Storytime Activity Ideas for Lefty by Mo Willems and Dan Santat

Lefty by Mo Willems, Illustrated by Dan Santat

My son and I are both left-handed (like Dan Santat) and love Dan Santat illustrations (...like Dan Santat, surely?) so I wanted to read this book with him. He's a bit too old for it now, but there are some interesting facts in there that he loved learning to share with his (right-handed) friends. 

It's a fun book and I can picture reading it aloud in a classroom or library, like all Mo Willems and Dan Santat books! 

Activities I would do as a librarian would include: 

• polling the class or storytime group to see who is left-handed and who is right-handed
• tracing hands on paper and coloring them (for younger kids) or drawing things that make you you (for older kids)
• giving them a word to try and write with both their left and right hands
• draw the same picture with both left and right hands
• toss beanbags into a basket with left and right hands

What activities would you incorporate into a storytime or lesson using this book? What have you tried? I'd love to hear how it went!

12 Days of Christmas Storytime

This year I had it together enough to do the 12 Days of Christmas Storytime with my son. Our bedtime routine lately has been a little rushed, as we get home late from after-school activities or have errands to run, so it's been a race to get dinner, bathe and brush teeth, and get to bed at a reasonable time before we have to start all over again. Sometimes I'd be too tired to wait for my son to pick a book and read it to him, and often it was the same one we'd just read a million times. I know that everyone has favorites, and re-reading books with kids is only good for them, but... I mean, I was really tired, ok? Mom-shame all you want, but some days, there was no way a bedtime story was happening, no matter how much he wanted it. And I'm sure you can imagine how much it hurt my librarian-mom heart to say no, but for sanity's sake, I'd have to.

12 Days of Christmas Storytime helped us make sure we prioritized reading together. My son loved opening a new book every day. The best part is - they weren't all new! Many were bought heavily discounted when our local bookstore closed last year, and I had tucked them away so I wouldn't give my son a ton of new books at once. Others were bought at our school's book fair. Others were bought from a used bookstore or from the library's discard cart. There's no need to break the bank if you want to do this with your kids! It's definitely possible to keep it affordable. I used a patchwork of leftover wrapping paper scraps, so I didn't have to buy or use new resources for that, either. Some were even wrapped in brown kraft paper, or a layer of tissue paper! My son is young enough to not care about presentation (if he ever will?) as much as the opening part!

All of these books were new to us, so they were fun to read. We went to bed knowing what book we were going to read, and my son did his necessary tasks a little bit faster knowing he had a new story to read. (He is usually the king of dawdling, so this kick in the pants was nice.)

I'm definitely going to start stockpiling books to do this again next year! I might even keep an extra stash of new-to-us books to use as incentives when it seems like we're not going to get a bedtime story that night. I think it will inspire both of us to get our chores out of the way and get ready for bed!

Check out the books we read for 12 Days of Christmas Storytime on Instagram - @howifeelaboutbooks.

Children's Books on Stage

It's always interesting to see how a book translates to other forms, most commonly movies, but also plays, musicals, and graphic novels.

My son and I went to see Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day on stage at the Circuit Playhouse. It was a show that the actors took to school visits, but they also do a couple showings on a Saturday for the public.

I remember loving this book as a kid, but hadn't read it since. We got it from the library and read it the night before. It was still a good book, but I was really interested in seeing how it could translate to a play. It seemed fairly short and there's not too much story since it just covers one day.

I was so impressed with the play! It was developed nicely and the songs were super catchy. I guess songs are not only a great way to grab kids' attention, but also a great way to flesh out the play. It was about 45 minutes long - another good thing for a kid's play! We both enjoyed it a lot, and are looking forward to seeing other picture books in play form!

We had also previously seen Miss Nelson is Missing. this was another childhood favorite of mine - so much so that we read my original copy before we saw the play! This play was also a school visit show that we saw at Circuit Playhouse on a Saturday morning, about 45 minutes long. The songs in this one were so fantastic, I have been searching for the soundtrack, emailing people, everything! I absolutely loved it. The story was great too. Of course that picture book is a bit longer than Alexander, and has more of a story that can be expanded into something more substantial on stage.

Seeing picture books come to life on stage is such a great way to enjoy a story beyond the pages of a book, and it's something we look forward to doing more of thanks to our local playhouse.

We LOVE Valentines Books!

We have been reading Valentine's Day books at bedtime for almost a week now because my son is so excited about the holiday! There are a lot of great Valentine books out there, but we wanted to share a few of our favorites.

The Runaway Valentine

written by Tina Casey, illustrated by Theresa Smythe

This story starts in a card shop on Valentine's Day, and all of the cards are showing off, hoping to be picked to share their love. One card in particular is ready to be picked; he has glitter, lace, and could sing songs when you press a button. He knew he would be the first card picked! But he is too eager and gets swept under the card rack. He manages to escape the store and knows someone out in the world will pick him--and he's right! But he's not used in the way he originally expected to--he is too beautiful to be used as scrap paper! Will it all work out for this Valentine in the end?

We loved this story because it was fun to see how the Valentine would be used next!

