Book Review: Ivy + Bean: What’s the Big Idea, Written by Annie Barrows, Illustrated by Sophie Blackall

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Ivy and Bean imageIvy and Bean are friends even though they are opposite in many ways. Bean is loud and rambunctious and full of crazy ideas. Ivy is quiet and thoughtful and often willing to help Bean try out some of her wild plans.

When they come together to work on a science project in Ivy + Bean: What’s the Big Idea, they are determined to find a solution for global warming.

I loved how the two girls started coming up with ideas for how they could help global warming without asking adults first whether their solution was really workable or not. The things they and their classmates dreamed up seemed exactly like what second-graders would come up with. The kids in Ivy and Bean’s class had family members holding their breath to cut down on carbon dioxide, built robots that attacked litterbugs, and threw ice cubes in the air to cool down the atmosphere.

And as a parent veteran of quite a few science projects myself, I was interested to see that the projects were all child-conceived and child-driven. From my experience, that’s rarely the case in school science fairs. The drawings illustrate the action beautifully, and show some of Bean’s whimsical imaginings too. This is the seventh book in the popular Ivy + Bean series, which is written by Annie Barrows and illustrated by Sophie Blackall. It’s sure to please young readers just as much as the previous titles.

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Book Review: If I Could Keep You Little by Marianne Richmond

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If I Could Keep You Little imageIf I Could Keep You Little, written and illustrated by Marianne Richmond, is sure to resonate with both parents and growing children who are proud of their accomplishments.

Each page features a mom or dad talking about all the special moments they would hold onto if they could keep their little ones little. Moments like singing lullabies, holding your child’s hand, kissing cuts and scrapes and finger painting together plus more are featured.

Also highlighted is the flip side and everything parents would miss about their children’s growing accomplishments. For instance, one page says, “If I could keep you little, I’d decide on matching clothes. ”The facing page says, “But then I’d miss you choosing dots on top and stripes below.” What mom or dad hasn’t struggled with whether to let their children choose their own clothes or choose for them? This holding onto control vs. sharing it puts the struggle in perspective as part of a growing child’s need for expressing her own opinions and autonomy.

It’s a clever way of highlighting for parents all the things they love about their children as they grow. Kids should appreciate the colorful illustrations that do a great job of capturing all the moments and milestones written about in the text. This should be a great book for anyone you know with toddlers and young children.

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Book Review: The Perfect Love Song by Patti Callahan Henry

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The Perfect Love Song imageIn Irish storytelling tradition, Patti Callahan Henry has a brought us a touching holiday tale about finding and holding onto the things you love in The Perfect Love Song.

The unnamed, omniscient storyteller weaves the tale of brothers Jack and Jimmy and their girlfriends, Kara and Charlotte. They’ve all experienced pain and loss while growing up, but they have found success as young adults making their way in the world. Even so, they also face challenges left over from events that shaped them in childhood.

The Perfect Love Song is a snapshot of a year in their lives, a year when one couple plans a marriage and the other struggles to hold onto their relationship. The story also asks readers to consider how they will identify the most important things in their lives and what they will sacrifice to hold onto them. The storyteller knows it all and hints at a little Celtic magic at work behind the scenes.

Dawn Little Talks About Building Literacy as a Family

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Dawn Little of Links to Literacy.com

Book Bundlz, one of my favorite sites talking about books, book clubs and literacy, features an article this month from Dawn Little, who founded the website, Links to Literacy.com.

The article includes tips on what you can do in your family to show how important you think literacy is. Little’s article includes ideas for things like playing literacy games and reading out loud. The whole article is worth checking out at Book Bundlz.com.

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Cute Freddie the Frog Books Help Kids Learn About Music

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Freddie the Frog imageMusic has always been a big part of both of my daughters’ lives, and knowing how much they loved musical books and toys when they were very young I’m always on the lookout for products that combine reading and music to give as gifts for the little ones I know. That’s why I was happy to discover these cute picture books recently called Freddie the Frog Adventures. The author, a music teacher named Sharon Burch, developed a method to teach music to preschoolers through third graders. Her Freddie the Frog books were created to share this method with children all over.

