Category: Perfect Picture Book Fridays

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Love Is Kind with a GIVEAWAY!

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Today is a special day!

Not only is it Perfect Picture Book Friday, it’s the day author Laura Sassi is stopping at my little blog on her blog tour!  (Thanks so much for joining us, Laura, and including us in the launch of this wonderful book!)

As a result, we have a great book to share as well as FANTASTIC activities from the author herself!

Let’s get right to it, shall we? 🙂

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Title: Love Is Kind

WrittenBy: Laura Sassi

Illustrated By: Lison Chaperon

Zonderkidz, August 2018, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: love, kindness, doing the right thing

Opening: “Little Owl jingled the coins in his pocket.  It was Grammy’s birthday.  And, finally, he had enough money to buy her something special – a heart-shaped box of chocolates.
He took out the coins – so shiny and new – and ready to spend.  But then. . .”

Brief Synopsis: Little Owl has planned a special gift for Grammy’s birthday, but one thing after another goes wrong.  He perseveres, doing the right thing even when it is difficult, and ends up giving Grammy an unplanned but even more wonderful gift.

Links To Resources: Today we have wonderful, special resources straight from the author!  Take it away, Laura! 🙂

(With apologies from me that the text is so crunched together – I  could not get this to format properly no matter what I did!)

Little Owl’s Tea Party: FIVE TIPS for Pairing Picture Books with a Tasty Treat
by Laura Sassi
Today I’m delighted to share with you a sweet baking activity created by French illustrator Lison Chaperon, with a little collaboration from the author (me!) to adapt the recipe to US measurements. Click HERE to download a high quality at scale version for better printing. I hope you enjoy it!
 
thumbnail_Little Owl Tea Party 1
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In addition to being absolutely delicious, this LOVE IS KIND-inspired baking activity has gotten me thinking about how wonderful it is when we pair picture books with a tasty book-themed treat. In doing so, not only are we giving our kids the opportunity to learn some baking/cooking skills, we are helping them to connect to the story in a new and fun way.  As we nibble and chat about the book, we’re also instilling in them a framework to talk about the stories we read and an opportunity to think about how picture books relate to our lives and the world. Finally, we’re fostering good critical thinking skills as we converse with our little ones about what treat would be best paired with a particular picture book.
With all these benefits in mind, here are FIVE tips for PAIRING PICTURE BOOKS with TASTY TREATS.

1. Pick any picture book.  (Better yet, let your child pick the book.)

2. Pre-read the story so you can gather your ingredients. Once you’ve selected your picture book, take a few minutes a day or two ahead of time so that you can anticipate what types of treats you and your child might want to create to pair with the story.  This way you can be sure to have the ingredients in stock for a seamless and tasty brainstorming to baking to eating experience. 
3. As you read with your child, ponder the treat-making possibilities. It’s most beneficial (and engaging) to your budding critical thinkers if you include them in the process of deciding what book-themed treat to create, though it’s perfectly acceptable, in my opinion, to gently lead them towards the ingredients you have on hand (see step two). As you are pondering, the treat might be obvious. For example, in my third book DIVA DELORES AND THE OPERA HOUSE MOUSE, Fernando the mouse loves gumdrops, popcorn, and cheese on try toast, so those would be obvious picks. 
But…
4. Sometimes you will have to be creative!  Some picture books, however, won’t have such obvious choices. My recommendation, in these instances, is to pick a character or a defining element of the story and create a treat inspired by that.  For example, on her blog, Easy Elegant Entertaining™, trained chef and cookbook author (and mom to an adorable young budding reader), Addie Gundry, uses the concept of tails in GOODNIGHT, ARK to create an adorable book-themed treat. http://addiegundry.com/theblog/2018/3/21/tails-on-the-ark-two-by-two 
You can also create character-based cookies for almost any book, as my daughter did for Tara Lazar’s THE MONSTORE and my GOODNIGHT, ARK.
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Tiger Cookies for Goodnight Ark

5. Have fun!  (Need I say more?) 

 

Thank you, Laura!  What a fun activity!

