The lazy, hazy days are here and my mom is getting really s-l-o-w with this blogging gig. It might have to do with the amount of time we spend splashing around the wading pool with my new elephant floatie. Wheeee!!!!! Or maybe SYTYCD is getting in the way. We watch it together on Saturday afternoons so that I can try out all the moves. You should see my salsa lift. It's a wonder to behold. I've also perfected break dancing and hippity hop dancing. Mom tried to tell me they were the same thing but I don't believe her. And then there's Battlestar Gallactica on DVD that Mom sometimes mutters dreamily about in her sleep. Can anyone tell me what "pull Apollo's towel" means?
Just so you know, my Mom does all her writing and reading on a desktop computer, far from the TV domestic hub, in the hottest room in the house. Summer takes its toll. What I think Mom really needs is a bloggy vacation for a week or two so that she can cool off. I thought I'd help by taking over today's post to give her that gentle push out the door. Don't be surprised if she isn't around much for the next little while.
As you all know, I'm going to be 3 and a half in just over a week. That means it's high time I told you just what I've been reading since my 3rd birthday. You should check these books out at your local library 'cause libraries are simply the best. Just so you know, I came to that conclusion by myself; I didn't need old smarty pants mommy-librarian telling me what to think. Oh and just in case your kids aren't 3 and 1/2 like me, Mom keeps all my lists up on the side-bar over there. Besides, who really reads to assigned age levels anyway? I love everything from baby books to classic Pooh, thank you very much. As long as you're under 6, there's bound to be something on this list you'll like.
Because I've read over a hundred books since January, I've put my absolute favourites in bold so you'll know what to look for first. Here you go. Have a happy summer. Make sure you don't take library books into the wading pool, ok? Mom says that's bad.
Alexander, Sue. World Famous Muriel and the Scary Dragon (thanks, Kittenpie!)
Bachelet, Gilles. My cat, the silliest cat in the world
Baxter, Nicola. The Rainbow Fairies
Bemelmans, Ludwig. Madeline and the Bad hat
Madeline in London
Bottner, Barbara. Bootsie Barker Bites
Bourgeois, Paulette. Franklin Wants a Pet
Franklin's secret club
Franklin has a sleepover
Franklin's school play
Bridwell, Norman. Clifford and the Big Storm
Clifford's Birthday Party
Clifford's Happy Days: a pop-up book
Clifford Takes a Trip
Clifford's Tricks
Briggs, Raymond. The Snowman(we had a shortened version of it for little kids like me)
Brown, Margaret Wise. The summer noisy book
de Brunhoff, Laurent. Babar the King
Babar's Travels
Child, Lauren. But Excuse Me That is My Book
I am not Sleepy and I will not go to Bed
I will never, not ever Eat a Tomato
Snow is My Favorite and My Best
Chodos-Irvine, Margaret. Best, Best Friends
Clark, Emma Chichester. I Love You, Blue Kangaroo
What Shall We Do, Blue Kangaroo?
Cooper, Helen. The Bear Under the Stairs
Cronin, Doreen. Dooby, Dooby Moo
Diouf, Sylviane. Bintou's Braids
Donaldson, Julia. Charlie Cook's Favourite Book
The Gruffalo
The Gruffalo's Child
Fitch, Sheree. Sleeping Dragons All Around
Freeman, Don. Dandelion
Fujikawa, Gyo. Jenny and Jupie
Gay, Marie-Louise. Caramba
Rabbit Blue
What Are You Doing Sam?
Gilman, Phoebe. The Gypsy Princess
Gonsalves, Rob. Imagine a Day
Guarini, Deborah. Is Your Mama a Llama?
Hoff, Syd. Danny and the Dinosaur
Danny and the Dinosaur Go to Camp
Hoberman. You Read to Me; I'll Read to you
Hutchins, Pat. Rosie's Walk
Jenkins, Steve and Robin Page. What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Johnson, Gillian. My Sister Gracie
Keats, Ezra Jack. The Snowy Day
Regards to the Man in the Moon
Kuskin, Karla. So, What's it Like to be a Cat?
