Highlights From The Book Expo

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE free stuff. Every year I look forward to the Book Expo at the Javitt’s Center like it is a giant celebration of me and the things I love most in the whole world – famous people and free books. (Yes, you do have to pay an admission fee but if you BEA right, you end up with way more than you paid for!)

Below is some of the awesome discoveries I made this year. While many of them are children’s books for the youngest set (since I do go there for work), I did find some other treasures adults are sure to love.

 Yes, My Accent Is Real – Kunal Nayyar

When a celebrity writes a book their signings are often a “ticketed event”, meaning if you aren’t one of the first 200 to show up, you aren’t getting a signed copy of the book. For really special famous people they often tell you that you cannot take a picture WITH the person only OF the person, and when a person is signing 200 autographs, unfortunately you cannot ask for the signature to be personalized. This was the case with Kunal Nayyar, author of Yes, My Accent is Real and is more famously known as the actor who plays Raj on The Big Bang Theory. When you know you only have 20-30 seconds with a famous person, what you choose to say in that moment is critical (if you can muster up the strength to say anything at all other than “Thanks!”). Since I am the most confident person I know, I took my picture of Kunal while he stopped and smiled for the person in front of me to take his picture and then I said “Just so you know, my husband always loved your character the best because when he was little he was scared to talk to girls, and he totally related to you the most”. (Super eloquent right?!) Then Mr. Nayyar said “Well he married a beautiful girl so he must be doing alright now!” And then I lost it (Not as much as the lady behind me) but I was on such a high from this moment that I probably had a goofy smile on my face for the next 3 days (who am I kidding? I am still smiling from this moment!) When this book of essays (maybe he feels too young to call it an autobiogrpahy?) comes out on September 8, find yourself a copy because you will seriously laugh out loud and you won’t put it down until you are finished with the whole thing.

 

The Marvels – Brian Selznick

Brian Selznick was on that “ticketed only” list I previously mentioned and if you have ever read The Invention of Hugo Cabret or Wonderstruck then you know just how amazing and talented Brian Selznick truly is. While I was extremely saddened that I wouldn’t meet him, the wonderful team at Scholastic had a really nice compensation package – you can pick up a regular copy of the book that isn’t autographed. I thought AWESOMMMMEEEE! Then another funny thing happened, just as I made a mental note to come back to the booth at 2 pm for my book, who other than Brian Selznick is hanging out in front of the really cool backdrop they made out of his new cover! Obviously I had to let him know that when I worked in the public library I made everyone and their mother (literally) read his books and that I also always pushed them on older reluctant readers since there were always more pictures than actual words. Sure enough, I got my photo with Brian Selznick and maybe when his next book comes out I will finally get his autograph. The Marvels tells a story in both pictures and words about two stories which seem unrelated and then magically combine. It goes on sale on September 15, but you better preorder it today!

Fuzzy Mud – Louis Sachar

I have always been a huge fan of Louis Sachar. I read all five of the Wayside School series books so many times in elementary school I can still repeat some of the text by heart. Obviously I loved Holes and Small Steps and I jumped at the chance to have my picture taken with one of my favorite authors of all time. Sometimes I like to play down how much I truly love an author in the moment to seem less star-struck so I had my book personalized to my husband who is obviously “also a HUGE fan of yours from when we were younger” but let’s be honest – this was really for me all along! Fuzzy Mud is a mystery-thriller about two middle schoolers who end up in the woods and discover mud that may create an ecological disaster. It is exciting and funny and all things Louis Sachar. Get excited!!

The Look Cookers – Jim Malloy

This book is for every child who has high anxiety about making new friends or meeting new people. Matthew, the protagonist in the story is a shy boy who believes he is a secret spy, on the lookout for the different kinds of people who are “out to get him”. He feels like they can read his mind when they make eye contact or blink or ask him questions. The book takes us through Matthew’s first day of school and just when you think he may crack, he shows the reader his way of proving he can get through the day on his own. This debut picture book is ideal for older readers (6+) who can get anxious about new surroundings.

Through The Town – Craig Shuttlewood

Let me introduce you to Little Bee Books – a brand new imprint of Bonnier Publishing Group. They publish really awesome books for children ages 0-5. I was lucky enough to be given a copy of Through the Town, a book about traveling all around the neighborhood with an opportunity for the young person to follow the trail. The “streets” on each page are grooved to put your finger in (or a small Hot Wheels car if you are my three year old) and you can practice fine motor skills while jumping over puddles or zig-zagging in the sky. This book has simple text and any child that loves to combine reading with activities is sure to keep this book open for hours.

I also want to give a shout-out to the School Zone Publishing Company. If you are unfamiliar with their products, they have amazing coloring and activity books as well as their own easy reader series called “Start to Read” that make excellent resources for children ages 2-6. They have apps as well and I highly recommend checking out schoolzone.com to see what they can offer your child!

Some other great books that I highly recommend include:

Red Bird: Friends Come in Different Sizes by Barney Saltzberg (who wrote Beautiful Oops) - This very brightly illustrated books reminds children that friends come in all shapes and sizes and we love people for who they are.

