Frog on a Log? by Kes Gray and Jim Field

Teaching about rhymes and word families help children become stronger readers faster - plus word families are fun.

Frog on a Log? by Kes Gray and Jim Field is a story that has a lot of fun with rhyme. Let me show you a few pages.

This book has a cute ending and can start you playing the rhyming game with your child. A couple of the animals don't exactly rhyme with where they sit, but the author is from Great Britain so accents must be taken in to account.

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

The Lamb-a-roo by Diana Kimpton

The Lamb-a-roo written by Diana Kimpton and Illustrated by Rosalind Bearshaw was published in 2006 and is a story of adoption. Kimpton is an adoptive parent who adopted a brown eyed child who longed to have eyes like the rest of her family.

In Lamb-a-roo, a lamb is adopted by a kangaroo. The mother and baby lamb love each other very much, but the lamb wants so badly to be more like a kangaroo. He does everything he can think of to become more like his mother.

He finds some bed springs and is excited to finally be able to jump, but if he is more like a kangaroo, he is less like himself - his own true perfect self.

This beautifully illustrated story is about accepting and appreciating differences and about learning that you don't have to be like someone in order to love them completely.

Unfortunately this book is out of print, but it can still be found at reasonable prices online.

Read to a child today to help them see that they are not so different after all and that different can be a good thing.  

Dinosaur Woods by George McClements

What do you do if your house in the woods is going to be cleared to make way for another plastic tree factory? Why you do what the animals do in Dinosaur Woods by George McClements. Published in 2009, this story values the lives of animals and of saving natural habitat.

When the animals find out they are going to lose their home, they try to get people to listen to them, but no one does, so they decide that people won't destroy the woods if they think a dinosaur lives there. They work together to build a robotic dinosaur and climb inside to operate it in hopes of scaring the construction crews away.

This book is great for kids of all ages. The pictures are fun and cute and there is enough going on to make it fun for an older child as well as any child who loves animals.

The animals are able to save their homes but not in the way they intended.

Read to a child today in order to build their background knowledge.

Took: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn

When I was book shopping for my grandchildren for Christmas, I noticed that Mary Downing Hahn had a new book. Took: A Ghost Story is classic Hahn. She gives the reader the creeps in a good way. This story has it all: a witch or two, folklore, a creepy doll, time travel, a beast, a haunted child, and an old house.

Blurb from Goodreads: “Folks say Old Auntie takes a girl and keeps her fifty years—then lets her go and takes another one.”     Thirteen-year-old Daniel Anderson doesn’t believe Brody Mason’s crazy stories about the ghost witch who lives up on Brewster’s Hill with Bloody Bones, her man-eating razorback hog. He figures Brody’s probably just trying to scare him since he’s the new kid . . . a “stuck-up snot” from Connecticut. But Daniel’s seven-year-old sister Erica has become more and more withdrawn, talking to her lookalike doll. When she disappears into the woods one day, he knows something is terribly wrong. Did the witch strike? Has Erica been “took”? 

If you like Mary Downing Hahn or Betty Ren Wright, you will enjoy this story.

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

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

In Dear Mr. Henshaw, Beverly Cleary gets what it is like to be a child of divorce when your dad doesn't take any interest in you. I could relate to Leigh Botts and how he felt forgotten.

I enjoyed Leigh's writing process and how he became less dependent on Mr. Henshaw for feedback as he began to write in a journal. This Newbery winner was published in 1983, yet it is still relevant to today's students. 

This book would work well with a writing unit to help students be more original writers instead of trying to copy what someone else is doing. This book shows the importance of voice and of expanding our reading lists. 

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

The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

For those who have ever wanted to switch places with someone from a different lifestyle, The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain is a warning of the dangers of doing so and the knowledge that can be gained when we walk a mile in the shoes of another.

This story is classic Mark Twain. The growth in Prince Edward who was kind yet uniformed of what common folk went through was rewarding for the reader. The growth in Tom Canty, the abused son of a thief was also profound. Both boys were good people who became better people after a chance encounter placed Prince Edward as Tom Canty, and Tom Canty as Prince Edward.

