Best in Bag, September 2014

Here I am.  Only two days late!  We didn't make it to the library much last month.  We spent most of September getting used to a new routine that involves Kaden being shuttled to and from preschool three days a week, and after a summer packed to the brim with fun, we've been spending a lot more down time at home.  We also spent time in Kinston fixing up our vacated rental property (more on that later) and met up with Grandma in Greensboro for a FABRY conference (more on that later, too).

I'm ashamed to say that we only visited the library twice this month, and one visit consisted of me running in to pick up books that I'd placed on hold.  So.  September's library picks have been renewed and re-read more than a few times out of necessity. Without further ado, here are the titles that saved my sanity in the sea of duds we brought home from the biblioteca:

1.  Mitchell Goes Bowling by Hallie Durand - I love it when the dad in the story gets the spotlight.  I don't think there's enough out there in picture book land about exceptional dads.  This book does just that. Mitchell's dad is hip, cool, and a fantastic father.  After reading this multiple times, Kaden now wants his marble jar prize to be a visit to the bowling alley.  He's asked Chad to teach him to do a "leg kick," based on the moves in the story.  Read this one.  It's super cute. 

2.  Builder Goose:  It's Construction Rhyme Time by Boni Ashburn - There's nothing monumental about this one, but if you have little boys who obsess over construction sites, this may be the book for you.  It's basically mother goose rhymes changed up to be about rough and tough construction vehicles, jobs, and workers.  If you don't slow down when you drive by a construction zone, or catch yourself counting bulldozers even without your kiddos in the car, this may not be the book for you.  

3.  Mix it Up by Herve' Tullet - After we fell head over heels in love with last month's pick, Press Here, I may or may not have gone to the library's website and requested everything else Tullet's written for children. This one was an absolute winner, too.  Simple, interactive fun on each and every page.  

4.  Sparky by Jenny Offill and Chris Appelhans - I don't think Kaden loved this quite as much as I did, but it was laugh out loud funny to me.  It's a story about a little girl who begs her mom for a pet, only to be told no repeatedly.  Mom slips up, though, when she gives her daughter this loop hole:  "You can have any pet you want as long as it doesn't need to be walked or bathed or fed."  Enter her mail-ordered pet sloth.  The story was just too cute.  Plus, I think this will be a great one to pull out in the future when my kids start begging me for a pet, and I get sick of answering, "No," on repeat.  

5.  Planes Go by Steve Light - Ah, Steve.  He's made the list again.  This was one we'd never read before this library round up, and it's a winner like all his others.  I love this author and illustrator, but since I've already sung his praises in previous posts, I'll just say that it's been decided Santa needs to bring these books to my kids.  They're just that good.  So if you see the jolly man, pass the word along, will ya?

This month I feel like Everett's become an official book worm, and it makes my heart soar with English-teacher-mommy pride.  He can often be spotted sitting in his rocking chair these days, flipping through a board book, and he points at his book shelves all day begging to be read to.  Most of the time I oblige. There's not much cuter than a baby's voice responding with a boisterous, "Noooooo!!!!" every time the pigeon begs to, "Drive the bus," or "Stay up late."  Not much cuter at all.  I promise.  

Happy reading!  

What good books have you read with your kids lately?    

Best in Bag for July . . . and August . . . in September!

So remember how I made that promise that you could check back here on the last day of the month and get a list of our top library finds?  Yep.  Totally broke that promise. Sorry about that.  I'm going to do better.  I am determined to post September's list on time.  For now, I figure it's better late than never, right?  So, without further ado, here are our favorite books that we savored at the end of summer:

For the Preschooler in Your Life:

1.  Come On, Rain! by Karen Hesse -- I love,scratch that, I ADORE picture books that have gorgeous illustrations AND beautiful words to match.  This book had both.  We read it over and over, and I didn't even mind.  

2.  Henri's Scissors by Jeanette Winter -- I love it when a picture book opens up a conversation with my preschooler about something I might not delve into on my own.  This was a biographical picture book telling the story of the famous artist Henri Matisse, focusing on how he continued to create art even late in life, when plagued by illness.  I loved that it incorporated actual quotes from Matisse himself, and it was a perfect segue into looking at pictures of his actual masterpieces online.  

3.  King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bently -- A sweet little story about sweet little boys.  It was a good fit for our family.  Pretty illustrations to boot. 

4.  I'd Know You Anywhere, My Love by Nancy Tillman -- Oh, Nan, you've done it again!  I fell in love with this author after Kaden received the book On the Night You Were Born  as a gift.  Her books are always fantastic--terrific illustrations, poetic prose, and a few moments where the child is asked to interact with the text.  This book was no exception.  I think we need to add it to our collection, pronto.  

