The PBS Reading Activity Calendar

When my daughter was younger I often heard the words "what can I do now?" or "I'm boooooored!" Thankfully, at the grand age of almost ten, she always has more than enough things to do to keep her busy and engaged. If you have a child at home who needs something to do, then I suggest you take a look at the PBS (Public Broadcasting Company) website. Many children love the television programs that PBS creates, and now they can enjoy the same entertaining and educational material online as well. 


The PBS KIDS website goes beyond just providing great entertainment for children. It also has some excellent educational components that focus on "raising readers."You can find these on PBS KIDS Island. In this area you will find:

• A place where children can play educational games and win prizes for free. 
• Information about a writing contest for children who are between 6 and 8/9 years of age. 
• The PBS KIDS Stories and Reading Activities - This is a great area that parents and children can visit every day. There is a Reading Activity Calendar, stories and videos, and printables. I particularly like the Reading Activity Calendar. Here is some information about the calendar from the website 

Wondering what to do with your child today? Whether you’re at home, at school, or out running errands, use the Reading Activity Calendar to find fun, simple ways to make reading a part of your every day life. Flip through the calendar above for ideas, activities, and silly holidays to celebrate together. The calendar is available in Spanish and in a printable version.

• The PBS KIDS Island area is also full of resources for parents, caregivers, and teachers to help them to incorporate books and reading into their children's lives .  
• There is also a section about literacy and literacy research. 

Seven Days of Picture Books - Day Seven

For the last day of the TTLG Seven Days of Picture Books, I have chosen to review a charming new title about a mystery, expectations, and friendship. 

Hugo and the really, really, really long string

Bob Doyle

Picture Book

Ages 3 to 6

Random House, 2010, 978-0-375-83423-3

   Hugo is a “happy little guy” who lives in a little house on top of hill with his dog Biscuit. One morning Hugo is looking out of the window when he sees a red string snaking across the grass. Convinced that there is “something wonderful at the other end of it,” Hugo sets off to see where the string goes.

   Hugo follows the string “through the trees, down a hill, across a river,” until he comes to a hole that Mrs. Mole has dug. Being a very friendly fellow, Hugo invites Mrs. Mole to come with him, and he promises to share whatever he finds with his “newfound friend.”

   The two friends follow the string down, along, and up in some underground tunnels until they pop out of a manhole in the middle of the street, right at the feet Mr. Alligator Police! Though Mr. Alligator looks rather fierce, Mrs. Mole and Hugo invite him to join them in their adventure, and they promise to share whatever they find at the end of the string with their “newfound friend.”

   Little children are sure to enjoy this amusing story, and they will certainly have a good laugh when they see what is at the end of Hugo’s mystery string. Though his find might not live up to his expectations, the ‘treasure’ that he gathers during his journey more than makes up for it. 

Seven Days of Picture Books - Day Six

One of the things that I love about Ashland, Oregon, is that the young girls here seem to be comfortable with who they are. They play soccer, they take special science classes, they write books, and they make it clear to everyone that they are capable of doing anything they put their minds to. Below is a review that perfectly captures their 'girl power' spirit.

Not all princesses dress in pink

Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple

Illustrated by Anne-Sophie Lanquetin

Picture Book

Ages 4 to 6

Simon and Schuster, 2010, 978-1-4169-8018-6

You might be under the impression that all princesses wear pink dresses with matching elegant shoes, and that they spend their days doing elegant (and probably very boring) things so that their clothes stay pristine. Clearly you have not met the kinds of princesses who live a more active and modern lifestyle.

   These princesses play soccer wearing cleats “with shin guards and some baggy shorts.” They happily play with a dog, getting filthy in the process. Some princesses like to ride a bike wearing a helmet, and knee and elbow protectors. Should they find themselves locked in a “stony tower,” they escape using their wits and their not inconsiderable strength. Perhaps you think that none of these activities are very princess-like, but every one of these young ladies runs, works, and plays with a sparkly tiara on her head!

    This amusing and meaningful picture book will delight girls who, like these princesses, are not afraid to be themselves. These princesses celebrate their intelligence and their athleticism. They embrace “girl power,” which is something every girl out there should feel comfortable doing.

   With delightful rhymes and amusing illustrations, this is a picture book that every young girl should read. 

Seven Days of Picture Books - Day Five

For today's picture book I chose a book that arrived in the mail only a few days ago. Readers who enjoy exploring art that is full of details and action will enjoy this title.

Oops!

Jean-Luc Fromental 

Illustrated by Joelle Jolivet

Picture Book

Ages 6 and up

Abrams, 2010, 978-0-8109-8749-4

   A family is going on vacation, and just before they leave the house Aunt Roberta – who is taking care of the family pets in their absence – announces that she cannot find her glasses. She says that she needs her glasses so that she can take her shower, and without them she cannot see what she is doing! The family members do their best to find Aunt Roberta’s glasses, but in the end, they have to leave for the airport. Hopefully Aunt Roberta will not slip on the soap in the shower.

