Kids Book List, Theme: Gardening

Have I already said how much I love the library?  So much, that my library card is activated at 4 of the 8 library systems in the Twin Cities Metropolitan area.  Our libraries have an awesome "exchange program" type thing here - first you need to obtain a card from your home county's library system, but you can have it activated at any or all of the other library systems.  Since I work in one county, live in another, and regularly go to two other counties for various errands, this is very convenient because I can just stop at the library wherever I am at the moment.  And because I'm such a nerd, I know which library has the best children's section, the best selection of audiobooks, and the nicest librarians.  (Pssst, to my local friends - the librarians in the Anoka County library system are, in general, the crabbiest, most unhelpful librarians I've ever met.  And I've met a lot.)

 

I'm subscribed to various newsletters from each of the library systems.  One newsletter tells me about the new books the library has just added to their collection - which allows me to put my name on the wait list immediately, meaning I usually get to read the book within days of its release - without having to pay for a hardcover copy at the bookstore!  Another newsletter, my most favoritest newsletter ever, is called "Birth to Six News", which comes from the Hennepin County library.  It's a children's books newsletter that comes out once a month and includes fingerplays, new and notable books, and usually a section that highlights books on a certain topic. 

 

Also, on Hennepin County Library's website is ELSIE (Early Literacy Storytime Ideas Exchange).  You can search children's books based on a certain keyword, and limit your selection based on certain skill groups that you want to focus on, like Phonological Sensitivity, Letter Knowledge, and Vocabulary.  You don't even have to have a library card to use this system - anyone can use it to create a book list!  

 

Usually, the kids and I go to the library and choose books, willy-nilly, off the shelves.  But sometimes I have an agenda, and this month's agenda is "gardening".  Both kids have an intense interest in the garden, and have been helping me plant, water, and weed.  So far, neither one of them has pulled up a desirable plant, either.  But whether that speaks to their plant knowledge, or the weed/seeding ratio in my garden still remains to be seen.  Honestly, I'm betting on the weed/seedling ratio.

 

Here's my "gardening" booklist for this week:

 

The Carrot Seed - Ruth Krauss

Growing Vegetable Soup - Lois Ehlert

Ten Red Apples - Virginia Miller

Two Old Potatoes and Me - John Coy

Carrot Soup - John Segal

The Enormous Carrot - Vladimir Vasilevich Vagin

First the Egg - Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Muncha Muncha Muncha - Candace Fleming

Farm-Fresh Cats - Scott Santoro

Beyond the Birds and the Bees

We go to the library almost every Saturday, and check out a new bagful o' books.  About three weeks ago, we were heading to the checkout desk when Sam snagged this one off the shelf:

I was *this close* to telling him to put it back on the shelf, we had enough books already.  Thank goodness I didn't.

This book has been single-handedly responsible for giving me more free time in the past three weeks than I've had in the past three and a half years combined.  Well, if you count free time as ten-second intervals of silence in between requests to identify a bushbaby or a lesser red panda.  I've actually learned a lot, too.  Did you know that a black panther is actually just a regular old leopard, who happened to be born with black fur?   I don't know exactly when I'll use that tidbit, but you never know.  It may come in handy someday.

Who'd have thought the answer to all (well, one, but it was a big one) of my problems could be purchased for only $29.99?  (Actually, I'm going to be buying a used copy for much less, but I'd pay about 10 times the cover price if I had to.  Shhh...don't tell the seller.)

Book Review: Look Again

I recently finished Lisa Scottoline's newest book, Look Again.  I've read (and loved!) everything she's ever written, and this book was no exception.  Even though the ending was a bit too pat and the plot was a bit too implausible, I still loved it.  Scottoline is funny and clever, but unlike Janet Evanovich, whose Stephanie Plum books I stopped reading a few books back, Scottoline's books are always original.  (I used to love the Stephanie Plum series, but after the first ten books, I started to feel like I was reading the same book over and over again.  Then again, maybe I was.  My memory, like the old gray mare, ain't what she used to be.)

 

If you've read Lisa Scottoline before, you know that she normally writes legal fiction, and her books usually star the same case of characters.  Look Again was a total deviation from her regular formula.  The main character, Ellen, is facing the possibility of losing her 3-year-old son so I'm sure this book affected me more than it would affect someone else who doesn't have a 3-year-old son.  But you may not want to read the last 50 pages when you're, oh, riding a crowded passenger bus home from work.  Just sayin'. 