5.  The Monsters' Monster by Patrick McDonnell -- Kaden thought this book was hilarious.  Then, I read it aloud to him and his sweet friend, Liam, one day and got belly laughs from both of them.  I think the trick may be having a really funny monster voice when you read it out loud, though, so be sure to play that up if you check it out for your kiddos.  

6.  You were the First by Patricia MacLachlan -- This wasn't necessarily one of Kade's favorites, but I just loved it, and I totally cried.  You can guess from the title, but it's basically this sappy story about how having a child changes your world.  Very sweet, and oh, so true.  Kaden will always be the little boy who made me a mommy.  

For Your Toddler:

1.  Hide and Seek Harry Around the House by Kenny Harrison -- Help your baby or toddler find Harry, the hippo who loves playing hide and seek, on each set of pages.  Super fun and interactive!

2.  Who Do I See? by Salina Yoon -- Everett is at the perfect age for books like this:  bright, die cut illustrations; foiled patterns; and durable board book pages.  It was a great find, and one he could look at by himself without me worrying he would destroy library property.  

3.  Dino Bites by Algy Craig Hall -- You know you've found a winner when the book is simple enough for your toddler to enjoy, but has just the right amount of funny to win your preschooler over, too.  We liked this read!

  August's library visits produced a good haul for us.  So good that I had to eliminate some books from the favorite list.  It was awesome.  Here's the books that made the cut:

For A Feisty Four-Year-Old:

1.  1 to 20 Animals Aplenty by Katie Viggers -- This was such a fun counting book, and Everett loved it, too!  Each number stars a group of animals charmingly doing something that rhymes with their name (Kade got a particular kick out of the ants wearing underpants).  I also loved that it had some non-fiction elements.  For example, the page featuring goats labels each kind of goat.  It's not your average counting book--it was a delightful twist on a genre that I can grow tired of pretty quickly.  

2.  Go! Go! Go! Stop! by Charise Harper -- A perfect little tale with words your preschool can read on his own taking up most of the text.  Plus the story has a great message about teamwork.  Cute.  

*3.  Press Here by Herve Tullet -- AND THE WINNER IS!  Seriously.  Probably the cutest book we've discovered this summer.  I had to force myself to remember my "no buying books unless it's for a special occasion or at a yard sale" rule.  I almost went to Barnes and Noble to snatch this baby up right after we read it.  We're asking Santa to bring it to our house for sure.  Go check it out!  Your kids will LOVE it.  It's magically interactive, with each page asking the reader to do something, and the illustration on the following page doing something wacky as a result of that action.  We renewed it until the library insisted we bring it back for other kids to try.  

4.  A Lion in Paris by Beatrice Alemagna -- I don't know if it's just the copy our library system owns, but this book was massive, like almost as tall as Kaden.  That was part of what made it so magical, so I hope every copy is like that.  Add beautifully penned illustrations of all of my favorite corners of Paris, and I was in heaven reading this one to my kids.  It also made me dig through all my old study abroad stuff afterwards to reminisce (which led to my London tribute post).

5.  Scapegoat:  The Story of a Goat Named Oat and a Chewed Up Coat by Dean Hale -- A super cute book that reminds us why it's important to be honest in a fun and entertaining way.

6.  Soccer Hour by Carol Nevius -- This book is illustrated by the same man who did the amazing work in this book that we also love, thus the illustrations were great.  A nicely rhymed tale of a day at soccer practice--what's not to love about that, if you're a soccer obsessed preschooler?

7.  The Obstinate Pen by Frank Dormer -- What happens when an ink pen becomes, well, obstinate?  Read this charming tale to find out!

8.  Tuesday Tucks Me In:  The Loyal Bond Between a Soldier and His Service Dog by Luis Carlos Montalvan -- I loved this book!  The title is pretty self explanatory.  It's a non-fiction read with photographs showing the daily routine of a veteran and his service dog.  This opened up the opportunity for Kade and I to talk about veterans and the sacrifices they have made for our country.  We've since seen service dogs while being out and about, and it's been cool to talk about what we learned from this book.  A good find.  

9.  This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers -- Cute story.  Fun illustrations.  

For the Zilch-Attention-Spanned Baby:

1.  Diggers Go by Steve Light -- Another great one by one of our favorite authors.  Again, I have no clue why I don't own these.  Kaden still loves them as much as Everett does.  It was so fun listening to Everett start to imitate the sounds after we'd read it a few times.  He can do an excellent wrecking ball, "Booooooommmmm!"  