LeBlanc Cate, Annette. The Magic Rabbit
Levert, Mireille. An Island in the Soup
Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad are Friends
Days with Frog and Toad
Frog and Toad All Year
Frog and Toad Together
Owl at Home
Lunn, Janet. Amos' Sweater
Marshall, Edward. Space Case
Milne. A. A. Christopher Robin Leads and Expotition
Eeyore has a Birthday
Kanga and Roo Come to the Forest
Pooh Goes Visiting
Pooh and Piglet Go Hunting (we have a set with these stories all as separate books but you can find them all and more together in Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner)
Morris, Carla. The Boy Who Was Raised By Librarians
Munsch, Robert. Johnathan Cleaned Up (The Blackberry Subway Jam)
The Paper Bag Princess
Muth, Jon J. Zen Shorts
Novak, Matt. Mouse TV
Numeroff, Laura Joffe. If You Give a Moose a Muffin
If You Take a Mouse to School
Pfister, Marcus. Hopper Hunts for Spring
Potter, Beatrix. The Tale of Benjamin Bunny
The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Mom tells me there's lots more of these books. I can hardly wait.)
Rathmann, Peggy. Officer Buckle and Gloria
Reid, Barbara. The Golden Goose
Scarry, Richard. Learn to Count
Please and thank you book
Richard Scarry's funniest storybook ever
Richard Scarry's what do people do all day
Rohmann, Eric. Time Flies
Simmons, Jane. Come Along, Daisy!
Sis, Peter. Going Up
Waving
Stewart, Sarah. The Library
Thayer, Ernest. Casey at the Bat. Illus. by Patricia Polacco (Mom says that the grown ups might really like this version illustrated by Christopher Bing or this more recent one illustrated by Joe Morse.)
Urbanovic, Jackie. Duck at the Door
Wadell, Martin. Let's Go Home, Little Bear
Squeak-a-lot
Wiesner, David. June 29, 1999
Sector 7
Tuesday
Wells, Rosemary. McDuff Comes Home (Do NOT read Shy Charles or Felix the Worrier. They made me feel bad.)
Willems, Mo. Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity
Wynne-Jones, Tim. The Last Piece of Sky
Zoom Away
Zoom At Sea
Zoom Upstream
Yolen, Jane. How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
Moon Ball
Zacks, Irene. Space Alphabet
I like non-fiction too! Here are some of my favourite call #'s:
567 Dinosours. I was sooooo into dinosaurs this spring. When I grow up I want to be a Tyrannosaurs... and a teacher and a dancer and an actor and a mommy. I liked this book a lot. It wasn't too grown up:
Petty, Kate. I didn't know Dinosaurs Laid Eggs
520s: Outer space
597: fish and frogs and turtle and sharks. Oh my!
599: Elephants. Ah, sweet, sweet elephants.
Mom just brought home a bunch of science books for kids my age. I will report back on my next list.
Chirp Magazine: I now have my own subscription and I LOVE IT!
I also watch bits and pieces of these cool DVDs with mom: Planet Earth (disc one has a fantastic elephant sequence but beware of all the food chain stuff that goes on just after it. Sometimes, it's hard being an impressionable, 3-yr-old vegetarian) and Blue Planet (hammerhead sharks are sooooo fun).
One last thing: if you find my lists useful, please tell other people about them or link to them because Mom spends a lot of time typing them out for me and she'd like to make sure that all the typing is worth her while. And now, I am going to make her back away from the keyboard so that she can rinse out our bathing suits for tomorrow.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Miss M's been reading again...
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Miss M's semi-annual reading round-up
Blog, blog, blog. Awards, awards, awards. You will recall a time when my mother wrote this blog FOR ME and ABOUT ME. AS IT SHOULD BE. It's time I took over this hobby horse to bring just a bit of the FAMILY back to this so-called family blog. All you mommies and daddies had better get set for a trip to the library with your kidlets because here is my list of the 100 books that tickled my fancy in the last 6 months. By the way, I am almost 3.
I'm still a cultural nationalist in training. The + means the writer and or picture maker is from Canada. I didn't list all the picture makers but some of them I liked a lot. Bossy Mommy decided to use a different colour for the 25 books that we both liked best. If only I could type myself!
Aylesworth, Jim (retold by). Aunt Pitty Patty's Piggy. Illustrated by Barbara McClintock
Aylesworth, Jim (retold by). The Gingerbread Man. Illustrated by Barbara McClintock
Baker, Tanya and Carlton Holm. Harvey the Hiccupping Hippopotamus
Bang, Molly. When Sophie Gets Angry. Really, Really Angry
+Bogart, Jo Ellen. Gifts. Illustrated by Barbara Reid
Two Too Many
+Bourgeous, Paulette. Franklin Goes to School
Franklin is Messy
Franklin's Class Trip
Hurry Up, Franklin
Brett, Jan. Annie and the Wild Animals
Armadillo Rodeo
Berlioz the Bear
Comet's Nine Lives
Fritz and the Beautiful Horses
The Mitten
Town Mouse, Country Mouse
Trouble with Trolls
Carle, Eric. The Very Lonely Firefly
The Very Quiet Cricket
Child, Lauren. My School Play: Sticker Stories (Mom keeps promising me more Charlie and Lola books from the library but they're always checked out.)
