365 Days of Reading: Month 1 in review

As I suspected, returning to the "real world" after the holiday break proved to be a bit challenging on the blogging front, but I am happy to say that we've read to our kids every day, minus a day when the baby went to bed early. With Lady B, it hasn't been a challenge because she loves books and always asks to read them. The baby is starting to show interest but really can't sit for more than 5 minutes without wanting to do something else. That's completely typical for his age, and I've learned from experience that constant exposure to books will help him develop a love for them.

Some old favorites with Lady B continue to be the Knuffle Bunny trilogy. She especially loves to see how much Trixie has grown from book to book. Just last night, we noticed that Trixie is reading an Elephant and Piggie book on the airplane in Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion. After that, we set about reading every Elephant and Piggie book we have in the house. My personal favorite is Watch Me Throw the Ball!, but Lady B is still partial to We Are in a Book! . Another book she discovered yesterday that's been sitting on the shelf for quite a while is Kersplatypus by Susan K. Mitchell and illustrated by Sherry Rogers. I reviewed it here three years ago, and it was nice to pick it back up again and "kid-test" it. In other news, Lady B is truly enjoying "reading" to her baby brother, and he is so captivated by her. She has a few books memorized, so it's fun to watch her read to him. Last night, she surprised her daddy when he missed a word, and she corrected him. She's so much fun.

My personal reading has suffered a bit. I finished American Gods and have been engrossed in Washington: A Life. For the first time in a very long time, I haven't wanted to read anything else, but I'm only getting in personal reading time during my twice-a-week commute to work. Most nights, I crash into bed soon after the kids get to sleep. So, I'm sorry to say I haven't gotten far into the book, but it very well researched, and the narrative is very captivating unlike a lot of biographies.

For the month of February, I'm hoping to get in more personal reading time and of course continue reading to my kids every night.


The links in this post are affiliate links. With every purchase you make through clicking on these links, you are helping support The Well-Read Child. 

Chalk by Bill Thomson

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I absolutely love wordless picture books for so many reasons. They spark imagination, they take the pressure off of kids who are having trouble reading, and they can also help break the language barrier between kids and older family members who read in different languages.

Bill Thomson's Chalk is one of my new favorites. Three kids are walking toward a park on a rainy when they notice a bag of chalk hanging from a "ride-on" T-Rex.

They take the bag of chalk, and one of the girls draws a sun. Suddenly, the sky clears, and the sun shines brightly overhead. Another girl draws butterflies, and soon after, the kids are surrounded by fluttering butterflies. The boy in the group gets a bit adventurous with the chalk drawings, and the kids are soon running in terror from a ferocious T-Rex.

Bill Thomson's acrylic and color-pencil illustrations jump off the page and come to life. You see close-ups of the menacing T-Rex, looks of fear as the kids escape, and looks of pure exhilaration as the kids discover what they can do with the magical chalk.

This is a book that celebrates true imagination, and it's beautifully executed.

Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Children's Books (March 2010) | Source: Review copy from publisher | ISBN: 978-0761455264

The links in this post are affiliate links. With every purchase you make through clicking on these links, you are helping support The Well-Read Child. 

Reading Challenge: Days 3 & 4

After being off from work for over a week, readjusting to the "real world" has been a challenge, but reading with my kids is important. I've built into our nightly routine since Lady B was a tiny baby, so now it's something we both look forward to at the end of the day. The kidlets have been super exhausted, and the baby went to bed soon after bath time tonight. So no reading for him tonight. We got a couple of books in last night. I want reading to be a fun experience, and I'm careful not to force it if the kids are tired or cranky.

However, unless Lady B is extremely exhausted, she asks me to read a book to her after bathtime and before bedtime each night. I normally let her pick out 3 books she wants to read; she usually begs for at least one more, and we often get half an hour of reading in each night. Tonight, she was pretty tired, so we read for about 15 minutes before she told me she was ready for bed. I'm sort of glad because I'm not a huge fan the book she picked out - The Big Green Book of Beginner Books by Dr. Seuss.

It's a collection of six of Dr. Seuss's beginning reader books:

• Great Day for Up! 
• I Am Not Going to Get Up Today! 
•  I Wish That I Had Duck Feet 
•  Maybe You Should Fly a Jet! Maybe You Should Be a Vet!  
• Wacky Wednesday  
• Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog?

