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.

Summer is a Time for Stories! Don't Miss These...

Giveaway time! What have I got to make that summer road trip a little bit easier?  Story Recordings!

I've partnered with Greathall Productions to give away three Jim Weiss Storytelling CDs!

My SUMMER GIVEAWAY STARTS TOMORROW, but today I want to introduce you to Jim Weiss and review some of his recordings.

"Jim Weiss is a master narrator especially when it comes to 
conversation…he takes on persona easily, 
male or female, young or old…" 

—AudioFile 

Jim Weiss brings stories to life with his voice, which is at once soothing and spellbinding.  He doesn't have the benefit of costumes or props, yet he has no trouble holding kids' (or their parents') attention. And he plays the part of a wide range of characters!

As I listened recently to Jim Weiss' skillful telling of The Jungle Book I was transported to Kipling's jungle - Jim does all the voices, of course: Mowgli; his "brothers" the Wolves; Bagheera; Baloo the Bear; Shere Khan; Messua (Mowgli's human mother); and more! 

Our family first came across Jim Weiss' stories back in the 1990's, through our homeschooling connections. The audio recordings (cassettes in those days!) were perfect to listen to on summer road trips. Our kids were entranced! 

Jim and his wife started Greathall Productions ("Intelligent entertainment for the thinking family") in 1989 and to date have produced over 47 storytelling recordings! You can navigate their website and not only find CD recordings grouped by age listening level, but also hear samples of many of the recordings.

Our family's favorite Jim Weiss storytelling recordings:
ARABIAN NIGHTS (ages 5 and up) We were definitely transported by these eloquently told tales of Scheherazade, including Jim's retelling of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves".

SHE & HE: ADVENTURES IN MYTHOLOGY (ages 5 and up)  This collection of several well-known Greek Myths was a perfect compliment to our unit study of Greece.

SHERLOCK HOLMES (ages 8 and up).  My husband and I were as entranced by Jim Weiss' retelling of these Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson stories as our kids!

Not to be Missed:
THE JUNGLE BOOK - If you think you know the whole story from the Disney movie, guess again!  Your kids will love Weiss's tellings of the stories of Rudyard Kipling: "Mowgli's Brothers"; "Tiger! Tiger"; "Red Dog"; and "The Spring Running". (ages 7 and up)

AMERICAN TALL TALES - These uproarious American folk stories will have you laughing out loud...You'll meet Paul Bunyan, taller than the trees and mightier than the rivers; Johnny Appleseed, whose gentle generosity make him a beloved legend; and Pecos Bill, whose outrageous Texas-sized exploits make him the greatest of all cowboys. (ages 5 and up)

BEST LOVED STORIES IN SONG AND DANCE - Three favorite tales (for girls and boys): "The Twelve Dancing Princesses"; "The Sleeping Beauty"; "Snow White and Rose Red".

Unabridged Narrated Books (these will not be included in my Giveaway, but I had to mention them!):
CARRY ON, MR. BOWDITCH (unabridged, ages 8 and up). A Newberry winner, the book is based on the the real life of Nathanael Bowditch, inventor of a new method for sea navigation: lunar reckoning. The story is set during the American Revolution, and is a touching biography of a worthy hero. I read this book to my kids, but I wish we would have had this recording! (6 1/2 hours on 6 CDs)
COME ON, SEABISCUIT!  - This is not the Hollywood version of this remarkable story! read my past post here.  (3 1/2 hours on 4 CDs)

Be sure to stop back by my blog tomorrow for details about how to enter my SUMMER GIVEAWAY of Jim Weiss Storytelling Recordings (giveaway runs 6/25 - 7/2/13)...  good luck!

RUDYARD KIPLING

1895-1936

Rudyard Kipling is best-know for his poems

and stories set in India during the period

of British Imperial rule.

Cast of MY BOY JACK

A couple of nights ago, my husband and I happened to tune into PBS in time to watch Masterpiece's MY BOY JACK.  It was the heart-rending story of Rudyard Kipling's son, John (affectionately known as "Jack"), who went missing in action while serving with the Irish Guards in the Battle of Loos during WWI. Kipling had great difficulty accepting Jack's death - having played a major role in getting his son, plagued by severe short-sightedness, accepted to military service. Actors David Haig and Daniel Radcliffe (who both bear an uncanny resemblance to Kipling) and actress Kim Cattrell capably portrayed the Kipling family, revealing the complex conflicts of emotion faced by families during wartime as they wrestle with the sacrifices made when one of their own serves and dies for their country in this way.

A young Rudyard Kipling

In reading over Rudyard Kipling's biography, I was struck by the fact that throughout his life (possibly due to his own self-preservation after a very difficult childhood of neglect and mistreatment) he held to the values of hard work, trust, loyalty, and honor - all of which are infused and extolled in his contributions to children's literature.

His enduring classics, the two JUNGLE BOOKS (his imaginative collections of short stories that include "Mowgli" and "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi") and CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS, are timeless and well-told.   My children especially enjoyed Kipling's fables, JUST SO STORIES  - titled because his young daughter Josephine (who sadly died of pneumonia at age six) wanted the tales repeated to her "just so".

Rudyard and Caroline's three children:
Josephine, John, and Elsie
(National Trust archives)

This prolific writer of poems and books for adults and children alike, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907, making him the first English language writer to receive the prize, and to date he remains its youngest recipient (he was 42).  He survived a difficult childhood and many family tragedies to become one of literature's best-loved writers.  *(Quick revision:  Kipling also illustrated, with his own woodcuts, the JUST SO STORIES edition that I've linked below! Thank you to my friend/artist/fellow-blogger/, Grace, for pointing out my omission of this information!  Additional sidelight:  Kipling's uncles were Sir Edward Burne-Jones and Sir Edward Poynter, two very famous Victorian painters.  These uncles were married to Kipling's mother's sisters, who were all daughters of famed author George MacDonald!)

THE JUNGLE BOOKS

JUST SO STORIES

CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS

  


In 1916, Kipling's SEA WARFARE was published, which contained a poetic tribute to his son Jack.