Great Read Alouds

A little red house with no doors or windows ...

2011-09-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

Rather than tell you about a great read aloud book, I'm going to tell you a story that I first heard a friend of mine tell to my children. I have told this story not only to my own children but to children at school, a number of parent education classes, and in performance. It makes people smile. I hope you’ll enjoy it and that you’ll tell it to someone, too.

Don't feel as though you must use my words exactly as written. That’s one of the beauties of storytelling. You take the essence of the story and add your own style and references to it depending on your audience. You can listen to me here free MP3 download. Enjoy!

Here are the words and a few follow up activities.
The Little Red House With A Star Inside

Once upon a time David and Suzy (insert the names of some children you know here) were bored and had nothing to do. Their mother said, “Why don’t you see if you can find a little red house, with no doors or windows, a chimney on top and a star inside?”

“What?” said the children.

“Yes, see if you can find a little red house, with no doors or windows, a chimney on top and a star inside.”

So the children went outside and sat on their doorstep and looked up and down the street. They knew they weren’t supposed to go across the street so they thought this house must be close by. They saw the postman walking along.

“Let’s ask him if he’s seen a little red house, with no doors or windows, a chimney on top and a star inside?”

They asked the postman. “Have you seen a little red house, with no doors or windows, a chimney on top and a star inside?”

He scratched his head and looked very puzzled. “No, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a house.”

The children got up and walked down the path to their next-door neighbor’s house. Mrs. Stevens (insert whatever name you like here) was very old and had lived in the neighborhood a long time. The children figured that she’d know just where to find such a house. They knocked on her door. She called for them to come in and they followed her voice into the kitchen where she was making jam. “Mrs. Stevens?”

“Yes, dears?”

“Mrs. Stevens, do you know where we can find a little red house, with no doors or windows, a chimney on top and a star inside?”

“Hmmmm. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen such a house. I’d sure like to. If you find one, would you please let me know so that I can see it, too?”

“OK.,” said the children and they walked out the back door and went back to their own house.

“I don’t think we’ll ever find a house like that,” David said to Suzy. “Oh look, there’s Grandma. Maybe she’ll know.”

The children asked their grandmother where they could find a little red house, with no doors or windows, a chimney on top and a star inside. She laughed and said, “Follow me to the kitchen and I’ll show you.’’
The children were very puzzled, but they followed their grandma into the kitchen.

“How can a house fit inside our kitchen?” Suzy wondered.

Grandma went to the fruit bowl and picked up a red apple. She said “Here is a little red house,” holding up the apple. As she turned it around she said “See there are no doors or windows.” Then she pointed to the top of the apple and the stem, “And this is the chimney on the top.”

She then took a knife out of the kitchen drawer and cut through the apple’s middle just like this (see below for more detailed instructions). “And see here is the star on the inside.”

Before you tell this story, get an apple and put it in your pocket or out of sight somewhere. You’ll also need a knife of some sort that you can put in your pocket or out of sight to use to cut the apple.

At the appropriate moment, take the apple out of your pocket or hiding place and cut the apple in half cutting across the core or cutting on the equator of the apple leaving a top part with the stem and a bottom part. Every apple has a star inside where the seeds are held. I love the magic of this. It makes me smile every time I tell the story, cut the apple, show that star, and watch the reaction of the listeners. Invariably they smile after saying, “Ohhh.”

When you tell the story encourage your audience to say it with you every time the children describe what they are looking for “a little red house, with no doors or windows, a chimney on top and a star inside.” You can add more people for them to ask depending on your audience and how involved they’ve become in saying it with you, drawing out the suspense. Keep in mind you can change the colour of the little house – from red to green or yellow or speckled, etc. depending on the color of your apple.

When I tell this story to a group I often follow it up with a song. If I am doing more about apples, I use either the Johnny Appleseed song

Oh, the Lord's been good to me.
And so I thank the Lord
For giving me the things I need:
The sun, the rain and the appleseed;
Oh, the Lord's been good to me.

And every seed I sow
Will grow into a tree.
And someday there'll be apples there
For everyone in the world to share.
Oh, the Lord is good to me.