Valentine Surprise

by Corinne Demas, illustrations by R.W. Alley

Lily wants to make her mom a Valentine, but can't seem to get the hearts just right. She tries every day of the week, but none of them look good. Now it's Valentine's Day, and Lily is all out of paper--she can't even try to make her mom a nice card! But she looks at all her imperfect hearts and gets an idea...

We loved this story because it helps learn days of the week, and also shows children that what they think is "wrong" or "bad" is still meaningful since it comes from the heart.

Rhyme Time Valentine

by Nancy Poydar

Ruby is so excited for Valentine's Day and her class party. She made custom Valentines for everyone, including a rhyme--Ruby loves rhymes! She keeps bragging about her wonderful cards, but on the way to school, a gust of wind blows them away. Ruby is sad she won't have anything to share with her friends, especially since all the red paper in the classroom has been used up. What will Ruby do to show her friends how much she cares about them?

We loved this story because both of my boys are in school, and are preparing for class parties. There are also some "unfinished" Valentine rhymes at the end of the book, and it was so much fun to see if they could finish them on their own. (They are pretty easy rhymes - the 3 year old knew most of them.) There are also instructions on the last page to make a Valentine that looks just like Ruby's!

What We Read This Week 10/30

This week had an unofficial theme, if you can't tell - construction and Halloween!

I'm Dirty! by Kate and Jim McMullan. Dirty, a backhoe, tells the reader all about his work duties. My son and I love the attitude all of Kate and Jim McMullan's characters have. My son is still really into this collection of books because of The Stinky & Dirty Show.

Trick ARRR Treat: a Pirate Halloween by Leslie Kimmelman, illustrated by Jorge Monlongo. Reviewed in the Halloween books round-up.

Job Site by Nathan Clement. These realistic illustrations of men and machines working helps explain what they do to children. Good as a starter nonfiction/informative book for really young children (though it is fiction and has a storyline).

Digger, Dozer, Dumper by Hope Vestergaard, illustrated by David Slonim. This is a collection of poems about machinery and construction sites. Short and sweet, and reading one or two is a great way to cap off the usual bedtime stories.

I'm Brave! by Kate and Jim McMullan. This book is about a brave fire engine, and probably has been my favorite of the series so far. I think my son loves all of them, again because of The Stinky & Dirty Show.

Dig, Dogs, Dig: a Construction Tail by James Horvath. This is the CUTEST book! Dogs work together to build something together. Adorable illustrations. It helped the story engagement that, besides loving puppies and construction sites, my son is obsessed with this awesome Mudpuppy puzzle.

Shivery Shades of Halloween: a Spooky Book of Colors by Mary McKenna Siddals, illustrated by Jimmy Pickering. Reviewed in this year's Halloween video.

The Spooky Wheels on the Bus by J. Elizabeth Mills, illustrated by Ben Mantle. This book is pretty simple because everyone knows "The Wheels on the Bus", but the spooky twist is really fun. Make sure your kids sing along with this new version! There's also a counting element to the song that makes it enjoyable as a book - you can point out and count spooky things in the illustrations.

What We Read This Week 10/23

Big Friends by Linda Sarah, illustrated by Benji Davies. This is a beautiful book about two friends who imagine boxes as different things. They play together perfectly, until a new little boy enters the picture. One boy isn’t sure how three friends can play together, and distances himself, until he is shown what true friendship is.

Itty Bitty by Cece Bell. Cece Bell is always a winner! This cute book is about a tiny dog who makes a cozy home in a big bone.

Telephone by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jen Corace. This funny book is based on the game Telephone. A mama bird needs her son to come home for dinner, so she tells one bird, who tells another bird something slightly different, and so on and so on. This book is better for older kids and parents who can get the joke. It doesn’t really work as a cohesive story without understanding the telephone concept.

I Stink! by Kate McMullan and Jim McMullan. We found The Stinky & Dirty Show on Amazon, and my son has been obsessed ever since. We read I Stink! When he was just over a year old, so of course he didn’t remember it. I checked it out again, plus more in the “series”, and he loved seeing those characters in the book again.

I’m Fast! by Kate McMullan and Jim McMullan. This was probably my son’s favorite from the McMullan series, and I enjoyed it more as well. A train is racing a car across the country, and that story was a little more developed than other McMullan books that kind of allude to the duties of the vehicle, but are told more in sound effects and boastfulness.

I’m Mighty! by Kate McMullan and Jim McMullan. This one was about a tug boat, and how strong he is even though he’s smaller than the boats he helps. This is probably my second favorite in the series we’ve read so far.

The Cookie Fiasco by Dan Santat. Super-obvious disclaimer: Dan Santat is always awesome. This book is about four animal friends who have to figure out how to share three cookies...but even if your kid is too little to understand the math, it’s a fun story - especially if you do the voices! I don’t really like the framework of Elephant and Piggie reading the story… It might be engaging and familiar to kids who love those characters, but it’s not necessary to make this story pop.

I’m Bad! by Kate McMullan and Jim McMullan. This McMullan book is about a dinosaur who wants us to believe that he’s big and bad and scary! It’s a fun book with a great twist at the end - I think younger kids will love this one - especially if their mama reads it to them! (Sadly-necessary disclaimer: That relates to the ending, is not a sexist comment.)

