Jump! By: Scott M. Fischer

 

Get ready to have a lot of excitement with the kiddos with this great book Jump!  Follow a bunch of creatures as they are sleeping and one after one get a little scare and each one Jumps.  My little girls go crazy with this book!  It seems like the more times I read it the louder and higher the Jumps come from them!  The author Scott Fischer said "'Jump' was actually a song long before it was a book" and here is a link to the video.
http://www.amazon.com/Jump-Scott-M-Fischer/dp/1416978844 (Just scroll down to the reviews and it is the first one listed)

I can't wait to show the video to my girls.  They definitely get as excited as the kiddos in the video when I read it. They will love that it has music and that they can see the book on the video too!  This book has a lot to offer from the rhymes, to the action word jump, to the jump of the page illustrations.  Do your kids a favor and check out this awesome book to add more fun to reading!

The Bear with Sticky Paws By: Clara Vulliamy

 Did you ever have a little one that doesn't do what you ask of them?  They run around screaming "No!" to everything you try to get them to do.  Lily is doing that same thing to her mommy this morning and when her mom has had enough and walks away a white fluffy bear shows up at her house.  They eat, and play and make great big messes!  But when Lilly wants to nap the bear yells "NO!"  And when Lilly has had enough and asks the Bear with Sticky Paws to clean up his mess he says "Mess? I don't know! I've got to go GOOD-BYE!" and off he goes.  When Lilly's mom comes back to the huge mess Lily is ready to cooperate, clean up and have a "huge hug, and one big kiss" from her Mom!  Lily finally learned her lesson from a bear who gave her a dose of her own medicine.

The illustrations in this book are whimsical and fun!  My girls love watching the mess the Bear makes and they enjoy counting all the food Lily serves the bear!  They like picking what they would eat (usually the ice cream and donuts).  It really is a true try acting like your kids sometime and they will beg you to stop!  If you and your child enjoy this book there are a few more books about the adventures of Lily and the Bear with Sticky Paws.

Love You Forever By: Robert Munsch Illustrated By: Sheila McGraw

The other day my oldest daughter Isabela grabbed this book off the bookshelf and began to read it.  She got interrupted reading it so when she got back to it she asked if I could read it to her and Emma my youngest daughter excitedly said "yea read it mommy!".  This book brings back memories of being in first grade and my teacher reading it to me.  I remember it made me feel so emotional.  Even today when I read it I tear up at the end!  While reading the book Isabela and Emma began talking about how they will live close to me always and we can take turns keeping our cat and take turns having dinner at our houses (which we all decided will be a lane apart from each other).

Love You Forever is about a mother and her son.  It is a story about growing old and how the love we have never changes for our children.  Love is everlasting.  This mother rocks her son to sleep singing "I'll love your forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my baby you'll be."  The song she sings never changes.  It doesn't change when he is two and ransacking the house, or when he is a teenager she can't understand, or a grown man who has left the house to start a life of his own.  She even travels across town to his house hoists a ladder into his window and picks the grown boy up to sing to him.  The story ends with the boy now a man picking his sick mother up and rocking her and singing her the same song she has sung to him his whole life.  He then returns home and picks up his baby daughter and rocks her and sings to her just the way his mother has done. 

This is such a pure and beautiful story!  We all hope that our children will love, respect and be there for us just as we are for them.

So grab your baby close no matter how old and enjoy this heartfelt story together!

Boo Hoo Bird By: Jeremy Tankard

 When Bird is hit in the head while playing a game of catch with Raccoon all of his animal friends take turns trying to make him feel better.  They each try something we all do for our little sweeties like hugs, kisses, band aids, a cookie, hide-and-seek (the great distraction technique), and when all these things don't seem to help and he is still crying "boo hoo hoo" all the friends begin to cry!  He eventually feels better and proves it by standing on his head. Then he starts playing another game of catch when...BONK he is hit again!  That always gets a big laugh!

The illustrations of the animals are quirky and cute and we have fun finding each of their little belly buttons!  My girls love this book and know that when they are crying "boo hoo hoo" Momma will do whatever it takes to get them smiling and pain free again!

Grab this book anytime you need to cheer your little one up from one of his/her boo hoo moments!

