Written Windows

Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 23:31:00 +0000

I love describing words and this book did an excellent job describing in both illustrations and written words how this boy feels. My little readers loved seeing the imagination in each picture and we had to stop and examine each one. The all started coming up with descriptions of themselves, 'could jump as high as a grasshopper', 'run as fast as a horse' 'sing as a loud as a bird'. It was sad to take this one back to the library, I may have to buy this one. :)

Third Culture Kids Growing Up Among Worlds by David C. Pollock & Ruth E. Van Reken

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 16:58:00 +0000

In our huge world we are realizing how small it is as more and more families are moving to other parts of it. Whether you are military, for work, missions or pleasure there are a lot of people it seems moving around the globe. Our coming and going is fine for those who know it is temporary or are mentally prepared to adjust but what of our kids? They adjust fine to the new culture probably because they are resilient but when they come "home" to visit family they have some 'odd' tendencies or 'say things weird'. It is simply a reflection of the culture they have adapted to. This book is one that was recommended to us to read as we will be doing just this very soon. We are going to give a copy to both sides of grandparents in hopes they will read this and understand their grandchildren better, especially when they come to visit or when we Skype.

Just wanted to recommend this resource to you parents. Might even be a good resource for a missions pastor or pastor to read so they understand better the MKs as they are so affectionately called.

Animal Poems compiled by Jennifer Curry

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 16:35:00 +0000

I just love this book I found at a garage sale earlier this year! I have so enjoyed the creativity of the authors of these poems. These are just a couple examples! It would be a great resource for homeschooling or just reading. So many ideas of ways you can play with words!

BJU Press resource

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 23:28:00 +0000

My daughter is starting 2nd grade here in just a couple weeks. Over the summer she has read over 5 chapter books including 4 Boxcar Children, and 2 Book Links from BJU Press. As I am trying to keep up with her hunger for books so I just purchased a bunch of books from BJU Press that I read as a child and a few new ones. It is a trusted source for literature and I highly recommend their store. Just a quick blurb on it, I am not employed by them or anything but have appreciated their books since I was young.

Amazing Spot What! by Nick Bryant & Rowan Summers

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 23:18:00 +0000

I had never seen this cool Find It book until recently! I love the I Spy books but this was a little more organized and filled with things my toddler recognized. Bright and colorful like I Spy. I think the rhymes were very comparable also.

Fairy Houses...Everywhere & Beyond! by Barry & Tracy Kane

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 23:10:00 +0000

We visited Maine last year and just loved it! We visited the L.L.Bean store and found these awesome picture books! My daughter just flipped over the thought of making houses for bugs, fairies or her dolls. All the different pictures have given her such great inspiration! She takes them with her on most of our car trips and just looks through them. We have made a fairy house out of seashells, driftwood and shells and she has made some out of sticks, leaves and flowers. Whether you like fairies or not, these are a great way to be creative with the nature around you!

Romeo and Lou Blast Off by Derek Andrerson

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 23:00:00 +0000

My kids loved this book! This silly polar bear and penguin have a great imagination! I love a good book that shows imagination. This pair goes out into the snow and builds a spaceship and then blast off into their imagination. I love how the illustrator makes the police officer look like a shark, this children are fish and the little dog look like a mini polar bear. I love how they end the book making a rocket out of boxes and take off...but they are on a ship headed home.

My one critic is that they use the word 'Jeesh' which in my opinion is a slang for Jesus who is my Savior so it is offensive to me.

Overall, I think my kids liked the illustrator's work more than the authors. They almost could have told they story without words.

Come over to My House by Theo LeSieg (Dr. Seuss)

noreply@blogger.com (myrrhbeth) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 03:03:00 +0000

I just love Dr. Seuss. I know a lot of people say that, but let me tell you how much I love him:
Last month I came across a certain Wikipedia article that listed many of Dr. Seuss's works, and I discovered there a book I had never heard of, "Come Over to My House." It was written under the pen name Theo LeSieg, and as I soon discovered, is currently out of print. I wondered why it ended up out of print so I checked the reviews on Amazon.com (perhaps not always the most reliable, but generally helpful for books at least.) Every single reviewer loved the book to death! Naturally my next step was to check our library, but our local system didn't have it, though it was available through inter-library loan. So what could I do? I bought it off e-bay.

