Butterfly Kit

We're going to try a butterfly kit this spring!  A friend who homeschools her preschooler son has done this and they loved it. 

Update on the butterfly kit:  it was a very interesting experience.  A little traumatic for me when one of the butterflies was caught up and struggling in getting out of the chrysalis and ended up not making it.  I blame myself for not removing enough of the stringy fibers around the chrysalis when transferring to the net container. Lessons learned through experience.   I would approve of repeating the experience, the kids would love to do it again also.  

Dinosaurs! The Complete Guide to Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Reptiles

My 5 year-old-received this book as a gift, and it is AWESOME! I had 
looked online for a while to find a good dinosaur book and didn't ever 
find one that seemed right for a preschool-kindergarten age child. We are so lucky to have been given this book because it is wonderful -- 
the perfect dinosaur book for children!

See this book at Amazon.com

The reason our family loves this book is the wonderful illustrations -- 
as the cover states -- "more than 250 superb illustrations". Dinosaurs 
of all types come to life, with great visuals, size references to adult 
human beings, and helpful pronunciation guides. The book is oversized giving plenty of room for the rich visuals inside.

Who knew there were so many dinosaurs -- at bedtime my 5-year-old will ask to browse a few spreads and talk about these fascinating 
creatures. It's wonderful to share and learn together, and I'm pleased to recommend this book as a great family exploration or as a great gift to share.


Mommy's Favorite Children's Books earns a commission on Amazon.com sales. Thanks for reading!

Baby Danced the Polka

See this book at Amazon.com

First, I want to thank my friend Susan for recommending Karen Beaumont's book, Baby Danced the Polka!  This is a sweet book with wonderful text, artwork and lift-the-flap details that make it a delightful book to read with our own children or to share as a gift.

Baby Danced the Polka tells the cute and fun story of a couple with their little baby living on an old-fashioned farm.  The farm is an interesting setting, and ma and pa are trying to do their chores -- interesting chores, like starching long johns and fixing chow...  and baby is supposed to be taking a nap... but... baby wants to DANCE!!!!  And so, baby dances all through naptime with a variety of toy animals, cat, pig, cow and sheep.

In the end, the whole family dances the night away together.

Nearly every page has a lift-the-flap that shows baby dancing and dancing.

I love this book for the great words and lift-the-flaps and also the happy family relationship, along with the real and very familiar situation of mom and dad tring to get some things done during naptme.

Mommy's Favorite Children's Books earns a commission on Amazon.com sales. Thanks for reading!

Scaredy Squirrel at Night

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I had heard about Scaredy Squirrel around the kidlitosphere (that's the children's books blogging community) -- librarians and other kids' books fans had written favorably about it. But I had never made a big effort to go out and find it.

My oldest son (almost five) grabbed a copy of Scaredy Squirrel at Night by Melanie Watt when we were at the library a few weeks ago. (His book selection method right now is pretty much grabbing anything the librarians have on feature display, we are coming home with many great things!)

Scaredy Squirrel at Night is written in a cartoonish format with very cute illustrations. A simple plot summary: Scaredy Squirrel is very worried about having bad dreams. He has very specific concerns about the subject matter of nightmares -- he is afraid of things like polka-dot monsters and mean fairies and unicorns. (The drawings for all these things that Scaredy Squirrel is afraid of are cute, in a scary way.) Being proactive, Scaredy Squirrel comes up with detailed plans to avoid his bad dreams by staying awake. Unfortunately his plans go very wrong and poor Sacredy Squirrel has an unexpected adventure.

It's a cute and funny book. And I think my five-year-old has picked a winner. We recommend Scaredy Squirrel at Night and I'm making a note to also check out the original Scaredy Squirrel (and any other in the series that may exist.)

Happy reading!

Mommy's Favorite Children's Books earns a small commission on Amazon.com sales.

A book for Father's Day -- I Love My Daddy by Sebastien Braun

I've got to say, Infant Bibliophile is on top of things -- I visited today to find Father's Day books -- a topic that would very possibly have completely slipped my mind until the week of.  I so admire the organized!  

Anyway, I have a single addition to the Bibliophile's list.  It's a beautiful, beautiful picture book called I Love My Daddy by Sebastien Braun.  

See this book at Amazon.com

Just look at the gorgeous images! Beautiful color! Each spread depicts a father bear and baby bear spending time together in sweet everyday moments.

