Entries Tagged 'books' ↓

These are a few favorites being returned to the library today.

I Must Have Bobo! by Eileen Rosenthal
Bobo is the stuffed monkey that Willy needs to be brave on the slide. Earl is the cat who likes to steal Bobo. Ezri was very amused by Earl in the illustrations sneaking up to take Bobo while Willy was busy playing with blocks.

Cooking with Henry and Elliebelly by Carolyn Parkhurst
Henry, the older brother, is trying to put on a pretend cooking show. Elliebelly, the little sister, tries to make the show her own by doing things like adding pirates and having her baby doll swim in the mixing bowl.
Ezri is currently fascinated by nicknames and loved that Elliebelly’s real name was Eleanor and that she called Henry “Henny.”
I liked the way the siblings compromised and managed to work together to create a game they could both play.

Brownie and Pearl Get Dolled Up by Cynthia Rylant
Brownie and her cat, Pearl, play dress-up. That’s about it, but that’s what I love in these very simple books with bright illustrations. The whole Brownie and Pearl series is great for quick reads with very preschool/toddler friendly fun.

The Princess and the Pig by Jonathan Emmett
A fairytale mix-up in which a piglet and a princess accidentally swap places. Everyone believes the princess Priscilla has been enchanted and will be restored from pigginess to beauty one day, but really she’s just a pig. The poor farmer believes that his pig named Pigmella has been replaced by the baby he and his wife always wanted. “It’s the sort of thing that happens all the time in books,” is the refrain of the story. The illustrations of the pig in her princess finery are priceless.

Ezri had a blast at the “Pete the Cat” signing at Anderson’s Bookstore in Downers Grove tonight.

I thought I might do a morning in the life of Ezri, aged 3.

This morning Ezri had cereal and yogurt for breakfast.
She decided to stay in her pajamas while we played with play dough.

We did stories with Ivan and read his most recent Babybug magazine, Someday by Allison McGhee, A Huge Hog is a Big Pig, Whose Shoe by Margaret Miller, and Shortcut by David Macaulay.

We played with Ezri’s magnets identifying letters and numbers. Ezri said, “The I is for both Ezri and Ivan. We share.” She had astutely noticed “I” is the only letter their first names have in common.
Ezri practiced tracing letters on the nook color.

I decided it was time for daytime clothes and Ezri got dressed all by herself picking a polka dot shirt and flowered pants. Okay, she did need a little parental help with her socks.

We watched a few short videos of Biz Markies’ beat of the day and practiced our beatboxing.

Ezri peed in her potty at her own request (this is huge!) and got a sticker of Funshine Bear.

Ezri did some yoga poses without her shirt on just like our friend, Mark.

We decided to go out to Subway for lunch. I told Ezri she’d need her shirt on for lunch.
Ezri ordered her own turkey sandwich “with cheese, please.”

We walked a block to Fishel Park where there was a new mound of bark mulch that had not yet been spread. It was our mountain and we ran over it many times.
Ezri played rocket and had a slight meltdown due to the fact that she is now too big to be lifted into the baby swings at this park which has high baby swings. In true debate form she told me that “Meghan who is grown-up has swinged on the baby swings.” Yes, but Meghan was being silly and could get into the swing by herself I countered.

We headed home to feed Ivan some baby moosh in his highchair. Ezri used the nook to read a Little Critter book while I fed Ivan.

Ezri used the potty before nap and was read Mr. Grumpy during her potty time.
Then we got ready for naptime with even more stories – Fancy Nancy and the Boy from Paris and Fancy Nancy at the Museum.

Then Ezri went to sleep and I got to do some time for serious peek-a-boo with the little brother.

It’s not a post without photos, so here are Ezri and Eric playing superheros in the backyard last night.

This is as close as “Super Ezri” came to flying.

Here Super Eric is after Super Ezri. Run, Super Ezri, run!

I brought home a lot of birthday related books in the past week leading up to Ezri turning three. Here are some of her favorites.

Shoe-la-la by Karen Beaumont
“Emily, Ashley, Kaitlyn, Claire! Let’s go find the perfect pair!” Four friends shop for party shoes and after trying on every shoe in the store go home and add ribbons and glitter to their old shoes to make perfect party accessories. I feel for the store clerk who waits on this quartet of girls who really do try on everything. The rhyming text is a good romp and Ezri loved saying, “Shoe-la-la!” It is a very girlie book with glitter on the cover. But it isn’t Disney Princess treacle, it’s good accessorizing fun.

