Kid's Book List 2009, Part 7
Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems
(recommended through Children's Book of the Month Club)
A favorite author around here, and again picking up on the dinosaur interest -- although the main interest in this one centered around the page talking about the main human character, Reginald von Hoobie-Doobie "was expressive. He was loud!" Both the name "Hoobie Doobie" and being loud are, of course, fun for little people.
I Love Saturdays Y Domingos by Alma Flor Ada
(recommended through Children's Book of the Month Club), I think - it's been on our list for a while
This is a story about a little girl who spends Saturdays with her WASP-y grandparents and Sundays (aka Domingos) with her Latino grandparents; the descriptions of what she does with each set of grandparents are very similar, but there is quite a bit of Spanish language in the descriptions of the activities for each domingo. Got some interest and some more exposure to a different language -- we were riffing off the absolute adoration for the Easter basket gift of the book Dora's Storytime Collection and, really, all things Dora the Explorer in general.
Mama's Little Duckling by Marjorie Blain Parker
(recommended through Children's Book of the Month Club)
An adventurous little duckling who wants to push his limits and his mother who keeps him safe as he learns to navigate his way in the world. (Can we all say "aww"?) A fun springtime read; Nora's friend who visited when we had this checked out from the library also enjoyed it.
Have You Seen My Potty? by Mij Kelly
(a thematic choice by Mommy)
Little Susie Sue is in search of her potty because she has something she likes to do -- except that the farmyard animals keep absconding with it, having discovered how nice and clean they can keep their areas if they use the "poo pot." Potty training level humor abounds: much giggles from its target audience.
Harriet and the Garden by Nancy Carlson
(chosen as one of a few Harriet books on our list; Harriet -- a dog -- is one of the literary heroines recommended in Growing a Girl)
Harriet accidentally tramples a neighbor's garden during a softball game, but later decides on her own to accept the responsibility and help the neighbor repair the damages. This is actually a good character lesson/moral story book -- although what I was going for when I put it on our spring list was more gardening content, and that's really not its strong suit.
(Random thought: why does Harriet's mother make popcorn balls that evening, when Harriet is too depressed/ashamed to have asked for them and baby brother, who is still in diapers, is too young to eat them? Is it some sort of Harriet-world holiday?)
We're Going on a Bear Hunt retold by Michael Rosen
(recommended through the 100 Top Picture Books posts on School Library Journal Blogthat my sister pointed me to; I added a few from this list to our own library list)
Classic tale of a family who go hunting for a bear -- and find him, so they have to reverse their onomatopoeiac journeys through swishy-swashy grass, squelchy mud and so on -- to return home and hide under the covers. A joy to read (I especially enjoyed reading the return journey second half of the book in quick-time, with an emphatic pronouncement of the last page). Lots of giggles from Nora -- who also thought the endpaper illustration of the bear going back to his home was funny.
There Are Cats in This Book by Viviane Schwarz
(recommended somewhere; can't remember where)
Very funny, cute book, with lots of interactive flaps to lift, pages to turn, etc. -- as the cats tell you to. The book (and the cats) talk directly to the reader, stating things like "the cats are not on this page" on this frontispiece and with the cats asking "are you strong? strong enough to turn a whole page? Because there's yarn on the next page!" This one gets lots of laughter throughout.
Time to Pee! by Mo Willems
(recommended through Children's Book of the Month Club)
Another variation on the theme. This book, with illustrations populated by tons of tiny mice who constitute a cheering section for the potty trainer (seriously; they carry banners that say things like "good job!") is actually a pretty straightforward instruction manual on how to use the potty, done in the voice of favorite author Mo Willems. It interested Nora enough to request the book for storytime, and I have been pleased by the reinforcement it gives.
(recommended through Children's Book of the Month Club)
A favorite author around here, and again picking up on the dinosaur interest -- although the main interest in this one centered around the page talking about the main human character, Reginald von Hoobie-Doobie "was expressive. He was loud!" Both the name "Hoobie Doobie" and being loud are, of course, fun for little people.
I Love Saturdays Y Domingos by Alma Flor Ada
(recommended through Children's Book of the Month Club), I think - it's been on our list for a while
This is a story about a little girl who spends Saturdays with her WASP-y grandparents and Sundays (aka Domingos) with her Latino grandparents; the descriptions of what she does with each set of grandparents are very similar, but there is quite a bit of Spanish language in the descriptions of the activities for each domingo. Got some interest and some more exposure to a different language -- we were riffing off the absolute adoration for the Easter basket gift of the book Dora's Storytime Collection and, really, all things Dora the Explorer in general.
Mama's Little Duckling by Marjorie Blain Parker
(recommended through Children's Book of the Month Club)
An adventurous little duckling who wants to push his limits and his mother who keeps him safe as he learns to navigate his way in the world. (Can we all say "aww"?) A fun springtime read; Nora's friend who visited when we had this checked out from the library also enjoyed it.
Have You Seen My Potty? by Mij Kelly
(a thematic choice by Mommy)
Little Susie Sue is in search of her potty because she has something she likes to do -- except that the farmyard animals keep absconding with it, having discovered how nice and clean they can keep their areas if they use the "poo pot." Potty training level humor abounds: much giggles from its target audience.
Harriet and the Garden by Nancy Carlson
(chosen as one of a few Harriet books on our list; Harriet -- a dog -- is one of the literary heroines recommended in Growing a Girl)
Harriet accidentally tramples a neighbor's garden during a softball game, but later decides on her own to accept the responsibility and help the neighbor repair the damages. This is actually a good character lesson/moral story book -- although what I was going for when I put it on our spring list was more gardening content, and that's really not its strong suit.
(Random thought: why does Harriet's mother make popcorn balls that evening, when Harriet is too depressed/ashamed to have asked for them and baby brother, who is still in diapers, is too young to eat them? Is it some sort of Harriet-world holiday?)
We're Going on a Bear Hunt retold by Michael Rosen
(recommended through the 100 Top Picture Books posts on School Library Journal Blogthat my sister pointed me to; I added a few from this list to our own library list)
Classic tale of a family who go hunting for a bear -- and find him, so they have to reverse their onomatopoeiac journeys through swishy-swashy grass, squelchy mud and so on -- to return home and hide under the covers. A joy to read (I especially enjoyed reading the return journey second half of the book in quick-time, with an emphatic pronouncement of the last page). Lots of giggles from Nora -- who also thought the endpaper illustration of the bear going back to his home was funny.
There Are Cats in This Book by Viviane Schwarz
(recommended somewhere; can't remember where)
Very funny, cute book, with lots of interactive flaps to lift, pages to turn, etc. -- as the cats tell you to. The book (and the cats) talk directly to the reader, stating things like "the cats are not on this page" on this frontispiece and with the cats asking "are you strong? strong enough to turn a whole page? Because there's yarn on the next page!" This one gets lots of laughter throughout.
Time to Pee! by Mo Willems
(recommended through Children's Book of the Month Club)
Another variation on the theme. This book, with illustrations populated by tons of tiny mice who constitute a cheering section for the potty trainer (seriously; they carry banners that say things like "good job!") is actually a pretty straightforward instruction manual on how to use the potty, done in the voice of favorite author Mo Willems. It interested Nora enough to request the book for storytime, and I have been pleased by the reinforcement it gives.