I listened to this book on Librivox as read by John Greenman. He is a good narrator.

Read to a child today or let LibriVox do so for you. 

Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayer with Helen Waterford and Alfons Heck

Parallel Journeys is the story of Helen Waterford, a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust and Alfons Heck, a high ranking Hitler Youth. They didn't meet during the WWII, but after the war they meet and spoke out against what happened during the Holocaust.

This was the first memoir I've read that tells the story from the perspective of a person who participated with exuberance in Hitler's plan to destroy an entire race. I found Alfons Heck's honesty haunting and courageous. He details how Hitler trained the youth of Germany to hate Jews and to embrace Germany as the master race that would control the world. The brainwashing of the children was methodical and well planned. Heck was able to realize that he too was a victim of Hitler's evil. 

Eleanor Ayer's husband died in the death camps and she nearly died. They sent their young daughter into hiding, and she survived, but after being away from her parents for three years, she had a hard time adjusting to her mother. So much was stolen from Ayer. 

I enjoyed reading about their speaking tours and how some people were angry with Ayer because she sat alongside a member of the Hitler Youth - one that had fought and killed allied troops. I appreciated her ability to forgive and to understand the he too was a victim. 

Heck said, ""When I speak to young people, the message I hope that they most remember is this: the murder of eleven million people in the Holocaust began very simply with prejudice, minor harassment. If you allow harassment to grow and fester, if you do nothing to stop it, then you become one of the perpetrators. What began in the Hitler years as minor harassment turned, in the end, to genocide" (226).

This is an important book that was written for readers over age ten and shows the importance of kindness and fighting against bigotry of any kind. 

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

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson is about two girls who suffer from Anorexia. One of them dies at the start of the story, and the other, Lia, is left to fight the battle.

Published in 2009, this book is up to date and hard hitting as many of Anderson's books are. The reader gets to experience Lia's downfall as she tries to deal with her own eating and cutting disorders along with her guilt over Cassie's death.

This book is potentially triggering for those with eating disorders or those who cut, but it could also be a book of healing for those with eating disorders and those who cut.

Although I felt the book had some pacing issues, I enjoyed the story and all the poetic words that bothered some other reviewers. I like language that helps me visualize the story, and Anderson is very good at making the reader see the story. I also liked her use of strike-out formatting. I felt it worked for the character and the intended audience.

I felt for Lia's parents. I found myself asking, "What would I do in their shoes?" How do you help a child when you don't understand what they are feeling, when they won't do the work needed to get well, when your insurance won't cover treatment?

I liked the growth in Lia's character and how realistic she seemed in her relationships with everyone around her. Nothing felt contrived - only brutally real. Her stepmom was wonderful, real, not the evil stepmother archetype, but instead a woman of great compassion who was frustrated and trying to protect her own child.

I think those who know someone with an eating or cutting disorder could be helped by reading this. This is definitely a book for older teens and adults. With a Lexile of 730L, this makes a good high/low book for older teens that haven't become avid readers yet.

I love the cover art of this novel.

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

2016 Gifts to the NICU Book Project

Check this out: Carolyn Rich-Denson donated 68 brand new books to our NICU book project. Sixty of the books are board books which are so valuable for little hands. Babies need to touch and turn pages without worrying about harming the books. Thank you Carolyn. I always run out of board books, so your donation will help build a lot of packets.

My friend, Michelle, has been beyond generous to our book project. Look at all the fun books she found for the babies - 39 more books of all types. I appreciate her consistent support of this project. She donated 365 books to our project last year - one for each day of the year.

Because of donations like these and from other people who have donated books this year, we were able to continue this project in a bigger way than I could ever do on my own. Thank you all for your support.

I feel that these gifts honor my two babies who didn't survive pregnancy as this project was started in their memory and that of two grandchildren who didn't survive pregnancy. These books are gifts that help other babies who were born too soon or who were born needing the services of the NICU.

