Archive for the ‘read it’ Category

Are you ready for summer?  My kids are out of school at the end of next week.  Yikes!  There goes my “free” time.

With finances tight… we aren’t going on any big vacations and expensive summer day camps are out.  So, I guess it’s up to me to keep the kiddies busy and happy.  I have been working on creating new job charts, doing a little summer school at home, and of course a list of fun projects and activities.

I’m also thinking about how to keep my kids reading everyday this summer.  Getting them excited about reading starts with having great books.  I asked my kids to each choose one of their favorite books for me to share.  Since I know we are all looking for great books to read, I would love to hear about your favorite books both for the kids and for me!

1. The Pumpkin Runner by Marsha Diane Arnold  -This is one of Ben’s favorite books.  Ben loves the clever story and the wonderful illustrations.  I love it because it’s about a real “Make it Do” kind of guy.  Joshua Summerhays is an old rancher in Australia.  He loves to eat pumpkins and he loves to run with his dog named Yellow Dog.  Instead of using a jeep, he runs around his ranch to take care of his sheep.  One day he decides to enter a 900 kilometer race from Melbourne to Sydney.  Joshua shows up for the race dressed in overalls and gum boots.  The other runners, all decked out it fancy running clothes, look down their noses at Joshua and Yellow Dog.  They don’t care one bit what other people think of them… they just run for the love of running.  In the end Joshua wins the race, shaving a full two days of the record.  He splits his $10,000 prize money with all the other runners.  Ben thinks it’s cool that this book is inspired by a real story.

2.  Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Illustrated by the wonderful Jane Dyer – Lily loves Cookies, probably because she loves to eat cookies and she want to be a “cooker girl” when she grows up.  I love Cookies because it is a great why to teach valuable and hard to explain concepts to kids.  For example, “Cooperate means, How about you add the chips while I stir?” or “Open Minded means, I’ve never seen cookies like that before, but, uh, sure, I’ll try one.” or the one I’m feeling tonight… “Regret means, I really wish I didn’t eat so many cookies.”  (Do you see that plate of Snicker Doodles I made today… well, I ate a few of those, a few too many!”)  This book isn’t just for kids.  I love this book so much, I have given it as a gift to friends with a plate homemade cookies.

3.  Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners by Laurie Keller –  Have you seen Laurie Keller’s books?  She is always extremely clever and this book is no exception.  Emma loves the wonderful and very funny illustrations.  I love the inventive twist on teaching kids the Golden Rule.  In the story, rabbit has new neighbors- the Otters.  Rabbit is nervous because he doesn’t know anything about Otters and is worried about how to get along with them.  His wise friend the owl says it’s simple, “Do unto Otters as you would have Otters do unto you.”  The book teaches all the ways we should treat our friends and neighbors… but it is so delightful the kids don’t even know it’s teaching them something important.

Well, those are a few of our favorite books…  I hope you have a chance to take a look at them and enjoy them as much as we do.  I can’t wait to see a list of new books you love…

I really love children’s books.  I had a collection of them even before I had children.  While going to school at the University of Utah, I worked at the most delightful children’s book store in Salt Lake City called “The Children’s Hour.”  You should drop by there if you’re ever in the neighborhood- http://www.childrenshourbookstore.com/.  I especially like children’s books that teach something valuable…  like one’s that have a “Make it Do” attitude.  One book we’ve enjoyed reading lately is called Fanny’s Dream (Picture Puffins) by Caralyn Buehner and Illustrated by Mark Buehner.

It’s the story of a sturdy farm girl named Fanny Agnes.  She works from sunup to sunset on her daddy’s farm, but she’s got her dreams… She wants to go to the ball and marry a Prince.  One night she dresses up in her best calico and goes out into the garden to wait for her fairy godmother.  The fairy godmother doesn’t show up, but Heber Jensen does.  He’s a cheerful, pleasant guy but as Fanny says, “Heavens, He’s so short!”  She tells Heber she’s waitin’ on her fairy godmother and she wants to go to the ball.  He asks if she can dance and she says no “But I know how to harness a horse, plow a field, and shuck corn.”  He finally tells her that he is no Prince Charming, but he has 160 acres, a little log house and dreams of his own.  He needs a wife who will work beside him through sweat and joy and good food and company.  She finally decides to give up her dreams and marry him.  The book sweetly describes how they work hard together, have a family, overcome hardships and build a good life together.  At the end of the book, Fanny goes out into the garden at night to pick a watermelon and her belated fairy godmother finally shows up to make her “dreams come true.”  When Fanny hesitates and her fairy godmother impatiently says “Well are you comin’ or not.”  Fanny looks at the at her little house where Heber is in reading to their kids and says… “Not.”

This lovely little tale really typifies how good the simple life can be.  I just wish I could read the darn book one time without getting choked up….