Month: May 2013

Book Review: Pickle Things By Marc Brown

Some days you just need a lot of silly, tickle-your-funny-bone kind of humor. There are a lot of children’s picture books that can probably fit the bill, but in my opinion, the best are gherkin related. If you are like me, you are feeling the effects of a three-day weekend (thanks to the U.S. Memorial Day holiday) and the dragging, off-week that follows. We could all use a nice little chuckle. Allow me to present Pickle Things by Marc Brown, 1980.

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Caryn4 Comments

Book Review: Chicks Run Wild By Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen & Ward Jenkins

Truth be told, bedtime books are often cheesy, mushy, and really heavy-handed. There are some good ones, and the sleep hypnosis types certainly have a place, even if it is just wishful thinking. But I’m constantly on the look-out for stellar, atypical, really fun go-to-bed books that take the experience to a whole new level. Mission accomplished. Allow me to present a riotous book about little chicks who just aren’t quite ready to drift off and their mama’s less-than-traditional, surprising to everyone, idea. This book is a brilliantly fun, dare I say wild, good time. Here is Chicks Run Wild by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, illustrated by Ward Jenkins, 2011.

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Dinosaur Children’s Picture Books To Devour

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I readily admit that after our last storytime, I’ve been on a bit of a dinosaur kick. I actually never went through a dinosaur phase as a child, at least that I can remember, so I’m just considering this my bound to come eventually moment. I’m also going to blame it on two books that recently came out, one by Willems last fall and Idle’s this spring, that were so overflowing with dino-awesomeness that they turned me onto the cretaceous creatures.

With my recent search for great dinosaur books, and the fact that I know dozens of children who can’t get enough of these (mostly) humongous creatures, I thought it fitting to make a list of my current favorite dino-themed picture books. As with all of my lists, this is not exhaustive. I’m sure there are many more amazing books about dinosaurs that I just haven’t found yet and I do hope that if you know of them, you’ll tell me in the comments! Here we have my current favorite dinosaur children’s picture books for that avid dino fan in your life (and it is totally ok if that is you): Continue reading “Dinosaur Children’s Picture Books To Devour” →

Caryn3 Comments

Chicks, Cheetahs, & Sharks, Oh My! Storytime Tomorrow

It’s a big deal in Knoxville tomorrow with the Children’s Festival of Reading happening in World’s Fair Park. I’m so excited to hear Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, Bob Shea, Jarrett Kroscozka and many other authors and illustrators. I’ll be reading several books by some of them at storytime tomorrow too. So, if you are at the festival, be sure to stop by for a bit! See you storytimers at Union Ave Books tomorrow at 11am!

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Book Review: I Can Fly By Ruth Krauss & Mary Blair

Monday, I was struggling to decide what book I wanted to feature and feeling very wishy-washy about the whole thing. Then as I hung out our laundry and watched my daughter sort clothespins and my dog chase things around the yard, I was struck by the freshness of the season and the little things of nature and animals and pure imagination. And this book came to mind. Not an exact match for my thoughts, but a perfect book to celebrate the wonders of childhood. This is a cleverly simple book, with short lilting rhymes and stunning illustrations, that follows the vivid imagination of a little girl as she shares all the ways she can be just like her favorite creatures. Here is I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss, illustrated by Mary Blair, 1951.

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Caryn3 Comments