Tonight we read Wacky Wednesday, I Wish That I Had Duck Feet, and Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog? I'm hot and cold with Dr. Seuss. I absolutely love Green Eggs and Ham and Horton Hears a Who, but Oh the Places You'll Go makes me cringe, and The Cat in the Hat is just creepy.  Don't hate on me, Seuss fans. And I'm also hot and cold with The Big Green Book of Beginner Books. Wacky Wednesday is fun to read with a little one because on each page, you have to find wacky things whether it's a turtle stuck in a tree or a man driving a car from the backseat. However, as the book progresses, you're asked to find more and more wacky things until you have to find 20 things on one page. It may not be so bad if Lady B didn't get stuck on the numbers 15-20. So we go from 15 to 17 to 16 to "11-teen."  Tonight, she had fun on the first few pages, and then she said, "I'm too tired to find more wacky things. Can we read I Wish That I Had Duck Feet now?"

That particular book has a fun rhythm as the main character imagines what it would be like if he had duck feet, a whale spout, antlers, and more. I also love looking at the 1960's style illustrations, especially the boy's father who is always smoking a pipe. What I don't like about the book are the instances when the main character imagines using his new body parts to make the supposed bully Big Bill Brown jealous and to even knock him down at one point. I cringe at the message it sends that you can use your new "talents" to finally get back at a bully. It's then that I have to have a conversation with Lady B about how it's not nice to knock people down, etc. In any case, even though I'm not a huge fan of the book, she loves it, and I'm happy to read her the books she chooses.

Over the past two days, I've been doing my own reading when I've had time. I finished AWOL on the Appalachian Trail, and even though the book was a fast, interesting read, I'm not inspired to hike the trail. Camping for months, bugs, outhouses (or lack therof in many cases), injuries, etc. are not that appealing. Perhaps hiking a section or two would be better for me. :-)

I also read a good portion of American Gods on the train to and from work today, and it's really getting good. I also used the remaining value of the Kindle gift card I got for Christmas to buy Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff. I suppose I'm on a bit of a nonfiction kick.

Oh - and I also have one teeny Kindle complaint. I miss flipping through books to find passages. I don't think I'll ever stop reading paper books. I have a long commute to work, and I love not having to lug around books and having the ability to pull out a small device and choose which books I want to read. But I do miss the touch and feel and smell of "real" books.

365 Days of Reading - Days 1 and 2

So far so good on my challenge to read every day with my kids. We've had a lazy and rainy weekend, perfect for sitting inside and reading. I still feel kind of icky about referring to my children by name on the internet, so for now, they're Lady B and Lord X. Yesterday, Lady B and I read lots of books together.
Two of note include Mo Willems' We Are in a Book!, and Mary Pope Osbourne's Magic Tree House #45: A Crazy Day with Cobras.

 We Are in a Book! is the most recent of Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie books. In the book, Gerald the elephant and Piggie the pig realize that they are being watched and soon learn that the watcher is a reader and that they are in a book. They decide to make the reader say something out loud and choose the word "Banana!" As they begin to crack up over making the reader say banana, Lady B started snickering, which made me snicker until we were full on belly laughing. It's a super super book.
(Source of book: Purchased a personal copy)

We're just starting on our chapter book journey. I've read a few out loud to Lady B, and so far, she definitely enjoys listening to them. This is our second Magic Tree House book. This one, A Crazy Day with Cobras, is set to release on January 11, and in it Jack and Annie visit ancient India in search of an emerald that can help break a spell. We've only made it through the first chapter, but I'm a real fan of the Magic Tree House books, and this one is great so far.
(Source of book: Review copy received from publisher)

Now, with Lord X, I have board books scattered in easy-to-reach spots throughout the house. I can hardly get him to sit still for more than five minutes, but while he's playing I'll pull a book out and read the words. He's still in the "book-eating" phase which is why I continue to be a huge proponent of board books. A favorite he loves is The Very Hungry Caterpillar; he especially loves poking his fingers through the holes in the food the caterpillar ate through. He loves the book so much that he will have a caterpillar-themed first birthday party. I'll attempt to make a caterpillar cupcake cake. Anyone have a good cupcake recipe? Lady B has specifically requested chocolate cupcakes.
(Source of book: Purchased a personal copy) 

Now for me - I'm trying to make more of an effort to read for myself this year. Last year, I'd be so tired at the end of the night that I'd fall asleep after having read five pages. I got a Kindle for Christmas and have it loaded with some classics and other books. My reading habits are odd, and I'm normally working on five or six books at a time, reading whatever I'm in the mood for. So, right now, I'm reading two nonfiction books:

