http://www.carlemuseum.org/blog/?p=5383

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick  (A Novel in Words and Pictures) http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/index.htm WOW!  This book is truly amazing!  They say a picture is worth a thousand words – but this is worth so much more. Hugo is an orphan who lives in the walls of a commuter train station in Paris.  His life depends on secrets and keeping the time of all the clocks in the station.  When he meets a young girl and her godfather (from whom he steals ) his life unwinds.   It is truly a novel of words and pictures – both are absolutely necessary for the plot of this wonderful story.  The illustrations depict…

The American Girl Kirsten Series    The Happy Readers has a guest writer/reader today.  This is written by my daughter: 9 year old Kirsten Larson is an immigrant from Sweden.  She faces big changes, like losing her best friend, and living life differently in Minnesota.  Her Uncle Olav and Aunt Inger help the Larsons feel at home in Minnesota.  Uncle Olav and his family moved to Minnesota 6 years before Kirsten.  Uncle Olav and Aunt Inger have  children of their own; Lisbeth is 11 years old, and Anna,  is  7 years old.  Kirsten has a family of her own, there is Papa, Mama, and her brothers Lars and Peter.   All of them have…

Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin, Pictures by Harry Bliss We’ve had a lot of rain this past month, so the worms are being tossed around.  My son has become fascinated with them.  But, I seem to be the one to have to pick them up and bring them back to the dirt.   Ahhh, motherhood. We found Diary of a Spider when my daughter was a toddler and we loved it.  Naturally, when Diary of a Worm was published, we had to get it.  Doreen Cronin has a knack for making her books enjoyable for children, and at the same time making it humorous for adults.  Worms doing…

My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza My son told us about this book.  His teacher read it to the class on day.  I had never heard of it, so I asked  him to tell me about it.  He told me the whole story, perfectly!  And, he asked me to go get it out of the library the next day.  My son sits and listens so well in circle time that he could re-tell the story, and he asks for books out of the library.  There are definite advantages to giving your children a love of books at an early age. We all loved this book.  It was funny and cute.  The illustrations are…

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…