Brownie & Pearl Step Out By: Cynthia Rylant Pictures By: Brian Biggs

The adventures of a little girl Brownie and her spunky kitty Pearl are simple and fun to read. The Brownie & Pearl books are a great first reader for little girls. The pictures are cute and bright and my girls love that Brownie wears two different color socks.  In Brownie and Pearl steps out Brownie is a little apprehensive to knock on the door to go to a birthday party but Pearl goes right in leaving Brownie no choice but to knock.  They both have a lot of fun at the party and Brownie ends up happy she had the courage to go in!  (Thanks to Pearl)  If your child likes this story there is a whole set of Brownie & Pearl books to check out and have fun reading!

Have fun Stepping out to the library for this great read!

Bark, George By: Jules Feiffer

Bark George is an outrageous doggy story about a mother dog who wants her son George to bark. But every time George attempts to go "arf" another animal noise comes out of his mouth. She ends up taking George to the vet. The vet dons his gloves and pulls out a cat, duck, pig, and way deep, deep, deep down pulls out a cow! George then is able to bark and his mother is so happy she takes him for walk to show him off a bit. "So she said, Bark, George. And George went: Hello"                                                     

"He swallowed a person!" Isabela says giggling

The story couldn't be any sillier and my girls are always commenting "How would he get those animals down in his belly? He must have a big big mouth!" The illustrations of the vet are comical and make you chuckle as he gets his longest glove to remove the cow George has swallowed up. We also have seen the Scholastic DVD of this book and were delighted to hear the voice of John Lithgow who you might remember from 3rd Rock from the Sun and the kids might recall his voice from his popular children's music narrating the DVD.

Captain Buckleboots on the Naughty Step By: Mark Sperring Illustrated by: Tom McLaughlin

This book is about Sam and his naughty step.  The naughty step is all his (unlike the couch that daddy gets sent to when he is naughty) and he sits there all alone to think after doing something naughty.  Except for this day when Captain Buckleboots, a little monster, an astronaut, and a knight all sit down beside him after they themselves have been naughty.  After each explains their crimes they proceed to give a solution on how they will apologize and not let it happen again.  Captain Buckleboots has the biggest problem but Sam comes up with an idea to write an apology note.  After Sam is allowed up he then tries to follow his own advice and the advice of the others.

This book is so good!  The illustrations, the lesson and the humor make it a great read for all kids.  My girls love Pirates and can definitely relate to the subject matter of being sent to the naughty step...although they get a naughty chair. =)  It really helped me enforce why taking a step away from a situation and thinking is important.  It also shows the value of an apology and what behaviors are inappropriate. 


Here is to a swashbuckling good read!

Ready, Set, SKIP! By: Jane O'Connor Illustrated By: Ann James

Today's beautiful weather made me think of this book Ready, Set, SKIP!  I found this book when I was searching in the library for Jane O'Connor Fancy Nancy books for the girls.  I picked it up since the Fancy Nancy books were all checked out and I am glad I did because my girls loved this book!  Isabela would read this out loud and have fun with all the rhyming and silly verses in this story.  Both Emma and Isabela liked acting out all the things she can do in the book too.  Most of the time this book gets the girls skipping and hopping and galloping around the house!

The little girl in the book can't skip but she can tell you how many other funny and great things she can do.  Her mother gives her a little trick to help her skip.  She asks "can you hop on one foot and then the other that is skipping says my mother."  The little girl can't believe how good her mom is at skipping! She ends up mastering the art of skipping and wants to skip all the way to school.

Here's to nice weather, reading and skipping happily!

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day By: Judith Viorst Illustrated by: Ray Cruz

  

This awesome book is full of humor and tells the tale of a boy experiencing a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day" and thinking it might be better if he moves to Australia!  I love this book because it truly depicts how kids act when little things go wrong and how big they must seem to them!  The illustrations do an excellent job of displaying Alexanders emotions as he goes throughout his bad day. Your children will  love the character Alexander and will find many laughs in this book as he faces a whole day of bad luck. The picture to the right is Alexander displaying his disgust about having to wear his railroad-train pajamas that he hates!  Today my girls get to get their copy of the book signed by Judith Viorst because we are lucky enough to have her visiting our local library! 

" It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
My mom says some days are like that.  Even in Australia"

Me and my girls Emma & Isabela getting our copies of this book and Super-Completely and Totally the Messiest signed

The Author spoke to us and shared with us some of her poems today.  She is very witty and super funny!  Her books/poems are a true interpretation of marriage, kids, friendships and growing old and her use of humor makes it easy to laugh at everyday annoyances! Parents check out one of her books while you check out one of her children's books for your kid!

