Ms. Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten

This is a great book for young children just entering preschool or kindergarten. The rhymes and illustrations are really fun, and the book shows how exciting it can be to get ready for school. I love Ms. Bindergarten. She's the best kind of teacher for young children. The details in the illustrations are great! I love that the price tag is still hanging off Ms. Bindergarten's collar, and that she has a Post-it note stuck to the back of her dress. I also love that the frog's baby sister is drawn as a tadpole sitting in a highchair. :)

Here's a Little Poem

by Yolen- Fusek Petrs- Dunbar

This is a collection of more than sixty little poems and rhymes. All between 4 to 22 lines long that 3-year-old can understand. The poems are organized into four groups: "Me, Myself, and I;" "Who Ives in My House?" "I Go Outside" and "Time for Bed." Each poem is accompanied by a picture or group of pictures that try to closely depict the poem. The poems capture a child's adventurous attitude in daily activities.

You Are Special

Everyone should have this book in their home. You Are Special has beautiful illustrations to go along with its wonderful message. It is a story of little wooden Wemmicks, who spend their days labeling each other with good/bad stickers. Punchinello, unfortunately, is covered in the ugly gray stickers. He meets a special Wemmick that, somehow, has avoided carrying the good/bad labels on her body. This story is a testament of God's love for every one of his children and how powerful it can be when we understand that love. I love this book!

Russ and the Apple Tree Surprise

My son loves this book! It's about a little boy named Russ who really wants a swing set, but complains because there's just an old apple tree in the backyard.

His family is able to help him see that the apple tree isn't so bad. They pick apples together, then Russ helps his mother and grandmother with each step in making an apple pie. After eating their dessert, his grandpa surprises him with his very own swing (hanging from the apple tree). I think the storyline is perfect for four and five-year-olds. Also, one of my son's favorite things to do is to help me cook, so he was really excited about the photos showing Russ washing the apples and rolling out the pie crust. What a great book!

Henry Huggins

I forgot how much I loved this book. Henry Huggins brings back good memories of being a kid. Like Henry, my friends and I spent our time outside, and usually had some fun project going. Taking a jar full of black/inedible berries door to door to have our neighbors try to guess their number and win a "special" eraser. Knowing exactly why my Mom was yelling my name from upstairs...she had found the jar of frozen bugs in the freezer. Okay, enough reminiscing. Henry just seems like the kind of boy that every kid would want for a friend. He had a great dog, good business sense, and a lot of spunk. This is a great book for kids and a fun way for parents to remember the joys of being a kid.

Freckleface Strawberry

Freckleface Strawberry has been a popular book recently. I had to put a hold on it to even check it out from the library, but I'm glad I did. The illustrations are unique with nothing too fancy. The words are bold and easy to read. It gives anyone a chance to relate to a little cute red head that is called names for being born with certain type of skin or hair color. Maybe your child isn't the tallest of the gropu and is called "small fry" all of the time (like me). Either way it's a good read to help kids look at the bigger picture and think of how wonderful they really are.

Mrs. McNosh

Mrs. McNosh Hangs up her Wash is a silly book for kids. The author Sarah Weeks writes in rhyme. The rhyme is in sink if that makes sense. I've picked up some books that have a few words that sound a like, but the timing is off and the children and the mom are wondering what is going on. Mrs. McNosh begins to hand her clothes on the line, but adds a few other things to her clothes line a like baked turkey, telephone, dog and newspaper. It's a very fun read that will make you and your kids giggle.

Diary of a Spider

This is another great book we picked up today from our library. I'd never read any books in the Diary of a... series, but I'm definitely going to check out the others. This is such a creative book about the concerns of a young spider. The drawings are so funny, and you can tell the author put a lot of thought into what the world is like from the spider's point of view. In one of his diary entries, the little spider writes about Safety Day at school and how he learned what to do in case he ever hears a vacuum. The next day, he writes about having a vacuum drill at school and forgetting the routine. He is able to maintain a friendship with a fly, despite the inherent problems. The humor in this book would be best appreciated by elementary-aged children, but my preschooler still loved reading it. Hey, he loves anything with spiders. :)

Below

We just found this really great book when we stopped by the library tonight. My four-year-old son loves it already and so do I. Nathaniel looked through the book before I read it to him and was already mesmerized by the story, just from the pictures. It's about a young boy who loves to have adventures with his action figure "Guy." They play together on a tall, narrow staircase that becomes mountains, and forests, and cities...The pictures are done in a photo-collage style and are so fun to look at. We get to see the wonderful imagination of the little boy through the beautiful images that Nina Crews created. The shadows of trees and skyrises magically merge with the "ordinary" staircase. Jack loses Guy in a hole in the stairs, but figures out a way to save his little friend all by himself. It is really sweet. The best part was watching Nathaniel become so concerned about the little toy and so interested in the adventure.