Cooper, Helen. The Baby Who Wouldn't Go To Sleep
Delicious, A Pumpkin Soup Story
A Pipkin of Pepper for the Pumpkin Soup (but you really have to start with the original Pumpkin Soup if you haven't read it. It made my first book list. And don't forget Tatty Ratty!)
+Downey, Shirley. Mud Muddelicious Mud: Verse for the Very Young
+Drawson, Blair. Mary Margaret's Tree
Eastman, P. D. Are You My Mother?
+Edwards, Wallace. Mixed Beasts. Verses by Kenyon Cox
+Gagnon, Cecil. A New House. Translated by Patricia Claxton
+Gilman, Phoebe. The Balloon Tree
Hawkes, Kevin. His Royal Buckliness
Healey, Tim. Bear in a Chair
The Cat with Two Homes
Mouse's Magic Paints
Posey's Patterns
Skiddle-dee-daddle (a first book of noises)
Hill, Eric. Spot's Playtime Story book (Mommy cannot bear Spot. She uses the word sycophant but I don't know what that means yet. I think it just might mean that Spot is really, really nice.)
Holmelund Minarik, Else. Father Bear Comes Home
Hughes, Shirley. Helpers
+Hutchins, Hazel. Katie's Babbling Brother
Juster, Norton. The Hello, Goodbye Window Illustrated by Chris Raschka
Lobel, Arnold. Mouse Soup
Mayer, Mercer. All By Myself
I'm Sorry
Just a Mess
Just a Toy
Just For You
Just Going to the Dentist
McCloskey, Robert. Blueberries for Sal
Moss, Lloyd. Zin!, Zin!, Zin!: A Violin
Murphy, Jill. All in One Piece
+Oppel, Kenneth. Peg and the Yeti (There's nothing like a good Newfoundland yarn especially when it features pork scruncheons.)
Oxenbury, Helen. A Bit of Dancing
The Helen Oxenbury Nursery Collection (Ha! I knew I was right. Red Riding Hood talked to strangers and she got eaten up. I knew it. I just knew it would happen.)
Pooley, Sarah. A Day of Rhymes
Reid, Barbara. The Subway Mouse
Rey, H.A. and Margaret. Curious George
Daddy busts a gut at this image
Curious George takes a Job
My Mommy, on the other hand, is fond of the page that includes this
Curious George Rides a Bike
Curious George George Gets a Medal
Curious George Flies a Kite
Curious George Learns the Alphabet
Curious George Goes to the Hospital
Curious George's First Day of School
Curious George's Dinosaur Discovery
Reynolds, Adrian. Pete and Polo's Big School Adventure
Silverstein, Shel. Where the Sidewalk Ends
+Simard, Rémy. My Dog is an Elephant
Sims, Lesley (retold by). How Elephants Got their Wings
+Spinelli, Eileen. City Angel
+Van Laan, Nancy. Busy, Busy Moose
Viorst, Judith. Super Completely and Totally the Messiest
Ward, Cindy. Cookie's Week
Wells, Rosemary. Emily's First 100 Days of School
Noisy Nora
Ruby's Magic Act
Max is it (Santa put these two books in my stocking. I love them. They're really short and they tell the stories of two of my favourite TV episodes. When Mommy saw the Canada Council for the Arts logo in the back of the books, I saw fire blow from her ears. I heard her say something to Daddy about why theatre is a dying art.)
Whybrow, Ian. Bella Gets her Skates On
Willems, Mo. Knufflebunny
There is a Bird on Your Head
Winnie the Pooh: Sing along Songs (Mommy says there is no author for this one, whatsoever. Only the word she used was, uh, bastardized. I don't know what that means exactly but I love pushing the buttons and singing the songs.)
Hallowe'en Books
Bond, Felicia. The Halloween Play
Cuyler, Margery. Skeleton Hiccups
Donaldson, Julia. Room on the Broom
Herman, R.A. The Littlest Pumpkin
Metzger, Steve. Five Spooky Ghosts Playing Tricks at School
Minor, Wendell. Pumpkin Heads
Slater, Teddy. The Spookiest Halloween Ever
Christmas Books
Brett, Jan. Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve?
