Reading with Little Miss Muffet and Little Bo Peep, November 2016

In November, Bo Peep turned 14 months and Miss Muffet turned three. Here's how reading has impacted their lives this month.

• On November 2, I began presenting a weekly public story time at a local church on Wednesday mornings. To my surprise, despite the fact that I am doing a lot of the same things in story time that I typically do at home, both of my girls seem to be responding more strongly to the story time performances than to my random occasions of singing and reading at home. Specifically, Miss Muffet has begun singing the ABCs, and Bo Peep randomly sings "Up above the world so high" from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. My hypothesis is that the repeated exposure to the same songs in the same exact environment at the same exact time each week is reinforcing their memorization. But in any case, it's nice to see the impact of my own story time firsthand; usually, I don't know about it at all unless a parent tells me. 
• Bo Peep, though much more of a baby than her sister was at this age, is beginning to develop the sassiness of toddlerhood. This includes an attitude of complete opposition to having books read aloud to her. She is happy to hand me a book, and label it for me, but if I open the book and begin to read, she grabs it away and flips to the end. This means that I either have to read to her when she is in the playpen and there is a barrier between us, or I have to recite rhymes and poems instead. I don't think she really opposes hearing language; instead, I think she is just enamored of turning pages right now. 
• We have been taking a lot of weekend day trips, and we always play audiobooks in the car. Because my husband and I both read children's books for our own pleasure, we recently played Pinky Pye, and we're now several chapters into Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. To our surprise (and delight), Miss Muffet has been listening along with us, and unprompted, she happily discusses the characters in both books and offers incomplete, but highly accurate plot summaries. I wouldn't necessarily want to sit down and read a chapter book to her at this age, because there will be lots of time for those later, and there are many great books for her age group, but I do like seeing this blossoming of her listening comprehension skills. 
• Miss Muffet received three new books for her birthday. From Grandma, she got Poppleton in Winter, which includes a chapter about Poppleton's birthday that we thoroughly enjoyed. And we gave her Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, illustrated by Susan Jeffers and The Importance of Being Three by Lindsay Ward. (That second one was a free review copy. I would not have bought it, as the text is awkward. I do like the pictures, though.) 
• Finally, we have begun reading through our stash of Christmas books, and we're also reading lots of Bible stories as we begin adding ornaments to our Jesse Tree. Details about the books we're reading during the Advent and Christmas seasons will be featured in upcoming weekly round-ups! 

Selecting Special Gift Books for Kids Who Already Have a Lot of Books

Top Ten Tuesday's focus for today is gift guides. I was brainstorming ways to approach this topic last week, when someone in one of my Facebook groups posed a question: how do you decide which books to give your kids as gifts, if your family buys books all year round and regularly uses the library? Since we frequently take weekend trips to library book sales and used book stores, this is definitely something I have had to consider, though I'm not sure that consideration has been conscious until now. In any case, today I want to share the types of books I tend to save for gift-giving occasions.

Books that suit a specific age bracket. 

There are certain books, like Charlotte's Web, and series, like Frog and Toad and Harry Potter, that I want my kids to read at the exact right ages. I don't know yet what those exact ages will be, because I suspect it will be different for each child, but I want to give those books to my girls at that special time and have the reading of the book become a memorable experience. Therefore, even though we own those books right now, they are on shelves or in boxes, and will remain there until the appropriate window of time opens, at which point they will be presented as special gifts.

Books the child will be particularly excited about.

Right now, Miss Muffet loves Poppleton and Stanley. If we buy books in either of those series, we automatically set them aside for the next gift-giving occasion because we know how excited she will be to receive them. The characters are already special to her, so receiving books about them helps make her birthday or Christmas that much more special too. I would take the same approach to books with the child's name in the title, or with some other special significance to the child's life.

Religious books.

This is not always the case, but I tend to want to save religious books for religious occasions. I have a Christmas prayers board book that I was hanging onto until Advent, so that I could give it to the girls at the start of the season and we could say the sole Advent prayer in it when we add ornaments to our Jesse Tree each day. We also have a child's rosary book, Mary Holds My Hand, which I suspect may turn up in an Easter basket in a year or two. I imagine First Holy Communion will be another occasion on which the girls will receive special books of a religious nature.

Seasonal/holiday books.

We probably don't need many more seasonal and holiday books, as our boxes are overflowing, but if we did buy any new ones, I would probably tend toward packing them away and giving them as gifts during the appropriate season. It seems strange not to give a Christmas book as a Christmas gift, an Easter book as an Easter gift, etc.

Board books.

Now that my second child is a toddler, this has slowed down some, but it seems like I have given a disproportionately large number of board books to my children as gifts. This is partly because we don't borrow as many board books from the library (because of their condition and germs), so it feels like we need to own some of our own, but it's also because there isn't much else you can really give to a tiny baby, and both my girls were less than 3 months old on their first Christmases. I also think it's nice for every child, even the littlest ones, to have at least one book that is his or her very own.  I'm actually not sure we're giving either of them a board book this year, but that would be a first for us. Bo Peep alone received at least four board books for her birthday.

New books.

We rarely buy brand-new books, so if we do, they are usually gifts. (Sometimes, they are also purchased with gift cards we have received for our own birthdays, holidays, baby gifts, etc.)  I have also been known to wrap review copies from publishers and give them as birthday gifts. Bo Peep received two Stanley board books this year, as well as my review copy of You Are One, while Miss Muffet was given my review copy of The Importance of Being Three.

Hard-to-find books.

My kids are not old enough yet that they have books they are specifically seeking in the bookstore. Recently, however, my mom was looking for a copy of Fourteen Bears in Summer and Winter. When we stumbled upon a copy at a used book sale, I snatched it up and saved it until she came to visit. Then we surprised her with the book during her stay. If there is a ever a time where one of my girls is looking long and hard for a specific book and I finally find it, I don't think I'll be able to resist saving it to give as a surprise for a special occasion.

Activity books.

If I buy books of paper dolls, sticker books, coloring books, or other activity books, I always set them aside for a special occasion, or at least for a rainy day. This is partly to avoid having them completely consumed within 24 hours of their purchase, but also to make sure the books are given when an adult is available to help with cutting, peeling off stickers, etc. I also tend to ask other relatives for books of this type instead of toys, since I know Miss Muffet loves them, but we wouldn't necessarily think to buy them ourselves, and they take up a lot less space than a new toy.

Do you give books for birthdays and holidays? How do you decide which books are special enough to be gifts?

Book Review: The Davenports Are at Dinner (1948) and The Davenports and Cherry Pie (1949) by Alice Dalgliesh

The Davenports are at Dinner and The Davenports and Cherry Pie are two charming titles from the 1940s, which were written by three-time Newbery honoree Alice Dalgliesh and illustrated by Flavia Gag (sister of Wanda Gag of Millions of Cats fame.) In the first book, the Davenport children (John, Barbara, Kathy, and Ricky)  are nervous about how their new stepmother and her daughter, Lyn, will fit into their family. To add to their stress, the family is about to lose its beloved home due to financial difficulties. To help ease some of the financial burden, Kathy suggests that the family star in a nightly radio program where they gather around the table to sing and chat about the day's events.  In the second book, the family has lost its home and now lives in a barn. When a family friend entrusts the children to look after her poodle, Cherry Pie, everyone in the barn falls in love with the dog, and it becomes more and more difficult to think of giving her up. In the meantime, the radio show's success leads to a potential television deal for the Davenports.

Kirkus Reviews was not very kind to these books when they were first published, but what the reviewers deemed flaws were some of the very reasons I enjoyed the Davenports so much. In its 1948 review of The Davenports Are at Dinner, Kirkus calls the characters "a bit too noble"  and claims "they take even their hard luck too gallantly." The reviewer does not seem to believe in the characters, and the review basically just mocks the book's sincerity and seems appalled by the notion that the entire family gets along. I, however, found these characters totally believable and even refreshing in their positivity and willingness to move forward despite difficulties. It isn't as though the family has a choice, after all, and their resilience provides a great opportunity for kids to see that material possessions are not the key to happiness, and that it is possible to be happy with whatever lot one is given in life.  

Kirkus seemed to like The Davenports and Cherry Pie a bit better, but even this review makes it sound as though the only reason kids would be interested in this book is because they can live vicariously through the characters' experiences starring on television. I had no idea children's literature critics were already so cynical about childhood way back in the 1940s! I personally would have loved these books as a kid, because I found most sources of conflict troubling, and gravitated toward happy-go-lucky stories about big families. The Davenports books remind me a lot of books by Carolyn Haywood, Johanna Hurwitz, and Beverly Cleary, who depict mostly happy childhoods and handle difficulties gently and with great hope and heart. 

These books are not mentioned very much in articles about Alice Dalgliesh, presumably because they have been overshadowed by her more successful works and because they now seem so dated. Still, I think it's worth tracking them down if you can and sharing them with kids who enjoy sweet family stories. 

Book Review: A Poem for Peter by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Lou Fancher & Steve Johnson (2016)

A Poem for Peter, a new picture book biography in verse, traces Keats's life story from his childhood in a poor neighborhood in Brooklyn right up to the moment he publishes A Snowy Day. Along the way, the text reveals the bits of inspiration that led to the creation of his iconic character, Peter.

I wanted to like this book, as I have always loved Ezra Jack Keats, ever since my first grade teacher led my class on an author study of his work back in the late 1980s. Unfortunately, I can't honestly say that I do like it. First of all, I would not call this book a biography. It does provide some biographical information, but only within the larger context of heavy-handed We Need Diverse Books propaganda. There is a lot of romanticizing of The Snowy Day as the first book ever to understand minorities, or to reflect urban living, and the text dwells heavily on "the brown-sugar boy" (Peter), but not as much on Keats as a person. Throughout the book, it feels as though Keats, who died in 1983, is being used as a means of promoting an agenda. The poem ascribes sentiments to Keats that he may not have held. (Is there evidence that he saw snow as an equalizer, or was he just writing a weather-themed story? His Caldecott acceptance speech doesn't mention this use of snow as a symbol, and I have found no other references.) It also heavily emphasizes the hardships in his life, making it clear that it is only because he has suffered injustice himself that he is capable of creating a character like Peter. The book feels so political, which means it also doesn't feel like a book for children.

I love The Snowy Day as much as anyone, but I love it precisely because it does not call attention to itself. The book just exists, just like all of Keats's other books, and to use it now as a model for How to Be Diverse detracts from its value as an unassuming, universal story starring a black child. I am glad to see someone recognize that not every children's book of the past was racist, since this is a common misconception, but I would have liked it more if the text had let Keats's actions and decisions speak for themselves, without the editorializing that plagues much of the poem. The fact is, even when the reader is sympathetic to a given message, nobody likes a preachy book, and it seems that this one seeks to indoctrinate rather than simply inform.

Reading Through History: Full of Beans by Jennifer Holm (2016)

It's 1934 in Key West, Florida, and the enterprising Beans is always looking for ways to make a dime. He'll dig through garbage to find tin cans, babysit for local moms, and even run errands for criminals if it means he might be able to afford a sandwich from Pepe's Cafe, and to help out his struggling parents. Because some of the adults in his neighborhood have taken advantage of him and cheated him out of his hard-earned wages, Beans is very suspicious when officials from the government arrive to revitalize Key West and make it a tourist attraction. His skepticism is challenged, however, when it seems that Beans himself will play a key role in helping the New Deal program get off the ground in his hometown.

Full of Beans is the prequel to Turtle in Paradise, and its main character is Turtle's cousin, whom readers will remember as one of the members of the Diaper Gang. Because Beans is a local and not a visitor like Turtle, the sights and sounds of Key West really come to life in his narration. Beans focuses on all the details that kids love in their own neighborhoods, and he provides lots of description that helps readers understand the changes brought about by the New Deal. Beans is also a lovably mischievous character, and his tone throughout the book makes for a lot of funny moments.

This book is interesting primarily because it is the only children's book I know that explores the tension between a community set in its ways and well-meaning, but somewhat ill-informed government officials.  The story really makes this conflict feel very real, and it can invite interesting discussions with kids about the role of government in various situations. It's also nice to have a hopeful story set during the Great Depression. Too often kids' books focus on the tragedies of that time period, and after a while, those depressing (pun intended) titles turn kids off to historical fiction.

I have a couple of quibbles with the book. I felt that the information about Beans's brother contracting worms was unnecessary. I am opposed to toilet humor in children's books in general, but this is especially revolting. I understand that the need for worm medication is a financial problem for Beans, as he keeps needing to help his brother instead of buying what he wants, but I think there were other ways to do this without making the reader feel sick. My other issue is with the cover. It's attractive, but it gives off a definite contemporary realistic fiction vibe. Maybe the hope is that kids will pick it up based on the cover and not realize it's historical until they start reading and fall in love.  But I think it could also wind up creating a bait and switch situation where readers feel they have been tricked and decide not to read the book at all.

Full of Beans was not quite as good as Turtle in Paradise, but it was fun to return to that universe and explore a window into our American past. I don't see Full of Beans as a Newbery contender, but it is a solid, fun read for fans of the author.

Book Review: The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith (2014)

I have always enjoyed teen romances, but it can be hard to find a good one without a lot of sexual content. Since adults reading about teenagers having sex feels grossly inappropriate to me, I have mostly stopped reading YA romance novels. I did, however, pick up Stephanie Perkins's short story collection, Summer Days and Summer Nights, and though much of the content in there also felt inappropriate, there was a wonderful story near the end of the book called "A Thousand Ways this Could All Go Wrong." It was the beautifully awkward story of the slowly developing romance between Annie, a camp counselor, and her crush, a teen boy with autism. When I finished that story, I immediately went to look up every book by its author, Jennifer E. Smith, wondering how on earth I had never read anything by her before. Because it was available as an ebook from the public library, I decided to start with The Geography of You and Me.

At the start of this novel, the power goes out in New York City, and teenagers Lucy and Owen are trapped together in an elevator. Lucy is a loner who has learned to be self-reliant now that her older brothers are off at college and her parents, who have always been travelers, continue to traipse around Europe. Owen, whose dad is the building superintendent, is also frequently alone as he struggles to come to terms with the death of his mother and to help his dad recover from his grief.  On the night of the blackout, Lucy and Owen spend hours together, enjoying each other's company, but when daylight arrives, and the power eventually returns, life resumes its normal rhythm, and soon they are separated as their families relocate several times. Across the months and the miles, however, both teens work toward being together again.

What I liked so much about this book is its focus on real emotions. This is not a story about a girl with a crush pining for an unattainable boy (or vice versa), nor is it a novel fraught with sexual tension that can only eventually lead to one thing. Instead, this is a book about two very real, very believable teen characters, who act their age, and think like kids, and feel awkward around each other even though they have a strong connection. It's also about communication, both with and without technology, and about finding a place in one's family while also forging one's own future. It's actually not about high school at all, but about a relationship that takes place entirely outside of the school routine, on postcards, and in emails, and over many months and through many miscommunications. It is not about dating and breaking up, or going to the prom and having sex, or even about falling in love per se. The book begins with two characters and their connection to one another, and simply follows those two well-developed individuals on the journey to mutual understanding. And I realize that this is what I loved about romances as a teen - not the graphic descriptions of kissing, or the dramatic fights, but the whys and hows of human connection, of how two young people can begin to know each other when they have only just begun to know themselves.

Jennifer E. Smith has several other books, and I'm hoping they all take a similar character-driven approach to storytelling. If they do, I have found a new favorite author.

Library Haul: New Picture Books and Middle Grade Adventures

This weekend, we made our regular visit to the library we use the most, and as usual, I came home with more books than I planned.

• Tell Me About Your Day Today by Mem Fox, illustrated by Lauren Stringer
• Bear's Day Out by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Adrian Reynolds 

I had several books on hold, most of which were titles I selected with an upcoming story time in mind. (They each have the word "day" in the title. I was going for a theme.)  These two books would be good for Miss Muffet even if they don't make it into the story time repertoire, so I went ahead and checked them out. I especially like the concept of the Fox title - a child saying goodnight to each of his stuffed animals and discussing the events of the day with them. 

• Chu's Day by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Adam Rex
• A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Phillip C. Stead and Erin E. Stead
• Crazy Hair Day by Barney Saltzberg
• The Day is Waiting by Don Freeman, with words by Linda Zuckerman

These four are books I have read before. The first three have been used in story times, and the last one, though not as impressive as I had hoped, will also work well for my specific story time audience. (It's a collection of random Freeman illustrations which an author tried to use to tell a story.) I definitely won't need all of these, but it's hard for me to plan without options, so I made sure I had a few. Miss Muffet already asked to hear Chu's Day, so clearly, they will be used either way.

• Construction by Sally Sutton, illustrated by Brian Lovelock
• What do Wheels Do All Day? by April James Prince, illustrated by Giles Laroche
• Farmer John's Tractor by Sally Sutton, illustrated by Robyn Belton

These three books all jumped out at me from the transportation section of the picture books. (I absolutely hate that some of the picture books are separated out by subject. I can never remember which subjects are separate, and I always know the author I want, so I wind up having to search multiple sections for the same author.) Construction was checked out when we visited our other library last week, so I got that for Miss Muffet, to go along with Demolition and Roadwork, which she has been loving. The other two titles caught my eye as potential story time books for a transportation theme, which is what I think I'm doing on November 30th.

• The Adventurers by Rachel Elliot, illustrated by Valeria Docampo
• Pug Meets Pig by Sue Lowell Gallion, illustrated by Joyce Wan
• Amazing Autumn by Jennifer Marino Walters, illustrated by John Nez
• Winter, Winter, Cold and Snow by Sharon Gibson Palermo, illustrated by Christina Song

These were random grabs from the new book shelf. I knew of Pig and Pug from reading about it on other blogs, but the other three are completely new to me. The Adventurers is not a book I would typically choose, but something about it made me curious, and the others will hopefully help Miss Muffet better understand the transition from Fall to Winter, which she has been asking about a lot. 

• A Poem for Peter by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by David Fancher and Steve Johnson

I am a big fan of Ezra Jack Keats, so I placed this book on hold to find out how it is. I am skeptical because it's a picture book biography in verse, and those don't tend to be the most accessible books, but I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

• A Fire Station Field Trip by Isabel Martin
• Turning Apples into Applesauce by Wendy A. Reynolds
• Turning Trees into Paper by Dawn James 
• Turning Sand into Glass by Amy Hayes 
• Turning Wool into Sweaters by Amy Hayes 

I always borrow a few nonfiction titles for Miss Muffet. These were all from the new shelf. We are missing a trip to the fire station without our moms group this week because of my story time obligation, so I thought this book would be a nice alternative. The others are all related to her interest in how things are made.

• Mystery on the Docks by Thacher Hurd
• Cranberry Halloween by Wende and Harry Devlin

I put Cranberry Halloween on hold before our last visit, but it didn't come in time for Halloween. The hold was supposed to expire the day before we went to the library this time, but apparently some nice librarian noticed my other holds and kept it for me an extra day. I was going to just let it expire, but since I wanted it for nostalgic reasons, not holiday reasons, it worked out fine. Mystery on the Docks was on the shelf, and I decided to read it, since The Pea Patch Jig by Thacher Hurd is a family favorite. I read it to Miss Muffet when we got home, at her request, and it went over her head, but I kind of enjoyed it. It was different anyway.

• Lions Roar by Rebecca Glaser
• Giraffes Stretch by Rebecca Glaser
• Elephants Spray by Rebecca Glaser

I always try to borrow at least one book for Bo Peep even though she has a ton of board books at home. These caught my eye because they have real photos of animals, and they have a lot of great onomatopoeia in them. I read Elephants Spray  to Bo Peep in the library, and when she actually listened to the entire thing, I decided we'd take home all three to enjoy.

• Every Hidden Thing by Kenneth Oppel
• The Left-Handed Fate by Kate Milford
• The Wolf Keepers by Elise Broach

Finally, these are the books I chose for myself. Every Hidden Thing came from the YA section, and the other two were on the new shelf in the children's area. None of these is my usual fare, but I have been feeling pretty blah about middle grade recently, so it seemed like it was time for a change. The Left-Handed Fate seems to be a companion to Greenglass House, which I liked, and The Wolf Keepers is by Elise Broach, whose work has been hit or miss for me. This is kind of my last try with her writing; if I don't enjoy this book, I'll probably not read any of her future titles.

The Library Haul link-up is hosted by Sweeping Up Joy.