September Book Review (Lucy's chapter book edition)

Out of 5 stars

Magic Tree House Book #1 (Dinosaurs): 3 stars
Magic Tree House Book #2 (Knights): 2 stars
Magic Tree House Book #3 (Mummys): 2 stars
Mercy Watson: Something Wonky This Way Comes: 5 stars
Bink and Gollie: 4 stars

Lucy's Library Finds

Some good library book finds this month:

 Infinity and Me

 Virginia Wolf

"There's much to learn from the world of children's books. It often seems to be patronised and marginalised, but is in fact at the beating heart of our culture. It is where literature is constantly regenerated – it is creative, experimental, optimistic, and it is populated by folk who really do believe that books, storytelling, reading, writing and art can change people's lives." - Children's author David Almond 

Brett L. Helquist

Lucy's Favorite Books

http://www.loveagency.lt/

You think you will never forget some things...like the books we read over and over...but I probably will. So for remembrance sake and for those who would rather fewer misses than hits at the library, here they are. (The library books we read over and over are in separate posts.)

{Age Two}
Not a Box
Violet the Pilot
Pete the Cat
Just Going to the Dentist
What Do you Do with a Tail Like This?
Hondo and Fabian
No, David
Ladybug Girl
Olivia
Fancy Nancy
Hippo Opposites

(Age One: Board books she loved...}
Its time to sleep my love
Time for bed
Goodnight Gorilla
Yummy Yucky/No No Yes Yes
Olivia's Opposites
Ladybug girl dresses up
My many colored days
Wet pet, dry pet, your pet, my pet!

library recommendation

this is the only one both Lucy and I have agreed to love of late...

Latest Library Hit List

Out of our stacks of library books, these passed the toddler AND grown-up test.  Both Lucy and I loved Leonardo the Terrible Monster (although in full disclosure I think it actually taught Lucy there were monsters to be scared of and she wouldn't finish the book for the first week - but when she did get to the end she LOVED it), A Sick Day for Amos McGee (won the Caldecott and totally deserved it - the pictures are lovely but don't overpower a good story), and Pete the Cat ("Buttons come and buttons go, but do we cry, goodness no" - I think I need the message in this book just as much as Lucy) . 

Posing Ideas: Babies and Books

Books to Check Out for Lucy

If You Lived Here: Houses of the World by Giles Laroche
Make Van Goghs Bed
Pop Warhols Top
All In A Day
Maxs World
Pantone Colors
Animal 123
Chloe, Instead
Waiting For Baby
Bugs in a Blanket
Where You Came From
All the World
Bob Books
Hippo Opposites
My Father's Dragon
Paddy the Bear
Winnie the Pooh

Image: http://www.etsy.com/listing/64467476/quote-illustration-art-print-reading

Library Finds

This is the only book from our last trip that BOTH Lucy and I agree is wonderful. And it is.

Latest Library Recommendations

All of these books pass the test of both picky toddler and picky parent.

Children's Book With Parenting Varieties

I was reading this book to Lucywhen I realized that this cute girl probably had a single mother and they didn't have a washer and dryer because the clothes were drying in the bathroom over the shower curtain and the rode bikes everywhere instead of a car and it got me thinking about the books we read. Lucy is lucky to be able to find herself in a lot of the books for kids because they feature two parents that have enough money for cute outings and probably have one parent who stays at home because of the dominance of domestic settings. But I don't want that to be all Lucy sees. And I don't want it to be obvious when it is a different situation - books purposefully created around the idea of displaying some "different" situation (divorce, gay parents, grandparents as caregivers). I really want Lucy to be aware but not hyper-concious that there are a lot of different situations and her peers' experiences will not always be her experiences.

Recommendations please?! Books with subtle use of untraditional situations?

Theme of the Week: All About Me: Book Edition

Our favorite library book finds from the week's theme...

In full disclosure, I am trying to include only books both Lucy and I loved so that we review just the cream of a sometimes very large crop, but this last book was loved by only me. Lucy didn't finish it once. I read it several times, all by myself.

Library Finds

I though Goodnight Moon was the end all be all of night-time books, but I really like this one. I think Goodnight Moon has even been usurped.

Other books Lucy loved from our last library trip: In My Pond and My First Signs. It is funny what she does not like. There are certain books she will close the second I open them. She doesn't like Sandra Boynton books (Moo Baa Lalala), which kids normally love and she will have nothing of Doreen Cronin who wrote Click Clack Moo. She is neutral on Eric Carle but give her anything with a peek-a-boo flap element and she is hooked.

To Buy for Lucy's Library

We have been taking advantage of our lovely library to satisfy Lucy's need for novelty, but there are a few books we love and want to add to our permanent library...

+ any and all of the DK Peekaboo books...she loves them

Parents Magazine Bests

Children's CDs: Best of Hullabaloo, The Best of Laurie Berkner Band, Jungle Gym, Rock and Roll Playground, Seasame Street: Old School, Everone Loves to Dance, A Family Album by Verve Pipe, The Final Funktier by Recess Monkey, Yo Gabba Gabba! Music is Awesome!, We Did it! by Dora the Explorer

Picture Books: Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I Don't), City Dog, Country Frog, The Quiet Book, Shark vs. Train

Board Books: Tubby, My Pretty Pink Alphabet Purse, In My Forest, Lots of Spots

Dr. Jenn Berman's Top Twelve Books for the First Three Years

Book By Contemporary Authors:

Bear on a Bike

Rockin' Babies

Mi Amor Por Ti/My Love for You

C is for Coco

Snowmen at Night

The Peace Book

The Snail and the Whale

Iggy Peck, Architect

Smash! Marsh! There Goes the Trash!

Bats at the Library

Michael Recycle Meets Litterbug Doug

Wild About Books

Books By Classic Authors:

Swimmy

The Carrot Seed

Good night Moon

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

The Cat in the Hat

The Kissing Hand

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Blue Hat, Green Hat

The Runaway Bunny

Make Way for Ducklings

The Little Engine That Could

Harold and the Purple Crayon

And she recommends that all babies get a good dose of language exposure, books in another language being a good place for an apprehensive mom to start.

More Books by Category:

Babies:

Baby Faces

Global Babies

Good Night, Baby!

Art:

Brush Mona Lisa's Hair

Feed Matisse's Fish

A Picnic with Monet

Dancing with Degas

Bob Raczka's Art Adventure

Lucy Micklethwait's I Spy Series

Cities and Destinations:

Good Night Our World Series by Adam Gamble and Cooper Kelly

101 Board Books by Brad M. Epstein

This is...Series by Miroslav Sasek

Books and Reading:

Bat at the Library

Books! by Kristine O'Connell George

Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss and Tiphanie Beeke

Born to Read

Our Library

Read Anything Good Lately?

Reading Makes You Feel Good

Wild About Books