 

I was most excited to read on the inside flap of the cover that Lisa Scottoline has a weekly column that runs in the Philadelphia Inquirer.  If you're a die-hard fan, like I am, this column is worth adding to your reader.

Books, Books, Books

I love to read. But I'm also very frugal, so I don't usually buy books. Why pay $20 for a book that I'm going to be done with in 5 days, and probably never read again? I get all my books from the library, and I have a system so I get to read bestsellers almost as soon as they come out.

In the Twin Cities metro area, we have five different library systems - one for each county. Although your library card needs to originate from your home county, you can activate it at any or all of the metro library systems, so you have borrowing privileges everywhere. I work in one county, live in another, and live close to yet another, so I've activated my card at three of the library systems and I can access all of their websites. One of these libraries publishes a "new and upcoming fiction" newsletter about once a month, which is delivered to my email inbox. I scan the list for my favorite authors, and place holds on the books through my home library's website. Since these books are all months away from actual publication, I'm usually one of the first 5 people to request the book, so I get the book within a couple of weeks of its release.

The only problem with this is - whether because of publisher's release dates, or the library's process for obtaining new books - they tend to come in groups. Once a month, I usually end up with a stack all at once and then need to scramble to get them all read. This month is no exception, but I'm faced with an especially difficult choice.

You see, two of the books in this stack are bestsellers, which means a two-week loan period, with no renewals. I've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of both Scarpetta and The Hour I First Believed. And one book is 500 pages, and the other book is 750 pages. What's a girl to do? There's no way I'm going to get both of these books read in the next two weeks, especially with all the Christmas baking, decorating, shopping, and wrapping I need to be working on. Ah well, I'd better get cracking, because I'm sure going to try my best to finish them both.

Sibling Rivalry

I just finished reading Siblings Without Rivalry and I thought it was fantastic. There were a few no-nos that I have done with the kids, without realizing that they were no-nos. Labeling, for instance. I understand that unflattering labels aren't good, but I didn't realize that even flattering labels can cause damage. After reading the book, it makes perfect sense why that would be the case, but I honestly never thought about that before. An recent example of what not to do: a few days ago, I called Natalie "the caretaker", because of her love of stuffed animals and dolls, and also her newest hobby of helping people with their daily routines (brushing hair, washing in the tub, toothbrushing). Calling her a caretaker boxes her into that role, which she may not relish when she's older, but she will feel that she has to live up to that label. The other effect is that Sammy will think that role has already been filled, so there's no reason for him to show any caretaking behaviors. I'm probably not explaining it very well, but the book really was an eye-opener. There was only a small section that was directed towards parents of teenagers, but the rest of the book applies to kids of any age (and probably the younger, the better, since it's easier to start off on the right foot than it is to try to repair a damaged relationship later).

I think the things that I'm doing are making a difference already, although we still have our moments. A perfect example is last night. Sammy was hyper with tiredness (why? why do kids get hyper when they're tired, when I can hardly drag my butt off the couch?) and went tearing through the living room, as fast as he could run. When he passed Natalie, without breaking stride, he reached an arm out and grabbed her hand. This, of course, threw her off balance and she did a (very graceful, I might add) backwards flip. I guess all that getting pummeled by her brother has taught her to fall without getting hurt, because she didn't make a peep as she got back up and continued down the hall as if nothing had happened.

Other than that one incident, yesterday was a much better day. Sammy was back to his usual, pleasant-to-be-around self. I still don't know what was going on with him Wednesday, but I do have to say that I am quite proud of myself that I managed to keep it all together and not lose my temper with him. I always thought patience was an inborn trait, of which I had none, but I'm finding it's actually a learned skill. And who is a better teacher of patience than a two-year-old? I guess I should be thanking him.

Weekend Update

We had our town festival this past weekend, so the kids and I enjoyed the parade and the petting zoo on Saturday. Sammy gorged himself on parade candy, practically inhaling in his efforts to eat as much as he could before it was confiscated. I was surprised he didn't poop out any whole Tootsie Rolls yesterday. Sadly, about fifteen minutes before the parade was over, Ron put a stop to his all-you-can-eat buffet, and Sammy was devastated. Until he found an errant piece of candy and snuck off behind us to open and eat it. He almost got away with it, but Ron turned to see Sammy hunched over something, paying no attention to the parade, which was a dead giveaway.