Spot Bakes a Cake by Eric Hill
Spot and his mom make a cake for dad’s birthday. Spot loves decorating most of all and adds ALOT of frosting. This has flaps to lift and a mischievous mouse.

The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli
A baby gets a box for his birthday and he finds a stuffed dog in it. But, he knows the box is the present. He tells about the fun he and the dog have with the box. By the end, he and the dog are napping in the box he got for his birthday. He also uses the box to dress up as a robot. Ezri loves pretending to be a robot in a mechanically monotonous voice she will says, “Ezri robot needs snack. Beep. Beep.”

Birdie’s Big Girl Dress by Sujean Rim
Birdie discovers her favorite party dress is too small the day before her party. She doesn’t find a replacement while out shopping that suits her. Then her mother lets her play in the attic where she turns old clothing that belonged to her grandparents into the perfect party ensemble. The artwork is done by an illustrator who has done fashion illustration and it shows.

A Birthday for Bear by Bonnie Becker
Bear does not like birthdays. He does not like parties, presents, cake or balloons. He is very busy cleaning on his birthday. His friend Mouse keeps trying to trick bear into a party by wearing disguises and making birthday related deliveries. Finally, it is a chocolate cake with sprinkles baked by Mouse and Mouse’s company that convince Bear to celebrate. Ezri requested the book multiple times, though she was careful to tell me, “I am not like Bear. I like Birthday parties.”

We’ve been reading Little Critter books in the “My First I Can Read Series” by Mercer Mayer a lot lately. As a bonus, some titles can also be read on the Nook Color. Ezri is completely fascinated by the concept of a sleepover and thus likes Little Critter Sleeps Over. In other books, Little Critter’s adventures include a class trip to the Sea Park, one to the firehouse, calling 9-1-1 when his dad is stuck in the basement, being home sick from school, making a snowman, and showing readers around Critterville, his hometown. Ezri loves hearing about school and school trips. While the writing isn’t grand, it is mundanely suited to a girl who is curious about exactly the sorts of experiences Little Critter describes.

Ladybug Girl by Jacky Davis
After being told she cannot play with her older brother and his friends, Ladybug Girl (a girl named Lulu in a ladybug costume) and her dog venture outdoors to find their own fun. The illustrations here show so much emotion on Lulu’s face. She is not too small to cross a pond that may be shark-infested or to help ants or to help fix a stone wall. Ladybug Girl is definitely not too small no matter what that brother of hers says. This title is a great celebration of making your own fun and defining yourself. Lulu styles herself as Ladybug Girl and then lists all the amazing things Ladybug Girl can do. As a parent, I like that this dress-up girl isn’t just about being pretty she does things and takes charge of herself. I think this book would be appeal to girls obsessed with less substantive titles like Kahn’s Pinkalicious.

Pearl and Brownie by Cynthia Rylant
Today I brought home a couple titles about this cat and girl combo. In Pearl and Brownie Grab a Bite they have lunch. In Pearl and Brownie Hit the Hay they get ready for and go to bed. These simple stories about familiar everyday things were just right for Ezri. She loved talking about the story and since it wasn’t too long I was willing to discuss details of the illustrations and compare the kitty, Pearl, to our cats. Recently our cats have begun napping with or even spending the night in Ezri’s bed. Because of that, reading about Pearl going to bed with Brownie resonated. Bright illustrations add to the appeal.

Book Angels
This year for Anderson’s Bookshop Book Angels we were running late, so they were out of needy people Ezri or Ivan’s age to shop for. We adapted and bought for school-age children. Ezri selected Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie books which I think have staying power for kids through age 7 (Heck, I like them at almost 36). So, Ezri got Happy Pig Day! to give and Ivan went with We Are in A Book! We also got a copy of DK’s Alien Robots Kit because combining Aliens and Robots is just neat. Ezri did ask if she could keep the book she chose to donate. We talked about gifting and she agreed to give the book to someone who did not have Elephant & Piggie books at their house.

