Planes and Trains and Roars: Let's Hear it for the Boys!

The due date of my daughter's second boy is drawing closer; and right now for her two and a half-year-old firstborn son, it's all about anything that zooms, stomps, or roars: planes, trains, trucks, elephants, lions and dinosaurs!

My grandson's current favorite things include his new airplane riding toy (complete with working propeller - though he's a little bummed it doesn't really fly) and Disney's Jungle Book movie.

So I scored at a local bookstore the other day when I found one of Lois Lenski's "Mr. Small" books, The Little Airplane (read my past posts here about these sweet books and their author).

I also spotted and picked up a "Baby Lit" books, Little Master Kipling:  The Jungle Book. My grandson loves to "roar" like a tiger and trumpet like an elephant, but I have to be careful not to roar too loudly when we get to the page with "Sher Khan", the Tiger, or he gets a little too scared.

The Baby Lit board books are so cute, but they are aimed just as much (if not more) at literature-loving-adults then at kids.  I mean, seriously: Anna Karenina?? Wuthering Heights??  for children?

We like Little Master Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes (read my past post here) and Little Master Carol: Alice in Wonderland.  Another, Little Master Baum: The Wizard of Oz looks super adorable - can't wait to get that one; and I'm guessing my grandson would like Little Master Melville: Moby-Dick.

On to trains:  Thomas the Tank. All. The. Way.  I'm referring to the "old school" Thomas, not the new, strange looking (in my opinion) CGI "Thomas and Friends".  If you haven't read my past post about the wonderful Rev. W. Awdry (Thomas' creator) and his original books, go here.

Currently, my grandson is obsessed with cabooses in particular...

His latest favorite from the library is C is for Caboose: Riding the Rails from A to Z by Traci N. Todd.  Any child who loves trains and is ready for "a-b-c books" will enjoy this picture book, uniquely illustrated with a mix of vintage drawings and modern photos!

He also likes the Caldecott honor book, Freight Train by Donald Crews...

 and the Little Golden Book The Little Red Caboose.

Maybe her love of travel and my grandson's love of trains inspired my daughter to set up this cute little changing area for her soon-to-be born little boy, with all the supplies organized and ready-at-hand in an old vintage suitcase!

All Aboard!  Click the links below to go to my previous posts with some fun toddler and preschool book recommendations:

• How to Find the Best Books for Babies and Toddlers
• Helen Oxenbury's Books for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
• Fun and Curious:  The Preschool Years
• Fun With Numbers and Counting

Hope you'll check out some of the books we love.  What are (or were) your little boy's favorites?
UPDATE:  Have to add in my grandson's newest favorite!  Have you heard of Supertruck?  Go here.

It's Official: Fall is Here!

Yesterday marked the first day of fall: the Autumn Equinox.  

Here in Southern California, that means stores are stocking pumpkin candy corn, and we finally have temperatures below 85 degrees. (But we might get an "Indian Summer" in October).


Oh, how I've been waiting for this!  I LOVE FALL!  Why?  If you check out my Pumpkin/Turkey/Fall Time Board on Pinterest, you'll see why:

Stories like Pumpkin Moonshine, by Tasha Tudor -

Now It's Fall, by Lois Lenski -

Peter in Blueberry Land, (and many more books) by Elsa Beskow -

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice Rooibos Herbal Tea...

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Recipes - like homemade Pumpkin Coffee Creamer

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and Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting:

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Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Spice Bars:

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Also - Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal, and Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Pumpkin Spice Buttercream Frosting

Look at these Mums! ($13 from Costco!)

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DIY Pumpkin Bird Feeder via Martha Stewart:

(Non Scary) Halloween fun...If you've followed my blog for very long, you know I like to find ideas that are family friendly and book themed for Halloween -- like a "Storybook Pumpkin Patch", "Literary Themed Parties for 'tweens and Teens",  "Book or Treat", and "Literary Pumpkins".

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Watch for this year's Halloween ideas - coming soon!

"If you're going to be a writer..."