Here's to another great read!

Where's My Sweetie Pie? By: Ed Emberley

 Where's My Sweet Pie is a lift the flap board book that will have your little one giggling with delight!  The drawings are very sweet and children love opening the flaps to find out what is underneath. The search for sweetie pie has us uncovering adorable baby animals and insects until finally we find a pocket.  "In this pocket? In this locket?  There you are!  Hello sweetie pie!" then your child gets to find your sweetie pie in the heart shaped mirror on the last page of the book.

My sweetie pie Emma Greyce <3

Bye-Bye, Big Bad Bullybug! By: Ed Emberley

You better watch out if you are an itty-bitty baby bug because the Big Bad Bullybug is coming your way!  In this fun book you get to watch as a monster comes to life through die-cut pages that develop into this silly creature.  He is mean and scary and ready to eat all the itty-bitty baby bugs until WAIT...a big foot comes along and "SKWOOSH!".  The Big Bad Bullybug leaves and all the itty-bitty baby bugs have a shoe to thank!

Your kids will love all parts of this book and will get a good laugh from it too!  Don't forget to get your monster voice tuned up and your teeniest squeakiest voice ready to play the baby bugs. (The special effects add even more fun!)

My Go To Bed Book 50th Anniversary Special Edition By: Hildegarde Ford Illustrated By:Mary Win

My Go To Bed Book is such a sweet way to say goodnight to your little one.  It has charming illustrations and delightful rhymes that walk you through a bedtime routine.  Your children will love the simplicity of the message and will relate with the child's bedtime ritual.  It really is a classic book now celebrating its 50th anniversary!

Take a look at this website for information on this wonderful book which is also sold as an iPad app!  http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/mygotobedbook/index.html

A Bad Case Of Stripes By: David Shannon

A Bad Case Of Stripes is sure to grab your child's attention and having them wanting to read it again and again!  The illustrations are awesome!  The book is about a girl named Camilla Cream who even though she likes Lima beans pretends not to so she won't be picked on.  On her 1st day of school she can't decide what to wear because she wants everyone to like her.  She looks in the mirror and notices she is striped from head to toe!  The stripes turn to stars and stripes, polka dots, checkers, virtually anything anyone mentions takes form on her skin.  The doctors are stumped and give her pills but she only ends up turning into pill!  After an "Environmental Therapist" tells her to "become one with your room." she ends up becoming the walls and all the furniture around her!  Then a little old lady comes in and says she has the cure.  It is Lima beans.  Camilla pretends to hate Lima beans but wants nothing more than to eat the tasty beans.  She is too scared people will think she is weird but ends up telling her the truth, she loves them.  After eating the beans she is cured and back to her normal self.  The woman says to her "I knew the real you was in there somewhere."  The story ends with Camilla not caring if some kids think she is weird or different and she eats her beans and never has a case of the stripes again.  Again  a great entertaining way to get your kids to understand that they only need to be true to themselves...Weird or not!  Emma said after reading this book "I want to read it again Momma!" "Why?" I asked  "Because I like how she gets the stripes." =)

Take a look behind Camilla...It is Fergus!

Mop Top By: Don Freeman

Mop Top was written by Don Freeman who also wrote the very popular Corduroy books.  Mop Top is the tale of a boy who never wants to get his hair cut and is called "Moppy".  Moppy just wants to stay at home and play all day.  His mother sends him off with money to get his hair cut at the barbershop and along the way he encounters other things he thinks need cut instead of his hair.  When he arrives at the barbershop he gets cold feet and sneaks into the grocery store and hides with the mops.  Just then a woman in search of the perfect mop grabs onto his "mop" and he yells "Ouch! Let go!"  "I'm not a mop! I'm a boy!"  He runs to the barbershop and gets his hair cut and after seeing his new self he says "It's me!  It's me without that floppy old mop on top!  Hooray!"  On his trip home he notices everything he thought needed a haircut before as brand new and trimmed up.  The next day he celebrates his birthday and on the cake it written "Happy Birthday to Marty!" "which was his real and true name all the time and forevermore!" 

This fun story always gets a lot of giggles and the girls love seeing him before and after!  They also like that "he gets his name back!"  Don Freeman's illustrations in this book are nostalgic and a lot of fun.  So if you have a child in need of a trim or just looking for a great book pick this one up soon to share with your children!