This book is fabulous! Dr. Seuss covers such a wonderful variety of cultures from every corner of the globe. A few cultures I didn't even recognize. (LeAnna was pleasantly surprised to find that New Zealand's Maori culture and hot springs are represented.) Richard Erdoes illustrated the book and portrays each different house simply but distinctly.

Since "Come Over to My House" describes the houses and other aspects of cultures around the world, when my copy came I wondered if perhaps I would discover some clue as to why the book is now out of print. I assumed perhaps it contained some horrendous politically incorrect cultural stereotype.
But try as I might, I could not find anything about this book that could be offensive. (Apparently it is out of print because some publisher out there is insane.) On the contrary, Seuss's underlying message tells us that wherever we go, we are all equal and may all be friends.

"Some houses are marble and some are just tin,

but they're all, all alike when a friend asks you in."

Beating the Winter Chills

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 03:33:00 +0000

I know, I know, it is winter...I currently am up in the chilly, well bitterly cold north in Minnesota. Wow, got to -14 last night! So I am trying to think warm thoughts and looking ahead to summer. My daughter is now starting to eat up books, she loves her reading class in school and she loves after school getting to put fish on her reading pond (like a reading tree but we put the name of the book on a fish to go in her pond instead of leaves on a tree). I digress... :) I found this blog recently that has a neat template for a summer reading log as well as some other cute reading related ideas. I loved her bookworms label so you can put gummy worms in a bag. She also has a list of 50 book suggestions (I do not endorse necessarily any of them). Thought I'd give a little glimpse of summer as we brave, at least those in the north, the cold temperatures. :)

http://www.simpleasthatblog.com/2011/07/summer-reading-log-free-printable.html

Loud Emily by Alexis O'Neill

noreply@blogger.com (myrrhbeth) — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 04:08:00 +0000

Loud Emily tells of a little girl named Emily with a very big voice! From birth, sweet Emily's loud voice surprises and flusters her family and all those around her, but her loud voice is a part of her that she cannot seem to change. It causes nothing but trouble until one day she walks into the noisy kitchen and there finds that her loud voice can actually be helpful! When the cook takes Emily to the wharf to buy fish, Emily takes a job on a ship requesting "Loud Help." Her voice is exactly what the ships captain needs to call out directions to his sailors over the blustery winds at sea. Emily's strong voice comes to the rescue when no other help can warn others of danger. And in the end, her parents are no longer covering their ears but are proud of their daughter for using her voice to help others in a way no one else could.

In an interview at the end of the book, the author discusses only the historical setting of the story, (a New England sea coast village,) and how important whaling was to that area. That bewildered me, as the story carries a subtle but sure message. Emily is obviously most happy being herself and helping others than when she is trying and failing to be something she was not: quiet. At first Emily is viewed by those around her as flawed, in that her voice is simply too loud. But the story takes us through the process of Emily finding a way to turn what makes her different into something useful and beneficial to others. In the end, though never stated as such, her volume is viewed as a gift.

My children both love this book, probably because I yell whenever I read Emily's lines! But someday I hope they will love embracing and using their own unique gifts to serve others, as Emily does.

Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson

noreply@blogger.com (myrrhbeth) — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 03:29:00 +0000

Cinder Edna tells the tale of the girl living next door to Cinderella. Like Cinderella, she also is forced to work for her mean and demanding step-mother and two step-sisters. However, Cinder Edna has very different responses to her situation. With hard work and practicality, she takes matters into her own capable hands when the ball comes along, choosing, for example, to simply take the bus to the ball instead of relying on a fairy godmother. At the ball, she meets the prince's brother, who is far more interesting to talk to than the crown prince. When the clock strikes midnight, Cinder Edna realizes she must catch the last bus, and in her haste leaves behind one of her shoes- a practical brown loafer. Her prince comes to find her, not by trying the loafer on all the girls of the kingdom, but by asking all the Ednas in the kingdom a question only his Edna can answer. While the crown prince and Cinderella go on to lead rather dull royal lives, Edna and her prince live happily ever after working hard (together) and sharing their favorite jokes.