Maple by Lori Nichols. Sweet book about a little girl who is named after the maple tree her parents planted before she was born. The tree is her best friend, but she sometimes she thinks she would like to play with someone else. Then she finds out she’ll be getting a playmate! This is one of those books that is probably more for the parents than the kid.

What We Read This Week 10/16

It's Raining Bats and Frogs by Rebecca Colby, illustrated by Steven Henry. A young witch is determined to make the witch parade run smoothly, despite the sudden rain! I will post a more in-depth review on this one in my Halloween book spotlight!

If I Had a Gryphon by Vikki VanSickle, illustrated by Cale Atkinson. I will review this book more in-depth soon, but for now... it's just gorgeous. The story is fun because of all the mythological creatures, but the illustrations are so beautiful. Kids will love this one!

Explorers of the Wild by Cale Atkinson. This is a beautifully illustrated book about two very different explorers who bump into each other in the wild. They bond over their love of adventures and form a friendship. I can't say it enough - GORGEOUS illustrations.

How Martha Saved Her Parents From Green Beans by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mark Fearing. My son and I loved this book about how refusing to eat your veggies can save you...but it's a necessary evil. See also: The Lima Bean Monster by Dan Yaccarino. 

Little Big by Jonathan Bentley.  This is a cute book about a baby who dreams about everything he could do if he was bigger. 

Bulldozer's Big Day by Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann. Bulldozer is excited to invite his friends to his birthday party, but everyone is too preoccupied with work to even recognize what a special day it is! My son and I love these cute illustrations, and try to identify which machine is which before the text tells us. I really like the black outline on the pages, too - it seems pretty unique for a picture book.

Digger Man by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha. My son loved this book about a boy who dreams of being a digger man when he grows up. It was fun to point out the different machines in the illustrations of construction sites.

Monster Trucks by Anika Denise, illustrated by Nate Wragg. This is a re-read for us, but it's been a favorite the past few weeks. This one will be reviewed in my Halloween spotlight post!

Hedgehog's Halloween by Benn Sutton and Dan Pinto. Cute book about Hedgehug's trouble finding the perfect costume. This book will be reviewed in more detail on my Halloween spotlight post!

Trick or Treat, Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen, illustrated by Dan Hanna. We always look forward to Pout-Pout Fish books, but this one was a bit disappointing. The story was very short, and Pout-Pout was a minor character, so there wasn't too much recognition for younger kids. Kids who have loved all of Pout-Pout's books might like the inside jokes of finding hints of Pout-Pout in the pages, but there's not enough to really carry the story.

Going Places. This book actually came from a Wendy's happy meal...go ahead, judge away! Sometimes you can't deny the call of fast food on a Saturday night. The book is actually really cute, since my son is into cars right now, and this is really simple but nice.

What We Read This Week 10/9

All library books this week! My library card is the only card I've ever maxed out

- but thank goodness my son has one, too! We have a great selection, and I keep 

bringing home a couple of books a day. You can't beat the proud, happy feeling

after telling your son you brought him something, and he says "Bi-berry books?!"

I Love Going Through This Book by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino. Different parts of the book are explained, and then the characters go through the story, climbing up and crawling over pages. The book tells a cute story, but the way it's presented is really innovative.

Lawn to Lawn by Dan Yaccarino. Yes, we're still on our Dan Yaccarino kick! Lawn ornaments are left behind during a move, so they start the long trek to find their family's new house. Super cute illustrations - I could see this as a short cartoon!

Up Above and Down Below by Sue Redding. This book uses simple sentences to explain what's going on above and below different locations, like the street above and the subway below. It's fun to look at all of the details in the illustrations, plus there's a little red ant and tiny green caterpillar hidden in each spread!

Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug! by Mem Fox. This was probably our stand-out favorite. This book is SO cute, I can't stand it. It was a library book, but we've got to get our own copy. It's kind of like Where's Waldo? for kids, but on a simpler scale. There are illustrations of a crowded shelf, or a staircase with toys strewn about, and the reader has to find the ladybug in each. There is a simple rhyme to say before finding the ladybug, and a "solution" with the ladybug zoomed in on the next page. My son and I both enjoyed this book immensely.

Poultrygeist by Mary Jane Auch. Funny story, maybe more for adults and older children because of the wordplay. Two loud roosters are annoying the other animals in the barn, but when a Poultrygeist appears, everyone is scared - and the roosters might just be scared straight!

Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes by Kimberly and James Dean. We love the rhymes in Pete the Cat books, and this one was extra fun because of the counting. My son and I kept counting the cupcakes to see how many were missing before Pete and his friends gave the answer. It didn't hurt that the cupcakes were really whimsical - we spent a few minutes on the endpapers, picking "our" cupcakes!

Exclamation Mark by Amy Krause Rosenthal, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. This is a great book to introduce punctuation, as well as the importance of being true to yourself. The exclamation point wants to fit in with the periods, but when a question mark comes along, exclamation mark finds his true self inside. We had fun "finding" the exclamation mark in the middle of all the other punctuation on each page.

Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian, illustrated by Tim Bowers. My husband read this one to my son, but I read it before I brought it home from the library. A fish is swimming alone in his bowl, bored, but when new fish and decorations are added, he gets cranky! He has no personal space, and wants a change... Will he get what he wants, or does he even know what he truly wants?

