Summer Books

I filled my library tote with summer-themed books, and I had so much fun reading them with Baby A!

 For a trip to the cabin:

Carl's Summer Vacation by Alexandra Day

Carl and Madeleine (who is now two or three years old) skip naptime for summer cabin classics such as canoeing and picnicing. Delightful and colorful illustrations show the playful but responsible Carl at his summer best.

 For nonfiction:

Bird, Butterfly, Eel by James Prosek

Gorgeous paintings follow the bird, butterfly, and eel on their summer journeys from the farm they inhabit, to the next generation. The story is straight-forward and informative, and surprisingly engaging. Children ages 8 and up would best soak up this scientific beauty.

 

 For humor:

Hot Hot Hot by Neal Layton

The Ice Age ends, much to the dismay of the woolly mammoths in this comical peek into the past. This is a great way to introduce learning about the history of Earth, and even has a fact page in the back. It also works great for some empathy on scorching hot days when even swimming doesn't bring relief. I'd say it's best for ages 6 and up.

Our library has a summer reading program for kids, even babies! We're hoping to score a free book after a couple of months of daily reading. Do you have a summer reading program?

Usborne Book Party

How to Have a Fun Usborne Book Party:
1. Invite fun people.
2. Spread books around the room for adults and kids to explore in delight.
3. Eat alphabet soup and cornbread (made from a can and a box for maximum efficiency).
4. Feed babies cantaloupe and the Market Pantry (Target) knock-off of Goldfish: Chickadees.
5. Discuss the merits and disgustingness of Everybody Poops.
6. Make a Wish List, so you can narrow down which books to add to your library with minimal stress.
7. Practice your math, trivia, or geography skills with activities, maps, games, and puzzles.
8. Chat, chat, chat.

Done!
Did you know there are games and toys and educational materials, in addition to fiction and non-fiction books designed for readers just born to middle readers (young adults)? And there are books are in over 100 languages (including British and American English, as I noticed with alternations of the title words holiday/vacation and journey/trip). Also, there are "dual" books, with a shorter version of a story at the top of the page, and a longer version at the bottom, so you can read it by skill level or attention span.

I ordered the Magnet Airport book, and Finger Rhymes, which includes an online link to hear the rhymes.On my near-future Wish List: That's Not My Dragon, Usborne Preschool Activities: Animal Fun, Under the Sea jigsaw puzzle book, and 100 things for little children to do on a trip.

You can browse what we saw, and place an order in this store through June 29th. Thanks Melissa, friends, and family!

Baby Contest

Freedom Festival Baby Contest Flag Ceremony

Tell me how you really feel about baby contests.

I entered Baby A in the Freedom Festival Baby Contest for age category 13-16 months, girl.

There were promises of a goody bag, door prize drawings, activities, snacks, and parenting resources. I felt the need to explain this when I told people that's what we were doing on Saturday, so I had mixed feelings going in. Mostly, I thought, Why not? She's cute and we might get free stuff.

I got a little nervous a few days before, because I didn't have anything frilly/patriotic/fancy enough for her to wear, but I refused to buy her clothes for this purpose.

And on the day of the event, I remembered to pack nail polish, but I forgot to pack her sippy cup. 

I sized up the "competition", and felt pretty confident she was the cutest. 

She was placed on a table in front of a volunteer, who judged her (quote)

1. Physical Features

2. Personalities and Behavior

3. Unique Talents/Cute Traits

4. Reaction to Judges.

Baby A has always been too cool for Peek-a-Boo. She prefers Pat-a-Cake.

She took a minute to warm up and wasn't as smiley or animated as usual. When we walked away, Husband said, "That's why I don't like these things. Now you're disappointed in her!"

"I am not!"

And though I really didn't really expect her to "perform" and I wasn't disappointed in her, I could see his point.

We missed the animal show while we were waiting in line to be judged. We didn't win door prizes. The goody bag sucked. 

She didn't place, even though she is way cuter with a more fun personality than the babies who did place. 

See how I say mean things? I don't think I can enter her in any more baby contests, because they have a souring effect on me. I don't think I would head into Toddlers and Tiaras territory, but still...I shouldn't be given the opportunity to think my baby is better than your baby.

What's your view?

Usborne Party Invitation

I'm hosting an Usborne Book Party on Wednesday. A combination of food, toddlers, and books sounds golden to me!

You're invited! Email me (anna.culpATgmail) if you would like to Skype to join the party.

If you can't make it, but want to check out the books we'll be reading and adding to our libraries, here's your invitation: (Click on the URL after Place, or here.) I already know I'll be ordering That's Not My Dragon.


You are invited to an Usborne Books & More eShow to explore the world of Usborne and Kane Miller Books.  A child's interest in reading and learning is stimulated by the lavish illustrations and informative content.  There are over 1500 bright, colorful and fun titles covering activities, puzzles and a wide range of subjects for children of all ages.

Usborne Books & More - We bring you the books kids love to read!

Hosted by: Anna Kitchens
Place: www.myubam.com/HOS199127
When: Today thru 6/29/2011 11:59:00 PM

Everyone is welcome, so invite a friend.

It's a rewarding experience when a child opens a book and discovers the magic of reading.

Tell me which ones you have and love, and which ones you can't resist getting for the kid in your life (or yourself)!

Daddies

Happy Father's Day!

I feel so blessed that I have an awesome dad, and I have had many good men influence my life. But this Father's Day especially, I've enjoyed thinking about what a sweet father my daughter has. I love that studly man. Her first word was "Dad" and her first sentence was "Hi, Dad!"

