Children’s Author and Illustrator Week- Day 6

Here’s a book that you might have to spend some time looking for online, because you won’t find it in any store.

Photo courtesy of http://www.gasolinealleyantiques.com

In a special box is an old, but in pretty good condition (for a book published in 1961), copy of this book.

This was MY favorite book as a child.

My mother had to read this one to me all.the.time.

As you know, turtles are slow movers. Myrtle is no exception. And like the old story goes, Miss Myrtle is challenged to a race of speed by another animal.

For a while, it looks like she’s never going to make it to the finish line.

BUT: she finds a way, to all the animals’ surprise, including her own. And earns everyone’s respect in the end.

Myrtle Turtle is written by Diane Sherman and illustrated by Jean Tamburine.

My husband surprised me with a copy when I was pregnant with our first child, and I treasure it.

Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week – Day5

Katie and James and their little dog, Harry are preoccupied in the kitchen making bread.

Too bad, because there are strange noises coming from the living room.

Great rhyming, onomatopoeia, and a surprise visitor that FINALLY gets the attention of every one in the room.

Yum Yum! What Fun! is written by Mara Bergman and illustrated by Nick Maland. The illustrations and colors used by the author reminded me of the story Lyle, Lyle Crocodile.

My son and I took turns guessing who would finally notice the various visitors coming in through the window. We laughed at their reactions when they realized that there was a surprise visitor climbing inside to join the party.

An ending with a twist, Yum Yum! What Fun! will keep the little ones entertained, moms and dads too.

photo courtesy of Amazon.com

Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week- Day 4

My four year old was very interested in all the hullaballoo on Monday.

Groundhog Day.

He kept calling it Hedgehog or Porcupine Day.

So I scoured the library to find something appropriate to read with him so he’d understand the whole point of this (very important but not yet a Hallmark) day.

I didn’t find a picture of this book on Amazon, sorry.

Groundhog Day by Amy Margaret (Library of Holidays) is a 24 page book geared for ages 4-8. It’s a great book because instead of drawings, there are photographs. My son loved this, because even though we live in an area where groundhogs can be seen, they are most often  missed when we are passing by them on country roads.

Groundhog Day explains what the groundhog is, and gives facts and information in an easy to understand format. It then goes on to explain the history behind Groundhog Day, who Punxsutawney Phil is and how the people in Pennsylvania await his prediction every year. Included is a short bit about other groundhogs around the country.

It’s a cute book, and informative for 4-8 year olds without being overwhelming. After reading it, my son wanted to go out and look for a groundhog of his own.

Children’s Authors and Illustrators Review- Day 3

[I'm ahead of the game here. It's Monday. Groundhog's Day. And thanks to a virus thought up by some jerk with too much time on his/her hands, my pc at home is not fit to blog on.

So I have to go elsewhere so that I don't get behind on my challenge for the week.]

Today’s book is The Dreamtime Fairies by Jane Simmons.

The Dreamtime Fairies

This sweet little book tells the story of Lucy and her brother Jamie. Lucy loves to sleep, while her brother sometimes finds himself a little apprehensive about what lurks in the dark corners of their bedroom.

One night, Jamie and Lucy’s stuffed animal, Bear are having a hard time falling asleep. So Lucy decides they need to take a trip to get help from the dreamtime fairies. Off they fly in search of these lovely fairies who can help them get to sleep. They come across various animals that help them find their way into the woods where the fairies live.

When they finally reach their destination, the fairies come out of their dark homes and help the children and the animals fall asleep.

The story is so soothing and sweet (I can’t remember ever helping my little brother fall asleep), and the illustrations are beautiful. Dark blues give the readers a sense that they are traveling through the night and woods with Lucy and Jamie. The comforting glow that the fairies gave off when they came out of the darkness had my son ready to call upon them to help him get to sleep.

My son rated this bedtime story: 8 fairies. (I asked him why 8, he said he wished I’d read it more than once)

Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week-Day 2

My son loves wermaids.

You know, those mythical, half-human, half-fish creatures.

Wermaids.

