Math is Fun for Little Ones!

There are lots of great ways to introduce your baby or kidlet to numbers. You can start with some fun books that feature numbers and counting.  For babies try these board books:  Baby's Numbers by Karen Katz, which features large colorful drawing of familiar objects to illustrate each number, or 1-2-3 Dinosaurs Bite! by Steve Jenkins, where jaggedy parts of each page are missing, ostensibly by hungry dinosaurs. 

Toddlers will enjoy Peter Maloney's One Foot Two Feet: an EXCEPTIONal counting book, where die-cut windows frame one object and a turn of the page reveals a group of them. Or try Laura Seeger's One Boy, where the die-cut does double duty, both to frame the number of objects as well as to make a play on words. The surprise ending will undoubtedly spur your child to enjoy the book all over again!

Older children never tire of the classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle which introduces days of the week as well as incrementally increasing bites of food by the insatiable caterpillar.  For something new, try Anno's Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno, a wordless picture book that offers the child something to count on each page while revealing an ever-changing, ever-growing scene. Another engaging read is One is a Snail; Ten is a Crab: a counting by feet book by April Pulley Sayre. Just try to read this one without counting the feet of the animals shown! 

And when you're done with reading, zoom off to the moon with this fun clapping countdown chant:

 Zoom, zoom, zoom,

We're going to the moon.

Zoom, zoom, zoom,

We're going to the moon.

If you'd like to take a trip,

Climb aboard my rocketship.

Zoom, zoom, zoom,

We're going to the moon.

5,-4,-3,-2,-1

Blastoff! 

(On "blastoff", lift baby above your head or jump up with your young one).

-Miss Meg

Sleep Like a Tiger

Excitement, anticipation, impatience, stubbornness. Anyone "in charge" of a child learns to dread these all-too-familiar mercurial states of being when bedtime rolls around. How DO you get that effervescent, truculent ball of energy to CHILL? The little princess in this book has decided that in spite of the sun's absence, she will not go to sleep. Dragging her stuffed tiger from page to page, the princess dutifully follows the calming instructions of her uber patient parents.

They agree that she does not have to sleep, but she must get into her pajamas, brush her teeth, wash her face, etc. if she is to remain awake. The animals that float across each page reinforce the affirmative answer to her question: "Does everything in the world go to sleep?"

Mary Logue's soothing text weaves in and out of Sleep Like a Tiger like a dream. Beautifully accompanied by Pamela Zagerenski's surreally engaging illustrations that invite the restless child and yawning parents to find the miniature tea pots, suns, wheels, and toys scattered lovingly in the wake of the wide-awake princess.

Sleep gently takes the child by the hand as she follows the lead of each snoozing animal and finally (shhhhh) closes her eyes....

MightyM

It's (Dreadful) Sweater Season!

Lester is a very particular child.  His hair is always neatly combed, and he uses a ruler each day to make sure his socks are at a perfectly even height on his calves.  As much as Lester would like to keep things well organized and categorized,  after "Cousin Clara's cottage [is] consumed by a crocodile," his well ordered life is turned upside down.

Cousin Clara moves in with Lester and his family and begins immediately to knit sweaters for Lester.  She knits quickly but not, (in Lester's opinion), particularly well, and Lester is the unlucky recipient of Clara's outrageous creations.  His parents even make him say "thank you" and wear the sweaters to school!

K. G. Campbell's Lester's Dreadful Sweaters is a quirky picture book.  The drawings of the dreadful sweaters are awfully great, and the writing is playful and fun. It brings to mind the classic No Roses for Harry, but with a darker sensibility.  Most of us can relate to being given truly ugly clothes by some well-meaning but out-of-touch relative. Aside from just being a fun read, Lester's Dreadful Sweaters might inspire a timely conversation about how we handle receiving less-than-thrilling gifts. This book is best suited for older preschoolers.

Happy holidays and happy reading!

Miss Robin

Rabbit's Gift

Many years ago, when I was checking out Christmas books for my then four year old daughter, I discovered a gem that embodied the true spirit and meaning of the holiday season.  To this day, it remains my favorite!  Christmas Present from a Friend by Yuriko Kimura is based on an old Chinese fable, not originally intended as a Christmas story. However, when you add the snow and soft light of water color illustrations by Masako Matsumura, we have the perfect backdrop for the setting of our wintery story. The beautiful tale, in its rich simplicity, captures the heart of friendship and this season of giving. Rabbit is very hungry but has nothing to eat, so she must go out in the cold and search for food. She finds two big carrots almost buried in the snow, eats her fill of one, and decides to give the other carrot to her equally hungry friend, Donkey. Donkey has gone out in search for food and is surprised to find the carrot upon his return.  He has been lucky to find a sack of potatoes, eats his fill, and decides to give the carrot to his friend sheep. I think you can see where this is going and even so it is worth the journey, especially, shared with a child on your lap.  Sadly, the book went out of print a few years ago.  I have one beat up and much loved copy at my desk at the library.

  So you might be wondering why I tell you about a book no longer available? I give you Rabbit's Gift, by George Shannon with illustrations by Laura Dronzek published in 2007. Yes, the same fable, with a new interpretation, but very close to the one I've just described, both in language and illustration.  Pima County Public Library has several copies available.  Even more good news, Rabbit's Gift is still in print! So if you love it as much as I did, you'll want to buy a copy for yourself and the children in your life.  Happy Holidays!
Miss Julie