Fabulous book re-post for you today

Re-posting this from books4yourkids.  What a stunning book to share and the review is excellent.  No use me re-doing something that is already stellar.  Enjoy and read on!

Sleep Like a Tiger by Mary Logue, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

Get "Sleep Like a Tiger"

Sleep Like a Tiger is written by Mary Logue and magnificently illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. Sleep Like a Tiger is a charming going-to-bed book about a little girl who insists she is not sleepy. Her parents humor her as she goes through her bedtime routine of putting on pajamas, washing up and, as she climbs into bed, "stretching her toes down under crisp sheets, lying as still as an otter floating in a stream." They tell her that she can stay up all night if she wants and they leave the door open a crack after a brief discussion of the sleeping habits of other creatures in the world. As she tries to stay awake, the girl snuggles into her bed, imagining the ways that all the other animals prepare for sleep and finally, like a tiger in the jungle who stays strong by sleeping most of the day, she falls asleep.

Logue, who is a novelist an a poet, has written a sweet story that is above the usual fare when it comes to bedtime books for kids. But, what really shoots Sleep Like a Tiger over the moon are Zagarenski's gorgeous, dreamy, layered illustrations. Zagarenski is best known for her Caldecott Honor winning illustrations for the book Red Sings From Treetops written by award winning children's poet Joyce Sidman. And, as I learned in the interview from June of 2009 at 7 Impossible Things (for a more recent interview with Jules and more amazing artwork than I could include in this review, click here) Zagarenski creates here work, which is usually painted on board, with acrylics, colored pencils, collage and sometimes computer graphics. This results in a work of art that is a story in and of itself, and it is obvious why when you take a look at one of Zagarenski's sketches for Sleep Like a Tiger that she shared in her interview.

Among the layers of imagery, texture and patterns in Zagarenski's work are clues and surprises that add depth to the story. Before going to bed, the little girl is playing with her toys, toys that become the animals she imagines going to sleep. In every corner of her illustrations there are treasures to look for. In her interview at Seven Impossible Things, she said that she sent "mostly enlarged details from the paintings inside - subtle things one might not see, like the four leaf clover, just for the viewer who finds it, in the paws of the tiger gaining strength." On of my favorite, not exactly hidden, aspects of Zagarenski's illustrations is the inclusion of The Little Prince, a favorite and influential book for Zagarenski, as the bedtime book the girls parents had been planning on reading to her.

If you are as taken with Zagarenski's art as I am, you'll be happy to know that she has a website, Sacredbee, where you can buy greeting cards featuring her beautiful artwork! And, since it is the gift giving season, for those of you who want to own artwork by some of the best artists in the world of kid's books, don't miss Red Cap Cards, started by picture book illustrator Carrie Gifford and featuring cards by Jon Klassen and spectacular new comer Christian Robinson.

 More books illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

This is Just to Say : Poems of Apology and Forgiveness by Joyce Sidman, reviewed at books4yourkids.com during poetry month a couple of years ago.

Red Sings from Treetops : A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman

Coming in February 2013, Zagarenski teams up with inveterate kid's poet Jack Prelutsky on STARDINES Swim Across the Sky and other poems. I have an advance copy of this and it is fantastic! I'll review it as we near the publication date...

Write on.....

  Every generation needs to know the fundamental basics of writing a letter, a postcard or a card.  This is the perfect season to make that happen.

  Gather fun paper, a pen or pencil and avail yourself to be chief guide and "scribe-helper" as this task is implemented.  Discuss what should be said orally first, exchanging ideas and format before the pencil ever hits the paper.  You can also do a rough draft and then use exclusive coloured pens or markers to copy the transcribed text onto a more "professional" letter to send.

If you do not have any fancy paper for the final copy try out some websites which give you samples or templates from which your child can work.  You can print these pages off in full colour and even add stickers to the paper afterwards.

Remember to have fun and do not make this a painful process.

Your letter to Santa can be as easy as:

Dear Santa,
  For Christmas I would like:  (list the wishes)
  End up with:
Thank you for all you do.  Remember to look around when you leave and eat the cookies and drink the milk that I have left for you.  I also have a few apples to give to your reindeer as I know they get hungry too.  Have a great Christmas Santa!

When your letters are all finished make a point of taking your child to the nearest mailbox to post that letter - either to Santa, to a friend, or a family member.  Taking her/him through the process of addressing the envelop correctly, attaching the stamp,  licking the flap, including the return address is a reading lesson in itself.  Something so simple (and timely) is really using the Christmas theme as a teachable moment.

And away it goes.....

