Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes

Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes by Sally Mavor
2010

     Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes is a collection of traditional nursery rhymes.  Some are very popular and some I had never heard of, but that's not the point.  The reason I picked this book is because it is a work of art.  The illustrations are  fabric relief collages made from a variety of materials (acorns, stones, driftwood, walnuts, beads, buttons, and even wire) all hand sewn together on dyed wool and photographed.  The result is stunning.  This book is a true treasure to be savored over and over...and try to resist the temptation to rip the pages out and frame them to decorate you child's room. 

How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You?

How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? by Jane Yolen
Illustrated by Mark Teague
2009
Age 4-8
     
      "You woke in the morning in such a bad mood...then sat at the table and fussed with your food. But then you blew kisses and waved from the door.  I love you, I love you, my dinosaur."  If you're not familiar with the How Do Dinosaurs...? series, dinos take the place of children in classic situations, displaying typical child behaviors.
     There are many books in the How do Dinosaurs... series but there is something special about How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You?  It might be the fact that I find it calming to read out loud with my son after a difficult day, or the fact that this is the book in the series that my son seems to identify with the most:  "Mami, I do that too...and I'm also cranky in the mornings, just like the dinosaurs."  It's a great book to share with your kids to let them know that as parents, our love is unconditional, and that even when they make mistakes and misbehave, at the end of the day we'll always love them. It also shows that our children might drive us crazy but then they always find a way to show us how much the love us. The illustrations by Mark Teague are wonderful and there is a side lesson on dinosaurs since their scientific name is included on each illustration.

It's a Book

It's a Book by Lane Smith
2010

     Monkey is reading a book.  Jackass is pestering him with questions about it. "How do you scroll down?" asks Jackass. "You don't. I turn the page. It's a book" answers Monkey.  But Jackass just doesn't get it.  What follows is a hilarious exchange between the patient Monkey and Jackass.  Jackass, who's carrying a laptop and is obviously tech savvy, wonders if the book can blog, or text, or tweet, or wi-fi, or if it needs a password. "No. It's a book."  Finally, Monkey just hands him the book and Jackass spends hours reading the book.  As Monkey heads to the library to get a new book -since Jackass won't give it back to him- Jackass holds up the book and says "Don't worry, I'll charge it up when I'm done!"  Monkey's reply is priceless...
     I had checked out It's a Book from the library, but I fell in love with it so I had to go out and buy it for my collection.  I don't get tired of reading it out loud and sharing it with every adult that will care to listen.   Just make sure you're comfortable using the word Jackass repeatedly.  Smith's illustrations are quirky, funny and endearing.  It's a Book is now on my bookshelf of favorites.   

Truckery Rhymes

Truckery Rhymes by John Scieszka
Illustrated by David Shannon, Loren Long and David Gordon
2009

     Since today is Father's Day, I wanted to change it up a bit and instead of picking a book about a father and son, I decided to chose the book that my husband and son share most often: Truckery Rhymes.  Jon Scieszka's Trucktown characters take on traditional nursery rhymes with a twist.  Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star becomes "Rumble, Rumble, Monster Max. Can you jump those junkyard stacks?" There is also "Rock-a-Bye Mixer at the site top. When the wind blows, the building will rock."  Or my son's favorite: "Patty cake, patty cake, Dumper Dan. Dump me some dirt as fast as you can. Slide it and drop it and mark it DD, and pile it in the lot for Melvin and me."
     My boy loves the rhymes, not only because he already knows the rhythm from the classic ones, but because the trucks all have personalities and he truly becomes immersed in the Trucktown world.  This is more evident in the new version of The Wheels on the Bus, now titled The Wheels on the Truck.  It includes all the different types of trucks with all sorts of sounds which are a blast to read aloud and sing around the house; and at the end of the song, there is a display of all the different trucks that are part of Trucktown.
     This is the sort of book that becomes a family classic that the kids want to keep going back to even after the original fever dies down -when they will ask you to read it a million times a day- It's the book version of a blankie.  The illustrations are exciting as well and I love the fact that it can be read from cover to cover or just a couple of rhymes at a time.