AWOL on the Appalachian Trail by David Miller - This is the author's narrative of his thru-hike of the Appalachian trail. He decides to quit his mundane office job to hike the entire trail. He goes by the name of AWOL during his hike and records his trials, struggles, and rewarding moments on the trail. I'm about 3/4 of the way through the book, and it's a super fast, exciting read. I bought the Kindle edition of this book because I'm a lifelong resident of VA and have been on the Appalachian trail in various places in VA. I'm not certain I'd ever want to hike the entire trail. I'm not a fan of roughing it. However, even though AWOL suffers a few injuries and hikes through bad weather more than a few times, I find his motivation inspirational. He also does a great job of describing the other hikers he meets along the way, and I'm finding myself hoping to read of more encounters with certain hikers.
(Source of book: Purchased the Kindle version) 

Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow

Inspired to learn more about Washington after a fall visit to Mt. Vernon, I downloaded this book to my Kindle. I'm only in the early stages of his life where he has just inherited Mt. Vernon from his brother, but so far, it's been a detailed and engaging read. I often find that biographies are hit or miss, but Chernow's narrative is compelling, and I'll continue to read more.
(Source of book: Purchased the Kindle version) 


I'm also reading two fiction books:

American Gods: A Novel by Neil Gaiman
I'm sort of ashamed to admit that the only work of Gaiman's that I've read is The Graveyard Book. Since reading that book, I've been following his blog and tweets and have wanted to delve more into his books for adults. I thought I'd start with American Gods because it's the one I see most people referring to when they talk of Neil Gaiman. I'm about three chapters in, and am loving it so far. It's dark, strange, and has a lot of supernatural activity - right up my alley.
(Source of book: Purchased the Kindle version) 

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Now that I have my Kindle, I couldn't resist downloading a free copy of this book. I absolutely love the story, and now that I can highlight and make notes without destroying a book, I'm really enjoying digging through and marking my favorite passages. I'm also trying to find words to explain why I love this so much and why it affects me the way it does, so maybe I'll share some of my favorite passages as I come across them.
(Source of book: Downloaded the Kindle version) 


So, that's what we've been reading over the past two days. Tomorrow, it's back to the real world, and it will be more of a challenge to continue reading every day, but I'll make every effort to do it.

The links in this post are affiliate links. With every purchase you make through clicking on these links, you are helping support The Well-Read Child.

365 Days of Reading

Wow - it's 2011. This year marks 11 years of living and working in the DC area, 13 years of togetherness with the hubs, and eight years of marriage. Also this year my kids will turn one and four, and The Well-Read Child will turn four in November. You know, this year has been challenging, especially after returning to work as a mom of two. But after long days of working, dinner, bath time, and everything else that comes with the job, my favorite part of the day was snuggling with my kids reading books.

My daughter is almost four now, and reading with her has turned into a super fun and rewarding time. I started this blog in 2007 because I wanted to capture memories of reading with her. Along the way, it turned into something more - I found a community of people who were just as passionate as I was about reading with kids and literacy, I started receiving books in the mail, and through reading other reviews and posts, my TBR pile grew tremendously. Somewhere along the way, I seemed to forget my initial purpose for the blog, and I'm finding that I'm forgetting special reading moments with my kids.

New Year's Day always marks a time when I'm setting new goals for myself, and my mid-February, many of them have fallen by the wayside. This year, I'm only making one resolution -  to read with my kids every single day and to also read something for myself. I want this blog to be a record of this. I hope to share what I'm reading, funny stories, questions, and comments. I want it to record 365 days of reading with my kids.

Cybils Shortlists Announced

Happy New Year everyone! Today, the shortlists for each of the 11 categories in the Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards (Cybils) was announced. Check them out here. There are some really great books on here. Kudos to all of the panelists for your hard work!

Holiday Traditions

One of my favorite memories of Christmas was making ornaments with my Aunt Marian. She dabbled in ceramics, and my brother, sister, and I would go to her house, sit around the kitchen table, and paint ceramic ornaments like stockings or toy soldiers. We'd get to choose the colors we wanted and add our initials on the back like true artists. While the paint was baking onto the ornaments in the oven, we'd make Rice Krispies treats. For a while, that was our kickoff to Christmas, and even though it's been more than 20 years and my Aunt Marian has been gone for two, memories of those days are seared in my brain. My mom still has these ornaments on her tree to this day, and I unsuccessfully try to steal them every year.

