Current List

From now on I am going to keep track of the books we have read in one long list that I update weekly. If there is a particular book that stood out to me that I want to be able to remember and look up in the future, then I will make a separate posting for it. Books that have (JFM) in front of the title were Just for Mommy!

September 8

Charlie and Lola's Numbers by Lauren Child
A Child's Good Night Book by Margaret Wise Brown with pictures by Jean Charlot
Kiki's Blankie by Janie Bynum
Cleo and Caspar by Caroline Mockford
Red Rubber Boot Day by Mary Lyn Ray and illustrated by Lauren Stringer
Big Bad Bunny by Franny Billingsley with art by G. Brian Karas
A Quiet Night In by Jill Murphy
The Very Clumsy Click Beetle by Eric Carle
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle: Is it terrible that this book bothers me in that it is scientifically incorrect?

September 1

The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child and Polly Borland: BEAUTIFUL!! Lauren Child is amazing! I loved this updated story and breathtaking "illustrations".
Charlie and Lola's Opposites by Lauren Child
I Completely Know About Guinea Pigs by Lauren Child
We are Extremely Bery Good Recyclers by Lauren Child: Okay so we are really into Lauren Child right now!
Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! by Bob Barner
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
The little Island by golden MacKonald illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
Loveykins by Quentin Blake

August 20
(JFM) Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris: My first and probably last Sookie Stackhouse novel.

August 11
Henry Hikes to Fitchburg by D.B. Johnson: Really neat book based on a passage from the book Walden by Henry David Thoreau.
(JFM)The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester: This was a recommendation from a website...I didn't realize at the time it was YA fiction, but since I love YA books I wasn't disappointed at all. Loved it!
The Character In the Book by Kaethe Zemach
The Trouble with Ben by Barry Louis Polisar Illustrations by David Clark: Loved it!
Gather Up, Gather In by M.C. Helldorfer illustrated by Judy Pedersen: beautiful and poetic story about the changing seasons
Higher! Higher! by Leslie Patricelli

August 5
(JFM) Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Tenth Grade Bleeds by Heather Brewer: I had to finish the series...
Cats Sleep Anywhere by Eleanor Farjeon and Anne Mortimer: Don't look at me...Lyla picked this one out all on her own.
The House that Jack Built by Jeanette Winter: Perfect for beginning readers
Baby Shoes by Dashka Slater pictures by Hiroe Nakata
Ape in a Cape and alphabet of odd animals by Fritz Eiochenberg: Caldecott Honor Book
Hello Tilly by Polly Dunbar
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems: Yes it is really called that...it's about Naked Mole Rat that likes to get dressed up...very funny with a great theme of acceptance!

Catching up

Finally getting back to reality after a wonderful week long vacation in beautiful Colorado. We didn't want to weigh down our luggage with books so only brought one for Lyla which we read every night. I'll See You in the Morning by Mike Jolley and Mique Moriuchi is quite possibly the sweetest little bedtime story board book I have ever read. The perfect going-to-bed book!



Since we have been home we have read a few new books that I picked up on a quick trip to the library:

Step By Step by Diane Woldstein and illustrated by Jos. A. Smith
Looking for a Moose by Phyllis Root and illustrated by Randy Cecil
Yellow Umbrella by Jae Soo Liu with music by Dong II Sheen: Beautiful concept of a picture book with no words that you "read" along with composed music on a CD. I thought it was beautiful, but Lyla wasn't all that interested after page 6. She did like pointing to the umbrellas to tell me what color they were!
The Wonder Thing by Libby Hathorn and illustrated by Peter Gouldthorpe: A lyrical poem with beautiful linoleum block prints. I would like to use this one in the classroom during a poetry unit or even in a science class depending on the grade level.
Hurry!Hurry! by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Jeff Mack
The End by David LaRochelle and Richard Egielski
Mary Malloy and The Baby Who Wouldn't Sleep by Niki Daly: My new favorite bedtime book! Lyla also absolutely loved this one and sat very VERY quietly while I read....she was quite worried about the baby in the story who was stolen away by the moon.

We also read If You Were a Bear by Rachel Mazur and illustrated by Sarina Jepsen which was the special vacation book we picked out while we were in Colorado!

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer

Fun, quick read...Wasn't bad until I got to the part about the toy gun filled with garlic juice...

I also read the second book in the series Ninth Grade Slays which I thought was better than the first.

Lavender Lies

Lavender Lies by Susan Wittig Albert

My 5th book to read by Ms. Albert (the 3rd in the past few weeks) and perhaps the best out of the last three I have read. I think, however, I am going to take a break from the murder mysteries for a while.

A few good ones and a few bad ones

Llama Llama Mad at Mama and Llama Lama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney: Great books! We have been trying to get a lot of age appropriate books for Miss Lyla lately and these are right up her alley with the short rhyming text.

Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins: Cute book, but Lyla wasn't that interested. More about telling a story from the pictures rather than just reading the text aloud.

I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by David Catrow: I love reading Lyla books that encourage good self-esteem! This one was really cute.

Hello Baby! by Mem Fox illustrated by Steve Jenkins: Animals and the word "baby"...knew this would be a hit with Lyla before I even cracked open the cover. Lyla especially loved the hands on the final page and kept giving them "high fives".

What to Do About Alice? by Barbara Kerley and illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham: Still not sure about how I truly felt about this one...it is the story of Alice Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt's daughter. I thought the book a bit intriguing, having never known anything about this past presidents daughter...I guess it just wasn't what I expected. I did however like how Alice referred to her enjoyment of life as "eating up the world."

Two books that disappointed us:

Good Night, Baby Ruby by Rohan Henry

Alice in Wonderland retold by Jon Scieszka with pictures by Mary Blair

The Widow's Broom

The Widow's Broom by Chris Van Allsburg



Another one by one of our favorite authors. This may be at the top of my fav list of Van Allsburg books. The picture of the witch right before she flies away is absolutely stunning. I loved the story and think it would be a perfect for a Halloween storytime in a future 4th grade class.

Here is a Teacher's Guide for this one for future reference.

Giraffes Can't Dance

Whooo's there? by Mary Serfozo and illustrated by Jeffrey Scherer

Great book for nighttime! Lyla loves the moon and points to it on the page and yell's "mooo!" I find it amazing that she knows exactly what it is whether it is crescent or full. She also loves birds and is working on her owl sound "Hooo!" so this was a perfect book for her. We read it twice!


Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees

Cute story with rhyming text. Perfect for her age and for a kinder class activity.