The boys have enjoyed this book, especially, "My daddy tickles me!"  

I discovered this great-looking book when it was sold at Pottery Barn Kids a couple years ago -- those home decor style-makers picked a winner!   Since this purchase I have perused the PBK book selections a few more times -- I didn't find anything that grabbed me as much,  but kudos to PBK for making shelf space in its stores for children's books.

Added:  When is Father's Day this year, anyway?  I went and looked it up -- June 21!  Mark your calendars!

(Also, yes, today is Memorial Day!  Yes, I have the holidays all mixed-up! We do not have any books about flags, the USA or patriotism!  It's a huge deficiency in our collection.    And my husband was an Army reserve tank commander.  I have one book about Abraham Lincoln, that's it!  Any suggestions?)

Sending gifts for a 2 year old's birthday

Today I sent birthday gifts for a charming little two-year-old relative blessed with gorgeous red hair (like mine).  You would think it's easy to choose books for gifts because I have this blog that is all about our recommended favorites, but it took a few minutes to think about what might be nice (and to remember what I've already given!)  I ended up choosing two of our family favorites:

In the Small, Small Pond 

Our family's paperback copy of In the Small Small Pond is tattered and taped.  It has been very much loved.  Honestly I'm not sure why the book is such a favorite.... perhaps it is the bold and beautiful warm colors, the wonderful and colorful animals (with a little frog that appears on every spread), or maybe especially the ear-pleasing phrases.  All good reasons to love this book, which was recognized as a Caldecott honor book.

See this book at Amazon.com

It's everything I think a perfect children's book should be -- very, very, colorful, beautiful, simple and engaging.  

Harold and the Purple Crayon DVD set

I may risk getting some hate mail from saying this, but here are my true feelings:  The Harold and the Purple Crayon DVD set of the complete HBO series is...  better than the books.  

See Harold and the Purple Crayon at Amazon.com

Yup.  These DVDs are awesome.  Sharon Stone does a fabulous read, the music is wonderful and the animation of Harold creating his many drawings adds a lot to the stories.  I found this series when I was searching for some family video entertainment that is age-appropriate, gently paced and not too scary.  It fit our need perfectly.  

I had not heard of Harold or experienced him in my own childhood.  Harold is a young boy with a fantastic imagination and great artistic ability.  He imagines things, and draws them, and they become real....  he has wonderful adventures, he experiences some dilemmas and challenges along the way and uses his trusty purple crayon to confidently take charge of things. 

We did not experience the book until I picked up a copy at a resale shop.  All I have to say is that after seeing the videos, the book was ho-hum.  We still read the book, and sometimes books are more convenient and appropriate than videos, but given the choice, the videos are the superior media.   And that's the truth.  Hmph! 

I hope baby B loves his gifts!  (Is it right to call a 2 y.o. a baby? He's really a toddler!)

Nonfiction Monday - A Children's Picture Atlas for Earth Day

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Welcome everyone to Nonfiction Monday!

I'm thrilled to share this beautiful picture atlas with you. It seems very appropriate to include this beautiful book about our Earth as we approach Earth Day this week. We recently purchased this at the recommendation of online friends and it is fantastic!

The 48-page Usborne Children's Picture Atlas is gorgeous, informative and wonderful for preschool and grade school ages. Its contents include a series of informational pages that show and explain our world and what kinds of things kids will see in the maps, and then nine beautiful spreads of maps illustrated with drawings of landmarks, people, animals, plants, and vehicles.

It's gorgeous to look at and very interesting to explore. I especially love the "Can you find these things on the maps?" lists that link the information pages to the maps in a fun and challenging game. We love our copy and I'd recommend it as a great addition to your child's collection or as a great gift book.

Nonfiction Monday bloggers, please share your posts in the comments. Thank you!

NONFICTION MONDAY LINKS -- APRIL 20, 2009

Roberta reviews two poetry books by Douglas Florian, insectlopedia and in the swim at Wrapped in Foil Blog

Spring is here! Great Kid Books reviews Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert, exploring the world of butterflies.

100 Scope Notes reviews A Mirror to Nature

Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect shares What Can You Do With An Old Red Shoe?