Now that my daughter is really starting to get into Christmas, I want to begin my own Christmas traditions for my kids. Of course, one of our traditions involves books, and I want to share two of the books that we've read over and over this holiday season. Both are classics that I remember reading when I was a child.

First is The Nutcracker. I've never seen a live performance of The Nutcracker, but I've forever been in love with the story. This version, written by Stephanie Spinner and illustrated by Peter Malone, has been hanging around our house for a couple of years. I thought my daughter would be a bit put off by the lengthy copy on each page, but she remains transfixed as I read it. Peter Malone's watercolor illustrations are stunning and give the book an old-timey, magical feel. But what really makes this book special is the nearly 80-minute long CD of Tchaikovsky’s music. It's performed by the Utah Symphony Orchestra and really puts you in the holiday spirit.

Of course, no Christmas story time would be complete without a reading of Clement C. Moore's The Night Before Christmas. Our illustrated depiction of the poem was illustrated by Jan Brett. True to Jan Brett's form, the book is full of color and detail, and a cast of sneaky elves almost steal the show as they stow away on Santa's sleigh on this magical night. What I also love about this is that Santa makes his landing in a wintry New England village and delivers presents to a lovely Victorian home. Like The Nutcracker, it gives off an old-timey feel of warmth and cheer. It does look like this one is out of print, but I found mine on a shelf in a local bookstore not too long ago.  In any case, there are tons of illustrated versions of this poem available. Do you have a favorite?

Do you have holiday traditions or special books you read with your kids during the holidays?


The links in this post are affiliate links. With every purchase you make through clicking on these links, you are helping support The Well-Read Child.

The Cardturner by Louis Sachar

Having been a fan of Louis Sachar's work since reading and subsequently teaching Holes to my middle schoolers back in my former life as a teacher, I was super excited to see The Cardturner show up in my mailbox a while back. I finally got around to reading it this past weekend, and while it isn't Holes, I thoroughly enjoyed it. (Don't you hate it when reviewers compare author's works to their most highly-acclaimed works?)

The premise - Alton Richards is your typical teenage boy. It's summer break, and since his girlfriend dumped him for his best friend, he has no exciting plans. He's not super excited when his mother volunteers him to drive his ailing blind uncle (who also happens to be rich) to his bridge games and be his cardturner a few times a week. As his uncle's health continues to fail, Alton's parents want to make sure Alton charms the family into his will, but there's another family that has mysterious ties to Uncle Lester and who seems to be competing for the inheritance. Soon, Alton is drawn into a decades-long secret and even learns to love bridge along the way.

So, here's what I really like about the book - the characters. Alton is a great character. He's believable - smart, funny, sarcastic, and inquisitive. From the very beginning, you're drawn into Alton's story and really like him as a person. Uncle Lester is the perfect, curmudgeonly old man who really does have a big heart. And then there's spunky Toni Castaneda - the granddaughter of Alton's sister-in-law who is the center of a very intriguing and sad mystery.

Throughout the book, Sachar inserts bridge lessons. I have to admit that I found them interesting at first, but by the end, I was skipping over them altogether. I'm more of a visual learner, and reading about different hands and plays and tactics was a bit much for me and what I think may turn some off from the book. He does, however, at the end of each "bridge lesson" include a short summary for those who don't want to read the more detailed section. And of course, he pokes a bit of fun at himself by including a whale symbol at the beginning of the each lesson - a nice little nod to the often over-detailed Moby Dick.

But, it's not a book about bridge. Bridge happens to be the element of the book that weaves the story and the characters together, but behind the bridge lessons, there's a beautiful story of love, friendship, family, and the search for truth.


Reading level: Young Adult | Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (May 11, 2010) | ISBN-13: 978-0385736626 | Source: Review copy from publisher


The links in this post are affiliate links. With every purchase you make through clicking on these links, you are helping support The Well-Read Child.

100 Things About Me as a Reader, Part 1

So, I'm way behind on blog reading and just came across Mary Lee's "100 Things About Me as a Reader" at A Year of Reading. Inspired by her blogging partner Franki's post, Mary Lee lists some interesting tidbits about herself as a reader and also says that a lot of individuals are posting their own lists, and teachers are assigning this to students. Of course, I can't pass this up. Here's the beginning of my list.

