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.