Category: Book Review

I’ve just added the following two new pages to my blog: Children’s Books We’ve Read and Liked and Book Links. You can access them anytime underneath the top header. If you are ever looking for book recommendations, check back here to see what I’m reading for myself and with my children.

What is it about ducks that make them such compelling characters for children’s picture books? Have you ever truly noticed how many books about ducks there are?

Have You Seen My Duckling? by Nancy Tafuri

Duck on a Bike by David Shannon

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

Duck and Goose by Tad Hills

Duck Soup by Jackie Urbanovic

10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle

Come Along, Daisy by Jane Simmons

Just Ducky by Kathy Mallat

A ducky post wouldn’t be complete without a mention of our favorite ducky songs:

There’s a little white duck, swimming in the water…
Three little ducks went out to play, over the hill and far away…
Rubber ducky, you’re the one, you make bathtime so much fun…

Have you stopped to feed the ducks lately?

One of the most satisfying things I have done as a mother is to teach my children to read. While many mothering tasks are quickly undone (how many times did I sweep the floor today?!) I see reading as something that will last and bring unmeasurable joy to my children. Here are five simple things I have done to teach my children to love reading.

1) Find a good book to help. One of my sisters suggested Teach Your Child to Read as a great book. I have used this book with all my children so far and love the simplicity of the lessons. It breaks down the learning process so that it becomes almost embarrassingly easy. There are many different ways to learn to read, but each theory usually requires a time commitment for the parent teaching the child to read. I try to make our reading lessons a fun time that I spend one on one with the child.
2) Make or buy some “high frequency word” flashcards. Most of my children didn’t become fluent readers until they had mastered many of the high frequency words. It seems like there is a point when reading switches from sounding out words to just reading. For my children, the reading point was usually very close to when they learned many of the high frequency words.

3) Put your children to bed ½ hour early. Putting children in bed early is my tricky way of teaching them to love reading. The children do not know they have an early bedtime- but once in bed they are allowed to read for an extra ½ hour or so. What child would turn down a chance to stay up after bedtime?!
4) Fill your house with good books and magazines. I have found that it is useful to have a good supply of books in your home so that children always have something to read. I love to collect books and have many in my home. However, many people may not care to lug around several hundred books or have space constraints. A visit to the public library is a lovely way to fill your home with books without storage or other problems.

5) Read to your children.
Although a bit overused, I do love this poem:

“The Caldecott Medal shall be awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American Picture Book for Children published in the United States during the preceding year. The award shall go to the artist, who must be a citizen or resident of the United States, whether or not he be the author of the text.”

In my continuing search to find quality literature to share with my children, I set a goal to read all of the Caldecott Medal winning books. I read a few each month, and finally finished the list (71 books in total) during the month of February. I read most of them with the Ant Bug, but there were quite a few that were a little too old for her to enjoy right now. I was surprised to find how many winners were books about customs from other countries or folk tales or fables.

I didn’t like all of the books, but it is important to remember that the award is for the illustrations and not necessarily for the best text.

So if you are looking for recommendations of picture books, here is my short list of the best of the Caldecott Winners. The titles below are all books we have read multiply times and always enjoy getting from the library.

1943: The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

1957: A Tree Is Nice, illustrated by Marc Simont; text: Janice Udry

1964: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

1965: May I Bring a Friend? illustrated by Beni Montresor; text: Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
1968: Drummer Hoff, illustrated by Ed Emberley; text: adapted by Barbara Emberley
1986: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
1989: Song and Dance Man, illustrated by Stephen Gammell; text: Karen Ackerman
1992: Tuesday by David Wiesner
1993: Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully
1996: Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
2000: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback

2002: The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

2004: The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein

Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline by Becky A. Bailey

This book was my latest read in my quest to improve my parenting skills. I’ve read quite a few parenting books by now and at first this one took me a little while to get into. The author really likes the number seven! She had the Seven Powers for Self-Control, The Seven Basic Discipline Skills, and the Seven Values for Living; I had a hard time keeping it all straight!

But the more I read I realized that this book had quite a few good, helpful ideas. I’ve been working on applying some of them, and it’s been nice to have a few new tools in my belt.

The biggest lesson I learned from the book has been this: “This moment is as it is”. You can get upset and angry or yell, or you can take a deep breath and relax. You have control and you have a choice. I have been repeating that phrase to myself multiple times each day, and it’s really helping my perspective. I think it will be my new mantra, with a little addition:

This moment is as it is. Learn from it. Enjoy it. Live it and love it.

What do you think?

Another lesson that I learned (or was reminded of?) is the importance of labeling. Children are in the process of learning about their world, and they often don’t understand their emotions or the tantrums they are throwing. Help them by labeling their feelings as anger, sadness, happiness, etc. I’ve been applying this tip universally as I try to label everything I can to assist my two-year old in developing her language skills.

Here are some of my other notes from the book:

“Be patient with yourself”. It takes time to learn new skills.

“Own your own upset”. Take ownership for your own feelings. Notice how often you say, “Don’t make me….” or “You made me…..”. Instead say “I feel…” or “I’m going to…”

“What I focus on, I get more of”. Pay attention: are you focusing on what you want, or on what you don’t want?

Attribute positive intent: this basically means to look for the good and assume positive intentions in those around you. For example, your child didn’t spill the milk on the floor just to spite you. Or, perhaps the car driver who cut you off is on his way to the hospital with a wife in labor!

Teach your children how to get what they want and respect the rights of others by saying to the aggressor:
1) “You wanted_____”

2) “You may not_____. _____ hurts (or, is not safe).”
3) “When you want______, say (or do) _______.”
4) “Do it now! Practice.”

Give children two positive choices as a way of setting limits.
1) “You may _______, or ______.”
2) “What is your choice?”
3) “You chose_____!

Encourage your child by describing what you see.
1) State your child’s name or “Look at you” or “You did it!”
2) Describe exactly what you see (or noticed).
3) Add a tag (optional). “That was helpful” or “Good job” or “Good for you”.

1940: Abraham Lincoln by Ingri & Edgar Parin d’Aulaire
1945: Prayer for a Child, illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones; text: Rachel Field
1952: Finders Keepers, illustrated by Nicolas, pseud. (Nicholas Mordvinoff); text: Will, pseud. [William Lipkind]
1974: Duffy and the Devil, illustrated by Margot Zemach
1981: Fables by Arnold Lobel
1990: Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young
1995: Smoky Night, illustrated by David Diaz; text: Eve Bunting

And that’s it! I’ve read all of the Caldecott Medal winners from 1938 to 2009. Most of them I read with the Ant Bug, but there were quite a few that didn’t hold her interest. I’ll post a list of my favorites soon.

If you followed my Reading List last year, then you know that I set a goal to read all of the Caldecott Medal winning books. It’s taking me awhile, but I am finally nearing the end! Here are the books we read in January:

1944: Many Moons, illustrated by Louis Slobodkin; text: James Thurber
1949: The Big Snow by Berta & Elmer Hader
1957: A Tree Is Nice, illustrated by Marc Simont; text: Janice Udry
1959: Chanticleer and the Fox, illustrated by Barbara Cooney; text: adapted from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales by Barbara Cooney
1977: Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon; text: Margaret Musgrove
1983: Shadow, translated and illustrated by Marcia Brown; original text in French: Blaise Cendrars
1994: Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say; text: edited by Walter Lorraine

We really enjoyed The Big Snow and A Tree Is Nice, and they both ended up being the starter for a morning craft time.