1. According to my mom, by the time I was two, I was "reading" books my memory. 
2. Also according to my mom, my first favorite book was The Pokie Little Puppy. I found a copy of this for my daughter when she was one, but it's never caught on. 
3. The first series I fell in love with was the Trixie Belden series. A family friend gave me a full set when I was in the third grade. 
4. The second series I fell in love with was the Flowers in the Attic series and then every other dark V.C. Andrews series I could get my hands on. 
5. My Aunt Marian, along with my mom, helped nurture my love for reading. She frequently bought me books and lent me her own when I was growing up.
6. When I was young, the library was one of my favorite places to be. It still is.
7. I read Gone With the Wind when I was in 5th grade. It continues to be one of my favorites of all time. 
8. I'm not sure that I have a favorite genre. I read whatever I'm in the mood for at that moment, but I do have a soft spot for dystopian fiction. 
9. I became an English major because I loved reading and writing about what I was reading so much. 
10. My two favorite classics are "Les Miserables," and "The Great Gatsby." Just mention the name Jean Valjean, and I get giddy.
11. I often have around six books started at once. Right now, I'm reading four books and listening to one audio book.
12. I get sad when people tell me they're not readers. 
13. I love the touch, feel, and smell of books, but I really want a Kindle. I have the Kindle iPhone app, but it's not the same. 
14. I love Historical Fiction. My favorite periods are the Tudor period, the Civil War, and the Renaissance. 
15. I love reading nonfiction, but it's challenging to find well-written nonfiction. The best nonfiction authors tell their subjects' stories and don't just present facts. 
16. I get frustrated with too much detail. I've never gotten through the first book in The Lord of the Rings trilogy because of all the detail, and that makes me sad. 
17. I haven't read as many classics as I would have liked to because of the whole detail thing mentioned above. 
18. I feel guilty for not finishing a book even if it's really bad. 
19. Neither my brother or my sister read for pleasure. I'm not sure why.
20. When I've had a really rough day, all I want to do is crawl in bed and read a book. 
21. When it's cold or raining outside, all I want to do is crawl in bed and read a book. 
22. I've always said that if I was stuck on a deserted island, my one wish would be to have a book of Shakespeare's greatest works. Now I think it would be a Kindle loaded with all kinds of books. 

Whew...this is hard, but fun. I think that's enough for now! 

Reading Journal: November 2, 2010

Finding the time to review and blog continues to be challenging, but reading every day with the kids is still a top priority. Both kids are growing so quickly, and I want to capture memories of reading with them, which is the very reason why I started this blog in the first place nearly 3 years ago.

Baby Reader:

You know, for me, while having a second child has been more time consuming, I feel less stressed and worried than I did with the first. I think it's because I know what to expect, and I definitely know what to expect with books.

At nine months old, getting my son to sit still for even five minutes is out of the question, but he loves to look at the pictures and touch them. Last night, my daughter learned the hard way why we need to be careful with the baby around her books when he ripped a page out of her beloved Life-Size Aquarium book. That's why when we're reading together, I like to have plenty of board books around that capture his attention. Some books we read with the baby tonight included the old standby, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and some more tactile books like Feely Bugs. I don't even know how we acquired this book, whether it was a gift or from a book or yard sale, but it's been a hit since my daughter was an infant.

Preschool Reader:
We're at the stage with my daughter where she constantly asks for "one more book." She knows I'm weak and always say yes, but we have had to set limits at night. Because some books take longer than others, I start by letting her pick out three books to read. We normally dedicate at least half an hour for bedtime reading, so if we have time for more, we'll read more. She's also at the stage where she'll want me to read the same book to her over and over again.

Tonight, she and my husband read while I was getting the baby bathed, and then once it was time for her bedtime stories, she chose two old standbys, Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity and Splat the Cat. I can't tell you how many times we've read these stories, and watching her face filled with the excitement of knowing what's going to happen next is priceless. And if I miss a word, she is quick to correct me. I'm always amazed at the different observations she makes. For example, tonight, she found a little mouse door in Splat the Cat's classroom that we've never seen before, and she said that it must be the door to mouse school. And while reading Knuffle Bunny Too, she noticed for the first time that Trixie and Sonja had lunchboxes with their initials on them.

Our third book of the evening was a first for both of us, even though it's been sitting on the shelf for a while: Laura Joy Rennert's Buying, Training, and Caring for Your Dinosaur. It's a witty little book that weighs the positives and negatives of owning different types of dinosaurs and tells you how to care for them and train them once you've found one that suits your family. Marc Brown's illustrations are full of detail and are great conversation starters. When we were finished reading the book, my daughter sighed and said, "I wish I had one of those pet dinosaurs."


