Read to Me, Please!: Put it on the List!

At the end of our last trip to the library, we came home with the book Put it on the List! by Kristen Darbyshire. The boys and I are getting a kick out of this book because it is exactly the way things run at our house.

In the book, a  family of chickens keeps running out of household items. No one remembers to put it on the grocery list, so every time Mom chicken returns from her weekly shopping trip, they are always in need of something else. One day they have toothbrushes, but no toothpaste. They have pancakes, but no syrup (and improvise with ketchup!) And you really have to feel sorry for the little boy chick when he has lima beans, but no napkins to hide them in! Or when he gets stuck in the bathroom without any toilet paper!

This sounds just like our house. Anytime we run out of something, Daddio and I ask each other to remind us to either put it on the list, or pick it up at the store the next time we go. Well, no one EVER remembers to write it on the list, or if we do, there's never a pen around at that exact moment and we forget to do it later. Some weeks we have spaghetti, but no sauce. Other days we have hamburgers, but no rolls. Or I will get ready to bake cookies, but discover that we don't have any eggs! In an attempt at being a little more organized, I downloaded and printed this helpful "little" list* to have in front of me as I fill out my grocery list. Of course, this is only helpful when I can actually find where I put the list! It has been MIA now for several months, and I have yet to print out a new one.

But back to the book. One day, Mom chicken "flipped out"! They have macaroni, but no cheese, and peanut butter, but no jelly. So for dinner, she ends up making a peanut butter and pickled grub on macaroni casserole. I have to do this ALL the time! I'm constantly improvising my recipes and creatively substituting ingredients for the ones I forgot to get. Although, thankfully, I've never had to resort to a peanut butter and pickled grub on macaroni casserole. In another attempt at being more organized and less stressed when it comes time to planning dinner, I tried to plan out each meal for the week ahead of time. This also helped to ensure that I had all of the items I needed on hand. I listed everything that I would need for the week and made sure it was on the grocery list ahead of time. (Please note my use of the past tense. This lasted, maybe, 4 or 5 months).

The chicken household eventually gets more organized and everyone decides to help out Mom chicken with the grocery shopping. Sam and Owen think it's hilarious when the chickens decide not to eat any more pickled grubs and pack them up in a box to mail to Grandma. (I would imagine that pickled grubs would be our equivalent to...SPAM?) And they think it's super silly that the little boy chicken keeps putting "pony" on the grocery list, because everyone knows that you don't get ponies at a grocery store! This book has been one of their favorites this week and several times I have caught Sam "reading" it to Owen.  Too cute!



*This list has been updated since I first downloaded it! I will now be printing out this version for future reference. They also have a vegetarian version of the list. I recommend that you check out both versions, if not to use, then at least to check out the humor added to each.


**UPDATE: For a funny read, check out the book below, Milk Eggs Vodka. It's written by the folks who created the Ultimate Grocery List that I shared above. It's a collection of other people's grocery lists, spelling errors and all. Amazon.com allows you to take a look at an excerpt of several pages, and it's pretty humorous. I wonder at the type of person who is buying "buttmilk", "Oreo B", and "tush cleaner". LOL. 

Read to Me, Please!: Bumpety Bump

One of the books that I selected for Owen from the library this week is Bumpety Bump! by Pat Hutchins. I chose this book because it centers around a boy and his grandpa as they work on the farm.

The main premise to this story is that while the little boy and his grandpa are working on the farm, a little red hen follows them wherever they go. Along the way, the boy shows the little red hen what he is able to do, things like picking berries and pulling carrots. By the end of the story, the little red hen has stopped following the boy to show him what she can do. 

For the most part, this is a delightful book. The illustrations are bright and detailed and Owen has fun pointing to each vegetable as the boy in the book shows the hen what he can do. Owen likes to say the lines "bumpety bump bump- and the little red hen keeps following us, following us around" as they are repeated throughout the story. 

Grandpa books are a common theme of selection for us as Owen is Grandpa's boy through and through. Any time we go to visit Grandma and Grandpa, he immediately wants to go outside to "work" with Grandpa. "Work" usually consists of building things in Grandpa's workshop in the garage, tending to the vegetable garden, and taking care of the chickens.

Bumpety Bump! was the perfect choice for Owen as the boy in the story is just like him. He works with his grandfather all day, tending to the vegetables and the rest of the farm. Thanks to Grandpa's chickens, Owen is now fascinated by any chickens that he sees and loves searching for the little red hen on each page. This book has become Owen's first choice of books to take with him to bed this week for "quiet" time and bedtime. As soon as he crawls into bed, he has to make sure that he has the "Grandpa" book next to him!

Read to Me, Please!: Stuck in the Mud

                                                                                                                                    
Every week, I take Owen to the library for story hour and to checkout new books. After coming across a plethora of less than mediocre children's books, I have decided to review some of our favorites, and some of our not so favorites.
                                                                                                                                    


Stuck in the Mud by Jane Clarke

Stuck in the Mud by Jane Clarke is a bright and colorful story sure to delight all preschoolers.