As I was looking through the display in the children’s area of our library, I saw this book and knew before I opened it that it would be great for bedtime:

Photo from amazon.com

This pretty little girl is Meriam.

She’s a mermaid, although she keeps her fin hidden and keeps you guessing.

Meriam doesn’t like bedtime.

Can’t say I blame her. If I could spend my time traveling underwater, swimming with the fishies and dolphins and pearl diving, I wouldn’t want to go to bed either.

But Meriam’s mom insists, and helps her get ready for bed.

Mermaid Dreams is by Mark Sperring, and will appeal to any child who is hesitant to give up playing for bed. The illustrations are done by twin sisters, Kate and Liz Pope. They won an iParenting Media award in 2004 for their first picture book, Wanda’s First Day. I can see why.

I’ve been trying to find the right words to describe the illustrations in this book, and there’s really only one word that keeps coming to mind:

Jazzy.

There are lots of colors (but not too bright), different things to look at on every page. My son studied each page, looking at everything they drew. The drawings are child-like, making it very appealing to children. Definitely worth taking finding a copy.

Other books by Mark Sperring:

• The Fairytale Cake
• Find-a-Saurus
• Wanda’s First Day (illustrated by the Pope Twins)
  

February Fun

Welcome to February! The shortest month of the year. Mardi Gras, Valentine’s Day, my birthday.

I was doing a little internet search today, and found out some crazy things about February that I never knew.

February is Library Lovers Month! Which is awesome, because I love the library. (and the library loves the fines I pay)

So this month I plan on taking a trip to my local library once a week to see what activities, new reads, and other fun things they have going on. Which I will share with you.

If you take a trip to your library this month, leave a comment if there was something that you found that you weren’t aware of.

Also, this week, February 1-7 is Children’s Authors and Illustrator’s Week.

So for this week, I will be blogging every day about a different children’s book that my son and I have enjoyed.

Here’s the first one:

photo from amazon.com

A few weeks ago my son came up to me and asked, “Mommy, if bees have queens, do ants have queens too?”  Well, I didn’t know the answer, so I went to the library in search of a book that we could read about ants that wasn’t over a four year old’s head.

The book above (obviously) isn’t about ants or bees. It is, however part of a series of books about various insects. And it’s the one I’ve had to read every day since last Wednesday, 3 or 4 times a day.

Written by Judy Allen and illustrated by Tudor Humphries, Are You A Grasshopper? is a great way to introduce  youngsters to the world of insects. It takes the reader through the life cycle of each insect, describing the different stages of life, what is eaten, what preys on the insect.

The book starts out with a question:

“Are you a grasshopper?”

It then proceeds to tell children what they would look like if, indeed, they were a grasshopper.

My son’s favorite part of the book is the description of how a grasshopper makes music:

“Pedal your legs up and down fast. The pegs rub up against your wings and make a ticking, chirping noise.

Keep going for about twenty seconds.

Have a break.

Then start again.”

The first time I read this, my son laughed hysterically.

“Mommy,” he said “If I were a baby boy cricket and I did that with my legs, it would drive you cuckoo bananas!”

Indeed it would.

Have I mentioned the illustrations yet?

No?

Well then, perhaps I should.

The colors are muted, very soft, like a spring day when everything is budding. And the detail put into the grasshoppers is wonderful, like looking at one under a magnifying glass.

The illustrations go a long way in showing a child what a grasshopper looks like during each stage of its life. This is especially wonderful for children who may not live in an area where they can see grasshoppers up close and personal.

The end of the book gives facts about grasshoppers that many people are probably not aware of:

Did you know…

“…there are more than 7,000 different kinds of grasshoppers?”

neither did I.

If you have a child who is interested in the insects around, I encourage you to check out this book together. Then be prepared to get a magnifying glass and go searching for the real thing in the spring.

Other titles in the Backyard Books by Allen and Humphries:

• Are You an Ant?
• Are You a Bee?
• Are You a Butterfly?
• Are You a Dragonfly?
• Are You A Ladybug?
• Are You a Snail?
• Are You a Spider?
  

These books are great for preschool-grade 3.

My son rated this book: 10 fuzzy bugs.

I’d have to agree.