Baby’s Sunday Salon, April 5

(I know it’s not April 5 anymore. I wrote this post a few days ago and I was going to add pictures before I clicked “publish.” But I’ve been miserably sick since Saturday morning, so it’s going as it is!)

I haven’t reviewed my son’s reading since January. This is partly because I’ve been busy moving, but also because my son has been enjoying the books I’ve already mentioned. In fact, he loves all books at 18 months old. I can’t hold a book without him coming over and taking it away for his own perusal. This includes story time at bedtime. Most nights, I don’t actually get a word read because he’s turning the pages so fast! Continue reading »

Caldecott Corner: The House in the Night by Beth Krommes, 2009 Award Winner

This year’s winner of the Caldecott Medal is The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson, illustrated by Beth Krommes. When I asked the librarian to help me locate it (it was misshelved), she told me she didn’t like it; its illustrations were too dark. I wasn’t sure, then, what I’d think of The House in the Night. But I enjoyed reading the story of a bedtime story, and the black, white, and gold scratchboard illustrations were appropriate for the subject. Continue reading »

Death in Children’s Literature: Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

In the picture book Love You Forever, Robert Munsch captures every mother’s feelings of unconditional love. I can’t read it without my eyes tearing, and I love the tender expressions of love. But I wonder if children like it. Continue reading »

Baby’s Sunday Salon, January 4

I’ve been reading my son Horns to Toes and In Between by Sandra Boynton since he was four months old. This month, he began pointing to his head for the first page, as I’ve always done when we read it. I was so excited to see it. He’s learning! He also had fun trying to see his belly button. What a fun age he is at! (He’s now 15 months old.) Continue reading »

Children’s Christmas: Picture Books of the Season

I love Christmas. I love the daily reminder of Jesus Christ in the decorations and in the gift giving. But I also love the traditions of Santa Claus, the festive holiday songs, the fudge and gingerbread.

This year, I decided to immerse myself in holiday picture books. My son, at one-year-old, won’t remember a thing about this Christmas. But next year he might remember something: I want to know which picture books best bring the spirit of the season in to our home so next year we’ll be ready. Continue reading »

The Life of Our Lord by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens wrote one book that never appears on his “collected works” lists. That is The Life of Our Lord, a “child’s new testament” that he wrote for his own children for Christmas one year. It was first published in 1934, 64 years after Dickens’s death.

In The Life of Our Lord, Charles Dickens retells the major events in the life of Jesus Christ. He obviously omits a lot, but he focuses on what he wants his children to know. It is an intriguing look at the life of Christ and at the specific faith of Charles Dickens. I appreciated the way he wrote as if speaking directly to a child, and I am glad I read it.

All that said, I wasn’t very impressed with this short children’s book. Publishers warned readers not to expect a typical Dickens book from it, and I have to say I agree: I don’t think it’s typical. It was written for children and for specific children at that (his own). For that reason the tone is incredibly casual. Continue reading »

Baby’s Sunday Salon, December 7

My son is getting better at sitting still for board books! This month, he took control of turning the pages of a few of them, wanting to turn them over and over again. It fun to watch him try to read: I tell him the book is upside down and turn it over for him. Then he promptly turns it upside down again. Apparently, he likes it better his way. Continue reading »

Baby’s Sunday Salon, November 9

In addition to the board books I usually read my son, I’ve also been reading a number of picture books with him this month. Because he’s still only a year old, he doesn’t pay much attention past the first few pages, but I’m having fun revisiting some old classics. Now I know what he should be reading in the coming years! Continue reading »

Abecedaria (aka Alphabet Books)

In medieval children’s primers, the alphabet was the main tool of learning and was often portrayed in a way that also taught religion (Seth Lerer, Children’s Literature, page 61). Poems and teachings would be in the order of the alphabet. This had biblical precedence, as the 22 stanzas of Psalm 118 “use the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order” (page 61). This group of books has the really cool name “abecedaria.” I love that word!

Our kids still use alphabet books to learn. I had a fun time reading children’s alphabet books to see how we learn the alphabet today. While all of these “teach” the alphabet, some encourage critical thinking, and some of them have specific purposes for further teaching. Continue reading »

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle

The colorful illustrations, the rhythmic words, and the familiar animals make Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle a favorite picture book. Continue reading »