story time – Peaceful Reader

Simply Monday

We made chocolate chip cookies at our house tonight. Groovy Girl and I owed Teenage Boy a batch because he walked her and two friends over to the cemetery on Saturday at dusk. We live across from a cemetery and this is a favorite “challenge” activity when friends sleep over. He remembers doing this when he was in middle school with a group of his friends. To thank him for following through we made him the cookies. He’s been eating them while he watches football and reads Inheritance, last in his favorite Eragon series..

I just made the recipe on the back of the Nestle package (yes, every once in awhile non-organic lands in my grocery cart-I don’t know how?) because it was there and easy. I know I have several good recipes but I’ve never hit on one that was so amazing that I have to make that one ALL the time, they all seem to be pretty similar. Do you have a favorite chocolate chip recipe? If so, please share.

My kitchen’s not clean but the cookies are done. Dinner was easy. My kids are happy. Groovy Girl and I had a serious conversation about an article in her Discovery Girls magazine. About bras. Ugh. She’s worried because other girls in her class have started wearing them. Double ugh.

When I went up to get her headed toward sleep she was dancing wildly to one of her Taylor Swift CD’s, lucky for her she was already in her pajamas with her teeth brushed. We read the last half of The Snow Queen by Amy Ehrlich and talked for a few minutes. She wanted to share one of Taylor’s songs with me. It’s a sweet song and it made us hug repeatedly. Listen to it; Never Grow Up, not an official video but still a good.

Hoping your Monday was peaceful and simple.

Crazy to Calm-Bedtime Reading 101

Groovy Girl and I had a few picture books to read for story time and she likes to put them in order of how we are going to read them. No random just-pick-fro- the-pile for her-she puts them in calming order-the most vibrant first and the most soothing last, perfect to then fall asleep. She’s makes me smile! Two nights ago this was her order:

1. Paulie Pastrami Achieves World Peace by James Proimos. It has an exciting cover, bold words and was a lot of fun to read. Groovy Girl now has her very own Goodreads acct. and she dictated in her review that she loved this one so much she read it aloud to everyone in her family. True enough, I heard her beg her dad if she could read it to him and he relented…it was on Sunday during a football game and she stood right in front of him and read the whole thing. Good for her! It is a very cute book with a good message that kids will relate to.

2. Sugar Plum Ballerinas; Toeshoe Trouble by Whoopi Goldberg. We enjoyed the first one in this series and like this one even more as we get to know the characters. Brenda’s cousin comes to stay and the cousin, who has money and is a bit snobbish about it, causes Brenda to make a terrible choice. Lots of uh-oh moments in this one. This series has a lot to say about friendship. We read two chapters and then moved on to my daughter’s third reading choice:

3. Forever Friends by Carin Berger. Calm, Japanese-style illustration on cover, Groovy Girl said this makes drifting off to sleep so much easier. The inside pictures are beautiful, all natural, subdued colors, gracious cattails highlighted by one bird and one rabbit playing together. I love how perfectly she put these in order-she is not organized about all things (her room) but about bedtime book reading she’s got her own cool method!

Good Night, Sleep Tight.

Found this great interview
with Whoopi about Sugur Plum Ballerinas; Toe Shoe Trouble.

Ellie McDoodle; Have Pen, Will Travel

by Ruth McNally Barshaw

2007

170 pages

elementary fiction

My reader girl and I just finished this book last night. It is half chapter book, half diary with pages of doodles thrown in for fun! Think Wimpy Kid but not as crazy. We loved Ellie and her games.

From the back of the book:

When Ellie McDougal’s parents go out of town, she’s forced to go on a camping trip with her aunt, uncle, cousins, and baby brother, Ben-Ben. Mosquitoes and poison ivy she can handle, but a week with crazy relatives? No way! Thank goodness she at least has her sketchbook for recording all the excruciating details.

As a reader we had a great time listening to Ellie try to fit in with her cousin’s family. It is always difficult feeling like the outsider. She’s ticked from the beginning of the trip because her aunt and uncle plan to stay in a cabin and Ellie’s family are tent-campers. Oh, what a big divide that is! Coming from a long line of tent campers I can relate to her dilemma but have adjusted very nicely to cabin camping and even motel camping on occasion. They have some many amazing adventures all on one camping trip. Frogs, marshmallows, rainy days, hurt feelings and getting lost are just a few of the issues to get through for Ellie and her cousins!