Sarah at In need of Chocolate reviews a Seashore field guide

The JustOneMoreBook! podcast contribution to non-fiction picture books this week:- a chat about The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau: http://tinyurl.com/cm8tyd- excerpts of Jason Lowe's session at NYC PEN group about response to Lee&Lowe's books:Baseball Saved Us Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story Su Dongpo: Chinese Genius Listen here: http://tinyurl.com/c73vpf

The Book Chook reviewed a wonderful picture book called Roadworks, great for little truckaholics or youngsters who'd like to find out how a road is made

Kim at The Wild About Nature blog reviews Where Should Turtle Be? by Susan Ring.

Lori at Lori Calabrese Writes! takes a look at What's so Bad About Gasoline?

Jules has a sneak peek of Steve Jenkins' new title, DOWN DOWN DOWN, at 7-Imp, aka, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Abby (the) Librarian has a post about multicultural books for preschoolers - Reading Around the World for Preschoolers  

Amanda reviewed Recycle This Book at A Patchwork of Books

Simply Science takes a look at A Temperate Forest Food Chain by Rebecca Hogue Wojahn and Donald Wojahn.  (Karen's note -- I checked out Simply Science and think I found a new favorite blog!) 

The ACPL Mock Sibert Blog features Mermaid Queen by Shana Corey -- It's a beautiful picture book biography. 

Book Scoops shares Onward: A Photobiography of African American Polar Explorer by Dolores Johnson

Katie from Katie's Literature Lounge says -- It's National Wildlife Week... I've got a bunch of reviews featuring all kinds of wildlife. 

Thank you so much everyone for sharing great Nonfiction Monday articles!  And thanks so much for your patience while I got the roundup finished.  I appreciate it!   --Karen

The Very Hungry Caterpillar's 40th Anniversary

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2009 marks the 40th anniversary of one of our favorite books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  In honor of 40 years, there is a new pop-up edition available -- it looks very cute!

Amazon.com has a video segment featuring Eric Carle speaking about The Very Hungry Caterpillar and how he made the book. (The interview is delightful... don't miss it!) He says in the interview "I LOVE COLOR!"  which makes me smile.  Eric Carle turns 80 years old this year.   Happy birthday Mr. Carle, and thank you for this very wonderful children's book!

P.S.  Here's a link to Eric Carle's blog.

UPDATE April 6:  I ordered a copy of the pop-up book but unfortunately it is fragile and I'm afraid it won't survive our boys' love.  We prefer the board book version.

Toot and Puddle (and Olivia!) on TV

My 2-year-old has been enjoying the Toot and Puddle shows on Noggin (my efforts to eliminate television are mostly a miserable failure, although we are increasing tour TV-off time and doing more reading together.)  

Next step (I realize we are doing this backwards) is to check out the Toot and Puddle books.

Toot and Puddle are a pair of best-friend pigs who like to travel and go on adventures around the world.  I love the theme, and the stories so far have been very cute and educational.  I can't wait to see the books.  

Another book is coming to TV soon... Olivia.  Here is a New York Post article about it. I have seen previews for Olivia, but can't find the schedule info, and I'm not sure which channel -- Nickelodepn, Nick Jr. or Noggin.  (UPDATE - it starts Jan. 26 on Nickelodeon, 11:30 EST.  Here's another article about it.) We have a copy of Olivia that was a resale shop find. Honestly, it's not among my most favorites (perhaps because we have all boys) but we should give it more tries and we will definitely check out the new show.  Perhaps like Toot and Puddle, the show will turn more families on to the book.

Olivia is also a pig, a precocious female pig that enjoys art and dancing, and wearing out her mama.  She's described in the Post article as "the piglet with a passion for fashion." 

It's all about pigs on TV!

This just in... Here's the Nickelodeon press release about the Olivia premiere, including channel and VOD info.

Caps for Sale

Oh, how we love Caps for Sale!  What a wonderful, funny, classic children's book!

This classic tale by Esphyr Slobodkina was first published in 1940.  The story is of a somewhat unusual peddler who has a very unusual encounter with a lot of monkeys.  

One of the things we love about this book is the repetition.  The peddler carries his caps on his head -- first his own black and white checkered cap, then the gray caps, the brown caps, the blue caps, and the red caps on the very top.  This sequence is repeated several times within the story, as is the peddler's chant -- "Caps!  Caps for sale!  Fifty cents a cap!"  