Why I Like This Book: The story is sweet with a beautiful message about what love really is (from 1.Corinthians.13). While the story unfolds, the lovely words from the Bible verse appear in dreamy lettering in the background – on the breeze, in a rainbow, etc.  Not at all heavy-handed, but beautifully woven into the story.  Little Owl’s behavior and reactions are realistic and believable – frustration, disappointment, envy, sadness – but he doesn’t give in to his negative emotions, choosing instead to be a good person.  He shows up at Grammy’s empty-handed and unhappy, only to find that by being himself he has given her the best gift of all.  The art is warm and appealing, and Little Owl is adorable 🙂

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

Here’s the book trailer in case you’d like a further glimpse of the book!

Laura Sassi with Sunflowers

Children’s Author Laura Sassi

Laura Sassi
Children’s book author and poet
GOODNIGHT, ARK (Zonderkidz, August ’14)
GOODNIGHT, MANGER (Zonderkidz, October ’15)
DIVA DELORES AND THE OPERA HOUSE MOUSE (Sterling, Spring ’18)
LOVE IS KIND (Zonderkidz, Fall  ’18)

twitter.com/laurasassitales

The publisher has generously offered a giveaway of one copy of LOVE IS KIND to one of our readers. To qualify, you must be a U.S. resident with a street address (as opposed to a P.O. Box) and at least 18 years old to enter.  If you wish to be considered, please leave a comment below indicating your interest by Monday October 8 at 9PM Eastern and we will randomly select a lucky winner!

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

(And don’t forget to enter the giveaway if you’re interested!)

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Garden Party: A Counting Adventure Book

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Hurray!  It’s Friday!

Every Perfect Picture Book Friday is fun because I get to share a book I really like with all of you and see what books you’re all loving this week.

But PPBF is especially fun when I get to share a book I love that happens to have been written by a friend!  (A friend who, coincidentally, I got to have coffee and blueberry muffins and a lovely chat with yesterday morning 🙂 )

As this book involves a garden, you could work it into any seasonal discussion or classroom unit (spring planting, summer growing, winter dormant) but since it’s harvest time, why not read it and share it right now? 🙂

Garden Party

Title: Garden Party: A Counting Adventure Book

Written By: Tania Guarino

Illustrated By: Emma Allen

Spork (Clear Fork Publishing), September 2018, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-6

Themes/Topics: concept (counting), animals, language fun (rhyme), nature/gardens

Opening: “One (1) bunny in a burrow on Farmer Dale’s trail,
wakes with a shake and a wiggle of her tail.
She starts with a hop by an old tin pail,
wiggle, hop, wiggle…down Farmer Dale’s trail.”

Brief Synopsis: One after another, the woodland friends join the group heading down Farmer Dale’s trail, following the bunny who may be the only one with a plan 🙂

Links To Resources: author’s website coloring pages and activities; 10 different animals are mentioned in the story. What other animals can you think of who could join the garden party?  Draw one (or more!), and describe how they would move or sound (e.g. “swishy swoosh swoosh”); which of the animals mentioned in the book do you think Farmer Dale would be most unhappy about having in his garden? Why?  Which ones might he be glad to have? Why? Easy Recipe for Carrot Cake

Why I Like This Book:  There are so many things to love about this book!  Where to start?  At the beginning, I guess :). The bunny who sets the whole adventure in motion clearly has a plan (the illustration shows the stockpile of carrots she has already gathered in her burrow.). She heads off toward the garden for more and is joined by 2 skunks, 3 fawns, 4 foxes, etc on her counting adventure.  Midway through the story, the rollicking rhythm of the adventure is beautifully paused by the arrival of the 5 snails, who bring the whole crew to a screeching halt.  But before you know it they’re all on their way again, the snails hitching a ride on the faster animals 🙂 I won’t give away the ending – you’ll have to read the book!  The rhyming story is nicely written and fun to read aloud.  Kids will enjoy the different sounds and movements used to describe the animals’ way of going (e.g. “wiggle, hop, wiggle” and “swishy, swoosh, swoosh”) and being able to chime in on the anticipated repetition of “down Farmer Dale’s trail!”.  The art is bright, colorful, and lively, and young readers will have a great time searching the illustrations to find all the snails!

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text copyright Tania Guarino 2018, illustration copyright Emma Allen 2018

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

 

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Noah Webster And His Words

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It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday and – can you believe it? – the official last day of summer 2018!

I love the crisp air, the jeweled colors, and the cider donuts of autumn, but I feel like summer went by in a blink!

