Terry's comments (member since Feb 25, 2008)

Terry's comments from the Children's Books group.

We love the Roscoe Riley Rules series. They are a fun, wholesome counterpart to Captain Underpants. They are loaded with dialogue, which is great for new and transitional readers.

Miss McAdams wrote: "I start subbing 3rd grade tomorrow and I'm looking for suggestions for a chapter book to read them. Any ideas?"

My now first grader loved the Andy McShane series, Humpty Dumpty Jr. Hard-Boiled Detective series, and Daisy Dawson Is On Her Way. They all are lightly humorous, have kids in the 1st-2d grade range. HDJ is particularly egg-cellent and filled with great puns.

For practicality and learning, we love Abadaba Alphabet and The Alphabet Book in Usborne's Barnyard Tales series.

For beauty and artistic value, we love An African ABC

And last but not least, for nonfiction, we love Alphabet of Dinosaurs and Alphabet of Insects. These were produced in cooperation with the Smithsonian and come with CDs.

There are some great new ideas ... I'd not heard of some of these. I'll second those classics and I'll add these:

I'm not usually a big fan of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas "knock-offs," but A Pirate's Night Before Christmas is very clever.

There is also a new, beautifully illustrated version of O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi (one of my all-time favorite stories).

The Miracle of the First Poinsetta: A Mexican Christmas Story by Joanne Openheim.

There is also a set of chapter books: The Blacksmith's Gift and An Orphan's Promise that are exceptional. They do speak to the Christian foundation of the season, so if you're looking for a non-religious book, they may not work.

Jack Prelutsky has always been big in our house. We had great (read: surprising) success with Poetry Speaks to Children. It is a book with a CD of the poets reading their work.

We just finished A Pirate's Night Before Christmas and my first grader is yo-ho-hoing and using lots of new pirate terms. HIGHLY recommended. We're also posting a 12 Days of Christmas (changing year to age of child) on our blog: Scrub-a-Dub-Tub

PS - You can only get Where Are My Christmas presents at the publisher/author's site: http://www.sterlipublishing.com/

This is a great, very timely discussion. We have always preferred books with a little more "meat," when we read with our daughter. That said, we also don't like being beat over the head with "Vital life lessons," either. It's always been compromise: a little bit of princess and a little bit of good story.

C (a first grader) picked a Captain Underpants book at her school's book fair. It is definitely not "high brow," and wouldn't be a book we'd select. In fact, we thought it would be a book we would read to her. But she was so captivated that she stayed up late (8:30) reading it, working through unfamiliar words by herself. THEN she tried to read it by the din of the nightlight. It's hard to argue with a self-motivated reader.

Even though she's reading somewhat independently, we'll still read together. And we'll continue to balance the content and compromise: she can have a chapter of the Captain, but then we pick the other book.

There is some wonderful 19th Century American literature, with plenty of classics in each genre: Ralph Waldo Emerson (essay); Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allen Poe, Herman Melville, (novels and short stories); Harriet Beecher Stowe (historical fiction); Emily Dickenson (poetry) and many others. This is a well-rounded list to get you started.

There is lots written about these authors and their works that would allow you to weave history and literature into a wonderful tapestry.

Here are some more modern works of historical fiction that might also help you add depth and additional perspectives to both historical and literary discussions.

"Night of the Red Moon by Angi Ma Wong is set in 19th Century Chinatown (LA).

Child Out of Place: A Story of New England is a retrospective of a freed slave's look at her life after emancipation.

I have to second Marta's comments about The Curse of Addy McMahon. We reviewed it in the Reading Tub.

I have a six-year-old (rising first grader) and she is a voracious reader. We just finished Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly by Alan Madison. It's perfect for girls, parents who want stories with girls who like science, and just fun reading.

I also liked Daisy Dawson is On Her Way by Steve Voake. It's an illustrated chapter book ... perfect for "dawdling" students.

Bubba Begonia You'll Be Sorry by Gerry O'Brien is on our site (I haven't loaded it here yet). It's a classic: Mom warns Bubba not to stick his finger in his nose, or else ... yep! It gets stuck. It's perfect for boys and reluctant readers of either gender!

I'd love to see your list when you finish it.

Our daughter loved all of the Boynton books, and now that she is 6 and learning to read, they are coming in handy for practicing!!

Since you mentioned bedtime as in issue ... Mem Fox's Time for Bed is terrific, as are Sleep Tight, Little Mouse by Mary Morgan and Good Night Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann.

Not sure of your audience age, so here are a couple for different age groups. The first three are historical fiction chapter books.

Child Out of Place: A Story of New England by Patricia Walls

Phillis Wheatley: Young Revolutionary Poet by Kathryn Kilby Borland

Red Thunder: Secrets, Spies, and Scoundrels at Yorktown by John Hunter

The Skin You Live In by Michael Tyler (rhyming/picture book)

My Nana and Me by Irene Smalls (picture book)

Brown Like Me by Noelle Lamparti (rhyming/picture book)

What a fun way to start my morning! I can see toddlers and preschoolers "rockin" as only they can when it comes to dancing. Very sweet.

BTW - Our family reviewer returned their review of Bur Bur Throws Out the First Pitch. Here's the Reading Tub® profile. It was a hit (pun intended), too.

Hi Abigail, Thanks. That looks like a wonderful book. I'll probably need two (one for my daughter). She LOVES butteflies ... and who can pass up a book on butterflies AND science, too!

Thanks Kakie, our child is a girl. Anna Takes a Hike would be a perfect complement to the fabric we picked. Very Kewl. Terry

Hi Kirei,

Yes. The idea is that you offer a quilt square and a 'wish' for the future. My daughter loved Good Night, Sweet Butterflies ...

I've been invited to participate in a 100 Good Wishes quilt for a friend's daughter. It's a tradition in Chinese adoptions.

I found a beautiful piece of fabric with butterflies, and now I'd like to find a loving story or poem for a young toddler.

Any/all ideas welcome.

This is such a fabulous topic! It is as timeless as the books themselves. Here are some our favorites ...

Picture Books
I'll second/third/... the Mercy Watson books. Chris Van Dusen (illustrator for those titles) has also produced a great series of his own featuring Mr. Magee

Noises at Night by Beth Raisner Glass and Susan Lubner
Ruthie Bon Bair! Don't Go to Bed with Wringing Wet Hair also by Beth Raisner Glass and Susan Lubner.
Think Dr. Seuss for this one: VERY clever and perfect for little girls like mine who want long hair but no tangles!

Chapter Books
Bubba Begonia, You'll be Sorry by Gerry O'Brien
Robin the Lovable Morgan Horse by Ellen Feld
Mia the Meek by Eileen Boggess
Any of the Young Patriot books, an historical fiction series published by Patria Press (some of us might remember them as "the little orange biographies")

Have you ever ready any of the Gorp books by Sherri Chessen? They are picture books with a message for kids. I like Gorp's Dream: A Tale of Diversity, Tolerance, and Love in Pumpernickel Park. It's a rhyming picture book where all of the characters are part of the world's bread basket. Cute, light, but very clear on the message.