Although I see the point the author of Cinder Edna is trying to make, I did feel this story does somewhat of an injustice to the original Cinderella story by repainting her character as wimpy and dull. While the Cinderella in this book does indeed compare as very shallow, the original tale presents a girl up against much more difficult odds than Cinder Edna has to face, while still maintaining a sweetness of heart. As such, this book would probably be most appropriate for a child familiar with the original, and old enough to understand the differences in the setting of the story, the humor in the contrasting Edna, and the over-all message.

The over-all message is well worth understanding. Rather than sit in the cinders and feel sorry for herself Edna takes matters into her own capable hands and makes the best of her circumstances. The story points out elements of Edna's character, and ultimately those character points are what bring her and her "prince" together and keep them happily married in the end. Furthermore, the book's message counters the implied message of much of the princess craze of today by demonstrating that happiness is not found in the princess scene (i.e. riches and handsome guy.)

Lastly, I appreciated this book for finally addressing a particularly mystifying story-line flaw in the typical Cinderella tale: WHY didn't the Prince ever ASK Cinderella her name?!?

Watch Me Throw the Ball! by Mo Willems

noreply@blogger.com (myrrhbeth) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 03:21:00 +0000

First of all, Mo Willems absolutely must be on your children's reading list. My children and I have liked almost all of his books so far- they are simple and fun, often revolving around the way young children actually think. Willems has written several series of children's books, but mostly in our house right now are the Elephant & Piggie books. They are usually cataloged as "early readers" because they are written at a fairly young reading level. However both of my non-readers love the books for their simplicity and humor. Munchkin Man has laughed out loud at the punch line of several of the books!

I have chosen to review Watch Me Throw the Ball! first, however, because it showcases very well another aspect of Mo Willems writing: although written for children, many of his books have a little message for the adult reader as well.

In Watch Me Throw the Ball!, Gerald (the elephant) throws his ball, and then Piggie asks for a turn to throw. Gerald takes her request very seriously, reminding Piggie that throwing a ball takes "skill and practice" and hard work. Piggie, however, just wants to have fun! After a horrendous toss and some silly antics from Piggie, Gerald points out Piggie's poor throw, which Piggie acknowledges. But then she replies "But I had fun!" and skips happily off.

My children love the book because of Piggie's silliness. But I love the reminder to us adults: it is OK for children to just have fun, no strings attached! Certainly there is a place for learning correct techniques, etc. But if my little ones are simply enjoying the process, that too is very important.

Scholastic Ideas for Reading

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Wed, 30 May 2012 20:46:00 +0000

Here are some neat ideas of how to make reading come alive to your child that I found in an old copy of an older Scholastic's magazine Parent & Child - June/July 2011 edition:

The Magic of Stories:

Read "on location" - their idea is to read a story in a location that would entice your child's imagination even more. Read the Secret Garden or any other garden book in a garden or surrounded by flowers, even silk. How about reading Swiss Family Robinson or a pirate book on the beach. They even suggested to read different chapters in different spots depending on what is going on.
Put on a play - act out a book, have a small party where each child is assigned a character in a book, they get to dress up like that character and come over to act it out. A great summer time activity.
Draw pictures from each chapter they read (non picture books of course), when they are done, they have illustrations, the book will be remembered longer because another sense was used and they even could share the story to a younger sibling who might get bored otherwise with all those words. - I love this idea, storytelling is a vanishing art and this is a great idea to spur on some great tales, they even might create their own version of the story.

