Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon

Ronald Durkin, the biggest bully in the school,  just can't break Molly Lou Melon.  She may be tiny, and scrawny, and bucktoothed.  She may even sing like a bullfrog, but spunky Molly has one thing Ronald Durkin doesn't, Self Confidence!  Molly's grandma tells her to stand proud and strong, and she does every single day.  Even Ronald Durkin can be charmed by Molly!  This book is a great way to demonstrate self confidence, even without being "perfect".  Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell is a great addition to any library.

The Boy Who Wouldn't Share

I was hoping the Boy Who Wouldn't Share would send a much better message than I found when I read this book.  The boy in the book, Edward, has many toys.  TOO MANY TOYS!  And even though he has more than enough toys, he refuses to share them with his little sister.  He is practically taken hostage by all of his toys and is trapped in the middle when his mother comes in with fudge.  She doesn't see him and gives it all to his sister.  Edward of course wants to have his cake and eat it too.  The sister ends up giving fudge to Edward and he starts to share toys.  Edward only shares if he gets something in return.  Not a great message if you ask me and this book will go happily back to the library, never to surface in the Hines household again.

Doggone, Dogs

I am certain that Doggone Dogs will remain my youngest daughter's favorite book for many years to come.  I you have young children that LOVE dogs then you must read this book.  It is written simply with some rhyme and few words.  The pictures help tell the story of ten silly dogs who wake up early and decided to drag their person to the park.  They wreak havoc on the park including the "doggone poops" (that makes Sylvie roll with laughter every time) until they are caught by the dog catcher.  They work as a team to escape and make it safely home.

I Like Myself

This is another book by Karen Beaumont with pictures by David Catrow.  The two have a style that fits well together.  Beaumont has the knack of showing acceptance of self in a silly way.  She is able to demonstrate that if you like what is on the inside of yourself and you do things to make yourself proud, then it doesn't matter if you have horns or purple polka-dotted lips, you will like who you are.  The girl in this book is so stinkin' cute you could just eat her up crazy curly hair and all.  It make me think of this you-tube video that was viral awhile back.  Great book to help build self-acceptance and self-confidence in younger ones!

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More

This book is nothing short of hilarious.  I actually bought this for my "middlest" daughter, as we call her.  She had gotten into the paint and covered herself from head to toe.  Luckily for m me it was in the middle of summer so we took her outside and hosed her off. 

In this story by Karen Beaumont a little boy is caught by his mother painting walls, ceiling, doors, and anything else around him.  David Catrow cleverly left the mother black and white while the rest of the page exploded with color.  You see the boy and dog get a bath then the mother puts the pains into the closet and everything is white again, UNTIL... he gets the paints down and sings "I ain't gonna paint no more" one body part at a time.  My youngest 2 girls got a kick out of trying to guess the body part that fits the rhyme before I turned the page to reveal it.  Fantastic book to help with learning body parts and rhyme. 

Our Tree Named Steve

Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel should be added to the home library of every family.  Though the kids loved the book, I think it is really a picture book meant for parents.  The first time I read this at my school book fair, i received many looks from students as I tried to hold back tears.  The book is written as a letter being sent to 3 children while they are staying at their grandparent's house.  The father is explaining that the beloved tree, that the family calls Steve, has been knocked down by a storm.  It recalls events that happened through the years and by the end there is not a dry eye in my house.   My girls can even feel how significant the loss is for the family in the book.  I highly recommend Our Tree Named Steve to people young and old.

The Middle-Child Blues

This book MUST become a part of my collection!  Author Kristyn Crow and illustrator David Catrow do an remarkable job capturing family dynamics of a three child family!  My Middle Child could not put the book down and has been singing "the blues" for days now!  In this book the middle child is grumpy because he is not old enough to do what his older brother does and not young enough to get away with doing nothing like his sister.  In the end though he is the star of the guitar and has all of his family and friends singing his tune,
"I've got the low-down,
big-frown,
sulkin'-all-around-town,
bummed out,
MID-KID BLUES."