   What the family doesn’t realize until much later is that Aunt Roberta does in fact lose the soap when she is in the shower. It flies out of the window and into the street, and it sets a series of accidents in motion. What happens is this. The soap flies out into the street and it causes a postman to swerve across the road. This causes the taxi that the family are traveling in to crash into a tree and a traffic light control box. The family is  forced, at a run, to try to find another way to get to the airport. Of course, because the traffic light control box is damaged, all the lights in the area go mad and a huge traffic jam fills the streets. This gives a thief the perfect opportunity to rob a bank, and so it goes on. Each new mishap sets another mishap in motion. Who knew an escaping bar of soup could cause so much fuss

   Readers of all ages are sure to enjoy this large format picture book. The illustrations are packed with often deliciously funny details, and readers will get completely caught up in the misadventures of this family.

   At the back of the book there is a page showing “The chain of catastrophes.” As they look at this, readers will be able to see how one catastrophe leads to another. If you think you caught everything after the first reading, think again and have another try!

This author and illustrator have teamed up to create several other delightful and enormously successful books including 365 Penguins and Panorama: A Foldout Book

   

Seven Days of Picture Books - Day Four

I have always been fascinated by insects, so when I took this book out of its box not long ago I knew that it was going be a book that I was going to like. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book is not only about insects and bug love, but is also about books. What a perfect combination. 

The Gentleman Bug

Julian Hector

Picture Book

Ages 4 to 6

Simon and Schuster, 2010, 978-1-4169-9467-1

   Gentleman Bug lives in the bug town in the Garden. He loves to read almost more than anything, and he is a teacher. Some of the bugs like to tease Gentleman Bug about his reading habits, but he doesn’t really mind too much. Then one day the charming and quite lovely Lady Bug arrives in the Garden. Gentleman Bug likes her the minute he sees her, but she doesn’t “even notice him.”
   The Gentleman Bug decides that he needs to clean up his appearance, and with the help of his students, he turns himself into a very dapper looking fellow.  That evening Gentleman Bug goes to Pollen Hill, the popular nightspot, and everyone is impressed by his new look – except Lady Bug.

   In this delightful picture book, Julian Hector has created a whimsical bug-centric world that children are sure to like. His charmingly simple story will delight young insect lovers, and its bibliophilic ending is perfect.

Seven Days of Picture Books - Day Three

Adults often look back on their childhood with nostalgia, remembering care-free days and uncomplicated days. Not surprisingly we tend to forget that children have their problems too. They have to find ways to fit in, ways to get along with others, and they have to find that elusive "happy with who I am and what I am" place. The picture book I have reviewed today takes a look at how one little girl comes to terms with the fact that being "la-di-da" might not be as wonderful as she thinks it is.

Louise the big Cheese and the La-di-da shoes

Elise Primavera

Illustrated by Diane Goode

Picture Book

Ages 6 to 8

Simon and Schuster, 2010, 978-1-4169-7181-8

   Louise Cheese lives in an ordinary sort of town, and she has ordinary parents who are quite happy being themselves and looking like themselves. Louise, on the other hand, wants to be and look like a “big cheese.” Unfortunately, instead of having glamorous clothes to wear, Louise is stuck with a skirt that has a “stretched-out elastic waist,” and brown lace-up shoes that squeak when she walks. Louise asks to borrow her big sister’s “black patent leather pumps with sparkles on the toes,” but she is told that they are for “la-di-da occasions.” Louise would love to have la-di-da occasions in her life

   Then at last, Louise’s mother announces that she is going to take Louise shoe shopping. If Louise can only get some la-di-da shoes, then the kids at school will think that she is a real “big cheese!” When Louise’s mother chooses a pair of brown lace up shoes with rubber soles Louise is devastated. She is even more upset when she goes to school and sees that her friend Fern is wearing a pair of patent leather pumps with sparkles on the toes. How can this be happening?

   Most girls at some point wish that they could be famous, glamorous, or popular. They want to be something other than what they are, just like Louise. As they read this book, readers will come to realize that being who you are isn’t that bad, and sometimes having what you think you want isn’t as much fun as you thought it would be.

   With lots of humor and wonderfully amusing illustrations throughout, this picture book addresses an important issue in a unique way. 

The Children's Choice Book Award winners have been announced

"The Children's Book Council (CBC) in association with Every Child a Reader, Inc. (the CBC Foundation), announced the winners of the third annual Children's Choice Book Awards at a gala in New York City last evening. Children across the country voted for their favorite books, author, and illustrator at bookstores, school libraries, and at www.BookWeekOnline.com, casting over 115,000 votes.


The Children's Choice Book Awards program, launched in 2008 by The Children's Book Council (CBC) in association with Every Child a Reader, Inc. (the CBC Foundation), was created to provide young readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions about the books being written for them and to help develop a reading list that will motivate children to read more and cultivate a love of reading." 

The winners are:

Kindergarten to 2nd Grade book of the year: Lulu the Big Little Chick
3rd Grade to 4th Grade book of the year: Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute
5th Grade to 6th Grade book of the year: Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
Teen choice book of the year: Catching Fire
Author of the year: James Patterson for Max
Illustrator of the year: Peter Brown for The Curious Garden

Seven Days of Picture Books - Day Two

During Children's Book Week and Reading is Fun week, I will be reviewing a picture book every day. Here is the second picture book review for the Through the Looking Glass Nine Days of Picture Books event. I chose this book because the artwork is so delightful, and because the story has a magical element that is quite unique. 