Also, as I perused their site, linked above, I noticed they have a log your reading minutes challenge with prizes listed as an incentive. GO HERE to check it out.

Just had to share these tips with you as I am constantly on the lookout to keep my reading power to my kids sharp and creative. Enjoy!

Sara Sue Learns to Yell & Tell by Debi Pearl

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Wed, 30 May 2012 20:23:00 +0000

Sara Sue Learns to Yell & Tell is the girl version of this Yell & Tell series to help children learn to have courage to speak out against sexual predators as well as guard themselves against it. In fun illustrations Sara Sue is teaching her little sister what she knows about this issue and she wants her sister to know the importance of yelling out against this sin. In both books kids are encouraged to yell and not be afraid of speaking out against this sin and crime no matter how much the perpatrator encourages them not to: gifts, threats. Kids are also told that they must speak out to protect other kids too, if they are quiet about it, how many more will have to tolerate this sinful matter.

Debi Pearl does an excellent job keeping this book moving and enticing for little ears as well as motivating them to yell and tell if they feel someone is either going to hurt them or is. I have links to Amazon on the book cover as well as title and a link HERE to Debi Pearl's website where you can purchase them if you are interested.

Note: As stated in the review about the boy version of this book Samuel Learns to Yell & Tell, I do not agree with everything Debi Pearl writes, I believe she is too extreme in some issues that the Bible either does not state clearly or that the Bible is balanced on.

Samuel Learns to Yell & Tell by Debi Pearl

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Wed, 30 May 2012 20:06:00 +0000

Samuel Learns to Yell & Tell was recommended to me by a lady at a church I visited. In this day and age in which we are raising our kids teaching them to protect themselves against sexual predators is very important. I love how Debi Pearl writes this with such discretion and yet gets the point across. In this book this mother not only is warning her son to protect himself from molestation but also from pornography and from general evil of making fun of which God has deemed private. The pictures also are just so neat! I love to see the excitement of the little boy as he shows his mother he is listening to her lesson and getting the point. There are no naked pictures.

I ordered these books from Amazon, link on picture and title and just got them. You can also purchase them HERE at Debi Pearl's website. My husband and I both read them and agreed that they were material we could share with our kids as well as material they could understand clearly.

Note: I do not agree with everything Debi Pearl writes, she is extreme in some areas that I think the Bible is more balanced on but this book is well written and well done.

Rain Gutter Book Shelves

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:11:00 +0000

I don't normally put anything on here except book reviews but this I had to share...hey, it has to do with books. Go here for originality, vinyl gutter book shelves. I know right?! I am totally keeping this in mind for bookshelves in kids rooms at least. Had to share with all my book loving moms. :)

The Fox in the Dark by Alison Green

noreply@blogger.com (myrrhbeth) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 01:39:00 +0000

A little rabbit flees in fright and reaches his home just in time, safe from "the fox in the dark."

But who could be knocking on his door? The fox in the dark? No, it is only a parade of frightened friends: duck, then mouse, then lamb hoping to escape from the fox in the dark.

Eventually, the fox does show up, but as Duck says, "He looks a bit small to me!" Turns out, the fox was only looking for his mother, lost in the dark!

We LOVE this book! To be quite honest, I'm not sure why exactly Munchkin loves it, but he asks for it to be read often, so I know he does. I love it because everything is just so stinkin' cute! A baby fox? Unquestionably cute.

But more importantly: The story is well written rhyming verse, with each stanza ending in a variation on "the fox in the dark." Each of rabbit's friends brings his own spark of humor to the story. In each picture of the different animals outside, we found a silhouette of the fox hidden in the background, which made for a fun little game of seek-and-find.

And finally, the story ends on such a sweet note. Foxes of course are generally portrayed as sly, hungry creatures who would indeed scarf down a rabbit and his friends without a sliver of remorse. So it was a sweet and refreshing change to find these cute foxes innocent and loving. The book ends with all the previously frightened little animals and the baby fox curled up with the mama fox as a pillow.