A (grown-up) Betsy illustration by Vera Neville. Source HERE.

"But if you're going to be a writer," he went on, "you've got to read. Good books. Great books. The classics. And fortunately ... that's what I'm driving at ... Deep Valley has a new Carnegie Library, almost ready to open. White marble building, sunny, spick and span, just full of books."- Mr. Ray to his daughter Betsy


If you've followed my blog for any amount of time, you can probably guess how thrilled I was to come across this quote in BETSY AND TACY GO DOWNTOWN (the fourth book from one of my favorite series, by Maud Hart Lovelace) about libraries (one of my favorite places) and "good" books (obviously one of my favorite pastimes).

Illustration by Lois Lenski of Betsy at the Library,
from BETSY AND TACY GO DOWNTOWN.

If you'd like to read about and see pictures of the real life Carnegie Library in Mankato (Deep Valley), click here to go to the Betsy-Tacy Encyclopedia Blog.


You can also stop by and read my past post about the Betsy Tacy books HERE, in "Chapter Books My Daughter Loved".

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LOIS LENSKI (1893-1974)

Summer's over,

Now it's fall;

Just the nicest 

Time of all.

Down,

   down,

        down,

Leaves of red and gold and brown

Come falling,

              falling 

                    down.

Lois Lenski's life was a balance of family and career. Her close family and small town upbringing provided a strong foundation and served as an influence in all she did. Mrs. Lenski wrote and illustrated over 100 books - in addition to illustrating another sixty or so written by other authors. Some that I've blogged about are her MR. SMALL books (3-7) and the Betsy-Tacy series (ages 5 and up) that she illustrated by Maud Hart Lovelace.

Have you seen her (now out of print) DAVY books? I think they are adorable. She wrote them about her grandson.

To read more about Lois Lenski's life and see a list of all her books, CLICK HERE.
Source reference:  Milner Library, Illinois State University.

IN PRAISE OF PICTURE BOOKS

According to a recent article in the New York Times, picture books have become unpopular ("Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children"). Bookstores, such as Borders and Barnes & Noble are apparently selling less picture books.  Some have "rearranged display space so that some picture books are enticingly paired with toys and games".  (Hmm...what goes around comes around - more on that later). 


The truest point the author makes is that young adult fiction (such as the TWILIGHT series, graphic novels, and other paranormal inspired romances) is universally growing by leaps and bounds.  Retailers make space for what customers are buying, creating less space for picture books.  This fact alone is cause for major concern and one of the main reasons why I started my blog!


The journalist who wrote the article noted that publishers are scaling back on picture books.  Their reasons?  He stated that the economy could be a major factor, but an additional reason is that "Parents have begun pressing their kindergartners and first graders to leave the picture book behind and move on to more text-heavy chapter books. Publishers cite pressures from parents who are mindful of increasingly rigorous standardized testing in schools."


So what's going on here? The quote above surprised me, because I think most parents and schools know the value of quality picture books and how they increase a child's desire to learn to read, help develop their vocabulary, and are a great introduction to art appreciation.  Also, the majority of picture books are targeted at preschoolers through second or third graders, so why the perceived push for "text-heavy" chapter books for that age?


HERE'S WHAT I THINK ABOUT BOOKSTORE SALES:
Yes, the economy is down, so people are buying less in general - not just less picture books!  But yes, picture books are expensive (especially hardcovers). Parents of young kids make great use of libraries for picture books.  They also shop online websites that offer used books, which are a better value.  Parents might be finding ways to get picture books at less expense, but that doesn't mean picture books are becoming unpopular!  So what about the "little (children's book)shop around the corner"?

Have you seen the movie YOU'VE GOT MAIL?  It's about how big new bookstore chains took a lot of the book buyers away from the small bookshops.  The chains could buy in bulk, thus driving the price of their merchandise down for consumers.  But there are some drawbacks for consumers (parents and children, in this case).  Because of the bulk of merchandise in large chain-bookstores, picture books are no longer displayed with their covers facing out (other than a select few), but on deeper shelves with their binding out.  Now parents and children don't see the covers.  Also, employees of the chain-stores generally aren't as well versed in children's literature as the owners of small bookshops.


