Kid's Books: Music, Manners and More
I actually started out my previous post intending to talk some about the kids' books we're reading these days, but, in a shocking development ;), it got kind of long.
In addition to the spring-themed things I mentioned previously, we also have the sort-of-spring-related Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies by Carolyn Crimi checked out of the library. This book about a bookish buccaneer (Henry) and how his bookworm ways eventually save the rest of the rascally rabbits on board the Salty Carrot is fun, I think, mostly for the names: Barnacle Blackear, Calico Jack Rabbit, Jean LeHare.
But some of the other books we've been checking out have other motivations behind them rather than rabbity-ness.
A couple of weeks ago, we went to a Minnesota Orchestra family concert (free, sponsored by Target). The main component of the performance was Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens, with a variety of different local young pianists rotating through to perform each of the movements. They also brought out accompanying "visual aids," such as riding hobbyhorses out to the pianos during the movement related to horses; or having a couple people on the edge of the stage doing a slow waltz while carrying a turlte-shaped sandbox between them for the "Tortoises" movement. They also had ballet dancers who performed as animals for many of the different movements (which, of course, was the part that most impresed Nora).
And -- although we probably should have done this before we went to the concert -- I've been trying to follow up with resources that might plant the seeds for knowledge of and love of music. Which is why one of our current library books is Tubby the Tuba by Paul Tripp, with accompanying CD (that we listen to in the car) that includes a narration of the story that incorporates the tunes played by the various musical instruments into it. I also put back into our CD rotation Beethoven's Wig: Sing-Along Symphonies. The first half is silly songs set to classical music pieces (e.g. "Fer Elise," which is, well, "fer Elise," because "Maurice he fleeced her piece/she called the p'lice," etc.), with the second half instrumental versions of these pieces.
I should also dig out our Big Collection of Little Golden Books, which includes Animal Orchestra, from the bottom of the bookshelf stack.
And, I've also been thinking that, as Nora grows up, I want her to be responsible and compassionate, so some of the books that I put on hold so that they're "waiting for us" on our library trips have reflected this -- I'm going to try again to go through some of the appropriate books under the Learn and Reflect section of Doing Good Together. Right now, one of the books we have checked out is The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister, not only because Nora loves rainbows, but because it talks about giving and sharing.
We also read Martha Doesn't Say Sorry by Samantha Berger, in which a young otter does some naughty things on purpose and doesn't say sorry -- until she learns that she needs to do so. (Nora was actually horrified by this behavior and said it was "a bad book -- because she doesn't say sorry," but we did read it several times, at her request, when it was checked out.)
Of her own volition, Nora is also evidently going through all of the Care Bears books she can find at our church library. These are from the previous round of Care Bears - back in the 1980s -- but most of them have good messages about dealing with feelings, being nice to others, etc. (Except for the latest one, based on some awful TV special about the Care Bears and the Freeze Machine, invented by Coldheart, who rides around town on his ice-cicle. The rest of them are pretty realistic; this one is like Care Bears meet Scooby Doo. And I don't mean that in a good way.)
In addition to the spring-themed things I mentioned previously, we also have the sort-of-spring-related Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies by Carolyn Crimi checked out of the library. This book about a bookish buccaneer (Henry) and how his bookworm ways eventually save the rest of the rascally rabbits on board the Salty Carrot is fun, I think, mostly for the names: Barnacle Blackear, Calico Jack Rabbit, Jean LeHare.
But some of the other books we've been checking out have other motivations behind them rather than rabbity-ness.
A couple of weeks ago, we went to a Minnesota Orchestra family concert (free, sponsored by Target). The main component of the performance was Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens, with a variety of different local young pianists rotating through to perform each of the movements. They also brought out accompanying "visual aids," such as riding hobbyhorses out to the pianos during the movement related to horses; or having a couple people on the edge of the stage doing a slow waltz while carrying a turlte-shaped sandbox between them for the "Tortoises" movement. They also had ballet dancers who performed as animals for many of the different movements (which, of course, was the part that most impresed Nora).
And -- although we probably should have done this before we went to the concert -- I've been trying to follow up with resources that might plant the seeds for knowledge of and love of music. Which is why one of our current library books is Tubby the Tuba by Paul Tripp, with accompanying CD (that we listen to in the car) that includes a narration of the story that incorporates the tunes played by the various musical instruments into it. I also put back into our CD rotation Beethoven's Wig: Sing-Along Symphonies. The first half is silly songs set to classical music pieces (e.g. "Fer Elise," which is, well, "fer Elise," because "Maurice he fleeced her piece/she called the p'lice," etc.), with the second half instrumental versions of these pieces.
I should also dig out our Big Collection of Little Golden Books, which includes Animal Orchestra, from the bottom of the bookshelf stack.
And, I've also been thinking that, as Nora grows up, I want her to be responsible and compassionate, so some of the books that I put on hold so that they're "waiting for us" on our library trips have reflected this -- I'm going to try again to go through some of the appropriate books under the Learn and Reflect section of Doing Good Together. Right now, one of the books we have checked out is The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister, not only because Nora loves rainbows, but because it talks about giving and sharing.
We also read Martha Doesn't Say Sorry by Samantha Berger, in which a young otter does some naughty things on purpose and doesn't say sorry -- until she learns that she needs to do so. (Nora was actually horrified by this behavior and said it was "a bad book -- because she doesn't say sorry," but we did read it several times, at her request, when it was checked out.)
Of her own volition, Nora is also evidently going through all of the Care Bears books she can find at our church library. These are from the previous round of Care Bears - back in the 1980s -- but most of them have good messages about dealing with feelings, being nice to others, etc. (Except for the latest one, based on some awful TV special about the Care Bears and the Freeze Machine, invented by Coldheart, who rides around town on his ice-cicle. The rest of them are pretty realistic; this one is like Care Bears meet Scooby Doo. And I don't mean that in a good way.)