What's in Your Library Bag?

On one of our recent trips to the library, my 3 year old wandered off and found his favorite section. Before I knew it, our library bag (and the stroller) were full. He had books on Audi's, Porche's, monster trucks, the history of the automobile, airplanes, Heavy Duty Construction Equipment, Planes, Toy Story, Knuffle Bunny, Cars 2, and he even found a learn to speak Klingon book. I didn't even know he knew where the nonfiction section was. There was a part of me that wanted to have him choose 4 or 5 and put the other 10 back, but I resisted. Instead I shared his joy and excitement for all the fun new books he found for us to read. You can see his pile contrasted with my pile.

Library Tip: Give your children autonomy to pick whatever books catch their interest. This is a great time for kids to be spontaneous, explore their interests and create their identity as a reader. As a parent, it feels nice to say "YES! great choice." 

Check out this months library list. I hope you find a few that both you and your children enjoy reading.

Hippospotamus (recommended for 4-8) by Jeanne Willis is a humorous read about a hippo that has a red spot on his bottomus and none of the animals can figure it out. They each have their own idea of what it might be. I will not spoil it for you, but it is lighthearted and fun. 

Ribbit  (recommended for 3-7) by Rodrigo Folgueira is a sweet book about friendship with an unusual twist that will keeps kids on their toes. Great for teaching children about reaching out to make friends. 

The Robot Book  (recommended for 1-4) by Heather Brown is colorful, interactive and has a heart or at least the Robot does. This is a fun board book for littles, but my preschooler also loved it. 

Bread and Jam for Frances  (recommended for 4-8) by Russel Hoban will make you feel better if you have really picky eaters like I do. I tried so hard to feed them the very best as infants...lentil soup, green smoothies, quinoa and greek yogurt. This book keeps it real (with a ray of hope) and is fun for parent and child together. 

Ella Sets the Stage  (recommended for 4-8) by Carmela D'armico makes all of us feel better about what we do well, rather than what we don't do. I found it to be a great reminder as an adult and something I would like to reinforce in my children. There are a few Ella books, but I could not remember her name. I described one of her other books to the librarian and she couldn't think of it. Not even 5 minutes later, my 1 year old started haphazardly pulling books off the shelf and there was Ella. I had to include one of her books, it seemed serendipitous.  

Andrew Drew and Drew (recommended for 4-8) by Barney Saltzberg is interactive flap by flap. The drawings start as a line and as you open each flap the drawings grow and  and the drawings develop. My preschooler really loves to open the flaps for each drawing. It reminds me a little bit of Harold and the Purple Crayon, which I love. 

Fortune Cookies (recommended for 3-6) by Albert Bitterman had me hooked right at the title. I love fortune cookies, I even made a trip to a little factory in San Francisco to see the little old ladies making them. So fun! The book is fun, because you pull the little fortunes out of the cookies. The story line unfolds as each fortune comes true, but maybe not the way the little girl expected. 

Mr Tiger Goes Wild (recommended for 3-6) by Peter Brown has beautiful artwork, a playful story line and a good message. I saw @thelittlebookcollector list this on Instagram. I really love this book. I was raised in a home where we were reminded of manners often, including "shoulders back," and sometimes it just seemed more comfortable to eat with my elbow on the table. I loved Mr. Tiger and his boredom with being so proper. 

If I Built a Car (recommended for 5-8) by Chris Van Dusen let's a child's imagination run. As I listen to my preschooler chatter nonstop, sometimes I wonder what is real and what is play for him. His imagination is exploding in a wonderful way. I think he loved this book for that reason. If you built a car, what would it be like? 

Happy reading aloud!

Elizabeth

What's Your Library Have to Offer?

In the Salt Lake Library mission statement it says, "The mission .... is to make a positive difference in the lives of our customers by responsively providing materials, information and services..." 

When was the last time you stopped by the circulation desk to find out what other resources your library has for you besides shelves and shelves of books to look through? This past visit, I took a few minutes to check out some of the resources. Utah's first lady, Jeanette Herbert, has a summer reading program for children. She included several great resources for parents. The first is a color coded calendar of age appropriate activities to do with kids that will help encourage reading. Here is an example of what August looks like.