2016 donors:

• Michelle Schwendiman
• Carolyn Rich-Densen
• Janet Newbold
• Angela Jensen
• Cayli and Brandon Johnson
• Alysen Jeffries
• Angie Moore (my NICU nurse daughter)
• Anne Marie Stirbis
• Catherine Crosby (me)

Together we gathered a total of 1,123 books for the NICU in 2016, which is nearly double what they would have received had I been doing this on my own. This means we gave 224 babies a packet of five books. 224 families were able to read to their babies while their babies were in the NICU. 224 families were able to start building lifelong readers and help their babies develop stronger vocabularies and attention spans. 224 families were able to use books to calm themselves in a stressful situation. 

Thanks to each of you who made this possible. 

Email me if you'd like to know how to contribute to our NICU project as we are always looking for good quality books for infants and toddlers for this project. 

Edited to add: Here is a link to a book registry at Amazon where you can purchase books that will be shipped to us for the babies. Book Registry at Amazon for NICU

The Odyssey by Homer

I listened to The Odyssey (version 1) by Homer on LibriVox. I didn't expect to like this book that was written centuries ago, but I found it fascinating. If you enjoy Greek mythology, you will like this book. If you have a reader who loved the Percy Jackson series, they will like this book.

Greek mythology contains illicit love affairs, violence, and mayhem, and Homer's depiction will keep you reading or listening. I wanted to flay the suitors and make them go away. I loved how faithful Penelope remains to Odysseus. I loved the trickery of the gods and how the story ends.

Don't be afraid of a 1200 year-old text. It is an understandable and wonderful adventure.

Read an old book today and see if it can become a new friend.

The Skin I'm In by Sharon G Flake

I found The Skin I'm In by Sharon G Flake at a book sale at the library, ten cents for a book. I feel almost guilty about it, but at this point whatever feeds my book addiction and is legal, is good for  me. Finding sales like this helps to offset my $100 Barnes and Noble shopping sprees.

I enjoy reading books about cultures other than my own as I like to learn something new when I read. I didn't think I'd have anything in common with the characters of this story, but while this story is about Black Americans, anyone could relate to the themes in this story.

Every person on the planet has to learn to accept themselves and the skin they are in. Maleeka has very dark skin, like her father who has died. She is teased about being too dark. She gets a new teacher who has a white splotch across her face, probably vitiligo. Maleeka wants to fit in, she wants nice clothes, and she wants to be liked. All of these needs cause her to put herself in bad situations. Maleeka is a good person, though. She cares about her mother and wears the ill made clothing her mom makes for her because she feels like the act of sewing helps keep her mother sane. Maleeka is a good writer, and her writing gives her strength.

This book made me think about the skin I am in and how acceptance in most communities, black or white, often is hard to come by. I am white - pasty, Casper the Ghost colored white, so white that I was told I was a brunette albino. I used to look at Oprah Winfrey and covet her beautiful skin. And then the cult I was raised in, spread the rumor that my father was black because they were complete racists and wanted to hurt us. My mom was hurt by it, but my sisters and I didn't take it seriously and fortunately, we all made it out of that cult. Being the subject of that rumor helped keep us safe from those who normally would have wanted us for breeding purposes.

My oldest son has vitiligo, which isn't a horrible thing to have when you are the color of paste because the white spots are barely noticeable. He has to keep those spots protected from the sun, but otherwise he is not bothered by them. This made me think about how hard it must have been for Michael Jackson to have this skin condition and how people ridiculed him because of it.

The truth of the matter is that we all have to live in the skin we are in. We are born with the skin we have, and we have no control over the color of it or the skin conditions that may happen to it. All we can do is to value all people, no matter their skin color or condition, no matter their race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. May we see the good in those around us and understand that everyone is just trying to live in the skin they are in.

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

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Although I probably should have read this years ago, The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom came into my life at exactly the right time.

