Weekly Low Down on Kids Books 7/25/12
Title: But Who Will Bell the Cats?
Author: Cynthia Von Buhler
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
In 2009, I distinctly remember coming across an ad for this book (maybe from my days of stalking shelfari for hours on end). I sat clicking though the website (click book cover and it will take you there) thinking it was so cool and eerie. Finally, this year – this month actually – I had the pleasure of reading But Who Will Bell the Cats? to my kiddo. It is so wonderful.
Based on an Aesop’s Fable, But Who Will Bell the Cats? follows the adventures of a mouse and bat as they try to get bells around the necks of the royal princess’s eight cats. If they could hear the cats approaching, there would be more freedoms and amenities available to them around the palace, they would no longer be confined to the cellar in fear.
The story is a lovely twist on a classic dilemma with beautiful and riveting images not limited by your typical 2D art. Von Buhler has made real sets for paper dolls and photographed them, making the art fascinating, unique, and a little bit intense:
In addition to having written this story, I was also the painter, sculptor, interior decorator, mason, gardener, and plumber of the sets. The rooms were built by hand from wood. The stone walls were formed from plaster. The floors are handmade from inlaid wood, mother-of-pearl, and plaster. The characters were painted in oils on gessoed paper, then cut out and placed in the sets. I photographed the scenes with a Nikon D300.
– Cynthia Von Buhler
(Browse through each part of the castle/book and how it was made: http://butwhowillbellthecats.blogspot.com/2008/06/portraits.html)
We love it, and it is a great story to read right before nap time (due to the length on each page, you really need a settled kiddo to hold their attention if they are under two). For older kids, the website offers all sorts of activities and games to tie into the book, including printable paper dolls, like the ones used to make the book! Visit: http://butwhowillbellthecats.com/lookinside.html
Title: The Wishing Star
Author: M. Christina Butler
Illustrator: Frank Endersby
Publisher: Little Tiger Press
Today at the story time at Half Price Books in Humble, a little girl picked this title out for me to read. We all enjoyed it so much, her mother bought it before leaving the store.
Endersby’s art work is so lovely and eye-catching. Reminiscent of the Rainbow Fish 
Together, they created magic.
Weekly Low Down on Kids Books 6/26/12
One Watermelon Seed
One Watermelon Seed reminded me of another recent favorite:Seed Savers: Treasure
Weekly Low Down on Kids Books 6/13/12
Oh my goodness have we been reading! And reading… and reading… and reading some more. The goal for the summer reading program at the public library is 500 minutes. That’s a lot of picture and board books. Yet, one week in and we’ve already reached 250 minutes, so not too shabby. Out of all the many, many, many books we’ve read, here are the top three for the week.
Top pick by Ayla (so much so, I had to re-check it out because she refused to allow it to go back in the library bag to be returned, which also means I’m going to have to find a copy to keep because this book WILL be returned to the library next week):Snog the Frog
I however, thought The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister
Once Upon a Time, The End
Weekly Low Down on Kids Books – 6/05/12
There’s nothing better than coming home from an outing (story and play time at the library) to a tired, snuggly kiddo. Ayla and I hunkered down in the bean bag while reading through our haul from the library and Felicity napped. First on the roster: Bats at the Beach
As we closed the book, reading the last line: “Shh – now sleep. The moon’s out of reach. The night was just perfect for bats at the beach,” Ayla’s little eyes began to blink shut. She lazily pointed to the bag of library books and we made it half way through the first page of the next title before she started to pass out completely. After Bats at the Ballgame, I had no intention of hunting down Brian Lies other work any time soon, my nephew loved it, but I wasn’t sure our house was ready for those titles yet. After Bats at the Beach, though, I can’t wait to find a copy of Bats at the Library.
The Swamps of Sleethe
I’ve just recently started beefing up my poetry section in my personal library. I looked out over my shelves and realized I had many biographies but not the works that made the people famous in the first place. On hunting down essential poets and their work, I started stumbling across more children’s poetry that I’d like to have for Ayla. Punctuation Celebration was one of the first, many children’s picture books are poetic in nature and I’ve been trying to make sure we have the cleverest and the best here at home, at our fingertips. Among these searches after Story Time at Half Price Books, I came across The Swamps of Sleethe
Prelutsky is the first Children’s Poet Laureate and also a Star Trek fan, which is obvious in this wonderfully fantastical adventure through space (or his version of it) via rhymes and anagrams. Visit fictional planets like Ogdofod and risk becoming dogfood. Breathe even one breath of air in the World of Thade and you’ll be poisoned to death. The poems are exciting, a little bit scary, but wonderful for your kiddos at home who find poetry and space adventure enticing.
The Cold of Drifig Prime, illustration by Jimmy Pickering
On top of the fabulous work of this brilliant wordsmith are the illustrations of Jimmy Pickering
Needless to say, I bought my copy at Half Price Books, and I’m a huge fan with absolutely no buyer’s remorse. Every parent needs a copy for their kiddo.
