Let's read about the letter C - cats, cakes, carrots, cows, and cars! What else could we add to the list?
a new book from the author of goodnight moon!
The author of Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown, is no longer with us, and I assumed everything she had written was already out in the world for us to read. (And that's a lot of books! She was super prolific.) But what a surprise! She has a never before published children's book that just came out with new pictures by illustrator Greg Pizzoli. Let's take a peek!
North, South, East, West is about a baby bird who dreams of travelling the world and seeing new places. He sets out to fly north, south, east, and west to discover what he can learn. This is perfect for the preschooler crowd!
books to read on a sick day
Guys, GUYS, we have been sick at my house for I don't know how long. Actually, I do know how long - seven weeks. It started with a tickle in my throat which developed into a cold that wouldn't end. I gave said cold to my ten year old who gave it to his four year old brother. Once the cold cleared after weeks and weeks, the ten year old got a stomach bug, the husband finally got the horrible cold. Yesterday, I thought we had the all clear. We even got to go outside and walk to the playground. Last night, my four year old got the stomach bug. Sigh.
To quote the mom in "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No good, Very Bad Day", "Some days are like that. Even in Australia." Some days are just going to be sick days, especially when you have school-aged kids in the house. Here is a list for those days when the sniffles and the tummy troubles just won't leave you alone.
**This post contains affiliate links which means I might get a small fee if you buy something from this post. It doesn't cost you anything extra and it helps me support my blogging habit. Win/win! Rest assured that all book picks listed are purely my opinion. Thanks!
Amos McGee is a zookeeper who loves his animals, and the animals love him too. When he has to stay home with a cold, the animals miss him.
When Sister is home sick from school, it's a long day for her and Momma!
A great easy reader about one silly sick day!
Bear gets a cold, and his friends do their best to take care of him.
Did you know that dinosaurs get sick too? We love these dinosaur books because they are so relatable for kids and the illustrations are so hilarious!
happy international women's day!
Think back to when you were a kid. What books do you remember reading? What book characters were your favorites? I'll admit that I love a good princess story or fairytale, but I can definitely see the need to strike a balance in what our kids read - a balance between princess stories where a male character typically saves the day and stories that show our kids that girls and women can be just as strong and independent as boys and men.
I think we need more books that show women and young girls doing "boy things" and also need more books showing boys and men doing "girl things". The other day, my four year old came to me and said, "I want to be a girl because I want to dance ballet and only girls get to do that." Well, straight to You Tube we went to watch videos of some of the best male ballet dancers do their thing. Having books that show anyone can do anything is good for both boys and girls.
What do you think?
I love this video about the Rebel Girls book! I love this idea. Watch this video and support their cause if you are interested. I think I will pick up a few copies to give to the little girls in my life, and I might even keep a copy for myself!
spring time reads: miss maple's seeds by eliza wheeler
Do you have a green thumb? Planting a garden, whether for vegetables or flowers, is a magical experience and a great activity to share with a child. Nothing is more fascinating and hopeful than choosing types of seeds, planting them in warm soil, and waiting for life to spring up to the surface. It's a lesson in patience and faith, and you get something pretty or delicious to show for it! I unfortunately have a pretty black thumb, and my backyard is a shady swamp. A veggie patch has never been an option until recently. Unfortunately, a giant tree in my yard had to come down. The silver lining is maybe, just maybe I will get enough light this spring and summer for a little patch of tomatoes or herbs. Fingers crossed!
This charming picture book, Miss Maple's Seeds by Eliza Wheeler, is all about the life cycle of a seed with a touch of whimsy and magic. Miss Maple is a miniature, Thumbelina-sized woman who travels the world searching for seeds that have been lost during spring planting. She brings her collection back to her home in a giant maple tree and lovingly cares for them until they are ready to go forth into the world to grow into flowers, vegetables, and trees.
There is a lot to love about this book. For one, the world the author created is so sweet and unique. Miss Maple sails through the air on a dandelion. She has pet blue birds that carry baskets of seeds on their backs like saddles. Her home in a giant maple tree has all of these little baby cribs each with a seed snuggled in for the night. It is all so heartwarming.
I also love the lessons MIss Maple teaches her seed babies because they are lessons people need to learn too. She takes them out in the rain to teach them to not be afraid of storms. She tells them to remember that all big trees started as small seeds.
This is a great book to read as a starting point for conversations with your kids about being brave, being kind and compassionate like MIss Maple is to her seeds, and in a more practical sense, about starting a plan for a spring garden
tea party time! town mouse, country mouse by jan brett
Well hellooooooo there! (said in my best upper crust Queen of England accent) Let's have a little tea time/ story time with Jan Brett, a warm cuppa, and some delicious blueberry scones.