She also has a recommended book list for K-6 broken out by each grade. There are printable bookmarks with the goal of reading 20 minutes a day. When it is all filled in, you will have read 1200 minutes.

Libraries offer free book clubs, story times, craft days, read-a-thons, art classes, puppet shows, and many other fun activities to help you and your child read together.

Here are some of Utah's local library pages so you can see what events may be happening near you:

Salt Lake Library

Logan Library

Sandy Library

American Fork Library

Orem Library

Provo Library

Springville Library

Spanish Fork Library

Uintah County Library (Vernal)

Washington Country Library (St. George)

Grand County Library (Moab)

What kind of resources does your library have? 

Cheers, Elizabeth

What's in your library bag?

End-of-school year craziness is almost over and hopefully you are just about to sink into a more flexible summer schedule complete with sunscreen, a beach towel and a few good books. If you are looking for ways to get out of the heat, check out your library's event calendar. There are usually several events each week. 

Here is a list of some of the events my library is hosting: Donuts with Dad Storytime, Discovering Dinosaurs, Saturday Morning Composers, Summer Reading Kickoff Party and Babysitter Bootcamp. What types of events does your library host? 

*Library Tip: Schedule your next library visit around a class, story time, or puppet show to complete your outing.

Here are a few favorites from my library bag this month. See the end of this post for a library card to make checking them out really simple. 

Moo, Baa, La La La  This book has been a favorite from the time my children crawl. Of course you have to make all the sounds, only silliness allowed. My 3 year old is now reading this (from memorization) to our almost 1 year old.

The Day the Crayons Quit The crayons are all writing to Duncan to explain their gripes of how difficult life can be as a crayon - based on their color and his use of them. It is so fun!!

Thumbelina This Hans Christen Anderson tale is a wonderful classic. Sylvia longs watercolor illustrations are unique and interesting. I haven't checked out other versions yet to say which has the most beautiful illustrations. Let me know if you have a favorite version. 

Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia It is baseball season. If you have children that are learning the sport, this will entertain in the usual Amelia Bedelia style.

Those Darn Squirrels Old Man Fookwire builds some birdfeeders and fills them with yummy seeds and berries. Then he has some unexpected visitors, the squirrels, that have their own fun plans.

Harry by the Sea This can be found as a standalone book or in a trilogy* called "Harry the Dirty Dog." Harry's owners spend a day at the beach and Harry has quite an adventure as a wave covers him with seaweed and he is mistaken for a "bushy backed sea slug."    *All three books in the trilogy are excellent.

Truckery Rhymes If you have little boys that love all things wheels, this will be a new go to book. Warning: you may forget how the actual nursery rhymes go for a few months. This book is packed with nursery rhymes adapted to characters such as Monster Max (a monster truck) or Wrecker Rosie (a wrecking crane).

Can you see what I see? Seymour makes new friends: Picture puzzles to search and solve

This "I Spy" style book is great, because it has a side bar with pictures of what the kids need to find. It is so age appropriate. I love having activity oriented books in the mix. It would also be great for road trips.

Pinwheel This book has a nice rhythm to is AND is visually interesting AND interactive. You spin these little wheels to see the images come alive. Great board book that is also interesting to preschoolers.

Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb "One thumb, one thumb, drumming on a drum. Hum, ditty, hum, ditty, dum dum dum." The cadence of this book will practically have you singing the moment you start. It is fun to read and you will also happen to memorize it:)

What are some of your favorite library books this month? 

Happy reading, 

Elizabeth

What's in your library bag?

I love reading with my children, it is usually a relaxing activity where they need nothing besides a nice snuggle and a good book. We read several times a day - almost always before nap/quiet time and bedtime.  So, we cycle through a lot of books. We enjoy regular trips to the library and we typically come home with a stack of at least 15 books. Often, I feel lucky if we like 4 or 5 of the books from the pile. Here is a tip that has changed our library visits.

Library Tip: Go online and reserve your books ahead of time. That way, you can pull your stack of books from the hold shelf and enjoy a search free outing. At that point, you and your children can look through the stacks together without the pressure of finding just the right book. My local library will hold books up to 7 days.