The best part of the story happens when the peddler takes an afternoon nap under a tree and his caps are stolen by a large group of monkeys.  The poor peddler has lost his caps and becomes quite frustrated, while the silly monkeys just tease the angry peddler by imitating him and saying "tsz, tsz, tsz!"

In the end, the peddler gets his caps back, thank goodness, and continues on his journey selling caps.  It's an absolutely wonderful story that is funny, fun to read, and it's fun for the kids to participate and imitate the angry peddler just as the silly moneys do.

I had never read Caps for Sale as a child, this is one of the many wonderful children's books that I missed... we discovered it at my mother-in-law's house with my children. (I adore her for keeping a small bookshelf full of great children's books.)  Thank you Grandma for introducing our family to this book -- we got our own copy for Christmas and I'm thrilled to have this in our collection.

Caps for Sale (paperback)

Lunchtime Reading - Mouse Tales

Here is a little gem of a chapter book we found at our last library trip - Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel. The book has seven short stories about the adventures of little mice, and they read like old-fashioned folk tales. The stories are simple, with cute and colorful drawings on every page (and often interspersed among the text). The beginning of the book sets up the stories -- seven young mice are nestled in bed and their Papa will tell one story for each little mouse.

We are experimenting with lunchtime reading. On days when I am well-organized, the boys will sit at lunch and I will read to them. It works well, although if I hold the book so both boys can see the pictures, I end up reading upside down and/or sideways. Lunch reading is nice bonding and the boys seem to enjoy it too. It's a good opportunity for us to get more reading in besides bedtime.

Turnips for Dinner

At 2 year old class, our teacher read a nice book, I think it is called Turnips for Dinner. If I'm finding the right copy, it is by Joy Cowley and out of print or hard to find. Too bad...... it has wonderful rhymes. The basic premise is that the zoo keeper has lots of tunips to feed to the animals, and almost no one likes them...... each animal's reaction to the turnips is written in a rhyming phrase, such as "the zebra whined and pined"...... in the end, the elephant "munched and crunched". I liked the book very much for the interesting rhyming words (lots of them!) and what I feel is a nice little message -- different people (and animals) like different things.

Has anyone seen this book?

Lucky Ducks - lots of fun if you can stand the quacking

I hesitate to recommend Lucky Ducks. Play the video below and you'll understand quickly. It's not one of my favorites, but.... the kids enjoy it very much, and how can I not love a game that they love to play?

The problem is the quacking. Listen to the seven second demo below. The game is simple and easy to play -- there are 12 ducks, each with a shape/color on the bottom. There are four shapes to match. Each player tries to get all 3 of their matching ducks. 



My boys can almost play this game together alone -- a huge bonus, and, another -- there aren't that many pieces to pick up when the game is over. The box could be a little bigger for all the pieces to fit well -- it's a tight fit (which is very frustrating -- game makers should think about making clean up easy and not skimp on the package design).

Lucky Ducks is a nice game, a game that doesn't require reading, a game that holds toddlers' interest with cute, dimensional pieces and easy to follow rules...   But... the quacking! .....the quacking! Enjoy this game with your family if you dare!
 
Lucky Ducks

Curious George - Kohl's Cares for Kids

I just learned that the Kohl's Cares for Kids program is now featuring Curious George books and plush animals. We love Curious George. Kohl's sells the books and toys for $5 each -- a nice affordable price, and donates the net profits to support children's health and education.

The available book titles are:
   -- Merry Christmas, Curious George
   -- Curious George and the Firefighters
   -- Curious George at the Aquarium
   -- Curious George Feeds the Animals

The plush animals are Curious George, a dalmatian, a penguin and (I think) a hippopotamus. You can see the items here.   Knowing how popular Curious George is, these may sell quickly. The items are available now through December.

Here's an article in our Business Journal about the campaign.

Schleich animals

Schleich animals are some of my 2 year old's favorite toys.  They are small, and very realistic, and very interesting to him.  We have been lucky to make a small collection that he enjoys, including several dinosaurs, a penguin, a variety of rabbits (purchased specially off Ebay to appear in the Easter basket), and others.  The elephant is a current favorite.  

Target carries a limited variety and seems to change the selection from time to time -- our dinosaurs were purchased at the July clearance (it was nice to have saved a few dollars), and now there are no dinos. Prices seem to average about $5-6, per figure, some more or less depending on size.  A quick search online shows that Ridge Road Station, the online store where I have been purchasing our Playmobil, also offers Schleich (I think they have the full range) and they offer free shipping on orders over $30, which is nice. 