You can hear and see it here
(YouTube video of a clip from the Disney movie )

or sing a song to the tune of BINGO with the same clapping actions.

There is a fruit that grows on trees
An apple is its name-o
A-P-P-L-E, A-P-P-L-E, A-P-P-L-E
An apple is its name-o.

If I am following the story with something about stars, I use The Stars Are Hiding by Malvina Reynolds, available on my CD - Brighten the Day - songs to celebrate the seasons.

The stars are hiding all the day
The stars are hiding all the day
The stars are hiding all the day
The sun is shining them away…

Have fun!

Harry's Mad by Dick King Smith

2011-06-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

This morning I was looking on our book shelves for something to read while eating breakfast, and I decided to reread Harry's Mad by Dick King Smith. What a delightful and fun book. I read it aloud to various groupings of my children at least three times. My husband uses it as a class novel for his grade 4/5 class. It is just so delightful and fun.

If you haven't read it, please do so and read it aloud to a child or two. You'll all enjoy this story about Harry and the parrot, Madison, he inherits from his grand uncle. Mad is an African Grey Parrot who knows how to talk and not just repeating what he's heard but how to hold a conversation.

It seemed to take a long time when I read it aloud years ago, but reading it this morning I realized it was actually a very short book - 128 pages in the Yearling 1997 version. Reading age level says 4-8 years old, but I would take that with a grain of salt. I enjoyed it this morning and I'm way past that age :).

I read it to my children when the youngest listener was about 5, I think, and continued to read it to listeners who were 11 and 12 years old.

My other favourite books by Dick King Smith are:
Sheep Pig - now called Babe If you've seen the movie, please read the book, too. I've only seen snippets of the movie and it doesn't do justice, in my mind anyway, to the wonderful story.

Pigs Might Fly
The Cuckoo Child
Read them if you haven't already. They are terrific read outloud material for families and classrooms. Have fun!

And if you, like I, love guinea pigs, this book by Dick King Smith is one of the best - I Love Guinea Pigs.

Enjoy!

Spring Reading

2011-03-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

“Spring, Spring, Spring!” sang the frog.
“Spring!” said the groundhog.

When my children were little, one of the books I read throughout the months of March and April was a Little Golden Book by Margaret Wise Brown called Home For A Bunny. Illustrated by Garth Williams, it delighted us all. Although I found the rhythm and rhyme in the story a bit wobbly at times, I still enjoyed reading it frequently in springtime. I particularly loved the illustrations and enjoyed looking at the detailed drawings of forget-me-nots and other flowers. The baby robins always made me smile. It’s still available as a Big Little Golden Book. You may also be able to find it second hand in the smaller format.

Other picture books that come to mind when I think about spring are the Brambly Hedge stories by Jill Barklem. They are filled with very detailed illustrations of little mice who live in various trees, hedgerows, and stumps. My daughter in particular loved these stories. There’s a Brambley Hedge website at www.bramblyhedge.co.uk.

Whenever I think of Brambly Hedge, I think of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Concerto. We have recordings of each of the seasonal Brambly Hedge stories that start with the music from the appropriate part of The Four Seasons Concerto.

If you enjoy musical humour, you might enjoy Raffi’s Berry Nice News cut on his recording Raffi Radio. The cut offers a weather type report about the seasons and, I’ll bet you guessed, Vivaldi’s Spring from The Four Seasons provides the theme music.
If you’re not familiar with this music, you can hear listen to this clip by Itzhak Perlman with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra on YouTube

The information in this post was taken from a newsletter I published a while ago - Ideas for Homeschoolers. To read more, please follow the link. For others in the series go to my website

Announcing the Winner of the Autumn Stories Give Away

2010-12-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

Drum roll please .....

The winner is Tracy T!

I will be mailing her a copy of Autumn Stories tomorrow. Thank you to all who entered the give away. Sorry you didn't win. If you'd like to buy a copy of the book for yourself or as a gift, 10% of all the proceeds from the sale of Autumn Stories in December go to my local food bank. Click here to order.