There are four Freddie the Frog books out now, and each one comes with a CD. You can also get a matching set of flash cards for most titles. Illustrations by Tiffany Harris are colorful and they really bring Freddie to life. Click here to watch a video reading of the first book, Freddie the Frog and the Thump in the Night.

The author’s website also lists some of the benefits of teaching children music, one of which is that it exercises the brain in multiple ways. Check out more at the website.

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Book Review: My Name is Not Isabella by Jennifer Fosberry and Mike Litwin

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My Name Is Not Isabella imageMy Name is Not Isabella is a delightful new picture book by Jennifer Fosberry that introduces children to some of the strongest female figures in history, all seen through the eyes of a little girl.

The sequence starts off with the mother at the bedroom door saying, “Good morning Isabella. It’s time to get up and out of bed.” “My name is not Isabella!” said the little girl. “Then who has been sleeping in my daughter’s bed?” asked the mother.

“I am Sally, the greatest, toughest astronaut who ever was!” The mother in the story is wonderfully patient as her daughter cycles from being Isabella to Sally Ride one day then Annie Oakley, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Elizabeth Blackwell and mommy. All are important women in history, and mommy is a great hero for a little girl to have. Bios on each of the famous women catching Isabella’s imagination are included in the back.

My Name is Not Isabella should be able to spark discussions about the real people behind the names that Isabella decides to take on for a while. The illustrations by Mike Litwin show Isabella as a spunky girl who is strong, smart, courageous and caring. I highly recommend it. Here’s the book trailer if you’d like to take a look at it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7Jam0f4rx8

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Book Review: Change of Heart by Shari Maurer

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Change of Heart imageSixteen-year-old Emmi feels at her best when she’s on the soccer field. She hopes to win a scholarship to college and keep playing all her life. That is until she’s sidelined with viral myocarditis, an infection that weakens her heart and threatens her life. All of sudden she’s spending more time with doctors than with friends and she lands on the waiting list for a new heart.

Change of Heart by Shari Maurer shows Emmi negotiating the normal pains of being a teen—schoolwork, issues with her boyfriend and her best friend—with the added stress of having a potentially fatal illness. She is at turns defiant, whiny, frightened, confused, bored and hopeful. She needs to hold on to her vision for the future to get through the present.

Mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 14 and up will find a lot to talk about with Change of Heart, including teens’ thoughts about mortality, Emmi’s relationship with her family, especially her mother and brothers, and the meaning of friendship and forgiveness.

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Book Review: Heart with Joy by Steve Cushman

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Heart with Joy imageJulian’s always been closer to his mother than his father. So when she leaves their home in North Carolina to manage a hotel in Florida for her parents, he knows there’s more to the story. Stuck at home until summer so he can finish 10th grade, Julian slowly starts to spend more time with his dad. As he gets to know his dad, he also forges a bond with the elderly woman next door, and a young cashier at the grocery store. With his world expanding, Julian begins to find what’s most important to him, and he learns more about his parents and their relationship along the way.

Heart with Joy by Steve Cushman is an unexpected look at the life of a teenage boy. Julian doesn’t have a lot of friends to confide in, and he can’t escape into electronic games, because he doesn’t have any. He likes to cook, but he’s afraid to tell anyone, because he believes they may be critical of his work in the kitchen.

Without his mother to confide in, Julian slowly opens up to possibilities around him. From his elderly neighbor, Mrs. Peters, he learns to notice and appreciate the birds in his backyard. From Tia, the cashier, he learns that it’s okay to let other people know what you’re really like.

Above all, Julian has to find out who he is separate from either of his parents. His journey to self-awareness unfolds gently, and it provides many things to discuss for members of mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 12 to 16. I recommend it.

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