A bit over a week remains in Picture Book Month, but I feel certain that we will continue to celebrate the genre well into the new year. Today’s selection is dear to my heart, though I imagine it isn’t a book many people will recognize.
I have just returned from a weekend lecture and workshop at the Princeton Waldorf School with the incomparable Kim John Payne, author of Simplicity Parenting.
In what may prove to be the shortest blog post ever, today’s Picture Book Selection comes from one of my favorite children’s book authors, Robert McCloskey.
As we near the end of Picture Book Month, don’t miss the opportunity to visit the Official Picture Book Month website for activities and great selections to share with your children throughout the year.
When Oprah starts talking about something, you know it has touched a public nerve, so cap off your Friday by reading her post: Promote Early Childhood Literacy, Wonder, and Snuggling.
Happy Weekend and Happy Reading to all!
Anyone who knows me even moderately well understands how much I love the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. No, not the television series (though I can now as an adult see the appeal of it as well), but the original book collection that follows the pioneering family Ingalls, and later Laura and her husband Almanzo, as they plant roots in America.
Written in 1955 by Crockett Johnson, Harold and the Purple Crayon is sure to bring to mind your own childhood reading days. Children of the 70s, how often did you sit at the knee of your school librarian as she shared this marvelous story of Harold, a boy who could create entire worlds and change course with one flick of his purple crayon?
I read this book to my children this evening before bed, and their delight with clever Harold was evident. This is a book I can get behind because it celebrates unadulterated imagination in children. Absolutely anything can happen if you just let go.
I hope you’ll read Harold and the Purple Crayon with your children and encourage them to unleash their own creativity in whatever form best suits them. Only good can come of that.
Imagination truly is the driving force behind invention. Let it begin today.
We have arrived at mid-month, and the countdown to our final picture book begins. Are you celebrating Picture Book Month in your home? If so, tell me how. Since picture books are an integral part of our daily routine, my children probably haven’t noticed much of a difference, but we are, as always, enjoying the simple pleasure of reading aloud together at breakfast, after school, and before bed.
Today I hope you’ll consider picking up a book by author and illustrator extraordinaire Virginia Lee Burton when next you visit your library or bookstore.
Here are a few of our favorites:
There are wonderful activities and information on the Official Publisher’s site for all of Virginia Lee Burton’s creations. Rediscover these classics with your children today.
On the passionate recommendation of teachers and other mothers, I purchased an autographed copy of this book a few weeks back at my son’s school book fair. I have yet to give it to him (it’s tucked away for Christmas), so I can’t speak to a child’s reaction just yet, but I can say that this heartwarming story by noted picture book creator Lane Smith is unique.
Quickly …. pick your favorite month of the year. Shall we choose November?
The stripped and shapely
Maple grieves
The loss of her
Departed leaves.
The ground is hard,
As hard as stone.
The year is old,
The birds are flown.
And yet the world,
Nevertheless,
Displays a certain
Loveliness —
The beauty of
The Bone. Tall God
Must see our souls
This way, and nod.
Give thanks: we do,
Each in his place
Around the table
During grace.
A special day calls for a special book, but I simply couldn’t narrow down one picture book by the great Shel Silverstein.
Who among us doesn’t recall sitting down to read yet again The Missing Piece? Didn’t we all receive The Giving Tree as a gift at some point in our lives? And how many times did you nearly split your side laughing at his hilarious poems in Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, and Falling Up? I still remember many by heart. “I cannot go to school today, said Little Peggy Anny McKay. I have the measles and the mumps, A gash, a rash, and purple bumps …” I have all of my Silverstein originals, and I have slowly been passing them down to my two children who now adore them as much as I once did (and still do).
“Nanas, papas, cousins, kin
Piano, harp and violin
Babies passed from neck to knee
All the world is you and me”
A book that will charm mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and children, All the World celebrates kinship, the interconnectedness of the natural world and the domain of man, and the simple blessings of ordinary days. The musical verse and captivating illustrations follow an extended family to a bright morning on the beach, a farmer’s market, a cozy mealtime gathering at a cafè, and a quiet night at home. We experience along with them the cool comfort of a cleansing rain and the gentle rush of a summer wind.