a mommy track mystery

Book jackets in no particular order, but you can see the ingenious titles.

I love a mystery. This is a fun little series about a mother who works as a private detective solving crimes that pop into her life. I love the hilarity of it all. Nursing on the go and at crime scenes, blow out diapers, the whole nine yards. I read it awhile back and plan to re-read it once life settles out of bit more. If you enjoy a mystery now and then I would give Ayelet Waldman's Mommy Track Mystery a try. Check out your local library and pick one up today!

Be Creative!

The summer reading program at the Ramsey County Library is gearing up. Get in and get your info! Seth and I will conquer the four and under reading assignment in no time at all, but we LOVE to read. I would encourage you to check out your local summer reading program. It is a great way to get your kids involved in learning for a lifetime!

Children's Books: Things That Go

Seth's favorite of the series. Our son likes the classics. I love it!

I am sure you have been on the edge of your seat waiting for our new book list. Hmmm. There are endless possibilties with this theme but here are some we have enjoyed:

Things That Go

Airplanes: Soaring! Diving! Turning!, Patricia Hubbell
All Aboard the Dinotrain, Deb Lund
A Train Goes Clickety-Clack, Jonathan London
A Truck Goes Rattley-Bumpa, Jonathan London
Choo Choo, Virginia Lee Burton
Curious George Takes A Train, Margaret and H.A.Rey
Dinos on the Go!, Karma Wilson
Dinosailors, Deb Lund
Froggy Rides a Bike, Jonathan London
Get Off Our Train, John Burningham
I Saw An Ant in a Parking Lot, Joshua Prince
Let’s Go! The Story of Getting From There to Here, Lizann Flatt
My First Airplane Ride, Patricia Hubbell
Night Train, Caroline Stutson
Patty and the Big Red Bus, Meghan McCarthy
School Bus, Donald Crews
Smokey, Bill Peet
The Caboose Who Got Loose, Bill Peet
The Noisy Airplane Ride, Mike Downs
Trainstop, Barbara Lehman

Some Easter Reads for Little Ones

Here are some books to enjoy this Easter. I have to say the Easterville Miracle is my favorite as it shares the true meaning of why we celebrate Easter!

• Happy Easter. Emily!, Claire Masurel
• Little Bunny's Easter, Sophie Piper
• Looking for Easter, Dori Chaconas
• Pooh's Easter Egg Hunt, Isabel Gaines
• The Easterville Miracle, Melody Carlson

Tips for Tots: Reading At A New Level

At Seth's recent three year well check our Dr and I got into a discussion about how much Seth enjoys reading. She mentioned that her boys were similar and she started reading chapter books to them at bedtime shortly after three years of age. I thought I would bring it up to Seth and see what he thought.

I own a copy of Charlotte's Web by E.B.White and thought that might be a good place to start since he has seen bits and pieces of the movie and might have some ability to piece it together. I showed Seth the book and explained that chapter books are different: they have few pictures, if any, and we would only read a part of the story each night, a chapter. He was actually very excited about it, much to my surprise. We are now on chapter TEN of the book and he can barely wait to hear the next installment!

That said, what other books have you enjoyed reading with your children on the "chapter book" level. I am dreaming of Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary and The Little House on The Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. What else is good for a three year old impressionable mind?

It's A Zoo in Here!

I plan my lessons for the sake of the kids and their interests but there are certainly some I enjoy much more than others. Take the Zoo for example. While I am pained for the treatment of animals who must live in enclosures, Zoo's do save and protect animals. Seeing an animal up close and in person is too amazing an opportunity to miss out on either. I enjoy watching them as much as Seth does. In fact sometimes I wish he would slow down so I could watch longer!

Life with three kids most days of the week is a Zoo in and of itself. Our inability to get out and about only makes it more so. The Zoo topic is one I get great mileage out of. We have a large bucket of Schleich animals that we have collected and we use them and our blocks, legos, whatever we can find to build ginormous zoos for all the animals. We also draw zoos on paper and use animal stickers to fill in the spaces. We also checked out a Fischer Price Zoo and zoo puzzles from the ECFE toy library. Seth and I will go to both the Como Zoo and the MN Zoo (thanks to a library pass) during this lesson series too. Of course it wouldn't be learning without reading a million different books too so I created a list of them for you.