Read on!  Enjoy!  Encourage the receiver to send a response that your little one can get excited about and actually see how the post office system works.

The Christmas card factor....

  Get out those old cards from last year or hit the dollar store and buy a few select boxes for .... yes... a reading lesson or two.

You can use these old cards for the perfect holiday season reading session.  Let your child flip through those cards and read them out loud to you.  You can supply your child with a Christmas notepad and pen and then have her copy some of those seasonal words to make a Christmas dictionary.

  Look up some websites and find creative ways that your child can design, then send, some cards to family and friends.  You can even browse hallmark or other free ecard sites and have your child choose then compose a message to send electronically.

  Where can you store those incoming cards?  One great idea is to make a card mobile to hang.

  You can also run a colourful ribbon or piece of yard (kind of like a clothesline), go to the dollar store and buy some colourful plastic clothespins and hang them up.  Be creative and have fun with those cards.

  Making your own cards are always the best for your child and do not have to be overly fancy.  Just give your child some construction paper, glue, markers, scissors, stickers and glitter and let her go.  Be prepared for a little mess but the creative serge will be well worth it.

  Cards can be hung, cut up, read out loud, .... the skies the limit!  Get going.  Get happy with cards.  Read on.

Get prepared.....it's coming

The calendar will soon be sporting a new page.  When we turn over the next leaf of paper the new month of "December" will light up and off we will go into the Christmas season.  Oh boy, hold on, better be prepared.

Melanie Watt's new book, " Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Christmas",  is certain to be a hit for this time of year.  Her "Scaredy Squirrel" series is fabulous and the kids love the little character.  It is both written and illustrated by this Canadian author/illustrator.  This book is recommended for kids ages 4-8.

'Tis the season for worrying, planning, decorating, wrapping, entertaining, carolling and, worst of all, fruitcake! Scaredy Squirrel returns with a quirky safety guide filled with practical tips and nutty step-by-step instructions to help readers prepare for a perfect Christmas. A fun-filled guide sure to appeal to all the Scaredies out there! 

Read on!

Book-a-lanche.....

Be Book Smart....


Feeling guilty that your child has so many books and toys strewn around the house?  Well don't be....rejoice!

Results from a study of 20 years coming out of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia showed that kids surrounded by millions of books and educational toys have a very positive effect on a person's brain.  The more mental stimulation that your child is exposed to through books, music, games and toys,  the more he can learn about numbers, words and colours.  The more exposure - the more development to the cognitive and language skills area of the brain that she will use later on in life.

Another positive element....you can teach them to tidy up and organize his stash so retrieving those treasures will be much simpler.

 Read on.  Read often.  Read to succeed.

Have an awesome weekend and be blessed!

Dog Breath....stinky plus...but dog so sweet

	Dog Breath. Carolyn Beck. Illustrated by Brooke Kerrigan. Markham, ON: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2011. 32 pp., hardcover, $18.95. ISBN 978-1-55455-180-4. Subject Heading: Dogs-Juvenile fiction. Grades 1-5 / Ages 6-10. Review by Gregory Bryan. *** /4

excerpt:

You ate my birthday cake—the whole thing, candles, too—and got yourself so stuffed you threw it up.

I was so mad I yelled, “I hate you!”

Even the dog lovers amongst us concede that a kiss from our beloved pet would be all the more enjoyable were it not for the dreaded dog breath with which it is invariably accompanied. Carolyn Beck and Brooke Kerrigan’s new book, Dog Breath, focuses on unpleasant canine breath as just one of several unsavoury characteristics of the nonetheless loveable dog in their story. Told in the first person voice of a child narrator, the book is essentially a celebration of dogs, despite all the mischief and mayhem they might cause. The unnamed dog in the story is a dopey but good natured, albeit poorly behaved, child’s pet. That careless and pleasant nature of the dog makes for a funny story that, despite all the mischief, somehow rings true. On several occasions, I found myself thinking that the dog in the story was my own family dog.

      Kerrigan’s use of muted colours, rounded shapes and curved lines lends softness to the book that manages to tone down some of the dog’s mischief so that it is still a loveable animal. Another interesting feature of Kerrigan’s illustrations is that readers never see the face of the child narrator. With what readers do see, the narrator could be a boy or a girl. This is clever artwork that increases the appeal of the book to potential readers of both genders. Whether the readers are boys or girls, they can put themselves in the shoes of the narrator.

      In 1994, popular and humorous children’s author, Dav Pilkey, published a book by the same name. Pilkey’s book, however, was far more slapstick than Beck and Kerrigan’s careful, thoughtful portrayal. Where Pilkey went only for laughs, the humour in Beck and Kerrigan’s book gradually gives way to poignancy and melancholy at book’s end. This change in tone is skilfully executed and, in the hands of a less capable writer, would not have worked.

