When you are a child, words can have a very literal meaning. I remember once overhearing someone saying they were blue, and staring at them intentily trying to figure out where. I think that is why children enjoy Amelia Bedelia so much.
Amelia Bedelia is a maid hired to help a Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. But on Amelia Bedelia's first day Mrs. Rogers has to go out. Mrs. Rogers leaves a list of chores to complete and that is where the hilarity starts.
Amelia Bedelia is a very literal minded maid, so when she reads "dust the furniture" she finds dusting powder and covers the furniture with it. When she is reminded to put out the lights, she carefully unscrews the bulbs and takes them outside to air. And when it comes to dressing the chicken for dinner, poor Amelia Bedelia can't decide whether to dress it as a she or a he!
But cooking is her one talent. In the end, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers decide that for the sake of her pies, Amelia Bedelia must stay.
Peggy Parish, the original author of Amelia Bedelia was born in 1927 in Manning South Carolina. She wrote many different children's books, but is most well known for Amelia Bedelia. After her untimely death in 1988 her nephew Herman Parish took over the writing of the series. His first book, "Driving Amelia Bedelia" was dedicated to Peggy Parish.
Teaching minding adults will enjoy the Amelia Bedelia books for her ability to teach children idioms and homophones, but the children will enjoy it for the sake of the mistakes that Amelia Bedelia makes. Reading Amelia Bedelia books to your children will be a fun way to improve their vocabulary, but more important, will help you forge some funny memories together.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Goodnight Moon.
For many baby boomers, the book "Goodnight Moon", was a part of a nightly routine.
Written by Margaret Wise Brown in 1947, the book is not so much a story as a bedtime ritual. The bunny rabbit cannot go to bed until he says goodnight to everything that he sees.
On first glance, the pictures in this book are simplistic, but if you take the time out to examine them you will see that they change in tiny ways during the course of the story. A few that come to mind are the mittens on the dryer rack that appear and disappear, the mouse's location throughout the story, and of course, the most obvious, the light in the room growing dimmer as the story progresses.
Margaret Wise Brown wrote all her books for children. Some of the books she wrote were "Goodnight Moon", she wrote "Runaway Bunny", "The Fur Family"", and in the Golden book series, The Color Kittens", "Scruppers, the Sailor Dog", and "Home for a Bunny". Her love of children was such that when she died, childless at age 42 of a blood clot, her will gave the royalty rights to a neighbor, Albert Clarke who was the nine year old son of a neighbor.
Goodnight Moon is a book which has often been parodied. Among the various takes on the book are "Goodnight Keith Moon", "Goodnight Bush" and "Goodnight Goon":, a version that feeds into your inner zombie. My personal favorite is "Nighty Night Toons" done by the Animaniacs. But then I loved that show.
Parodies aside, if you get a chance to pick up "Goodnight Moon" for your little ones, you'll be giving them plenty of happy memories, and more importantly, a peaceful transition to bedtime.
Goodnight Blog!
Written by Margaret Wise Brown in 1947, the book is not so much a story as a bedtime ritual. The bunny rabbit cannot go to bed until he says goodnight to everything that he sees.
On first glance, the pictures in this book are simplistic, but if you take the time out to examine them you will see that they change in tiny ways during the course of the story. A few that come to mind are the mittens on the dryer rack that appear and disappear, the mouse's location throughout the story, and of course, the most obvious, the light in the room growing dimmer as the story progresses.
Margaret Wise Brown wrote all her books for children. Some of the books she wrote were "Goodnight Moon", she wrote "Runaway Bunny", "The Fur Family"", and in the Golden book series, The Color Kittens", "Scruppers, the Sailor Dog", and "Home for a Bunny". Her love of children was such that when she died, childless at age 42 of a blood clot, her will gave the royalty rights to a neighbor, Albert Clarke who was the nine year old son of a neighbor.
Goodnight Moon is a book which has often been parodied. Among the various takes on the book are "Goodnight Keith Moon", "Goodnight Bush" and "Goodnight Goon":, a version that feeds into your inner zombie. My personal favorite is "Nighty Night Toons" done by the Animaniacs. But then I loved that show.
Parodies aside, if you get a chance to pick up "Goodnight Moon" for your little ones, you'll be giving them plenty of happy memories, and more importantly, a peaceful transition to bedtime.
Goodnight Blog!
Friday, February 11, 2011
March 2 is Dr. Seuss' Birthday!
I am always amazed when I come across non readers. The most only excuse I have ever heard from non readers for not reading is "Reading is boring."
If reading is boring, then you are reading the wrong books. There will always be books you don't like. But if you keep trying you'll find one you will. Then another and another and before you know it you're a reader.
Dr Seuss books are a perenial favorite. My children grew up on "The Cat in the Hat." and "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish." I can still recite the entire contents of those books by memory.
The books are simple and easy to read. The children can start the rudiments of reading by following along and recognizing the words. And it is fun. Who could forget the mischief that Cat in the Hat got up to? I was always delighted when he ruined "dad's ten dollar shoes!"
Early on, Dr. Seuss began to advocate stories with a moral ending. For instance, in Yertle the Turtle, the King learns about greed, as he tries to reach the moon from the back of his turtle subjects. "The Sneetches" was about prejudice, Horton hears a Who explained simple loyalty and keeping your word, and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" was about counting your blessings.
Each of these stories, recounts a simple lesson, easy for children to understand, and fun for adults to read.