Iggy Peck, Architect

Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty
Illustrated by David Roberts
2007

     Iggy Peck has been an architect since he was two, "when he built a great tower -in only an hour- with nothing but diapers and glue."  By three his parents new his passion for architecture was going to stick: "he built churches and chapels from peaches and apples, and temples from modeling clay." His parents were always supportive, even when he built the St. Lois Arch during dinner using nothing but pancakes and coconut pie.  His passion kept growing but then he reached the second grade and met his teacher Miss Lila Greer.  She hated building and architecture! It all steamed from an unfortunate trip to a skyscraper when she was a little girl; she got lost and "was found two days later stuck, eating cheese with a French circus troupe.  After that day "she thought all building-lovers were nuts."
     Not being allowed to build anything, bummed out Iggy and turned second grade into a bore.  One day, the class went on a picnic.  The crossed a bridge to get to an island where they would have the picnic, but as the last kid got across, the bridge collapsed.  Miss Greer fainted and Iggy came up with a plan.  He designed a new bridge and built it with his classmates and when Miss Greer woke up, they where all safe back on the mainland.
     Iggy Peck, Architect is quirky and delightful book.  The story is funny and the illustrations are fantastic.  It's about finding your passion and sticking with it.  There are not many books out there about being an architect so this  is a good one to add to any classroom or bookshelf.

Tell Me the Day Backwards

Tell Me the Day Backwards by Albert Lamb
Illustraded by David McPhail

     "Let's play that game we used to play that summer" says little Timmy Bear to Mama Bear as he gets ready for bedtime.  The game is to retell the day backwards.  Timmy Bear starts going back through all the details of his adventure filled day.   The day ended with a relaxing picnic but soon we find out that Timmy had a scary incident:  Papa Bear had to rescue Timmy Bear from the river.  As he retells the story, always prompted by Mama Bear asking "what happened before that?", we are able to reconstruct the whole day.
     Tell Me the Day Backwards is an exciting and sweet tale that will have you and the kids wanting to play the game yourselves during bedtime.   The watercolor illustrations are beautiful.   The story provides  a great exercise to use in the classroom as well, not only the idea of telling a story backwards, but following the cause and effect pattern throughout the retelling.

Pecan Pie Baby

Pecan Pie Baby by Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrated by Sophie Blackall
2011

     It's fall and Gia is going to be a big sister very soon.  Her mom tells her the baby will arrive "by the time the first snow's on the ground."  Gia "looked out at the falling leaves and made a silent wish for winter to come and go quickly without bringing any snow."  A baby will change everything and Gia is just not ready for that.  Even when mom tries to make her feel better by offering her a piece of pecan pie and telling her that the baby likes it too, just like them, Gia says that "baby's just being a copy cat!"  The worst part is that the baby is all everybody seems to be thinking and talking about.  They keep fussing about that "ding-dang baby."  Gia can't help but think about all those years when it was just her and Mama: drinking chocolate, telling silly stories and cuddling in her Mama's bed in the early morning hours. "Now, that baby was going to change everything!" But when Mama shares with Gia that she will also miss those good old days and that together they'll have to share those memories with the new baby, Gia realizes there is love to spare...as well as more pecan pie.
     Pecan Pie Baby is beautiful.  The language and the illustrations are poetic and sweet.  It's a perfect book to share with everybody whose family is about to get larger.  For teachers, it offers good examples of showing passage of time through seasons and good openings:
     Just as summer started leaving us and the leaving brought all those colors to the trees, Mama pulled out my winter clothes
     An added bonus for me was the multicultural characters.  Not only is the main character African American, but the classmates, family friends, and "aunts" and "uncles" are from all different racial groups.  Great book to share in the classroom and at home.