Here is a list of delicious reads to give you a jump-start!

Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Rosenthal (age 4-8 years)
It's a Duck, no it's a rabbit... My three year old and I play a version of Duck Rabbit in the car quite regularly.

Ava's Poppy by Marcus Pfister (2 and up)
It is about a cute little red-head and has beautiful art, so I am biased. It is a sweet story of spring.

Press Here  by Tullet Herve (2 and up)
To be completely honest, I liked reading this the first 2 times....but my three year old enjoyed it every time.

Wink: the ninja who wanted to be noticed by J.C. Phillips (3-5 years)
Wink is a thoughtful story of becoming who you are, not necessarily what everyone thinks you should be.

The Wall by Eve Bunting (4-8 years)
Since Memorial Day is this month, this book will be a good way to talk about the holiday. It is about a visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which happens to be one of my favorite memorials.

If You Give a Dog a Donut by Laura Numeroff (4-8 years)
I love donuts! This book is a string of adventure between a dog and a boy.

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey (3 and up)
I grew up picking berries and visiting Maine so this book has a wonderful nostalgic feel for me. U pick berry season is just around the corner.

Otis by Loren Long (3-5 years)
Otis will win your heart over. The illustrations are whimsical and beautiful AND the story is fun to read - putt, putt, puttedy chuff. Can you hear the little tractor?

Fables by Arnold Lobel (4-8 years)
This was a surprise for me. My 3 year old loved the stories, I would not have thought of introducing fables this young, but they were a hit.

Maisy Goes on Vacation by Lucy Cousins (3-7 years)
This is a light, easy read. It is a simple preview of going on vacation, and it is definitely that time of year!

I hope this list makes your next library trip "the best ever" (as my 3 year old would say). Happy Reading!!

Warmly, Elizabeth

15 Minutes to Raise a Reader



Photo credit: Becky Kimball Photography

Every parenting book. Every doctor. Every teacher. They all have the same advice: READ WITH YOUR KIDS EVERYDAY.

Yet… no matter how many times they tell me, I still see days where I tuck those tired, little bodies into bed without a book in sight. We all do it! This is real life. It is a challenge to find time EVERY day to get your kids in a book with you.

Today, Delicious Readers, I am asking you to accept that challenge. Read everyday.

More than ever, our littles need reading time with their parents or siblings.  Tablets, Netflix, video games… none of these come CLOSE to matching the benefits of a few minutes of reading with your child.  Let’s chat more about those benefits for a moment, shall we?

* Reading is the number one way to help children acquire language skills

* Reading teaches kids how to learn- it prepares their minds for MORE

* Reading time is bonding time. A cozy, focused moment in the middle of a distracted day.

* Reading allows kids to problem solve, anticipate emotions, develop reasoning skills, and empathize.

* Reading requires kids to see, taste, smell, hear, and feel things in their minds. It flexes their imagination muscles.

* Reading introduces kids to science, history, geography, art, and people.

Now let’s chat the downsides to reading, shall we?

*There are NONE! This was a trick.

I remember settling down every day to read little board books with my 6-month-old baby. She was my first and I was determined to make sure she loved reading as much as I did. I would get cozy, hold her tight, and softly read through the pages.  Oh, I loved those moments! So enjoyable. So fulfilling. So… quiet.

Fast forward a few years and those cozy moments have been replaced with frantic days of bouncing a newborn while chasing a toddler while negotiating with my oldest to PUT THE SCISSORS DOWN.  Finding reading time for me these days has been rough. I say we will do it before bed…. but then we are out late and they are all asleep in the car. I say we will do it before naps… but I have laundry mildewing in the washer. I say we will do it in the afternoon… but I have locked myself in the bathroom with a snickers bar and a Diet Dr. Pepper to stay sane.

I’ve got excuses for days.

So, for your benefit AND mine, here are some ways we are going to get back into our reading routine this month:

I am putting these into practice this next month and I want to hear how you are doing in your own efforts! Keep me posted on how it is going and be sure to let me in on YOUR ideas to get reading everyday!

See you next time when we will be chatting audiobooks for your littles!