a beautiful metaphor for the shared dreams of generations of people that go to the city to pursue a dream. The city IS a melting pot of different tongues and talents. But the dream is the same – a better life. And the best part of realizing a dream is that along the way, you usually have, if you are lucky – a ton of tag along friends that buoy you up in your dream. They may be create a din at times, and they may be diverse – but they share your dream! They believe in you – and the dream.

And as Tomie so wisely imagines in his simple tale – if you are dogged and determined – you just may be handed the key to a very small kingdom called a house where dreams come true. For Jack, it’s a house, but for others today, it may just be a job. BUT, kids will intuit the message that whatever your dream is, it may be shared by many who are NOT like you. And, in the end, journeys are made to be shared – as well as dreams -and there is room for all! Well done, Tomie! It needs to be said again and again for each generation of dreamers.

Start Campfire Fridays with Books and Unplug!

This may just be my favorite time of year. In my head, I return to streets filled with leaves raked into big piles by adults, lit afire and then crowds of kids hunched shoulder to shoulder holding marshmallows poked onto thin tree branches in hand. Spirals of smoke went skyward as we and the marshmallows toasted to a golden brown – or sometimes, outright BURNED. As the huge piles turned to small nests of ash, we trudged home, our clothes reeking of smoke – but with smiles on our faces. Those leaf burnings are no longer allowed because of the environmental impact, but they sure were fun.

I saw an ad recently. It showed a family gathered about, each with his or her own technology device and the caption read, “The modern family is plugged in.” It sort of begged the question – to what and to whom?

First, let me begin by saying, I am NOT anti technology. Smart phones, ipads and their offspring have their place in our culture. They provide vehicles for communication, information and reading, unheard of in MY childhood. What concerned me was the image of a family, their heads and eyes, COMPLETELY captured by the device and NOT each other! To what degree are we completely engaged with devices and NOT with the people that share our lives.

True, there are many ways of sharing and communicating. And to that end, a young father recently piqued my interest in a big way, as he inspired me with the way HE shares and communicates with his two young children. They share something called “Campfire Fridays.” It’s a great idea!

This is how it goes. On Fridays, they sit around a campfire with each other, outside – or in – and share the week. They swap stories, events and happenings that occurred to each during the week. S’mores and similar edibles are added to the mix. But the important thing is they are plugged in, for that space of time, TO EACH OTHER.

Amazing things can happen in such a space. Barriers fall that separate us over our busy fast forward lives and for that amount of time – we can unite over hot chocolate, a s’more and a story. Kids love ritual and traditions. When crummy things happen during their week, their minds go to the small event at the end of the week that can make whatever happened loom not so large. Why? Maybe because it is shared with those that love and support them. And THAT can make a big difference for kids.

Maybe meals are not shared every night in many families today because of cobbled together schedules of extra curricular commitments, but hey, what about a “Campfire Friday?” I guess my version of Campfire Friday were those leaf burning rituals that I so looked forward to.

May I suggest during picture perfect fall Fridays left to families everywhere, that you plug into each other and unplug the devices? As batteries run down on a device and need to be recharged, so too does the energy surrounding the quality of our family life and relationships. Please plug in to each other with a Campfire Friday and a book!!

Here are a just a few suggestions to read around a campfire or a cozy chair pre Halloween:

   “The Runaway Mummy: A Petrifying Parody” by Michael Rex

   “Pumpkins” by Mary Lynn Ray; illustrated by Barry Root

   “Ten Orange Pumpkins: A Counting Book” by Stephen Savage

   “Halloween Night” by Marjorie Dennis Murray; illustrated by Brandon Dorman

   “Humbug Witch” by Lorna Balian

   “A Tiger Called Thomas” by Charlotte Zolotow

The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade

By Justin Roberts; illustrated by Christian Robinson

Have you ever seen the movie “Network?” In this 1977 winner of 4 Academy Awards movie, Peter Finch plays a news commentator Howard Beale that notices what’s going on in the culture and is well, fed up. He’s also a little crazy. One doesn’t know whether he is a function OF the culture or merely a reflection of it. He definitely taps into something in everyday living that OTHERS, TOO have felt is not quite right. His iconic statement of, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore” is electric in its viral ability to tap into the general feeling of disquiet that he has long observed and paid attention to. He has PAID ATTENTION, while many are busy living their lives as he decries generated profits weighed by the higher ups with their little regard for content.

