Paging Through Picture Books: I Know a Lady (1984), The Twelve Dancing Princesses (1990), If Not for the Cat (2004), Planting the Trees of Kenya (2008)

Here's another set of picture books selected to fulfill these categories in the Picture Book Reading Challenge: #25 free choice (I Know a Lady), #35 a fairy tale (The Twelve Dancing Princesses), #49 a book published in the 2000s (If Not for the Cat), #64 a picture book biography (Planting the Trees of Kenya).

I Know a Lady by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by James Stevenson

I often associate James Stevenson with those wacky books about Grandpa and Uncle Wainey, so it was a surprise to see his softer side come out in his pictures for this Charlotte Zolotow book. The text describes a figure many children can recognize from their own neighborhoods: an old lady who lives alone and interacts with kids in various ways over the course of a year's holidays and celebrations. The text is spare, but the overall story is a poignant portrait of an inter-generational friendship that has made a strong impact on the young narrator. I'm not certain that kids can appreciate this book as well as adults, but I really loved it.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Ruth Sanderson

I have never been much of a fairy tale reader, but Miss Muffet (3 years, 7 months) and I have both fallen in love with this picture book. For me, it's really the story that is intriguing. I like the element of mystery (why are the princesses' shoes worn out every morning?) and the fact that the underdog (Michael, the garden boy) becomes the hero. For Miss Muffet, I really think it's more about the illustrations, as she asks different questions each time we read it, and she seems completely engrossed by the pictures on each re-reading.

If Not for the Cat by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Ted Rand 

If Not for the Cat is a book I discovered on Instagram, where a fellow Catholic mom and book lover said she thought my three-year-old might like it. It's a collection of haiku, each poem of which describes a specific animal depicted in the accompanying illustration. Miss Muffet did indeed enjoy naming each animal after I read the haiku, and she actually knew almost all of them, despite the fact that the poems don't name their subjects. I thought the descriptions of each animal were wonderfully well-done, and I liked seeing a more serious side to the work of the often silly Prelutsky.

Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Claire A. Nivola

My husband borrowed a few books illustrated by Claire Nivola from the library, and I liked the way they looked and read them as well. This is one of many picture book biographies of Wangari Maathai, who was a popular subject for early elementary school book reports when I was working in the library, but I found it more memorable and more beautifully illustrated than many of the others. I like the small details in Nivola's pictures and the fact that most of them are sweeping two-page spreads focused on a big picture, instead of on one small aspect of her subject. The text is straightforward and strictly factual, but there is a bit of playfulness and creative storytelling in the pictures that I enjoyed very much.

Why We Don't Do Summer Reading at the Public Library

I'm a children's librarian currently writing a textbook about successful summer reading programs at the public library, and yet my own preschooler and toddler don't participate. Why not? Read on for my five main reasons!

We don't need the motivation. 

My kids, who are the children of two book-loving librarians, absolutely love to read and listen to stories. In their short lives, they have already developed an intrinsic desire to spend time with books just for the pleasure it brings. Books are part of their play, their bedtime routine, their relationship to their grandparents, and even their friendship with each other. These days, summer reading programs are designed to target students who might fall victim to "summer slide" and families with "reluctant readers." Since my kids are neither of these, I don't usually see much that the local summer reading program can offer them.

The goals are too easy. 

Most of our local libraries have very low expectations for the number of books they want kids to read in a summer. Often, we read in a typical day the number of books the libraries want us to read throughout the entire summer! I understand that the goals are designed to appeal to people who may not read to their children at all, but if this is the case, then the program isn't for my family anyway.

Not much reading is involved. 

Some libraries don't expect you to read at all with kids under 5, but instead ask them to complete "early literacy activities" like singing the ABCs during a diaper change (which I assume is a suggestion written by someone who has never changed a poopy toddler) or visiting the firehouse (which does not necessarily involve literacy, but was one of the choices at a local library last summer). While the literacy activities are a nice idea, they are not what I am looking for when I seek out a reading-focused program for kids. My three-year-old is starting to sound out words; I can't imagine it would be a lot of fun for her to revert back to memorizing the alphabet, especially when she could be poring over a picture book and picking out the words she recognizes.