Buddy and the Bunnies: In Don't Play With Your Food by Bob Shea. This is another favorite from the week. Bob Shea's illustrations are always amazing. We loved the crazy monster! This is another book that can involve counting, if you want to make it more interactive and have your kid practice numbers. We counted bunnies on the pages. The bunnies that the monster wanted to EAT! But they kept outwitting him...

We Are Growing by Laurie Keller and Mo Willems. Grass blades try to label themselves as the "____-iest" as they are growing. But what's that noise? Sounds like a lawnmower...

What We Read This Week 10/2

(And last week, since I was caught up in Banned Books!)

Dinosaurumpus by Tony Mitton. My husband read this to my son before bed one night. It sounded like a fun book, and they both stomped around afterwards, creating their own dinosaurumpus!

Tissue, Please! by Lisa Kopelke. This book was really cute because we had a cold going around the house, so we constantly needed tissues. My son is good at asking for tissues, and saying "please", but it was good timing to read them together in this book. My son is also very into hopping around like a frog lately, so he got to satisfy his frog curiosity.

The Lima Bean Monster by Dan Yaccarino. We're still on that Dan Yaccarino kick, and this was a fun book to read because vegetables might be good for you, but that doesn't make them good! Beans grow into a crazy monster that starts attacking all the adults, and only the kids can save the day!

Junkyard by Mike Austin. The illustrations in this book are gorgeous. My son loves robots so he liked seeing the robots and how they were constructed.

Time to Say "Please"! by Mo Willems. Mo Willems is always good, and even this nonfiction book about manners is fun for kids and adults to read. Willems' drawing style is as good as ever, and it was fun to watch the girl get the cookies she wanted in the most polite way possible.

Unlovable by Dan Yaccarino. The story of this cute little puppy who just wants a friend is really funny. The pup imagines his new friend next door is a dog who's bigger and tougher than he is, so he lies about his size to save face. After all, they're separated by a fence, so how will he ever be found out? Until his new friend starts digging a hole so they can meet...

More Parts by Tedd Arnold. This book talks about cliches that are common for adults, but, when taken literally, mean something very different, especially for kids! It's a little too old for my son, but he enjoyed pointing out all the different body parts.

The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers. My husband read this to my son the other night, and they both had a lot of fun with it. My son liked pointing out the alien. I read it myself and thought it was really sweet and beautifully illustrated, as Oliver Jeffers books are known to be.

Bee-Wigged by Cece Bell. Cece Bell is so hilarious, and this book is no exception. A bee is tired of everyone being scared off by his stinger, so he finds a wig and passes as a boy! He goes to school and makes a lot of friends, but what happens when his wig falls off? This book has a great twist that made us both laugh.

Big Bird's First Book of Letters by Sesame Workshop. My son is pretty good at his alphabet already, but he loves reading this book because he can name the elements in the pictures, and of course he loves the Sesame Street characters.

Bunnies' ABC by Garth Williams. This is another ABC book my son likes reading because he can name the animals and objects in the pictures. Some animals are a little obscure, but hey - it's vocabulary building!

Robots, Robots Everywhere! by Sue Fliess, illustrated by Bob Staake. Hello, Robots! by Bob Staake is one of my son's favorite books, so when I saw that he illustrated a different robot book, I knew we had to get it. The rhymes are really cute and my son loves it, so I know it'll be read often in our house.

What We Read This Week 9/18

Horrible Bear! by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Zachariah OHora. This book is based around accidents and blame and misunderstandings. Zachariah Ohora's illustrations are brilliant; we loved The Not So Quiet Library, and bold illustrations are clearly his trademark since they appear here as well.

Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino. Another Ame Dyckman, and another Dan Yaccarino (from last week: Doug Unplugged). This one was a really sweet book about a boy who meets a robot and becomes friends with him, until the robot's switch is accidentally hit and he turns off. The boy takes care of the robot until bedtime, when the robot comes to and thinks the boy has been deactivated. Very cute story and illustrations.

Jon Scieszka's Trucktown: Race From A to Z by David Shannon, Loren Long, and David Gordon. My son is learning the alphabet (he knows it all except H!) and loves trucks, and loved the other Trucktown book we read, so I had to grab this one from the library for him. He liked it a lot, but more for the truck characters than the alphabet. (I liked the story in the first Trucktown book better, myself.)

Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino. This is a book we've read before, but my son is so obsessed with garbage trucks that it was time to read it again. We're also on a Dan Yaccarino kick, if you can't tell... This rhyming book is really cute, and it's easy for kids to remember the refrain and say it along with you - or at least say "NO!" when you ask if the garbage truck is full. My son has asked for this one again and again.

Sock Monkey Rides Again by Cece Bell. I loved El Deafo, and my son and I both liked I Yam a Donkey too, so I wanted to read more of Cece Bell's picture books. Sock Monkey is incredibly cute, and my son and I loved the story about how he was going to break into movies with his own starring role! (Sock Monkey was already, of course, a famous actor, even though he only played small supporting roles.) As a bonus, Sock Monkey is a really accessible idea for a character; we had several small sock monkeys around that my son liked holding while we read the story (and for days after).