Christmas stories continued

2010-11-29T20:56:00.000-08:00

Here are things I look for when choosing stories to read outloud: positive images of family life, positive images of children, positive humour, and/or illustrations that I found attractive and beautiful.

Lucy and Tom’s Christmas by Shirley Hughes fits all of my criteria. There is something so inviting and cozy about Shirley Hughes’ illustrations. Her stories are so real and down to earth. Reading one of her picture books to my children would remind me to slow down and see the world from my toddler’s point of view. I found it very helpful to have those kind of reminders in the books I read aloud. That wasn’t the point of the story but it was one of the benefits of this book by Shirley Hughes. In this story, we see the preparations Lucy and Tom’s family make for Christmas. It is all very low-key yet from a toddler’s point of view very exciting and different. If you’ve never read Shirley Hughes, you’re in for a treat for she has written many books.

Stories for Christmas by Alison Utttley is another favourite. This collection of short stories by this prolific author is a treasure. As I reread through this collection of Alison Uttley’s stories in the last few days, I was reminded of the magic of a simple country Christmas. This collection of stories ranges from one about Sam Pig and his brothers and sister to ones about the forgotten dolls in a dollhouse to the story of Timothy a woodcutter, his wife Jenny Wren, their infant son Timothy, Old Holly and three magic holly berries.   I read these stories to my children starting when they were about 4 –5.

The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden is about a little orphan girl (Ivy) who decides that she’s going to find her grandmother this Christmas, and a doll (Holly) who is looking for a girl for Christmas.   It’s lovely story of both the little doll and the little girl and how they find each other with a number of misadventures that all lead to a very positive resolution. This story is for children 4 and up. I love all of the books Rumer Godden has written about dolls and children. Characteristic of her writing is the way she keeps at least two story lines going – one from the dolls’ point of view and one from the people’s point of view.

The Church Mice at Christmas by Graham Oakley is a rich story in both words and detailed illustrations. The mice decide to have a Christmas party. They need to have money so they try to raffle off Samson, the church cat. This fails, so they try other ways to make money. After a number of near disasters, they finally put on a party. This picture book and the other church mice books by Graham Oakley intrigued my sons in particular. It was fun to look at all of the details in the illustrations and the humour made us all laugh and smile.

Brambly Hedge - Winter Story: A Party In The Ice Palace by Jill Barklem is one of four books in the seasons series of the Brambly Hedge books. This story is a feast for the eyes. I love the details and soft colours Jill Barklem used. The story is filled with the anticipation and excitement of the mice children preparing for the ball that will be held in the ice palace.

I noticed that this book is in the collection A Year in Brambly Hedge that includes all four seasonal stories in a new reprint by Harper Collins Children's Books (28 Oct 2010) 978-0007371662 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Brambly Hedge. Hurray!!! If you are looking for a book to give as present a for a little girl, I can’t think of a better one than this collection of Brambly Hedge stories. The Brambly Hedge website has been redesigned. You can visit it here and have a look at the delightful world Jill Barklem created..

Enjoy! More to come still ... Happy holiday reading!

Christmas read alouds

2010-11-25T12:28:00.000-08:00

There is something so delightfully teary and happy about Christmas and holiday stories. I love Christmas stories and always have. When I was a young teen back in the early 60's, I loved reading my mom's magazines - Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, Saturday Evening Post, and others - in November and December for the wonderful Christmas stories published in those magazines. The Christmas story market provided many women writers with an income over many years. Pearl Buck wrote many of those stories as did others. As magazines changed and articles became shorter and shorter, that market changed. I haven't found a magazine with Christmas stories for quite a few years.

My husband and I have collected a number of stories about Christmas over the years. I read them outloud to our children every year. We started reading them in December and then had to start in the middle of November as we added more books to our favourites every year. I hope you'll enjoy them as much as we did.