The Wild Christmas Reindeer
Burmingham, John. Harvey Slumfenburger's Christmas Present
Dewan, Ted. Crispin: The Pig Who Had it All
+Little, Jean. Pippin the Christmas Pig
Meyer, Mercer. Merry Christmas Mom and Dad
Moore, Clement. The Night Before Christmas (we have 3 editions of it--you can never have too many.)
The Mother Goose Book of Christmas Carols
Roberts, Bethany. Christmas Mice!
Speirs, John. The Best Christmas Hunt Ever
Wood, Don and Audrey. Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear
I've also been reading quite a few Chirp magazines that my oh-so-mature friend Alison gave me last fall. They were hers 8 years ago! When Mommy saw how much I liked them, she bought an entire subscription. Lucky for us, Alison's school was selling them.
If you are new to my book lists, there are three more. You can find them on the side bar. I try not to repeat any titles but I sometimes slip up.
Oh, Mommy wants me to remind you all to vote for the people she nominated in the Canadian Blog Awards. Just read the next post to find out who and then vote. And you know, she is my mommy so maybe you could vote for her too while you're there.
Monday, August 13, 2007
ABC, 123; it's as easy as it can be
In about 24 hours, I'm going to be leaving bloggyland for just over two weeks. Westward ho to see family and to binge on theatre. Promise me you won't write anything interesting while I'm gone, 'kay?
To keep you occupied in the meantime, here is my list of 26-ish (ok, 32) great alphabet books and 10-ish (19, actually) fun counting books. I'll put a link to this post up on my sidebar along with Miss M's two top 100 book lists so that you can easily find them all on your next trip to the library. I had planned to annotate these lists but, duh, I'm traveling half-way cross-country in 24 hours with 1 two year old, 1 frazzled director/husband, 6 actors, 1 car seat, many snacks and various set pieces. Strategic luggage planning NOT critical annotation is my current top priority. And now, the lists:
The Adventures of an Apple Pie who was Cut to Pieces and Eaten by Twenty Six Young Ladies and Gentlemen with whom all little people ought to be acquainted. Dover, 1973. Facsimile ed of that published by George Burgess, New York: 1835
Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno's Alphabet: An Adventure in Imagination. Harper: 1975
Azarian, Mary. A Farmer's Alphabet. Godine: 1981
Blake, Quentin. Quentin Blake's ABC. Knopf: 1989
Coletta, Hallie and Irene. From A to Z. Prentice-Hall: 1979
Coudrille, Jonathon. A Beastly Collection. Frederick Warne: 1974
Edens, Cooper. The Glorious ABC. Atheneum: 1990
Edwards, Wallace. Alphabeasts. Kids Can: 2002
Eichenberg, Fritz. Ape in a Cape: An Alphabet of Odd Animals. Harcourt: 1952
Falls, C. B. ABC Book. Doubleday: 1923
Fleming, Denise. Alphabet Under Construction. Holt: 2002
Greenaway, Kate. A Apple Pie. Castle: 1979 (1886)
Grover, Max. The Accidental Zucchini: An Unexpected Alphabet. Harcourt: 1993
Harrison, Ted. A Northern Alphabet. Tundra. 1982
Johnson, Philip and David Peacock. The Great Canadian Alphabet. Hounslow: 1983
Johnson, Stephen T. Alphabet City. Penguin: 1995
Kipling, John Lockwood. A Kipling ABC. Macmillan: 1979 (1902)
Lalicki, Barbara and Margot Tomes. If there were Dreams to Sell. Lothrop: 1984
Lear, Edward. A Nonsense Alphabet. Bloomsbury: 1988 (1862)
Major, Kevin. Eh? To Zed: A Canadian Abecedarium. Red Deer Press: 2000 (read it out loud; the fun is in the words on the tongue.)
McDonnell, Flora. Flora McDonnell's ABC. Candlewick: 1997
Moore, Yvette and Jo Bannatyne-Cugnet. A Prairie Alphabet. Tundra: 1992
Nicholson, William. An Alphabet. William Heinemann: 1975 (1898)
Roache, Gordon. A Halifax ABC. Tundra: 1987
Rubin, Cynthia Elyce. ABC Americana from the National Gallery of Art. Harcourt: 1989
Tallon, Robet. Rotten Kidphabets. Holt, Rhinehart & Winston: 1975
Tarlow, Nora. An Easter Alphabet. Putnam: 1991
Thornhill, Jan. A Wildlife ABC: A Nature Alphabet. Greey de Pencier: 1988
Van Allsburg, Chris. The Z was Zapped. Houghton Mifflin: 1987
Wormell, Christopher. An Alphabet of Animals. Collins: 1990
AND if you don't know about Dutch's alphabet books over at Sweet Juniper, get your mouse hand in gear and check them out. I was hoping to get them both printed up as books for Miss M for Christmas but I don't know if Dutch still has the high-end files available to allow this to happen. I'll have to look into this all when I get back from vacation and when I start thinking forward to Christmas.
