children’s lit – Page 13

Lily goes through favorite toys like a whirlwind. This week, she has been sleeping with a small pink pony that a good friend gave her. She also sleeps with Mary, the bear that she made. Who knows how long they will be the favorites, poor things?

A couple of years ago, her favorite was White Bunny. Not to be confused with Pink Bunny. White Bunny went everywhere with us. To the grocery store, to Grandma’s, to the park to be hurtled down the slide. Well, one day we took White Bunny to the library. We played with White Bunny in the children’s section, and then we walked up the stairs to the grown-up section. (You know, where there are adult books. When I labeled a box “adult books,” as opposed to “children’s books,” when I was moving, I never heard the end of it. Ha, ha.)

We were on a mission: to locate computer manuals for Ed. These computer books he wanted me to check out for him had, like, a gazillion pages. So I finally found the fifty or so books Ed wanted, with Lily trailing behind me, amusing herself among the stacks.

That night, around Lily’s bedtime, guess what? You already knew what was coming about ten sentences ago, didn’t you? White Bunny was nowhere to be found. Hysterics ensued. I called the library, which was fortunately still open, and when I talked to a librarian, she checked the Lost and Found. White Bunny was there, safe and sound. We convinced Lily that the librarians were taking good care of White Bunny, and convinced her to sleep with another friend that night. Probably Brown Doggy.

The next day, we rescued White Bunny. The librarian convinced Lily that White Bunny had been well taken care of. (I love librarians!) Lily still remembers White Bunny’s sleepover at the library. I was reminded of White Bunny’s adventure while reading this book to Lily yesterday.

Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Trixie can’t WAIT to show her beloved Knuffle Bunny to all her friends in Pre-Kindergarten! Upon her arrival, however, she sees that Sonya has also brought (gasp!) a Knuffle Bunny for show and tell! The day does not go well for either girl, and the teacher takes their Knuffle Bunnies away after an argument.

The teacher returns a Knuffle Bunny to each girl at the end of the day. Around 2:30 a.m., Trixie realizes…SHE HAS THE WRONG KNUFFLE BUNNY! Will she ever be reunited with her best friend? Oh, dear.

Mo Willems has done it again. Trixie and Knuffle Bunny will become your best friends after you read this book.

(Don’t forget to read Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale first! More on that book here.)

Tell us: What book have your kids been requesting over and over again? What “adult book” are you currently reading? I want to know!

As I was rocking Emmy before bedtime, I heard the unmistakable whoosh of cars driving in the rain. And as I sat down at my computer, the gurgle of rain tumbling down the gutters filled my ears. We begged spring to come; and with spring comes the rain.

Last Saturday was very warm and all our snow started to melt. Ed decided to take the girls outside to splash in the puddles while I finished getting ready for the company we were having. Emmy loves water: “wah-ee”, and Lily loves her rain boots! (I love stating the obvious, much to Ed’s chagrin, as you’ll see in my video clip. There’s also a glare from the snow; the only thing I remember from my college meteorology class is the term “albedo.“) Even though it wasn’t raining, I caught the girls playing in the water just as the little girl in the book Rain Talk plays in the warm summer rain.

Splashing in Puddles from Ginny Marie on Vimeo.

Rain Talk by Mary Serfozo
rating: 5 of 5 stars
Rain Talk is a beautiful book, in both words and pictures. When I was a first year teacher, I was surprised at how few picture books were in my first classroom. Throughout the years, I bought many books to add to my collection. A few of those books were read by my students, but remained unread by me. My book collection came home with me as I paused my teaching career to raise my daughters. I recently read Rain Talk to my youngest. As I was reading, I was delighted at the simple story about a girl out in the rain, listening to all the sounds rain has. The sound of rain beginning is quite different from the sound of rain hitting a pond, or the “Bup Bup” of rain on an umbrella. The watercolors by Keiko Narahashi enchanted me. They fit the words perfectly. See the drops of rain hitting the dirt, and the small worm poking his head out?