This is the story of a mouse husband and wife who live in the country and are tired of all of the hard work and the dangerous barn owls. Surely the city is an easier place to live. This is also the story of a mouse husband and wife who live in the city and are tired of all of the hard work and the dangerous house cat. Surely the country is a more carefree place to live. When they swap places, they find that sometimes there is no place like home.
Jan Brett usually sets her stories in a specific country, and she has set this classic tale in the English countryside. Her attention to the detail when it comes to staying true to the chosen location's culture is really special. Here all of the country animals have tweeds and hunting attire, and the city animals are dressed in silk stockings and brocade vests. Brett's ability to illustrate a story is unparalleled. Her pages are very detailed and are the kind of pages a reader can find something new every time they read.
This book would be a wonderful pairing with tea and traditional tea time snacks. Slice cucumbers and put on toast squares with a little cream cheese. Purchase a few petit fours from your local bakery, or try this recipe for blueberry scones from one of my favorite blogs for healthy and delicious, family-friendly food, 100 Days of Real Food.
happy mardi gras!
Carnival time is coming to a close, and tomorrow is Fat Tuesday! It's time to laissez le bon temps roulez even if your home is no where near a parade route. Here is a list of some great reads to get you in a Mardi Gras state of mind, and while you read, set a pot of red beans simmering on the stove. Every Monday in New Orleans is red beans and rice day. Traditionally speaking, it was because Monday was also laundry day, and red beans is a dish that can cook without much fuss since the cook was busy washing clothes. Modern washing machines might free up more time to cook, but cooking red beans on a Monday is still a tradition because, well, they are tasty!
A little girl named Mimi is going to celebrate Mardi Gras for the first time! Her mom and dad wake her up early to get ready for their day. They put on costumes and head out to watch parade floats cruise by with krewe members throwing out beads, candy, and other treats. This book does a great job of teaching kids about all of the most important Mardi Gras traditions - king cake, costumes, marching bands, and the king of Mardi Gras, King Rex.
Jenny the Giraffe lives in New Orleans and loves learning more about her town's history and traditions. In Jenny Giraffe's Mardi Gras Ride, Jenny gets to ride on a real parade float where she tosses colored bead necklaces to parade-goers. The parade ends in one big party that Jenny will never forget!
Here is my recipe for red beans and rice, to be eaten any day but especially Monday.
Ingredients:
1 onion
1 green bell pepper
3 celery stalks
2 bay leaves
Cajun seasoning
2 lb. bag of dried red kidney beans
smoked Cajun sausage
white rice
Directions:
1. Soak beans overnight in enough water to cover them by two inches.
2. The next day, drain the beans and rinse them.
3. Dice the onion, celery, and bell pepper.
4. In a large pot, heat a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil. When it is hot, add the diced veggies.
5. Saute for a few minutes, until they get soft and glossy. Once they are done, add the beans and enough water to cover the beans.
6. add the bay leaves and a pinch of salt and Cajun seasonings.
7. simmer until the beans are soft. I like my beans really, really soft, so I simmer mine until a portion of the beans have broken down into almost a paste and they are thick. This takes about one and a half to two hours. Keep adding water when it gets too low.
8. When beans are done, adjust seasonings to taste. Split sausage down the middle lengthwise without slicing completely through. Grill or saute sausage cut side down until browned and heated through.
9. Serve beans with rice and sausage. Yum!
my kids book shopping list
What's on your book shopping list? There are new releases that I have my eyes on, and I can't wait to read them!
**This post contains affiliate links, and that means Booktomato gets a small fee when you buy something through the links on this page. However, all opinions stated here are purely my own.
Bunny loves to hop on over to story time at the library. This looks like a sweet read for preschoolers.
This is the true story of a pet cat's journey to be reunited with his family after they are forced to leave their home country and become refugees.
This is a never been published Margaret Wise Brown book with new illustrations by Greg Pizzoli.
This would be perfect to inspire artists-in-the-making!
11 kids books about rainy days
Call me crazy, but I just love a good dreary day, I crave cool weather, drizzling rain, good socks, good tea, good books. This time of year when winter transitions into spring tends to bring a good bit of rain, and just because the weather is wet doesn't mean that all the fun needs to happen indoors! A rainy day can be one of the best times to play outside as long as sturdy rain boots can be found.