One, two, three four, can I have a little more?
Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno’s Counting Book. Crowell: 1975
Argent, Rod Trince and Kerry. One Woolly Wombat. Omnibus: 1982
Bang, Molly. Ten, Nine, Eight. Greenwillow: 1983
Burmingham, John. Just Cats. Viking Press: 1983
Burton, Katherine. One Gray Mouse. Kids Can: 1995.
Crossley Holland, Kevin. Under the Sun and Over the Moon. Orchard: 1989
Ehlert, Lois. Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On. Harcourt: 1990
Friskey, Margaret. Chicken Little: Count-to-ten. Children’s Press: 1946
Gregoire, Caroline. Counting with Apollo. Kane Miller: 2004
Hepworth, Cathy. Antics! Putnam: 1992
Heyboer O’Keefe, Susan. One Hungry Monster. Little Brown, 1989
Lofgren, Ulf. One-Two-Three. Addison-Wesley: 1973. Originally published in Stockholm, 1970
MacCarthy, Patricia. Ocean Parade. Dial: 1990
McGuire, Richard. The Orange Book. Rizzoli: 1992
Morales, Yuyi. Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book. Raincoast: 2003
Moss, Lloyd. Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin. Simon and Schuster: 1995
Radunsky, Vladimir. 10 (ten). Viking: 2002. (ok, so it's not really a counting book but it is just plain fun.)
Sendak, Maurice. One Was Johnny: A Counting Book. Harper and Row: 1962
Sis, Peter. Going Up! Greenwillow: 1989
Enjoy the rest of your summer.
Cue silence.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Summer reading
Miss M here. Did you know that I am 2 and 1/2 today? Mom's gift to me was the chance to guest post. I thought that some of the other 2 and 3 -year-olds out there just might be interested in what I've been reading since I turned two.* In fact, the Mayor recently emailed me wonderin' what books were in my beach bag. Besides, with all those Moms and Dads holed up with Harry Potter, a kid's gotta have something to while away the time. Without further ado, I give you:
The 100 Best Books I Read in the Last Six Months: 2-2.5
Legend:
* Canadian
+ poetry collection
bold my top 20
- Madeline by Ludwig Bemelans
- Madeline's Rescue by Ludwig Bemelans
- Birthday Monsters by Sandra Boynton
- The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown
- Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown
- Hand Rhymes by collected and illustrated by Marc Brown +
- Silly Billy by Anthony Browne
- One Gray Mouse by Katherine Burton *
- Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by Margaret Chodos-Irvine
- Sometimes I Like to Curl up in a Ball by Vicki Churchill
- Tatty Ratty by Helen Cooper
--little Miss Smartie Pants Mommy keeps meaning to write a review of this book and Cooper's other book, Pumpkin Soup that made my toddler list. Can I just say that I want Helen Cooper to adopt me? That's how much I loved these books. The cadence of the prose, the illustrations, the subtle humour... ah! perfection. Mom is always grouching about how we need more Cooper at the library and then sighing heavily each time she gets her Visa statement. - Mrs. Wishy Washy by Joy Cowley
- Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin
- Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin
- The Little Dog Laughed and other Nursery Rhymes illustrated by Lucy Cousins
- Ella the Elephant by Carmela and Stephen D'Amico
- The Classic Treasury of Best-Loved Children's Poems illustrated by Penny Dann +
- A Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes compiled and illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton * +
- Mud Muddelicious Mud: Verse for the Very Young by Shirley Downie * +
- Olivia by Ian Falconer
- Olivia Saves the Circus by Ian Falconer
- Olivia forms a Band by Ian Falconer
- Bee Gets a Sweater by Keith Faulkener
- Tap, Tap, Tap: What can it be? by Keith Faulkener
- A-tisket, a-tasket by Ella Fitzgerald; illustrated by Ora Eitan
- Beast Feast by Douglas Florian
- A Pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman
- Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French
- The Three Little Pigs illustrated by Marie Louise Gay
- Grandma and the Pirates by Phoebe Gilman *
- Jillian Jiggs and the Secret Surprise by Phoebe Gilman *
- The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs by Phoebe Gilman *
- Jillian Jiggs to the Rescue by Phoebe Gilman *
- Something from Nothing by Phoebe Gilman *
- Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
- Jessica by Kevin Henkes
- Lily's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
- Lily's Big Day by Kevin Henkes
- Once Around the Block by Kevin Henkes
- Owen by Kevin Henkes
- Shiela Rae the Brave by Kevin Henkes
