Books for Goodnight Reading

I'm always on the lookout for some goodnight stories, and these new books are a perfect fit.
themes: bed time books, counting, families

A Number Slumber
by Suzanne Bloom
40 pages; ages 2-5
Boyds Mills Press, 2016

The soft textures of the illustrations in this reverse counting book feel so cozy - they just want to make you curl up with a cup of cocoa and pull on a fluffy quilt.

First lines: What do you do to get ready for bed?
Do you brush your teeth? Have a story read?

What I like about this book: Suzanne Bloom gives us the inside scoop on things other sleepyheads do before bed. In alliteration...."Ten terribly tired tigers tiptoe to their beds" ... and rhyme. "Nine normally nimble newts rest their sleepy heads."

What fun! I promise you will be yaw-aw-awning by the end of the book.

It is Not Time for Sleeping
by Lisa Graff; illus. by Lauren Castillo
40 pages; ages 4-7
Clarion Books, 2016

First lines: When I've munched and crunched my last three carrots (except for one I fed to Jasper), Mom takes my plate. "It's been a good day," she says.

What I like about this book: The kid is NOT ready to go to bed. First, dishes have to be washed. It is not time for sleeping.

Then it's time for a bath. Then pj's.... in a cumulative fashion the kid enumerates the things that must happen before it is time for sleeping.

Beyond the book:

Create some alliterative lines about sleepy-head animals that are ready to go to bed. Maybe cats, or teddy bears, or dogs, or sheep.... or unusual animals that live in your back yard or in the garden. Alliteration is when the words begin with the same sound.

What are the "things that have to happen" before you are ready for sleeping?

Read a goodnight story to your dog or cat, or maybe a grandparent.

Find some goodnight poems to say before bedtime. One favorite is Star light, star bright / First star I see tonight / I wish I may, I wish I might / Have the wish I wish tonight.

Today we're joining PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Review copies from publishers.

Counting Crows

Counting Crows
by Kathi Appelt; illus by Rob Dunlavey
40 pages; ages 3-7
Atheneum Books for Young People, 2015

theme: counting

opening lines:

One, two three 
        crows in a tree.
Three roly-poly bugs,
        three ripe mangoes.
Three for the counting crows.
       Three, by jango!

These crows  love peanuts and plums, crickets and crackers. They are bold and sassy, dressed all alike in red stripes - except for that one, over there, with the long scarf.

What I like: The sweaters. The long, long scarf that will surely get tangled up in a branch. The counting by threes - at least until we reach ten. Then it's adding one crow at a time, as if the extra crow will somehow unbalance them and cause them all to fall.

I like the way Appelt plays with words and images: twelve crows on a park bench wing by wing. And the disgusting things she has them eat: slimy snails. And the cat. Oh, that? Yeah, just a cat stretching and yawning and counting crow tails... and then all aflutter the crows take off.

I love the artwork: black-and-white with just red. And the juxtaposition of striped and dots. The silly ways the crows hang out, or gather on a line.

Beyond the Book activities: Crow talk. Do you have crows in your neighborhood? Go outside and listen for them. Crows have more than 20 calls, including a rattly call and beak-clacking. You can hear crow sounds here.

Crow smarts. Crows use sticks and spines to get food out of tough places. But here's a video of a crow bending a bit of wire into a hook to pull a bit of food out of a tube.

Crow play. Maybe you saw this video of a crow snowboarding down a roof. Here's the explanation for why some scientists think it might be playing.

Crow puppet. All you need is a paper bag, black paint, construction paper and your imagination. But here's something to get you started

Today is PPBF (perfect picture book Friday) in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Review copy from Blue Slip Media.

One Duck Stuck

Usually I review new and newish books. But today I'm reaching deep into the WayBack basket for an old favorite that I haven't found on Susanna's list of Perfect Picture Books.

One Duck Stuck
by Phyllis Root; illus. by Jane Chapman
40 pages; ages 2-5
Candlewick Press, 1998

theme: working together; helping others

opening lines: Down by the marsh, by the sleepy, slimy marsh, one duck gets stuck in the muck, down by the deep green marsh. Help! Help! Who can help?

Different animals show up to help: two fish, three moose..... all the way up to ten dragonflies. Each group tries and tries to pull the duck out, but the duck stays stuck! Until they decide to work together. Which is my favorite spread in the book:

What I like love about this book: the creative language. Fish splish, moose clomp. Every creature has a word which may (or may not) be in the dictionary. And after tugging and pulling and pushing, the duck stays stuck in the swampy, chompy marsh. Or the pricky, sticky marsh.... each page brings new descriptions for the marsh. I also like that once the duck is rescued, he says "Thanks!" before flying off.

Beyond the book: This book features such wonderful language, so why not play with words? Go on a Verb hunt. Verbs are "action words", and Phyllis Root finds - or makes up - the perfect words to show how each animal moves in the marsh. Write down words that show how animals in your neighborhood move about. If you can't find the right word in a dictionary or thesaurus, make one up! Phyllis did.

Visit a park or marsh or some other place, and sit for awhile. Observe what's there, how it sounds, smells, feels. Then come up with a list of words to describe the place. In the book, the marsh is described as swampy, croaky, sticky.... What words can you find - or make up - to describe your place?

Pick up a pencil and draw. Jane Chapman has fun drawing all the creatures that come to help duck. So when you're out at your marsh (or park or pond) - draw some of the creatures you see. They don't have to look perfect - or even real. And if you want some tips on drawing - or painting- critters, check out Jane's activity page at her website.

Today is PPBF (perfect picture book Friday) over at  Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Review copy from my local library.

a Long, Long Line

The Long, Long Line

by Tomoko Ohmura

40 pages; ages 3 - 7

Owlkids Books, 2013

“It looks like something is about to start. Let’s go take a look!”

And so you go to where the sign says Please Line Up in Single File and you are the very last one in a long, long line. You know it’s the best attraction because you are number 50, right behind the lizard and a mouse. Somewhere up ahead you can smell … yup, skunk’s up there. And farther up, is that the hungry roar of a lion?

Finally it’s time to board the Jumbo Coaster! It’s so big that the pages open, like a gate, so you can see everyone get on board. Then you’re off on the ride of your life, flipping and diving and… I don’t want to give away the surprise at the end. But I will say that the anticipation is at least as much a part of the story as the ride itself. And the riders – well, each has its own quirky personality.

There are lots of Things to Explore in this book: numbers, animals, how they’re lined up, how they relate to each other, a fun word game and some potential danger when the carnivores get hungry.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

I've Got an Elephant

I've Got an Elephant
by Anne Ginkel; illus by Janie Bynum
32 pages; ages 4 - 6
Peachtree (paperback 2013)

This is a fun, rhyming counting book gull of elephants in PJ's, elephants in tutus, elephants who swim and fish and... pretty much do whatever it is a kid can imagine.

IT starts with an elephant who sleeps in bed.
"But when I go to school, he gets lonely and then...
he goes out and brings home an elephant friend."

Now the kid has two elephants who help with homework, but when she goes shopping with mom, the elephants get lonely and... they go out and bring home an elephant friend.

Then there are four, five, six... elephants accumulate and you've got to wonder just how many elephants can one kid have?


Review copy provided by publisher.