Literature often reflects the cultural idea that dads go to work, then come home and wrestle/teach sports/joke around. Those are good things, but I think that picture leaves out other really important things dads do: nurture, cuddle, comfort, encourage, discipline--parent. And this rising generation has dads wearing lots of different hats: work-from-home, stay-at-home, work-and-school-and-always-there-for-you, coach, shuttle, cheerleader, teacher, and lots more!

My daughter has a dad who can switch hats like nobody's business. But I think one of her favorite parts is when Dad laughs with her like he has all the time in the world to appreciate her scrunchy face. And one of my favorite parts is when he taught her to give butterfly kisses.

For Father's Day, Baby A gave him

Daddy Kisses, by Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben (husband and wife, also wrote Mommy Hugs). Animals dads give their babies kisses, ending with the human dad and his baby. It reminds me of I Love You As Much, but it is a simpler style. It's perfect for getting in a quick and affectionate daddy-child story time.

Thanks, all you wonderful men who make the world better every day!

For Kibera and Harlem: Paperback Drive

I just heard about a really fun way to contribute to worldwide literacy, and rather than rehash, I'll just C&P:

LitWorld is spreading the power of story from Kenya to Harlem and we need your help sparking our LitSummer! We are calling out to our community to donate books and school supplies as we embark on summer projects to benefit young people across hemispheres, including our first ever Story Power Camp at the Polo Grounds in Harlem and our LitWeek initiative in Kibera, Kenya.

Visit tinyurl.com/litworlddrive and contribute to our LitSummer drive by June 30th!

Visiting brings you to an Amazon Wish List where you can pick what you'd like to contribute-- paperbacks, coloring/writing supplies. It's so easy! I'm debating between these three (I chose quickly  because I love ALL of the books on the list):

You know what else I heard? Finland has a 100% literacy rate. (That means every able citizen age 15 or older can read.) Amazing! I feel even more passionate about literacy worldwide when I think of the power of choice that comes with being able to soak up, analyze, and articulate information. If you're reading this, I hope you take a moment to feel grateful, give back if you can, and thanks for stopping by!

The Sunshine is Calling

someone's blog

Sorry, folks, it's been too long. Because I get ridiculously happy in the summertime what with all the vitamin D and ice cream everywhere, I tend to live outside. And I neglect, well, everything--except my family--they're outside, too. Today, I'll be on the hunt for children's books with a summer theme, so tell me your suggestions! 

A summer must-have:

Jamberry by Bruce Degen

Degen has an author's note explaining that this delightfully illustrated poem was inspired by his boyhood berry-picking summers. I love the jazzy rhythm and imaginative, action-packed pictures, but I also feel connected to the warmth of childhood summers and the sweet-tart berries and cream that rewarded an afternoon of picking. 

In Finland, forests have wild berries that are open to public picking, and my grandmother/aunts/uncles would take us when we visited every other summer. I like to think of my fingers and my grandmother's fingers stained deep purple from the blueberries. 

I've go to revise my summer list to include berry-picking with Baby A. She certainly understands the concept of picking things to put in her mouth.

Vocabulary Isn't Built In A Day

Babies are sometimes boring.

If you are horrified, then you have not spent more than three hours solely in the company of a nonverbal baby. But not to worry, reading out loud gives you something to say to babies, and their interest, plus the story, distracts you from feeling like the conversation is one-sided. It's just one more reason to love reading.

And then, eventually, babies become verbal. Baby A has been saying "Dad" since about 9 months, and "Aiti" (Finnish for mom) followed a month later. She inconsistently said a couple of other words, and babbles all day long. (Sometimes people think she is speaking Finnish when she babbles so confidently, so I think I'll start "translating" and they'll never know, haha.)  

But very exciting and recent vocabulary additions include: "booo" for what a cow says, "ra!" for what a dog says, and "kukka" (Finnish for flower). These can all be traced back to her bookshelf. 

She learned to moo from

Sandra Boynton's Moo, Baa, La La La!

and from

Vasikka ja Muita Maatilan Elaimia (Kirjalito, Calf and Other Farm Animals).

 She learned to bark from

Boynton's Doggies, and also from visiting doggies in real life.

And she learned "kukka" from seeing flowers in the yard, but said it for the first time while "reading" to herself Eric Carle's The Tiny Seed. 

Unexpectedly, she pointed to a flower, and with intense concentration said, "ku...ka". (Sometimes, it comes out "kakka", and if you speak Finnish, you are already chuckling, because that is Finnish for poop.)

You can also get a better grasp of a baby's understood vocabulary from reading. The first time Baby A intentionally identified a picture in a book when asked "Where is the ____?" was when she pointed to the (human) baby at the end of I Love You As Much... by Laura Krauss Melmed, illustrated by Henri Sorensen.

So sweet. 

What fun vocabulary practice have you had with babies and their books?

Summer Swim!

swimsuit from The Children's Place (I got it in January for $3!)

Summer got off to a bit of a rough start with HAIL. But today, we went swimming, so the world is right again. 

And do you know what a really adorable swimming book is?

Sergio Makes a Splash by Edel Rodriguez (2008). Sergio overcomes a fear of the water, and who would not want to be brave like this adorable penguin, and splash in a pool?

P.S. A hooded, zippered towel (cover-up) for a toddler enjoying a poolside banana is awesome.