Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes Have you ever been so excited for something and then when it actually happens, its so disappointing? Poor Chrysanthemum is so excited for the first day of school.  But, when she gets there she discovers  – thanks to the other girls in the class – that her name is all wrong.  “It’s so long,” said Jo.  “It scarcely fits on your name tag,” said Rita, pointing.  “I’m named after my grandmother, ” said Victoria.  “You’re named after a flower!”  What a way to be greeted on your first day of school.  Her parents tell her how wonderful she is and how beautiful her name is – all…

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall   It’s been several months since we first met the Penderwick Family.  When we first started reading  The Penderwicks on Gardam Street a few weeks ago, we realized how much we had missed them. The story picks up after the Penderwicks return from their sumer vacation at Arundel Cottage.  They settle back into real life very easily, much like we settled into this book so easily. School, soccer, the routines of everyday life with four children. Their Aunt Claire comes for a visit and so begins the dilemna.  Aunt Claire informs all the Penderwicks that their late mother left a note for their father to tell him that…

Schoolyard Rhymes Selected by Judy Sierra, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet Remember jumping rope or doing different pat-a-cake games with those silly rhymes like “Miss Mary Mack Mack Mack”? I wish I could go hang out at the playground at school during recess to hear and see if the kids do any of these fun rhymes anymore.  Perhaps when we move to a neighborhood (ahhhh – to dream) our kids will have many afternoons and evenings with other kids to play all those silly games that we used to.  The rhymes Judy Sierra selected are very good; some familiar, some not; some  long, some short.  Melissa Sweet has done a beautiful…

Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk. And what a wonderful library mouse he was.  Daniel Kirk has done a wonderful job extolling the wonders of the library, books, and young authors.  We have a wonderful library where we live, but after reading Library Mouse it made me want to visit every children’s library in the country to see what they do to encourage reading, writing and the love of books. Sam loves to read and write.  He writes a book and one night puts it in the bookshelves of the library.  It is found by the librarian.  She wants to meet the mysterious author, but Sam is too shy.  So, he…

  What can I say about The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall?  All good things! It was recommended to us by the wonderful bookstore in Alexandria, VA, that I love sooo much, Hooray for Books (how I wish I there were more like it http://www.hooray4books.com/) The Penderwicks is a family of four sisters and their father, Martin, a botany professor.  Rosalind, the oldest at 12, is quite the mother type and is quite mature, but is also going through typical 12 year old stuff – the beginnings of the “boy phase”.  Skye, 11 years old, the one who looks most like their mother (who died of cancer after the youngest daughter was…

I like to go to the “new books” section at the library.  I have found some good books there for both my children.  Unless I have a specific book or author in mind, it does help to have only about 50 books to choose from, instead of the whole library. Last week, I picked out Lucy the Good by Marianne Musgrove, illustrated by Cheryl Orsini.  I liked the idea of it.  Lucy knows she is a good girl, but always ends up in trouble.  So, she tries extra hard to be good, but still ends up doing everything wrong.  Lucy has good, solid relationships with her brother and some of…

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/46589-what-s-selling-at-hooray-for-books.html

These books are due at the library today, so I grouped them all together in one post.  If you child likes one of a series, try another one.  There are many other series that the kids enjoy.  Ask you child’s teacher or the librarian.  Your child’s teacher and you will probably be the best judge of level, and the librarian will be able to give you even more ideas. After my daughter finished the leveled readers (I think they are leveled from 1-4 – there are some Fancy Nancy, my son reads LEGO’s, Spiderman, Superheros) we moved to the Early Readers.  Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant, Pictures by Sucie…

The 7 Childrens’ Book MBA. We all think and say to our kids “if only I had it as easy as you”  Well, the advice we got as kids, still holds true as grownups – re-read some of your favorites and see. Do you have any others to add?

I should have posted this yesterday for St. Patrick’s Day!  Fin M’Coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill by Tomie DePaola.  My mom has read this story to her grandchildren numerous times.  They all LOVE it!  Fin M’Coul and his wife, Oonah, trick Cucullin.  It is fun to see the kids “get it” when Fin bites his finger off.   This version in written and illustrated by Tomie DePaola, so it does not disappoint.  However, on reading some reviews at Amazon, some people were offended by the violence.  The bully (Cucullin) does get what’s coming to him, but in all our discussions about bullying, arent we trying to teach our children…