The Fox in the Dark quite likely will end up as a permanent part of our children's library someday.

~Miranda

Mr. Pine's Mixed-Up Signs by Leonard Kessler

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:16:00 +0000

Mr. Pine prides himself in his hard work as a sign maker, the town he lives in loves his work too. When after many years his signs are faded and need to be redone, the town turns to Mr. Pine to get the job done. He tediously paints the signs and sets them out to dry for the night. In the morning he is to put up all these new signs but where are his glasses? He looks high and low but cannot find them. Finally he decides he must put the signs up without his much needed glasses. Oh the mix up that follows: Barber shops that read gas, pet shops that read candy, street signs that point in circles and stop signs next to go signs. The town is all mixed up. Finally Mr. Pine finds his glasses, which humorously the dog took, and realizes his mistake and fixes those signs locations.

My kids and I loved this book! They wanted to read it again and again...alas, then I had to make dinner... :) Mr. Pine shows hard work, he takes responsibility in his work and then when he makes a mistake, he makes things right again. Love this book!

E-Books and Audio Book Suggestions

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:06:00 +0000

As we enter more and more of a digital age ebooks and audio books are definitely coming on strong. My kids and I love listening to audio books in the car and with e-readers coming down in price many have invested also in e-books as well. Here are a few links to either e-books or audio books below:

E-Books:
Bookworms Abode
Kids World Fun
Fiction.us - Children Young
Fiction.us - General & Longer Stories

Audio Books:
Audible.com
Books Should Be Free
Light Up Your Brain

I do not endorse all the books found on these sites, I encourage you to use discernment in choosing your child's literature. However, that stated there were some books I saw that would be ones I would choose. There are lots more sites out there, some are better than others, these are just a few to start with.

The King's Stilts by Dr. Seuss

noreply@blogger.com (myrrhbeth) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:55:00 +0000

The King works diligently and hard all day long till his royal work is completed, and then finds his fun in racing around his court on brilliant red stilts! When Lord Droon, a court official who frowns upon smiling, steals the king's stilts, the king's lack of fun puts the whole kingdom in danger. However his loyal page boy Eric realizes that the king's stilts must be returned before it is too late for the kingdom.

The King's Stilts probably ranks as one of my son's favorite books. Unfortunately it is a lesser known Seuss book- as I sat at a table of mom's who all proclaimed Dr. Seuss as their favorite children's author, no one had even heard of it!

The story is certainly one of Dr. Seuss's longer works, but as always it flows poetically (though not rhyming) and is a fun and entertaining story to both children and adults. Seuss uses a higher level of vocabulary here which I so appreciate. Even though my son cannot read it for himself yet, he is being exposed to a wonderful vocabulary that is not "dumbed down" just because this is a children's book. Though I suppose you could wrestle a moral out of the story about needing time off work to play, I think that moral would be somewhat missed by the target audience. My son loves this book simply because it is a fun, engaging story! I love it because it is a fun, engaging story AND because The King's Stilts is a stellar example of a well-written, beautifully illustrated children's story.

~Miranda

The ABC Bible Verse Book by Deedra Scherm

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:03:00 +0000

What a clever way to teach our children their ABCs! Truly a Bible verse for every letter - X is a little creative but still highlighted very well. My one critic is that there are some verses that use too simplistic of words and I am a strong believer we never should dumb down the Bible for sake that a child may not recognize it right away but rather take it as an opportunity to share with them and broden their language. Neat pictures to illustrate the different verses too.

My Body Belongs to Me guest book review

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 21:00:00 +0000

I love having close friends in which I trust very much in literature they choose for their children. My friend Mir has recently been reading a lot about sexual abuse with children and her desire to train her children what to do is very pressing. Anyway, she found this book, My Body Belongs to Me by Jill Starishevsky that she reviews on her blog HERE and I wanted to share it. This issue is very touchy and I am constantly saddened that it even has to be brought up but alas, sin is in the world and we must teach and train our children how to deal with it and avoid it. Hope this resource is helpful, I look forward to getting this book upon her recommendation too so I can better prepare my children against such horrible activities.