Animal Strike at the Zoo: It’s True!, Karma Wilson
Annie and the Wild Animals, Jan Brett
Apes and Monkeys, Michael and Jane Pelusey
Charlie at the Zoo, Marcus Pfister
Elephants, Michael and Jane Pelusey
Giraffes and Zebras, Michael and Jane Pelusey
Good Night Gorilla, Peggy Rathmann
If Anything Ever Goes Wrong at the Zoo, Mary Jean Hendrick
Last Night at the Zoo, Michael Garland
Mealtime for Zoo Animals, Caroline Arnold
Noisytime for Zoo Animals, Caroline Arnold
Out and About at the Zoo, Kathleen W. Deady
Playtime for Zoo Animals, Caroline Arnold
Pssst!, Adam Rex
Rhinoceroses and Hippopotamuses, Michael and Jane Pelusey
The Umbrella, Jan Brett
The Tiger Has a Tootheache: Helping Animals at the Zoo, Patricia Lauber
Twas the Day Before Zoo Day, Catherine Ipcizade
Welcome to the Zoo, Alison Jay
Wild About Books, Judy Sierra
Z is for Zookeeper: A Zoo Alphabet, Marie and Roland Smith
Zany Zoo, William Wise (poems)
Zoo Animals 123, Rebecca Fjelland Davis
Zoo Do’s and Don’ts, Todd Parr
Zoo-Looking, Mem Fox
Zookeeper Sue, Chris Demarest

Get out of your zoo and into a different one as soon as you can!

Saying Goodbye to the Library

No longer to be known as the "Red" library once the face lift gets started.

Today, after the Dr appointment, Seth and I went to say goodbye to our public library which closes tomorrow March 31st. They will not reopen until May of 2010! We will be going through library withdrawl by early next week I suspect. Even with over 70 books checked out it is inevitable as we loved to go there just to get out of our own house! Yes, you read that right, over 70 books. I thought I might reach the library max today but did not and when asked I was told it is actually 150 books. I could start my own lending library with that many! Yikes.

Seth loves to play store and hopes more toys will be in the new library.

We will continue to enjoy other libraries in our area and I think it might actually be fun to seek out and find some that we have never been to. Then it would be a "venture" as Seth calls it, or adventure to the rest of us. The temporary library in Roseville will work too though not convenient for biking or walking which we have always enjoyed in the past.

Playing in the kitchen after buying groceries at the store.

The children's librarian has become a friend of ours and Seth was so sad when we didn't get to say goodbye to her today. He then told me that we can come and watch her working the cranes and front-loaders while she is building the new library. What an imagination. I can't wait to tell the librarian as I think she already felt overwhelmed with her workload and now has this to live up to : )

We know that the new library will have a larger children's section and many new books and areas to play, even a stroller parking area at last. We are so excited but will have to wait a long time....

Ahh, we will miss you Ramsey County Library!

Spring Is Coming! (well sort of)

Here are some great reads while you watch spring take shape right outside your window:

• April Foolishness, Teresa Bateman (April Fools Day)
• Dandelions: Stars in the Grass, Mia Posada
• In My Backyard, Valarie Giogas
• It's Spring, Jimmy Pickering
  
• North Country Spring, Reeve Lindbergh
• One Frog Sang, Shirley Parenteau (counting book)
• One Rainy Day, Valeri Gorbachev
  
• One Watermelon Seed, Celia Barker Lottridge (Gardening)
• Raindrop, Plop!, Wendy Cheyette
• Storm is Coming, Heather Tekavec (funny)
• The Tiny Seed, Eric Carle

We are also hoping to plant some indoor seeds and watch them grow in the weeks to come!

Birthday Books to Enjoy

Seth turns three on Friday so we are excited to prepare for his Birthday. Avid readers that we are, we also checked out a few books that you might enjoy reading when you celebrate your birthday too:

A Birthday for Cow!, Jan Thomas
Birthday Zoo, Deborah Lee Rose
Curious George and the Birthday Surprise, Margaret and H.A. Rey
Gotcha!, Gail Jorgensen
Melrose and Croc: An Adventure to Remember, Emma Chichester Clark
Ten Little Monkeys Bake A Birthday Cake, Eileen Christelow
The Fairytale Cake, Mark Sperring
Whopper Cake, Karma Wilson

Running Out of Time

I feel like I am running out of time... Our library closes at the end of this month! I am racing through lists for the next couple of units so I can get as many books on hand as possible to survive the closing period. The temporary library will not be so convenient but at least we will be able to get new books every couple of weeks instead of say, never.

So off to the left you will now find a smattering of book collections which we will be using at home over the next month. I hope that you find something you can enjoy reading in your home, just check your local library!

Though I am sad about it I have to keep in mind that come May 2010 we will have a state of the art, brand spanking new library! Check out the details at Ramsey County Library.

Does anyone find the book lists helpful? I would love to know!