This is not to suggest, by any means, a parallel between the movie character and the above picture book character named Sally McCabe. That would be a BIG stretch. But they DO have one thing in common. They BOTH pay attention and take a stand when they see something wrong. It takes both a while to observe and evaluate, but they decide to stand up to bullies, injustices and, in the process, call attention to problems that may slip other’s attention.

Kids are VERY observant. They notice the minutia of life that sometimes slips adult notice in the fever of life. And Sally McCabe is an observer of life.

Written by Justin Roberts, a Grammy-nominated children’s musician, dubbed by none other than the The New York Times as “the Judy Blume of kiddie rock.” If you are familiar with Judy Blume’s work, her books are full of very observant characters.

Back to Sally McCabe who is the smallest in a small grade. It’s easy to slip by unnoticed, but this young one misses little. To quote the book, Sally “was paying super extra special attention.” But to what?

“To abandoned kites with tangled string.”

“To the twenty-seven keys on the janitor’s ring.”

AND MORE IMPORTANTLY

“To the time Tommy Torino is tripped in the hall.”

 

“She saw Kevin McKuen get pushed off a slide -

But through all the mean words and all the cold stares,

no one even noticed that Sally was there.”

 

I love the way Justin Roberts compares the crushing power of a bulldozer compressing flowers, with her small view of “how a whisper could make someone cower.”

The emotional debris from bullies is pictured as the pile of “stuff” she sees pushed about in nature.

And then comes “February third at eleven twenty-nine on the lunchroom line.” And Sally, sort of like the news commentator in “Network” stands up and says, with a finger pointed upward,

“I’m tired of seeing this terrible stuff.

Stop hurting each other! This is enough!”

Will there be snickers, shrugs, distinct disinterest OR a collected connection of similar feelings among the small students in Sally’s school?

Will some stay out of doing something at Sally’s school? Yes, that’s life. But when one small youngster stands up, others may too – and do. More importantly, they will THINK a bit before they act without thinking about someone else as regards what they say or do. They may think about the effect of one word, one gesture, one dismissive behavior.

Justin Roberts and the cheerful colorful drawings of award-winning illustrator, Christian Roberts that brings small Sally and her small classmates to life for your young reader, provide a thought provoking message for young readers.

Small people can make a big difference – if they pay super extra special attention – and care enough to do something!

Like many things in life, what we say we will do, is not as important as what we actually do. Sally McCabe is a sayer and doer and models courage for the smallest in small grades.

And like the heavy steel ring of the janitor’s keys all strung together that “held all the secrets to unlock everything,” so too are the small kids in their small school, ready for one life secret of behavior to be unlocked at a time. And kindness is the key!

Ladybug Girl and the Dress-up Dilemma

By David Soman and Jacky Davis

The latest Ladybug Girl adventure from the New York Times best selling team husband- and-wife team of David Soman and Jacky Davis, finds Ladybug Girl in a quandary that hit close to home for me while raising up a not-so-happy Halloween memory.

Halloween costumes for kids can be one of two things. It’s either dressing up to be someone who is your polar OPPOSITE in real life, or fashioning a costume that is pretty close to your own SELF – inside. When I was in grammar school both because of economic issues, AND because I loved the persona, I dressed up as a nurse – every year! My costume had been made by a wonderful seamstress and it looked like the real. It was a true-to-life nurse’s uniform of its time, from white uniform and cap, to a dashing navy cape with a Red Cross on the side. I was in heaven. Funny, how moments stick with you through the years.

We entered the local soda shop that Halloween and the proprietor, a neighbor, said in a snarky voice, “Liz, You’re the same thing every year.” The words stung and my costume suddenly felt old and uncool.

Well, Lulu/aka Ladybug Girl too, is in a bit of a dither as Halloween approaches. An old, familiar question is already being framed on kids’ lips this time of year and that is – “Whatcha gonna be for Halloween?” It is for Lulu as well.