Wow...writing this post has actually been very enjoyable, something I haven't felt with blogging for a while. I see more reading journal entries in the future!

The links in this post are affiliate links. With every purchase you make through clicking on these links, you are helping support The Well-Read Child. 

Mailbox Monday - October 25, 2010

Today is Mailbox Monday, and here are the goodies that arrived in my mailbox since last Monday.

Maple Tree Press sent:

How Football Works by Keltie Thomas

For ages 8-12, this book will be released in November and according to the publisher, presents "the facts, drama, and one-of-a-kind anecdotes that make football such a popular sport."

And from Owlkids comes the 10th anniversary edition of Catherine Ripley's Why?: The Best Ever Question and Answer Book about Nature, Science and the World around You  

For ages 3-8, this book provides simple answers and colorful illustrations to lots of questions kids commonly ask such as:

• What makes that toy glow in the dark? 
• Why do my fingers get so wrinkled in the tub? 
• Why does popcorn pop? 

My daughter and I have started going through the book, and at 3 1/2, she is able to grasp the explanation of most questions. Her favorite so far, is "Why are some eggs brown and some eggs white?" There's a surprising fact about a type of South American chicken that lays blue eggs.

My only pet peeve? No sources are listed. Ahhhhhh!!!!!!

From Random House Books for Young Readers is Rebecca Barnhouse's The Coming of the Dragon.

From the publisher, "Rebecca Barnhouse weaves Norse gods, blood feuds, and a terrifying dragon into this spectacular retelling of the end of the Old English poem Beowulf." 

As an English Lit  major, Beowulf was on many a course syllabi, so I have to admit this is intriguing.  The book goes on sale tomorrow.


So that's what was in my mailbox this week. What was in yours? Visit today's Mailbox Monday roundup at She Reads and Reads.


The links in this post are affiliate links. With every purchase you make through clicking on these links, you are helping support The Well-Read Child. 

Mailbox Monday - 10/18/2010

So, I'm participating in Mailbox Monday for the first time ever. Not sure why it took me so long because I love reading other Mailbox Monday posts to see what books other bloggers have received.

What is Mailbox Monday? It's a weekly round-up of books people have received in the mail during the previous week. Started by The Printed Page, it's now hosted by other blogs, alternating monthly. This month, She Reads and Reads is hosting.

This week, I received a lot of Middle Grade and Young Adult books and one picture book.

Early Elementary:

The picture book is Tell the Truth, B.B. Wolf by Judy Sierra, illustrated by J. Otto Siebold (Knopf, 2010). It's a follow up to their 2007 hit Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf. In this book, B.B. Wolf (a.k.a. Big Bad Wolf) faces skepticism from some favorite storybook characters when he starts telling HIS version of the Three Little Pigs. To make up for blowing the pigs' houses down, he decides to do a good deed. It's super cute.


Upper Elementary:

• Kickers #3: Benched by Rich Wallace, illustrated by Jimmy Holder (Knopf, 2010)
  Recommended for ages 7-10
• Nancy and Plum by Betty MacDonald (Knopf, 2010)
  Recommended for ages 8-12

Middle Grade:

• Museum of Thieves (Book 1 of The Keepers Trilogy) by Lian Tanner (Delacorte Press, 2010)
  Recommended for ages 9-12
• Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (Delacorte Press, 2010)
  Recommended for ages 9-12
• Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea (Delacorte Press, 2010)
  Recommended for ages 9-12
• Ice Claw (Book 2 in the Danger Zone series) by David Gilman (Delacorte Press, 2010)
  Recommended for ages 11+
• A Good Horse by Jane Smiley (Knopf, 2010)
  Recommended for ages 11+

Older Middle Grade/Young Adult:

• Trash by Andy Mulligan (David Fickling Books, 2010)
  Recommended for ages 12+ 
•  Dark Water by Laura McNeal (Knopf, 2010)
  Recommended for ages 12+
• Jumpstart the World  by Catherine Ryan Hyde (Knopf 2010
  Recommended for ages 14+

Now the only challenge is deciding which one to read first!

Books mentioned in this post were received as review copies from the publishers. The links in this post are affiliate links. With every purchase you make through clicking on these links, you are helping support The Well-Read Child.

Just One Bite by Lola Schaefer, illustrated by Geoff Waring

Happy Nonfiction Monday, a day when we celebrate great nonfiction for kids and young adults.