Lucky for Ellie she can doodle her frustrations away and she eventually discovers her relatives aren’t so bad. The camping trip made this a really unique read and my reader girl and I loved all the games she listed to play with doodles for explanation. I believe there are two more in the series and we’ll have to check them out as well. Beyond getting to know her cousins we are anxious to meet her best friend, Amy and her new camping buddy, Scott-we hope they both show up in Ellie’s next adventure!

Ellie has her own page!
Ruth McNally Barshaw

Fuse #8 Reviews the next book in the series.

Shop Indie Bookstores

Two Picture Books-You Choose.

Picture Book A
Moon Rabbit (2009)
This is a delightful tale of companionship featuring a young city bunny; “Little Rabbit liked living in the city. She had her own place to stay, her favorite cafe, and so many things to see and do.” Sometimes the city gets to be too much and she heads out of town to the country (a nice quiet park) where she sits under a tree and relaxes. She hears beautiful night music and goes in search of the source, brown rabbit playing (it’s always a musician causing trouble) Ahh, it is simple retelling of country mouse/city mouse but so beautifully told and illustrated through printmaking by Natalie Russell. The illusrations are striking with her use of unique colors and patterns. I’ve looked through the book several times now after our initial read-aloud and the illustrations draw me into each page. Esme writes about it here and has it on her best books of 2009 list.

Picture Book B
The Knitting of Elizabeth Amelia(2009)
This is a sweet story about the love a mother gives to her children. “Elizabeth Amelia was made of wool. Just where the wool came from no one knew. But her mother found it tucked into a trunk in the attic and took it out and knitted Elizabeth Amelia just the way she wanted her: with apricot-colored arms and sunlit hair and a sky-blue petticoat that she never had to take off.” Because Elizabeth Amelia is made of wool other students at school love to cuddle up to her as they sit in their school room benches-they find her differences appealing. She grows up, meets a hansome dancing guy, marries him and begins a family of her own, using apricot scraps from her feet. Reminiscent of Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, the mother keeps giving until she’s lost a good bit of herself. Oh, what we give with love to our children. Written by Patricia Lee Gauch and illustrated by Barbara Lavellee, an Alaskan artist and illustrator (Mama, do you love me?) .

Peaceful Girl and I enjoyed reading both books but we did have a favorite. Which one would you pick?

Reading Ritual

After last night’s post about the lack of picture books at our before bed storytime, my peaceful girl showed me just how 21st Century she is using this cool tool, Screen Actor’s Guild site, which streams videos of SAG members reading favorite picture books. We listened to Guji Guji, The Night I Followed my Dog and My Rotten Red-Headed Older Brother by Patricia Polacco. It wasn’t exactly the cuddly time (the videos did not stream well on my new computer?) I was longing for but she loved sharing it with me.

After psycho-analyzing myself I realized I’m just remorseful over the facts; she is growing up! Soon our bedtime reading ritual will be a thing of the past and it makes me sad. She’s my last baby and I’m not ready for this major change. Luckily, I think we still have a few years left before she dumps me but I will have to be prepared for the inevitable “I’m just reading this chapter book on my own, mom.” It happened with her two older siblings as well. The three of us read together, taking over the living room sofa. The last book we read was Summerland by Michael Chabon. Oh, that was a great summer!!

I’m glad my girl was able to share her new way of looking at/reading picture books. I didn’t bother to mention that I have this site on my school blog and have used it with classes-I didn’t want to spoil her excitement to share. What other sites are out there like this and do they always stream slow??

In the meantime I’ve mentally promised to enjoy all the storytimes I have left with her and to make them as exciting as I once did-reading under the covers, flashlights, etc. and I guess I will have to be on the lookout for thrilling picture books, websites and beginning chapter books to keep her interested.

Picture Books

Peaceful girl and I read a fantastic picture book last night at bedtime.

