Books Read To/By the Kids in April 2011

Reading aloud to the girls suffered dreadfully in April, but here are most of the library titles we managed to get to. And of course, they pored over our own shelves and re-read lots of favorites. I'm proud of Olivia for picking up my slack and taking it upon herself to read her 3 year old sister stories anytime she wanted them, while Mom was otherwise occupied. There's nothing that squeezes a mother's heart quite like the sight of one of her children reading a story to a younger sibling.

An Egg Is Quiet

Written by Diana Hutts Aston

Illustrated by Sylvia Long

Non-fiction Picture Book; Ages 4 and up

(Published in 2006 by Chronicle Books)

  This beautifully written and illustrated book is a nature lover's dream. The rich, poetic prose discusses the physical qualities of eggs. And the incredible pictures featuring dozens of eggs had my 6 year-old Karina poring over this book time and again. I love them so much I plan on purchasing this book and the others Aston and Long collaborated on: A Seed Is Sleepy and A Butterfly Is Patient (not yet released).

I borrowed this from the library after I saw it featured on Janice Durant's blog Books of Wonder and Wisdom. Thank you, Janice.

Rechenka's Eggs

Written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco
Picture Book; Ages 4 and up
(Published in 1988 by Philomel Books)

Every year old Babushka paints eggs to sell at the Easter festival. One day, when a wounded goose falls from the sky, Babushka takes her in, tenderly nurses her back to health, and names her Rechenka. When the goose accidentally breaks all of Babushka's eggs that she labored all winter to paint, Rechenka makes amends by providing a miracle.

(Again, thanks goes to Janice Durant for the book recommendation.

Mercy Watson Fights Crime (Mercy Watson #3)

Written by Kate DiCamillo
Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
Young Readers; Ages 6 and up (Younger if read aloud.)

Ah, Mercy Watson, how my children love thee!
All the Mercy Watson books are perennial favorites around our house and get re-read every few months by both my older girls (ages 6 and 7). This is one series that they can both read themselves, and they are delighted to read them aloud to their little sister. This whole series of Mercy Watson books (there are 6) got a work-out this month. Literarily, the stories are pretty fluffy, but my girls bask in the marshmallowy yumminess. And the pictures, with their fifties retro feel, add greatly to the fun.

Mercy Watson is a buttered-toast obsessed pig, and an unwitting hero. She gets herself into and out of some silly predicaments and manages to come out smelling like roses butter.

In Mercy Watson Fights Crime (the 3rd book of the series), Mercy unwittingly foils a small would-be, cowboy wanna-be house burglar.
For some reason or other, this book was read the most this month by both girls. (I heard it read aloud to Susanna WAY.TOO.MUCH!)
(We've also borrowed the audio CDs before and they are well done. The girls like listening to them at night.)

Here are the other titles:

Mercy Watson to the Rescue (#1)

Mercy Watson Goes For a Ride (#2)

Mercy Watson, Princess in Disguise (#4)

Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig (#5)

Mercy Watson: Something Wonky This Way Comes (#6)

The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks

Written by Katherine Paterson

Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

Picture Book; Ages 4 and up

When a Japanese lord sees the beautiful plumage of a male mandarin duck, he orders his capture. In captivity, the male pines for his mate and begins to die. Appalled at his plight, a maidservant sets the duck free, and she and the Lord's one-eyed steward are sentenced to death for their perfidy. Help comes from unexpected quarters, and the two disgraced servants must flee for their lives. Find out what happens next in this beautifully told and illustrated story of compassion, courage, heroism, and loyalty.

The Gardener

Written by Sarah Stewart

Illustrated by David Small

Picture Book; Ages 4 and up

(Published in 1997 by Farrar, Straus, Giroux)

My girls and I so loved this Caldecott Honor book about a young girl who is sent to live with her uncle in the city because her father is out of work. Set during the Depression and told in the form of letters -first to her uncle and then to her parents and grandma at home in the country- Lydia Grace transforms her Uncle's drab life and bakery, one plant at a time, into a bower of blooming brightness.