Sock Monkey Goes to Hollywood: A Star is Bathed by Cece Bell. Sock Monkey is nominated for an award, but he finds out that all nominees have to show up CLEAN! Sock Monkey hates baths! They scare him! But with the help of his friends, he gets all cleaned up and goes to the awards show - will he win?

Here Comes Destructosaurus by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Jeremy Tankard. The whole family loved this cute, witty book. Destructosaurus is trashing the whole town, burping fire everywhere, and not listening to the reader, who is trying to keep him in line. When the reader finds out Destructosaurus was just throwing a tantrum because he couldn't find his teddy, the tone changes...but so does the terrifying main character!

What We Read This Week 9/11

We went to the bookstore a couple of weeks ago and just got around to reading some of our new books. I had a gift card and spent all of it on picture books! I couldn't resist the great titles out there. We read a few library books, but most were our new goodies.

Doug Unplugged by Dan Yaccarino. My son loves robots, so a story about a robot boy was a dream come true for him! He loved exploring the city with Doug, "boop-boop-boop"ing around the map, and making friends. There is so much to talk about while reading this book aloud: identifying what's on the pages, comparing them to what you see in your neighborhood and on walks, and talking about friendships and family. Very sweet book - it was from the library, but we might have to get a copy.

A Balloon for Isabel by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Laura Rankin. This might be my personal favorite book from the week. Isabel is a porcupine who wants to hold a balloon at her graduation. Everyone in her class gets a balloon, except the porcupines. It's funny to talk about why porcupines can't have balloons, and the solution is SO clever and cute! Loved this book, and my son loved the balloon illustrations.

Dotty by Erica S. Perl, illustrated by Julia Denos. This is a very cute story about imaginary friends, and when (or if!) it's time to outgrow them. The imaginary friends were all creative and unique - very fun for the kids reading the story! The ending was very sweet.

Best Frints in the Whole Universe by Antoinette Portis. This book is really cute and silly. Yelfred and Omek have been best frints since they were blobbies, but they still sometimes disagree and get in fights. The made-up language in this book was fun to read aloud, and readers are encouraged to make up their own words at the end!

Monsters University by Tennant Redbank, illustrated by Matt Cruickshank. This book is an adaptation of the Monsters University movie, missing the bulk of the story and a lot of details, of course, but it's still really cute. My son loves Mike and Sully, and we have a few other Monsters, Inc. books, so this was a nice addition. My husband found the Golden Book on Amazon and couldn't resist!

I Am a Rainbow by Dolly Parton, illustrated by Heather Sheffield. We got this book in the mail from the Imagination Library, which Dolly Parton created in 1995 to send age-appropriate books to kids every month. It's grown to include several countries, so you should check and see if it's available in your area, if you haven't already signed up! Anyway, let me step off my soapbox and talk about the BOOK. This is a really cute book that explores what colors mean in terms of emotion. It's a good way to talk about colors with younger kids at that stage of learning, but to expose them to emotions. It's a book that will come in handy as kids get older and start to understand emotions.

Love Monster and the Perfect Present by Rachel Bright. We are huge Love Monster fans over here - my son loves monsters, period, but he really loves his stuffed Love Monster. He held it while we read this one. Love Monster books are cute and simple - perfect short bedtime stories that tell a sweet story.

The Not So Quiet Library by Zachariah Ohora. I saw this book on @librarymagic's Instagram feed and knew I had to get a copy, because I work in a library that is sometimes, often, not so quiet. This book is going to be a classic, at least in my house, but probably everywhere. The story is simple and engaging, and the gorgeous illustrations add SO much to the reading experience. I want to wallpaper my house with these pages. Also, my son has the same name as one of the main characters, so that makes it a fun read! (Random fun fact: The other main character's name is actually one I wanted to name my son, but it didn't work with the last name. So I knew I'd love this book.)

Even Superheroes Have Bad Days by Shelly Becker, illustrated by Eda Kaban. Superheroes have superpowers that they usually use for good, but what happens when they have a bad day? Do they destroy the playground, knock over buildings, or cause dangerous weather to spoil a nice day? This book is actually a great partner to Dolly Parton's I Am a Rainbow because it also deals with emotions and how to control them in a calm, logical way. It doesn't hurt that the illustrations are awesome and engaging, and kids love the superheroes. My son loved pointing at the superheroes over and over and asking their names.

What We Read This Week 9/4

This week was a crazy book week, because we splurged at the bookstore on Sunday (we rarely ever buy new books, preferring to use the library or buy used when we do buy), and I kept finding books to bring home from work! I think we read a couple more than I'm including here, but oh well - I'm sure we'll re-read them this week and feature them in next week's post!

The Two Sillies by Mary Ann Hoberman. My husband originally read this to my son a few weeks ago, but they both thought I would like it, so they put it aside for me to read. It's a fun, silly book (who would have guessed?) about a woman who wants a pet cat, but doesn't understand everything her friend is telling her to do in order to get the cat. The rhyme scheme makes this book even more whimsical.

The Octonauts and the Only Lonely Monster by Meowmi. My son loves the Octonauts TV show, but we didn't know it was based on a book series until our Instagram friend @smashingkidreads shared a photo of the books. We have one in our library system, so I snatched it up one day for us to share. It's a really cute book, a little less detailed than the show (which shares a lot of information about about the animal featured) but still so enjoyable. We will definitely have to find (or buy!) the others.  

