"Inside Out" for Every Age

   

Unless you are living under a rock, I am sure you are aware that Disney and Pixar are about to release a film about the mind. A twelve year old girl’s mind to be exact and I am sure after you watch the trailer you too will believe that Amy Poehler controls the joy in your life. Disney Press has made sure that no matter how old your readers are, there is an Inside Out book tailored just for them.

For Your Toddler:

The Box of Mixed Emotions – Brittany Candau

My son’s preschool does a unit on emotions. For about two weeks they go over all the different feelings a person can have and when or what would make a person’s mood be a certain way. I wish I had received this box in the mail sooner because it beautifully illustrates in five books the five emotions depicted in Riley’s mind, the protagonist in the movie. Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust all explain to the youngest readers the definitions of their feelings and when they feel that way. The box itself has an open circle and below it says “the emotion in charge today” so a child can highlight their feelings by choosing which book is put on top of the pile. My favorite part of this set is that the last page of each book is a picture of a different feeling that makes each book feed into one another. This is definitely the perfect set of small books to help children learn all about their emotions.

For Your Kindergarden-1^st Grader:

Sadly Ever After? – Elise Allen

The feelings take turns telling a story about a day in Riley’s life. It is so much fun to see how each emotion tells their perspective of the same story. Each feeling is written in a different background color Yellow for Joy, Purple for Fear, Red for Anger, Green for Disgust and Blue for Sadness. This picture book is a great springboard to analyze both different points of view and how a memory can trigger multiple emotions for a person for a younger child.

For Your Chapter Reader:

Driven By Emotions – Elise Allen

This book is the plot of the movie broken down into five chapters. Each emotion (Joy, Fear, Disgust, Anger and Sadness) each tell the story of Riley’s move from Minnesota to San Francisco from their point of view. I have not seen the movie but the story is written so well that I am very much looking forward to seeing how this translates on to a screen. This book is definitely going to get children wondering about how their minds really work and what makes them feel a certain way at any given time.

Inside Out will be in theaters on June 19^th and stars Amy Poehler, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader and Phyllis Smith. It’s definitely something to get excited about!

Check out the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRUAzGQ3nSY 

Story Time Booklist - Spring Semester

    

 

As the school year is coming to an end, our Mother Goose Story Hour is wrapping up this week. I always give out a handout of all the books that were read to give parents the opportunity to purchase the ones they loved or request them at their local library. The children who attend the program are between the ages of six and seventeen months and thought I would share the book list here in case anyone was looking for ideas for new books for their youngest readers.

Let me know which ones become bedtime story favorites!

Alligator Alphabet - Stella Blackstone

Baby Animal Farm – Karen Blair

Baby Animals – Disney Baby

Baby Dance – Ann Taylor

Barnyard Banter – Denise Fleming

Barnyard Dance – Sandra Boynton

Bear About Town – Stella Blackstone

Big Bug, Little Bug – Paul Strickland

Cuddle – Beth Shoshan

Chirpy Chick – Priddy Books

Dayeinu – Miriam Latimer

Dig! Scoop! – Pop Up and Play

Freight Train – Donald Crews

How Things Grow – Eric Carle

I Know A Lot – Stephen Krensky

I Spy With My Little Eye – Edward Gibbs

Jump! – Scott Fischer

Llama Llama Sand and Sun – Anna Dewdney

My 1^st Passover – Tomie DePaola

My Very First Book of Ducklings – Priddy Books (with quacking sound)

Tickle – Leslie Patricelli

Tip, Tip, Dig, Dig – Emma Garcia

When It’s Purim – Edie Zolkower

Who Am I? Baby Animals – DK Publishing

Who Can Jump – Sebastian Braun

Close Up on "Naughty Mabel"

Having a librarian as a mom spoils my kids in the book department. They have a pretty impressive collection of autographed books from famous authors and illustrators and are often exposed to titles before they hit the shelves. Thanks to last week’s Educator and Librarian Preview at Simon and Schuster, we have added (an autographed!) Naughty Mabel to our bedtime story rotation and Mabel is the new adopted pet in our lives.

Naughty Mabel is the hilarious tale of Mabel, a French bulldog who has a major sense of entitlement that any toddler will easily relate to. It is clearly written with adult readers in mind and this easy read-aloud is sure to make everyone laugh out loud. The pictures truly bring the words to life (and one might even say Mabel has Nathan Lane’s eyes). The message of the book is so sweet and simple that children of all ages will understand and relate to; that your parents love you unconditionally, always. As a parent, Mabel reminds me of the inner budding artist in the toddler that takes a crayon and draws a mural on her bedroom wall and yells “Ta-da!” with a huge smile and sense of innocence that you want to yell at and laugh at simultaneously. Mabel is the reminder to every parent that any mess, no matter how big, can be cleaned up and when all is said and done, we really do love our children no matter what they do.

I had the privilege to hear Mr. Lane speak about this book and how it came to be. Hearing him talk about his own French Bulldog Mabel makes the book even more fun. Knowing that not so far away there is a real dog who spends time in her Hamptons home and loves a spacious black town car truly is entertaining. (This is starting to make you want to be a pet of an award winning actor right?) Dan Krall truly brought Mabel to life with his depiction of a dog living the charmed life. This is sure to be on everyone’s must-read list and you will definitely be looking forward to more of Mabel’s adventures!