Today, I'm offering a review of a new nonfiction book for smaller kids. In Just One Bite, kids get life-sized examples of what eleven different animals, from a worm to an elephant, eat and how much of it they CAN eat in just one bite. In Geoff Waring's eye-catching illustrations rendered in brush, crayon, and computer, you see a life-sized frog catching a beetle with its tongue, a parrot eating a nut, a Komodo dragon slurping a snake down its gullet.

The big finale is a four-page fold out of a sperm whale eating a giant squid with one big gulp.

The back matter includes brief paragraphs about the eating habits of each of the book's featured animals. I was also super excited to see the author acknowledge the sources consulted for writing the book on the copyright page. It offers a lot of credibility to the book. Thus, I'd definitely recommend it for both home and early-elementary classroom use.

Check out the other Nonfiction Monday selections at MotherReader. 

ISBN-13: 978-0811864732 | Publisher: Chronicle Books (September 1, 2010) | Source: Review copy from publisher


The links in this post are affiliate links. With every purchase you make through clicking on these links, you are helping support The Well-Read Child.  

Storytime Sunday: Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates

On Sundays, we try to have a relaxing day with the kids before the craziness of the new week begins, and one of our favorite activities is to read and tell stories. On most Sundays, I plan to share a story we've been reading, and I invite you to share yours in the comments.

One of the stories we've read this week is Louise Yates' Dog Loves Books. As you can probably guess from the title, it's about a dog named Dog who loves books. Dog loves books so much that he opens his own bookstore. When business is slow, Dog gets discouraged until he picks up a book and reads to pass the time. He's taken away on many adventures, and when a customer finally comes, he knows exactly which books to recommend.

The story is simple and to the point, but what I love about it is that it really shows the magic of reading and the fun that comes with introducing others to the books you've read. The illustrations themselves are just as charming and perfectly complement the story. When Dog is reading, he is surrounded by colorful dinosaurs, hopping kangaroos, and green aliens.

This is definitely one that we'll read again and a book that makes for a great read-aloud.

ISBN-13: 978-0375864490 | Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (July 27, 2010) | Source: Review copy from publisher

Also by Louise Yates:
A Small Surprise

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Cybils Nominations open!

If you haven't stopped by the Cybils website and nominated your favorite children's and young adult books of the year, please do so by October 15. They've already received tons of nominations in the different categories, but if you have a favorite that hasn't yet made the list, nominate! Read the nomination rules here.

What are the Cybils? 
The Children's and Young Adult Blogger and Literary Awards. The awards are a great way to celebrate children's and young adult books that have kid appeal. Every year, my book list gets bigger as I strive to read all of the books that make the shortlists.

Board Books! Board Books! Board Books!

With a super busy 8-month-old who is not so gentle with things, especially books, I've remembered how important it is to have a stash of board books around for him to play with. I've put accessible books that can withstand a beating in nearly every room of the house and also have a stash for the car and diaper bag.

At this stage, he'll touch pictures and is able to flip the thicker cardboard pages. He rarely stays still long enough to get through more than one book and loves "eating" them more than anything. But at eight months, that's all I can really ask for. Introducing babies to books and letting them explore them is an early introduction to literary, and I know at least for me, having board books around offers my baby the opportunity to play with books without the fear that he'll rip a page or poke himself with a sharp corner.

I've also found board book versions of some of my three-year-old daughter's favorite books. She loves to "read" them to him and show him pictures. Here are some newer board books we are enjoying.

Happy Birthday, Little Pookie by Sandra Boynton
In the latest "Pookie" installment, many parents will find this scene all too familiar as Little Pookie wakes up way too early on his birthday and just can't get back to sleep. Once Pookie's finally wake up, the day is filled with birthday festivities. If you know the Pookie books, this one has the familiar rhythm and cute pictures that really engage young children. It's fast and it's fun...perfect for little ones.

ISBN: 978-0375865398 | Robin Corey Books, May 25, 2010 | Source: Review copy from publisher

Busy Gorillas by John Schindel, photographs by Andy Rouse
We've been fans of Tricycle's "Busy Book" series from way back. See reviews of other books in the series here, here, and here. In the next installment of the series, set to release next week, kids come face-to-face with busy gorillas in action. It has a great mix of photographs from baby gorillas to adult gorillas, and This came in the mail just this past Friday, and my daughter absolutely LOVES it. Over the weekend, she kept picking it up and saying, "Look at this guy, Mommy." The baby loves it, too, and we're so excited for the next book, Busy Elephants, to come out in February. Seriously, if you're looking for a series of long-lasting books, these have been favorites of my daughter's since 2008.

