TRAVEL TIME

This summer say thank you to the inventor of the wheel and set off on an adventure—even if it’s only to the neighborhood park.

WHEREVER YOU GO by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler, Little Brown and Co., 2015.

Where does the road go?   

Over, under

zoom and race

zig and zag

left and right

Choices are made, plans change.

Share this book with your toddlers and young listeners as you pack your bags for a family trip—and be sure the book goes with you.

Illustrator Eliza Wheeler  delights sharp little eyes following a dapper bunny guide on a bike. He leads through towns, villages, the bright lights of the cities, even along a quiet winter trail through a forest dotted with cozy cabins demonstrating that all vacation trips are not made in summer. A wise looking owl flits along to provide company, a tranquil touch.

When he crosses a bridge and roads converge, the amiable bunny makes new friends. Does the family in the van resemble yours? That monkey waving from the top of the luggage carrier reminds me of my little brother on our family vacations.  

A comforting thought for all travelers: the same road you travel away from home takes you home again. 

Pat Miller will be remembered for her award winning picture book, Sophie's Squash.

Wherever You Go will join Sophie's Squash in your children’s basket of  lovingly thumbed books.
If you visit her website, you'll find other books including another book about Sophie.

Follow your road to delightful discoveries.

Bring home happy memories.

Safe travels.

Always.

LOL! It’s Spring!

What could be better than the sound of four and five year olds doubled over in a good-old-fashioned belly laugh?

BETTY BUNNY LOVES CHOCOLATE CAKE by Michael B. Kaplan, illustrated by Stephane Jorisch, Dial BFYR, 2011

I’m a chocoholic, so when Betty Bunny says she loves chocolate cake so much  that when she grows up, she’s going to marry it, I smile. I get it. So do young readers. Betty can’t wait for her next taste of this delicious dessert. I get that, too.  Her strategies to short cut the much too long wait don’t turn out as she hopes however, and by the last page turn, the giggles have run away with the reader.

The author is a TV writer who has written for Rosanne and Frasier and now co-creates and executive produces I’m in the Band for Disney XD. Illustrator Jorisch includes New Year at the Pier by April Halprin Wayland among his picture book credits.

I wonder how much chocolate cake this talented duo consumed while bringing Betty Bunny to life. Neither will gain weight.  Laughter is great exercise.

Family Ties

What threads tie one generation to another? In this tribute to family, it is a shovel. Not a huge, earth moving shovel that spades garden plots or digs post holes. A little shovel. But it tells a mighty story.

ALL THE WAY TO AMERICA, The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel, by Dan Yaccarino, Alfred A. Knopf, 2011

“Work hard.”
“Remember to enjoy life.”
“Never forget family.”

Wise words.

Oh, but there is so much more to the big Italian family that author Dan Yaccarino shares with us.

He begins with his great-grandfather’s little shovel, the one his ancestor was given so he could help tend the zucchini, tomatoes, and strawberries in his father’s garden.

Then this talented great-grandson mines the family stories and follows the little shovel as it travels with his great-grandfather from his birthplace in Sorrento, Italy all the way to America.

In a touching fare-well scene, the reader sees great-grandfather receiving from his father the little shovel and the first two lines of advice above. Mom added, “Never forget family.” She gave him photos and tomato sauce. The parting works on several emotional levels. Then the story kicks into high gear.

Great-grandfather changes his name and loves America, but he doesn’t forget family. He uses the little shovel in a bakery, measuring flour and sugar. He marries Adeline, has 5 children, lives in “Little Italy,” and teaches his children, “work hard, enjoy life, love family.”

The line of industrious bread winners and bread bakers continues, brightly illustrated by the author to show the little shovel in all its uses, with its greatest use being the witness it bears to the legacy of a loving family. It is, indeed a big Italian family, so big the family dinners grow too large for anyone’s home. Only a family owned restaurant will hold them all.

The last pages are about the author, Dan. He grows up in the suburbs but moves back to the city and becomes an author/illustrator. He marries Sue. Their son and daughter work on their New York City terrace with the small shovel. They grow zucchini, tomatoes, and strawberries. Dan teaches the family philosophy: work hard, enjoy life, and love family.

Explore the author’s website and visit the two trailers for this book. One is inspiring and the other is stirring. (Which is which? Personal opinion. What do you think?) Both will be the envy of authors who want to create trailers for their books. Either trailer will encourage you to water the soil of your own family tree.

What ties your family together?