Hanukkah Reading

Hanukkah Hop by Erica Silverman
Jaunty rhyming text as Rachel and her family host one hopping, Hanukkah party.

A Blue’s Clues Chanukah
A favorite TV character goes to his friend Orange Kitten’s house for a Hanukkah party. Ezri seemed surprised that Joe did not know what a dreidel was.

Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah by Susan L. Roth
Collage illustration of mice doing the things in the classic song. Ezri likes the page that shows the sheet music. In a slight sleep deprived haze, I reversed the lyrics and sang, “latkes to play with and dreidels to eat.” Ezri now requests the song “the silly way.” She laughs and pretends to be eating a dreidel. Two-year-old holiday humor at its finest!

Hanukkah by Trudi Trueit
This book is a rebus reader replacing words in the text with small photos like candles, menorah, and gelt. Ezri enjoyed saying the items in the photos. The simple holiday explanation was right at her level.

photo = Ezri is getting better at getting her cereal in her mouth these days.

Kitten Red Yellow Blue by Peter Catalanotto
Mrs. Tuttle’s cat has 16 calico kittens and everyone in the neighborhood wants one. Mrs. Tuttle gives each a different colored collar and sends them off. The tan kitten bags with Doug at the grocery store. The rust colored kitten works with the plumber. The book explores a variety of colors and occupations. The illustrations are clever and full of humor. Ezri likes finding the kitten on each page (they are not hidden) and talking about what the kittens are doing. At the end all the kittens return home to surprise their mama with a party. I am not sure precisely what it is that makes Ezri love this title above others, but this week it is the runaway naptime favorite. I see the author has similar titles exploring numbers and the alphabet, though those titles lack kittens. We will have to check them out see if she likes them.

High Five Magazine
This is the publication for preschoolers from the folks that brought you Highlights magazine.
It makes sense that the magazine format works for Ezri. It has 4 page stories interspersed with games like Hidden Pictures and extremely simple mazes. Some authors have recurring pieces with recurring characters that appear in each issue, so Ezri can enter the story already having some knowledge. She likes the new adventures of Tex and Indi and their b&w cat named Cow. We also enjoy the bilingual story which incorporates some Spanish and shows Ezri that Spanish occurs in more places than just her class on Tuesdays.

I haven’t been writing about Ezri’s book reading habits in awhile.
We have been reading – every day at naptime AND bedtime and often in between.

Just to give a sampling of what we read, Here are a few favorites from yesterday’s reading:

The Little Critter easy readers by Mercer Meyer
There’s nothing like a monster and his little sister trekking out into the snow to make snowball soup for their newly created snowman.
Ezri is entertained by the light stories of Little Critter’s school outings and his descriptions of daily life as a kid (monster, but this monster has all the characteristics of an average five-year-old).

Jan Thomas’ Is Everyone Ready for FUN? featuring cows whose games include jumping, dancing and wiggling on mouse’s red sofa. Mouse tells them their behavior is not permitted on his sofa and eventually they decide the only thing for it is to nap on the sofa. This slight story about rambunctious cows is heavy on fun. It has very bright and energetic art that make it a read aloud fave.

And for a bit of bibliotherapy we read
Caillou: Hurry Up!
In this book, Caillou seems to be right about Ezri’s age and his baby sister has kept his parents from sleeping the night before. The whole family is having a rough morning and Caillou’s parents are pushing him to get ready and out the door. The cat knocks over a plant and Caillou is more interested in the cat than either his breakfast or getting dressed. Dad raises his voice at Caillou and apologizes for it. Just an average morning in a busy house from the perspective of the household three-year-old.
Ezri has connected to Caillou through watching his DVDs. I liked this story of parents not being their best and the toddler being understanding for all the obvious reasons.

Another new thing we do is to read to baby brother, Ivan. He is often asleep during these reading sessions. Ezri picks stories to read to him. If it’s a story she knows well (e.g. The Curious Cat, Moo-moo Goes to the City, Brown Bear) then she will “read” it. If it is new to Ezri, I will read it to Ivan and she will listen. It’s fun for her to pick stories she thinks Ivan might like and fun to revisit the books she enjoyed a year or more ago. Ezri said, “I liked this when I was a tiny baby. Here ya go, Ivan.”