2.  American Museum of Natural History's ABC Animals -- I loved that there were real photographs of actual artifacts from the museum for each letter.  And some of them were more obscure, random items, which made it a change from the average alphabet book.  The photographs seemed to captivate Evers, and it was just different enough to keep Kade interested, too.  

3.  Move by Steve Jenkins -- Such a fun book with an alliterated movement corresponding with the animal on each page.  It's extra fun if you try to move the way the animals do while you read.  

Promise kept. Kind of.  Just a couple months late.  Happy reading!  I'd love to hear if you try any of these books with your family.  Let me know what you and your kiddos think!

Best in Bag, June Edition

I'd like to introduce you to a new little segment on my blog, called how to avoid a terrible library haul.

Every time we go to the library, we leave with a bag stuffed to the brim with books.  Usually we're also carrying a few last minute finds that won't fit in the bag.

And every time we go home to read them, we end up with quite a few duds.  It's to be expected when your almost four-year-old starts blindly pulling things off the shelves and shoving them into a canvas tote bag as fast as he possibly can.  On some visits, I feel like we've reached success if we don't end up with duplicates when we get to the checkout counter.  

Each time we hit the library, we also end up with at least a few fabulous finds.  Reads that make me want to rush to Barnes and Noble, purchase two copies for each of my children, pen some meaningful inscription on the inside covers, and stash them on our bookshelves to be taken down upon any whim to be savored again and again.

So.  At the end of every month, I'm going to start sharing the best of the best from our library adventures. The books that gave my kids the giggles or sparked a thoughtful conversation.  The books that couldn't be parted with and had to be renewed on our next trip.  Or, at the very least, the books I looked forward to reading to my littles more than once before we returned them.

If you, dear reader, get at least a few successful kid library hauls because of a few recommendations from the Reese clan, I will consider that success.

Without further ado, I give you June's favorites:

These books won my preschooler over this month:

Mister Bud Wears the Cone by Carter Goodrich 

Kaden loved this book and requested it over and over and over again.  I'm not a huge animal lover, but this book made me want to go adopt two dogs from the SPCA.  The furry characters were endearing, and there were parts that definitely had us laughing. 

No Bath, No Cake!  Polly's Pirate Party by Matthias Weinert

This story was charming.  And I LOVED that it threw gender bias out the window.  Who says girls don't love dirty, smelly pirates as well as little boys do?!

Mud Puddle by Robert Munsch

Munsch's The Paper Bag Princess happens to be one of my all-time favorite picture books, and this story also didn't disappoint.  An adorable read about a little girl's battle with a mud puddle, Kaden donned this his favorite book of the month.

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

We have loved every story by this author and illustrator combo, starting with Room on the Broom, when Grandma bought it for us one Halloween.  I know I am completely behind the times, since I'm pretty sure there's an animated short that goes along with this story, but this is the first we've read it.  This was actually one of our top picks in May, but we checked it out TWO MORE TIMES in June.  Kade loved it!  This author is exceptionally brilliant with rhyme, which makes her work perfect for reading aloud.  

The Composer is Dead by Lemony Snicket

Classic Lemony Snicket in a picture book, with two of my favorite qualities about his writing making an appearance:  awesome vocabulary exposure and dark humor.  I LOVED this read.  Kaden loved it, too, but I think what was truly hilarious about it went a bit over his head.  If you know anything about classical music I think you'd adore this.  Check it out for you; even if your kids don't go completely gaga for it, it's a fun find!

My Crocodile Does Not Bite by Joe Kulka

A darling story about a little boy who's trying to win the pet contest at school with his trusty crocodile.  A great surprise ending to boot!

  These were our favorite baby reads this go around:

Yawn by Sally Symes

Fun, colorful illustrations, and a yawn that travels from one tired little boy through a series of animals, make this a perfect bedtime story for a little one.

Trucks Go by Steve Light 

It is officially ridiculous that I don't own everything this man has ever written for children.  I think we've probably checked out this title alone a good three thousand times.  We ADORE his bright, colorful, transportation-themed board books.  This author is a master of onomatopoeia, which makes reading his work aloud an absolute joy.  Kaden loved this book as a baby, and Everett loves it, too.

Yum Yum! by Yusuke Yonezu

A cute little story with simple die cut illustrations.  Everett really liked this read and would ask (with his pterodactyl scream) to read it again as soon as we finished.  

Happy reading!  If you check any of these titles out, I'd love to hear what you and your family think of them!