Homegrown house by Janet S. Wong and illustrated by E.B. Lewis is a story about transition and finding your comfort right where you are. The young narrator tells us how she’s moved from house to house as her family experienced change through new jobs. Now she lives some place within walking distance from her Grandmom and she likes where she is, even though it’s not a dream home. Her Grandmom says:
” it takes time to settle into a house, to learn to love it right, to make it feel homegrown.”

Mom gets a raise so they house hunt for a better house but our young narrator works hard to convince her parents the house they live in now is their perfect house!! She wants to be close to Grandmom and all that her house has to offer-she wants consistency in her life!

I moved many times growing up as we followed the journalistic dreams of my Dad. Moving can be exciting but at some point you get tired of leaving your friends behind, finding new favorite spots. This book exemplifies that struggle very much for this young girl. E.B. Lewis’ illustrations are very natural and draw you more into the story. Recommended-5/5 peaceful stars

Abigail Iris

Abigail Iris; The one and only by Lisa Glatt and Suzanne Greenberg and illustrated by Joy Allen is a very well-written elementary chapter book for the 3rd and 4th grade student. It tells the story of one sweet Abigail Iris who really loves her family (she is “one of many”); she is a little jealous of her “only” friends. Abigail Iris has an older stepbrother and shares a bedroom with her older sister while her three friends are all sibling-free. “Onlies” get expensive shoes like Heelies, new clothes and exciting Spring Break vacations. Genevieve invites Abigail Iris to join her family on a trip to San Francisco! The drive to San Francisco, the stay at the Francis Drake Hotel and the adventures they have in-between show Abigail Iris why being “one of many” has it’s bonus moments as well. This book is wonderful teaching tool without being overly didactic. Peaceful girl and I read this book at bedtime and it created alot of great conversation about families, finances and traveling. The illustrations are whimsical and very much add to this perfect little chapter book. 5/5 stars
Find Lisa Glatt’s website here, Suzanne Greenberg’s site here, and Joy Allen’s creative site here!
Other great posts about Abigail Iris from Kiss the Book,
Semicolon, and Booktopia.

Lauren Child's poodle thoughts

I love Lauren Child’s work. I fell in love with Charlie and Lola when my daughter started watching the series on tv. I think her collage artwork is stunning. So really, I am a huge fan so I was ultra-disappointed when peaceful girl and I settled in to read her latest, Who wants to be a poodle-I don’t!! The front cover definetely drew us in but right in the first few pages we were thrown. Peaceful girl is working very hard to be a reader and it has been her practice of late to read the first few pages of our bedtime books. She had just recently read me a Charlie and Lola book and she felt confident she could read this one. Her little face fell on the very first page of print though as it is written in fancy cursive script and she said so “can’t read that”! Well, we got past that as I pointed out printed sentences she could handle and we did read it together, but it was a struggle. The story line is wonderfully imaginative-really, a poodle who wants to be more daring, what a fabulous idea!! This time though her artwork goes over the top and makes it difficult to find and read the words. Peaceful girl still liked the book and for all Lauren Child’s fans you will also. For an elementary library though I would rate it 3 out of 5 just because students will have difficulty reading it on their own and it won’t make an easy read-aloud for teachers. More accomplished readers will find it fun and challenging.

Synopsis: Trixie Twinkle Toes lives in the lap of luxury, with every creature comfort a manicured paw away. Adored by the glamorous Mademoiselle Bruleé, the little poodle has a maid to plump her pillows and a cook to prepare her nibbles. But Trixie isn’t happy. She doesn’t like the puffing and poofing and preening. She doesn’t like being dressed in little pink ponchos. She wants to be dazzlingly dangerous and daring. She wants to step in puddles! With a witty text that scampers across the pages and hilarious mixed-media illustrations, Lauren Child offers a one-ofa-kind treat — sure to entice both spirited little readers and deeply devoted dog-lovers alike.

Lauren Child’s website-click here!

Night time story time

One of my quests this summer is to read good, old classic chapter books with J. so we started the summer with one of my early favorite authors, Beverly Cleary’s Beezus and Ramona! I love that the humor of Ramona is still funny. You just can’t get past the picture of Ramona ramming her tricycle into the coffee table, trying to get Beezus’ attention or sitting on the basement floor taking one bite out of apple after apple-because “the first bite is the best.”