Bugs in My Hair by David Shannon. My son is pretty into bugs... meaning he sees one, says "Ew, spider!" and "Gwoss" once it's dead (or ushered outside). He picked this book based on the cover alone, and I didn't think about it, but of course it's about lice! It was still an interesting read, and definitely a great book to read when it's about that time that kids encounter lice. This might be one we re-read...

Arthur's Honey Bear by Lillian Hoban. My son has a stuffed bear he named Honey Bear, and I loved Arthur as a kid (maybe I still do...), so I had to check this book out from the library. It's a little longer than we usually read, so I don't know that my son really followed all of it, but it was a sweet, enjoyable book about Arthur battling with himself about growing up or keeping what he loves.

Swap by Steve Light. The illustrations were the best part of this book - gorgeous! My son had more fun pointing at the pirates on each page, asking "Whos dat?" than looking at the pictures, so I snuck it away with me after. It's fun to see what was swapped on each page, and find the elements that the pirates still had left, plus the new items they swapped for. Probably better for slightly older kids who can appreciate doing that part of the "reading" with you, so this is one we'll revisit in the future.

What We Read This Week 8/28

I couldn't help myself this week: I brought home books from the library pretty much every day... I'm SO thankful I don't work at a bookstore - we'd be broke!

Spare Parts by Rebecca Emberley. My son is crazy about robots right now, so I had to bring this one home for him. It's a cute book about Rhoobart, a robot made of secondhand parts, who needs a new heart. He looks everywhere, asks for help from everyone, but can't get a new heart. The illustrations might be a bit creepy if you have a young or sensitive child, because Rhoobart isn't a polished cartoon robot - he looks like he's put together from scraps. My 2 year old and I loved it, though, so I hope you will too!

Smash! Crash! by Jon Scieszka. Along with robots, my son is all about cars and trucks and machines, so I knew I had to check out this book. Also... Jon Scieszka is my major author crush - have you met him?! He's SO charming and great with kids and quick and witty... wow. My family (including my son, who was only 2 months old!) met him when the first Frank Einstein came out, and it was a childhood dream come true. We've read (and re-read!) all of his books, but I hadn't read anything about Trucktown. It was fun to read for the first time with my son because there's so much to explore - the story is fairly simple, but fun, and there's a lot to look at and talk about in the illustrations and the end papers. Definitely want to read more from Trucktown!

Tea Rex by Molly Idle. I fell in love with the title and the concept because it reminded me of my friend's wacky, silly ideas. Because I already had her sense of humor in mind, the book fell a little flat for me - it was very straight-forward in the story of inviting a T-Rex for tea, and I think there was room for a lot more silliness. Overall a cute book.

The Lonely Book by Kate Bernheimer. Sweet book about a girl who checks out a forgotten book, accidentally returns it, and forgets about it again. The pictures are beautiful but seem more aimed at adults than the kids hearing the story, but the story is interesting and my son seemed to be listening the whole time (but he is a budding book nerd, so...).

Hiding Phil by Eric Barclay. This is one we first read two years ago, when my babe was actually a baby! We just re-read it this week and he's asked for it several times since. It's a very short book about kids finding an elephant and wanting to keep him as a friend, so they try to hide him - but hiding an elephant is hard. A lot of great opportunities to talk to your kid while you read this one and get them involved in the story.

Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich by Adam Rex. We already liked Adam Rex because the movie Home is based on his book The True Meaning of Smekday, and we are completely in love with School's First Day of School. This is a book of silly monster and (sometimes) food poems that took us a couple of nights to read (due to attention problems), but was constantly asked for! My son would point and say "Monster one!" even after we had read our nightly two books. It was really funny to me, too, so I can't wait to read more of Adam Rex's poems and books.

Construction by Sally Sutton. Along with robots and cars and trucks, my son loves construction sites and machinery. This short board book was a major hit - he carried it around the library proudly until he checked it out, and we've read it every night since. 

The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz. Dan Santat is probably one of our favorite illustrators,  and he really made this book come alive. The pigs were silly and the illustrations were gorgeous, so it was a fun book to read aloud.

Piggies in Pajamas by Michelle Meadows. My son loved the rhymes in this book, and the idea of pigs creeping around when they should be in bed, but narrowly escaping their mom each time. I hope he didn't get any ideas...  Shh! Was that a creak in the hallway?

What We Read This Week 8/21

Working in a library, I bring home new (to us) books pretty much every day. Even so, some books just don't hit the spot at home like you think they will when you're browsing at the library. Sometimes you just have to go back to your favorites, the books with worn spines that you've read time and time again.

That was this week for us.

Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin. We got this book from the library over a year ago, and we both loved it so much I added it to our wishlist. We bought it recently with some Barnes and Noble ebook settlement credit (I still don't understand the whole thing, but I'll take it!) and have read it countless times since it arrived on our doorstep! My son calls every color "bah-loo" or "yallow" or "orange" - yeah, he can say orange perfectly, go figure! But anyway, I thought it would be a fun book to help him work on his colors, so I ask questions about the monsters and give him a chance to name the colors before the monster can. Don't get me wrong, though - we DO just read it for fun a lot! It's a super silly fun book about monsters dancing and wiggling as they play with colors. It's so bright and creative that you won't mind reading it aloud every night!