Richard Scarry's Best Christmas Book Ever!
For toddlers and up

I remember how excited I was to find this book in a bookstore in Calgary, Alberta near to where we lived in December of 1981. We had a four-year-old and a two-year-old. It was just perfect for them both. The book has been in and out of print since then. Right now it seems to be back in print in a hardcover version. There are a number of stories in the book, directions for making a pomander, a game and Richard Scarry's characteristic humorous drawings. We've been reading it every year since 1981, and it still makes me smile. If you're looking for a book that small children will enjoy, I don't think you can go wrong with this one.

Little Grey Rabbit's Christmas by Alison Uttley
for children 3 or 4 and up who can listen to a longer story

If you've never read any of her Little Grey Rabbit books, you may find this a good place to start. Margaret Tempest's illustrations make this a charming little tale of a simple country Christmas. I always find it helps me to breathe more deeply to think of the animals decorating their home on Christmas Eve. It reminds me that one doesn't have to start and be finished by Dec. 1. The Alison Uttley society website provides some interesting information about this prolific author whose work is too often no longer in print but may be found in the library.

One of my all-time favorite stories about a family is contained in two books - Ida Early Comes Over the Mountains and Christmas With Ida Early by Robert Burch. The first book begins with Ida, who is “as close to six feet as seven,” asking for work at the Sutton’s house. The story takes place in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia during the tail end of the Great Depression. Aunt Ernestine, whom Randal, the oldest son, thinks of as “a battleship,” has been helping the family since the children’s mother died the previous spring, but she is not used to children. When Ida comes to the door “fresh as ragweed” to ask for work, the father offers her the job of taking care of the family. The youngest children, 5-year-old twins Clay and Dewey, are quite intrigued with Ida. Ida is an unusual character not only for her height but also for her skills. Rather than walking to a peg and hanging up her sweater, “she held the sweater over her head, twirled it around twice, and let it go. It sailed to the corner, landing neatly on the hat rack.”

Here’s one of my favorite quotes from the book:
Dewey said happily, “Guess what, Aunt Ernestine? Ida Early’s going to read us the funny papers!”
“No, she’s not! Ida’s going to wash the dishes.” Aunt Ernestine sounded very sure of it.
“Of course I am,” said Ida, sitting down between Clay and Dewey. “But first we’ll just have a look at Orphan Annie.”
“Oh, boy!” said Dewey. “We like Little Orphan Annie.”
After Ida read the strip to them, Clay said, “We like Dick Tracy, too.”
“Well ain’t that a jolly coincidence?” said Ida. “So do I! In fact, I like ‘em all!”
“So do we!” said Clay. “Let’s read some more.”
Ida started reading Dick Tracy to them, but Aunt Ernestine interrupted them.
“The comic strips will wait; the dishes won’t.”
“Oh, no, ma’am,” said Ida Early. “It’s the other way around. If the funnies are not read they’re liable to disappear - somebody will throw ‘em out or burn them up or something. But dirty dishes? Why I ain’t never known one of them to get away!”

Christmas With Ida Early continues the story and again, Ida shows that what's in the heart is more important than the way one looks. Ida is one unique character I’d sure like to meet. This book is appropriate for ages 5 and up. You can certainly read it to a younger child, especially if you also have older children.

It’s difficult to give hard and fast rules about how old a child should be before reading a certain book out loud. The main thing to watch for in any child is enjoyment of the story. What is interesting to some children might be boring or too complex for others. If you find that you have chosen a book that none of your children like, stop reading it. There is no value in making them listen when they’ve had enough or don’t like the story. Being read to needs to be a pleasurable experience.

More to come ....

Autumn Stories

2010-11-09T14:56:00.000-08:00

If you read my other blog, you'll have read the notice that my new children's book, Autumn Stories, is now available. I am delighted with it, which of course only makes sense as I wrote it :).

However, I am delighted with it beyond the fact that I wrote it. Having read many, many picture books to my children when they were little, I was pleased to discover as I read the story aloud to myself the moment it came in the house, that it is a good read loud. I had, of course, read it numerous time from my computer screen. Holding the actual book in my hand made the experience different.

I can't quite believe how sweet the little needle-felted animals look.

They come alive for me.

