Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco What better way to ride out a storm than making a cake with Grandma?  A little girl is terrified of thunder and hiding under the covers.  Her Babushka (Grandma, in Russian) tells her to get out so they can make Thunder Cake.  They are so busy making the cake, they don’t even think about the VERY loud thunder or the lightning.   It’ s just noise, and her Babushka helps her gets over her fears.  The recipe for thunder cake is even included at the end of the story.  Patricia Polacco is a wonderful author and illustrator.  It is a pleasure to read her books,…

Labracadabra by Jessie Nelson and Karen Leigh Hopkins, illustrated by Deborah Melmon There are a few reasons I picked this book.   I’m looking for a little more variety for my son; it looked like fun; it had chapters – but they seemed short enough to keep my son’s attention; and, my children are afraid of dogs, so I thought if we read a good boy and his dog story, it would help (baby steps). So, we started earlier this week, I can’t say he’s “getting” the story.   I will give him some slack, he did just start Kindergarten, so listening to a story at the end of a long day is probably…

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/books/review/the-childrens-authors-who-broke-the-rules.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

The Kingdom of Fantasy by Geronimo Stilton What can I say about a book that my daughter wakes up early on summer vacation to read? There is a whole series, including a series written by Geronimo’s sister, Thea Stilton.  Each book is written by Geronimo, the editor and publisher of The Rodent’s Gazette.  The books are adventures and mysteries that Geronimo encounters in his life.  The Kingdom of Fantasy has several notes for Geronimo to decipher (written in what I would call hieroglyphics).  My daughter worked very hard to crack the codes – she loved it. I have been reading The Kingdom of Fantasy aloud to my son for the past few weeks.…

The Houdini Box by Brian Selznick I’ve been looking for boy books, or at least something a little less princessy.  While this book is more advanced than what my son reads or is read to, it may still be a good read aloud sometime later this year. Brian Selznick is the wonderful illustrator for The Doll People series (http://blog.thehappyreaders.com/?p=180) by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin.  And, he does not dissappoint in The Houdini Box. Victor is a little boy who loves magic.  His idol is Harry Houdini; he tries to do everything Houdini does – escape from a locked box, hold his breath for 5000 seconds, and walk through…

The Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while.  I did a book club in my single days and enjoyed it – but mostly, I enjoyed the camraderie that we all had when we came together.  I often think about starting a mother daughter one, but then my shyness comes out, and I wonder if it will be a success.  That’s a topic for the shrink, I suppose. I did like this book.  I like the ideas; Moms wanting to spend time with their daughters; daughters relcutant;  but eventually seeing the benefits; the girls having their own pre-teen relationship issues;…

If Anything Ever Goes Wrong at the Zoo, by Mary Jean Hendrick, illustrated by Jane Dyer. We picked this book up a few years ago at the library, and I havent read it since; so I’m just going on my memory this time.  But, I thought it would be appropriate given the weather situation in our area (Hurricane Irene). Leslie visits the zoo every week and loves the animals.  She tells the zookeeper that if anything ever happens at the zoo, to bring the animals to her house.  Guess what?  There’s a big rainstorm and the zoo gets flooded so the animals need someplace safe to be.  So, off they…

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale My daughter and I picked this book last year as a read aloud.  Her reasoning was “princess” was part of the title, so it must be something she would like.  I read it myself first.  I loved it, but thought it might be a bit mature for her.  I explained that there were some scary parts, but she decided it would be okay.  The deal was if she didnt like it we could always stop.  I was impressed! Princess Academy is the story of Miri, a girl, small for her age, who is being raised by her dad; her mother died giving birth to her.…

The Small Adventures of Popeye and Elvis by Barbara O’Connor My daughter had to read this book for school this summer.  I think this was the first time she was being told what she had to read, usually she picks out very girly books.  The cover of our copy had two boys in a river – not really girly or princessy. We decided on sharing the reading aloud – 2 chapters for me and 2 chapters for her.  It is the story of Popeye (you’ll have to read it to find out why he’s called Popeye) who lives in Fayette, South Carolina.  Nothing ever happens to Popeye, and he is…

The Moffats by Eleanor Estes. My mother and I both picked this book as a Christmas present for my daughter.  It is the story of a family of four children, Sylvie, the oldest; Joey, the ‘man of the house’; Janey, who has a delightful way of looking at the world; and Rufus, the youngest, but wants to be grown-up.   It is a fun story, with all the different adventures one can have as child.  It was written in 1941, which makes a difference in what the children do.  They play outisde, policemen walk by their house on patrol, the youngest boy gets scarlet fever and the house is quarantined, horse…