Do Cows Meow? by Salina Yoon. My brother, sister-in-law, and nephew gave this book to my son for his first Christmas, which means I literally can't count how many times we've read it. We read it a lot before he was really speaking because he loved animal noises, and could do them really well. Once he figured out how to lift the flaps, it was over! He asks for this book almost every night by saying "Cow one!" It's a good book to quiz your kid about animals - names and noises - just like Monsters Love Colors is good to help learn the colors. It's also just a fun book to read aloud, because you get to make animal noises with your kid!

Miss Spider's Tea Party by David Kirk. This is actually my copy of the book from when I was younger, but I didn't really remember the story too well. My son has been asking for it a lot lately, calling it "the yallow one" (because of the spine color) or "bird-day party!" (because of the tea party), and I don't mind reading it aloud often at all, because the rhymes are great, and it's a cute story, and my son loves pointing out the different bugs. 

Thomas and Friends Rolling Wheels. My son loves trains and Thomas, so when I saw this book at Target I had to grab it. It was his first "interactive" book, where he can press the buttons to play a sound clip at certain points in the story. I didn't initially realize that you also rolled the wheels along with parts of the story, so that's become my son's favorite thing to do. Who doesn't love being involved in the story?! The book is pretty short, and it's definitely aimed at fans of Thomas because it's not really a standalone book, it's pretty much just merchandise. That being said, it's not bad to read night after night because it's so short, and though there are only three buttons, there are nine sounds total so you don't hear the same thing over and over and over.

Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld. We have the interactive version of this book because my son loved the previously mentioned Thomas book so much. He loves construction sites and machines, so I thought the sounds would add a lot to the story for him. He really loves being able to push the buttons at the right parts in the story, and will carefully check out the icon on the page and match it up with the buttons on the right side, catching himself with a soft "nope" if his finger is hovering over the wrong button. He asks for it pretty much every night, and I have to say I get a little tired of reading it, just because it's a longer story, and sometimes my son isn't the quickest with pressing the right button, so the story drags on a big longer. It's a fun book, though, and I think the sounds add a lot to a story like this.

What We Read This Week 8/7

My graduate school days are dwindling away, and though I've recently started a new job, I'm excited by the idea of having *free time* on my hands for the first time in what seems like forever! No school? Seems like a luxury! So I wanted to introduce a new feature that I think will help me keep this blog active, since I got into a reviewing slump and was only posting podcast recaps for quite some time.

What We Read This Week is a weekly round-up of all the books my son read - the good, the bad, and the ugly. I'm going to write micro-reviews of the books we shared, and include all of our reactions in order to give a well-rounded idea of if you and your kids would like these books.

Here we go!

Ollie Forgot by Tedd Arnold. This book was fun to read aloud because of the repetition of the (few!) things Ollie remembered. My son LOVES repetition, so I actually repeated the lines a few more times than they were written, and the story didn't suffer for it. There's room for a lot of embellishment and interaction in this cute story about Ollie running an errand for his mother, and everyone he encounters along the way. We all enjoyed this book, and it will definitely be re-read.

Pigs and a Blanket by James Burks. This story of a brother and sister learning to share is told more in bright, inviting illustrations than words. It's a great interactive book because you can talk about the illustrations and have your little one chime in with what's going on. My son picked this one as his favorite book of the week when I asked, but he might be a little biased - he loves piggies!

Daddy Makes the Best Spaghetti by Anna Grossnickle Hines. Daddy read this one aloud, of course, because the daddy is the star of the show! It's a sweet story about a little boy running errands and helping Daddy around the house while Mommy works. It's a playful book so it's fun to read, but it also goes over routines done throughout the day and enforces that idea to the reader.

The Raven and the Loon by Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, illustrated by Kim Smith. This book is beautiful - the cover and illustrations are so gorgeous I had to bring it home when I saw it on the library shelf. This is one of those books that might be more for adults though - it's gorgeous, but I don't think kids would be sucked into the illustrations too much. The book is an origin story of how the raven and the loon came to look as they do, so it's better suited for older kids who can ask and understand "why", as well as appreciate the folklore aspect.

Fix This Mess by Tedd Arnold. Another favorite of the week - a cute story about a messy house and a pup who's too lazy to clean it himself. The puppy sends away for Robug, a cleaning robot machine. Except Robug doesn't so much CLEAN the mess as relocate it... will the house ever get cleaned? My son loves robots, so he loved Robug and keeps asking for it to be read again and again. This is a library book, but we might have to get our own copy since it's such a hit.

Call Me Ahnighito by Pam Conrad, pictures by Richard Egielski. My son is way too young for this book. He picked it off the library shelf himself, but he wasn't too interested in listening to it. The illustrations are very realistic and dark-colored, as well, so it wasn't too engaging. The story is pretty long; it's based on a true story of a meteorite that fell to earth, so it'd be better suited for older kids interested in rocks, space, and science.

