MommaReads

How I have made it through parenthood thus far without this book I am not sure. This is the best book EVER for ideas of things to do with the kids while you are out and about…waiting at a restaurant, waiting at the bus stop, car games, waiting room games, doctor’s office games, grocery store games, airplane games…you name it and this book has got it. You should buy this book for yourself and keep it in your purse or in your glove box. It would make a great gift for a new mom, too.

Mickey Moonbeam is very excited to meet his penpal Quiggle. Quiggle is supposed to come to Mickey’s house for the very first time when his space scooter crashes on a nearby asteroid on the way to Mickey’s house. Mickey rushes off to save him but can’t seem to find him. The two do finally find each other and quickly realize that the other looks a lot different than the other imagined. Their differences come in handy though when they use teamwork to fix Quiggle’s scooter and finally get to enjoy their time together.

When I had posted on Facebook that I was going to be sharing some books about space, one of my former colleagues suggested Moonshot. I read it to my youngest today. Wow! What a great piece of non-fiction for kids. It takes the reader through the astronauts getting ready in their spacesuits and getting into the ship. It shows how mission control plays a part on the lift off as well as how people on the ground are watching and waiting. The book also talks briefly about the practical things the astronauts have to deal with while living in space like eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom without gravity. The landing on the moon is covered from both the perspective of the astronauts as well as from those glued to their TV sets on Earth. The illustrations are fantastic, too. Two thumbs up!

Wilma is minding her own business chasing a fly around the pond for breakfast when she accidentally gets sucked up into an alien spacecraft. The aliens on board think that Wilma is their child but that she must be terribly sick and that’s why she looks so different. Her alien “mother” puts her to bed to get better, but that doesn’t last too long…soon Wilma is up and hopping around. She ends up hopping across the flight controls which sends the ship in a nosedive and straight back to Earth.

A great introduction to the planets, the sun and the moon with brief facts about each one as well as a glossary in the back. The book not only gives children information about their own solar system, but leaves them wondering about what else might be out there. Another planet like Earth? Another someone like them?

Stella’s dad is trying to get her to get ready for bed, but she has bigger and better plans. She does eventually get ready for bed, but not before she takes a little detour through the solar system in her chicken rocket, bounces around in some craters and finds some alien bugs on a distant planet. Maybe she will take her dad with her next time if she can get him to stay up late enough.

A rhyming romp through the planet of pink…there’s only one problem…EVERYTHING is pink and Priscilla can’t stand it! She goes on a quest to find something somewhere that isn’t pink. She doesn’t end up going where she wants to, but instead of running away from all of the pink she ends up solving the problem of too much pink. I must also mention that if the fabulous rhythm of this book doesn’t capture your child’s attention, then the fantastic illustrations will.

This is a book without words. Instead, the illustrations start with a picture from space looking down at Earth. As your child turns the pages, the pictures get closer and closer to Earth until, on the last, page, you are looking at a ladybug sitting in the grass close up. This a great book for discussion as well as a fabulous book for readers and non-readers to just look at and ponder on their own.

The martians have set off on a journey to explore each of the planets and to find other life forms. They are not having much luck at each of their stops since they started with Pluto, but are pleased once they get to “orb three” to find some very friendly black and white creatures on the south pole with whom they become fast friends. The martians have to eventually leave, but not before giving their new friends a genuine martian rock. (The last two pages of this book are non-fiction and have some very interesting facts about each of the planets.) Not only is this an adorable book, but it rhymes and we all know how I feel about a book with a good rhyme…sign me up! 🙂

Frances LOVES bread and jam. In fact, that’s all she wants to eat. Her mother makes her eggs for breakfast and all she wants is bread and jam. Her mother makes her a chicken salad sandwich for lunch, but all Frances wants is bread and jam. So….that’s exactly what her mother gives her for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. Frances quickly realizes that maybe she might like something else to eat besides bread and jam all the time. I think all children can see themselves in Frances’ picky eating habits and most parents probably know exactly how Frances’ parents feel.