Take Me Out of the Bath Tub

This is a collection of silly poems set to familiar songs by David Katz.  Katz and Catrow make a good pair, you can almost see them laughing together while brainstorming the illustrations.  Poems/ songs include "Stinky Stinky Diaper Change" to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "Take Me Out of the Bathtub" to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", and "I've Been Cleaning Up My Bedroom" to "I've Been Working on the Raiload".  The songs are sure to get laughs from students and the pictures will get a few more.  WARNING!!!!!!!  These songs will get stuck in your head for DAYS!!!

I Wanna Iguana

I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff Illustrations by David Catrow.  This book is a darling exchange of letters between Alex and his mother.  Alex is trying to convince his mother that he should get his friend Mikey's baby iguana when Mikey moves away.  Alex and his mother write several letters, Alex's of persuasion and Mom's of questioning.  It is a truly delightful story that demonstrates a sweet relationship between a mother and her son.  The illustrations fit the storyline perfectly.  My personal favorite is the portrayal of Alex's wedding day with a 6-foot-long reptile.  The book is charming, witty, and clever.  A good read, and a great way to introduce persuasion writing.

My School is a Zoo

My School is a Zoo was written by Stu Smith and illustrated by David Catrow.  In this book Smith portrays a young boy who is moving around his school to find it has been taken over by animals.  His teacher is a bear; turtles, hyenas, and hippos are taking over the playground.  Every page has a 4 line verse with ABCB rhyme patterns.  It is easy to ready and follow a natural cadence.  In the end, the boy realizes it is all a dream!

Overall, the writing and pictures are a pleasure to read, but some of the animals are a little too abstract.  The bear for example looks more like Big Foot, than a bear.  Still the characters pop off the page and keep the reader's interest until the very end.

Week 1: David Catrow

Week 1: January27- February 1

My favorite children’s book illustrator David Catrow

http://catrow.com/

1.      I Wanna New Room by Karen Kaufman Orloff

2.      I Wanna Iguanna Written by Karen Orloff

3.      Are You Quite Polite? Written by Alan Katz

4.      Too Much Kissing Written by Alan Katz

5.      Take Me Out of the Bathtub by Alan Katz

6.      The Middle Child Blues Written by Kristyn Crow

7.      Our Tree Named Steve Written by Alan Zweibel

8.      I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More Written by Karen Beaumont

9.      I Like Myself Written by Karen Beaumont

10.    Doggone Dogs by Karen Beaumont

11.    The Boy Who Wouldn’t Share Written by Mike Reiss

12.    Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon Written by Patty Lovell

13.    Don’t Take Your Snake for a Stroll by Karin Ireland

14.    The Fungus That Ate My School Written by Arthur Dorros

15.    The Long, Long Letter Written by Elizabeth Spurr

16.    We the Kids by David Catrow

I realize this seems like a lot of books for somebody who introduced herself as never reading, but I have the pleasure of being a mother to 3 beautiful girls that are ages 3, 4, and 6 years old and who LOVE to read with me every night.  They usually get to choose 2 books each every night before bed; that is 6 books per night I already read.  I chose a few books they have read already and I know they absolutely LOVE to act as a good introduction to many new books.  I guess I read more than I thought; it just usually tends to be for the 6 and under crowd!

Em Reads Again!

Once Upon a time there was a lovely girl named Emily who loved to read.  She used to read many, many books a week, then she grew up and became a mom to 3 cute, cuddly, smart, funny (and really messy) little monsters.  She seemed to have forgotten how much fun it can be to read new books all of the time,  NOT the same books over and over that her children so dearly loved.

Then one day she decided she wanted to be a librarian and began taking classes at Lindenwood University!  She was enrolled in ED535 and her new assignment was to READ! READ! READ!   She was so excited her children became excited about her new books.  Her students were excited to hear books during read aloud.  Even her husband was interested in what she was reading.  She wanted to shout from a mountain top, "Em, Reads Again!", so she began to blog...