A Splendid Friend, Indeed

Bloom, S. (2005). A splendid friend, indeed. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.

Beautiful pictures with contrasting blues and whites focuses solely on the only two characters that bring this book to life. This depicts a beautiful, realistic tale about friendship. So who says friends are perfect? Who says you’re supposed to always be happy around your friends? Who says friends are not annoying? Who says friendships are always perfect? Well friendships aren’t perfect. There is no friend alike, but despite these differences true friends appreciate the good and the bad. Splendid friends love each other despite the imperfections of one another. True friends are indeed, splendid.

This reminded me of my children and their friendship with each other. My oldest is nine and my youngest is 5 and naturally, the little one is always trying to please his older brother. "Nathan, I like your hair." And just as Nathan might respond with a, "Thanks Logan, I like your hair, too." He can also respond with, "Shhh Logan, I can't hear the tv." Despite of Nathan's answer, whether he's flattered, or annoyed, at the end of the day, they're each other's splendid friend, indeed. 

Read by Suzanne Bloom

Stinky

Davis, E. (2008). Stinky: A Toon Book. New York: Little Lit Library.

You mean to tell me that kids like stinky, dirty things too? Nah-Uh! So here’s a story about a swamp monster by the name of Stinky who absolutely hated children because children hated everything he loved. In this three-chapter graphic novel, Stinky tries his very best to drive Nick away from his swamp because well, you know, kids and swamp monsters could not be friends. This endearing story shows how a tough, stinky monster shows his kindness and turns into a caring monster who feels terribly guilty when his plan to drive Nick away ends up hurting the young boy. It is then when he realizes that the stereotype he had of children could have perhaps been wrong. 

Interview by Jared Gardner

Read Along

Benny and Penny in The Big No-No!

Hayes, G. (2009). Benny and Penny in The big no-no!: A Toon book. New York: Toon Books. 

One of the many things we have to learn while growing up, whether we are little kids or adults, is to not jump into conclusions. Taking something that does not belong to you is a definite no-no!  Benny lost his bucket and he’s sure his new neighbor took it. He must get it back at all costs! But, wait! Penny does not think it’s a good idea to go into a place where you have not been invited. That is also a most definite no-no! But why is their neighbor taking things that did not belong to her? What will Benny do? Will he do the right thing? What explanation does Melina have? 

Haven't we all been there? Where we make an erroneous assumption about a person's personality or integrity when we first meet them, or sometimes even jump into conclusions about a person without even having met them yet? Well, adults do that too. Sometimes we also take matters into our own hands when in it is not our place to do that. It's okay to teach children about these things at an early age. We can't judge a book by its cover and we can't take matters into our own hands either. Can our children learn this lesson at an early age? 

• Benny and Penny in the Big No-No!

Penny and Her Marble

Henkes, K. (2013). Penny and her marble. New York: Greenwillow Books. 

As we grow up, we may not understand certain feelings until we experience them. What is guilt without knowing what causes it? So Penny is a simple girl whose imagination takes her to the most unimaginable places. On her daily routine of pushing Rose around in her stroller, she comes across something in her neighbor’s yard. Oh, it was so shiny and blue! But, if we find something, oh let’s say, in somebody else’s yard, does it now belong to us? Well, Penny sure thought it would be okay to keep her new, very shiny, very blue marble. But yet, the thought of Mrs. Goodwin coming to look for her marble made her realize that perhaps she shouldn’t have taken it without knowing who the marble belonged to in the first place. Her guilt does not let her rest. The question now was; how would she return this marble without anyone noticing? 

Penny could not sleep. She kept thinking about the marble.

This is called guilt. I know it too well. 