Dr. Seuss Birthday is March 2. It would be a great day to read one of his books. Maybe while your reading them you can wear one of Bartholomew Cubbin's 500 Hats!
If reading is boring, then you are reading the wrong books. There will always be books you don't like. But if you keep trying you'll find one you will. Then another and another and before you know it you're a reader.
Dr Seuss books are a perenial favorite. My children grew up on "The Cat in the Hat." and "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish." I can still recite the entire contents of those books by memory.
The books are simple and easy to read. The children can start the rudiments of reading by following along and recognizing the words. And it is fun. Who could forget the mischief that Cat in the Hat got up to? I was always delighted when he ruined "dad's ten dollar shoes!"
Early on, Dr. Seuss began to advocate stories with a moral ending. For instance, in Yertle the Turtle, the King learns about greed, as he tries to reach the moon from the back of his turtle subjects. "The Sneetches" was about prejudice, Horton hears a Who explained simple loyalty and keeping your word, and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" was about counting your blessings.
Each of these stories, recounts a simple lesson, easy for children to understand, and fun for adults to read.
Dr. Seuss Birthday is March 2. It would be a great day to read one of his books. Maybe while your reading them you can wear one of Bartholomew Cubbin's 500 Hats!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Ezra Jack Keats, and the Snowy Day
I am not going to waste time writing about me. I started this blog for children's books, and that's what I will write about. But it is only fair to tell you why I decided to do this.
As I grew up, books were always my first love. Thankfully I passed my love of books onto my children. When they were growing up, they always loved Friday's best, because Fridays meant new books for everyone. I'd come home with a book for every child and even one or two extra because I couldn't decide which I liked better. We would spend every night reading before bed.
That love of reading seems to be disappearing. Instead of sitting with a book, most children come home from school and hop on the computer, or turn on their video games.
Sadly, there are many people who are proud of being non readers. They tell me that they don't need to read a book to be educated. Maybe that's true, but there is more to education than knowing facts. There is imagination and imagery. There is learning about places you'll never see, hearing about things you wouldn't have heard of otherwise. It isn't a cliche to say that to open a book is to open a world.
So I hope by telling you about some of the children's books I've enjoyed that I will encourage you to read again. Maybe you won't love it as I do, but you might be surprised. Pick up a book and see!
Ezra Jack Keats was the son of Polish Jewish immigrants who came to the United States in the early 20th centuary. He was always artistic. His father worried about him making a living as an artist, but his pride in his son was so strong. Keats never realized his father's pride in his art until the day his father died of a heart attack. Keats had to identify the body. Inside his father's wallet Keats found articles about his awards and achievements that Keat's father had kept.
Keats continued his dream of being an artist and eventually got into chidren's illustrating. From there, writing children's books seemed a logical step.
Because he knew what it was like to face prejudice as a child, Keats wrote and illustrated stories about minority children. Peter, the charactor in The Snowy Day, was the first Africa-American child to be used as a main charactor in a children's book. In 1963 the book won the distinguished Caldecott Awared for it's beautiul illustrations.
The story itself is about a little boy who goes out in the snow to play. The illustrations look as though they were cut from cloth with a pair scissors. You almost want to reach out nd feel the mother's dress, or touch the wet on Peter's pocket. The story is a simple one, but one which younger children can relate to and understand. This is an excellent story for children age 2-5. It is certainly one they can relate to given the amounts of snow we have now. But even in the summer, when it will be hot and humid, A Snowy Day is a book we can all still enjoy.
As I grew up, books were always my first love. Thankfully I passed my love of books onto my children. When they were growing up, they always loved Friday's best, because Fridays meant new books for everyone. I'd come home with a book for every child and even one or two extra because I couldn't decide which I liked better. We would spend every night reading before bed.
That love of reading seems to be disappearing. Instead of sitting with a book, most children come home from school and hop on the computer, or turn on their video games.
Sadly, there are many people who are proud of being non readers. They tell me that they don't need to read a book to be educated. Maybe that's true, but there is more to education than knowing facts. There is imagination and imagery. There is learning about places you'll never see, hearing about things you wouldn't have heard of otherwise. It isn't a cliche to say that to open a book is to open a world.
So I hope by telling you about some of the children's books I've enjoyed that I will encourage you to read again. Maybe you won't love it as I do, but you might be surprised. Pick up a book and see!
Ezra Jack Keats was the son of Polish Jewish immigrants who came to the United States in the early 20th centuary. He was always artistic. His father worried about him making a living as an artist, but his pride in his son was so strong. Keats never realized his father's pride in his art until the day his father died of a heart attack. Keats had to identify the body. Inside his father's wallet Keats found articles about his awards and achievements that Keat's father had kept.
Keats continued his dream of being an artist and eventually got into chidren's illustrating. From there, writing children's books seemed a logical step.
Because he knew what it was like to face prejudice as a child, Keats wrote and illustrated stories about minority children. Peter, the charactor in The Snowy Day, was the first Africa-American child to be used as a main charactor in a children's book. In 1963 the book won the distinguished Caldecott Awared for it's beautiul illustrations.
The story itself is about a little boy who goes out in the snow to play. The illustrations look as though they were cut from cloth with a pair scissors. You almost want to reach out nd feel the mother's dress, or touch the wet on Peter's pocket. The story is a simple one, but one which younger children can relate to and understand. This is an excellent story for children age 2-5. It is certainly one they can relate to given the amounts of snow we have now. But even in the summer, when it will be hot and humid, A Snowy Day is a book we can all still enjoy.
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