Thankful Tuesday

I'm feeling thankful this Tuesday, for sunny weather and a job that I love at a wonderful library in a great community. Here are a few books expressing thanks in a variety of ways. A young child expresses thanks for a body that can see, feel, listen, and wonder about the love and beauty of the world we live in. A beautiful picture book illustrates the words to a song about feeling grateful. An adorable brown bear searches for someone who can see his unique gift in a special way and finds a great friend in the process. Enjoy!

All of Me! A Book of Thanks by Molly Bang

A celebration of how the body's parts work together, from hands and eyes to lips and heart, allowing one to exist in the wondrous universe. Includes instructions for making a book. Fans of Molly Bang will get a glimpse inside her artist's studio.

Grateful: a Song of Giving Thanks by John Bucchino

An illustrated version of John Bucchino's song of giving thanks and celebrating the gifts of life.

Thank You Bear by Greg Foley

Despite the criticism of others, a bear finds the perfect gift for his mouse friend. Great extension idea: find a shoebox or a large refrigerator box (check at local appliance stores for a free one!) and spend the afternoon creating a new play space for your child or one of his or her toys. A little imagination can take you to wonderful places! 

Pick of the Week: Beep Beep!

Are you doing any traveling during the next few weeks with a baby or toddler?
Here's a fun board book you might enjoy.

Beep Beep by Petr Horacek (board book)

 A family has a wonderful time traveling...going broom, broom through the town and vroom, vroom, along the highway...all the way to Grandma's house!

What Are You Thankful For?

In what ways do you share your feelings of thankfulness and gratitude with your family? What are you thankful for this year? What is your child thankful for? How about starting a tradition of writing down or having your children draw what they are thankful for each year of their lives. Looking back at the results over the years can lead to warm memories and sometimes a giggle or two.

In Lisa McCourt's The Most Thankful Thing, a young girl looks at old photos of her mother in her mother's scrapbook to figure out what her mother is most thankful for.

Pick of the Week: Yummy Eight - Favorite Fairy Tales

Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales by Lucy Cousins (Candlewick Press, 2009)

Just one look at the cover of this book and you'll know it might not be the best to share with very young children (or those easily frightened!). However, this is one of the best books introducing fairy tales that I've seen for young children. Lucy Cousins' (famous for her Maisy books) illustrations are bold, bright, and depict the stories so well! Each fairy tale is simply told, which is a great introduction to classic tales that can often be too long for some children to sit through. The eight stories that are included are Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Enormous Turnip, Henny Penny, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Little Red Hen, The Three Little Pigs, and The Musicians of Bremen.

Insects!

Insects - for some - are fascinating creatures that can be both beautiful and intriguing. For others, insects are at the least - slightly annoying - and at the worst - frightening pests. After living in the Midwest for a few years and sharing both the outdoors and indoors with numerous strange (to me!) insects, I'm not too sure how I feel about these creatures. But they can definitely make great characters in children's books! If you are a fan (or have a young insect fan) at home, you might be interested in these following books:

Mr. Mosquito Put On His Tuxedo by Barbara Olenyik Morrow

Mr. Mosquito saves the insect ball from an intruding bear.

Insectlopedia: Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian

Presents twenty-one short poems about such insects as the inchworm, termite, cricket, and ladybug.

Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! by Bob Barner

A nonsense rhyme introduces children to familiar bugs. Includes a fun facts sections.

Roberto the Insect Architect by Nina Laden

No one will hire Roberto the architect because he also happens to be a termite, so he sets off to the city to find success on his own.

Diary of a Fly by Doreen Cronin

A young fly discovers, day by day, that there is a lot to learn about being an insect, including the dangers of flypaper and that heroes come in all shapes and sizes.

Save the date: Autism Workshop coming in February 2010

SAVE THE DATE!

Autism Workshop February 27, 2010

Living and Working with Children with Autism/Asperger

Parents and professionals will enjoy a workshop filled with practical strategies to help children with autism and Asperger Syndrome. Learn how to set up the home, school or child care environment so problems can be avoided and children can be successful. Kristi Sakai is a nationally recognized highly engaging speaker and author of Finding Our Way: Practical Solutions for Creating a Supportive Home and Community for the Asperger Syndrome Family. She will share her approach to everyday problems like food, sleep, transitions, handling meltdowns, social and sexual behavior, and home-school communication.

When: Saturday, February 27                9 to 4:30 PM         

(Lunch on your own 12 - 1:30)

Where: Linn-Benton Community College, Albany campus

Cost: $25    Inquire about partial scholarships.

Call: 541-917-4949 for more information and to register.

Pick of the Week: How Do You Wokka-Wokka?

 

How Do You Wokka-Wokka? by Elizabeth Bluemle, illustrated by Randy Cecil (Candlewick Press, 2009)

The narrator tells us, "some days you wake up and you just gotta wokka." Everybody moves in their own unique way. This book is so full of rhythm, rhyme and movement that children may want to get up and dance along. This is a delight (and a bit of a fun challenge) to read aloud. You just might find yourself inspired to make up your own silly rhymes to move to!