Here are eleven great picture books celebrating rainy day fun. Do you have any to add to the list?
picture book-inspired kids tv
I know what you might be thinking, because maybe it's what I was thinking too - Isn't the term "book-inspired television" a bit of a contradiction in terms, or maybe a way of justifying screen time because it's about a book so it must be more educational that other shows?
Well, I'm not saying that those first reactions aren't warranted, and for sure, reading a book is way more valuable in terms of experiences than watching a movie or show based on the book. However, everybody needs a little candy to balance out those kale chips, and I've noticed lately that streaming services that are providing their own original content are creating kid's shows based on picture books and children's novels. I find that interesting.
I am in no way paid by Amazon to say this, but their "Prime" streaming service has been bringing it in terms of book-inspired shows. We have been watching this Japanese animation series based on Astrid LIndgren's novel by the same name, Ronja the Robber's Daughter. We love it! Ronja is the daughter of the chief of a band of thieves that live in a magical forest, and she goes on lots of adventures. So far (we haven't watched the whole series yet), it seems to stick pretty true to the book.
Other shows that we found on Amazon's streaming service include a movie based on the classic picture book, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, and an original show called Bookaboo featuring a cute little British dog who loves to read.
I really hope other streaming services follow their lead and book-based kid's programming becomes a bigger trend.
What do you think? Do you like seeing book-based shows, or do you think it deters kids from reading the actual book? What books would you like to see turned into a show?
the madeline legacy continues!
Did you grow up reading about the twelve little girls in two straight lines, and that old house that they lived in, covered with vines? I treasured my Madeline books, so I was curious when I saw that Madeline author, Ludwig Bemelmans, had a grandson who was taking up the Madeline torch and continuing the stories.
You never know when a remake is going to be great or going to be something you wish never happened as to not tarnish the image of the original in your mind. (I'm looking at you, sequel to To Kill A Mockingbird.) I love the originals so much that reading a new Madeline story had me a bit nervous. But, rejoice! I liked them, and my preschooler found them just as entertaining as the originals.
John Bemelmans Marciano is the grandson of the original author, and he has written three new Madeline stories: Madeline in Rome, Madeline at the White House, and this one, Madeline and the Old House in Paris.
In this story, Lord Cucuface, that meddlesome, snooty-tooty, sometimes mean Head of School, pays the girls a visit. While he is inspecting the place, he discovers a beautiful, old telescope and decides to take it home.
With the telescope gone, the girls start to hear strange, ghastly noises coming from the attic. They investigate to find that the ghost of a scientist haunts their house, and he wants his telescope back! Fortunately, he is a friendly ghost, and Madeline and Pepito (the bad hatted boy next door) hatch a plan to get that telescope back!
I found the writing style with its bouncy fun rhymes to be just like the originals, maybe even, dare I say it, a little better because it was a tad more on the modern side. It used the type of language we use today, so my preschooler understood the rhymes better. The illustrations aren't quite as detailed as the originals, but they still bring us into that Madeline, Parisian world. We really enjoyed it.
a book list for little inventors!
*This post contains affiliate links meaning that when you buy something from this page, the blog gets a small fee at no cost to you. However, the opinions stated below are purely my own.
Have you read any of the latest studies on how kids learn and what makes a successful student? I think about this a lot because, well, I have kids, and who doesn't want their kids to succeed? All of the latest research shows that it's not what our kids learn but how they learn it that matters. The term "grit" has become a big time buzz word. We all want our kids to have grit - the ability to fail, fail again, and keep trying however long it takes until they get the right answer. Honestly, I am struggling to teach my older child, now a fourth grader, how to be gritty. He's lucky in that certain academic subjects come easily to him, and he manages to get "good" grades without a lot of effort. What this means is whenever he encounters something that is actually difficult, he tends to crumble and give up (and the older he gets, the harder school gets, the more this happens). So, what do I do?
I think for starters, I want him to read books about inventors. Inventors throughout time have been the ultimate possessors of grit. Most inventions took lifetimes to get right, and through each prototype, the inventor failed and didn't give up.
Here is a list of kids books about inventors for everyone that wants to work on their grit-factor.
Small Inventions That Make a Big Difference is such a fantastic book! It starts with a section on how actual inventors got started with practical tips like how to get a patent, and it ends with a look at seemingly small inventions that factor into our everyday lives. It's organized into an alphabet list from aluminum foil all the way to zippers.
11 Experiments That Failed has been featured on the blog before, and to me, it deserves the Grit Award of the Year! Okay, that doesn't exist, but it should. This book shows eleven curious kids from around the world who each had a hypothesis they wanted to prove. Each hypothesis was wrong, and each series of experiments failed miserably. That's the point! Repeat after me: Failure is good. Failure is good.