During story time we still read picture books together and this week we discovered Polly Dunbar. We read Hello Tilly and Where’s Tumpty by Dunbar. Very sweet books with no real purpose except joy. Great illustrations about a little pixie girl who lives with her animal friends in a little yellow house. J. and I loved that Tilly’s long-sleeved polka-dot t-shirt matches the end papers of the book-yes, same exact polka-dots-both our mouths dropped open and then smiled with that fine little touch. We went through the other book but did not find the same matching arrangement. Dunbar has a few other good titles and her fun website is worth checking out!

We also read Lauren Child’s Who’s afraid of the big bad book?-talk about falling into a story, this one (no Charlie and Lola characters here, by the way) has Herb falling into one of his fairy tale books that he has treated very well. He’s cut, glued and drawn mustaches on a few characters and that comes back to haunt poor Herb. This was a much longer book to read but J. enjoyed the silly story of Herb mixing it up with Cinderella and teaches an easy lesson of taking care of your books so the characters appreciate you. I enjoyed the story but am a little disappointed in Lauren Child’s mass marketing of many of her titles. She’s followed in the notorious footsteps of Franklin and Arthur books, and has a bunch of books written by other authors based on the Charlie and Lola television series. Bleechhh! This title written by Child’s is quite good beyond how I feel about her selling out Charlie and Lola. Here is a very descriptive review of this book.

My own story time I finished The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry, which was a short read but not as magical as I had hoped. The children and the nanny are quite interesting but it is a storyline that has been done-you know mean parents, soon-to-be-orphans, great nanny and a avalanche in Switzerland. One of the outstanding features of this chapter book is the amazing language she has her characters use. The orphans are smart and talkative! Words such as “acquisition, affable, contemplating, bilious, conspiracy, ignominious and fortuitious.” Wow-great language and with a glossary so readers can look up as they read. Lowry includes a bibliography of other famous orphan stories for readers. Exploring Lowry’s website I discovered her blog and I read entranced for at least 10 minutes-pictures of grandkids mixed with her trip to Africa. I was looking for information about The Willoughby’s because I’m wondering if there is going to be another sequel, following the orphans and the wonderful Nanny. I didn’t find it there but will keep my eyes open because the book ended on just that kind of note!
Anyone out there with an extra copy of Catching Fire????????

Just Read

After dance class tonight J. and I went around the corner to the public library and found the children’s librarian putting out brand-new books!! We were so excited we picked a few…so tonight we read:

Sally and the purple socks by Lisze Bechtold (2008)

Loudmouth George earns his allowance by Nancy Carlson (2007)

and

Oink, Oink, Benny by Barbro Lindgren and Olaf Landstrom (2008)

They left both of us smiling…

Sally is a duck and she mail orders a pair of incredible purple socks-the socks, which grow, are really quite versatile! The illustrations are simple allowing the socks to really shine.

Loudm

outh George is a typical Carlson character, who’s been given chores for the summer (great way to understand helping out around the house-might have to read it to my 14-year-old). George, of course, is busy enjoying the beginning of his summer with games, swimming, and building. His wise mother won’t let him go to the movies with Harriet until the chores are finished and he earns his allowance. The lesson is in how the chores are accomplished and we thought poor George learned his lesson for the summer!

Benny and his baby brother, cute pigs, head outdoors to play as the mom reminds them to not go to the mudhole. I asked J. for a little prediction here and naturally she answered uh, oh…they are heading to the mudhole. Oink, Oink (yes, yes) and while the pigs play with a few other cuddly creatures, they get muddy. Uh, oh! Luckily, Mother Nature saves them on the way home. I really liked the illustrations in this one, especially the little brother dressed in his diaper, Tibetan ski hat, pacifier as round as his nose and his what-looks-like an ugly monster doll with 3 large button

s. I also spied the three little pigs by the mudhole-naturally they would be where the mud is! Check out these other blog words on these titles!
Maya Reads

Pink Me

Now for myself I have to finish Red Glass by Laura Resau tonight so I can begin The Hunger Games and my brand-new ARC of Al Capone shines my shoes sent to me by Gennifer Choldenko!!! Thank you Gennifer!!