Summer Suggestions: Audio Books

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Thu, 26 May 2011 20:41:00 +0000

Dear Readers,

As summer approaches quickly - yes, despite the cooler temps and horrible storms your children are finishing up school in the next few weeks and are going to have so much time on their hands! I hope you as a family will get to "get away" even if it is a simple vacation of tent camping and roughing it a bit. The weeks my family took off are some of the most blessed memories I have from my childhood.

As I am constantly looking for new books to review I am also told of some books and also of resources, a few resources I would like to direct your attention to. Under Book Resources I have added a few links to some sites with children's audio books. These are sites either I have used or trusted friends have used. I know there are many computer savy kids out there and I-pods and Kindle readers are coming more readily available to the world. Audio books are a great way for children who struggle with reading, who cannot read yet or just enjoy some listening time to enjoy some classic or fun literature. Interesting idea: my friend allows her girls, 5 1/2 and 4 to listen to audio books during a rest period at their house.

Audible.com has a huge library of audio books and a whole section of children's literature. I do not recommend every title so you as the parent will have to use discretion but they do have a huge selection.
Christian Audio.com is just that a source of Christian literature for all ages, including children. They do range from liberal Christian theology to conservative so once again, use discretion. If you sign up for their e-mails though, once a month they will send you a free audio book offer (I don't get junk mail from them either). I was able to download Pilgrim's Progress and a few other books from them for free!
Blue Behemoth.com has a smaller selection but they sell more conservative Christian audio books than the above mentioned site. My friend Angela has told me also that sometimes they have free audio book sections of the Jonathan Park adventure series so that is something to check into.

Audio books many times are very reasonable in price and they are easy to access once they are downloaded to your computer. Libraries are still open during the summer so they are still a great resource (some libraries also have audio books you can borrow!) but if your child likes the world of technology, try an audio book this summer.

Miss malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind by Finchler & O'Malley

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Thu, 26 May 2011 20:23:00 +0000

The benefits of reading and opening a child's mind to the written page are endless because as a child reads their play, imagination and intellect can grow endlessly. Granted we should be careful what we let our children read but reading is so valuable.

In this book this teacher is on a mission, to find a book that each student with love! Oh, the end goal is to read over 1,000 books as a school and send the principle to sleep on the roof with purple hair. Pretty good incentive I guess. :) One book after another is placed before each of her students but one boy is not impressed. Entertainment to him is video games, and no book can draw him in. Not giving up the teacher keeps learning more and more about him and finally the night before the deadline she finds a book and he likes it enough to read it.

I am glad for this teacher's persistence but as a parent I have to wonder about this boy's parents that they let him play these mindless games so much that he has never found a book at his age he really likes. Come on! Currently my daughter is head over heels in love with any book that has princesses, fairies and sparkles - not my fave but I still read them with enthusiasm, my son loves tractors, cars, stories with adventure!

I like the emphasis on this book and getting kids to read but it is not a book I would ever read again because it saddens me so much. I hope this book with challenge every parents to turn off the tube and help their child find a book to dig into this summer!

The Rusty, Trusty Tractor by Joy Cowley

noreply@blogger.com (LeAnna) — Thu, 26 May 2011 20:06:00 +0000

Sometimes new is not always best and this book is a good reality check for this little boy and the pushy salesman. This farmer has had this tractor since his old plow horse passed on and although it has been putting in many years this boy's grandfather knows how to keep it going. When the local tractor salesman gives a bet that it won't last the season everything seems to be on the line - will the storms destroy the crop? can that tractor pull the baler?

I love at the end, when all the bales of hay are safe and sound that the sheepish salesman comes to deem grandfather the winner of the bet - yummy jelly donuts are the prize. What tops the end off though is how the tractor ends up pulling the salesman's car out of the mud when it gets stuck! My son really enjoyed this book and we read it several times.