      Dog lovers of all ages will enjoy Beck and Kerrigan’s book. It is a fun story about a sweet, but mischievous dog.

Gregory Bryan is a professor for a Manitoba University and works with children's literature.

It has been suggested that the memories are brought back because this family dog, a favourite pet, is deceased.  Wonderful book and a great segue to conversations about your own family pet.  Read and be happy today.

A great review for you today

Black Dog by Levi Pinfold

Get "BLACK DOG"

Levi Pinfold, who's work is new to me, immediately strikes me as one of those illustrator/authors who could write a story about anything and his amazing artwork would carry it along, no matter what the subject matter. I'll be honest, I didn't know what to make of Black Dog the first time I opened it. But, being the owner of two black dogs, one of which came to us as a big, ferocious looking stray, I wanted to love this book. I found myself poring over the book, letting the illustrations tell the story, not reading the words at all my first time through. Pindfold's style immediately calls to mind the magnificent Shaun Tan, creator of the amazing wordless graphic novel, The Arrival. There are so many details to take in with every illustration and on the pages where text appears, Pinfold has added six more small illustrations in panels, like a graphic novel. Finally, after several readings without reading the words, I sat down and read Black Dog.

And it is wonderful! Both the story and Pinfold's writing! The book begins, "One day, a black dog came to visit the Hope family. Mr Hope was the first to see it." Looking out the window, Mr Hope is stricken. He calls the police to tell them that there is a black dog the size of a tiger in his front yard. The police caution him not to go outside. Mrs Hope, Adeline and Maurice Hope also all have encounters with the big black dog outside and, like a folk or fairy tale, each family member describes the black dog as being increasingly enormous. The family hides in fear, but the youngest member of the family, "called Small (for short)" puts on her parka and heads out the door to see about this black dog.

 This has to be one of THE BEST picture book illustrations I have seen in a while! After being snuffed by the beast, Small tells the black dog that he will have to catch her if he wants to eat her and she takes off running. As she speeds over the snowy terrain, she sings a little song to the beast telling him he "can't follow where I go, unless you shrink, or don't you know?" 

Singing and teasing, the dog chases Small through the neighborhood, getting smaller every second so that he can follow her under bridges and through playgrounds (another fantastic illustration) until they return to the Hope house and both tumble through the cat flap. Hiding him under a laundry basket, she shows her family that the black dog is "not that fierce at all," showing her family that there was nothing to be scared of at all.

No doubt, Black Dog seems like a simple story, and, while it works perfectly well on that level, making this a superb read-out-loud for the littlest listeners. However, Pinfold weaves so much more into his text  (rhymes, a narrator who notes the lack of rhymes at ideal times, and a "Big Jeffy," which Maurice compares the black dog to although will not reveal exactly what a Big Jeffy is...) and employs melodic words like scuttled, guffin, and lowering, making this book a keepsake. Black Dog is a book that young readers will remember well into adulthood and want to read to their own children.

Time Out!

If you have children you know that from time to time you need to call a "time out."   Sometimes life gets out of control and a kid can only take so much.  They have a melt-down and it is up to you to take control and the situation.

Perhaps you can change this behaviour into a more positive one.  After the initial outburst and the pout surfaces, this might be a good time to introduce some books for your child to sit quietly and read.  The whole idea of punishment turns into a time of quiet, calming of the child  and of course you.

Here are some books about "Time Out" that you may like to pick up to help you.

Release Date: Jan 29 2013

Sophie means to be a good little mouse, but she just can't resist testing the limits with her patient parents and grandmother.

Eat supper? More fun to throw it on the floor.
Fold the laundry? More fun to knock over the pile.
Read with Grandma? More fun to steal her glasses.
And then it’s time out for Sophie!

Rosemary Wells has created a memorable new character, ready to take her place next to Max and Ruby, Yoko, and Noisy Nora. Sophie's adorable antics will strike a chord with children and parents alike.

I love this one:

In this absolutely hilarious book, children and parents alike are treated to a "Who's Who?" list of troublemakers, beginning all the way back with the Carthaginian General, Hannibal, and ending with Rosa Parks, who got a time out for doing something that wasn't even really wrong!

Deb Lucke presents each character, from Christopher Columbus to Johann Sebastian Bach to Babe Ruth, as people who made mistakes -- and had to pay the price by getting a time out! There's a lesson to be learned in each short story, whether it be the importance of telling the truth or the fact that it's a bad idea to be a marauding pirate, and it's all done with humour and in a way that's easy for kids to understand.