The picture book opens on Halloween with leaves piled high everywhere and the eager anticipation of fun filled disguises is in the air. But Ladybug Girl and her faithful basset hound, Bingo, hear words from her brother that stir things up, as she is coaxed to be something DIFFERENT this Halloween.

Her brother starts her on the quest to redo her identity from Ladybug Girl with a harmless, “You’re ALWAYS Ladybug Girl!” Hmmm. Now THAT had a very familiar ring to it for this former trick or treater!!

Lulu starts on a search for a new costume and maybe, an identity. Robots, silent film stars, octopus, alien, wallaby (Australian kangaroo) and pandas are tried and discarded. Even a combo of a vampire/panda is met with a, “That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard of,” by her brother whose input Lulu seems to measure costume acceptance standards by. Will Lulu let her brother define the acceptability of who she will be?

A family trip to the local apple orchard pre trick or treating, finds Lulu scanning the fields of pumpkins and a silent windblown scarecrow for last minute ideas. Even a batty disguise is on her radar. Yet none of these seems quite right. You’re on the right track now, Lulu!

A young girl lost in a corn maize provides Lulu/lLadybug Girl with the opportunity to show the courage of her convictions and the chance to be, well, HERSELF!

On a darkened street, lit only by the light from houses greeting incognito candy gobblers, Ladybug Girl reveals to her ninja clad sibling what she deep down knew to be true – “I always knew that I wanted to be Ladybug Girl!”

Knowing who you are at your heart is no easy lesson for any of us, but when you have the courage to be true to who you are, despite the clamor of the crowd – or one person – now THAT deserves a big round of applause from this Halloween nurse!!

Ladybug Girl, you’ve done it again and this is one Halloween picture book that provides a most satisfying treat!

Mr. Wayne’s Masterpiece

By Patricia Polacco

School is back in session at the same time that one of my favorite picture book authors, Ms. Patricia Polacco, offers her newest picture book and it is reason to celebrate on so many levels.Artistically and narratively, her books are a joy to read. They draw you in immediately and hold you till the end.

Her books speak to children’s vulnerabilities, uncertainties, fears and doubts in a variety of situations. Bullying, disabilities that can hamper learning, shyness, and family problems are but a few of the issues some of her picture books address. I love that she never attempts to sugar coat or gloss over the very real emotions and feelings that children may encounter in any or all of the situations that may come their way. YET, there is always SOMEONE in her picture books that helps the child overcome those feelings and, in the end, conquer what have seemingly been roadblocks to learning AND growth. I am also very gratified to see that in many of her books, that person happens to be a male OR female teacher!

If you read “The Art of Miss Chew”, “Thank you, Mr. Falker”, “Bully” and the above, “Mr. Wayne’s Masterpiece”, Ms. Polacco has mirrored a life changing instance ( in many cases, it may well have been her own), in a child’s life that has paved the way for a more confident, emotionally healthy future adult. More often that not, it was because of the direct and caring words and actions of a teacher that recognIzed a need that had yet to be addressed in a child – and met. They meet it NOT by providing a way out, but by ACCOMPANYING the child THROUGH IT with words of encouragement and sincere belief in the child’s abilities when the child does not possess that courage and belief in themselves as yet. That is one of the reasons why teachers DO effect eternity in that their words echo throughout a child’s life.

Meet Trisha who has a very hard time with public speaking. She halts and hesitates through the reading of book reports to be read aloud in class. Trisha is smart, but lacks confidence in her own abilities. Do you know a Trisha? I have met many in my time in the classroom and it is so heartening to see them blossom through a word, a gesture, or a special note of praise. Sometimes, in a very busy day in a classroom, those are the moments that stand out.

For that is just what Trisha needs, and she gets it from the collaborative efforts of two teachers named Mr. Tranchina and the drama coach, Mr. Wayne, who has just composed a play for a school production.

Mr. Tranchina is the facilitator here in that he recognizes Trisha’s talents as a writer and connects her with the drama teacher. Mr. Wayne, in turn immediately notices her reticence to be front and center, yet sees her talent can be cultivated and nursed “behind the scenes.” Her facility also lies in the arts and painting! Remind you of anyone, yet? It should, to Polacco fans.