- Corduroy Lost and Found by B. Hennessy based on the Freeman books
- Sea, Sand, Me by Patricia Hubbell
- Hiding by Shirley Hughes
- Colours by Shirley Hughes +
- Songs for Annie Rose by Shirley Hughes +
- Toot and Puddle: Charming Opal by Hollie Hobbie
- The Llama Who had No Pajama by Maryann Hoberman +
- Our Day at the Seashore by Amy and Richard Hutchings
- Katie's Babbling Brother by Hazel Hutchins *
- Rollie Pollie Ollie by William Joyce
- Take Me Out to the Ball Game by MaryAnn Kovalski *
- Lavender's Blue: A Book of nursery Rhymes compiled by Kathleen Lines +
- Yummer's Too: the Second Course by James Marshall
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
- Chicka Chicka 123 by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
- Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What do you See? by Bill Martin Jr.
- Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin Jr.
- Piggy and Dad Go Fishing by David Martin
- Dahlia by Barbara McClintock
- The Oxford 123 Book of Number Rhymes by Robert McGough +
- The Real Mother Goose Book of Christmas Carols
- All in One Piece by Jill Murphy
- Peg and the Yeti by Kenneth Oppel *
- The Oxenbury Nursery Story Book compiled and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury +
- A Bit of Dancing by Helen Oxenbury
- The Ocean Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallota
- The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
- A day of rhymes compiled by Sarah Pooley +
- Beneath a Blue Umbrella by Jack Prelutsky +
- For Laughing Out Loud: Poems to Tickle Your Funny Bone selected by Jack Prelutsky +
- 10 Minutes 'Til Bedtime by Peggy Rathmann
- The Gift by Barbara Reid *
- My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann
- Beach Day by Karen Roosa
- Tales from Parc La Fontaine by Roslyn Schwartz *
- Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
- In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
- The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
- My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss
- Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
- Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
- Casey at the Bat by Ernest Thayer
- Mama Loves Me by Mara Van Fleet
- So Say the Little Monkeys by Nancy Van Laan
- Frog in Love by Max Velthius
- Super-Completely and Totally the Messiest by Judith Viorst
- Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell
- Noisy Nora by Rosemary Wells
- I Spy Little Christmas by Walter Wick
- "More more more" said the baby : 3 love stories by Vera B. Williams
- The King of Capri by Jeanette Winterson
- The Napping House by Don and Audrey Wood
- Piggies by Audrey and Don Wood
- Here's a Little Poem edited by Jane Yolen +
- How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen
- any one of a number of cheap peg puzzle board books
- any one of a number of Thomas the Tank Engine cheapo board books
- any one of a number of magnetic counting, alphabet, or rudimentary spelling books
- any one of a number of cheapo electronic music, sing-a-long books
*And ya, some of these books are meant for 4 and 5-year olds. It's also true that I still read baby books. Why must they put such limited age ranges on children's books. It's soooo totally oppressive.
I hope you like my list. You know what, though?. My silly mother decided to re-read all the Harry Potter books before finishing off the series. She made this decision in June. Like, duh! This means that she is only finishing up #5 now. Please help me! Can you ask your pre-schoolers to recommend some good books to tide me over until Mom is done? Thanks. I knew I could count on you.
______________
A note from the editor, compiler and chief amanuesnis aka Mad: Miss M puts quite a bit of work into drawing up these lists. She does it because she hopes that they will make helpful library cheat sheets for all her sphere-y friends. Please feel free to tell as many people as you like about them so that her work won't be in vain.
Oh and Miss M insists on writing these posts herself because she doesn't trust my adult editorializing. Not that I would ever do that. She really wants you to know about the books SHE loves regardless of whether her children's lit crit and librarian mother agrees. Little does she know that her mother plans revenge by posting a list of 26 wonderful alphabet books and 10 counting books without consulting her daughter whatsoever. Soon. I promise.
OK, I'm off now to help Miss M put links to this list and to her toddler list on the sidebar. Miss M finds Blogger a bother sometimes. I can't imagine why.