The Empty Pot

We just read this book at the Elementary family literacy fair. It was a wonderful story about honesty. The pictures were also very beautiful. You and your kids will love it.

The 3 Little Pigs

I'm not tech savvy enough to post a picture of this book from the web but my girls love "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs" by Jon Scieszka. Whenever I get a stack of books to read with them I never make it through because they spot this book and just request it over and over. They especially like that I really exaggerate the huffing and puffing sneezing part. It makes them giggle and giggle. I love these slightly twisted fairy tales.

Holly Hobbie

What little girl doesn't love Holly Hobbie. My bedspread and pillow sham were all Holly Hobbie. Her artwork is tender and light. I just recenlty check the book Happiness and have loved reading it to my little girl. The author Holly Hobbie pairs her lovely artwork with quaint little poems of happiness and friendship.

I was also happy to learn about the Toot & Puddle series that Holly Hobbie began writing. The pictures are of course darling and simple. She tells of two little pigs that are best of friends. They live in Woodcock Pocket and love to take long walks in the "sparkling woods". They have fun adventures be it in there own little foresty neighborhood or abroad.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

I bought this book as a child right before my family went on a vacation. It was a long road trip and I read every poem in the book. It has always been one of my favorites. This book is a great way to introduce kids to poetry, (not that I have read any poetry books since). Anyway, the poems are usually silly poems that children enjoy. This book should be in every home.

The Girl in the Castle inside the Museum

This book is written by Kate Bernheimer and illustrated by Nicolette Ceccoli. The storyline was ok, but what really wows you are the illustrations. Nicolette Ceccoli is an Italian painter and artist and very unique in what she draws. The story is about a beautiful young girl that lives in a magical castle inside a museum. The story and pictures take the reader into a fantasy world. You'll find funny little wind up toys made of dice and spinning tops. Beds posts are made of windmills and buttons. The colors are very soft and calming, however, there is a bit of a strange flavor to the book. After I read the book, it was like I'd just woken up from a dream that was neither good or bad. Just weird. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Little Quack

We have been reading Little Quack since Ben was a baby. My kids still like it. It is the story of five little ducklings who need to get up the courage to learn to swim. It is a counting story as well as a sweet story about trying new things. One by one each duckling heads out on the pond. Little Quack is the last, but with the encouragement of everyone else finally splashes out on to the pond.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

My daughter loves the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? She has not tired of it since I first started reading it. I love it because it helped teach her her colors and animals from a very early age. Books have played a huge role in her development. It is fun to watch her now "read" them to her baby sister.

ABC

ABC, A Child's First Alphabet Book, by Alison Jay has been a favorite of ours. It is a board book so it is easy for little ones to turn the pages and can it can withstand the wear and tear. The Author/Illustrator Alison Jay sends you through a fun treasure hunt as she takes you through the alphabet, leaving the reader clues as to what will pop up next. The images that represent the letters of the alphatbet are well know, but what is unique is her style of art. She gives her illustrations a vintage look with a crackled effect and warm gradiant hues. She has written and illustrated many books and we're excited to check them out.

Bear Feels Sick

Bear Feels Sick, by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman is a delightful book about friendship. I ran into the book at Borders Book Store yesterday. The illustrations are darling and the story is equally sweet.

Bear's little critter friends want to play, but they can see that bear is a bit "under the weather". His friends jump into action to start Bear on his road to recovery.

A great book for teaching children compassion and care for the ones we love.

No David by David Shannon

David Shannon is by far one of my favorite children's authors. The two that we own are No, David and How I Became a Pirate. These books have such fun artwork and children can relate to them because they are about things that kids do. I can't really say that they are the favorite books of my kids, but I love them. Whenever I say that I want to read one of my favorite books my kids know just which books to go for. I have read about five of his books and I adore them all. To see more about David Shannon and the books he has written click here.

"I Can Fly" By: Ruth Krauss, Illus: Mary Blair

I Can Fly is a Little Golden Book Classic. I'm sure all of us can recall our most favorite Golden Book when we were little. They are light weight, simple to read and have fabulous illustrations. I bought this little book as a set of Golden Books from Costco for Christmas last year. Maille has loved them. I escpecially love this story because of it's simply rhyms such as, "A bird can fly. So can I." Or "Pick, pick, pick. I'm a little chick." Our favorite thing about the book is it's pictures. They are full of brite yellows, pinks, reds, greens, and blues. The illustrations are quaintly detailed. I love it so much because it takes me back to my childhood and the pajamas I used to wear are the same as the little girl's in the book. The animals she imitates are animals I played with and imagined as a child. But most of all, the reader can fly away into his or her own imagination and become anything and do anything they want to.