The winter play called “Musette in the Garden Snow” involves a girl, her friends and a mysterious garden, and as Trisha half listens backstage, she finds herself mouthing EVERYONE’S LINES, INCLUDING MUSETTE’S!!!

Circumstances find Trisha facing a daunting opportunity to take over the role of Musette with a mixture of trepidation and terror oddly mixed with a talent that will not be denied!

Children may find themselves identifying wholeheartedly with Trisha as she faces her fears and finds herself onstage and in command, and “on fire” as she fully embraces the energy of the performing arts.

I asked my actress daughter to explain to me what it feels like onstage. “Mom, she said, “It’s this energy that you give out to the audience and they pass it back to you. And when it”s working perfectly, it’s an exhilaration akin to hitting the “sweet spot” on a tennis racket.” It’s a volley that just continues throughout the play and it’s a feeling like no other.”

Trisha, thanks to those two teachers – AND a supportive mom, gets her moment to feel it too!

They say in life it’s the things you DON”T do that you regret the most, and in “Mr. Wayne’s Masterpiece”, his creative effort is not merely his play, but the newly confident Trisha, herself.

I count myself so fortunate to have had at least TWO such teachers in MY life! Each time I tell a story to a group of children, I can see their faces in the children’s eyes!!

Otis and the Scarecrow

by Loren Long

What do we expect from our friends? It can lead to the question of what exactly IS friendship? It certainly does seem to involve expectations on both sides, right? But what if a small red and cream tractor could model to kids that it doesn’t ALWAYS have to be like that? It’s easy to be nice to those that are NICE to us and who reciprocate in kind, our friendship overtures. That’s pretty much a given. But what about when they do NOT? 

In Loren Long’s newest adventure of the beloved tractor named Otis in “Otis and the Scarecrow”, Otis models to readers that sometimes it’s enough to just BE with someone, that the kindness shown by a person’s mere presence is a gift of friendship in and of itself.

The familiar farm scene is here where the friendly red and cream tractor resides and it’s dressed for fall. Cornfields are filled with crows; despite the appearance of a lonely stern faced scarecrow that stands in solitary silence in the middle of the wind blown field. Overtures of friendship are made to the newcomer by former “newbies ” to the farm such as a puppy and small calf. They too, were once the “new kid on the farm.” 

And in turn, the friendly tractor named Otis went out of HIS way to make THEM feel welcome – for one on a dark and stormy night, he tractored to the rescue and for the other, caught in the middle of a Mud Pond, he brought the calf to safety.

But what do you do with a non responsive type lIke the scarecrow whose job and reason to be is to stand silently ALONE in a cornfield? First, Otis models to others what it’s like to just BE with someone in companionable SILENCE. Hmmm. Sounds easy. But here we enter quite a long learning curve for some of the farm inhabitants, especially the puppy, bull, calf, ducks, horse – well you get the picture. It’s downright HARD to be quiet as any child can tell you, yet Otis makes even THIS into a GAME.

In a very serenely sweet scene amid a downpour of a deluge, Otis MODELS what it is to BE there for someone, when they are unable to respond as we wish. He departs from the group huddled under an apple  tree and engages quietly and kindly with the scarecrow – on the scarecrow’s terms. He STANDS UP  while the others hunker down. Kids will get this quietly noble action of the small tractor named Otis.

And maybe, just maybe, THEY might emulate their OWN version of his soft “putt puff puttedy chuff shhhhhh” attempt at friendship with someone THEY may know! 

Smiling faces gazing up at you when you’re lonely are pretty hard to resist – and so is “Otis and the Scarecrow.”

This scarecrow is welcome at our farm anytime – and so is OTIS!!

Silly Goose’s BIG Story

by Keiko Kasza

            I’m always looking for great read aloud; books that cry out to be read in your favorite “Snuggery” with an arm around a child and characters that lend themselves to a variety of voices parents can mimic and kids will love. Well, in Silly Goose’s BIG Story, I’ve discovered a great summer read AND read aloud. Goose has a definite flair for storytelling and holding his friends Squirrel, Porcupine and Beaver enthrall. (I can just hear parents inventing voices for this trio).