The text lends itself to easy reading out-loud bringing a sense of of comfort and safety. I carried it with me to the natural foods store the day it arrived. As well as showing some of the staff who have become friends over the years, I met someone who had been in my baby and me classes 5 years ago. Her two-year-old son was delighted with the photos and wanted to keep the book. He'll get one soon, his mother promised him.

Reviews:
“I love the vivid colors of the pictures as contrasted to the softness of the figures in them. It almost feels three-dimensional. I also love the way the simple story draws the young child into a world of fantasy that is actually based on pure, real, joyful emotion and sharing. My nine-year-old son enjoyed it, so it’s not just for tiny children.”
Kelly Green, A Matter of Conscience

Two pages into this book, I became aware of how mesmerized I felt by the way Marty has woven her storytelling with her delightful photos.

In a sea of over-the-top children's books where more is less, her book captivates children (and the big people reading with them) through a purity of intention and love. The result is a book that's an invitation to simplicity, to the heart, to relationship.
Lu Hanessian, Let the Baby Drive

The book is available from my website (I ship worldwide) and at amazon.com, amazon.ca and soon from amazon.uk as well as. It is a print on demand book, so if it says it is not available, it will be as whatever brand of amazon orders it from the printer.

Happy November! A time to "Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, we must all get fat and furry!"

Marty

Coming next - some of my favourite Christmas books.

Poems About Harvests and Halloween

2010-10-02T15:35:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving in Canada is the second Monday of October. Having immigrated to the US when I was 8 and lived in that country until I was 21, I thought that Thanksgiving was all about pilgrims, the Mayflower, etc. I moved to Canada and soon thereafter began to try to grow most of my own food. The first fall as I was harvesting potatoes, I realized that thanksgiving is a harvest festival. I hadn't connected all the harvest festivals that happen all over the world to thanksgiving which seemed to me to be all about turkeys and pilgrims. It was an interesting thing to realize how that first thanksgiving experience in the States and all of the preparation we did for it at school exerted such an influence.

Here are some poems about celebrating the harvest from a few of my favorite poets and a link to their books.

I enjoy Aileen Fisher's poetry and used a number of her poems in the Games to Play With a Baby classes I developed and ran for 10 years. Here's one about leaves:

Rain of Leaves by Aileen Fisher
It’s raining big,
It’s raining small,
It’s raining autumn leaves
In fall.

It’s raining gold
And red and brown
As autumn leaves
Come raining down.

It's raining everywhere
I look
It's raining bookmarks
On my book!

Gathering Leaves by Robert Frost

Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are as light as balloons.

I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer
Running away.

But the mountains I raise
Elude my embrace,
Flowing over my arms
And into my face.

I may load and unload
Again and again
Till I fill the whole shed,
But what have I then?

Next to nothing for weight,
And since they grow duller
From contact with earth,
Next to nothing for color.

Next to nothing for use.
But a crop is a crop,
And who’s to say where
The harvest shall stop?

* * *

A poem about a November Thanksgiving

All in a Word
By Aileen Fisher

T for time to be together, turkey, talk, and tangy weather.
H for harvest stored away, home, and hearth, and holiday.
A for autumn's frosty art, and abundance in the heart.
N for neighbors, and November, nice things, new things to remember.
K for kitchen, kettles' croon, kith and kin expected soon.
S for sizzles, sights, and sounds, and something special that abounds.
That spells ~~~THANKS---for joy in living and a jolly good Thanksgiving.

And for Halloween poems Jack Prelutsky is a treat not to be missed. I like the way he uses language, rhyme and rhythm. I find his work fun to read aloud.

It's Halloween is a fun collection of poems about what it's like to go out on a Halloween night. Ages 5 and up

The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight: More Poems to Trouble Your Sleep
Starts off with a poem about a mummy and goes on with other scary things. For ages 8 and up.

Picture Book Tributes to Teachers from Patricia Polacco

2010-09-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

The Junkyard Wonders

This picture book by Patricia Pollacco made me cry when I tried to read parts of it to a friend on the phone. The book is a very wordy picture book. I think for groups of children in a classroom, I wouldn’t try it until grade 4 or 5, but reading it one-on-one at home you could try an 8-9 yr old. Beware that a child dies in the story.

