When children read, their brains are being stimulated in all sorts of ways. First, they are often reading about new or unfamiliar subjects. Second, they are interpreting images as they read and lastly, they are tying it all together. Their vocabulary expands, pronunciation improves, and their confidence in reading aloud becomes tremendous. Besides improving how […]
The long-winded title of Tom Angleberger’s book, “Fake Mustache Or How Jodie O’Rodeo and Her Wonder Horse (And Some Nerdy Kid) Saved The U.S. Presidential Election From a Mad Genius Criminal Mastermind” is quite a mouthful! For the sake of time, space and breath, we’ll just call it “Fake Mustache.” Like its silly sounding title, […]
Weather turns from the warmth of summer days to crispy air, filled with the smells of nature taking a rest for winter months. November is a month of great change, warmth caused not by the sun, but by that of memories, love, and gratitude. November is a month to reflect on the gifts, blessings, and […]
All boys fantasize about being detectives…sleuths. I recently read “The Spaghetti Detectives” by Andreas Steinhöfel, and I found it to be a heartwarming mixture of comedy and real life from the perspective of a young boy who is not always accepted because he is different. At first I was a little put off by a […]
Over the years, I have found that children are sometimes left in the dark about the meaning behind Independence Day. With tomorrow being America’s day to celebrate all things about the land of the free and home of the brave, I thought kids and parents might like a few suggestions for books about our history, […]
If a storybook character could hold someone hostage and then make an unreasonable set of demands in exchange for their release, the best person for the job would be writer Mo Willem’s brainchild, the ever-so-demanding pigeon. In the bestselling Pigeon book series, Pigeon is forever in “I want” mode. Over time, Pigeon has asked for […]
“My ears are too beeg for my head. My head ees too beeg for my body. I am not a Siamese cat … I AM A CHIHUAHUA!” — Skippyjon Jones I used to own a beautiful Siamese cat. His name was Paws, and the thing about Paws was that he was completely, unrepentantly evil. […]
“On the first day of school, new friends are NOT actually friends yet. They are still strangers. And strangers are STRANGE.” Junie B. Jones Yesterday was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon for us locally. The sun was shining and all seemed right with the world. I popped into a French bistro for brunch and then headed […]
SARAH CYNTHIA SYLVIA STOUT WOULD NOT TAKE THE GARBAGE OUT “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would not take the garbage out! She’d scour the pots and scrape the pans, Candy the yams and spice the hams, And though her daddy would scream and shout, She simply would not take the garbage out. And so it piled […]
“Who is this creature with terrible claws and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws? He has knobbly knees and turned out toes anda poisonous wart at the end of his nose.His eyes are orange, his tongue is black, he has purple prickles all over his back.” –The Gruffalo As key people in children’s lives, […]