I hope all your falls get off to a lovely start this weekend with some family apple picking, or an outdoor music festival…or maybe a trip to Princeton Children’s Book Festival – that’s where I’m headed! 🙂

For today’s Perfect Picture Book I decided to go the educational route… but it’s also tons of fun!  Have a look!

Noah Webster

Title: Noah Webster And His Words

Written By: Jeri Chase Ferris

Illustrated By: Vincent X. Kirsch

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books For Young Readers, 2012, nonfiction

Suitable For Ages:  3-7

Themes/Topics: American history, vocabulary/language, dictionaries, biography, nonfiction

Opening: “Noah Webster always knew he was right, and he never got tired of saying so (even if, sometimes, he wasn’t).  He was, he said, “full of CON-FI-DENCE” [noun: belief that one is right] from the very beginning.”

Brief Synopsis: This book tells the story of Noah Webster’s life and how he wrote the first American dictionary in an effort both to educate and to help unite the new United States.

Links To Resources: The book itself is a resource as it teaches the life of Noah Webster and the period of American history is was part of. There is a useful timeline in the back matter as well as a section entitled “More About Noah Webster” and a helpful bibliography.  For a fun classroom game, play Dictionary (where one student chooses a word from the dictionary and writes down the correct definition and everyone else writes down a made up definition.  All definitions are read aloud and the class votes for which is the real one…and you see if the real one wins or one of the made up ones!)

Why I Like This Book: Not only is this book interesting – full of information about Noah Wester and his creation of the first American dictionary – it’s fun!  There is a surprising amount of humor, both in the text and in the illustrations.  I also love the clever way some of the vocabulary words in the text are woven in like dictionary entries!  The book brings Noah Webster to life in a way that illuminates his personality.  It’s a perfect example of how to write nonfiction so that young readers enjoy the learning experience.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

Hope to see anyone who is in the neighborhood at the Princeton Children’s Book Festival tomorrow! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Allie All Along

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It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday again, folks, and isn’t that nice?

Not only does it mean the weekend is basically here, it also gives us a great list of new picture books to enjoy during it!

So get ready to make a list for the library! 🙂

My choice for today is all about something a lot of kids (and adults) find hard – how to manage feeling angry.

Allie All Along

Title: Allie All Along

Written & Illustrated By: Sarah Lynne Reul

Sterling Children’s Books, August 2018, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-7

Themes/Topics: emotions (anger), understanding, siblings

Opening: “SNAP! Allie’s crayon broke.  I blinked.  She was suddenly furious, fuming, frustrated, and so, so, sooo ANGRY!”

Brief Synopsis: When Allie’s crayon breaks, she gets really, really, really angry!  Her brother knows Allie is still in there somewhere, but it’s hard to see her under all that anger.  There has to be a way to make things right again.

Links To Resources: Anger Management Games And Activities For Kids (scroll down to that section); Helping Kids Learn About Facial Expressions and Feelings ; talk about what makes you angry and what are some constructive ways to cope with that anger.

Why I Like This Book: We all know that feeling when something happens – maybe even something that doesn’t seem like a big deal to anyone else – that sends us over the edge of fury.  Emotion that large is hard for anyone to manage, especially a young person who hasn’t had a lot of practice.  I love that this book shows the situation that causes the anger (a broken crayon), the immensity of the anger and how the individual feeling it can get lost within it, and a caring person (in this case Allie’s brother) who understands her anger and helps by offering a variety of constructive ways to deal with it until Allie emerges, once again herself.  It’s simply and beautifully done, and will remind your little ones that they are not alone in feeling angry sometimes.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – No Frogs In School

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Welcome back to Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!

After a summer of not reviewing, I have so many books I want to share that it’s hard to choose just one!  But I opted for one that had a connection to school since a lot of us are pretty focused on that this week!  I hope you like it, too! 🙂

No Frogs In School

Title: No Frogs In School

Written By: A. LaFaye

Illustrated By: Eglantine Ceulemans

Sterling Children’s Books, August 2018, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-7

Themes/Topics: pets, following rules, school

Opening: “Bartholomew Botts loved pets.  Hoppy pets, hairy pets, and scaly pets.He loved them all so much that he couldn’t go to school without one.”

Brief Synopsis:  Bartholomew Botts loves his pets so much that he wants to bring one to school.  But his teacher, Mr. Patanoose, has a whole lot of rules about what’s allowed in school!  Is there a way to follow the rules and still have a pet in school?