The record-keeping is too tedious. 

Last summer, at least one library system expected me to keep track of not just the titles of the books I read to the girls, but to also report how many minutes it took to read each one. I know I probably could have made a good guess about each book based on its length, but it seemed like such a ridiculous thing to ask me to do that I just decided we wouldn't do the program. Libraries are also starting to keep track of progress online, which is convenient, but not terribly appealing to my screen-free preschooler and toddler. They never get to see the badges they accumulate, and often the badges require me to tailor my reading choices to specific categories. It's too much to keep track of, especially when we don't really need to be encouraged to keep reading.

We don't need (or want) the prizes. 

Since my kids already love to read and see it as its own reward, I see no reason to introduce them to the concept of reading for prizes. Sure, it might be nice to win a new book, which is sometimes an option, but the choices are usually either books we already have, or books I would let into my house only over my dead body. Other prizes tend to be things we'll never use, like baseball tickets, or plastic toys, of which we just don't need any more. When I was a kid, I was content to have a sticker to add to my reading log for each book, and maybe a pencil to take home at the end of the summer. I like that simplicity much more than the flashier things they want to give kids now - and a program that simple I can always design myself.

Do your kids do summer reading at the library?  What's the program like in your community? 

The RAHM Report for 7/10/17

Adult Books

I have a few grown-up books in progress this week:

I'm about halfway through Murder in the Mystery Suite by Ellery Adams. There is a little unexpected twist in the story that has just come to light, which makes it a little more like the TV miniseries The Librarian than I would prefer, but I love the way Adams develops characters and the setting is charming, so I'm sticking with it.

I'm also finally approaching the halfway point in A Novena for Murder. I like this book a lot, so I'm not sure why it's taking me so long to finish it! I expect to be done in another day or so. The main character is a plucky older nun, which I love, and there is a strong sense of Catholic morality, even though not all of the characters abide by church teaching.

Finally, my husband got me hooked on the audiobook of Shirley Jackson's Life Among the Savages. I listened to a few excerpts with him, and then started over from the beginning on my own, so I'm only about 20 minutes in. Still, I can already tell that Shirley Jackson and I would have been best friends if we'd been alive at the same time. The chapter about giving birth to her third child is especially funny to me right now, but I also love that Jackson doesn't drive or excel at housework, and that, like my own three-year-old, her daughter Jannie has imaginary children who cause problems in public. I am probably going to need to own this in print because there are many sections I know I will want to re-read when I'm done.

Children's and Teen Books

This past weekend, I finished two middle grade novels for the Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge: The Spettecake Holiday by Edith Unnerstad and D.J.'s Worst Enemy by Robert Burch. Spettecake was great; the other was more moralistic and predictable. Reviews of both are forthcoming. I've also got a whole stack of family stories my husband has recommended, and I'm planning to read at least two more before the month is out.

I also happened upon a free Kindle download of a book called Rightfully Ours by Carolyn Astfalk. I don't read a lot of independently published books, but I made an exception for this one because the author writes for Catholic teens and there isn't much Catholic fiction available from any publisher, let alone a mainstream one. The writing is quite good so far, and the characters are suitably flawed, so I'll probably stick with it and see how it goes.

Also on my to-read list in the near future are The Quicksand Pond by Janet Taylor Lisle, which I have checked out in Overdrive, and The Silver Moon of Summer by Leila Howland, for which I am 9th or 10th on the Overdrive hold list.

Though I am very late to the party, it is still technically Monday in my time zone, so I'm still going to link up with The Book Date and Unleashing Readers / Teach Mentor Texts.

Paging Through Picture Books: Round (2017), Mama's Kisses (2017), Charlie & Mouse (2017), Henry & Leo (2016), Little Fox in the Forest (2017)

Here are some of the new picture books I have read recently. These fulfill the following categories on the Picture Book Reading Challenge checklist: #3 a concept book (Round), #9 a bedtime book (Mama's Kisses), #14 a book celebrating family (Charlie & Mouse), #33 a book about friendship (Henry & Leo), and #80 a book about toys (Little Fox in the Forest).

Round by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo 

I wanted to read Round based on both the author and the cover. I didn't like this particular text as well as I have liked others by Joyce Sidman (especially the poems in Dark Emperor), but it does a nice job of describing the concept of roundness in terms that are both poetic and easy to comprehend for a child. I didn't love all of the illustrations as much as the one on the cover, and neither of my children has asked to hear the book a second time, but for a story time or preschool lesson about shapes, it has definite value, and has a bit more meat than a book like What is Round? by Rebecca Kai Dotlich.

Mama's Kisses by Kate McMullan, illustrated by Tao Nyeu

Mama's Kisses is a sweet story of four animal parents who have to track down their wild babies before they can tuck them into bed. I normally don't care for the use of speech bubbles in picture books for preschoolers, but they work well in this particular book, and my girls both loved the charming illustrations. I especially liked the color scheme, and the pictures where the animal babies hide themselves to avoid having to go to bed.

Charlie & Mouse by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Emily Hughes 

My three-year-old loves the sense of humor and the sweet relationship between the brothers in this book, which is really more of an easy reader than a picture book. I was a bit put off by the fact that Mouse (clearly identified in the text as a boy, despite what some Goodreads reviewers have said) wears a tutu when he dresses up for the neighborhood party, and caught off-guard by a same-sex couple in a later chapter, but neither of these elements is played up in a way that would cause me to keep the book from Miss Muffet. The political messages behind these elements are there for those who want to see them, but they are just as easily overlooked by a child with no reason to think of them as anymore than a silly costume and a pair of roommates. I also really like the boys' mother, even if her indulgence of her boys' bizarre bedtime request for a banana did prompt Miss Muffet to demand several snacks at naptime.

Henry and Leo by Pamela Zagarenski

Sometimes I like this illustrator's art and other times, it doesn't work for me. In this story, about the bond between a  boy and his beloved stuffed animal, I mostly liked it (including the crowns hovering over the heads of all the characters that have so many Goodreads reviewers mystified). The "losing a stuffed animal" story has been told dozens of times, but there is something particularly sweet about this telling, and I liked its nod toward books like The Velveteen Rabbit that imagine that stuffed animals can come to life when loved enough by a child. My three-year-old took to the story right away and demanded multiple readings. She doesn't really have a special stuffed animal friend, but she does have a strong imagination so I am guessing that was the appeal.

Little Fox in the Forest by Stephanie Graegin

This is another book about a toy that goes missing, but in this case, Little Fox is stolen, not lost, and his owner and her friend must travel through a woodland community populated by anthropomorphic animals in order to find the young fox who has taken him. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the unexpected ending, but because the story is wordless and can be read even when a grownup is not available, both my girls have really taken to it, and Miss Muffet (the only one old enough to really have an opinion) seems to like the resolution. I like the artwork a lot and would be interested to see more from this illustrator.

Book Review: Almost Paradise by Corabel Shofner (2017)

Ruby Clyde Henderson doesn't really want to spend her birthday traveling by car to an unknown destination with her mom, Babe, and Babe's obnoxious boyfriend, Carl, known as the Catfish. But what the Catfish says goes, so Ruby Clyde is along for the ride, like it or not. Unfortunately, when they are stopped at a gas station, the Catfish commits armed robbery and both he and Babe are taken into custody. The only relative who can possibly take in Ruby Clyde (and her newly acquired pig, Bunny, who was also stolen by Carl) is her mother's twin sister, Eleanor, about whose existence Ruby has just learned for the first time. Eleanor is an Episcopalian nun who lives on a ranch called Paradise and is facing a potentially deadly cancer diagnosis, but despite living as a solitary and having her own problems, she agrees to help Ruby Clyde, and over time, the two grow close enough to begin healing the rifts in their family.

I included this title on my list of most anticipated 2017 books, and the author was kind enough to supply me with a digital ARC from NetGalley. My primary interest in the story was the fact that it involves religion, since I am always curious to see how middle grade novels handle issues of faith. Since I am Catholic, not Episcopalian, I can't say much about how accurately or inaccurately the story treats this particular denomination (which it describes as a "pretty loosey-goosey, do-whatever-you-want kind of church"), but I still feel qualified to comment on how religion is treated overall.

I think, on the whole, the book is respectful of belief in God. Ruby Clyde has some unusual thoughts about Biblical teaching - e.g., she feels that Mary nagged Jesus into changing water into wine at the Wedding at Cana because "she just wanted wine" and that "Adam was a wuss" because "God made him weak" - but I never got the impression that these were anything more than a child's immature (and funny) reflections on pieces of scripture she doesn't yet fully understand. (In that sense, Ruby reminded me a lot of Lucky from The Higher Power of Lucky, who doesn't quite know what a higher power is, but still wants to find one.)  Certainly kids who know their Bible stories will understand Ruby's references in these passages and understand that her interpretations are a little off the beaten path. I appreciated that these references were in the book at all, as Biblical allusions are not all that common in mainstream kids' books.

I also appreciated the fact that Sister Eleanor makes it clear that she wears her habit by choice. I think it is a common misconception in our secular culture that Christianity oppresses women religious (and women in general) by forcing them to do things they do not want to do. In fact, though, women who answer a calling to become nuns, do so of their own free will, and though they may take vows that thereafter require them to do certain things or dress a certain way, they fulfill these vows each day by choice. It was nice to see this understood and explicitly stated in a casual way.

The book does mention Catholicism in one scene, and obviously that caught my attention. When the Catfish first hears of Sister Eleanor, he becomes agitated and calls out to Babe and Ruby Clyde, "You Catholic?!" I will confess that this rubbed me the wrong way a little bit at first, since his tone makes it sound like being Catholic is about the worst thing that can happen to a person. But as I read Ruby's explanation of her grandmother's distrust for Catholics, and her quick summary of the development of the Anglican church because of Henry VIII, I realized that the only anti-Catholic sentiments in the book are associated with villains of the story, and that the characters who have the reader's sympathy remain either neutral or silent about the Catholic church. I understand the need for the author to mention it, both as a means of delivering historical information about the Episcopal church and as a means of explaining that Eleanor is not a Catholic nun, as many readers might otherwise rightfully assume. Part of me wished for just one more sentence to clarify that Catholicism isn't inherently bad just because some people feel it is, but I also tend to resent it when authors over-explain themselves so an extra sentence might just have been overkill. Ultimately, I don't think the book espouses an anti-Catholic worldview or that it would sway a young reader with no prior exposure to the Church to automatically condemn it. I do expect Catholic kids might not like the Catfish too much, but no one is meant to like him anyway, so they would not be alone in that feeling.

Religion aside, I do have to admit that this book was not really my cup of tea. I was expecting a funny story a la the Mercy Watson series, but what I found was more quirky than zany and overall more emotional than I was anticipating. I think the story is well-written, and there are entire scenes that came across so vividly I can replay them in my mind even without the book in front of me. I liked Ruby Clyde and I found the resolution to her story believable and satisfying. I just don't think I was in the right mood for a sassy tomboy character, or for the strange and unfortunate circumstances that shape the events immediately following her birthday. I would definitely have no qualms about recommending the book to Christian families (even the Catholic ones!), but I do think it's a book  that a certain type of reader will appreciate more than others.  I could appreciate what was good about it; I just didn't feel that it was my type of book overall.

Either way, I think Corabel Shofner is an author to watch in the coming years. Almost Paradise is a strong debut, and I'll be curious to see what other stories she tells in future novels.

The RAHM Report for 7/3/17

Other than a quick update about the Deal Me In Challenge (in which I have since once again fallen behind) I haven't checked in with a Read-at-Home Mom Report since June 5th! Here's how things have been going since then. 

Adult Books

Though I have been reading a lot of adult books (for me) this year, I've recently taken a bit of a break. I have a whole stack of paperbacks in my bag and on my nightstand, but I just never seem to make the time to get really into them. I did finally finish The Cat Who Blew the Whistle by Lilian Jackson Braun (review on Goodreads), but not Novena for Murder, despite how much I like the writing, so I think I'm just in a grown-up reading slump. I am sure it will pass, but in the meantime, I've been reading a lot of kids' books.