A most Vivid Day

Justin Young

Picture Book

Ages 4 to 8

Golden Tree Press, 2010, 978-0-9785418-1-1
   One night a bat called Tommy goes with the other bats to find his daily meal. Tommy finds an apple tree, and he is just about to take a big bite out of one of the apples when a caterpillar tells him that the apple is not ripe. “You should pick a ripe apple that is a delicious red color,” says the caterpillar. The problem is that Tommy has no idea what red is. Being an animal of the night, he has never seen colors before, and he is not convinced that the caterpillar is telling the truth.

   Tommy decides to stay up to see what color is, and when the sun rises, he sees, for the first time, what blue, green, red, and orange looks like. Everything the sun paints with his paintbrush gets a color that delights the eye. The sun not only paints the sky, the flowers, and the grass, but he also paints all the animals, and Tommy decides that he too would like to have a color; he would like to be red!

   Children are sure to enjoy this story, which explores the idea that beauty truly is all around us. In addition, the author looks at the ways in which problems can be solved amicably if people will just be civil and generous towards each other.

   Full of gorgeous watercolor paintings that are bright and full of life, this book is sure to become a bedtime reading favorite. 

A picture book a day for Children's Book Week and Reading is Fun Week

The next seven days days are special in the children's book world because Children's Book Week is from May 10th to May 16th and Reading is Fun Week is from May 9th through 16th. In celebration of these days, I am going to post a review of a picture book every day. I chose picture books because it gives me the opportunity to enjoy reading and reviewing some of the treasures that I have sitting on my shelves. I hope you will join me every day for this Seven Days of Picture Books event.

Here is today's picture book review:

The Red Chalk

Iris van der Heide

Illustrated by Marije Tolman

Picture Book

Ages 5 to 7

Boyds Mills Press, 2006, 978-1-932425-79-6

   Sara has a stick of red chalk and she tries to draw on the sidewalk with it, but the sidewalk is so bumpy that “none of her pictures turned out right.” Luckily for Sara, Tim is willing to trade his marbles for her “magic” chalk. Sara tells Tim that everything that he draws with the chalk “will come to life.” Not surprisingly, Tim is more than happy to make the trade.

   After playing with the marbles for just a short while, Sara decides that the marbles are “no fun at all.”  Down on the beach she sees Sam. Sam has a delicious looking red lollipop, and Sara soon comes up with a way to get Sam to trade her sweet treat for Sara’s marbles; Sara tells Sam that the marbles are “real pearls from the ocean,” and Sam is happy to trade her lollipop for the marbles. The problem is that Sam soon discovers that this trade isn’t going to work for her either.

   In this lovely picture book, the author tells a story that some children, and a few adults, will find familiar. Like Sara, many of us are always eager to have what someone else has. We don’t use our imaginations to see that we have right now has great potential. Marije Tolman compliments the text with deliciously emotive illustrations that are touched with humor, and that add a special magical dimension to the story. 

You can download a charming Children's Book Week bookmark here.When you open the page, right-click on the image and save it to your computer. Print the bookmark on heavy paper, then cut out around the dotted line. Then you can draw in your own favorite character and keep a list of your favorite books! Enjoy!

Children's Book Week is May 10th to May16th

This is what the folks on the Children's Book Week website had to say about this wonderful event:

Since 1919, Children's Book Week has been celebrated nationally in schools, libraries, bookstores, clubs, private homes -- any place where there are children and books. Educators, librarians, booksellers, and families have celebrated children's books and the love of reading with storytelling, parties, author and illustrator appearances, and other book-related events.

It all began with the idea that children's books can change lives. In 1913, Franklin K. Matthiews, the librarian of the Boy Scouts of America, began touring the country to promote higher standards in children's books. He proposed creating a Children's Book Week, which would be supported by all interested groups: publishers, booksellers, and librarians.

Mathiews enlisted two important allies: Frederic G. Melcher, the visionary editor of Publishers Weekly, and Anne Carroll Moore, the Superintendent of Children's Works at the New York Public Library and a major figure in the library world. With the help of Melcher and Moore, in 1916 the American Booksellers Association and the American Library Association cooperated with the Boy Scouts in sponsoring a Good Book Week.

In 1944, the newly-established Children's Book Council assumed responsibility for administering Children's Book Week. In 2008, Children’s Book Week moved from November to May. At that time, responsibility for Children’s Book Week, including planning official events and creating original materials, was transferred to Every Child a Reader, the philanthropic arm of the children’s publishing industry.

Also in 2008, the Children's Book Council created the Children's Choice Book Awards, the only national child-chosen book awards program, giving young readers a powerful voice in their own reading choices.

The need for Children’s Book Week today is as essential as it was in 1919, and the task remains the realization of Frederic Melcher’s fundamental declaration: “A great nation is a reading nation.”

You can find ideas for Children's Book Week on the CBW website here (for children) and here (for teens). Happy Children's Book Week.