Look At Me Now! By Carol McDougall and Shanda LaRamee-Jones – This book is narrated by a toddler who is excited to share all the things he can now do by himself (or with a little help) with the world. If you have a toddler, they too will be proud that they can eat with a spoon, find their nose and walk up stairs along with all the other day to day activities highlighted in this book.

Bulldozer’s Big Day – Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann – it’s Bulldozer’s big day but to everyone else on the construction site it seems to be just a regular day at the office. Can you guess why Bulldozer is so excited? Two champion authors come together to write a great birthday tale – guaranteed to be loved by all children (but especially truck enthusiasts).

Click, Clack, Ho, Ho, Ho! – Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin – Duck is at it again! This time he wants to play Santa and poor old Farmer Brown just wants Christmas to be perfect... (no worries - it is the BEST Christmas!)

"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!

PASSOVER SONGS FOR LITTLE ONES

    
With Passover right around the corner, many of us are cleaning our closets, shopping for clothes, throwing out expired food from pantries and of course, hoping our children show off their singing skills at the Seder. In this spirit, I have compiled (for Story Time at work) popular Passover songs for you and your children to sing together from now until that 8th day!

Enjoy and have a happy and healthy Passover!

The Order Of The Seder

Kadesh, Urchatz, 

Karpas, Yachatz, 

Maggid, Rachtzah,

Motzie, Matzah, 

Maror, Korech, 

Shulchan Orech, 

Tzafun, Beirach, 

Hallel, Nirtzah

The Seder Plate (tune: this old man)

Parsley green number one... that’s cause springtime has begun.

Chorus: For it’s Pesach now, how do we celebrate, see what’s on our Seder plate.

Charoset is number two... Sweet like freedom, good for you. (Chorus)

Maror is number three... bitter herbs for slavery... (Chorus)

Shank bone is number four... lamb’s blood marking on the door. (Chorus)

Hardboiled egg number five... it’s so good to be alive! (Chorus)

Ma Nishtana?

Mah nishtanah halaylah hazeh mikol halaylot?

1) She-bechol halaylot ain anu matbilin afilu pa’am echat, halaylah hazeh shtei pe’amim?

2) She-bechol halaylot anu ochlim chametz o matzah, halaylah hazeh kulo matzah?

3) She-bechol halaylot anu ochlim she’ar yerakot, halaylah hazeh maror?

4) She-bechol halaylot anu ochlim bain yoshvin u-vain mesubin, halaylah hazeh kulanu mesubin?

The Ten Plagues

Dam, Tzefardea

Kinim, Arov

Dever, Sh’chin 

Barad, Arbeh

Choshech, Makat Bechorot.

These are the ten plagues!

The Frog Song

One morning when Pharoah woke in his bed

There were frogs on his head, and frogs in his bed

Frogs on his nose and frogs on his toes

Frogs – here! Frogs – there!

Frogs were jumping everywhere!

Dayeinu

Il-u ho-tzi, Ho-tzi-a-nu Ho-tzi-a-nu mi-mitz-ra-yim Ho-tzi-a-nu mi-mitz-ra-yim Da-yei-nu

Refrain: Da, da-yei-nu

Work, Work, Work

Bang, bang, bang, hold your hammer low

Bang, bang, bang, give a heavy blow.

For it’s work, work, work, every day and every night

For it’s work, work, work, when it’s dark and when it’s light.

Dig, dig, dig, get your shovel deep

Dig, dig, dig, there’s no time to sleep.

For it’s work, work, work, every day and every night

For it’s work, work, work, when it’s dark and when it’s light.

Who Knows One?

1 - who knows 1
1 - I know 1
1 is Our God who is in the heavens and on earth.

2 who knows 2
2 I know 2
2 are the tablets of the commandments
1 is Our God who is in the heavens and on earth.

3 who knows 3
3 I know 3
3 are the fathers
2 are the tablets of the commandments
1 is Our God who is in the heavens and on earth.

4 who knows 4
4 I know 4
4 are the mothers,
3 are the fathers
2 are the tablets of the commandments
1 is Our God who is in the heavens and on earth.

5 who knows 5
5 I know 5
5 are the books of the Torah,
4 are the mothers,
3 are the fathers
2 are the tablets of the commandments
1 is Our God who is in the heavens and on earth.

Bake A Matzah

Bake a matzah, pat, pat, pat

Do not make it fat, fat, fat

Bake a matzah, pat, pat, pat

Bake a matzah just like that.

Make charoset, chop, chop, chop

Apples, nuts and cinnamon

Add some wine, its lots of fun

Make charoset chop, chop, chop.

Eliyahu HaNavi

Eliyahu Hanavi,

Eliyahu Hatishbi,

Elyahu Hagiladi,

Bimherah Biyameinu

Yavo Eleinu

Im Mashiach Ben David

Chad Gadya (One Little Goat)

One little goat my father bought for two zuzim - chad gadya

Then came the cat that ate the kid…

Then came the dog and bit the cat that ate the kid my father bought for two zuzim - chad gadya

Then came the stick and beat the dog that bit the cat that ate the kid my father bought for two zuzim - chad gadya

Then came the fire And burned the stick that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate the kid my father bought for two zuzim, chad gadya!

PAT-A-CAKE

Pat a cake Pat a cake Matzah man,

Bake me an afikomen as fast as you can

The afikomen is the piece that Daddy hides

 So I can find it and get a prize!