The Junkyard Wonders follows Patricia’s book Thank you Mr. Falker which is a tribute to her teacher, Mr. Falker, who helped her learn to read. It is a lovely, honest story about the struggles a child faces in school when her abilities are not in synch with school learning expectations. Here’s a quote from Patricia's website about the book:

This story is truly autobiographical. It is about my own struggle with not being able to read.

This story honors the teacher that took time to see a child that was drowning and needed help. I am dyslexic, disnumeric and disgraphic. Can you imagine what it was like to try and learn along with other students when I needed specialized help...help that wasn't available in those days. I remember feeling dumb, that terrible feeling about myself was compounded by being teased by a bully. That boy changed my life and made me feel so unsafe and so sad that I didn't want to go to school anymore. Mr. Falker, my hero, my teacher, not only stopped this boy from teasing me, but he also noticed that I wasn't reading well and got a reading specialist to help

To this day, I remember the first day that words on a page had meaning to me...Mr. Falker had reached into the most lonely darkness and pulled me into bright sunlight and sat me on a shooting star. I shall never forget him...so this book was written both to honor Mr. Falker, but also to warn young people that mean words have a terrible power...and that they should do all that they can to see that teasing stops at their school.

Thank you, Mr. Falker,
Patricia Polacco

The Junkyard Wonders is also a tribute to a teacher and an autobiographical and poignant tale. Patricia asked her separated parents if for one year she could go to school where her dad and grandma lived for she had made a friend during her summer stay there. She thought that perhaps she could start on an equal footing in this new school and not be known as “the dumb kid.” She finds herself in the junkyard, the name the other children give to this classroom filled with students who are different.

On the first day of class the teacher, Mrs. Petersen, starts the day by reciting the definition of genius from a dictionary. She has the students copy this definition on the board and on notes and asks them to place the notes on mirrors, walls, etc. so that they can read it everyday, memorize it, and know that this is the definition of who they are – geniuses.

A wonderful story follows. The ending is so satisfactory – and makes me cry. In the postscript of the book she tells a little bit about the grown-up lives of her classmates from the junkyard. One of the children became artistic director of the American Ballet Theater Company in New York. Another a textile designer in Paris, and another an aeronautical engineer for NASA. And Patricia became and is a well-known, respected writer and illustrator of children’s books. They all made it to the moon!

I love all of Patricia’s books. Many of her books have autobiographic material woven into them . Her stories envelope me in a sense of warmth and family. The Junkyard Wonders reached deep into my heart and helped illuminate some of feelings from childhood school experiences. It makes me want everyone who works, lives, or takes care of children to be like Mrs. Peterson and tell the children in their lives that they are geniuses. Thank you, Patricia Polacco!

Two fall stories - a chapter book and a picture book and one more picture book

2010-09-06T10:32:00.000-07:00

The Cricket in Times Square by George Seldon

This delightful story has brought pleasure to many for 50 years. First published in 1960, this story about Chester Cricket, Harry the cat, and Tucker the mouse is a great family read aloud. Chester arrives in New York City in the basket of some picnickers and ends up in Times Square where Mario finds him and buys a cricket cage for him. Mario keeps Chester in his family's newsstand. The news stand is not doing well. Even though at first Mario's mother is not happy to have a cricket in the stand (Chester inadvertently eats a dollar bill), he wins the hearts of the adult Bellinis with his talent for music. Chester can chirp opera and other music he has heard. His talent helps the Bellinis to make the make their newsstand more successful. I won't give anymore of this delightful story away.

Illustrated by Garth Williams

Family reading: 7 yrs old and up
Classroom reading: Grades 4 and 5

Applebet, an ABC by Clyde Watson illustrated by Wendy Watson

"A is for apple as everyone knows. Can you follow this one whereever it goes?"
The story follows Bet and her mother as they bring their crop of apples to sell at the market. The author introduces words in alphabetic sequence,
"Soft C is for Cider made first thing today
We'll keep a jug handy to drink on the way
CH is for Cherry, the little red mare
Giddy-up, Cherry - we're off to the fair!"