Weekly Low Down on Kids Books – Memorial Day Weekend
We’ve been in a bit of a funk here at the Klemm household this weekend. According to the online dictionary: Funk = A state of depression: “I sat absorbed in my own blue funk”. But I’d never say ‘blue funk’ because I’m more of a Holly Golightly girl – when I’m really depressed, it’s the mean reds. I didn’t have the mean reds, just a funk, which means I sat around watching awful television that I justified by what my baby might get out of it. Dance Academy = lame teen show that I’m hopelessly addicted to. What my baby might get out of it = an Australian accent and the desire to join a ballet class?
I didn’t read anything all weekend. This is an appropriate end of the month weekend to a month when I skipped out on all my Agatha Christie’s. Les Miserables may be one of the most amazing books I’ve ever read, but it definitely has put me in a funk. I started reading Chalice by Robin McKinley and I couldn’t be drawn out of it. I started reading Native Son by Richard Wright, still could be drawn out. I sat down with Ayla last night before bed (while my husband and his best friend repaired the air conditioning that had been out all day – reminder: I live in Houston, TX and its the end of May) and guess what finally drew me out of my funk? Ant and Grasshopper by Luli Gray.
Ant and Grasshopper is a sweet tale about an unexpected friendship between two very different bugs. I like bugs – illustrated bugs like the ones Guiliano Ferri portrays. Real bugs are interesting, but I don’t want them lurking about my house, so yes, despite my romantic take on all things living, I kill bugs (and eat cows and pigs). If a bug is exceptionally fascinating and harmless I might carry it out to the yard and give it a stern scolding about never coming back. But its citronella window washings once a month, my wonderfully diligent pest control guy, and egg shells and lady bugs in my kitchen garden for me. Little pests are not welcome – in real life. In books, I invite them often.
Ferri’s illustrations are wonderful, I love Grasshopper’s little hat and Ant’s old-fashioned glasses. The story is a good one, a nice little life lesson to be kind to all. My only issue with the book is when things have been deliberately mis-spelled. Delicious is Dee-lishus. Most likely for little eyes reading the words for the first time and to exaggerate Ant’s phrases, but I still don’t like it. I would prefer Ayla to struggle with the word and be taught through guidance the proper spelling and pronunciation than get used to seeing it spelled wrong. I went through my second grade year with a teacher who taught “inventive spelling,” where we only had to spell words how we thought they sounded rather than looking them up and discovering their true spelling. I found this activity detrimental to my education, and contradictory considering how rigorous our spelling tests were. (I distinctly remember being allowed to spell laugh as “laf” but had to memorize the word meteorologist for a weather themed spelling test the same year.)
Ant and Grasshopper
Another one we enjoyed is called Spells
Ladybugs and Dragons for Summer
The first time I saw Ladybug Girl
So lucky me when my daughter fell in love with the book too. I was certain she would because its familiar. She has walls of books. She has a hound (we have a beagle named Geoffrey Chaucer). She absolutely adored her ladybug costume when she tried it on after I decided to do a ladybug themed one year birthday party.
All these thoughts rushed over me when we were at the library this week and Ayla discovered a Ladybug Girl board book called Ladybug Girl Makes Friends, featuring moments from Ladybug Girl picture books. She loves finding familiar things, so of course we checked it out and I vowed to look for it today at the Half Price Books Humble Story Time today, where I bought Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad. (We already own Ladybug Girl, Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy, and I’m on a mission to find Ladybug Girl at the Beach.)
On top of all this Ladybug Girl excitement, we discovered The Touble with Dragons by Debi Gliori at the library this week. The Trouble with Dragons
Both these books are excellent choices to kick off your summer with, and they will both become long time favorites, through summer and beyond.
In additon to keeping your kiddos entertained, start your summer off right with by keeping your house smelling wonderful – lots of awesome summer scents available from Scentsy. Join the Summer Kick Off Party now: https://akklemm.scentsy.us/Scentsy/Buy?partyId=86754827
Weekly Low Down on Leprechauns… I Mean Kids Books 5/07/12
The Luckiest Leprechaun
The super challenge to parents: Read the whole thing with an Irish accent. I had to summon my inner Mrs. Paroo (from The Music Man), and I know that an actual Irishman would be ashamed of me, but I was quite proud of myself. Ayla may have just thought I was a weird-o, but she had me read it twice in a row even though its pretty lengthy for a kids picture book for her age, so I must have been entertaining.
I highly recommend this one. Justine Korman did a great job portraying a cynical, and somewhat rotten, leprechaun in need of an attitude change, unwillingly becoming best friends with the sweetest dog in the world (named Lucky). Its got the same illustrator as the Junie B. Jones books (Denise Brunkus) although I don’t know that I care for those books, the illustrations are awesome. I loved it. Ayla clearly loved it. It was an awesome library pick that I am sure to go buy, because I’ll be needing this every Spring for years to come.
