The Three Ninja Pigs

This week at the Library we borrowed the book The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz.  A little back-story: I am married to a man with a second degree black belt and a love for all things Japanese, karate, or ninja related.  I love fractured fairy tales.  So when I saw this book, I knew we'd all love it.  And we did.



It was funny.  It rhymed (well).  It taught the concept of follow-through, and working hard to accomplish a goal. But without being preachy.  Some of it went over the kids heads I'm sure, but the pictures are great, and the story easy to follow.

I do think it helps a kid to know the original fairy tale before reading the fractured fairy tales.  Otherwise they aren't nearly as funny.  So I asked Stella to tell me the original story.  She's a good story teller.


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Tuesdays at the Castle

So, I'm late getting this post up, since we actually read this book almost three weeks ago!  But we loved it.  It was a little advanced for Stella, and there were parts that she was a little nervous to read through.  But I persisted and we finished this delightful book by Jessica Day George.



I am a huge fan of fantasy of this sort.  I mean, really, who isn't fascinated by a magical, growing, living castle. The fun part of Tuesdays at the Castle is that it makes the castle, the setting of the book a major character in the story.  The heroine of the book, 11 year-old Celie is a bright, fleshed out, child.  I loved that she was simply a girl, she didn't act or speak like an adult.

Stella's favorite parts were where she was escaping from the "bad guys"! 
We are looking forward to the sequel, Wednesdays in the Tower
There are some heavier themes in this one, so be aware of that. Celie's parents are presumed dead for much of the book, there is an attempted coups by some advisers and a foreign prince.  And her older brother is at school to become a wizard.  With that said, we would highly recommend this book for 1st grade and up.

What are your favorite books fantasy books for kids?

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In which I list the books we will read this year

I have set a goal to read at least 18 good read alouds with the kids this year.  I have selected 16 of them already.  I think I will ask our local children's librarian for more suggestions for this age/stage We're looking forward to getting started on these!

1.  Adventures of Little Bear by Else Minarik and Maurice Sendak
2. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
3. Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
4. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
5. The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett  (Completed in February)
6. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
7. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
8. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
9. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
10. Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary
11. James Herriot's Treasury of Inspirational Stories for Children James Herriot  (Completed in January)
12. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert O'Brien
13. The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
14. American Girl - Josefina and Samantha, specifically.
15. The Borrowers by Mary Norton
16. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh 
17.  

I will come back and update this list with the last two books, just as soon as I choose them!  I'm totally open to suggestions, too.  What would you read to a kindergartener or first grader?


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Behind Again

Some days I think I'll never be caught up!  We kept our books from September 26th for 2 weeks.  The kids had bad colds, and I just didn't think that another trip out was a good plan.  On the bright side we had some very fun books, and lots of them.

When we go to the Library I tell Stella that she may pick 5 books, and I pick 5 books.  So every week we have a total of 10 books at home.  Most weeks I only write about 5 or maybe 6 on a good week.  That is because the books Stella picks, well, to be frank, they aren't worth writing about!  They're Dora or Diego or Arthur. Or some other tv show character.  They are not particularly well written or very engaging for anyone over the age of 6!

This week, however, my girl did me proud.  She picked good books!  Real books!  So, while this post may be belated, it will be long enough to have been worth the wait!  And without further ado... The books:

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig   We loved this book!  It was so funny.  Sid and I both stared in incredulity and then laughed at the building materials the wolves chose and the way the Big Bad Pig got into the houses!  I love to read these books that take a well known story and turn it on its head.  This was well written and brilliantly illustrated.  And the ending... oh, that ending.  Even Stella saw the humor in it!  I don't want to give it away, You'll have to go read it yourself!

Grandfather's Journey   I read about this one on a list somewhere of good books to read.  It was a fine book.  You feel like you're speaking with the author as you listen to the very personal story he tells.  It's beautiful.  The pictures are beautiful and anyone who has made a home in place different from where they grew up will relate at least a little.  It was a little lost on Stella though.  She was just not ready for the kind of book it is.  We'll probably revisit this if we do a study on Japan in school later.

Come Back, Amelia Bedelia .  This was one of Stella's choices this week.  I was so glad she chose it, too.  I love Amelia Bedelia!  She is so literal.  I guess all kids can relate to that.  Stella liked this and we read it over and over.  We had tried Amelia Bedelia books before, but Stella wasn't quite ready for them.  The humor was totally lost on her.  Not this time though.  We both giggled through it each time we read it!

Meet Molly   This was a good one.  Obviously we are still on our American Girls kkick.  Stella told me yesterday she wants to read all the 1st books then all the 2nds and so on.  We'll have to see about that.  At this rate she'll be able to read them herself by the time we get to the 4th books!  They just keep churning these suckers out!  We did like Molly, and this book has a unique distintion of teaching Stella the "I see London, I see France" rhyme.  A childhood staple!

Mangaboom   We loved this book!  What a great story.  This was our favorite this week.  Excellent book.  I really wasn't sure what we were getting into with this one, but it was a great story about friendship, being who you are, not changing just to get a man. There is a hint of feminism in here, but it's just a hint.  And the message of friendship is much, much louder.  I did have to tell Stella what skinny dipping was...

Four Friends in Autumn   My least favorite Tomie DePaola book to date.  And I've read most of them!  This wasn't bad.  It was shorter than many of his books, and was just a fun little story.  Nothing wrong with it, it was a cute book.  I guess I just expect a lot from authors I know!

Degas and the Little Dancer   This was a fun story.  A ficticious account of how Degas' Little Dancer came to be.  It was a neat way to introduce art to Stella.  I want to expose them to great art, I just don't want it to be this huge lesson at this point in their lives.  Books are a great way to do that, and this was a great book for a 5 year-old girl!

Clifford's Adventures  This was actually two in one!  We like Clifford at our house.  He's such a well mannered pooch.  And what's not to love about the Big Red Dog?

And finally D.W.'s Guide to Perfect Manners .  This was one of the better books that fall into the Stella's choice category!  D.W.,Arthur's sister walks through a day of perfect manners for the pre-school set!  Nothing to argue with, and if we read it 12 times whose gonna complain about good manners?!

So all in all we had a good week on the book front!  What have you been reading?

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