Book Exchange Ideas

  

A new social media book exchange has surfaced. If someone can get 6 people to commit to participating and everyone participates accordingly, your child will receive 36 new books. That’s a pretty awesome home library. I personally am not a part of it so I did not get the email explaining the rules but I am left to wonder how one chooses the books that are sent. The cut and paste states that “Amazon is the ideal way to send the book” so are people looking for the cheapest children’s books to fulfill their obligation? There are a lot of Sandra Boynton titles for under $5 on Amazon, does that mean a child would get 36 of those? They are all really great, but what good is it to get doubles of books one already has at home? Why is that exciting for a child? Is the purpose to get new titles? Is there a wish list or a way to tell people “I already have the following”? It seems like a waste of an opportunity to buy someone their third copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar or Madeline because it was your favorite growing up. Take the time to think of the book the child would appreciate adding to his collection. Here are some ideas of types of books a child might appreciate to make the most of this possible pyramid scheme.

   

Is he into television characters? There are so many Nick Jr. and Disney episodes that are made into books. I have a list of types of Disney books you can get inspiration from here. It is something the child is definitely going to be excited about receiving. Keep in mind literacy comes in all forms, if the rules allow, you can also consider a coloring or activity book with those beloved characters.

Does your child have an interest in nonfiction? Smithsonian has come out with amazing books for toddlers and children on a vast amount of topics. They range in reading level for children and also have activity books. (My top picks are: Curious About Zoo Vets for animal lovers, Are You My Dinner for reluctant early readers, Home Address: ISS International Space Station for those interested in space and the Oceans Doodle Book for your underwater fans.) Here are some other Smithsonian titles.

    

If the child you are sending to is between the ages of 0 and 4 I recommend checking out the board books published by Cottage Door Press, Barefoot Books and Little Bee Books. They are brightly illustrated, interactive concept books for the youngest readers and the odds of adding a new book to a child’s home library is very likely.

This is an amazing opportunity to get children excited about books and reading – make it a quality book choice to make this successful for your child.

Cottage Door Press

An amazing new publishing company has emerged, focusing on babies and toddlers and I would like to proudly introduce to you the world of Cottage Door Press. Each book they create focuses on one or more skills and developmental milestones of our youngest readers which they highlight on the back of each book, known as the Early Bird Learning Guide. The company focuses on books for children ages 0-4 and really hones in on what those children are learning and strengthening every day. With six different categories of books you are sure to find something appropriate for your little ones (and you may love every book offered so much you just might want to collect them all). Here are a few titles for each type of series:

  

I: Babies Love Series

These Lift-The-Flap books are perfect for baby’s first year. Titles in the series include Things That Go, Animals and First Words. They have sturdy pages and flaps (definitely not a rip-the-flap kind of book!) and I personally love that the text is full sentences and real content, not just words to teach vocabulary.

   

II: I Can Do It Books

These books are perfect for the toddler learning to do things on his own. They are all relatable, brightly illustrated and encourage children to grow.

Good Night Octopus goes through a typical nighttime routine, cleaning up toys, bath time, pajamas, story time and a kiss goodnight.

The Peas Say Please focuses on table manners. It has an engaging rhyming scheme and is filled with relatable pictures including a booster seat, sippy cup and bib.

Everybody Potties is a great book for introducing toilet training. It brings up knowing and understanding the feeling of having to go, making on a toilet, flushing and washing up afterwards. (I personally noticed there is no mention of wiping but that gives the reader the opportunity to share that with that child as they read together.)

  

III: Sing and Smile Stories

These books with familiar texts will get your toddlers singing and dancing, enhancing vocabulary skills in the most engaging way. They are also designed with a cut out handle so they are easy for young ones to hold and carry with them everywhere.

In the book Wheels on the Bus the circus is coming to town! The book is interactive and encourages children to move like the characters on the page or make fun noises. It is the perfect sing-along read-aloud.

In Old MacDonald Had a Band the farm is filled with animals’ sounds and musical instruments making this the noisiest farm in town! The text is fun and encourages musical expression. Also a perfect read-aloud.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is sure to be your child’s new favorite bedtime story. Fairy tale themed illustrations accompany this sweet nighttime lullaby.

   

IV: Look, Look Baby – Point and Match

A baby’s first I Spy book that teaches matching, pointing and other early math skills. Titles in this series include Zoom! Zoom! (Things that go), Whiskers and Tails (Animals) and Sunny Day (Things found outdoors). Every book builds vocabulary and is essentially a game that informally teaches numbers, colors, shapes and anything else you spot on the pages. There are suggestions on how to use the books on the inside cover and the really bright two page spreads are extremely inviting to young eyes. I strongly suggest this series, it is so much fun and takes story time with your child to a new level.

     

V: Tabbed Board Books

These books have a unique border making them more appealing on a bookshelf. Books in this series are:

ABC Animal Party – a story incorporating the alphabet and animals. It is a cute story about the animals preparing a surprise party for their friend and the alphabet on the last page has a picture of each animal that corresponds to the letters (except for K and X. I understand X can be hard but Kangaroo, Koala? There are animals that start with the letter K!)

Big Day for Baby maps out a typical day in a toddler’s life including waking up, getting dressed, eating, playing and bedtime routine. The last page spread highlights vocabulary and common pictures that babies and toddlers can surely identify.

123 Count With Me – count from one to ten with these adorable animals! I love the playful rhyming scheme in the text but no matter how many times I read this book, I always cringe at the “mousies” because the word is “mice”!

 

VI: Padded Board Books

These softer (but still sturdy!) board books are perfect for cuddling up and reading as a family.

Grandma Wishes – almost prayer-like, a grandmother wishes on a star that her baby grows up to be happy, healthy and a good person. If you know a grandmother, this book MUST be shared with her!

My Little Beast – every parent lives through these moments. Your child does something to set you off – a toy in the toilet, a new box of cereal spilled on the floor, coloring on the walls… (Is this just my kids?) This book is an adorable reminder that no matter how “beastly” the act, parents never stop loving their children and never cease to remind their children about that simple fact. I personally do not love the title (I don’t think it is particularly nice to refer to a child as a “beast”) but the pictures are cute and the text really resonates with many families.

The Moon Sees You and Me reiterates to children the idea that whether you are close by or far away there is always a sense of security between a parent and a child. This book sends a really positive and loving message to young ones.

In addition to these series, they also sell book and toy gift sets and button sound books. I really love the books that Cottage Door Press has to offer and I am excited for future titles to add to my toddler’s personal library. You can purchase Cottage Door Press Books on their website, Amazon, Kohl’s and other fine retailers. 

Hello, World!

    

Sometimes I wish I was a world traveler and had cool photo albums filled with pictures of famous landmarks and renowned art pieces from all of my explorations that I could share with my family and friends. Until the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami becomes a landmark, something tells me it will be a while before I have a more sophisticated photo album. Until then, my children have to learn about the world from television, books and their imagination.

My children love the television show Little Einsteins on Disney Junior which has exposed them to classical music and many recognized works of art and iconic cities around the world. They often ask if they can go to these places and see the Eiffel Tower in France or Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. While I feel bad telling them that we are not leaving the East Coast any time soon, a new board book series brings those cities and their cultures to life in my living room (when the television is off).

In this four book series, Hello, World highlights the best attractions and iconic features each city has to offer. It is also a concept series so you will practice your opposites in London, your numbers in San Francisco, your shapes in Paris and your colors in New York. Every parent who has been to any of these places (or lives in one of these cities) will be able to talk about the sites featured on a more personal level. I showed my children pictures of Buckingham Palace I took when I was there and held it up next to the picture in the book (they LOVED that!)

Each page of every book has something exciting to talk about with your child and truly captures the essence of each city. In the heart of New York City you can spot more than just colors while taxi cabs are flying through the streets and dogs are being walked in the park. On a sunny day in San Francisco you can count the people hopping on and off trolleys and watching the boats float by. Every must see site in Paris is mentioned in this book about shapes and children will love the changing of the guards and tea parties starting and ending in the London book of opposites.

The illustrations are bright, inviting and truly captivate the feeling of each city. I emailed the author/illustrator Ashley Evanson and asked her why she chose these four specific locations and she told me that “Each one is overflowing with its own unique culture, art, customs and life. I loved studying the history of all these cities and wanted to teach my own kids about it, too”. You will love sharing these books with your toddlers and they will love learning new concepts while experiencing another part of the world.  

The Biography Report

Me and David A. Adler

Warren Buffet once said in an interview that he is able to make smart executive decisions because he reads nonfiction books, mainly biographies. My husband thinks Mr. Buffet is one of the smartest men in the world, so he decided to start reading Business Week and told me to start reading more nonfiction as well. I took his advice and read Mindy Kaling’s first book, Is Everybody Hanging out without me? (And Other Concerns). We obviously have different opinions on quality nonfiction literature.

Everyone gets assigned a Biography report at some point in elementary school. I remember standing in front of my 3^rd grade class, dressed in black boots and a floral dress with my hair in pigtails and presented an oral report about the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I am sure I chose her but I have no  idea why, she was an author of a series I didn’t read until that report. With today’s new biography series, children really have the ability to choose a person they are genuinely interested in learning more about. Even better, they are written for children on all levels so if your kindergartner wants to learn more about Jackie Robinson, there are picture books for him. And if your third grader loves Maurice Sendak more than Laura Ingalls Wilder, there’s a biography for him too. 

When I became a librarian, a coworker once advised me to read at least one book in every series on the shelf so that when a parent or child asked me what it was about or what reading level it was I would know without hitting up my computer. I took it upon myself to read three biographies from three up and coming series focusing on famous people throughout time, the Women of Our Time Series, the Ordinary People Change the World Series and the Who Was/Who Is series.

  

Women of Our Time

This series focuses on renowned women of the 20^th century. Ranging from Coretta Scott King to Juliette Gordon Low, these books focus on the childhood and youth of these women, displaying their trials and tribulations and how that shaped them into the women who made headlines and paved the way for women everywhere. Each book is written by a different renowned author and the stories of these women give young people the opportunity to learn how vast childhood can be for people around the world and in different times and also teach that if you have a passion for something, nothing can stand in your way.

I read Golda Meir: A Strong Determined Leader by David A. Adler (who I had the honor of meeting at BEA this past year) and learned all about her journey from Russia to Israel. She was leader from a young age and is a truly inspirational role model for today’s young women (and men) who aspire to run for President one day. The back of the book has a timeline and index for reference use. Adler is a master storyteller and has written many picture book biographies worth reading as well. 

Ordinary People Change the World

Nothing screams “read me” like a brightly illustrated book with cartoon illustrations. The books read like a comic book and are voiced in first person by the famous person as a child. Titles include Jackie Robinson, Lucille Ball, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein and more. When children learn from a young age that famous people struggle in school or have hardships similar to them, it gives them the confidence to work hard to accomplish their dreams.

I read the newest book in the series about Helen Keller. The first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts, Helen Keller is one of the most motivating role model out there. Each book has authentic pictures of the person in the back, along with a timeline of her life, sources and further reading. The anecdotes in talking bubbles make this an easy reader and makes each individual feel easily relatable.  

Who Is/Who Was?

Think of a person and I bet you will find that name in this series list. From George Lucas to Frida Kahlo there is no way a child wouldn’t find a person they are interested in learning more about. Artists, scientists, actors, sports stars are all written about in this series. These chapter books are perfect for the elementary school book report with simple text and relevant illustrations. The timelines at the end of each book are amazing because side by side they navigate the person’s personal life in conjunction with what was happening in the world at the same time. There is also a bibliography for resource use.

I read the biography of Julia Child. Everything I knew about Julia Child was from the movie Julie & Julia. This was far more interesting than that movie. Julia did such interesting things throughout her life and she didn’t even plan on doing most of the jobs she fell into. My favorite anecdote is when Julia had to fill out a form in college stating her major and work plans Post College she wrote, “No plans and marriage preferable”. Julia Child isn’t just an inspiration to the child cook she proves that one can accomplish amazing things in life despite getting Cs in school and not having a clear direction after graduating college. Maybe this book will also become the new book to give as a graduation gift along with Oh the Places You’ll Go.

      

I also have made the time to read two adult autobiographies, Yes, My Accent Is Real by Kunal Nayyar and Why Not Me by Mindy Kaling. I had to read Kunal Nayyar's book because I had already received an excerpt from it at the Book Expo and I needed to finish the whole book, (You can read about my experience meeting Kunal Nayyar here.) While I can’t say that I learned the secrets to making better business decisions, I can say that I laughed out loud during both books and personally feel I have a lot of good stories to share about famous people at my dinner table.    

G&D Vintage Books

  

When it comes to illustrating picture books, the ways to do it are endless. Programs like Photoshop or 3D animation take watercolor or oil pastel images to a whole new level. While this is a new and exciting development, the people at Penguin Publishing believe in the tried and true pen and ink classic pictures and have recently introduced their line of G&D Vintage books – relaunching books from the Wonder Books line that were originally published in the 40s, 50s and 60s. Each book has a nostalgic feel but the colors and stories are fresh and exciting for today’s youngest readers. It’s a genius way to make the classics relevant and to create a bond between grandparents and grandchildren by sharing the books they loved as children with the next generation of readers.

My favorite books in this series are:

The Animals’ Vacation – Shel and Jan Haber

The zoo keeper gathers up the animals and drops them off in their natural habitats for vacation but they all head back to the zoo in time to celebrate Mrs. Kangaroo’s new baby. The best part of this book is the map on the back end pages that highlights where each animal from the story live around the world.

The Too Little Fire Engine – Jane Flory

A small toy engine has always wanted to help fight fires. When his friends at the toy shop laugh at this idea, he is more determined than ever to put out a fire. When the fire alarm goes off in town, he heads out to the heart of emergency and learns that even when you are small you can help in big ways. This book is ideal for any child who loves rescue vehicles.

The Noisy Clock Shop – Jean Horton Berg

Mr. Winky loves his clock shop and takes comfort in the constant hum of the tick-tock. When Mr. Glum points out how irritating the sound is, Mr. Winky is suddenly bothered by the noise as well and starts on a journey to find peace and quiet. He travels all over in search of the perfect spot and finds it in the heart of his clock shop. The book has great illustrations and reminds everyone that there is no place like home.

The full title list of books in this series:

The Funny Bunny Factory

The Fix It Max

The Baby Elephant

The Christmas Puppy

The Animals’ Vacation

Mr. Wishing Went Fishing

The Bingity Bangity School Bus

My ABC Book

The Noisy Clock Shop

Bunny Hopwell’s First Spring

The Too Little Fire Engine

Fall Is In The Air!

My family does not celebrate Halloween (unless you count buying the candy for 75% off the day after “celebrating”), but all the costumes and decorations are already being displayed and it is hard to avoid. In another week children’s television shows will already be airing their Halloween episodes and that is really when I start to feel the fall season in full swing (even if we are still wearing short sleeves). I am really excited about the new Halloween books out this season which range from baby to big kid which I urge you to check out and even though my kids won’t be carving pumpkins or dressing up like many of the characters in these stories, I love sharing with them the spirit of the season by making pumpkin cookies (here’s our favorite recipe: http://www.bakedbyrachel.com/soft-batch-frosted-pumpkin-cookies/http://www.bakedbyrachel.com/soft-batch-frosted-pumpkin-cookies/ ).

Disney Tails: Figaro’s Halloween Surprise

This is an adorable touch and feel book starring Minnie’s pet cat. Figaro decides to create a “spooktacular surprise” for his friend Cleo and young readers will be able to feel the crisp leaves, ripe pumpkins, soft noses and costumes. This brightly illustrated story brings the colors and spirit of the Halloween season to life.

Seven Orange Pumpkins – Stephen Savage

This Halloween counting book incorporates everyone’s favorite spooky aspects of this holiday. Count down with skeletons, pirates, owls, mummies, witches, black cats and spiders. The nighttime illustrations set the tone beautifully and with the vibrant rhyming text this is sure to be a counting book read all year round.

Mickey’s Halloween – A Lift the Flap Book

I love a lift the flap book. I especially love this particular one because it caters to children who are old enough NOT to rip the flaps. With a rhyme and look and find on every page, this book is really perfect for a three to five year old who will appreciate lifting the flaps to find their favorite characters dressed in costume, help to collect treats and spot familiar shapes and animals on every page.

Peter Rabbit – The Great Pumpkin

The lovable Peter Rabbit (from the hit television series on Nick Jr.) is celebrating Pumpkin Day with his family and friends. Obviously, he needs a giant pumpkin from Mr. McGregor’s garden and runs into trouble in the process of getting it. Luckily, Peter and his friends always come up with a plan and celebrate the holiday in style. The graphics are so vivid and the story is not specifically Halloween and can be used for any fall themed story time. The last pages have instructions to carve your own pumpkin and a certificate for completing your lantern creation.