Hurray for Spring! And Elephants!
Weekly Low Down on Kids Books 5/03/12
Title: Hurray for Spring!
Author: Patricia Hubbell
Illustrator: Taia Morley
Publisher: NorthWord
Genre: Childrens, Picture Books
Ayla has a wide assortment of books of her own, she can’t help it with a compulsive book buying mother. But going to the library and picking out special books for just the week is always fun. At a year and a half, she already loves books and spends a lot of time pretending to read or browsing illustrations. ‘Shopping’ at a library, however, is so much different than shopping at a store. For starters, there’s the Dewey Decimal System to contend with, something I honestly haven’t used in about ten years. Then, there’s the lack of beautifully merchandised end caps – you can ask my best friend, I’m a complete sucker for a pretty display. (That’s probably why I enjoyed making them so much in my merchandising days.) Still, we manage to find precious gems and exciting reads every week.
This week we haphazardly pulled Hurray for Spring! off the shelf. The poem tells of all the adventures one can have throughout the season and is accompanied by gorgeous illustrations of kids playing and dragon flies and flowers. There’s mice playing in the weeds, beautiful blue skies, and the book is an all around treat. We read it four times in a row before bed time Tuesday night because Ayla kept demanding, “More” as she turned the book back to the first page and patted the title, indicating a re-read.
I’d like to buy a copy to use to celebrate Easter every year. Its fresh, lively, and is a good way to get kids excited about playing outside, but if read softly the cadence of the words can still put a baby to sleep. We love Hurray for Spring! Even now Ayla discovered it in my hand and is hopping around, rummaging through the book bag, and begging me to read it again.
Title:
Busy Elephants
Author: John Schindel
Photographs: Martin Harvey
Publisher: Tricycle Press
Genre: Childrens, Board Books
In the past, we’ve tried Busy Penguins, which I loved, but Ayla had little interest in. This time, Busy Elephants was all the rage. Each page contains a photograph of elephants out in the wild, eating, running, bathing, etc. And after months and month of every blessed furry (or even some non-furry) animals being called ‘Dog’ its nice to finally see her point with recognition at the elephants on each page, listen to me say elephant, and then try the word out on her own mouth. So far, all we get is “lphn,” but that’s enough for me this week. She’s excited to learn new words, even if she can’t quite pronounce them properly. That’s what makes these kinds of books so great for babies: real photographs, repitition of a word, until by the end they’ve seen the world and added something to their vocabulary.
Weekly Low Down on Kids Books 4/17/12
11 Experiments That Failed Deemed Awesome
“That was great! It was hilarious. It reminded me of myself. People should read it because its really, really, really funny. Its not really a story, its more about things you shouldn’t do at home,” my eleven year old niece, Ashleigh Raine, says as she finishes 11 Experiments That Failed
I brought a stack of library books with me to my sister’s house to watch five of her six children, along with my own kid, while they rushed Alexandrea (the 3rd in line) to the ER for a broken arm (compliments of the fabulous climbing tree in their backyard). After completing their chores, the kids got to sit down to a few episodes of Transformers, and then it was off to nap, rest, and reading time according to their respective ages.
The youngest asleep upstairs, the two eldest bee-line for the bag of books from the library – new books, ones they don’t see every day, like most kids in a toy store their eyes light up with glee.
I talk to Ashleigh about whether I can quote her in my blog, and as we discuss the book Ethan Blaise, age nine, asks about an illustration on an open page. “What is that kid doing?”
“You should read it,” Ashleigh pushes the book across the carpet to him. Ethan immediately stretches out, belly down, on the floor, kicking his feet while audibly snickering throughout the book.
While Ethan reads, he intermittenly laughs aloud while Ashleigh reads over his shoulder, distracted from the book she picked up to read second, apparently she would rather re-read 11ETF with her brother.
“You think its funny too?” she asks him.
“Yeah,” he grins, smacks his gum, and continues to flip through the pages while laughing and reading the best parts aloud.
When he finishes he tells me, “This one is funny!”
“Is it the most hilarious book you’ve ever read?” Ashleigh asks him.
“Yes, it is the funniest book I’ve ever read. ‘What you need is a message, a toilet, a bottle…’ ” This last bit I assume is a quote from the book as the two continue to quote the book from memory for about ten to fifteen minutes before they remember they are now hungry and flee to the kitchen to raid the pantry for crackers.
I initially checked this book out to read to Ayla, but I haven’t got around to it yet. I am posting this review solely on the reactions of my niece and nephews recommendation. If you are shopping for nine to eleven year olds, I think you’ll have a winner.
Anakalian Whims 