Apologies for my absence for so long

It has been quite some time since I have posted, but I hope you are still enjoying my blog.  I hope to post more frequently in the future but until then please enjoy this lovely video =)

This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

For my birthday my Mom and Dad like to give me both Caldecott and Newbery Award winners, so this year I got the most recent ones. 

Some of you may recognize Jon Klassen's name from his other work I Want My Hat Back

My mother read this before giving it to me and when I opened it with my friends and family around, we had an impromptu storytime, because the book is hilarious!

The little fish is a thief, he stole the poor sleeping big fish's hat (who doesn't love a giant fish with a tiny hat!).

Of course the tiny fish knows that if he gets caught he will be a goner so he is swimming away to hide from the big fish, though he doesn't think he'll catch him!

Ah the old finder's keepers losers weepers argument , of course fish know this!

Now Klassen's has received criticism before for his works because they do have questionable endings.  They are meant to be humorous, and yes they may be a little dark, but I can tell you there wasn't a dry eye at our storytime, we barely made it through each page without bursting into laughter.

So I believe if you explain to your children the idea behind it, and that yes there are consequences for actions (though maybe not quite so extreme) there shouldn't be a problem!

Tea Rex by Molly Idle

I recently discovered this charming book on the Penguin & Putnam website and just had to order it based on the idea alone!

A little girl named Cordelia invites her friend "Mr. Rex" over for a tea party and explains all the etiquette that should be followed.

 

Of course these are things that should be followed regardless of whether your guest is a person, or a large T-Rex.  

The concept is adorable and the pictures as well as the story are an enjoyable read, particularly for adults who understand these behaviors and can find the humor in a T-Rex attempt to follow them.

And if you invite a friend to your house of course they should invite you in return!

 

This new book is sure to become a favorite both for boys and girls of any age, and helps to teach a few manners in a roundabout way.

"I can't" said the ant by Polly Cameron

Now that I'm just about finished with classes I'll have more time to devote myself to this blog!  That being said I present one of my Dad's favorite books to read when I was little.

 "I can't" Said the Ant is a rhyming story that takes place in the kitchen where a teapot has been dropped because it was too hot.  Everything in the kitchen reacts to the noise, from the cleaning supplies to the the bread, each one's reaction rhyming with their name.  

An ant happens to come across this scene and repeatedly tries to help put the teapot back on the counter, but finds he's not quite able to on his own.  Through encouragement by the inhabitants of the kitchen and with some help from the spiders and the other ants they are able to mend her broken spout and put her back in her rightful spot.

 This story is an enjoyable read, not just because of the variety of rhymes ""Form a battalion," said the scallion." but also because it teaches the important lesson of teamwork.  Yes the ant can't help Miss Teapot on his own, but he doesn't give up, he finds another way to assist her, with the help of others. 

I highly recommend this book, it is a simple story and the rhymes make it fun and enjoyable for all ages, and it never hurts to start teaching children about teamwork early!

April Fool's!

Little Golden Books for your little gamers!

Happy April Fool's Day! Sadly these are not real, but they should be!

Though you can order prints of these from the artist's website

After an incredibly long hiatus!

Okay I'm back! School and work got in the way of things and then I got a little lazy, but I'm back and I have a great post for everyone today!

BABYLIT BOOKS!

Babylit is a wonderful series developed by Jennifer Adams and illustrated by Alyson Oliver.  The idea is adult literature for children simplified into board book fashion.  I stumbled across these in a catalog when I still worked at the bookstore, and made sure that we got them in, because if nothing else I was going to purchase them for myself. 

Initially there were only Romeo & Juliet and Pride & Prejudice, and being the Jane Austen fan that I am, I of course needed to buy these to put away for future use.  R&J and P&P are both counting books, number 1-10, of course these are for children so there is no mention of the tragic end of R&J. 

They are adorable and brightly illustrated with the number and the words on one page and the pictures on the other. 

 
Of course the a big appeal of these books for the adults who love the originals is that they can get the few subtle jokes in the illustrations. 

After the success of the first two, another pair followed: Alice in Wonderland, a colors book, and Jane Eyre, another counting book.  So far there are 9 books in total in the Babylit series, and I will be examining the other ones at a later time (when I can get my hands on them). 

I strongly urge you to purchase these adorable books, be they for your own children or for others. Start them reading the classics early...or if not reading at least the board book form is safe for tiny mouths. 

"Zombie in Love" Kelly DiPucchio

A little belated for Valentine's Day, but really every day is Valentine's Day when you read children's books!

This is an adorable story about a zombie named Mortimer.  Mortimer is looking for a date for the Cupid's Ball, but he has trouble with the ladies.

After several unsuccessful attempts at wooing women Mortimer decides to place a personal ad in the paper asking any hopeful applicants to meet him at the ball.

(As a joke for the parents the personal ad is done in the same style as the one in "Escape" by Rupert Williams)

Mortimer patiently waits for his date and just as he is about to give up on ever having a sweetheart he hears a crash in the punch bowl.

I love this story because its funny and sweet, and zombies are the big craze right now so children love this story.  The artwork is well done as it does take talent to make zombies look cute and sweet.  This story is so cute that I sometimes read it at both the Valentine's Day & Halloween story times.