Friday, July 19, 2013

The Things I Can Do.










If you have never had the privilege of watching a child in the midst of a creative frenzy, you're in for a treat. Jeff, our exuberant and irrepressible protagonist, uses a warehouse-worth of stationary supplies: tape, glue, paper; tape, crayons, lined paper; tape, popsicle sticks, construction paper; tape... Well, you get the picture--he uses LOTS of tape and LOTS of paper to create: The Things I Can Do. This amazing chronicle of a preschooler's jubilant foray into independent living will have you skimming itchy fingers over the multi-layered collages in an attempt to smooth out the crinkles and rough patches on each incredibly detailed page.

Jeff Mack both wrote and "built" this marvelous exploration into the joys of discovering that, yes, you CAN pour milk by yourself (okay, so most of it lands on the floor); yes, you CAN fix any of your toys (if you have enough glue); yes, you can brush your own teeth (if you don't mind covering half of your face in toothpaste); and yes, you CAN wipe your own nose (so what if you smear every inch of your sweater's sleeves with snot).

Boys and girls in the process of launching themselves fearlessly into the world of self-sufficiency will clamor to share their own triumphs (and Jeff's) with their favorite adults.

MightyM

Friday, July 12, 2013

Sugar Cookies



Recently, I was helping a mom find books on teaching her young children about manners. There are a handful of  books in the library that get the point across and elicit some giggles at the same time. A few are listed at the end of this post. However, my favorite to share (although not exactly a manners book) is one by Amy Krouse Rosenthal with charming illustrations by a mother/daughter duo Jane and Brooke Dyer called Sugar Cookies: sweet little lessons on love. I like it because it teaches children simple lessons about life and love without using those two little authoritative words do & don't. I like it because of the vocabulary and big, descriptive words like endearment, compassionate, uncondtionally, and many more that children may not hear everyday...unlike "do" and "don't".  I like it because Rosenthal takes the experience of baking cookies and translates it, using rich language, into the best ever etiquette book for kids and the big people in their life. I like it because the illustrations perfectly and sweetly describe the meaning of the words. Check it out, please and thank you!

Other kids books on manners:
Mind your manners! by Diane Goode
Don't slurp your soup! by Lynne Gibbs
Whoopi's big book of manners by Whoopi Goldberg


Friday, July 5, 2013

Summer Fun with Beach Feet!



Beach Feet is a great summer read for the five-and-under set.  Kiyomi Knonagaya has written a fun, first person stream of consciousness narration that spotlights a little boy's day at the beach.  The pastel illustrations by Masamitsu Saito are attractive and cheerful, focusing on the little boy's chubby feet. 

What's nice about a book like Beach Feet is that by discussing the sensations that the little boy feels during his day at the beach, children develop vocabulary to discuss their own observations and sensations.  The illustrations and text combine to evoke the very experience of standing barefoot in the sand while the tide washes over your toes.

Read Beach Feet with your child before your trip to the ocean to build excitement and prepare him for what to expect, and then read it again after to relive your fun trip and compare your child's experience with the experience of the boy in the book.  If you can't make it to a beach this year, you can have fun with sand and water trying to recreate the beach experience in your own backyard.

Stop by your local library for this and other great summer reads.   

Miss Robin