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…

My nephew is much older now, but when he was younger he loved The Magic Tree House books, by Mary Pope Osborne.  So, the last time I was at his house, I noticed that he had A LOT of them in his bookshelf.  Guess what?  We are now the proud owners of almost every single Magic Tree House book (to be donated to our library once we grow out of them!).  My son was hesitant about starting them, he didnt think he would like them as much as Dinosaur Cove or Jack Stalwart (see my posts “Adventures” and “The Boy Books Begin”, on February 18th).  But, since we got them…

The New York Times Book Review – March 13, 2011 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/books/review/picture-books-for-little-princesses.html?ref=review

I remember Little Bear as a child.  It wasn’t the stories that I remember, it was the pictures;  Little Bear and his friends, Cat, Duck and Hen sitting at the table eating birthday soup, Little Bear trying to fly with his homemade astronaut hat on so that he can go to the moon.  It’s amazing what you remember.  What triggers it?  What do you think your children will remember from their youth?  What books do you think will make an impression with them? Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik, pictures by Maurice Sendak, is another book that I read to my daughter when she was about 4.  She loved having chapters,…

Share a Story, Shape a Future 2011: The Power of a Book.

As your child progresses from the Easy Readers, try the Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel.  I read these aloud to my daughter, and a few months later she read them to me.  She always has a pencil when she is reading and underlines the words she has problems with (FYI – if there are too many words underlined, the book is too hard – give it some time and come back to it.).  This book was just right for her, and she loved that she was reading a chapter book, with a table of contents, too! Frog and Toad are best friends who do everything together.  Each chapter/story…