Baby Danced the Polka

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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!

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.  

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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.

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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!)

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.

New Babe

Happily announcing the arrival our third son, baby M!  

Beautiful homemade felt name book

I've been interested in felt boards and came across this beautiful homemade felt ABC-style name book at the blog A miracle to me.  Wow!  What a gorgeous craft, and such a nice book.

Making homemade children's books

This week at toddler class I sat next to a mom who was taking a photo of her daughter during snack time. She introduced herself as a "crazy photo lady," and I asked if she also made scrapbooks. I do not make scrapbooks (uh, yet), but I have playgroup friends who are very into it. "Crazy photo lady" told me about a children's scrapbook format that has me very, very excited..... making our own children's alphabet books featuring photos of our family!

The idea is to make an ABC or alphabet book. Basically 26 photo images (personalized to include your child, or your child's environment and favorite things), and then words.... a simple A is for Apple, T is for Train, etc. etc..... or something more creative and personal....perhaps even rhymes! There's no limit to the creativity that could go into it.

I LOVE the idea and am very interested in making ABC alphabet books for my oldest two boys, possibly even in time for Christmas. Right now I'm doing a little research about costs and considerations of making a book with an online photo book provider (easy and professional, but seems to be more expensive), or making a simple 8" x 8" scrapbook with very basic layouts.

I've done a little online reading and have come across another great idea for older kids -- having them make their own ABC alphabet books themselves. It sounds fun and educational and I love the idea of kids making their own books too.  As for our family's books, I've started an idea list for photo taking.

Anyone want to join me on a homemade children's book making journey? Has anyone made their own homemade children's books and want to share your experiences? I'll post updates as I learn more and plan to get started.

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

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

Ten Little Ladybugs

Ten Little Ladybugs is consistently one of the boys' favorite books. Like many of our favorites, the book has a simple concept, counting down from ten ladybugs to one, with one ladybug disappearing at every page turn. (Holes in the pages allow all ten ladybugs to be viewed at the beginning.) At the end of the book, all the ladybugs are pictured together with their friends they went off with -- an assortment of animals and insects -- a duck, turtle, butterfly, etc. etc.

Why is Ten Little Ladybugs such a favorite? I love it for the colorful pictures -- the colors on each page are so pretty -- I have wished, if I had extra decorating money, to hire a painter to paint a child's room with some similar color blends and animals. My boys love it for the ladybugs, which are dimensional with plastic shells and attached to each page, and the holes they peek through -- sticking fingers in the holes during readings and playing peek a boo with fingers is a fun distraction while sitting together with this book.

I'm also impressed by the book's durability -- I'm pretty sure we bought this secondhand at a resale shop, and the boys have "read" it on their own a lot -- the binding has been bent in all kinds of ways and the pages battered but the ladybugs have held fast and the book still looks very good for all the abuse it has taken.



Ten Little Ladybugs

Chicken Soup with Rice - a book of months

Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak is a book that's on my wish list after we checked it out from the library and I just didn't want to return it, (but we did).

Anyway, I'm not exactly sure what my attraction is to Chicken Soup with Rice.... but the book is adorable. It caught my eye resting in one of the bins in the children's section, and I just had to pick it up. There's something about the book, the size, the drawings.... it's charming, vintage-y and stylish in a Victorian, Martha Stewart-y kind of way. (Sorry that's the best I can do.... you'll have to go see for yourself and let me know how you would describe it.)

Then, you get to the rhymes..... each month has it's own rhyming poem that mentions Chicken Soup with Rice. I love it! I don't know why, but I love it! It's playful, it's interesting, it's silly!

I did not get to spend as much time with Chicken Soup with Rice as I would have liked. I want a second helping. Mmmmmmm.

If this little tiny taste makes you hungry, go check out Chicken Soup with Rice. I hope you find it delicious.

Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months

Time for Bed

It's time for bed, little mouse, little mouse,
Darkness is falling all over the house.

Time for Bedby Mem Fox, illustrated by Jane Dyer, is a soothing bedtime board book for infants and toddlers. With gentle, repetitive phrases and nighttime illustrations of young animals being coaxed to sleep by their parents, it's a wonderful nap or bedtime read for human parents to share with their babies. I love the gentle phrases and detailed drawings of the adult and baby animals, cozy in their homes and under starry night skies.



Time for Bed

Trains!

Trains by Byron Barton became an instant favorite of both boys upon its arrival at our home. And I became an instant fan of Byron Barton. We all love the book's simple phrases and simple, bright and colorful drawings. We purchased two of Barton's books, Trains and Machines at Work. So far, the board book format is the house favorite, more durable and easier to handle. I'm so excited to have discovered this book! We love all things trains, and this beautiful board book should be a family favorite for a long time.

Trains Board Book

God Loves You

You can be short

or you can be tall.

You can be big

or you can be small.

Your size and your shape

don't matter at all.

God loves you just as you are.

We received God Loves You as a baptism gift for our oldest son from his godfather. This sweet board book, part of a series called Little Blessings by Kathleen Long Bostrom and illustrated by Elena Kucharik, gives the youngest readers a beautiful and simple message about God's love for all people.

I love giving books as gifts and loved receiving this one. It's a favorite of our boys. We especially love the illustrations, featuring a group of adorable children along with ladybugs, butterflies, puppies and kittens in settings with interesting details and pretty colors.



God Loves You is a precious board book that was a wonderful gift. It gets a lot of use by our boys and serves as a sweet reminder of our son's baptism and his loving godparents.

God Loves You (Little Blessings)