This isn't a book that tells youngsters it's okay to do something they know is wrong, but it is a book that tells them that everyone makes mistakes. And, sometimes, the only way to make up for those mistakes is with a good old-fashioned time out!

This is one title that's sure to be a winner for all ages!

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

It's normal for kids to lose it.  It's imperative that parents know how to handle it.  Enjoy these books and remember to read on!  The nice thing is you can have an adult "time out" when you read and review the books yourself.   Ahhhhhh!

Poetry anyone?

Quote of the week:

"The greatest gift is a passion for reading.  It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind.  It is a moral illumination."
     
                         - Elizabeth Hardwick

This fabulous book features familiar authors such as Jane Yolen, who's imagination vivifies the reading experience as "Words/Nudge each other/like bumper cars/at the fair".....while Kristine O'Donnell celebrates the quiet side when she says "If you have a book....this great new book to read/Who needs a window seat?"  Bennett's appendix offers thumbnail biographies of each of his poets and his selections offer plenty of instructive examples of poetic language -- alliteration, onomatopoeia (love that word), smilie and metaphor -- and all of them offer vivid word pictures to delight the mind in the way that only a book can.

 A review from Amazon states:

In this picture-book collection from veteran anthologist Hopkins, 13 well-known children’s poets celebrate
how books can take readers on wild adventures (“I storm / toward shackled screams / of a kidnapped damsel”), as well as how plain words can reveal the surprising drama in ordinary things, even the rhyming sounds of a clock: “tick-tock / ding-dong / bing-bong.” Karla Kuskin speaks about the “wonders of
wandering / wonderful pages” and “the nonsense and knowledge” the come “tumbling out.” And in another selection, Kristine O’Connell George writes, “riding home from the library, / don’t need a window seat. / Got a great new book to read, / eleven more beneath my feet.” The whimsical, light-toned acrylic artwork extends the metaphors with witty, fantastical transformations of books: in one scene, a dark-blue
book cover becomes an ocean, where you can “dive in the sea of words and swim.” Fun for sharing with preschoolers, this will also spark discussion in grade-school writing and art classes. Notes about each poet are appended. (Booklist-Hazel Rochman )

All-in-all a winner to get your child reading and loving poetry.  Give it a try.  Blessings today and read on!

How do I find good books for my kids?

We live in a society where you can get overwhelmed with the amount of books available for our kids to read.  You listen to the radio,  read news articles and magazines,  watch reviews on the t.v. and it all just adds to the confusion.   What is a good parents to do?  How can you find the best children's literature for your child?  

I stumbled across these ideas to share with you.  The ideas and experiences may be of great value to you as you sort through this dilemma.   Borrowed this post and sharing with you now.

Helping Kids Find Books

If your child is a good reader, most people would think that cause for celebration. But sometimes, finding books for those readers is difficult. Books aren't cheap, especially if you want quality. And many parents want to filter book choice through a lens like "age-appropriate" or "no horror". Just because younger children have a reading age of 12+ doesn't mean books aimed at teens will be suitable for them. 

I like kids to be able to choose their own reading material. But I also advocate parents keeping a watchful eye on any of the media their kids consume. As usual, being a parent is a delicate balancing act! Fortunately, children are amazingly resilient. If your child does get hold of reading material you find inappropriate, consider a frank and calm discussion about it. Banning books, demanding censorship and other extreme measures are not, in my opinion, ways to encourage a love of reading in kids. Explaining why you want your child to read books that feed their minds and hearts makes more sense. 

If you're finding it difficult to keep up a supply of books to your young reader, here are some suggestions:

* Talk to your local and school librarians. Librarians are a vastly underrated and underpaid resource in our communities. Many local libraries have a staff member who specialises in children's literature. School librarians spend most waking moments immersed in children's literature and LOVE to get books into children's hands. So take your child to have a chat with a librarian. Encourage your child to explain the sorts of books he's enjoyed, and ask for help in finding new titles. 

* If you've plumbed the depths of libraries within reach of your neighbourhood, try your local book store. It may be you need to go past local and get to a town big enough to have a decent book store. Find one and chat to the staff there. 

* Ask your child to ask his friends or kids from school what they're reading. Encourage kids who come to your house to share their favourite books or even start a book club. How about a Bring-a-Book party? 

* Take time to browse with your child among garage sales and second-hand book shops. This mightn't be the quickest way to find new books, but it can be the most serendipitous! Don't forget your local library's sale table.

* Consider subscribing to magazines like Alphabet Soup, or to newsletters from publishers. Both are great sources of information on new and interesting titles for kids. 

