When I was in Kindergarten, we weren’t all that worried about physical fitness. I do remember we used to sing the song this review’s title comes from (originally from Romper Room, which I doubt very many of you remember, but here’s an Australian version, in case you need an earworm), but that was as far as actual exercise went in our classroom. Fast forward a dozen years or so, to about a decade ago, and now I’m teaching preschool in Cambridge Mass, basically in Harvard’s […]
I Want a Robot Friend Too Now
Little Robot is a graphic novel (with very few words) that I saw a few months ago reviewed somewhere and I thought that it might be just the thing for my five year old who can’t bear to sit still while we read at night. Instead, he and his three year old sister dance, fight, mosh , dress the dogs and well… do just about anything else (other than listen) while my seven year old and I glare at them from the top of book. […]
A delightful little picture book
Princess Pinecone wants to be a warrior and get cool trophies or weapons, but instead she tends to get big fuzzy sweaters. For her birthday this year, what she wants the more than anything is a horse. A big, brave, strong horse. A warrior horse, fit for the warrior princess that she is. Her parents really do try, but instead, she gets a pony. A little round, yellow pony who likes to eat pretty much everything and fart a lot. Princess Pinecone valiantly tries to […]
The simplest of illustrations, and a book’s worth of confusion is born.
In Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld’s Duck! Rabbit!, we start off with an unusual conundrum: Nobody is really sure what the main character actually is. We’re pretty sure it’s an animal. Of some sort. We’ve got it narrowed down to two, but that’s as close as we can guess. S/he could be a duck – see there? The bill, and the bread eating? or S/he could be a rabbit – only witness the carrot snack and the long, pointed ears. There’s really no telling, […]
Ideas can be stubborn, too
Things I am a sucker for: Perfectly illustrated, gigantic concept encompassing, not-too-preachy, ‘I see what you did there’ picture books. Author’s notes that include the words “luckiest person on the planet.” Books you can give as gifts to both adults and children (so long as you have the right kind of friends). Well, What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada fits all three categories and manages to be sweet enough and powerful enough that I may have bought three additional copies the […]
For the little Wednesday Addams in your life
I’ve noticed that all sorts of previously non-gift giving holidays have somehow, in recent years, become gift giving holidays; Easter baskets that used to be filled with candy now aren’t complete without toys and/or treats; all of a sudden St. Patrick’s Day has its own aisles in stores, ripe with all the green-colored candy you could crave; even Halloween has gone from strictly candy only to ‘maybe I’m supposed to buy the kids in my life something? Or send them a card? When did Halloween […]
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