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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

What We Found At The Library, #4

Lauren's Favorite: We've All Got Bellybuttons! by David Martin & Randy Cecil (Illustrator)

A bedtime story, this was not. A fun, interactive playtime story, this was. The animals in this short book all say a simple rhyme about something they can do with their bodies - pull their ears, kick their feet, open their mouths - followed by a challenge to the reader: Can You? Lauren had the best time acting out the prompts of the animals (Mia did too!) and surprised me with the cuteness of one action in particular. When the cheetahs said "We've got eyes, and you do too. We can close them. Can you?" Lauren slapped her hands over her eyes, effectively 'closing' them. Such a sweet little book reader she is.





If you haven't noticed by now, Mia's got a thing for Ballerinas. Costumes, books, YouTube videos, dolls -- if it's got a ballerina on it, she's game. This book was extra fun because not only is Ella a fledgling ballerina, but there's also a troublesome umbrella running through the storyline. Ella has gotten a very satisfying umbrella for her birthday, and it goes everywhere with her, but it also messes up everything in it's path. Poor Ella figures out a way to take it with her to a ballet recital, while ensuring that she's not creating pandemonium with the inconvenient umbrella. Mia giggled and questioned her way through this cute story. And mama liked the positive message it sent about thinking your way creatively through a problem.





My favorite would be a cooking story. Duck is quite the picky eater in this book, refusing Cat and Squirrel's many attempts at a Pumpkin soup substitute. They shop and chop and season, trying to please Duck's pumpkin-loving palette when there are clearly NO pumpkins to be found. But Duck finds something insulting about each new soup -- too pink! too smelly! -- until finally the friends mix up a batch of pumpkin colored soup they're hoping will slip in under the radar. It doesn't. BUT! Duck discovers that it's even better than his favorite pumpkin blend; it's the most delicious soup he's ever tasted! This was such a good book for lots of reasons -- beautiful illustrations, silly moments, teachable moments -- but I was super-hopeful about the teachable moments part. I sincerely hoped Mia would take something from the This-isn't-what-I-Usually-Like-But-I'll-Try-It-Because-Maybe-It's-Delicious category. I'm afraid not even a wonderful children's story is up to that task, though. Still, Mia and I both enjoyed this book.




This Heavenly Daddy's Favorite: Come Fly With Me by Satomi Ichikawa

Does this look like a 'Justin' book, or what? In this story, a toy plane and raggedy, stuffed dog take off on an adventure to fly SOMEWHERE. They just want an adventure outside the toybox. Cloud monsters and rain storms threaten to halt their plans, but they keep working and make it to their destination, convinced that the best part of all was that they did it together. They're BFF's, if you will. The illustrations are detailed and imaginative, evoking both the freedom and worry of unknown adventures. Mia was drawn in from the first lines, following Cosmos the plane and Woggy the dog in their climbing, spiraling, exciting journey. And daddy? Daddy likes planes. Brave, bold, courageous planes. A perfect match.



Have you stumbled upon any share-worthy library books recently?

8 comments:

  1. I love checking out all of your book recommendations! :) I left a few of mine that we found at the book fair a few comments ago...

    Happy Reading!
    Kate

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  2. These books all look great! I'm going to have to find Come Fly with Me for Chris (and the kids!) to read.

    Our last batch of library books were all very strange. I'm beginning to suspect our library might not be as good as yours (the shock!), but we did come home with one cute story called The Giant Hug. It's about a little pig who sends his grandma a hug in the mail. All the postal workers pass the hug along until it gets all the way to Grandma's house, which makes it the perfect story to read if you're missing someone who lives far away.

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  3. Awww, I've seen some of these books. So great! I love kids books!! :)

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  4. Ooo, I like this batch! "Ella, Of Course!" would make a great gift for some friends' daughter with the same name. And I know my 3-year-old would devour "Come Fly With Me"! Dogs? Airplanes? A+, Heavenly Daddy!

    You guys rock :D

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  5. How great is it that Dad reads to his girls??

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  6. We absolutely LOVE

    "Can't You Sleep Little Bear?"

    and "Let's Go Home Little Bear", both by Martin Waddell

    Big Bear and Little Bear have such a tender sweet relationship as Big Bear helps Little Bear conquer fears of "scary sounds in the forest" and "THE DARK"

    I've been reading these aloud to my children for...well....my eldest is soon to be 25...and I just NEVER tire of these two wonderful stories!

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  7. Kate - Yes, I got your recommendations a few days ago...thanks! I'm always looking for something :)

    Emily - I'll have to look for The Giant Hug; I can see why your girls would like that book! And I've wondered what kind of library you guys can go to. Is there a military one with books in English? Or a Sicilian one with a section of English? I'm entirely too curious about your life :)

    Lenae - Justin will be glad to know he got an A+ :)

    Judy - Thanks for the suggestions! I love hearing your favorites, especially when its something that's stood the test of time. I'll put these on my list!

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  8. i love this list! i didn't know any of them so i wrote them down for my own little one. thank you!

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Hmm...And how did that make you FEEL?