HERE'S WHAT I THINK ABOUT PUBLISHERS:
The publishers are directly affected by waning bookstore sales, but there may be another reason why picture books are not flying off the shelves and why publishers must scale back.  I'm not super-impressed with some of the newer picture books (aimed at 4-8 year olds) that publishers are pursuing and putting on the market today...many are written with a lot of sarcasm and cynicism - and the humor seems to be aimed more at parents and adolescents! (for more about this, read a post by my friend, Jane Meyer).


Parents need to search for good quality writing and artwork.  We vote with our purchases.  Which is why the classics have stuck around!  Thankfully, publishers often re-issue the classics that have gone out of print (Lois Lenski's books, for example.), so those are usually available at bookstores, not just at libraries or online websites with used books, such as Amazon or Better World Books.


WHAT I THINK ABOUT CHAPTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN:
No doubt about it, there is a time when a child is starting to read on his/her own, that he/she should be encouraged to read chapter books.  Silent sustained reading is easier done in a chapter book than through picture books. And with fewer pictures, a child can't depend on the illustrations to decipher the story for him.


But don't leave picture books behind and don't stop reading aloud once your kids are reading chapter books on their own.  Also, before your children are reading on their own, and still love snuggling up with you and a good picture book, don't hesitate to snuggle up with them and read aloud a fun chapter book!   


Remember, there is a difference between "reading level" and "listening level".   Readers might love pouring through an almost wordless Peter Spier picture book (R.L. ages 4-8) with you, as much as non-readers might enjoy hearing you read aloud a chapter book like LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS (R.L. ages 9-12).  Publishers and bookstores/booksites could really help parents out by making this distinction more apparent!


SO, IN PRAISE OF PICTURE BOOKS...
HERE'S WHAT PARENTS NEED TO REMEMBER ABOUT PICTURE BOOKS:
"A picture book is text, illustrations, total design...a social, cultural, historical document; and, foremost, an experience for a child. As an art form, it hinges on the interdependence of pictures and words, on the simultaneous display of two facing pages, and on the drama of the turning of the page. On its own terms, its possibilities are limitless." -Barbara Bader, from AMERICAN PICTUREBOOKS.


1 - Children are exposed to excellent works of ART in quality picture books!
2 - Picture books increase language development.
3 - Children are exposed to a variety of writing styles through picture books.
4 - Kids are introduced to literary elements, such as plot, characterization, setting, theme and style at an early age through quality picture books.
5 - Being introduced to beautiful picture books increases a child's desire for independent reading.
6 - Picture books are great extentions to art, drama, music, math and science activities.


So to parents and writers and illustrators, publishers and booksellers:  we need good books, but especially good picture books, to start our innocent, young non-readers on the road to reading & learning, and to continue to inspire and guide them as readers to stay on the road that can lead to strength of character, thoughtfulness, and creativity.

OCTOBER IS FIRE PREVENTION MONTH...FIREMAN SMALL TO THE RESCUE!!!!

THE LITTLE FIRE ENGINE by Lois Lenski. (ages 4 -8)  One of a series of picture books that feature Lenski's best-loved character, Mr. Small. This versatile hero becomes an aviator, sailor, engineer, farmer, fireman, cowboy, policeman, and father. In her autobiography Journey Into Childhood, Lenski credited her son Stephen with being the inspiration for Mr. Small. When watching Stephen and his friends playing, Lenski noticed that--contrary to what many adults believe--the boys never gave their imaginary automobiles, trains, or planes a personality, but instead were more concerned with being the driver of that vehicle.

The majority of the "Mr. Small" books were published in the 1940's.  Several have been re-issued as board books. (Just be aware that the board books have less text and pages.)  "And that's all about Mr. Small..."


Other books about Mr. Small from Lois Lenski: