Children's Book Monday

The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel
by: Thornton W. Burgess









This is one book in a whole line of tales about various woodland and pond creatures. These were first recommended to me through "Little Hearts for His Glory" and the children and I have enjoyed each and every book over the past year that we have been reading them.
The chapters are short but jam-packed full of adventure. We are currently reading about Chatterer and it has been our favorite so far.
As you can imagine this little red squirrel gets into a bundle of trouble but manages to learn little bits of character along the way. I have been using these books instead of Aesop's Fables for Alissa and Thomas to narrate from and they enjoy sharing in and retelling all the silly capers our little friend gets into.
I also like that these are nature stories and helps bring to life the animals that we see around town and our yard. They've even named one of the squirrels that frequents our bird feeders "Chatterer".
If you have an avid intermediate reader these books will fit the bill well for length of chapters and interesting topics.




Want more? See Elise's Blog here.

Children's Book Monday

Tumble Bumble
by: Felicia Bond

This is such a fun and adorable book about the adventure of ten hapless animals. I remember reading this book to my twins when they were itty-bitty but had forgotten about it until our last library trip when I happened to "tumble" upon it again.
Felicia Bond is the illustrator of "If you give a mouse a cookie" and "If you give a moose a muffin" so you will find her adorable illustrations familiar.
This book is especially nice for the 3 and under crowd. The text is short and sweet and the characters full of tumbles and bumbles.
So on your next library trip be sure to check this delightful book out and see for yourselves what happens when "A tiny bug goes for a walk".

For more book reviews go to Elise's blog.

Children's Book Monday

The Water Hole
by: Graeme Base


This author brought back memories from childhood when my siblings and I fought and devoured his book The Eleventh Hour.

But this book is geared toward younger kids and is a counting book. Spectacular illustrations cover each and every page with vivid colors and amazing animals. At the center of everyone's attention is the water hole which is cut out and as you progress through the book it keeps shrinking until there is none left.......and then it rains! What is unique about this book is that with each new number (up to 10) and each page the animals are from a different part of the world. You travel from South America to India, from rivers and ponds to the deserts of Australia. Also unique to all of Graeme Base's books are the hidden animals in the background of the pictures. My kids are a bit too young to pick up on some of them but it's fun for older kids and adults to ferret them out. We all enjoyed drinking in the beautiful colors and scenes from this book and even my 3yo was enthralled with the shrinking water pool:)
Graeme Base has several other books that are well worth checking out.

Don't miss checking out A Path Made Straight for more great book ideas!

Children's Book Monday

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear
Don and Audrey Woods



This is one of my absolute favorites since I was young. It is also a fav of each of my children. Our poor board book copy is dog-eared from reading over and over again with each of our five children. Others by this married duo are great reading as well.

Don't forget to check out Elise's blog for more great recommendations!

Children's Book Monday

ROXABOXEN
by: Alice McLerran
Illustrated by: Barbara Cooney



This book came recommended for reading from Ambleside Online and while the name seemed a bit odd I went in search of it and finally caught it while it was checked in a the library.
It took only a few page flips to know that my children and I would love this book. So far I've only gotten it read to my oldest dd and as she is a little duplicate of me she was thoroughly enchanted by the imaginative adventures of the children in the town of ROXABOXEN.
I have a feeling that it won't be long before my children will be playing their very own version of Roxaboxen town in our basement and backyard.
And since I'm a bit lazy and tired tonight I'll borrow the review given about it from Amazon.com.

"This treasure of a story is about magic--the ordinary magic that every child understands: imagination. It is also a story about a treasured place: a child's imaginary town named Roxaboxen. The rules are simple: you make them up as you go along according to the whim of the day or the personality of the residents. In Roxaboxen, "Marian was mayor, of course; that was just the way she was. Nobody minded." The rules don't even have to be consistent--as long as they make sense. Speeding was not allowed by car but "ah, if you had a horse, you could go as fast as the wind . . . All you needed for a horse was a stick and some kind of bridle." With a true child's voice, McLerran uses just the right phrase or word to make the town and its residents spring clearly off the page. Cooney's brightly colored illustrations done in her classic and recognizable style etch the town and its inhabitants indelibly on the page as well as in the mind's eye. Her soft, personable little figures give the town and its story just the right feeling. This book celebrates how children and their imaginations make fanciful things become magically real and make them last forever. Don't miss it."

Children's Book Monday

The Hat
by: Jan Brett




Another absolutely delightful book from Jan Brett has become a favorite in our household. The Hat is meant to be a companion to The Mitten and shares many similarites.

As a bookworm mom I am always on the lookout for books that will provide a good storyline, entertainment and beautiful pictures. This book meets and exceeds all of those! I also enjoy finding books that I love to read to my kids as much as they love hearing it, lol, and let's face those can be hard to find at times.
In The Hat Lisa is getting ready for winter by hanging out her woolen clothes on the line to air, but what will happen when she loses one of her socks and a curious hedgehog finds it?
Silliness abounds among the animals as they try to keep up with the fashionable hedgehog while all Hedgie is concerned about is removing his unsightly apparel.

My children thoroughly enjoy looking at the luminous paintings in each of Jan Brett's books and it is so much fun to watch what is going on in each of the windows at the sides and top of the main picture.

For more excellent recommendations for reading visit A Path Made Straight.

And if you haven't already found Jan Brett's website it is a must to visit. She has a ton of activities and games to go along with the characters in her books.

How to draw Hedgie

Matching Animals Game

Children's Book Monday

Seven Loaves of Bread
by Ferida Wolff & Katie Keller





What a delightfully fun time we had reading this book. Even Wesley enjoyed it and sat still while I was reading it to them. It did help that he was on the "potty chair" at the time, lol.

It is the story of two sisters Milly & Rose (who only works as hard as she has to). Milly displays generosity, kindness, and love to those around her by baking seven loaves of bread every morning and giving them to the people and animals in her life who help her out. But what happens when Milly gets sick and Rose must take over the farm?
Rose learns from trial and error that to give is to receive and that sometimes the less we work the harder our work gets.
My children loved looking at the bright, detailed pictures and enjoyed this character filled story of the benefit of working hard and being kind to those around us.