Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Little Free Libraries

December 27, 2012 - 4:36 pm No Comments

So our oldest child has the sniffles and spent a big chunk of yesterday on the couch, but we needed to get out of the house for at least a little while today. I found the perfect answer…Little Free Libraries. You can go to this website and find some that are close to where you live.

I wrote down the addresses of three figuring we probably wouldn’t be able to find all of them, but hoping we would be able to find at least one. We lucked out and found two out of three. Unfortunately, neither one of the libraries we found had books for kids in them. They do now though, we left two books in each library. I don’t think you have to leave a book, but we treated this as you might a geocache. If you take something you should leave something as well. It’s cheap, it’s fun and you might get a book or two out of it as well. Give it a try!

Trouble with Trolls by Jan Brett

January 9, 2011 - 10:07 pm No Comments

This is a cute and fun tale of a clever little girl outwitting a bunch of trolls as she tries to hike over the mountain with her dog. This is one of Jan Brett’s books that you can read again and again and again and each time you read it your child will find something new in the illustrations…so much fun!!!!

Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson

December 3, 2010 - 10:55 pm No Comments

Mortimer comes across a house just his size, but there are a bunch of people statues in it, so he drags them all out to give himself more room. There is even a tiny baby statue laying in a “nest” of straw, so he takes that one out too so that he will have a comfy place to sleep. Mortimer comes back the next night and all of the people are back in the house, so he has to drag them all back out again. He goes back again, just in time to hear the story of Christmas being read and he realizes that the statue people that he has been dragging out of his new-found house were actually people from the Christmas story. Both you and your kids will love this book…it has become a Christmas tradition at our house.

Letters from the Campaign Trail: LaRue for Mayor by Mark Teague

October 30, 2010 - 10:05 pm No Comments

We love our Mark Teague books around here and this one is no exception. Ike LaRue (who happens to be a dog) ends up running for mayor when it seems that the other candidate’s campaign starts to sound a little “anti-canine”. Did I mention that Ike and his friends have been stealing meat from the butcher and tipping over hot dog carts? No matter. What’s important is that Ike and his friends are not restricted by leash laws and curfews. In true Ike fashion, Ike ends up saving the day and a resolution to the dog problem isn’t far behind. You will definitely “like Ike”.

1 2 3: A Child’s First Counting Book by Alison Jay

August 12, 2010 - 6:27 pm No Comments

This book will have your child counting up to nine and then back down again. The thing I love about this book is the beautiful illustrations that are really illustrations from a variety of fairytales. Not only can you have fun counting with your child, but you can guess which fairy tale each illustration represents. Don’t worry, if you don’t know there’s a guide at the back of the book that tells you the answers. I must mention again the beautiful illustrations; they are what initially drew me to this book.

Shiver Me Letters by June Sobel

July 13, 2010 - 7:52 pm No Comments

Okay, one more pirate book… I couldn’t resist this one. Not only is it a cute story of a bunch of shipmates who have to look for all of the letters of the alphabet for their tyrant pirate captain because “R” (get it? arrrr….) isn’t enough for them anymore, it also rhymes…I love those rhyming books!!! I also love it because as you are reading it the kids get to search for the missing letters (which are hidden on each page) along with the pirates.

Amos & Boris by William Steig

July 13, 2010 - 7:17 pm No Comments

This is such a heartfelt story and a great one for discussion. Amos, the mouse, is saved by Boris, the whale, when Amos gets swept out to sea by a huge wave. Boris takes Amos back home and they part ways knowing they may never see each other again. They developed a special bond during their time together, however, so years later when Boris needs Amos’ help, not only do they recognize each other, but Amos comes up with a plan to save his friend. I love the language of this book-there are some bigger words which is great. Some children’s books kind of talk down to kids. This is not one of those books. Note: This book has some serious topics. Both characters almost die in the story and there is mention of drowning. The story does have a happy ending, but it’s always good to have a heads up on these things especially if you have sensitive little ones.

Jamberry by Bruce Degen

July 10, 2010 - 10:14 pm No Comments

Not only does this book just say “summer” with all of its berries, the rhythm of this book will have your little one requesting it again and again. Going berry picking? Read this book to get your little ones excited about their field trip to the berry patch.

What are You Being “Forced” to Read?

June 9, 2010 - 10:33 pm 2 Comments

Is there a book that your kids have you read again and again and again? Or maybe a series of books that they just can’t seem to get enough of?

We have been through a Halloween book phase and a Curious George book phase in the past year or so. Currently we are in a Berenstain Bears and Magic School Bus phase.

The Old Blue Pickup Truck by Candice F. Ransom

June 3, 2010 - 10:38 pm No Comments

A little girl gets to spend the whole day running errands with her dad in their old blue pickup truck. They have all kinds of fun running around town to various stores to pick up this and that. They go to the bakery, the plant nursery, the hardware store and the farm store. The story ends up back at the farm, right where the story started…the little girl, her dad and their trusty old blue pickup truck.