Early in the morning, a hen wakes up to discover that one of her young chicks has run off! She is utterly distraught to find that he has gotten himself stuck in the mud! Hen tries to free him, only to end up stuck herself! Comedy ensues as one by one, the animals on the farm try to help out, only to meet with the same disastrous results as the hen. In the end, the young chick has a surprise for them all!

Clarke's repetitive, nursery-rhyme style of writing provides children with the opportunity to interact with the story. The predictable text allows children to anticipate and predict what will happen next, a necessary skill for developing readers to acquire . They will be eager to "push" and "pull" again and again as each animal struggles to help the little chick free himself from the mud.

Young children will be immediately drawn to Garry Parsons' bright and colorful illustrations in this picture book. Beyond the story itself, the pictures lend themselves to provide an interactive experience for young readers. Among the background images on each page, children will enjoy looking for all of the farm animals and watching for the farmer's wife through the farmhouse windows as she goes through her morning routine, unaware of the happenings outside.

This charming picture book is sure to become one of any child's favorite stories to read over and over again.

Read to Me, Please!: Itsy Bitsy Spider

                                                                                                                                     Every week, I take Owen to the library for story hour and to checkout new books. After coming across a plethora of less than mediocre children's books, I have decided to review some of our favorites, and some of our not so favorites.
                                                                                                                                     

Itsy Bitsy Spider by Keith Chapman

Itsy Bitsy Spider, written by Keith Chapman, the creator of Bob the Builder, does not disappoint as an enjoyable rhyming story for preschoolers.

The title of this picture book is a little misleading as one may be expecting a story based on the classic Itsy Bitsy Spider nursery rhyme. What young readers get instead, is a story about a little spider being blown around a farm by a strong gust of wind. He travels across each page, getting tangled up with various farm animals.

The writing style of this book is ideal for preschool children as the author uses rhythmic sounds through nursery rhyme-style verse. The story itself is written so it fits along with and can be sung to the tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider, making it even more enjoyable for preschool readers. Questions, such as "Itsy Bitsy Spider, what's he stuck on now?", are asked throughout the story, actively involving young readers. The book also introduces them to the many barnyard animals noises, providing them with the chance to mimic the sounds made by the pig, goat, cow, and many more.

Illustrated by Jack Tickle, Itsy Bitsy Spider is filled with delightful pictures throughout. Bright and colorful farm animals fill the pages and provide young readers with several opportunities for active reading and interaction with the illustrations. Children will delight in searching for where Itsy Bitsy has landed as he travels through the pages. Preschoolers can practice their colors and numbers as they locate and count the various flowers and bugs among the background images. An extra treat for children is the illustrator's use of silver glitter that outlines Itsy Bitsy's spider web throughout the entire book.

Itsy Bitsy Spider's reading level is ideal for ages 4-8, but will be enjoyed and frequently requested as a favorite bedtime story by younger children as well.

Read to Me, Please!: Seven Scary Monsters

                                                                                                                                    
Every week, I take Owen to the library for story hour and to checkout new books. After coming across a plethora of less than mediocre children's books, I have decided to review some of our favorites, and some of our not so favorites.
                                                                                                                                    


Seven Scary Monsters by Mary Beth Lundgren

The concept of this book is a good one: a young child battles the scary monsters in his bedroom; however, the story fails to impress.

At first, Seven Scary Monsters by Mary Beth Lundgren seems as though it will be an entertaining book. At bedtime, a young boy needs to get rid of the scary monsters that have come out of hiding to cause trouble. He comes up with several creative methods of successfully doing so, with a surprise little twist at the end of the story. This story concept, relatable to all children, has the potential of being enjoyable, but unfortunately, it falls short of doing this.

Claiming to be "sprightly rhymed text", when read aloud, the story sounds awkward as it fails to maintain a consistent rhythm. The author's use of onomatopoeia, or sound words, continuously interrupts the flow of the story, making it sound clumsy. For example, "SEVEN scary monsters hiding in my room. One groans and glares- EEEEK! -sneaking closer... BOOM!"

There are, however, several good things about this book. The phrase "Rick! Rack! Wrinkleshack! Don't you dare come back!" is repeated throughout the book. Its rhyming simplicity and predictability allows young readers the chance to chant the phrase themselves. This book also lets children interact through counting. The story works its way backward from seven monsters to none, with illustrations of seven rather humorous looking monsters to count down on each page. The illustrations by Howard Fine are the best thing about the book. They are bright, colorful, and thoroughly imaginative, providing young readers with many humorous images to explore.

Unfortunately for Seven Scary Monsters, the illustrations cannot make up for the weak story and text. However, with that said, my son actually enjoys this story and doesn’t seem bothered at all by the choppiness of the text. But what does he know about the merits of a quality picture book? After all, he’s only two.