The Story of Ferdinand

Written by Munro Leaf

Illustrated by Robert Lawson

Picture Book; Ages 4 and up

It's hard to believe that this book about a gentle bull who only wants to sit "just quietly" and smell the flowers, was once banned by Franco of Spain. First published in 1937, a few months before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Francisco Franco saw the book as a message of pacifism directed at him and banned the book from Spain.
To me this book's timeless message is about being true to yourself and that being different is okay. I loved this story as a child and my girls love it, and enjoy re-reading it. They laugh hysterically when Ferdinand sits on the bee, and at the illustration showing his expression. And they laugh at the bullfight scene.

Two Picture Books Illustrated By The Dillons: The Girl Who Spun Gold and Two Little Trains

The Girl Who Spun Gold

Written by Virginia Hamilton

Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

Ages 4 and up

"There be this tale told about a tiny fellow who could hide in a foot of shade amid old trees. All that most could see of him was the way he sparkled."

This is a West Indies inspired version of the tale of Rumpelstiltskin, called Lit'mahn in this story. The mother of a young village girl brags to the passing Big King about her daughter's ability to spin gold thread. Big King happily marries the girl, but "being young, he went too far." He tells her he will give her everything her heart desires, but in a year and a day she must start her spinning. You know how the story ends. Or do you?

I found this a refreshing take on the usual Grimm version. And it's fun to read aloud, once you get into the rhythm of the language. (Before you read the story aloud, be sure to first read it yourself to become familiar with the cadence of the words, because the sentence structure echoes the West Indian [Caribbean] dialect.) My girls liked it, too. They laughed in delight and oohed and aahed over the pictures.

And the pictures are stunning, with gold over-painted in strategic spots, beautifully reinforcing the story.

Two Little Trains

Written by Margaret Wise Brown

Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

Ages 3 and up

 "Two little trains went down the track,
Two little trains went west.
Puff, Puff, Puff and Chug, Chug, Chug,
Two little trains to the West." 

So begins this poem of two little trains, a "streamlined train" and a "little old train", "going west."
The marvelous pictures drive (pardon the pun) the story of two trains, one a sleek passenger train, the other a toy train. The movement of the real train is echoed in the imaginary scenarios featuring the toy train being played with at home. For example, when the "two little trains [come] to a hill, a mountainous hill to the West", the "streamlined train" passes through a tunnel in a hill and the toy train is shown passing through a tunnel formed by a book "mountain." 
 

Olivia (7) and Karina (6) liked the illustrations and liked pointing out the contrasting elements between the two trains. They have looked at the pictures more than once since we brought it home from the library, but were underwhelmed by the text. "Boring", was their response. Susanna (3) didn't "get" this book at all, and wandered away in the middle. None of them have asked me to re-read it.

That's not to say, of course, that it won't be loved by other children, which is one reason I'm featuring it here. And it was worth checking out for the pictures alone.

Both these books were borrowed from the library.

Book Review: Wind Child by Shirley Rousseau Murphy; illustrated by Leo, Diane, and Lee Dillon

Wind Child
Written by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon and Lee Dillon
Ages 4 and up

"She wanted to know the winds' secrets and what they shouted when they sped across the sky. She yearned to fly as the winds flew, to feel the grasses brush her toes, to leap high above wind-tossed waters."

Resshie grows up ignorant of her true parents, but with a strange longing and affinity for wind. She supports herself by weaving cloth, and soon her cloth is the most coveted in the land for its special unearthly qualities. But Resshie, in weaving cloth for others, realizes she is lonely and wants a husband like other girls. Not liking anyone in her village, Resshie sets out to make her perfect companion, with imperfect results.

This story reads like a Greek myth and fairy tale rolled up into one. The text flows beautifully. My girls sat silent and rapt as the story unfolded. Each picture has a dreamy, windswept feel to it, and each contains the omnipresence of wind: hair blowing, dresses blowing. And the conclusion is perfect.

This book seems to be out of print, but you should be able to find it at your library. I highly encourage it, especially if you or your children like myths and fairy tales.



Book published in 1999 by HarperChildrens for Harper Collins
This copy borrowed from the library.