The petting zoo was a hit with both kids. They had a good variety of animals - rabbits, chickens, a dog, horses, donkeys, a calf, and llamas - which prompted a recitation of Llama Llama, Red Pajama. Speaking of which, I am amazed at how that kid can memorize books. We get a new bag of library books each week, and by the end of the week, Sammy has his favorites memorized, almost word for word.

But I digress. The highlight of the day wasn't the parade, or the petting zoo, but a garage sale that we passed. I happened to notice that they had a Power Wheels jeep for sale, and I begged Ron to turn around. We'd been wanting to get a Power Wheels for the kids, but didn't want to pay full price (those things are expensive!). The jeep was marked at $75, but as it needed a new battery, they were willing to sell it to us for $50. The new battery cost another $50, but that $100 was worth every penny. The kids drove that jeep around for an hour last night, and we finally had to pry them out of it, kicking and screaming. Sammy needs to work on his steering a bit, though. The steering wheel is a bit hard to turn, so when he was coming up on an obstacle, he'd get out of the jeep and turn it by pulling on the front end. Whatever works, I guess.

Next time Sammy gets in trouble, I'm going to threaten to take his car keys away. I didn't think I'd be able to use that leverage for about 13 more years.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Part II: The Evil Within

We own a copy of the children's classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, in which the caterpillar eats his way through all sorts of food items, including swiss cheese, cherry pie, and a pickle. He ends up with a tummyache, eats a big green leaf, and feels much better.

In real life, I have only ever seen caterpillars eat leaves. Until last night.

I was outside with Natalie, picking up the yard after our family squirt gun fight earlier in the afternoon. I heard a frantic wing-flapping in the grass, and saw a dragonfly struggling. As I parted the grass to see what he was caught on, I saw that a caterpillar had wrapped itself around the dragonfly's body and was attempting to eat the dragonfly. As I came to realize what horror was going on in front of my eyes, the dragonfly stopped struggling. I think I will be scarred for life over witnessing that scene. I know, circle of life and all that, but I prefer not to witness a predator killing his prey.

But, seriously. Caterpillars eat dragonflies? What the...? I've always thought of caterpillars as benign creatures, not dragonfly killers.

Books

Every Saturday morning that we're in town, we take the kids to the library. The one we go to has a great kids' section, with lots of toys in addition to the books. The kids love to climb in and out of the fire engine - just large enough for the two kids to sit in - and take turns wearing the firefighter's helmet. I always like to put on a puppet show for the kids, using some of the many puppets the library has on hand for their weekly storytime. And, of course, we read books while snuggled into a bean bag chair.


Sammy, being all boy, is going through a tractor/truck/train phase right now. So this past week, we collected about a dozen books on various forms of transportation to check out. His favorite? Garbage Trucks. We had to read that book about 5 times at the library, and another 5 times that evening when we got home. And, every night before bed, he's requested that book.

On Sunday, Natalie and I were home alone for a little while. She was crawling around on the floor, exploring and playing with toys, while I read the newspaper on the couch. Soon, I saw her little head pop up as she pulled herself up on the couch to say "hi". Then I saw she had a book clutched in her hand - The ABC's of Cookies, starring Cookie Monster. "Ah-bah!" she said excitedly, waving the book around. "Do you want to read that book?" I asked, and she nodded her head, squirming in anticipation.

It's so rewarding to see that my effort to instill the love of books in them seems to be paying off. I can only hope that they continue to enjoy reading as much as they do right now.

So true...sigh

If you have a preschooler, odds are you've read this book. Awhile back, a friend forwarded me this email, written in the same style. All I could think as I read it, was - did this lady hide cameras in my couch cushions?

If you give a mom a muffin, she'll want a cup of coffee to go with it. She'll pour herself some. Her two-year-old will spill the coffee. She'll wipe it up. Wiping the floor, she will find dirty socks. She'll remember she has to do laundry. When she puts the laundry in the washer, she'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer. Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper. She will get out a pound of hamburger. She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With A Pound Of Hamburger.) The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail. She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow. She will look for her checkbook. The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old. She'll smell something funny. She'll change the two-year-old. While she is changing the two-year-old the phone will ring. Her five-year-old will answer and hang up. She'll remember that she wants to phone a friend to come for coffee. Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup. She will pour herself some. And chances are, if she has a cup of coffee, her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

by Kathy Fictorie, based on "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff