Ivy in Bloom by Vanita Oelschlager, illustrated by Kristin Blackwood

by Carol2 Comments
Ah, I understand how Ivy Van Allsberg feels. Winter wears long for me, too. I look forward to spring, "when the world is mud-luscious" and "puddle-wonderful." And March, especially, with it's glimpses of better weather, followed by snow, can get long. Ivy in Bloom is really cute. The author takes excerpts of classic poetry and weaves them into Ivy's world as winter turns to Spring.  It's a short story and the illustrations fit the flow perfectly. In the winter, the colors are dark and gray, but as spring comes, out come the yellows and bright greens and purples and pinks. All the pictures are cute, but the spring ones are especially happy and bright. As the blurb states, at the end each piece of poetry is identified by author and work. This makes a good introduction to poetry for younger children and can lead older siblings or parents to read the originals. It's one I would have enjoyed reading to Amber...
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Thursday’s Tale: Magic Words

by Carol2 Comments
I love books that expose kids to other cultures, to other ways of looking at this world. Magic Words is a good introduction to the Inuit people. It's a gorgeous book. I read the eBook, but wish I had the paperback. The illustrations are richly colored and imaginative and invoke the feeling of the Inuit culture. According to the book, the illustrations began as ink drawings that were retraced and softened with 6B extra soft charcoal pencil. You know, before Amber started drawing I think I was pretty sure all pencils were #2 and the directions on standardized tests to use a #2 were silly. Anyway, the finished drawings were scanned and colored digitally. They are vibrant and just gorgeous. The poem talks of a past time when people could become animals and animals could become people and they all spoke the same language. And the words they were powerful and could have unintended consequences - a good reminder to be mindful...
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Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

by Carol9 Comments
My mom and I were at the bookstore the other day looking for Christmas gifts and ran across this lovely little book. Happily, she bought it. I'm not sure if she's keeping it or giving it to my niece, but either is a good choice. I love introducing kids to classics before they can think they're boring. "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost is perfect for the season. Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go...
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Rungle in the Jungle by Robert Logan Rogers

by Carol3 Comments
It sounded like a cute book. The animals get together for a race, the snake tries to intimidate them, but positive thinking and creativity win the day - should be fun. Instead, it just wasn't very good, in my opinion. First, there is no punctuation, which always bothers me- yes, it's a kids book, yes, it rhymes, but please give me quotation marks. When reading books aloud, the quotation marks are great indicators that a change of voice is needed. I want to sound like a slithery snake during his boasts or big and bold when the ape states that he weighs more than a ton, and quotes would have given me the cue. I'm still not sure about the ape's assertion that he would lose weight before the race, though; it bothers me a bit. Second, many of the rhymes are forced or don't make a lot of sense and the pattern isn't consistent. Even rungle isn't a real word. I'm all for making...
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The Dentist from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler

by Carol3 Comments
I had to take Amber to the dentist one day last month and The Dentist from the Black Lagoon was sitting on the table in the waiting room. I picked it up and read it of course, because it's a book and it was sitting there. It's the tried and true Black Lagoon formula. The dentist is coming to school and of course Hubie imagines all sort of horrors, but it all turns out good in the end. All the dental words - caps, crowns, bridges, etc. - make for some amusing illustrations that are fun, colorful and busy. This is not one I would go out and buy, even if I did have a kid the appropriate age, but I would pick it up from the library, especially if I had a child who was leery about going to the dentist....
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Thursday’s Tale: Who’s That Knocking on Christmas Eve? by Jan Brett

by Carol2 Comments
I know it's only Wednesday, but this tale is just perfect for today, and with tomorrow being Christmas, I doubt many people will be online, including me. I've mentioned before that when I was kid we had a wonderful book of troll stories, Favorite Tales of Monsters and Trolls written by George Jonson and illustrated by John O’Brien. One of the stories in that books is a retelling of "The Cat on the Doverfjell” from East o’ the Sun and West o’ the Moon. Jan Brett has down a marvelous retelling of that same story in Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve? A boy is taking his polar bear to Oslo, but he is cold and hungry so stops at a cabin. Kyri has been left alone in the hut to prepare the Christmas Eve meal while her father has gone up into the mountains to watch for trolls. In past years, the trolls have come down, broke into the house, and devoured...
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