You see, I've been questioning a lot of sad things in our world lately. There have been too many senseless deaths in my life, and I wonder why. . .why things are how they are. Why things can't be better. Why drug abuse takes so many, and why depression isn't cured yet.

Corrie Ten Boom was raised by remarkable people, people who embraced all. Their love of mankind was so deep that they risked their own lives to safe others during the Holocaust. Their love of God and Jesus Christ was so great that they were able to see others as good - even people who had done horrible things to them - and forgive, love, and help those people find the light.

Corrie's sister, Betsie was probably one of the best people who has ever lived. She gave thanks and appreciated everything, even thanking God for the fleas that tormented them in the concentration camp. I thought surely she had lost her mind, but those fleas played a role in her story. Her attitude has changed the way I think about things, and I can only hope that I can stay upbeat in times of stress.

Their love and study of the scriptures helped them know what God would have them do, gave them strength through time spent in concentration camps and prison, and gave them hope and vision of how they could change the world by helping others. I was impressed that they were willing to share the scriptures of other faiths and see those truths along with truths from their own scriptures.

I love this book. One of the stories Corrie tells is of how as a child she sees the word sexsin in a poem and asks her father what it means. He answers her with an object lesson. They are on a train and ready to disembark. He says to Corrie as he puts his heavy traveling case on the floor, "Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?"

"I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning."

"It's too heavy," I said.

"Yes," he said. "And it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It's the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you" (26, 27).

Later in the story, Corrie is asked, "What kind of God would let that old man die here in Scheveningen?" (a prison).

"I got up from the chair and held my hands out to the squat little stove. I did not understand either why Father had died in such a place. I did not understand a great deal. And suddenly I was thinking of Father's own answer to hard questions: "Some knowledge is too heavy . . . you cannot bear it . . . Your Father will carry it until you are able" (163).

This really hit me. I need to trust in the Lord. I also need to study his words more thoroughly as peace, comfort, and answers are found there.

Read today as the book you read may be just what you need. 

To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda Illustrated by Janet Stevens

I'll admit that I bought this book for the wonderful illustrations but was glad I did because the story is fun.

To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda Illustrated by Janet Stevens was published in 1997. The story begins with "To market, to market to buy a fat pig. Home again, home again jiggity jig!"

The settings are done in black and white but the items the woman buys are in vivid color. Each time she goes to the market, the animals she has left at home have gotten into some type of trouble. Your child (and yourself) will wonder just what she is going to do with all these animals.

I like this book because there are plenty of opportunities for predicting what will happen next. Each page is full of different types of food and animals, which makes for fun observing and discussing.

Spend some time in a book with a child today even if it's just you and your inner child. 

Small Pig by Arnold Lobel

Small Pig by Arnold Lobel was a big hit with Angie's kids. Small pig has a happy life until the farmer's wife get a little carried away with her cleaning and vacuums up his mud puddle. He runs away from home and gets into all sorts of scary situations trying to find a restful mud puddle.

At last he finds a mud puddle, but the children listening to or reading the story can see that the mud puddle is really wet cement. Will small pig be rescued? Will he be stuck in the concrete forever? The farmer and his wife are looking everywhere for their small pig. Will they save the day?

Arnold Lobel is a good storyteller and his cute pictures are just right for this story.

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

Eyelike Numbers by Play Bac Publishing

I have a daughter who loves numbers. When she was little, she counted everything including holes in ceiling tile. She knows who she is. She would have loved this book as a child as it explains numbers and how they work with beautiful photographs. Eyelike Numbers 

Here is a peak inside: Think of the number word power your child will have after reading this book.

 A pair, twins, a couple:

 A lot, plenty, a few, zero:

Counting and multiplying by ten:

 Smaller than, bigger than:

 Even and odd numbers:

 Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division all get a shout out:

Your child gets fifty-five beautiful pages of numbers and math vocabulary. If you have a numbers aficionado at your house, they will love this book. My two-year-old granddaughter, Aria, enjoyed reading this with me and identifying number and colors. She also enjoyed counting the items on each page.

Read to a child today because with reading, your child can learn everything.