Links To Resources: make your own jumping frog (easy video tutorial); Frog Activities And Fun Ideas For Kids (crafts, games, recipes, etc.)

Why I Like This Book: Bartholomew is endearing, and his love for his pets is so genuine and relatable!  Who among us hasn’t wanted to bring a pet to school at least once?  I love that Bartholomew doesn’t limit his choice of pet to cute and furry.  Yes, he has a hamster, but he also has a frog and a salamander and a snake…among others :)… and he loves and appreciates them all.  I love how earnestly he tries to respect his teacher’s rules while still trying to find a way for his pets to accompany him.  And I love the clever solution he engineers at the end 🙂  The illustrations are lively and fun, and kids will have a great time finding all the animals on every page.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!  (And I apologize in advance – something has changed about the google form and spreadsheet and it looks wrong… I will try to figure out how to fix it before next week!)

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Mowing

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How awesome is it that it’s Friday?! 🙂

Before I share my perfect picture book for today, I’d like to take this opportunity to announce that this will be the last official Perfect Picture Book Friday until September.  As you all know, I put PPBF on hiatus for the summer.  Between my own unpredictable schedule and the fact that many of you spend less time online in the summer, it just seems to make sense to take a break.  But for those of you who are dedicated (and there is a core group of you – you are wonderful!) I look forward to seeing what you’ll share.

Would You Read It Wednesday will continue through June and July (I usually take a complete blogging break in August because really… how much of me do you all really want to have to pay attention to?! 🙂 ), and you never know what other high jinx I might get up to if I get a hair brained scheme out of the blue…

Anyway, onto today’s choice!

Apparently all I can think about this week is baby deer 🙂

So in about 14 seconds you’ll understand why I chose this week’s Perfect Picture Book 🙂

Mowing
Written By:  Jessie Haas
Illustrated By:  Jos. A. Smith
Greenwillow Books, 1994, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 4-8

Themes/Topics: farms, grandparents, generations, modernization, respect for wildlife, vehicles

Opening:  “Early in the morning Gramp and Nora go to the field to mow.  They hear the cry of the bobolink, the swish of the tall grass, the thud of the horses’ hooves.
At the edge of the field Gramp lowers the cutter bar.
“Hop off, Nora,” he says.  “You’ll be safer on the ground.”  Gramp speaks softly to the horses.  “Giddap!”  They walk, and the mowing machine begins to clatter.”

Brief Synopsis:  Just as morning is peeking over the horizon, Gramp and Nora head out to mow the hay.  Gramp drives an old-fashioned sickle bar mower with Nora in his lap holding the reins.  When they reach the field, it’s Nora’s job to hop down and keep an eye out for any little animal that might be injured by the horses or the cutter blades.  What does she see?  (I’m betting you can guess one thing she sees! :))  When the mowing is done, two tall islands of grass still stand.  Gramp says some would call that a bad job of mowing, but he and Nora know better.  They know they have taken care to leave the animals safe and protected.

Links To Resources: Fawn Coloring Page 1, Fawn Coloring Page 2, Fawn Facts, National Geographic Groundhog Facts, National Geographic Killdeer Facts.  Talk about the difference in the way hay is mowed today.  Talk about other situations where you might want to be respectful of wildlife.

Why I Like This Book:  This is the kind of sweet, quiet book that I absolutely love.  My kids loved it too, and we read it over and over and over.  The language is gentle, the story is simple with that nostalgic feel of hearkening back to a different time, and the message of caring for all the creatures who share our world is lovely.  On top of that, the art is just beautiful, particularly the way the artist captured the changing light, from dawn through late afternoon, and the different perspectives he uses.  It’s a wonderful book for nap time, bedtime, or anytime kids need to unwind.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

 

Perfect Picture Book Friday – H Is For Haiku: A Treasury Of Haiku From A To Z

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Happy June, Everyone!

Did you all say “Rabbit! Rabbit! Rabbit!” this morning? 🙂

I apologize for not being here for Perfect Picture Books last week! (…but I’m sure you all had tons of fun without me! 🙂 )

Today, I’m honored to have a very special book to share.  I hope you will all get a chance to read it at some point.  It is well worth it!

It’s not often we get to know the personal backstory of a book, so it’s a special treat to know where there one has its origins.

The publication of this book is the culmination of a decades-long dream.  The author, Sydell Rosenberg, was a public school teacher in New York City and a charter member of the Haiku Society of America.  She wrote haiku for children that reflected her urban surroundings and sensibilities and were universal and timeless as well.  After her death, her daughter, Amy, determined to see Syd’s dream of publishing a book of children’s haiku become reality.  The result is this book.  Lovely.  Delightful.  Thought-provoking.  Full of Syd’s perceptive view of the world.

H IS FOR HAIKU BOOK COVER PENNY CANDY BOOKS March 2018

Title: H Is For Haiku: A Treasury Of Haiku From A To Z

Written By: Sydell Rosenberg

Illustrated By: Sawsan Chalabi

Penny Candy Books, April 2018, haiku/poetry

Suitable For Ages: listed for Kindergarten – Grade 6, but a book all ages can enjoy!

Themes/Topics: moments that make up life, poetry (haiku)

Opening: “Adventures over
the cat sits in the fur ring
of his tail, and dreams.”

Screen Shot 2018-05-31 at 11.25.39 AM

Text copyright Sydell Rosenberg, 2018, illustration copyright Sawsan Chalabi, 2018

Brief Synopsis: One haiku for each letter of the alphabet describes the little moments and details that make up every day life.

Links To Resources: an author’s forward defines haiku and describes how to write them; write your own haiku – or expand on that by thinking of a theme and writing a group of haiku that go together (e.g. “springtime”, “water”, “forest animals”, or “apple-picking”); illustrate your haiku!

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text copyright Sydell Rosenberg, 2018, illustration copyright Sawsan Chalabi, 2018

Why I Like This Book: I don’t just like this book.  I love it.  Each of the haiku is its own little moment or detail, something that rings so true you can’t help but feel its resonance in your own experience.  It’s the kind of book that makes you stop and take notice.  And isn’t that a valuable reminder for us all?  To live in the present and notice all the little things around us?  To be sure not to miss what’s right before our eyes?  The language is beautiful, articulate, and accessible.  Young or old, readers will enjoy these tiny nuggets of truth.  I chose two of my favorites from the book to show above in the illustrations 🙂 but they’re all wonderful!  The art is bold and fun, and a perfect complement to the poems.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

 

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Flap Your Wings

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Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!

My house has a little roofed porch over the front door.

We never use the front door, mind you, but the little porch is excellent for hanging Christmas lights on, and it provides two lovely little sheltered spots for bird nests.  For years, every spring, we had bird families raising their babies.

But along came a year when the porch had to be cleaned and painted in August, and the painter removed the empty nests and cleaned the little sheltered spots thoroughly…

…and the birds didn’t come back 😦

For 3 years, there have been no nests in the little porch and I have missed them.

But lo and behold, look who showed up this week 🙂

bird nest

Maybe it’s silly, but it makes me happy to see them again.

So today, for my Perfect Picture Book, I chose a book about a nest 🙂

It’s an older book – one I read as a child so that will give you a hint as to just how old! 🙂 – and is one of my All Time Favorites!

Flap Your Wings

Written & Illustrated By: P.D. Eastman

Random House, 1969, Fiction

Suitable For: ages 3-8

Themes/Topics: assumptions, non-traditional family, unconditional love, responsibility

Opening: (this is actually the first three pages.)

“An egg lay in the path.

A boy came down the path.  He saw the egg.  “Someone might step on that egg and break it,” he said.

He looked around.

He saw flamingos and frogs, and turtles and alligators.  “Whose egg is this?” he called.  But no one answered.”

Brief Synopsis:  A little boy finds an egg.  He doesn’t want it to get damaged, so he looks around until he finds the nest and carefully puts it back.  When Mr. and Mrs. Bird come home, they are surprised to find an egg in their nest… it wasn’t there when they left!  But Mr. Bird says that if an egg is in their nest it must be their egg, so they must take care of it.  So they do… with very surprising results!

Links To Resources:  Ideas And Activities For Guided Reading, Incubation & Embryology Activities, use with An Egg Is Quiet (from PPBF link list), talk about what kind of animals, insects and reptiles lay eggs and how the eggs are the same and different.

Why I Like This Book:  This book is fun to read as a picture book, but is also an I Can Read type book that is very accessible to new readers.  The pictures are delightful – Mr. and Mrs. Bird’s expressions are very entertaining.  But I really love the story because it doesn’t go where you would expect.  It’s funny.  And it’s a great example of what agents, editors and reviewers mean when they talk about re-readability.  This book delighted me as a child, and delighted my children in their turn.  I’ve read it so many times that even now, years since I last read it to my kids, I can recite almost the whole book.  It’s fun every time 🙂

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

(And if you’re in the Millbrook area, come visit the me and all my fabulous author and illustrator friends at the Millbrook Literary Festival! 🙂 )

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Hello Lighthouse

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It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday and not a moment too soon!

Although at first glance this book may appear to have nothing to do with Mother’s Day (coming up the day after tomorrow), if you read it you’ll see that is does indeed have a connection… 🙂

lighthouse

Title: Hello Lighthouse

Written & Illustrated By: Sophie Blackall

Little, Brown Books For Young Readers, April 2018, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: lighthouses, history, family

Opening: “On the highest rock of a tiny island
at the edge of the world stands a lighthouse.
It is built to last forever.
Sending its light out to sea,
guiding the ships on their way.

From dusk to dawn the lighthouse beams.
Hello!
…Hello!
…Hello!
Hello, Lighthouse!”

Brief Synopsis: The daily life of a lighthouse keeper and his family unfolds as he cares for a lighthouse that stands on the edge of the world, beaming its light across the waves to keep ships safe through dark, storms, and fog.

Links To Resources: the back of the book is full of interesting additional information about lighthouses and their keepers; read along with The Little Red Lighthouse And The Great Gray Bridge by Hildegard Swift and see how the lighthouses are the same and how they are different; make your own lighthouse;

lighthouse1

text and illustration copyright Sophie Blackall 2018

Why I Like This Book: Any of you who have hung around this blog for any length of time know that I love Nantucket and have visited many times since I was a year old.  I learned to walk there, as a matter of fact 🙂  So it’s probably not much of a surprise that I have a fondness for lighthouses, especially Brant Point, Great Point, and Sankaty 🙂  I love this book because it gives the feel of the courage and loneliness of the lighthouse and its keeper as well as a glimpse of a job that had such historical significance but is now obsolete.  The art is gorgeous and takes you right to the beach and the ocean and the wide open sky, the wind and fog, the sunshine and storms.  I love all the little extras – the undersides of the clouds that look like flying birds, the little seaside knickknacks, the play lighthouse lantern in the child’s hand at the end that is a replica of the real lighthouse in the story.  The text has a lovely cadence to it that is a delight to read aloud.  All around a wonderful book!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!


Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

 

Perfect Picture Book Friday – The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister

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Hurray!  It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday!

And not a moment too soon! 🙂

Today’s choice is as much for parents and teachers as it is for kids!

And busy, busy life is how I feel this week!, so, the perfect picture book 🙂

ernestine

Title: The Busy Life Of Ernestine Buckmeister
Written By: Linda Ravin Lodding
Illustrated By: Suzanne Beaky
Flashlight Press, October 2011, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 5 and up
Themes/Topics: the importance of play, over-scheduling
Opening: “Each morning, while Ernestine ate breakfast and Nanny O’Dear prepared lunch, Ernestine’s father zoomed out to work and called, ‘Live life to the fullest, Ern!’  And each morning Ernestine’s mother zipped out to catch the bus and said, ‘Make every moment count, E!‘”

Brief synopsis: Ernestine’s parents want her to have every experience she can, so they pack her days with sculpting and tuba,  yoga and yodeling.  It takes Ernestine to show them that one thing she absolutely shouldn’t miss is having time to just play.

Links to resources:  What I really should say here is, “No resources!  Just go play!”  But here are some resources that are also playing 🙂  Coloring Page, and for activities, try making a daisy crown (or any kind of outdoorsy crown), or make clouds out of cotton or shaving cream and see what shapes you see in them, or build a fort out of sticks, or blocks, or an empty cardboard box.  Use you imagination!

ernestine 2

text copyright Linda Ravin Lodding 2011, illustration copyright Suzanne Beaky 2011

Why I Like This Book:  Kids will enjoy Ernestine’s ridiculous schedule, her amusing list of lessons, her teachers’ funny names, the bold bright colors of the pictures, and Ernestine’s inspired solution to her problem.  As a grown-up, I appreciate Ernestine’s message that while organized activities arranged and taught by adults have their place, so too does the unstructured time to be a child and simply play.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

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Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