__________
Because I'm not posting as much these days, I thought I would give you all an early heads up about the upcoming Just Posts. You know the drill: if you have read or written a post or posts dealing with social justice in the month of July, drop me or Jen a line. You've got until August 7th. We'll put the linky love list up on Aug 10th. I'm madhattermommyAThotmailDOTcom.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Bored? No Board
Um, hi everyone. Miss M here. Listen, I was doing a bit of web surfing the other day, trying to find pictures of frogs and toads and the like when I stumbled upon Beck's blog. Anyway, I noticed in the comments that my mother (such an embarrassment) brazenly stated that she could likely recommend 100 good toddler books. Personally, I think it high time that someone took that "I'm a children's literature librarian" smug look off her face. C'mon, without me she wouldn't have a blessed clue about books for the under three set. Nope, she'd likely have her nose in some YA piece of crap or a Nancy Farmer fantasy or, most likely, she'd be watching yet another Mandy Moore, coming-of-age tear-jerker on DVD. You know and I know that she'd be nothing without me.
So, for those of you who are interested, I'd like to share my list of the 100 best books I read in my second year of life. Heck, my mom doesn't even like them all but let me assure you, I have read each of them at least 100 times and can offer nothing but a whole-hearted endorsement. To make it easier for you the next time you're headed to the library, I have listed the books in rough order of my liking them. At the top of the list you'll find all titles I loved when I was a newly minted toddler. If you want to know what I read now that I am older and wiser(23 1/2 months) , move toward the bottom of the list.
Miss M's Guide to Toddler Books
1. Anyone of a dozen books with pictures of babies or toddlers getting up to crazy antics. I could not get enough of that stuff. Might I recommend Baby Talk! or What Do You Do With an Orange?
2. Goodness, how I loved my vocabulary books. Bright Baby published some of my favs but, really, if the book had a single picture matched with a single word on each page, I was lovin’ every minute of it.
3. Did someone say lift-the-flap? Did someone say peek-a-boo? I have some very, very fond memories that I won’t bother sharing with you right now. Let’s just say, “the classics never get old.”
4. Listen, I didn’t care what the books were called but if they had photos of puppies, kittens or farm animals my heart melted. Ooooo the wittle animals were sooo cute. I remember a book called Busy Kitties and another called Puppy Love. The rest is a blur.
5. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
6. Time for Bed by Mem Fox
7. Yo Baby! by Roslyn Schwartz *
8. Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann (laugh? I thought I’d die.)
9. I Can, I See, I Hear and I Touch all by Helen Oxenbury
10. One Gorgeous Baby by Martine Oborne
11. Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton
12. Moo, Baa, La la la by Sandra Boynton
13. Blue Hat Green Hat by Sandra Boynton
14. The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton
15. But Not the Hippopotamus by Sandra Boynton
16. Hippos Go Berserk by Sandra Boynton (you’ll notice that I take an academic interest in the oevre of certain author/illustrators.)
17. The Belly Button Book by Sandra Boynton
18. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss (I had the tubby book version)
19. Hand, Hand Fingers Thumb by Al Perkins
20. Alligator Pie by Dennis Lee; illustrated by Nora Hilb *
21. Willoughby Wallaby Woo by Dennis Lee; illustrated by Nora Hilb *
22. Silvery, Silvery/Good Night by Dennis Lee; illustrated by Nora Hilb *
23. Jelly Belly by Dennis Lee; illustrated by Nora Hilb *
24. Carry Me by Rosemary Wells
25. My First Mother Goose compiled by Iona Opie; illustrated by Rosemary Wells
26. Here Comes Mother Goose compiled by Iona Opie; illustrated by Rosemary Wells
27. Read to your Bunny boxed set with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Old MacDonald, The Bear Went Over the Mountain, and The Itsy Bitsy Spider
