Even Dust Bunnies Have Heart

If your kids are bored with summer and you’re bored with hearing how bored they are, help is at hand.

HERE COMES THE BIG, MEAN, DUST BUNNY! By Jan Thomas, Beach Lane Books, 2009

Ed, Ted, Ned, and Bob say they rhyme all the time. (Bob?) Enter the monstrous dust bunny and a game is on. Knowing that sat and splat rhyme might make you wonder how this one will turn out. Not to worry. Even on the run, a pun is fun.

A mom might wonder if it’s her kitchen pantry or laundry room where Jan Thomas hides to do her writing. I wondered. Will you?

The Return of Green

It's spring at last! For some reason, this past winter seemed longer, more entrenched, reluctant to leave us. Today's book choice grants promise and hope to all seasons, winter included.

RED SINGS FROM TREETOPS A year in colors. By Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. 2009

Can you feel color, hold it in your hand, hear it sing? What if you could?

Author Sidman’s flowing rhymes and artist Zagarenski’s vivid and playful art join hands and skip through a year of seasons.

Turn your senses loose and enjoy!

My favorite quote from the book: "Where is green in winter? Green waits in the hearts of trees."

Welcome back, Green!

A Box Filled with Magic-- Possibility

Remember your child's first birthday? What was the favorite gift? The wrapping paper, yes? Well, here's a novel idea and it's a picture book.

MAGIC BOX by Katie Cleminson. On her birthday, Eva is given...a box! She jumps in, becomes "a master magician," and starts to wish. That's when the fun begins. The ending iis fun, too, and it's all made possible by Eva's imagination. Be sure you have a big box handy for play time after you read this with your pre-schooler.

What kinds of adventures does your young reader imagine when given a magic box?