Barefoot Books

We love to read and wanted to share some favorite Barefoot Books with you. Our two favorites are Counting Cockatoos and Alligator Alphabet, both written by Stella Blackstone. My son loves the colorful pages and hidden cockatoos while also learning his numbers and letters. We hope that you will give them a look.

Check out the Crafty Crow to get involved in this week's Giveaway Monday. You could earn a gift certificate for Barefoot Books!

Tips for Tots: Selecting Books for Children

Once again I want to share with you from Becoming the Parent You Want to Be. The book has great insights into reading and since that is a passion of mine and shared regularly on this blog I wanted to invest some time on it.

"When you walk into the library or your local bookstore, you may have a tremendous number of children's books to choose from. If you're not familiar with children's literature or if you don't have much time to sit and read a bunch of books (like when you ave your kids in tow), how can you decided what's best for you child?"

Now you can take my word for it and check out the books that Seth and I recommend on the blog or you can try their advice which I agree with 100%:

1. Does the subject matter interest me and my child? Choose books that reflect both your interests as it is a way to share what we love.
   
2. Is the book aesthetically pleasing? I realize that you cannot judge a book by its color but you do want to introduce your child to a wide variety of artwork and design here.
3. Does this book promote creativity and open-ended play? There are tons of books out there with TV characters your kids know, their roles are set and do not encourage open-ended play. Keep them to a minimum and help your children meet new characters in the pages of books!
4. Is the language rich and beautiful? Even very young children can enjoy poetry, rhymes and much more.
   
5. What are the values portrayed? It is important to ask yourself questions such as, "What does this book say about life? About family? About nature?" Books will teach you children much more than you can ever imagine so be aware of what you let into a small impressionable brain.
6. Do the book promote peace and cooperation? As in my recent post, books can teach more than just information, they can teach us how to act. Look for books that teach sense of self, awareness of others, joy in diversity, love of nature, imagination, creative conflict resolution, and global awareness.

You will continue to find great titles right here on the blog but I challenge you to take these thoughts with you to the library next time you visit. See what books come as a surprise to you and then come share them here with us!

Books that Teach: Sharing and Fear

As you know already - we LOVE to read in our home. We spend at least 30 minutes reading every day, but more likely an hour. I hope you are taking time to read at least 10 to 20 minutes a day to your toddlers. It is a great way to teach language and multiple learning skills and my personal favorite - slow down and cuddle too!

The majority of my book lists (located to the side of the blog) are topics that we spend about a two week time period reading and learning from. During these major topics we also try to incorporate emotional coaching through books as well. Children need to learn to identify emotions such as fear, sadness or frustration and then we also need to help them find logical ways to deal with them. We also must take time to teach our children appropriate behaviors. (If you haven't noticed the bad ones come naturally - the good ones must be taught!) The beauty of the toddler stage is that children believe all books are pure entertainment - the learning comes along with the fun, free of charge!

Here are some books you can check out for your own family:

Sharing:
Ebb and Flo and the New Friend, Jane Simmons
Jungle Bullies, Steven Kroll
The Very Greedy Bee, Steve Smallman
Emily's Sharing and Caring Book, Cindy Post Senning and Peggy Post

Fear:
Where's My Mommy?, Jo Brown
Wombat Goes Walkabout, Michael Morpurgo
Bear Feels Scared, Karma Wilson
Oliver Finds His Way, Phyllis Root
Quack, Daisy, Quack!, Jane Simmons
Don't Get Lost!, Pat Hutchins

I hope to keep sharing book titles with you all throughout the coming year. Please always feel free to add your own suggestions. I would love to add more books to our library list!

Using Books to Teach

If you are following my blog you know that I regularly add children's book titles to my sidebar. The goal here is that I am already doing the research for my day care kids so why not share it with you! Whether you need a book idea for a gift or to read with your own family at home, I hope you will take some time to check out the new list from your local library. Get your kids reading everyday and they will learn to love it for a lifetime!

I have started our new list which includes favorite Christmas titles. If you have one or two that your family loves please leave a comment and share them with us all. The upcoming list will include snow and winter. And if you are looking for past titles I try to keep at least two or three at the bottom of the sidebar for your convenience, and mine!

Tis' the season to enjoy a good book and some hot tea, or cocoa if you'd rather. Let me know what you are reading!

Must Read...

I finished reading Adam last night by Ted Dekker. It is an amazing thriller that takes a unique look at the battle of good and evil based on the premise of where it all began - the Garden of Eden. The serial killer in this one is unlike any I could ever have imagined! I hope you will give it a try. My most favorite Ted Dekker book is Thr3e, also a movie now but I haven't had the chance to see it yet. (The library wouldn't purchase it...bummer.)