Thursday, May 8, 2008

Ah, Books

Two weeks of library favorites summed up right here...

Where Did That Baby Come From?
by Debi Gliori
It's hard to be a big tiger when a baby tiger joins the household. After a lot of speculation as to the cub's origins, the older one concludes that it's probably an earthling like the rest of us. I wasn't too fond of this one, really, but Elise seemed to love it.

Billy Tibbles Moves Out!
by Jan Fearnley
Billy does not want to share his own private bedroom with his baby brother. Parents insist and do a lot of talking about everyone sharing. The kittens "share" alright, and we get to giggle at the grumpy daddy when he gets exactly what he says he wants.

One of Each
by Mary Ann Hoberman, Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman
Oliver Tolliver is a pretty clever dog and clearly very good at keeping a well-ordered house. It takes a cat to inject some constructive criticism and give him a chance to shine. I love the way this is written-the rhythm and rhyme scheme are just fantastic and a joy to read aloud.

I Like Things
by Margaret Hillert, Illustrated by Lois Axeman
We like collecting things here, and so does the kid in this book. It's in with the easy-reader books because the words are simple and the vocabulary is small. Maybe that's the biggest part of its charm. Elise and I learned all kinds of new ways to categorize and play with some of the things she likes to collect.

Beetle Bop
by Denise Fleming
Elise really, really likes bugs. They're fun to watch and play with. So, seeing lots of bright, colorful beetles in a book is right up her alley. Reading this gave me the idea to get some ladybugs to try to cull the aphid population that is currently making our sidewalk sticky and our trees look sickly.

Silent Kay and the Dragon
by Larry Dane Brimner, illustrated by Bob McMahon
I absolutely loved this book. It's from the "A Rookie Reader" series, and just very well done. Kay is a young (female!) knight who goes to slay a dragon, and the adventure revolves around words in which the k is silent. Brilliant. I'm going to look for more of these-they're hilarious!

How Many Fish?
by Caron Lee Cohen, illustrated by S.D. Schindler
Elise picked this one up in response to our recent trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and spent the week enjoying counting the fish. I think I got to read it to her once, and the rest of the time she "read" it to herself.

Wake Up, Big Barn!
by Suzanne Tanner Chitwood
This was one of the librarian's selections for storytime, and Elise loved it. The illustrations are interesting and lovely, but I have to say I didn't get much out of the words. Pretty book, though.

Let's Talk About Feeling Sad
by Joy Berry
We've been having some anxiety and worry issues around here, so when I saw this on the shelf I grabbed it. Not a real expert on talking about feelings, I've been looking for a way to get Elise engaged in a dialogue, and this was it. We both really enjoyed reading (and rereading) this book, and if I can't find the rest of the series at the library I'm tempted to buy them.

A Summery Saturday Morning
by Margaret Mahy, illustrated by Selina Young
A nicely done rhythmic, rhyming story about a family's adventures on a summer morning. I totally want to go along with them.

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