            Big problem though, Goose is always the hero of his stories, with his friends as the minor cast of characters. Eventually resentments build. Can this be the end of the friendship? Goose finds himself alone and in trouble with a goose-hungry wolf and, of course, no friends in sight. Can Goose survive alone and friendless? Will Goose’s storytelling capabilities hold up with his quick thinking imaginative tale told to the wolf of the horrible “WEM”, (Wolf Eating Monster to the unenlightened) summoned ultimately to save the quick thinking Goose?

   But is this wily wolf so easily deceived? Will he see through Goose’s storytelling deception? Wait! What if there really is a WEM, called forth by the creative powers of Goose’s storytelling imagination? Or is it the power of friendship that makes the WEM appear? Kids will relate to this story of someone in their crowd who always wants to be “it.” But the larger lesson in this free wheeling romp is that when it comes to crunch time, buddies band together for the sake of friendship and baddies bolt. Lesson: Hold onto the friends you have and forgive them their temporary flights of ego.

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Following Papa’s Song

By Gianna Marino

Recently, we observed “Take a Child to Work Day” and I’m sure loads of moms and dads took their young readers to see what they “do” all day. Young children have images in their minds, I’m sure, of where their parents are while they are at home, school or daycare. So, it’s a treat for kids to tag along and actually see where you are when you’re not with them, and what activities occupy you!

Gianna Marino, author of Too Tall Houses and Meet Me at the Moon has used animals in her picture books to great advantage in telling stories with deeper themes of friendship, togetherness and the parent/child bond.

In Following Papa’s Song, it’s not exactly following the Papa Whale to work, but then again maybe it is. It’s certainly reproducing those great Q and A’s reminiscent of many asked by the very young. And they are: “Are we going very FAR?”, asks Little Blue of his dad.

Papa Whale informs Little Whale they are going to greater depths than they ever have before in the briny deep. It’s a sort of metaphor for the untried and new experiences in a child’s life. I like that. New experiences are exciting for a child and, at the same time may be a bit frightening in that they are a subliminal prelude to the question all children secretly feel, “Will you always be there for me?” Little Blue’s persistent questions are those of every child – “How will we know which way to go?” and as Papa relates the age old call of the whales’ song, Little Blue queries, “When I am big, Papa, will I still hear your song?”

Ms. Marino’s Little Blue keeps Papa in sight as they plumb these new and greater depths of the ocean of life where it is VERY QUIET and sound is harder to decipher – sounds like the cry of Little Blue calling for Papa!!

Can Papa hear the call of his young one? Will Little Blue gain the confidence needed for a lifetime of greater depths of new experiences? The answer is an emphatic YES to both. Ms. Marino has managed to perfectly capture the essence of the parent/child relationship and the great paradox at the heart of that relationship. And that is, in order to be a really effective parent, the job is to prepare the young one for a day when you are superfluous. Little Blue will always need Papa Whale’s love and guidance, but at a young age, the small mammal is slowly being given the tools needed to navigate LIFE in the deep on his own! She has a beautiful reassuring message for both parent and child as they navigate life together, “If you listen closely, you will always hear my song.”

Ms. Marino’s use of color is magic. Her greens mimic the clarity of life in the upper reaches of the ocean and as the depth increases for Little Blue and Papa, the blue green morphs to an inky blue that is barely transparent – except for SOUND! And her picture of the whales’ rise to the surface and “sounding” into a pinkish yellow light is beautifully done. It is a great match of art and narrative!

Ah, life lessons! Ms. Marino has written a book with a beautiful message for man AND mammal! Take the plunge and dive in with your young reader along with Papa Whale and Little Blue. It’s a great ride that this picture book starts, and you will continue with your child for a lifetime of deep depth diving – together! And Mom, I still can hear your song!

Maple

By Lori Nichols

Recently I was coming out of a local breakfast gathering place in our small town. It happens to be next to the Historical Society’s building and as I put my hand on the door handle of the car, I glanced down at a brass plaque in the grass at my feet. It jogged my memory to something I had intended to do, but had forgotten; and that was, to plant a tree.