My oldest doesn't seem as interested in the Schleich animals as my 2 year old.  Different kids like different things.  However there is no doubt the animals are beautiful and really nice toys.  I think they would make great gifts, or as a great bonus to add to a gift like a Zoo membership or animal books.

Getting closer to nature: Fireflies, Crickets, Worms

Our oldest enjoys finding outdoor creatures. Earlier this summer we were entranced with fireflies, now it seems crickets are everywhere. I would like to find and share some books with A. about any of his favorite insects -- fireflies, crickets, grasshoppers, butterflies, moths or worms. We recently watched a Nova episode about bees and ants, but I didn't do a good job of remembering any of the details -- we observed many flying ants in our yard a few days ago and my mind went blank as to what exactly their task is....

Are there any children's books you would recommend? Thanks so much!

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear

I love giving children's books as gifts... I mean, who wouldn't enjoy getting a great book for their kids? They're beautiful, they don't take up much space, and they have longer useful lives than many toys.

So I was extremely pleased when my husband's cousin Sherri (whom I've always admired as being a smart woman), gave us a copy of The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear at Christmas a few months after my oldest son was born. She said to me, "This book is one of our family's favorites and I hope you enjoy it too". Isn't that awesome? I love it! I love family members sharing their favorite books with each other.

And yes, The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear is a very enjoyable children's book. The story and illustrations are charming. It's suspenseful but not too scary, and I love saying "BOOM, BOOM, BOOM" when the big hungry bear tromps through the forest trying to find a red, ripe strawberry.

Lots of fun. Thank you Sherri!

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear

Spot Goes to School

My oldest's first day of K-3 school is almost here! Today I put some labels on his extra clothes and packed the backpack. We also read Spot Goes to School, a lift-the-flap book by Eric Hill.

Both boys love this book, and it's a great read for younger children as well as 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds who are starting school. My two-year-old squealed when the flaps were lifted to reveal surprises on each page, and it's delightful to see him enjoy this book so much.

For my almost four-year-old, Spot Goes to School gives a nice summary of what a first school day might be like -- a welcome by the teacher and class, some first feelings of nervousness, a show-and-tell, a story time, playground time, and art time. At the end of the day, Spot is having fun and doesn't want to leave yet, but he does, taking his painting home with him.

I love lift-the-flap books. Spot Goes to School has held up well in our household -- we've only had one flap tear, and it was easy to repair. The pages are a heavier weight that's been sturdy -- I think our copy will survive all three of our kids.

Spot Goes to School is a fun book with a nice message, and it's one of our family favorites.



Spot Goes to School

Mama Mama, Papa Papa

Here is another great board book for babies and toddlers with beautiful text and illustrations. Mama Mama, Papa Papa by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by Laura Regan, features gorgeous artwork of animal parents with their babies. Half of the book shows mother animals with their young, and the book flips over to feature animal fathers with their babies.

The text is simple and soothing, with rhyming phrases beginning with Mama, Mama or Papa, Papa, and describing the sweet gentle care that parents give their children. Mama Mama, Papa Papa is a truly beautiful children's book.

Mama Mama/Papa Papa Flip Board Book (Flip Board Books (HarperFestival))

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?

I love Eric Carle books. The illustrations are so colorful and fun. Our family's first Eric Carle book was The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and it was so wonderful, I felt eager to check out his other books.

I didn't fully appreciate Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? until I was touring several preschools with my oldest son earlier this year. In one school library, the librarian read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? while she used felt cut outs of the animals and a felt board. I fell in love with it all -- the wonderful children's librarian, the book, the felt board -- everything! (Well, we didn't end up choosing that school, but it was very close.)

I picked up a copy of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? on my next shopping trip at Target. I am sad to say that we have not read it at home as much as I had hoped, and individual reading isn't as wonderful as the storytime we experienced, yet, I love the book and think it's an important part of our kids' collection. I hope to read it more with our youngest son (who currently is all about Curious George and train books), and our newborn when he arrives in a few more weeks.


I should note that Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is illustrated by Eric Carle and written by Bill Martin Jr. (who also wrote another favorite, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom).  I think of them all as Eric Carle books because the style is so distinctive.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom