Feed Me Books Friday: Making Memories

I leave for vacation tomorrow, so for this week I hope you will oblige me with a little break and enjoy some of my previous travel related posts, like: 

• My suggestions for great books to travel with.
• Ideas for vacation planning with books.
• Why I think books make better souvenirs than snow globes - or most other trinkets.
• Preparation for travel - feeling confident and comfortable.
• Some thoughts on routines, manners, and discipline whether traveling or at home.
• A fun story about what happens at home when the family is on vacation.
• And of course, there's last week's post about packing, if you missed it!

Looking forward to reading all your suggestions when I return! Have a great week!

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Feed Me Books Friday: Father’s Day Book Picks

Don’t Spoil the Surprise!

I’m running the risk of revealing my husband’s Father’s day gift by sharing my book choices this week, but what good would they be to you next week? I’ll just have to keep his eyes off my blog for a couple days…


Making Memories Cover to Cover


It’s a chicken-or-egg question: do books evoke such strong feelings and memories for me because I love to read, or do I love to read because books evoke such strong feelings and memories? In either case, books play a prominent role in vacation memories, birthdays, and holidays in our lives. It stands to reason then, that part of Daddy’s Father’s day present would be a book. In past years, I’ve chosen books that highlight special relationships between fathers and children or those that feature dad as the hero. This year, Daddy will be receiving two books to share with his two little boys.


The Big Boys

Daddy and B will hone their motor skills while they enjoy The Boy Mechanic Makes Toys, from the Editors of Popular Mechanics. As an honest reviewer, I have to admit I have not read all 275 pages. That said, I was sold after reading the jacket, the foreword, the table of contents, and a few random pages. The book contains an array of 159 projects from the pages of Popular Mechanics magazine in the early 1900s. The foreword emphasizes the value of ingenuity and craftsmanship. Methods and materials have not been updated for modern advancements, and some projects are more entertaining to read about than to actually produce, such as the folding-chair sleigh or fighting roosters toy. However, the majority are intriguing and sure to result in some quality father-son time for anyone with some mechanical inclinations. Chapters include: Making Magic, The Science of Fun, The Really Great Outdoors, Fun for Little Ones, Fun for Older Kids, and The Toy Workshop. I know B will be excited to learn the old-time magic tricks, and will definitely want to try out projects like the toy water plane or dry cell toy tractor.


The Little Guy

T is not yet big enough to participate in the “projecting” that B and Daddy enjoy together (though he thinks he is) so the book I chose for him to enjoy with Daddy will help them spend some quiet time together and is sure to lead to some giggles. Toddlers like T who spend all day with Mommy need special time to develop an emotional bond with Daddy, too. Daddy Cuddles, by Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben depicts six different animal daddies cuddling their young. The text is repetitive, but that’s comforting and developmentally appropriate for toddlers. Each page reads, “Daddy [animal] cuddles his [young].” The illustrations show how the animal families exchange “cuddles” and I’m sure Daddy and T (and even B) will share some laughs as the boys cling to Daddy’s belly like the baboons or nuzzle noses like the tigers. We already enjoy Mommy Hugs and Daddy Kisses from the same series, and this one is sure to become a bedtime favorite too.


Appropriate for: babies, toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades, Dads


What are your favorite Daddy books? Will you be doing anything special to celebrate fathers this weekend?

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Feed Me Books Friday: It’s Birthday Time Again

Party Prep

My regular readers know birthdays are a BIG deal in my family; not in the ponies in the front yard, contracted entertainers, and fireworks kind of way, but it’s really important that the birthday –boy or –girl feel celebrated. That means making choices for the meal, as many family members as we can round up, and enjoying (or enduring) a birthday song over 2 minutes long! I’ve been prepping this week for a pirate party – namely a Jake and the Never Land Pirates party. B is completely enamored with the new show on Disney Junior, and since it’s so new (and I’ve never been one to spend a bunch of money on licensed character paraphernalia anyway) I’m creating a lot from scratch. We’re still on the hunt for a pirate book to enjoy as a Jake alternative – suggestions?

Our Tradition Gift

Each year, along with toys and games and clothes, I select a book for each of my boys that expresses how loved and special they are. This year, my choice for B is Wherever You Are, My Love will Find You, by Nancy Tillman. Tillman was nominated for a Children’s Choice Book Award for her illustrations in this book, which is how we were first introduced to it. The illustrations are indeed captivating, but the text is also worthy of recognition. It catalogs the places and situations that love finds its recipient without feeling list-like. The rhythm and rhyme is almost reminiscent of Dr. Seuss a la Oh, The Places You’ll Go:

“You can dance ‘till you’re dizzy, Paint ‘till you’re blue. There’s no place, not one, that my love can’t find you.”

If a little mush leaves a bad taste in your mouth, this one probably isn’t for you, but if you’re a sentimental like me, you’ll enjoy just the right amount of creative language, thoughtfully evoked memories, and beautiful illustrations, without feeling sappy. I’m quite tempted to use the text as a jumping off point for a scrapbook for each of the boys. I see childhood pictures spanning many years illustrating phrases like:

“Make a big splash. Go out on a limb. My love will find you. My love can swim!”

Whether I’ll get to work on this project or it will become another of my “best laid plans,” remains to be seen, but this birthday book will be enjoyed for years to come.


Appropriate for: everyone!

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Feed Me Books Friday: Feed Me Love

A Birthday Tradition
Being the book lover and collector that I am, I was buying children’s books and stashing them away before I even started my family. While I was pregnant with my first child, I decided I would start a tradition of a special book gift for each birthday. My recent discovery of Your Birthday Book added another tradition, but that’s another post. So far, each book I’ve selected has been a picture book about being a special and loved part of the family. Their primary developmental quality might be that they instill a sense of emotional security, but that’s not why I buy them. I buy them because they touch my heart. I’m not sure whether I’ll continue to choose picture books as the boys get older, or if I’ll find age-appropriate books and novels that speak to their talents or personalities. What I know is that when they become adults, I’ll have a library of love to give to them.

Some Shots From the Birthday Party:

It’s a Milestone Month

I’ve already written about B starting preschool this month. September is also T’s birthday month. My youngest had his first birthday this week, and it is at once joyous and bittersweet. We love birthdays, and the 1st is especially exciting, but it also makes me reflect on how fast T is growing and how much he has changed in this short time. It makes me realize how much B has grown in the last year as well, to become a caring, helpful, and attentive big brother. It reminds me to soak up the mundane day-to-day moments before they disappear. With both B and T, their 1st birthday prompted memories of “last year at this time…” from my husband and I. We think about what life was like before they arrived, and how very blessed we are that they were added to it. The book that expresses this feeling best for me is Marion Dane Bauer’s Love Song for a Baby. It was the first of the birthday books for both of my boys. It is narrated by a parental voice speaking to a child, “Come hear a song about a baby… Come hear a song about you.” The narrator begins by describing the love the parents felt “before the sun ever kissed you.” Each page is a snapshot of a memory, from pregnancy through infancy and toddlerhood; memories of round cheeks, clapping hands, and burps that were “bells” are illustrated with soft pastel oils. And on each page the narrator affirms, we loved you. Reading this with my sons or on my own warms my heart, stirs my memory, and kindles both nostalgia and pride. Share it with a child you love – you won’t be sorry.


Appropriate for: babies, toddlers, moms, dads, everyone.


Do you have a favorite “I love you” book? Please share it in the comments – I’m always on the look-out for next birthday’s gift!


Link up your book recommendations for the week below, and visit the other links to get some great ideas!


 

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Play with Logic and Spatial Skills

You’re Getting Warmer…
Hide and Seek and Peek-a-boo are timeless games around any home with children, and here is no exception. The warmer/colder game is a fun twist on hiding play. Sometimes B (or more often Mommy or Daddy) gets tired of hiding under the stifling blanket and waiting to be found (especially in the heat of summer)! We take turns with B hiding objects inside and out:

On the bookshelf...

In the couch cushions...

On the bed...

Even in the bathtub!

...and in the garden.

Then we give clues to find them: “You’re getting warmer, warmer, now colder, warmer, hot!” Sometimes we also practice spatial cues, including higher, lower, left, right, near, and far, for an extra cognitive challenge. B loves to be the clue giver as much as the hunter, and I love that he’s practicing academic vocabulary while he’s having a good time. Sometimes we hide several objects at once, sort of like an easter egg hunt, and it becomes a memory challenge as well. Occasionally B gets so caught up in finding good hiding spots, that the object disappears for a day or two until we come across it again in another game!

Backseat Hide and Seek
I’ve capitalized on this interest in searching for hidden objects to make car rides and waiting at the doctor or restaurant more fun as well. There are several great books that introduce kids to the concept of searching for hidden pictures without being quite as complex or challenging as the famous Where’s Waldo? We enjoy the Little First Look and Find series for independent play/reading because they’re sturdy board books and each page has a picture bank of items to find, so word recognition is not required. Some of the I Spy series has this feature as well, and B enjoys the more challenging I Spy Books when he has a grown-up to help with the reading. We recently purchased Hide and Seek in Colors, which has a magnifying glass on a ribbon that tucks in the front cover; and while it isn’t really necessary, it makes the seeking more fun, and having a physical object to seek with allows us to practice our warmer/colder game.

Appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades (depending on complexity and independence)


Come Play at the We Play link up at Childhood 101


Stop by Friday and share a book or two at Feed Me Books Friday!

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Enjoy it at 2, at 12, at 52

Not Really a Children’s Book

So I normally write about books I read with my boys – books that help them learn and grow and books that help me teach and share, and this is not exactly the kind of book we’d keep in the book bin next to the couch. However, I have no doubt we’ll read it again and again, and I am so in love with it I had to share! Your Birthday Book, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, is an interactive record of your child’s life, revisited each year on (or around) his or her birthday. I stumbled across it while browsing on Amazon, it arrived just before B’s birthday, and our “exclusive interview” was the talk of his birthday party! (The party that drained away my blogging time, as I mentioned in my Grown-Up-Boy post.) The description from the back of the book:

“This is not anything like a baby book. It’s a birthday book! It was born from the simple idea that birthdays provide the perfect annual opportunity to preserve a sweet moment in time as your child changes from year to year. From toddler hood to young adulthood, this journal contains space to stick birthday photos, fun and thought-provoking interview questions to ask your kid, and a time-capsule envelope for stashing away odds and ends.”

But a Really Special Child’s Book

Your Birthday Book is filled in a few pages at a time, once a year; we can handle that, right? The timing of my discovery of this book could not have been more perfect – the first 3 years of the book are mostly devoted to parent entries and picture spots, but then the interview pages begin! I am in love with the “exclusive interview” featured for each year.

The questions are sure to generate priceless responses. Some repeat from year to year: “Who is the last person you kissed?” and others are more age-relevant: “Where do you find spiritual fulfillment?” (at birthday 17). Additionally, there are spots to record memories from the birthday itself, a space for a photo, an envelope page for keepsakes, and bonus question pages to further engage your child in discussion.

Memories in the Making

I completed the “exclusive interview” with B the day before his birthday, then left the book open to that page on the table during the party. Our family and guests loved reading his answers to the questions, and I can only imagine how much we’ll enjoy reading those same answers, and others as years go on, at his 18th birthday party. My favorite response so far, when asked what he thought of when I said the word “love,” he said, “everybody that we know in this world.” Wow. This idea also really resonated with me as I began working on my own childhood memory blog, animo memoria, in the Mommy’s Piggy Tales project.


I Love Birthdays

I’m also peppering this post with a few pics from B’s party. He had a blast, as did the other 10 kids and 20-some adults. Birthdays are a big deal in my family, and I’m so pleased to add another special tradition to our celebration. Do you have any special birthday traditions?


Appropriate for: everyone!


Linked up With:

Feed Me Books Friday

Meme’s the Word (on Saturday)

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Summer Fun for a Pre-reader

Sounds of Summer

I’m not a classroom teacher anymore, but Memorial Day hits and I’m still ready for summer! We had lovely weather this past holiday weekend; we enjoyed outdoor play, swimming, barbeque, and family fun well into the evening. Our patio small-talk was accompanied by the sounds of B and a friend playing tag on the lawn and another harbinger of summer: the chirping of crickets! When B first noticed the sounds of crickets last year, he found them a little disconcerting – I think mostly because he couldn’t see where the noise was coming from. We got out a book we already owned but hadn’t yet made a real life connection to: The Very Quiet Cricket, by Eric Carle.


Intro to the Insect World

The book begins when a tiny cricket hatches from an egg. He is welcomed by a bigger cricket, who chirps by rubbing his wings together, but the little cricket is unsuccessful when he tries to return the greeting with a chirp of his own. On each page, the cricket meets another insect, including a locust, cicada, spittlebug, and others, each of whom make different sounds. The poor little cricket is frustrated again and again by his inability to communicate with the other bugs he meets, and finally decides to enjoy the quiet of the Luna moth. As day comes to a close, he meets another little cricket and tries his chirp one last time… with success! A lesson in perseverance, should you choose to read it that way. Our version is a board book with a battery operated "chirp" sound activated as you open the final page - extra fun. It also helped B connect the outside sounds with the story of the cricket. 


Let Your Pre-reader Chime- (or Chirp-) In!

The text of this book is perfect for pre-readers because rather than being decodable, it is predictable. Repetition abounds, both in form and syntax. Each page reads the same way:

• A greeting: (Good afternoon!) verb: (screeched) insect: (a cicada),
  
• Progressive action with preposition: (Clinging to a branch of a tree).
  
• “Chorus”: (The little cricket wanted to answer, so he rubbed his wings together, but nothing happened, not a sound.)

The “chorus,” or repeating text, will likely be the first thing your little one picks up on, especially if you pause for fill-in-the-blank style participation. For example, you read: “The little cricket wanted to answer, so he…” and your child responds: “rubbed his wings together,” and you read, “but nothing happened…” and your child responds: “not a sound.” As the book (and the insects) become more familiar, your child may be able to recall more on her own, including the greetings and actions of each bug.


Repetition Getting Old? Here’s Why You Should Keep it Up:

Parents often tire of reading repetitive books even when preschoolers love them. (This is one you’ll be able to read with your eyes closed before long, which is sometimes handy!) However, repetitive books are ideal for the preschool set for two reasons: they appeal to their developing cognitive skills of recall, order, and sequence, and they help establish a connection between text and meaning which is an important early literacy skill. So, think of your preschoolers favorite repetitive books like the dish you can order at your favorite restaurant without looking at the menu: it may be predictable, but it’s comforting and always satisfying.
Appropriate for babies, toddlers, preschoolers.


Link-ups:

What My Child Is Reading

Where in the World Wednesday

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