Infinity and Me written by Kate Gosford, illustrations by Gabi Swiatkowska. This is another book that might be more for parents than children. The illustrations are gorgeous, and the story is very well done, but I think it would be over most kids' heads. Even when kids start to wonder how big the sky is, how many stars there are, and what infinity is, the book doesn't really answer the question too clearly. It's fine to wonder about things and have your question lead to other questions, but when it's trying to tie in a new pair of red shoes, it just doesn't really work for me. This might be better for older children, though I can't see those at the appropriate age wanting to read a picture book...

Imaginary Friends

I think today was my favorite storytime I've had with SRVS! The theme was "imaginary friends" - we've all had them, and some of us still do! We talked about that for a few minutes, and then I read Imaginary Fred by Eoin Colfer, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. The class remembered Oliver Jeffers from other programs, like when we read The Day the Crayons Quit and The Day the Crayons Came Home. They also remembered that we read The Incredible Book Eating Boy at the first storytime! I love Imaginary Fred so much, I made a rave review video about it for A Book A Minute.

Next I showed them the Beekle cover, and then took off the dust jacket. The room seriously gasped! This is the most beautiful book I've ever seen. The gorgeous cover made the class eager to read the book.


I lucked out one day at Bargain Hunt and found this cool "Padzooks!" book for two bucks; it has 36 little paper bobbleheads that you can fold up and accessorize. I thought it would be perfect for this program because we could make our own "unimaginary" friends like Beekle and Fred. Everyone loved picking what character they wanted to fold and accessorize; some people even made more than one!


I've also written about previous library programs for adults with disabilities.

Lucky Four Leaf Clovers!

Today a class from SRVS came to the library wearing green (I checked, pinching fingers poised!) to hear some St. Patrick's Day stories and make a craft.

I hate to say it, but I had a tough time finding decent books for this program. I thought there would be a lot of fun books about St. Patrick's Day, leprechauns, rainbows, and luck, but I didn't find much. I checked out about a dozen library books, but none of them stuck out to me as being fantastic to share. The two I ended up picking were, in my opinion, the best of the selection I had access to, but the audience didn't seem to care about the stories too much.


Luckily (see what I did there?), we had a fun craft planned! We made four leaf clovers by folding strips of green paper! This project would typically call for glue sticks, but the paper I had was more of a yardstick, so we had to use clear tape to make sure everything held together without popping loose.

After we folded and taped, we strung the clover onto necklaces so we could wear luck all day long. Some people even made extra clovers to take back to the learning center and spread the luck around!


I've also written about previous library programs for adults with disabilities.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yesterday, several individuals from SRVS came to the library wearing red sweaters, ready to celebrate Valentine's Day!

We read two books about making Valentines for special people in your life, The Day it Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond and If You'll Be My Valentine by Cynthia Rylant. The last book was much sillier - The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever by Brenda A. Ferber.

Then we made origami hearts. This was a great project because it required fine motor skills to fold the thin paper, and also because it made a cute little pocket heart! The individuals could give the heart as a Valentine, or put candy or a love note in the pocket before giving it to someone they love!

This program especially warmed my heart because there was a tea party the individuals could have gone to, but eight of them wanted to come to the library instead!

I've also written about previous library programs for adults with disabilities.

Celebrating Dreams with Martin Luther King

Today was the first 2016 library program for adults with disabilities! Since Martin Luther King, Jr. day is Monday, he was the subject of the day.


Several individuals knew about Dr. King's life and work, so we started by talking about what we knew. Since we live in Memphis, Tennessee, we have the unfortunate distinction of being the city where Dr. King was shot and killed. Many individuals in today's program have visited the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where there is a tribute to Dr. King on the balcony where he was shot.

By reading A Picture book of Martin Luther King, Jr., we learned a lot about him that we didn't already know. We learned that his birthday is January 15th, which is why Martin Luther King, Jr. day is around that date every January. He graduated from high school at 15 and started college early!

I Have a Dream is a selection from Dr. King's famous speech illustrated by beautiful paintings. We read this one, and then talked about our dreams for a perfect world, or even just a perfect day. We wrote and drew our dreams.


A lot of people said their dream of a perfect world started with their homes or churches -
spending time there with family and friends who care about them.


One person traced his hand and drew people holding hands across it.


This just might be my favorite...all the colors working together to make a beautiful picture.

I've also written about previous library programs for adults with disabilities.

Christmas Storytime

Today was the Christmas storytime for two classes from SRVS! I read Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert Barry and Olive, the Other Reindeer by J. Otto Semibold and Vivian Walsh.

Mr. Willowy's Christmas Tree is a cute rhyming story about a too-tall tree that keeps getting trimmed down. The craft tied in with that book - we made Christmas ornaments to hang on our trees at home!

Clockwise from top left: Hard at work // The whole world // LaQuita's signature style is brightly colored stripes // I love how this one looks like a Christmas tree with a huge heart beside it!

We ended the session by reading Olive, the Other Reindeer. This is a really fun book about Olive, a puppy who is convinced she's a reindeer because the words to the famous Christmas carol tell her so: "Olive, the other reindeer!" This is a great book to read aloud because listeners can sing along with the well-known lyric. There was a lot of laughter when everyone realized how Olive had misheard the song! I think we can all relate to misunderstood lyrics...

I've also written about previous library programs for adults with disabilities.