I was five years old the one time I stole something. I stole money from my dad so that I could buy something from the corner store. I was too young to realize that the bill that I took from my dad's wallet was big enough for me to buy a month supply of gansitos and frutsies, my favorite snacks of all times! My problem was that I didn't see me taking the money from my dad's wallet without permission as stealing. Quite frankly, I didn't know what in the world I was thinking. Well, when I took the money I took it to my bedroom and put it in my sock drawer so that I could wait to go to the store as soon as they opened it. When later that morning I saw my mom and dad going crazy looking for something I realized what they were looking for. I felt too guilty to go up to them and tell them what I already knew, that I had the money. So because I was afraid of getting reprimanded, I made another poor decision and didn't tell them I had the money. My mom knows me too well, she realized I was acting strange so she checked my room, my secret spot, which apparently wasn't as secret as I thought, and found the money. She made me apologize to my dad and from that moment I vowed to never steal again. And of course, I never did. The feeling of guilt that Penny felt is exactly how I felt when I realized I had made my parents worry. I felt even more embarrassed at the thought that I had let them down. Penny was lucky that she didn't actually steal anything, but the thought that she might have was enough to make her feel like a horrible person.. 

Book Trailer

You Are (Not) Small

Kang, A., & Weyant, C. (2014). You are (not) small. New York: Two Lions

A book about perspective. Who will settle the argument of who is small and who is big? These interesting characters have a disagreement that just can’t be settled. It points out the characters’ differences in size and neither can seem to accept that they are small or (not) small. So as the pictures clearly illustrate that there is indeed a difference in size, these two fuzzy creatures will not budge. So is the underlying message perhaps, should we accept what we are? Fun and a little bit silly, this tale will surely make you think.

Sometimes we perceive ourselves are something that we are not. Whether we think we are too short, or too tall, or too pretty, or too ugly, sometimes we are neither. We may think we are too good for something, or not good enough, and it's not until we experience and see different things do we realize how wrong we were about ourselves. This is what this novel does. It teaches the reader that things are not the way we believe they are. I read it to my four year old who is always telling me that he's not a baby anymore, that he's a big boy...and I'm thinking he's still my baby...so maybe we can each learn to accept that he's not that much of a big boy and that he's not that much of a baby either. :(

You Are (Not) Small Read Aloud

Zelda and Ivy

Kvasnosky, L. M. (1998). Zelda and Ivy. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. 

What would life be without a sister? Zelda and Ivy depicts the typical tale of two sisters where we obviously have a leader and a somehow reluctant follower. While she’s the oldest, Zelda has the ability to exert more power over Ivy, her baby sister and has her do things that Ivy is not completely sold on. And as the baby sister, Ivy feels some sort of obligation to follow the somehow irrational requests her sister Zelda makes. After each chapter, Ivy is left with the not so great part of the deal and one can’t help but feel sympathy towards her. It is not until the last chapter that we see a shift and feel as though she will finally get her first favorable outcome. Or will she?

Poor Ivy! What is life without a sister? I have been blessed with both and although I am the baby, my sisters NEVER took advantage of me, however, I somehow see myself as the one who would be getting away with things like Zelda...Yup! Not proud of that, but wouldn't it be fun? Because sometimes sibling rivalry has nothing to do with envy and jealousy but everything with who gets their way? And also with making sacrifices here and there to see each other happy. 😊 Loved this book!

And Ivy's blue tail reminded me of this...

Read Aloud

See Me Run

Meisel, P. (2011). See me run. New York: Holiday House.

Dogs Run. Dogs Splash. Dogs Dig.

 “See me run,” he urges. And after him they go, go, go. The life of a dog is fun! Imagine how great it will be to run, run, run everywhere we go. And how much more fun would it be if others tagged along? So why do we run? To get places? To exercise? To have fun? See this dog run, run, run. Wouldn’t it be fun just to run, run, run? Wait for the end! Running is not all this pack of dogs does. What’s expected to be an uneventful run for these dogs turns out to bring a great surprise at the end. So run, run, run, and others will come, and who knows? Perhaps you will find a surprise, too!

My boys sat through the reading, I suppose thinking that the running and perhaps even digging would lead to nothing. Well, my Nathan loves dinosaurs and so immediately after we finished reading the book he told me he wanted a pet dog so he could dig up the backyard because who knows? Maybe we can find a dinosaur as well! 

