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.  

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

See this book at Amazon

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 Apple Pie Tree

The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall is another family favorite discovered at the resale shop.  I love this book!  It is a simple story told by a young girl about an apple tree at her home, how the tree changes throughout the seasons, (along with a family of birds that lives in the tree) and how in the fall, the apples are harvested and the family makes apple pie.  

The illustrations are beautiful, I love the angles and perspectives shown of the girl, her sister, the birds and the apple tree.  The back of the book includes a recipe for apple pie, which we have not tried yet.

This is a sweet, simple story that describes apples growing and the changing seasons.  It's a great read for harvest time, but I like it all year round. 

The Apple Pie Tree

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!

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))

Slinky, Scaly Snakes!

I made a conscious effort to expand my sons' reading materials with more non-fiction topics after reading part of Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius that deals with reality, imagination and fantasy.  I wanted to get away from books that have talking dogs, etc., or at least, provide more of a balance between the talking dogs and real-life topics.  

I also wanted to give my oldest some slightly more advanced reading materials / pre-reader types of books.  One of our selections is Slinky, Scaly Snakes!  A DK reader book (Level 2).  

He loves it.  And I'm happy to report that a non-fiction book has sparked his imagination!  He proudly proclaimed that three wiffle balls were his snake eggs, and that he was the mommy snake and I (mom) was the daddy snake.   It is also very cute when he has pulled out the book and said we haven't read it in a long time when our last read was two nights ago. 

The book has good photos of snakes. It covers snakes' hunting, killing and swallowing prey honestly, and shows snakes eating eggs, rats, and a gazelle.  OK, that's kind of icky, but it is how nature works, and it hasn't frightened my son at all. 

There is a mystery photo in this book I am trying to figure out.  Can anyone help decipher what this photo is?   It is on page 23, and the previous page talks about egg-eating snakes, and one that is eating a bird egg.  The text reads:

The egg makes a big bulge in the snake's body.

The egg breaks inside the snake.

Then the snake spits out the shell.

See the bottom photo? It looks like a clear bubble on top of something and I can't tell if it's part of the snake, or the egg, or what exactly is shown.  Any ideas?  I might have to email the zoo and ask for help.

The fish, amphibian and reptile building is one of my son's favorites at the Milwaukee County Zoo, and so I was hopeful that Slinky, Scaly Snakes! would be a hit, and it is.  

I encourage families to explore non-fiction and science books to enhance your children's collections.

DK Readers: Slinky, Scaly Snakes (Level 2: Beginning to Read Alone)

Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius