Jul 5
It’s been a while since we’ve done a Kid’s Corner post so this month we’re featuring a book I received at BEA from Faber & Faber. This book is perfect children over the age of 3+ and is a great way to introduce your child to poems and/or broadway musicals. Read more
Mar 21
Our daughter is at the age when she is constantly asking us for the story behind things and whether things are “real.” Is Santa real? Unicorns real? Fairies? I haven’t quite figured out how to respond. Do I destroy her sense of wonder and fantasy or do I help her distinguish between fact and fiction? Usually I just mumble some noncommittal answer and try to change the subject. So imagine my pleasure when she asked if Winnie the Pooh was real and I actually had an answer for her — based on a book that had just been released. Read more
Dec 21
There always is a surge of top ten lists at year-end, and we did our part last week. But The New York Times, Washington Post, and even our effort don’t hold a candle to the top ten list of my 5-year old daughter. E picked out the top 10 books she read in 2015. Keep reading to find out what she selected and why.
To say that E has a lot of books is an understatement. I believe she inherited my book addiction. E also loves playing book-related games for the blog and was excited to get to create her own top ten list. How did we do this? We first laid out all her books on the floor of her room. Then she selected her 10 favorite. Finally, she lined then up in descending order from most to least favorite. Here are are top ten and the reasons she gave for their making it on to her list. Read more
Nov 23
E has always loved books and story time but some children are more reluctant readers. Interactive books may be one solution to increasing reading engagement. This month, E and I take a look at a few of our favorite “interactive” picture books. Keep reading to find out which ones are our favorites and why. Read more
Sep 21
Despite the age old adage not to judge a book by its cover, a good cover is everything in the world of children’s literature. Whether it’s at the library or in the bookstore, first impressions are everything when it comes to picking out that perfect book. So what would a four-year old think about the covers of some of our most well known adult literature? I put it to the test by showing E some classic selections from my bookshelf and asking her to tell me what the stories were about. Here’s what she said… Read more
Aug 24
Until recently, my 4 (almost 5) year-old was convinced that princess was a viable career path. I remember receiving an email from her preschool about career day dress-up, requesting that parents explain to their children that princesses, mermaids, fairies, and pirates were not real career options. Interestingly many of the “problem careers” were stereotypically female. If you think about the children in your life, you may notice that little boys will rattle off real career options (albeit also highly gendered options) like fireman, builder, and policeman whereas girls tend to mention magical or false ones. While I don’t expect a preschooler to have his/her career path mapped out, but I find it curious that girls often aspire to futures that are untenable. I’m convinced that books and television have a large role in these early dreams. I spent years of my childhood convinced that I was going to be a detective thanks to Nancy Drew. Then thanks to my grandmother’s favorite TV show, I decided to become a lawyer. For the record, I became neither a detective nor a lawyer.
I say “until recently” because E’s career aspirations changed a few months ago after reading a book that one of our readers recommended: Rosie Revere, Engineer
Jul 22
July is National Blueberry Month (yes, that’s a thing) so what better way to celebrate than by selecting an oldie but goodie for our July Kid’s Corner? E is four and a half and getting her excited about healthy foods can be a challenge. As an infant and toddler she ate almost everything but at age 3 she started protesting anything that wasn’t a carbohydrate. One thing that has been effective has been to take her to where her food comes from. We are members of a community farm share and, over the summer, we like to take her to pick her own foods. We’ve picked green beans, snap peas, cherry tomatoes, raspberries, strawberries, shell peas, bush beans, husk cherries, and tomatillos. But by far our favorite is blueberry picking. Blueberries are perfect for little fingers and are pretty versatile, thus easily integrated into a variety of foods.
So this month E and I reviewed Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey. Keep reading to find out what E thought of the book. We’ll show you what we made with all the blueberries we picked (with recipe), and I’ll end by recommending some of my favorite books to teach young children about healthy foods. Read more
Jun 22
In keeping with the theme of books that teach a lesson, we decided to review A Tale of Two Beasts by Fiona Roberton. E picked this book out herself during one of our trips to the bookstore. It’s certainly eye catching with it’s bright orange cover and vivid illustrations inside the book, but Emma liked the cover because “that girl is trying to talk to the cute animal.” Read more
May 22
I’ve been thinking a lot about bullying in the past two weeks, after the mom of one of E’s preschool friends told me about a scary bullying incident directed toward her 9 year-old daughter. So it was a nice change for me to shift gears and think about the positive and healthy elements of children’s friendships through this month’s book selection: Hopper and Wilson Fetch a Star by Maria van Lieshout. Read more
Apr 22
Many of you know that my daughter’s obsession with princesses, fairies, mermaids, and all things frilly drives me crazy. And while I desperately hope that it’s a phase that will end soon, I’m also constantly on the lookout for books that will expose her to the idea that girls don’t have to be princesses. But, head to the library or bookstore and you’ll find the shelves packed with books that reinforce either the princess craze or gender stereotypes (Pinkalicious, Fancy Nancy, Disney princess books, fairy tales). Try to sort through the books where the girl protagonist isn’t a princess, dancer, fairy, mermaid and you end up with a lot of books about animals.
So, I was thrilled when E’s grandparents sent her the book we are reviewing this month….
Book Worm
jenp27
The Reader's Room 