I really enjoyed the relationship between mom and daughter. It's so positive and warm. The illustrations by Wendy, Clyde's sister, are a perfect fit and add just the right touch to make this a book you and your children will enjoy many times.

Family reading: 2 yrs old and up
Classroom reading: Kindergarten, Grade 1 and 2

This sister team has collaborated on other books. My other favourite book of theirs is Father Fox's Pennyrhymes.

I read this book to my children so many times, that I can still recite it from start to finish.

"Dilly, Dilly, Piccalilli
Tell me something very silly:
There was a chap his name was Bert
He ate the buttons off his shirt."

"Let the fall rains fall

And the cold snow snow

And the rain rain rain 'til April:

Our coats are warm

And the pantry's full

And there's cake upon the table."

Family reading: 2 yrs old and up
Classroom reading: Kindergarten, Grade 1 and 2

Girls named Betsy and a Summer story

2010-09-03T22:32:00.001-07:00

We just had a wedding at our house and it made me think of Summer Story by Jill Barklem

This delightful book and the others about the world of Brambly Hedge delighted my daughter for many years. All the Brambly Hedge stories are filled with the everyday stories of daily life of the mice who live in Brambly Hedge. The illustrations call out to me and make me want to live there, too.

You can find out more about Brambly Hedge and its creator Jill Barklem here http://www.bramblyhedge.co.uk/

And two books about girls named Betsy

B is for Betsy by Carolyn Haywood

Betsy starts first grade in this book, going to school for the first time. She has a number of adventures with Eddie who becomes her friend. She meets a friendly policeman, helps one of her classmates feel less afraid, and begins to learn the things that one learns in first grade. This book was first published in 1939 so it describes a time that no longer exists, yet it still captures the flavor of being 6 years old. I enjoyed reading the whole series of books about Betsy and Eddie to my children. The books are fairly easy to read and can provide a transition for children from early readers to chapter books. Carolyn Haywood was born on Jan. 3, 1898. She died on January 11, 1990. What an incredible amount of change she saw in her lifetime. She wrote many books about Betsy, Eddie, and Ellen and other children as well. For 5 and up

Understood Betsy by Eileen Canfield Fischer

A different Betsy - slightly less spunky at the beginning than the previous Betsy but she becomes quite resilient and resourceful by the end of the book. This is one of my favourite stories to read aloud. It was written by the woman who brought Maria Montessori's ideas about education to America.

Betsy is sent to live with her dreaded Vermont cousins on her mother's side as a result of illness in the relatives on her father's side who have been taking care of her for many years. Life is so very different in the country in rural Vermont compared to the city. At first Betsy is uncertain and frightened. School is a one room school house and children are not divided up by grades instead each one works at whatever level she can in various subjects. Betsy finds that her skill at reading outloud brings pleasure to others, something she'd never imagined. Chores, woodstoves, animals, and the simple pleasure of daily life begin to fill Betsy's life. She is surrounded by love and blooms in her new surroundings. For 6 and up

two books about rivers

2010-07-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

Three Days On A River In A Red Canoe

Many of Vera Williams books have as their base a positive relationship between family members. In this book two sisters, Aunt Rosie and Mom, and their two children, Sam - Rosie's son, and the narrator, Mom's daughter, go on a canoe trip. The account of the canoe trip starts off with "I was the first one to notice the red canoe for sale in a yard on the way home from school. My mom and my aunt Rosie and my cousin Sam and I put our money together and bought it." The story goes on with many details about getting ready for the trip as well as the trip itself. Illustrated in diary form with detailed drawings of the trip, including recipes, supplies, and how to tie knots, the trip is one I would have loved to have taken with a child and as a child.   There is some adventure, everything isn't perfect, but what is perfect is the depiction of a real canoe trip complete with unexpected happenings.

   Abel's Island by William Steig
Like many of William Steig's books, the vocabulary is delightful. As I started reading the beginning of this book to remind myself of how it started, I was immediately caught up and remembered how much I enjoyed reading the story to my children.   Abel, a mouse, learns how to survive in the wild after a misadventure. He tries to rescue his new wife's scarf and is instead blown into a river and then washed on to an island. It takes him a while to realize that he must fend for himself until he can figure out how rescue himself and leave the island.
128 pages long for 6 and up.

The Trolley Car Family

2010-07-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

The Trolley Car Family by Eleanor Clymer

Written in 1947, this story is dated and at the same time timeless. When I read the story to my children, it made me feel safe and that nothing is impossible. Mr. Parker has lost his job as the driver of a trolley car. Buses are replacing the trolleys. All the Parkers - mom, dad and four children - have a meeting to decide what they will do. The trolley car company offered Mr. Parker the trolley that he drove for many years. The Parkers decide to take the trolley and park it at the end of the track and live in it. They work together to create their new home from the trolley. They also plant a garden. Lots of fascinating and satisfying detail about their move and their subsequent living arrangements make this book an engaging read aloud book. I loved the innocence and good humour in the book.

If you're looking for a family story about cooperation and working together, has kittens, and a grumpy neighbor turned helpful neighbor, this is the book to read. I've read it three or more times outloud and enjoyed it every single time time. In fact writing about it makes me reach for it to read it to myself. For ages 4 and up. 216 pages.

Marty

An old favourite - The King of the Copper Mountains

2010-07-01T17:43:00.000-07:00

King of the Copper Mountains by Paul Biegel

If you can find a copy of this book, buy it or borrow it and read it to your children. First printed in Dutch, this story entranced our children. The King has ruled the Copper Mountains for a thousand years and is now weak and old. Hare, his one remaining servant, sends for the Wonder Doctor. The Wonder Doctor knows of a cure, but it will take time for him to get the leaves of the Golden Speedwell and the king may die in the meantime. The Wonder Doctor suggests that the king should listen to a story every night before bed. The Wonder Doctor promises to tell all of the animals he meets on his journey about how important the stories will be. He promises to ask each animal to go to the King and tell him a story to keep his heart beating strong. The book is a collection of the animals' stories. Ages 5 and up 157 pages

I was so surprised to find a facebook page about this book with links to numerous blog posts about the author and a link to his official page. I'd forgotten how much I'd enjoyed this book until I started writing about it. My husband and I used to sell children's books. We sold books through a mail order catalog as well as through school book fairs. This was one of the books we sold years ago before online book ordering. I hope it goes back into print.

Intro - A Summer in the South by James Marshall

2010-06-26T14:16:00.001-07:00

I spent a lot of time reading to my children when they were young. My children learned at home. The books my husband and I read to them and that they read on their own formed a large part of their curriculum. I'll be posting some of our favourites here. Some books that I mention will be out of print, but libraries often have some of the old standards and/or they can be found used in second hand brick and mortar or online bookstores such as Amazon.

A Summer in the South by James Marshall

A mystery story in 27 chapters. Detective Eleanor Owl and her partner Mr. Paws are disturbed by the strange events going on in the small hotel at the beach where they are staying during their vacation. Various things are being done and no one knows who among the guests is responsible - a chicken who does yoga, a cootie family, a pig or ? Fun to read and to listen to, it's sure to tickle everyone’s funny bone. Like The Sea View Hotel, I read this book to my children many times. In fact, I still like to read it, although now I just read it to myself - it makes me laugh!

The Sea View Hotel by James Stevenson

I read this book to my children many times. There was something so intriguing about the black and white illustrations by the author – details of the very Victorian hotel that Hubert and his parents visit for the summer. Hubert is all excited, looking forward to having a wonderful time with all of the other children. Unfortunately, this hotel caters to old people and not another child is to be seen, but then he meets Alf, the hotel groundskeeper. Hubert begins to discover all the things waiting to be done with encouragement from Alf. A delightful story that in the words on one of my adult sons “Is about the wonderful mystery of summer, of possibilities, of holidays.”