One summer, we were on vacation in Florida, and we got to tour the home of inventor Thomas Edison. It was so neat! His laboratory is set up with all of his equipment as if he had just stepped out of some coffee. Edison's inventions have stood the test of time, and Who Was Thomas Alva Edison? is a great little book for kids to learn about his life and work.
Rosie Revere, Engineer, along with the book before it Iggy Peck, Architect, is inspiring and funny, and you will find yourself reciting lines from it all day long!
Papa's Mechanical Fish is another great picture book that shows how inventing something new is hard work, and the finished product is something that comes after lots and lots of mistakes. I love the illustrations, too!
What To Do With An Idea? is the story of one child with an amazing idea. At first, the idea seems to big and daunting to make a reality, but little by little, the child starts to believe in himself until he makes his idea happen.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a fantastical story that both adults and kids can find entertaining, and the inventions that Hugo creats make the story original and unique.
some of our favorite coretta scott king award winners
In keeping with our month long celebration of African-American history, let's also celebrate the African-American present with some of the amazing award recipients of the Coretta Scott King Award. Every year, several books are given the honor to place the black and gold award symbol on their cover. Here are a couple of our favorites.
Gone Crazy in Alabama is the 2016 winner and the third book in the trilogy about the Gather sisters, three strong little girls growing up in rural Alabama. All three books are a must read for middle grade elementary age kids.
This autobiographical picture book by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews tells his story of growing up in the Jazz tradition of New Orleans. The illustrations are gorgeous!
The original words by beloved poet, Langston Hughes with award-winning photographs by Charles R. Smith Jr.
This collection of 12 poems celebrates the beautiful variety of skin tones within the African-American ethnic heritage. Most of the poems are narrated by children, and they use gorgeous imagery and language on each page.
friends forever by roald kaldestad and bjorn rune lie
When you were a kid, did you ever have a best friend move away? I was six when my family moved to a new city six hours away from where we were living and six hours away from my best friend who lived next door. I was devastated. Big life changes are just as hard for kids as they are for adults, maybe sometimes even harder. Kids are still learning to process and make sense of their emotions, and losing a best friend can be difficult.
I like to use age-appropriate books to help my kids handle big life lessons. Reading about a character that is going through the same thing my kid is going through really helps in so many ways. They get to see how the character deals with the same problem. They are comforted by the fact that they aren't the only person in the world dealing with the issue. Reading about life lessons gets the ball rolling between me and my kid, and we have more meaningful conversations after reading. With this in mind, I was so excited when Berlin-based children's book publisher offered to send me a copy of one of their latest books, Friends Forever.
This Norwegian-translated picture book by Roald Kaldestad and Bjorn Rune Lie is a perfect choice for kid dealing with losing a friend.
A boy misses his best friend every time it rains. Since she moved away, he feels lonely and isolated from everyone around him, even his classmates and family. One day, the mailman brings him a surprise letter from her with a chocolate bar inside. The treat makes him feel a little better, but a chocolate bar isn't the same as having his friend back. In the end, a new girl moves into the house next door, and the boy opens himself up to making new friends.
The emotional mood in this picture book is very strong, and the illustrations by Bjorn Rune Lie create scenes on the page that use the boy's outer world to reflect his inner world. Gloomy, rainy, overcast, and with swirling winds blowing everything up in the air are the best ways to describe his outer view and also his inner view.
I like that this story didn't try to solve the boy's problem right away. So many times, when my kids are struggling with something, I tend to rush in and try to make things better. Even though the story ends on a hopeful note for the boy, this book doesn't try to rush him through his emotions. He is allowed to be sad and mad about losing his best friend. That notion that every one grieves on their own time is a lesson that I found very valuable in this story. The publisher labelled this as a book best suited for ages 6-9, and that sounds about right.
Thank you to Little Gestalten for sending me a copy of Friends Forever! If you haven't checked out the book publisher that the New York Times Style section says "marries thoughtful storytelling with supercool visuals", go to the Little Gestalten website to browse from their amazing selection. On the front page of their web shop, they quote George Bernard Shaw, "Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself." I couldn't agree more!
digging for dinosaurs by aliki
There is an amazing author that I love, one that has written and illustrated books for kids for over 60 years, whose work subjects span from dinosaurs, how mummies are made, Shakespeare, how bread is baked and much more. This author goes by the simple pen name of Aliki, and she has contributed so much to the world of kid lit!
