Search Results for: blog a cautionary tale

Guess How Much I Love You – Sam McBratney

There seem to be more books about mothers and children than fathers and children. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney is a fun exception, with a little male competition. The story is about two rabbits, Little Nutbrown Hare and his father, Big Nutbrown Hare. Little Nutbrown Hare holds onto his father’s long ears to make sure he’s listening. He wants his father to guess how much he loves him. His father says he doesn’t think he could guess that. Little Nutbrown Hare stretches out his arms as wide as possible and tells his father he loves him … Continue reading →

Graduation—Part Two—the Paperwork!

I wrote yesterday about the challenges of organizing and negotiating around family dynamics during graduation time. While this is definitely a consideration, for many of us, we first have to wade through the miles of paperwork, forms, and write those checks in order to get our child graduated an on to the next adventure. I confessed yesterday that I have two of my three children who are graduating and moving on this spring. I cannot count the times I have wondered how much easier it would be to manage one graduation, one college application, one financial aid process, etc. instead … Continue reading →

“More More More”, Said the Baby – Vera B. Williams

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“More More More”, Said the Baby: Three Love Stories is a great book for the littlest book lover. This Caldecott Honor book by Vera B. Williams captures those special, silly, tender moments between toddlers and the people that love them. My own boys loved this book when they were little. It’s silly. It’s about those moments when a toddler runs away and you catch them and kiss their sweet little bellies and toes. Re-reading it now for this review, the book struck me as kind of intimate. My boys are way past the stage of toe kisses and no longer … Continue reading →

Owen – Kevin Henkes

Ah, the special attachment to a childhood blanket. In the Caldecott Honor winning book Owen, by Kevin Henkes, Owen is a young mouse that has had a fuzzy yellow blanket ever since he was a baby. “Fuzzy” goes wherever Owen goes, upstairs, downstairs, inside and out. Since Fuzzy likes whatever Owen likes, Fuzzy also has stains like juice, chocolate milk, and applesauce cake. Everything is fine for Owen and Fuzzy until their next door neighbor, Mrs. Tweezers, tells Owen’s parents that Owen is too old to be carrying around that blanket. That night Owen’s parents tell him that he puts … Continue reading →

Close to You – Kimiko Kajikawa

Animal parents and their young have unique ways of bonding. In Close to You: How Animals Bond, by Kimiko Kajikawa, beautiful photos of animal parents and babies are paired with charming text. The reader is treated to cuddling polar bears, a kangaroo in its mother’s pouch, an alligator baby being carried in mom’s mouth, caressing manatees, a baby penguin balancing on a parent’s toes, and more. Children love to look at animals, especially baby animals. This would be a sweet book for bedtime stories. The text is simple enough for very young children. I would also recommend it for early … Continue reading →

Why Dads Everywhere Should Do Bath Time

No. . .I don’t mean stinky dads should take a bath. Although I suppose that is a true statement. But bath time is the ideal bonding time with baby. Maybe I’m biased, because this has always been my husband’s job. However, we have found it to be a great opportunity for dad to get in on the act of bonding. Some of you have posted questions, or send me a PM asking how you can get your husband more involved with the baby. This is my answer: bath time. Skin to Skin Contact Skin to skin contact is essential for … Continue reading →

Snowflake Bentley – Jacqueline Briggs Martin

How do you study snowflakes when they keep melting? Winner of the 1999 Caldecott Medal, Snowflake Bentley is a biography of a boy who figures out a way to share snowflakes with the world. It’s a story of persistence and problem solving. William Bentley was born in 1865, in the time “ when farmers worked with ox and sled and cut the dark with lantern light”. The illustrations are prints from carved woodblocks. They are perfect at invoking the simpler time period of this story. As a young farm boy, Bentley studied all kinds of things in nature, but most … Continue reading →

Media Week in Review February 4th- 10th

From new technology to picture books to craft books – make sure you didn’t miss any of our great media reviews. For suspense try Hazardous Duty by Betsy Brannon Green, the story of a young widow who has to ask an old boyfriend for help in finding her daughter. Historical fiction readers should try a finalist for the Whitney award, Upon the Mountains by Gale Sears. This final book in the series is the story of a family torn apart at the end of World War I. Science Fiction readers will enjoy Pretties by Scott Westerfield. It’s the story of … Continue reading →

Don’t Take Your Snake for a Stroll – Karin Ireland

“Don’t Take Your Snake for a Stroll” is a cautionary tale about the proper care and keeping of pets, and the activities that are the most appropriate for them. For instance, it’s highly recommended that you not take your pig to the mall. He’ll just play in the planters. Elephants, when taken to the beach, require so much suntan lotion, it’s hardly worth your time. Don’t take your snake out walking where others can see it. You’ll have little old ladies climbing light posts to get out of your way, which is embarrassing and more than a little bit uncomfortable … Continue reading →

Media Week in Review – January 28th-February 2nd

Did you have a busy week and miss some of the great blogs here in Media Reviews? That’s okay—this summary will get you caught up to speed. We started with the week with a review of “Beyond the Horizon,” the debut novel of LDS author Judy C. Olsen. She writes of six generations of men ranging from the era of Joseph Smith down to our present day, and the lessons each of them learned. “Mr. Gumpy’s Outing” is about a proper English gentleman who agrees to take a young boy, girl, and a whole menagerie with him on his boat. … Continue reading →