Birds by Kevin Henkes and illustrated by Laura Dronzek

I recently found a book by Kevin Henkes that I didn't yet own, but I own it now. :) Birds was published in 2009. Laura Dronzek is the illustrator. All the pictures have bold black outlines which makes this a great book for even the littlest of babies.

In Birds, Henkes tells that birds can be different colors, so this book teaches colors. He talks about birds sizes, so your baby can learn about big and little and in between. He talks about the number of birds, so you can count with your child. He also helps a the older little child learn about abstract ideas, like what if we could see the trails birds make in the sky, or what would the sky look like if the clouds were birds. He talks about seasons, and my favorite page is a surprise.

Henkes never fails to delight me with his books for young readers. I have the hard cover version, but this book also comes as a board book, making it perfect for tiny hands.

Michelle and her grandson, Lucas, brought this cute book over for the NICU babies. Thank you!

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl was published in 1975. The copy I own was illustrated by Quentin Blake. Danny and his father live in a Fortune Teller's caravan that is parked next to their filling station where they also repair cars. 

One night when Danny's father is out late, Danny learns that his father, his late-mother, and his grandfather used to poach pheasants from their rich neighbors land. They liked the secrecy of it, and although I am not a supporter of poaching in any manner. I enjoyed this story because of the relationship Danny has with his father. 

Their adventures get them into trouble, and the story is funny and often tender. Danny learns to drive while he is a child, and he is a big help to his father. I think children will like this story. I love the part when the baby is in the buggy and the birds are flying everywhere - too funny and a bit scary. 

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Another way to help our project is to purchase books from this Usborne link as we are currently using the hostess benefits to help buy books for the babies. You buy books that are delivered to your house for your children or grandchildren - or as baby shower gifts, and the hostess rewards help us get books for our NICU babies - a win win for all. Thanks to those of you who have already ordered; we are on our way to getting a lot of books for the babies. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

More NICU Donations

My doorbell rang the other day and my neighbor, Michelle, and her cute little grandson, Lucas, were there. Lucas had these books in his arms and told me they were "for the babies." He was so happy to share them. Thank you, Michelle and Lucas.

We had an Usbourne book party to benefit the NICU and the next two pictures are of books that were purchased from the party for the NICU. We also get more books for the NICU from our hostess benefits. 

This group of books was donated by Krysta Young. All of these will be well loved by the babies in the NICU. Usborne books are very sturdy and last. Thank you Krysta.

 Sharon Hall donated these books. Board books are so wonderful for little hands. They can take some nibbling and still hold up. Thank you, Sharon.

And just like that, we have books once again for the babies. 

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Another way to help our project is to purchase books from this Usborne link as we are currently using the hostess benefits to help buy books for the babies. You buy books that are delivered to your house for your children or grandchildren - or as baby shower gifts, and the hostess rewards help us get books for our NICU babies - a win win for all. Thanks to those of you who have already ordered; we are on our way to getting new books for the babies. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

NICU Donations

Donations this week to our NICU babies include the following, plus I understand several of Angie's friends ordered books from our Usborne link to donate directly to the babies. I'll post pictures of those after I visit Angie. We will also be getting free books as hostess gifts from our Usborne link. 

Angela Jenson donated these books. They will be headed to the NICU waiting room and also to a local teacher's classroom. 

 Brittany Shaw donated these books that will be put into packets for the NICU babies.

Caitie Jolley sent a big box of books pictured in the next two pictures. The first books pictured will head to the NICU waiting room and to a local teacher's classroom.

This second batch that Caitie sent over will go into packets for the NICU babies.

I appreciate every book that is donated. Some of the used books get donated to local classrooms, but all the books find a home, so thank you all for helping spread the love of literacy across our community. 

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Another way to help our project is to purchase books from this Usborne link as we are currently using the hostess benefits to help buy books for the babies. You buy books that are delivered to your house for your children or grandchildren - or as baby shower gifts, and the hostess rewards help us get books for our NICU babies - a win win for all. Thanks to those of you who have already ordered; we are on our way to getting new books for the babies. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

I've been hearing a lot of good things about Jason Reynolds, but so far, Ghost is the first book I've read by him. It definitely won't be the last. Ghost is a book that makes me want to go back to teaching so that I can place this book in the hands of my students.

Castle aka Ghost is a boy who can run, but he's never run for a track team. When a coach sees his natural talent, will Castle be able to tame his anger to be able to be on a team?

Castle is so real. He makes mistakes, but he is also a good person. When he makes his big mistake, I was impressed with how Reynolds handled it. I liked that Ghost struggled with his feelings of guilt. He didn't know how to make things right after what he'd done. I loved Coach. Every child needs an adult like Coach in their life. He is tough but fair.

My only complaint was that I wanted this book to be longer. The good news is that this is the first of four books in the Track Series, so I can get more of the characters I've come to love. This book really is just the right length for middle grade and middle school students. This book brings up many great discussion points and can help children come up with a plan to deal with anger, frustration, feelings of inadequacy, and fear. It also shows how to be a friend and to be someone who can be trusted.

I listened to the incredible audio version that was narrated by Guy Lockard. They chose the perfect narrator for this novel. I was trying to get ready for work while listening, and had a hard time with my eye makeup because I was tearing up - a lot. This book made me laugh and cry, which is the sign of good writing.

Thank you, Jason Reynolds for a wonderful book.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Another way to help our project is to purchase books from this Usborne link as we are currently using the hostess benefits to help buy books for the babies. You buy books that are delivered to your house for your children or grandchildren - or as baby shower gifts, and the hostess rewards help us get books for our NICU babies - a win win for all. Thanks to those of you who have already ordered; we are on our way to getting a lot of books for the babies. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you.