Her book, Digging For Dinosaurs, is perfect for budding paleontologists ages 5 and up. The story goes from a museum featuring dinosaur fossils and bones to out in the field where scientists work to find and dig up ancient remains.
What I love about Aliki's work is that she writes with a clarity that is easy to understand and engaging, and she understands how to explain her subjects in a way that makes the most sense for kids.
Story Time Conversation
- What is your favorite dinosaur?
- Of all of the people who work with fossils, which job would you most like? Paleontologist? Museum specialist? Geologist?
- Which dinosaurs are plant eaters? Which dinosaurs are meat eaters?
bear sees colors by karma wilson and jane chapman
You've seen one book about colors, you've seen them all, right? Sometimes it does feel that way. Over the years, I feel like I've read so many books that set out to teach preschoolers to identify their colors. Well, let me tell you that even if you have a million color books on your shelves, you still need one more! You need Bear Sees Colors by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman.
"Mouse and Bear are walking; they are chitter-chatter-talking. So much for them to do. And the bear sees . . . "
Blue! And green! And yellow! In this book, Bear and his forest friends go tromping through the forest, and as they walk, they find that the forest is a very colorful place. There are blue rivers, red berries, yellow honey combs, and much more.
Bear Sees Colors features the same style all of the Bear books have: a rhyming story, sweet forest friends, adorable illustrations, and a happy story that preschoolers are sure to love. Every book shelf needs at least a couple of Bear books!
What do you think? Do you have a favorite color book that I need to know about?
kids books about classic bears
his post contains affiliate links which means that if you purchase any of the books listed today, Booktomato gets a small fee. However, my book choices are purely my own. Thanks for supporting businesses that support this blog.
Do you have a favorite bear character from childhood? There are so many good ones. My favorite as a kid was my Teddy Ruxpin doll. Do you remember Teddy Ruxpin? He was so cute, and he could "read" stories to me. I rewound that cassette tape that he came with over and over again. It was great!
Here are our picks for the best books with classic bear characters.
it's a small world after all: everybody eats and a series by norah dooley and peter j. thornton
We love this series by Norah Dooley and pictures by Peter J. Thornton. In each book, readers can learn about how although we all come from different places with different customs and recipes, we have so much in common and really are one big family on one small planet.
Each book starts with the premise of sending a child on an errand around the neighborhood, and at each house, the child finds a family from a different country cooking a different food. In Everybody Bakes Bread, Carrie's mom is baking her great-grandmother's recipe for Italian bread. She needs a rolling pin and sends Carrie around the neighborhood to borrow one. Along the way, Carrie gets to try coconut bread from Barbados, Indian flat bread, Jewish challah, and pupusa, a cheesy bread from El Salvador.
Each book comes with recipes from the story. Check them out!
a kids book for your funny bone!
Tell me your best bad joke, like a really bad one. In my house, we call bad jokes "dad jokes". My husband loves to tell the corniest jokes he can think of, and it is tradition for everyone to groan after he gets to the punch line.
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Boo.
Boo who?
Do I need to say the last line, or do you already know how it goes? To be honest, this time of year always gets me a little bit down. It's been dark and rainy for many months now. Christmas break is long past, and spring break isn't anywhere in sight. Our days are filled with laundry, dishes, homework, and emails that have to be answered right now. Does this time of year make you feel the same? Let's shake off the gloomies with some bad jokes.
My older son received this little joke book, Monkeyfarts, as a birthday gift several years ago. The mom who picked it out for him has five kids, so she obviously knows what kids like! He has read this from cover to cover so many times. Nothing is better than looking over at a child snuggled up on the couch with a book that makes him laugh. This book is filled with all the tried and true kid jokes that will make any elementary school age (6-10) kid crack up.
CHALLENGE OF THE DAY: tell a bad joke to the first person you see after reading this!
alan's big, scary teeth by jarvis
Do you have a secret that no one knows? Alan the alligator definitely does! He has a reputation in the jungle for being mean and scary, and all the other animals are frightened of him. His shining, sharp teeth are the scariest part of Alan's appearance. Alan loves his teeth, and he loves being the meanest animal in the whole jungle.
But like I mentioned before, Alan has a secret. At night, when he is getting ready for bed and no one is looking, Alan takes out his teeth and puts in a jar!
When the animals discover Alan's secret, at first they are shocked, and then, they can't stop laughing. This book is great for dealing with kids' social issues like bullying, making fun of others, and getting along as friends.
I love the artwork in this book too! It is bright and happy, and preschoolers will find it very engaging. Recommended age: preschool