McDuff Moves In

Rosemary Wells is a well known children's author. One of her more popular series is Ruby and Max. Ruby and Max is a series about a brother and sister bunny. It has been made into a PBS series.
 But Rosemary Wells does other series books as well. One of her lesser known but charming books is a series about a West Highland terrier named McDuff.
The first book in the series is called "McDuff Moves In".  McDuff is a stray, riding in the dogcatchers truck one night when he manages to escape. He wanders around looking for a place to stay but is frightened by the wildlife. Eventually he makes his way to Fred and Lucy's house. Fred and Lucy take him in, feed him, bathe him and ultimately decide to keep him. 
The book was such a hit that Rosemary Wells continued the series for nine books to date. Each one is as charming as the next.
Children from ages 2 and up will enjoy the McDuff series. But even adults can enjoy the adventures of the beautiful West Highland Terrier. The well written stories help the reader to see adventures from a dog's point of view rather than a human. The Illustrations are beautiful, detailed and realistic.  The iillustrator, Susan Jeffers, is a well known Caldecott winner, who had illustrated many years. She and Rosemary Wells are well matched in this series, both adding their special touch to McDuff. 
Whether you read this story to your children, or enjoy it for yourself, McDuff will make your day!

The Very Hungry Caterpiller

If someone mentions Eric Carle's name, you may think he sounds familiar, but you may not be able to place him. However, if you saw his books, even without  titles you know would know him immediately.
Eric Carle's books are done as collages. The colors are beautiful, the pictures bright and appealing. All of his books are written with a unique element added to them. For instance, in "The Very Lonely Firefly", tiny lights light up the ending to show the firefly he isn't alone.  In "The Very Quiet Cricket", the book chirps at the end as a cacophony of crickets joins the hero.
Eric Carle is not just visual in his books. He also employs the tactile. In "The Very Busy Spider" letters are raised, so that children can feel them as well as see them. Children and adults who are visually impaired can enjoy this book right off the shelf.
Eric Carle began his career as a graphic artist, then later worked in an advertising agency. In 1967 he illustrated his first book, Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see?  His second book in 1968 was 1,2,3, to the zoo.  A simple counting book. Then in 1969 he wrote "The Very Hungry Caterpillar".  With that book Eric Carle became a household name.
The reader follows the hungry caterpillar as he starts out as an egg, then eats his way into a butterfly. The pages are die cut, starting out very short to begin with, and then gradually working their way up to book size. The book shows the caterpillar eating things both good and bad. The hungry caterpillar makes learning fun as the readers count off both the days until he becomes a butterfly and the items he eats. .
Eric Carle's books are colorful, educational and enjoyable. Since his first book, he has written or illustrated over 70 books for children, sometimes writing 3 or more in a single year.. When you find one of Eric Carle's books you might see a grouchy lady bug, or meet a dragon, or plant a seed. But you won't be bored!

Moo Baa La La La and Other Sandra Boynton books

Sandra Boynton is a true renaissance woman. She has written and illustrated cards, books and calendars. She has written music and was nominated for a Grammy. And she has designed, clothing, jewelry and bedding.  Her art is as familiar as her writings. 

When it came to her books, she has written both for adults and children, but the differences are so subtle that you can't tell which is for whom. Her book "Not the Hippopotamus" is a children's book, but then again maybe not. Whereas the book,  "Don't Let theTurkeys Get You Down" is definitely for adults....or is it?

Moo Baa La La La. is one of her most popular books. As soon as you sit with your children and open the first page the words capture you. "The Cow says Moo,  the Sheep says Baa, three singing pigs say La La La".  You can't help but be drawn into a delightful rendition of animalspeak.  Children will love it, and even better, adults will have fun reading it. 

Another favorite is "The Going to Bed Book".   A group of animal friends on a boat get ready for bed in a series of steps,starting  from heading below deck to bathe, change into pajamas, brushing teeth, and other things all designed to get ready for bed.  It's a wonderfully soothing book, and one that will definitely help a toddler settle down for the night. Not only that, but it will probably help the adult settle down too.

Sandra Boynton was born in New Jersey but grew up in Philadelphia.  She was raised a Quaker and attended a private school in Germantown.  She later went to Yale to study English Literature. At Yale, she met and married an Olympic Athlete. They lived in France for a while as he trained for the Barcelona Olympics. Now she lives in New England where she writes, sings, draws, designs and composes music from an office in her barn.

Sandra Boynton is definitely every man's writer. If she does nothing else, she teaches us to embrace the hippo and ignore your inner turkey!

 

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

Children love order. Sometimes it seems like the order comes out of chaos but it doesn't matter. they still love order. Each step a child takes is taken from an inner voice that says, " A must lead to B which brings us to C and then onto D, which eventually takes me back to A."
Which brings me to the book  "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." In the story, each step the mouse takes, leads from one thing to anotherr, until ultimately he is back where he began. 
 The story is about a boy and a mouse. The boy offers the mouse a cookie which leads the mouse to crave a glass of milk, a straw, a napkin, grooming, art, naps, stories and finally, back to the cookie again. The little mouse goes from one task to the next with total concentration, while the little boy plays the part of parent, supplying whatever is requested, humoring, admiring and cleaning up after each of the mouse's projects. At the end, tired, and wanting nothing more than a few moments peace, the boy gets up again, when the mouse requests a cookie.
The book is written by Laura Joffe Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond.
Felicia Bond, as illustrator gives the book pictures which are sure to appeal to everyone. The illustrations are very detailed but not overly complicated. The expressions on the mouse and boy let you know exactly what they are thinking. Though the style seems simple on the surface, every detail is there to see if you look closely enough.
Laura Joffe Numeroff, the writer, grew up in New York City. She went to school for fashion, but decided she liked writing better. In her senior year she wrote and illustrated a book called, "Amy for Short." Macmillan accepted it and Laura Joffe Numeroff graduated college with a degree and a book contract.
Laura Joffe Numeroff has written well over 20 books. A personal favorite of mine is "The Ten Step Guide to Living with Your Monster"; A book that shows your child how to train and care for the monster living under her bed. Besides the cookie hungry mouse, she has written, "If You Give a Pig a Pancake," and "If You Give a Moose a Muffin." just to name two. Her "If you Give" series was so popular that when she wrote her autobiography, she called it, "If You Give an Author a Pencil".
Laura Joffe Numeroff has won several awards for her work. In addition, she was honored by the Bush administration for her work on Children's Literature. Her appeal is international, as well as national with her books being translated into multiple languages around the world.
Pick up any of her books and enjoy it with your 7 and unders. After they go to bed, enjoy them yourself !