FOR ALL YOU LAURA INGALLS WILDER FANS OUT THERE...

You can find out everything you'd ever want to know about this adored author from the website Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frontier Girl.  All your questions will be answered about her family, her friends, her homes, the illustrators of her books, and even Pa's fiddle.

There are also lots of great links.  (Did you know that the book 1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die features the "Laura Ingalls Wilder Country" of De Smet, South Dakota?)

At the age of sixty-five, Wilder published the first of her eight "Little House" books, which she had been encouraged to write by her daughter, Rose. Who can say how many kids have been impacted by these stories about a girl raised on the American Prairie?

Here's the list, including their published date, title, and the years they cover (which was your favorite?):

1932 - Little House in the Big Woods 1871-1872 (Laura's age: 4-5)

1933 - Farmer Boy (about her future husband Almanzo's childhood)

1935 - Little House on the Prairie 1873-1874 (Laura's age: 5-7)

1937 - On the Banks of Plum Creek 1874-1876 (Laura's age: 7-9)

1939 - By the Shores of Silver Lake 1879-1880 (Laura's age: 12-13)

1940 - The Long Winter 1880-1881 (Laura's age: 13-14)

1941 - Little Town on the Prairie 1881-1882 (Laura's age 14-15)

1943 - These Happy Golden Years 1883-1885 (Laura's age: 15-18)

WHAT DO WORDLESS BOOKS HAVE TO SAY?

Wordless picture books remind us to listen with our eyes.  They speak in their silence, unfolding imaginative tales -- with captivating illustrations that communicate everything from quiet experiences to exciting adventures.  Wordless books help children learn to focus on the sequence of events, as they notice the details of the pictures, allowing them to use their imaginations to help tell the story.

Here are some excellent "stories without words" that I'm sure your kids (ages 3 and up) will enjoy...most can be found at your local library.

I'll lead off with this beautiful offering that won the 2010 Caldecott Medal: The Lion and the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney.  Pinkney's gorgeous illustrations bring to life one of Aesop's most well known fables.

A Circle of Friends by Giora Carmi. When a boy anonymously shares his snack with a homeless man, he begins a cycle of good will.


Good Dog, Carl (series) by Alexandra Day. This fun wordless story is about Carl the responsible Rottweiler, and the adventures he shares while "babysitting" his infant mistress.



Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman. Bored and lonely in his big house during a rainstorm, a boy finds a key that leads him on an adventurous journey.

Wave by Suzy Lee. We recall the sense of wonder that the ocean inspires through a little girl's day at the beach.

One Frog Too Many (series) by Mercer Meyer. A boy's pet frog thinks that the new little frog the boy gets for his birthday is one frog too many.

Flotsam by David Wiesner (Caldecott 2007). A boy finds a camera at the beach and the film inside reveals fascinating underwater pictures as well as children around the world, so the boy takes his own picture and returns the camera to the sea where it will journey to another child.


Tuesday by David Wiesner (Caldecott Medal 1992). In this ingenious and imaginative nearly wordless picture book, frogs in a pond lift off with their lily pads and fly to a nearby town.


For an even more comprehensive list WORDLESS PICTURE BOOKS, grouped by theme, CLICK HERE.

BOOK MAKING IDEAS FOR KIDS...

I was always looking for fun projects that would keep my kids' creative imaginations active during their carefree summer days...

 image by Alta.C from Fotolia.com

JOURNALING: One activity they really enjoyed was making their own books.  Sometimes we'd come home from a memorable outing, such as the circus, or a day trip to a local aquarium, and they'd be inspired to put together a little book about the experience.  Depending on the age and interest of my child, the book would be their dictated or hand-written account of the activity (when they were very young, it was often only one sentence per page with an illustration or photo).  We laminated the pages, and they've lasted for years.  I still treasure them and am sure their own children will enjoy seeing them someday!

Here are some more ideas for homemade books that kids can make...

1. MAKE A POP-UP BOOK:  Visit ROBERT SABUDA'S website for ideas and free downloadable print-outs (projects from simple to advanced). Also - Chinaberry (one of my favorite online sources) has a cute kit you can purchase for creating pop-up books.

2. Write a book of "MY FAVORITE THINGS": Staple together ten blank pages and ask your child to think of that many favorite things. Help with ideas. (i.e. What's your favorite food? Who's your best friend? What's your favorite book? Write one thing on each page and have your child draw a picture or glue a photo cut out from a magazine to go with it.) Do you own a child-friendly camera?  You might find out you have a budding photo-journalist!


3.  Make an ALPHABET BOOK:  On each page, help your child write a letter of the alphabet. For a kinesthetic learner, it works great to cut the letter out of sandpaper, so they can trace it with their finger as they say the letter or sound. You can also glue different materials onto the outline of the letter, such as dried peas, yarn, glitter, etc., to create interesting textures. Then go through and draw or glue pictures of objects that begin with that letter sound on each page.

photo by miscellaneaarts

4. Going on a summer vacation or road trip?  Kids love making TRAVEL JOURNALS.  Start it at home - with a map of where you're going and maybe some fun stickers glued onto the cover of a spiral notebook or sketchpad - then add to it during the trip as you buy postcards and they dictate or write about what they see each day. Leave empty spaces for photos so the kids can finish it when you're back home and have your pictures developed. (Kids grades 3-6 will find inspiration from the book LINNEA IN MONET'S GARDEN, which is like a travel scrapbook).


5. Visit Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord's MAKING BOOKS WITH CHILDREN website, for more creative ideas, including a POEM BOOK, LEAF BOOK and ACCORDION BOOKS.

Not crazy about crafts?  You can always buy this Dr. Seuss book and let your child fill in the blanks...
MY BOOK ABOUT ME, by ME, Myself