Children's and YA Books

It had been a while since I checked anything out from Hoopla, and I realized that I had fallen behind on Laurie Friedman's Mallory McDonald series and April Sinclair series. I was trying to catch up on my Goodreads challenge goal, and I knew these were quick reads, so I checked them out and read them on my phone over a couple of days. I reviewed High Five, Mallory and Mallory McDonald, Super Sitter on Goodreads. A Twist of Fate (which I also reviewed on Goodreads) and Life, Loss, and Lemonade concluded the April Sinclair series with some sadness involving April's grandmother, but they also showed a lot of growth and change in April that showed how far the character has come since the first books of the series. I was glad to see her story end on a hopeful note. And part of me hopes that maybe the author will revisit this family for a spin-off series involving one of the other Sinclair sisters.

During this same time, my hold on Go Jump in the Pool! by Gordon Korman came through on Open Library, so I zipped through that one as well. I don't think I ever finished the series as a kid, but they are still very nostalgic reads for me, and always very light and quick. The fundraising schemes devised by Bruno and Boots in order to buy a pool for their school were ingenious and fun to read about, and I love the unlikely way the happy ending comes together. I'll be borrowing the next book before the summer is over and I plan to blog about the entire series once I finish it.

After finishing these borrowed e-books, I moved on to digital ARCs, finishing both Let's Pretend We Never Met by Melissa Walker (reviewed here) and Almost Paradise by Corabel Shofner (review to be published Wednesday).

Once I'd exhausted all of these digital books, I went to the actual library to pick up a batch of holds. So far, I have read five of those:

• Real Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham
  I read this because everyone has been talking about it, and I love LeUyen Pham's style. I liked it more than expected and may wind up reviewing it here if I have time. A lot of tween girls should be able to relate to the subject matter.
• Funny Girl edited by Betsy Bird
  This was really less a book of funny stories and more a book reminding girls that people don't think they are as funny as boys. Most of the funny people I know are female, and my own three-year-old told me just this week that she is going to start telling people how funny she is in case they haven't noticed, so I guess I just don't get that worldview. I also hate books that try to indoctrinate kids into a particular brand of feminism, so though I liked some of the stories, the overall vibe of the book felt uncomfortable.
• Willows vs. Wolverines by Alison Cherry
  As I mention in my Goodreads review, this was a solid story about summer camp pranks unfortunately marred by the inclusion of a ouija board. I really wanted it to be as good as The Classy Crooks Club, also by this author, but it just wasn't. 
• The Year of the Garden by Andrea Cheng
  This prequel to the Anna Wang series made me roll my eyes a little bit, only because the teacher in the story decides to focus on recycling and environmentalism instead of academics. I am completely out of patience for agenda-driven children's books, so even though I love these characters, the book fell flat for me. This series has always handled a variety of issues without becoming preachy; it's a shame this one didn't do the same.
• Once and For All by Sarah Dessen
  Dessen never disappoints. I will be reviewing this one very soon, so I'll save my thoughts until then. 

Finally, we listened to two audiobooks in the car on our way to and from North Carolina: Beezus and Ramona and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I'll be reviewing both sometime this month. 

As for what's next on the to-read list, I have a few titles waiting for me:

• The Spettecake Holiday by Edith Unnerstad
• Into the Lion's Den by Linda Fairstein
• Quicksand Pond by Janet Taylor Lisle
• Under Locker and Key by Allison K. Hymas

Since it's Monday, I'll be linking up today with It's Monday! What Are You Reading? at both The Book Date and Teach Mentor Texts / Unleashing Readers.

Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge, July 2017 (Family Stories)

Month 7 of the Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge begins today!

This month our focus is on Family Stories.

To participate, read a book or books connected to this month's theme with a publication date in the decade of your birth or before. Post about it on your blog, or wherever you typically review books. At the end of the month, I will publish a link-up post for you to share your reviews from the month.

Feel free to share what you're planning to read here in the comments and/or on social media using #oldschoolkidlit2017. Happy reading!