See Me Run Trailer

Tales for Very Picky Eaters

Schneider, J. (2011). Tales for very picky eaters. New York: Clarion Books.

Broccoli? Lasagna? Milk? Lumpy Oatmeal? Eggs? Gross. Gross. Gross. Gross. GROSS! A child may ask, why must parents insist on making their children eat gross things? This is an ingenuous guide that may aid parents with very picky eaters to get them to eat the oh, so very gross things on the menu. And this very clever guide shows the extent a parent is willing to go to, to get their picky eaters to eat healthy food. So what can we replace broccoli with? What will happen to the cook in the basement if we don’t eat his lasagna? What won’t we be able to do if we don’t drink milk? How will the Lumpy Oatmeal Monster take over our home? So what if we try eggs and we just happen to like them? Silly at its best but, oh so very accurate!

Just yesterday I made lasagna and when I told my nine year old what I was making he said, "But you know I don't like lasagna!" And so naturally, Munchkin Little followed with, "I HAAAATE lasagna, remeeeeeeember?"

I have two very picky eaters of my own and whereas I've had friends tell me, "My kids either eat what I make, or they don't eat at all!" I can't possibly not feed my children. I have no problem in modifying their menu as long as they eat healthy foods. I have a boy who won't eat strawberries, and one who won't eat anything with tomatoes, one that has to have potatoes almost every day, and one who can eat bean taquitos all day and all night. And so what if they don't eat what I make? While I'm well enough to provide for them, I'm going to give them what they like so that they have something to eat. It's not allowing them to do with me as they please, it's me making sure they stay healthy. 

I do somehow find ways to trick them into trying things they believe they will absolutely find disgusting before they even taste it... and on the days I am able to change their minds, I celebrate the mini victory! :) 

Read Aloud

One Boy

Seeger, L. V. (2008). One boy. New York: Roaring Brook Press. 

ONE Boy

All AlONE

Two SEALS

At the SEA...

One word: Neat-O! This book goes beyond the element of number counting from one to ten and a lonesome boy who is suddenly accompanied by many other characters and steps into a complete language enhancement adventure. The play with words and letter placement adds to the principal component of this book creating an entire new level of fun learning. Language on its own is stimulating. Adding the extra play with word placement to enhance the learning experience adds to the stimulation. Interesting art and die-cuts complete the work and make it work. A definitely interesting and fun must for kids and adults of all ages. 

My four year old enjoyed it, but my nine year old thought it was absolutely awesome. The extension of the descriptions given based on word placement makes it a different type of witty. And it teaches kids to find word patterns. It is definitely a fun book to read, regardless of your age, you are guaranteed to love it!

One Boy Read Aloud

Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas

Stevenson, S. & Rylant, C.,  (2005). Henry and Mudge and the great grandpas: The twenty-sixth book of their adventures. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Some children are blessed with one grandparent, some with two, but little Henry has been blessed with many. How lucky is he? On his family visits to his grandpa’s house, where he lives with a lot of other grandpas, he gets to spend time with them and share his dog Mudge with them. This is a heartwarming story about a lucky boy who gets to share his energy and enthusiasm for life with a group of elderly men. On his visits he brings them joy and presents and in exchange he gets to hear great stories that at one point, he will treasure in his heart forever.  


The narration of a simple visit in which the great grandpas do absolutely nothing and yet make Henry's visits unforgettable outlines the importance of the little nothings we do with the people we love and appreciate. This reminded me a lot of my dad with my children. You see, my dad has cancer and he has been fighting it for almost six years now. And when I say fighting, I mean fighting! There are times when I get to my parents' and my dad is still in bed, which is extremely unlike him. Sometimes my kids stay with them for a couple of hours when I have errands to do, or simply because they want to spend more time with my parents. When I come back to get them, my dad is up and about, surrounded by my boys. My mom says he gets his energy from my kids. That even though he feels sick or tired, when my kids are around, all that goes out the window. I know the scenarios are clearly different, but I couldn't help but smile at how I see my children's energy being transferred to my daddy.

Read Aloud

Grandparents and Grandchildren