The Creative Family

Do you like to play, create, sew, imagine, and explore with your children? Having a hard time coming up with just the right project or running out of ideas? Then it is time you checked out The Creative Family and two other inspiring books by Amanda Blake Soule. In her introduction Soule writes about how her need and desire to create was initially sparked when she became pregnant with her first child; how she feels more complete when her creativity is expressed; and most importantly how she has nurtured her children's growing, creative spirits. Soule's book of simple projects and activities is arranged in four parts; gathering, playing, living, and connecting. There are projects for felting, drawing, finger knitting, and weaving; recipes for natural glue, henna and earth dyes; patterns for bedtime bags, birthday banners, and wool blocks. One of my favorite ideas is creating a musical banging wall (outside, of course) made up of pots, pans, plastic bottles and other items found around the house. (see page 196) Soule's writing has inspired and enriched my life. May it do the same for you. Her other books are Handmade Home: simple ways to repurpose old materials into new family treasures and The Rhythm of the Family: discovering a sense of wonder through the seasons.

Miss Julie

Keiko Kasza -- Picture Book Author & Illustrator Extraordinaire

Isn't it wonderful to come across an author-illustrator that is able to combine entertaining storytelling with appealing illustrations that young children just love? Keiko Kasza does both combining funny stories that contain messages about sharing, self-esteem and friendship, with watercolor illustrations of adorable, expressive animal characters. Here are a few of my personal favorites.

In her story, The Rat and the Tiger, children learn about the importance of sharing and taking turns. Tiger is not very good at either and almost loses his best friend when he starts bossing Rat around, doesn't equally share at snack time and karate chops the block castle Rat spent a long time making. Children will automatically sympathize with Rat as he struggles through hurt feelings and anger towards Tiger. It all works out in the end as Tiger goes about proving that he can be a good friend after all.

Another fun story, especially if you have a young worrywart in the family is, Ready for Anything! Duck is all ready to go on a picnic until his good friend Raccoon starts to imagine all the bad things that could go wrong. After all, "what if" they were chased by killer bees, or got stuck in a terrible rain storm, or met up with a scary dragon? Luckily, Duck has a much more optimistic outlook and is able to reassure Raccoon about all the good things that might happen instead.

 And finally, one of my favorites provides a twist to the classic bad wolf image found in a lot of children's tales. In, The Wolf's Chicken Stew, the ever hungry wolf is set on making a delicious chicken stew. He has chosen the perfect chicken and is just about ready to pounce when he decides it would be better to fatten her up instead. Children will laugh out loud as they see images of Wolf making 100 scrumptious goodies over three days which he leaves outside chicken's door. At the end of the story, you'll end up saying "ah shucks" along with Wolf after he meets 100 endearing little chicks that shower him with kisses and call him "Uncle Wolf." Needless to say, a change of heart occurs and instead of making stew, Wolf ends up making lots of new friends.

Check out other books by Keiko Kasza and be on the lookout for her newest book called, Silly Goose's Big Story, coming in March 2012. I can hardly wait!

Miss~Mary

Stars are Everywhere

"A star is how you know it's almost night." So begins this comforting story of children discovering stars in the night sky and all around them in the natural world. There are star shaped flowers on the pumpkin vines; snowflake stars on wintry days; and thousands of stars floating from a dandelion puff. Observe the world from a child's eye and I promise you'll discover stars where you never looked before. Mary Lyn Ray and Marla Frazee have created what I believe will become a childhood classic, full of wonder and delight. Ray's poetic words and Frazee's charming illustrations are in perfect harmony. Do yourself a favor. Check out Stars. Share it with your children and during this magical season enjoy the night. Wrap your kids up in blankets & head outside with a thermos of hot chocolate. Daily snuggling up with a good book and sharing a few moments of quiet will make a lasting impression on your children.

Miss Julie

The Gift of Nothing

The Gift of Nothing is a sweet little book, perfect for anyone who would like to encourage a child to focus on the simple pleasures of the holiday season. Regardless of what holiday we celebrate, many of us are out looking of the perfect gift. Mooch's attempts to figure out gift-giving are something we can all relate to, and his decision to get Earl nothing is truly inspired.

"There is nothing here," said Earl.
"Yesh!" said Mooch. "Nothing...but me and you!"

In a season of hustle and bustle, to-do lists and stress, it's easy to forget that the very best gift we can give each other is time spent together. This is especially true of sharing books with your kids... so take a moment, pick out a book, and enjoy time well spent.

Miss Kate

If you're looking for a great read-aloud starring trucks, you can't go wrong with Alice Schertle's Little Blue Truck, a perennial favorite at our library. In this story the little blue truck greets each each animal it meets along the road with a "beep", and the animals respond in kind with their own unique greeting. The big bully dump truck however, doesn't have time for such greetings and nearly mows everyone down before plowing deep into the mud. It takes everyone's help to get unstuck, and in the end the bully dump truck acknowledges "a lot depends on a helping hand from a few good friends".

This book offers more than a good message about friendship. The animal noises, truck sounds, and rhyming couplets all work to help your child pay attention to the music in our language-a powerful pre-literacy skill that will come in handy when your child is beginning to read. Other good books in our library that feature trucks and construction sounds include Little Blue Truck's sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way, Jackhammer Sam, by Peter Mandel, I'm a Truck Driver by Jonathan London, and Wake up, Engines, by Denise Dowling Mortensen.

A Cowgirl and Her Horse

What a fun, fun story! Having a horse is a BIG responsibility, as any cowgirl can tell you. She has to protect him from rattlesnakes, she can't forget his birthday, and she must help him write letters to his mother. In turn, he will take her up mountains, down trails, and over rainbows. Author Jean Ekman Adams has successfully coupled short, descriptive sentences with utterly charming southwestern illustrations. Her color palette is as warm and bright as the characters she brings to life.

In addition to providing a fun romp through a day in the life of a pair of good friends, A Cowgirl and Her Horse gives parents and other significant adults the perfect opening for discussing the dreaded topic of PETS. Each page is filled with imperatives: has to, must, and can't, but as the perfect ending reveals with understated affection, when done right, all the hard work that goes with having a pet/pal is well worth it.

Adams' whimsical drawings and tongue-in-cheek phrasing go hand in hand to make this an entertaining learning experience for young readers everywhere.

Color Me Blue

The author of this beautifully illustrated book explores color and perspective, as print characters suddenly come to life on the page. It all starts with the unseen illustrator who is just about to finish painting the scene, with only the barnyard left to complete. Next, a little white chicken pictured on the page decides she wants to help. Suddenly, blue paint is everywhere and spreading fast! First on the chicken, then over purple pansies, next-turning yellow ducks blue, splattering the cat and even pouring over the pages that follow. How can chicken undo her mistake and turn everything back the way it was before? Children will love finding out what happens next.

With minimal text, the illustrations really help tell most of the story. This is the perfect type of book to sit and have a conversation about with your child. For younger children, start by pointing at the different animals and asking, "What's this?" Expand on what your child says. If she says, "A white chicken" you might say, "Yes, a white chicken looking at a bottle of blue paint." If you think your child is ready, start asking more open ended questions such as, "What is chicken doing?" "How do you think the other animals feel now that they are blue?" "What can chicken do to clean up the blue paint?" Having a conversation about the pictures in a book is a great way to increase your child's language skills, build critical thinking and help him understand what is going on in the story. Most importantly, sharing and talking about books will help build an even stronger bond between you and your child.

Miss~Mary