Little Life Lessons

I did my first event last weekend at Ho-Chunk in Wisconsin Dells (hello to everyone I met there!). I had a really nice time and met a lot of wonderful customers and vendors.

Quite a number of people came up to my table asking if we carried potty training books or big brother/sister books, etc. Although we don't carry books like that, many of our books are more than just stories - they're often about learning about yourself, seeing that it's okay to be different, and other great childhood lessons!

Here are just a few examples:

Ages 3-7

Find out what happens when Sam wakes up and finds that he's shrinking! No one will listen to him but his pencil is the size of a crocodile and one pea fills his whole tummy at dinner. This quirky story addresses the woes of a middle child, who is in need of a little attention.

(One of the most recent favorites in our house!)

Watch out - Emily is off and running again! This little girl has a problem with her temper, and every time she gets angry she turns into quite the little tiger. This quirky picture book addresses behavioral issues with humor and an emphasis on intergenerational relationships.

 

 Join Ruby on her way to school and see the world her mom cannot see. In an old house, she spies bats with red eyes peering out and scary witches that flit about. And these aren’t the only dangers on her path: tigers, crocodiles and mighty beasts abound! "I must be brave, I must be strong," chants Ruby as she musters the nerve to scare them off; but will it work?

  

Ages 4-10

 Climb to the top of Lonesome Mountain to meet a very special boy named Rink — every full moon, he grows flowers all over his body. This heartwarming story celebrates difference and friendship, as Rink meets a girl with her own secret, and they discover ways to help each other.

 

Meet Herb, a dragon who knows how to stay true to his values even in the stickiest of situations. When he is captured by the castle's knights in armor, vegetarian Herb is faced with a difficult decision: will he eat meat in order to save his own life?

the Shape of a book

Last fall, Milena and I spent a month learning about various shapes. We drew shapes, found them in everyday objects around our house, sang songs about shapes, and read lots and lots of books! I've listed some of our favorites below. I love them all, because they each inspired Milena to think about shapes differently, and they definitely made learning more fun! 

Each of these books shows the possibilities hidden inside a simple shape.

You will love this song until you realize you will never get it out of your head!

Emily's Tiger - sorting through emotions

Sometimes when Milena gets upset, she gets VERY UPSET! Which I think is fairly normal for a three year old. Life is still very confusing and unfair at times, and controlling those emotions is difficult. "Emily's Tiger" is a great book to pull off the shelf when Milena's having a particularly awful day. 

When Emily gets angry, she turns into quite the little tiger. Her parents aren't sure what they're going to do with her. But then Grandma shows up, and shares a little secret with Emily (shhhh! she can turn into a tiger too!). 

Milena loves Emily! The illustrations are great, and the Grandma is so much fun (love the inter-generational relationship!). The story gives kids the knowledge that they are in control of their feelings, even if they're not in control of the situation.

Other Barefoot Books titles with similar themes:

 Shrinking Sam

"Find out what happens when Sam wakes up and finds that he's shrinking! ... This quirky story addresses the woes of a middle child, who is in need of a little attention." But really it's a great read for anyone who sometimes feels ignored.

Ruby's School Walk

"Join Ruby on her way to school and see the world her mom cannot see. In an old house, she spies bats with red eyes peering out and scary witches that flit about. And these aren’t the only dangers on her path: tigers, crocodiles and mighty beasts abound! 'I must be brave, I must be strong,' chants Ruby as she musters the nerve to scare them off; but will it work." This is the perfect book for any kid unsure about starting at a new school or trying anything new and different. And it's an eye-opener for parents as well!

Endowing - Non Fiction

Milena is constantly endowing us as someone other than ourselves. So often, in fact, that last week when she said that I was mama, Jess was daddy, and she was Milena, I found myself a little confused about which game we were playing (and then realized we weren't playing a game! oh yes. I am mama!).

This is a fun (though sometimes tiring) way to play through Milena's favorite stories and bring her favorite characters to life. But I recently realized that basically everyone we "are" is someone fictitious. 

One of  my favorite children's lit finds from this past holiday season was the book "My Name Is Not Isabella" by Jennifer Fosberry (there is another version for boys titled, "My Name Is Not Alexander"). In "My Name Is Not Isabella," a little girl goes through her day pretending to be great women from history (e.g. Rosa Parks, Elizabeth Blackwell, Sally Ride). 

This is what I want for Milena! I would love for these women (and men) to be as natural a part of her play as Disney princesses and the Octonauts (our current favorite TV show). So now when we visit the library, we make sure to check out biographies along with our picture books and chapter books. 

 We enjoy the "My First Biography" and "Rookie Biographies" series the most. Today we read the Rookie Biography of Dr. Seuss. Milena was so excited to see pictures of him alongside some of her favorite books, and it was great to finally give her an idea of who Dr. Seuss is, since she's always hearing his name. (I always try to mention the author's name when reading the title of a book; I love when books include pictures of the author (and illustrator)! )

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And while visiting Amazon to grab the links for these books, I discovered a new Isabella book being released in February! "Isabella: Girl on the Go"

Also, Barnes & Noble sells an Isabella paper doll set, and I desperately want to buy it for Milena! But I think she's a bit too young for them right now ... (but I'm not!).

Early Readers

“Research shows that it is not until eighth grade that a student's reading level catches up to his or her listening level. Until that time, most students are capable of hearing, understanding, and enjoying material that is more complicated than what they could read.” (Jim Trelease) (via Reading with Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers) It really makes sense once you think about it (my 3 year old still can't read, but she has spent the past 3 years willingly listening to me read books!), but I think we, as parents, often forget this fact - or at least don't take it quite far enough and, instead, stick mainly to board books and shorter picture books.

When Milena was 2.5, we started reading some early readers to her at bedtime like Frog & Toad and Little Bear. These are great because each chapter is a separate story. As her third birthday approached, she began to pull out her Beatrix Potter collection more and more often (which I loved, as I'm a big Beatrix Potter fan!).

Recently, the mama behind In Lieu of Preschool began talking about the chapter books she was reading with her (nearly) 4 year old. They were currently reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle, but had started with The Magic Tree House series. I think I picked our first Magic Tree House book up from the library that same day!

We started with Pirates Past Noon (#4), because that was the earliest book of the series the library had, and I was too excited to wait for #1! My plan was to read one chapter each day before nap time (and possibly another before bed), but one chapter quickly turned into two or three (before nap AND bed), and we finished the book in just two or three days. Luckily, I came across Dinosaurs Before Dark (#1) at the thrift store yesterday (along with four more Magic Tree House books), so we're set for awhile (although we already read three chapters today ..).


The books are simple enough (and the chapters are short enough) that Milena doesn't seem to have trouble following the story. I make sure to stop every so often to help her picture what's happening, and we always talk about what we read the previous day before reading more.


I love this series because it covers so many different topics (dinosaurs, knights, space, weather) that there's a little something for everyone. And it's exciting to think that someday soon Milena will be able to pick these off her shelf and start reading them all by herself!

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Which books are current bedtime favorites at your house?