The town has a program to honor someone with the planting of a new tree. For a donation, the tree is planted along with a brass plaque at its base, inscribed with the name and details of the life of the honoree. I meant to do it for my parents. Sort of says, “I was here” and someone recognized that fact. It’s a look backward at a life, as compared with the look forward method celebrated in a picture book that BEGINS with a planting. 

Meet Maple. Even BEFORE her appearance, her parents plant a tiny maple tree in her honor. With the planting of that tree variety, comes the perfect name for the soon-to-be-born infant dovetailing rather perfectly with the tree planted – Maple!

Trees symbolize so many things to me, but chief among them are change and growth. And so it is with young Maple. She grows AND changes side by side with her namesake. I love the sense of camaraderie and acceptance that Ms. Nichols builds between the arboreal maple and the human one. If Maple is having a bad day, she visits her leafy counterpart. She sings to it, sways for it and even pretends to BE it. Sweet!

The maple’s leaves provide shade and a place for dreaming amid its branches, but as the seasonal changes inevitably occur and colder weather ensues, the branches are blown BARE! What’s the young Maple to do for her namesake? Why enfold it with her jacket, of course. It is absolutely something a child would do. Instinctively, they seem to want heal the hurting and protect the defenseless. But as we grow older, it sometimes seems a struggle to stay in touch with that basic instinct that we had as children. Thanks for the gentle reminder, Ms. Nichols!

Through a winter that sees new friendships born of snow, via the making of a snowman, Maple finds THAT friendship literally disappears with the appearance of warmer weather. But no matter, Maple and her tree are a forever friendship.

Remember what I said earlier about trees symbolizing growth AND change? What is young Maple to think when she sees a NEW tree planted by her parents? Yup, she is soon to be the BIG SISTER! And Maple is nothing if not adaptable to new situations, sharing HER hat and gloves if the new sibling seems cold, and introducing HER playthings to the baby for amusement. But even young Maple discovers babies can have their fussy times when you wonder WHAT next to try to pacify.

Maple remembers what and who soothed HER, and if past can sometimes provide prologue, then the solution is a simple one; the leafy shade of her tree and the dancing shadows that provide diversion is a nearby solution to this age-old problem. And so the theme of this picture book of nature as friend is both soothing and satisfying.    

And lest you think ANOTHER maple was planted for the new arrival to the family, you need not be surprised as Ms. Nichols is wise enough to know that just as no two trees are EXACTLY the same, no two children are EITHER! The new baby’s name and the tree planted in honor of her coming are both named WILLOW!

Lori Nichols has written a book taking the themes of siblings, growth and change and woven them all into a simple tale with a symbolically strong message for parents and young readers. Her art is perfectly matched to the story with Maple’s soft blue shirt, tan pants and standout red maryjanes painting a picture of a charming child going through every day events that may SEEM every day, but actually mark milestones of growth in her life as reflected in nature, not merely numerically, but emotionally.

And, oh yes, before I forget, I have TWO trees to plant, mom and dad!        

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This Monster Needs a Haircut

by Bethany Barton

Do you have a child who balks at barbershops, cringes at clippers and generally howls pre-haircut? Well I have the book for you. Every parent has gone through that rite of passage-the first haircut. It can be preceded by foot dragging, multiple and myriad excuses, tantrums, tears and all out war. Well, at the beginning and end of summer, haircuts are usually the order of the day, whether before camp or before school reopens

This Monster Needs a Haircut is the perfect picture book to ease the snipping. Kids will identify with Stuart the monster and his elaborate defense tactics against haircuts. His father is understanding and patient as he relates to Stuart his own bouts with haircut issues in his youth. Kids and parents will howl at the evolution of Stuart’s hair and the interesting objects that begin to inhabit it such as growing flowers, half eaten apples, lollipops and baseballs to name a few. How Stuart and family solve this haircut hiatus is laugh filled and the tactics to overcome the stubborn monster are illustrated to perfection. This is a book a child could bring to the cutting event and even share with the scissor wielder aka barber.