ISBN: 978-1582463520 | Tricycle Press, October 12, 2010 | Source: Review copy from publisher

ABC, Baby Me! by Susan Katz, illustrated by Alicia Padron
I know what you're thinking...not another alphabet book, but I promise this one is really cute. Each letter of the alphabet features a scene with a baby getting love and attention from friends and family. A is "Adore Me," B is "Bathe Me," C is "Cuddle Me," and so on. The soft illustrations of happy babies of many different races make this a heartwarming book that I wouldn't hesitate to give to any new parent or grandparent.


ISBN: 978-0375866791 | Robin Corey Books, September 28, 2010 | Source: Review copy from publisher

American Babies by The Global Fund for Children
We've read The Global Fund for Children's Global Babies (see my review here) over and over again, so I was delighted to receive a copy of American Babies. In the same spirit as Global Babies, American Babies introduces you to gorgeous photographs of diverse babies all across the U.S. Brief text on every page sends a positive message about the love babies bring to the world. I think I love this book just as much as my little ones do.

ISBN: 978-1580892803 | Charlesbridge Publishing, July 1, 2010 | Source: Complimentary copy from The Global Fund for Children


What about you? What board books are you reading with your children?


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Written in Bone exhibit at American Museum of Natural History

Last Fall, I read and reviewed Sally M. Walker's Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland.  This is a book about the discovery of bones and artifacts from Colonial Jamestown, VA and Colonial Maryland. In that review, I said, "What makes this book exceptional are the stories it tells along the way. Not only do we learn more about the actual skeletons that were uncovered, but we learn about the way of life that was often brutal and even deadly during this period."

I also mentioned that I had visited the exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. before reading the book. I just revisited the exhibit after having read the book again, and this time, it was absolutely amazing.

Coming face-to-face with the lead coffins found buried under the church floor and seeing actual skeletons of the people who were found was a great experience.

Lead coffins discovered under church in MD.

Many of the displays were presented as "forensic case files," allowing visitors see how these cases were investigated and solved. There's even a hands-on lab that lets visitors become scientists.

Artifacts found during the excavations were also on display, and life-sized replications of some of the individuals found and forensic facial reconstructions really make you realize that the bones in the cases were real humans who lived fascinating, often brutal lives centuries ago.

Even if you haven't read the book, I recommend visiting the exhibit, but if you have the opportunity to read the book before you visit, it makes for a richer experience.


Video about the exhibit:

Banned Books Week

Today marks the beginning of this year's Banned Books Week. I stopped questioning why others decide to challenge and ban books. It makes me too angry and is something that I just don't understand. So my act of rebellion is to read as many banned books as I can. Especially during Banned Books Week, I try to read or re-read some of the books that have been most challenged during the past year.

See this year's top 10 and learn more about what you can do here.

This week, I'm starting with one of my all time favorites, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. I treated myself to the 50th Anniversary Edition. When anyone asks me who my favorite literary character is, Atticus Finch is always near the top of my list. What a wonderful character, a wonderful book, and what a downright amazing story.

I've read most of the other books on the top ten, but I've never read The Chocolate War. I think I'll try that next.

Are you doing anything for Banned Books Week?

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Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I finally had some time to read over the weekend and finished Mockingjay, THE most highly-anticipated book of the year for me. This is more my reaction than a "review" because you can find reviews all over the place. I've been purposely staying away from blogs and reviews because I didn't want to find spoilers, so I have no idea what other readers think of the book. 

What did I want to see in this final book in The Hunger Games series?

• A resolution to the war. Check!
• A resolution to the Katniss - Peeta- Gale love triangle? Check!
• Twists and turns that you've come to expect from the series. Check!

 As you can only expect, the rebels and the Capitol are in the midst of a war, so it's probably THE most violent and goriest book of the series. But I have to say that the thing I liked most from the first two books, the first book especially, was missing - great character development. To me, this book had more of an "action movie" feel than a fully developed story. Sure, the first two books led up to this "final battle," but it seemed Suzanne Collins took less care with the characters in this book than with the action, and truly amazing books balance both.

That said, I did enjoy this book a lot, and I think readers will be satisfied with the ending (even if they were routing for Katniss to end up with a different person than she did.)

Now, I'm going to go read other reactions.

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