Room on the Broom Big Activity Book – Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

Your source for all Halloween and fall activities lies in the book. Perfect to keep any young child busy for hours with fun, this book is filled with games – dot to dot, complete the scene with stickers, matching, look and find, word searches, mazes, crosswords, and more. There are a ton of stickers, coloring and drawing opportunities and recipes to cook festive Halloween snacks (I am all about the Star Cookies). The book has an answer key in the back for each activity and is filled with seasonal characters and themes including witches, brooms, magic spells, and dragons. You can also check out the website for printable activities. You will love playing games with this witch! http://roomonthebroom.com/activities/ 

My Friend Greg

 

As I have mentioned in the past, each minute I spend at the Book Expo is carefully planned out well in advance. In 2014 I was one of the first in line to meet Lemony Snicket.  This gave me an extra 25 minutes which I did not factor into my thoroughly planned day.  I looked up and saw a signing booth with a relatively short line.  When this happens at an autograph booth you can either assume the author isn’t famous (yet) or everyone is waiting for a chance to snag a picture with a really famous actor or actress (spoiler alert: you rarely get a picture WITH them). The booth belonged to Greg Pizzoli, an author I had never heard of. That’s pretty embarrassing for a children’s librarian as he won an award for his first picture book and it is my job to know of all award winners. There were only two people on line so I hopped on and got an autograph of his book Number One Sam. A part of me wanted to autograph it for my brother since his name is Sam but instead I had it made out to my children. I totally regret not taking a picture with him, not just to enhance this blog post but because I feel like he is my friend (even if he just considers me his #1 fan). I told him I thought it was weird that I had never heard of him since he was handing me his second book but I said “I’m going to read your first book” (I didn’t until July of 2015). I DID however, share the story of Number One Sam with everyone I knew because I thought it was adorable. 

A few months later I received a copy of Tricky Vic, Pizzoli’s next picture book which is a fascinating biography of Robert Miller, the famous con man who “sold” the Eiffel Tower. I was blown away by this book. I am not one to read biographies willingly (unless it is written by Mindy Kaling or Tina Fey) but I knew this book was special. Written in typical Pizzoli fashion, he took an interesting, lesser known character in history and told a fascinating story on a level a first or second grader could easily understand. The pictures are fun and interesting and details on the pages were filled with newspaper clippings from the time which I thought made this book amazing. I started to recommend it to everyone I knew who needed Common Core nonfiction ideas and every reluctant reader I could think of. Then I decided to take a leap and email Mr. Pizzoli and let him know just how much I loved his book. When I would write fan mail back in 1996 with my friends we never heard back from them (ever). Luckily, in 2015 there are really easy ways to track down famous people and stalk them on Twitter. I was so excited when I got a response from Mr. Pizzoli himself and not a publicist.

I then received a copy of his next title, Templeton Gets His Wish and decided it would be fun to send another email to Mr. Pizzoli about how much my children loved reading the book with me. When I got another response I knew I had a good thing going and I probably shouldn’t mess it up. At this point, summer had just started and my kids were eating watermelon all the time so I finally read and shared Mr. Pizzoli’s award winning debut picture book, The Watermelon Seed with my children. I am pretty sure I should have read it to them sooner - they are obsessed with it and I read it about 10 times a day. I obviously had to share that with my friend Mr. Pizzoli via email because I have never seen my kids laugh as hard as they did when I read this book to them.

Greg Pizzoli really understands his young audience and they really appreciate him. My children have a great relationship with Pizzoli’s characters, and I don’t mind reading about crocodiles or Templeton or Sam multiple times a day. I know that when my children are a little older, they will also get to know Tricky Vic.

A Brief Summary of Greg Pizzoli’s picture books that were not detailed above:

The Watermelon Seed –

An adorable story of a crocodile who loves watermelon and accidentally swallows a seed. Yep, everyone’s biggest melon nightmare is his reality and it is the perfect summer read aloud (and all year long). My kids have been telling me things are growing in their guts for months now and it never gets old. I especially love that he only uses four colors (red, green, black and white). The simple images really capture the tone of the text and compliment it beautifully.

Number One Sam –

Sam is the number one racecar driver until he loses a race. This charming story about how Sam makes his way back to the top is extremely relatable to children learning that you don’t always have to win the game to be the best player on the team.

Templeton Gets His Wish –

Templeton is the oldest of four cats and he is tired of his parents bossing him around and his siblings taking his toys so he wishes them away. Once he realizes that sometimes you need a little guidance from your parents and it is nice to have siblings to play with he makes a new wish and with it comes a new attitude. At first I really didn’t think my two and four year old would understand this story but they did and my son even pointed out that even though sometimes you get angry at your family members you really still love them no matter what. That is pretty impressive for a four year old, but I think he really appreciated the story because of how it was presented.

Now you know all about my friendship with Greg Pizzoli. Share his stories with your little ones and then email him all about your personal experience.