28. Peepo by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
29. Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
30. The Day the Babies Crawled Away by Peggy Rathmann
31. No David! By David Shannon
32. Little Gorilla by Ruth Lercher Bornstein
33. Little Quack by Lauren Thompson
34. Little Quack’s Bedtime by Lauren Thompson
35. Food For Thought by Saxton Freymann (now this is what I call ART)
36. Baby Food by Saxton Freymann
37. Dog Food by Saxton Freymann
38. How Are you Peeling? by Saxton Freymann
39. Goodnight Country by Susan Verlander
40. Good Morning City by Susan Verlander
41. The Owl and the Pussy Cat by Edward Lear (I had the one illustrated by Jan Brett. Pure delight.)
42. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
43. Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too? by Eric Carle
44. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do you See? by Bill Martin Jr. Illustrated by Eric Carle
45. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr. Illustrated by Eric Carle
46. Love and Kisses by Sarah Wilson
47. Kiss, Kiss by Margaret Wild
48. Good Dog Carl by Alexandra Day
49. Carl Goes Shopping by Alexandra Day
50. Carl’s Afternoon in the Park by Alexandra Day
51. Carl Makes a Scrapbook by Alexandra Day
52. Baby Beluga (whoa cool it’s like my favourite Raffi song as a book! Can life get better?) *
53. The Wheels on the Bus (ohhhh yesssss, more Raffi in print) *
54. Maisy’s Best Friends by Lucy Cousins
55. Maisy’s Snowy Christmas Eve by Lucy Cousins
56. Max and Ruby’s Snowy Day by Rosemary Wells
57. Max’s Christmas by Rosemary Wells
58. Max and the Chocolate Chicken by Rosemary Wells
59. Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
60. The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss
61. Jamberry by Bruce Degan
62. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen; illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
63. 10 Minutes ‘til Bedtime by Peggy Rathmann
64. Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin
65. Eloise’s What I Absolutely Love, Love, Love by Kay Thomspson
66. Bud the Spud (yup. That’d be the Stompin’ Tom classic--illustrated. Oh and can you believe this? My sitter had NEVER even heard the song before. Shame.) *
67. Corduroy by Don Freeman
68. Corduroy’s Street (a cheap knock off but frankly I was a sucker for it)
69. Corduroy’s Busy Day (ditto)
70. How to be a Cow by Bo Vine (seriously, that’s what it says on the title page. It also says that the illustrations are by Shelly Meredith. Mom and I found it in a discount bin at the grocery store)
71. I love you because you’re you by Liza Baker
72. My Dad by Charles Fuge
73. Click, Clack, Splish, Splash by Doreen Cronin
74. Red is Best by Cathy Stinson *
75. Oh! by Kevin Henkes
76. Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
77. The Pop-up Mice of Mr Brice by Theo. LeSieg
78. My Nest is Best by P. D. Eastman
79. If you give a mouse a cookie by Laura J. Numeroff; illustrated by Felicia Bond
80. If you give a pig a pancake by Laura J. Numeroff; illustrated by Felicia Bond
81. If you give a moose a muffin by Laura J. Numeroff; illustrated by Felicia Bond
82. Mole’s Hill by Lois Ehlert
83. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
84. Simon and the Snowflakes by Gilles Tibo *
85. Simon and the Wind by Gilles Tibo *
86. Simon in Summer by Gilles Tibo *
87. Simon and his Boxes by Gilles Tibo *
88. Tales from Parc La Fontaine by Roslyn Schwartz *
89. The Complete Adventures of the Mole Sisters by Roslyn Schwartz *
90. Stella, Star of the Sea by Marie Louise Gay *
91. Stella Fairy of the Forest by Marie Louise Gay *
92. Stella Princess of the Sky by Marie Louise Gay *
93. Good Night Sam by Marie Louise Gay *
94. Good Morning Sam by Marie Louise Gay *
95. Ella Takes the Cake by Carmela D’Amico
96. Colours by Shirley Hughes
97. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems (vroom vroom, vroomy vroom, vroom)
98. Jillian Jiggs by Phoebe Gilman *
99. Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
100. Frozen Noses by Jan Carr
101. Elliot Gets Stuck by Andrea Beck *
102. Elliot Digs for Treasure by Andrea Beck *
103. Elliot’s Noisy Night by Andrea Beck *
104. Elliot Takes a Bath by Andrea Beck *
105. Spot’s Giant Treasury by Eric Hill
Criminey, I somehow made it to 105. The problem is I'm getting sick of all these books now. Mom keeps going on about how there are plenty more by these authors. She also sometimes gets all feverish and starts speaking in tongues: Burmingham, Wadell, Browne, Weisner, Lunn, Reid, Van Allsburg, Alborough,Yolen, Wood, Steig... She goes on and on and it scares me.
The thing is, I don't always like what she brings home. I don't suppose you moms and dads could do me a favour? Could you ask your toddlers for suggestions and then report back here and let me know. Once I have a list, I'll try to subtly bring up names the next time we're at the library. Knowing ole mommy smarty pants, she'll likely think the ideas were all hers in the first place. She's that way.
* BTW, I'm a cultural nationalist in training. The ones with the star are Canadian.