* Encourage your child to start writing her own book. If she's fallen in love with a series, and refuses to try books by any other author, maybe she would like to create her own story set in that series' world. What a wonderful learning experience!

Sometimes that useful tool known as the internet can help: 

1. Check out What Should I Read Next. Enter a book, and it will suggest similar books you might like. For example, I typed in The Warriors, chose one of Erin Hunter's titles, and it gave me a list of books to investigate further. It tends to be US books rather than Australian. I think it's nice to have a balance of books from different countries. Another useful one is AllReaders.com which gives you an idea of the tone of a book, or how much violence is in it.

2. Research the publisher of the books your child likes. Go to the publisher's website and poke around there. Often, that will lead to some new books of similar quality. I review a lot of Walker books because they rarely let me down, whereas I rarely review some other publishers as in my opinion, the quality isn't there.

3. Once you find a new title, check it out on the net. Often a writer might have an excerpt published on their own website, and you can gauge the quality of the writing at least. I use Google to find author, publisher and review sites, Amazon Advanced Search for research, Book Depository for adding to my wish list so I can keep a record of what interests me. You don't need to buy from these big sites to make use of their features. Reading a couple of reviews can give you some idea as to whether or not a book will work for you/your child. But sadly, some of the reviews we get on the internet are not impartial. There are review sites that charge authors for reviews! 

4. If you decide to buy books online, check out BOOKO, an Australian website that compares sites like AbeBooks, Amazon, etc.

5. Search for book trailers on Youtube. Sometimes, you can get the flavour of a book as well as learning a little of its content, by watching a video preview of it. I wrote about this process in Find Picture Books on Youtube. 

I believe that helping kids access books is a privilege, not a pain. There are so many wonderful resources in our communities and online, all we need to do is plunder them!

Hoping this will be helpful to you on your "book travels".  Thanks again to this guest post.  Read on.

A twist on the best children's book ever....Good Night Moon

Book review: 'Goodnight iPad' picture book parodies digital age

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By Marilou Sorensen, For the Deseret News

Published: Saturday, Jan. 7 2012 4:00 p.m. MST

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"Goodnight iPad" by Ann Droyd is a parody on "Goodnight Moon."

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Summary

Ann Droyd (aka David Milgrim) has written a parody based on the picture book "Goodnight Moon," a classic children's story, in which he pokes fun at our digital obsessions.

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"GOODNIGHT iPAD," by Ann Droyd,  32 pages (ages 5-8) (f)

In Margaret Wise Brown’s 1947 classic “Goodnight Moon,” a bunny falls asleep as a little old lady tenderly hushes the child in the glow of the moon. That was so 20th century.

In this book for the 21st-century digital era that is appropriate for any age reader, a little old granny rabbit is startled awake by a cacophony of beeps, tweets and clicks (a bunny playing “Doom,” “you’ve got mail” messages and Eminem’s voice) with a family bound to the gigantic Wi-Fi HDTV.

Granny cannot be heard over the din of the digital devices, and the moon’s gentle glow is diminished by iPads, Nooks and a laptop whose screen saver is a bird (an Angry Bird, of course).

“And the fed-up old woman who was trying to sleep” said, “OK, that’s it!”

“Goodnight, Nooks and digital books”

“Goodnight, LOLs/ Goodnight, MP’s”

“Goodnight, buzzing/ Goodnight, beeps”

“Goodnight, everybody/ who should be asleep.”

“Goodnight, pop stars/ Goodnight, MacBook Air”

“Goodnight, gadgets everywhere.”

Ann Droyd (a clever pseudonym for award-winning writer David Milgrim) pokes fun at the plugged-in life in a rhythm reminiscent of the original. The cartoon-like illustrations are stuffed with humorous details: children begging “Do we have to?” over extension cords, empty bookshelves, cluttered rooms heated by an electric fireplace, and the tiniest bunny wearing ear buds.

Milgrim says “Goodnight iPad” is not anti-tech but rather a reminder for families to keep a balance with the digital “toys” while remembering the peaceful quiet world of Brown’s classic poem.

“I love my iPhone. It’s great. But,” he said in a recent press release, "I fear that some of the simple and quieter things may get lost, in the same way the night sky gets lost to the lights.”

Awesome guest review today.  Nothing compares with the original but by updating and modernizing this classic this perhaps will lead you back to the original "Good Night Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown and give you a wonderful opportunity to compare an contrast.  Nothing compares to a real, live, paper book in my opinion....but hey times they are a-changin' and as long as kids read I am all for it.   Blessing everyone today and remember to......Read On!