Silly Eagle Books

how to repair damaged children's books

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Fri, 25 May 2012 13:23:00 +0000

Recently, Wendy asked me how I repair damaged children's books. I didn't have anything revolutionary to share with her, so I thought I'd write a post about it and get your input.

Around here, we just use tape. However, after doing a google search on the topic, I found several sites saying things like, "NEVER use tape to repair a damaged book!"

So, maybe I shouldn't recommend that, but it's what we do around here.

My girls are pretty gentle on books--so there isn't much damage to speak of or deal with. Mostly, our lift the flap books are the ones who sustain the most damage due to their interactive nature.

But I do frequently buy lightly damaged books from thrift stores. Mostly, I just clean them up with a bit of my secret book cleaning potion, erase pencil marks, and tape minor damage.

That usually gets them good to go for our purposes.

In general, I find hardback books to be more long-lasting than paperbacks, so if I can find them, I try to buy those instead of paperbacks. However, thrifters cannot always be choosers, so I do have quite a large collection of paperbacks.

If I could find the rest of the phone's receiver, I'd totally tape it together.

How do you repair damaged books in your house? Tape? Contact paper on the covers? Any thing else we should try?

(Image from one of our well-loved favorites The Telephone Book (Touch-and-Feel) by Dorothy Kunhardt of Pat the Bunny fame. )

raising caterpillars and releasing butterflies

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:51:00 +0000

Juliet received the Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden for Christmas this year. She's been waiting all year to order the caterpillars so we could watch them change into butterflies.

With spring finally here and temperature warm enough to release the butterflies, we got our caterpillars and had them in our home for the past several weeks.

It was quite exciting and Juliet enjoyed checking on their changes and recording them in her observation journal every day.

I have to admit, I've never seen a caterpillar change into a butterfly either, so it was just as exciting for me.

We just released the butterflies and are back to just having our cat for a pet.

We've been reading a lot of butterfly books lately (due to our recent guests).

A Butterfly Is Patient is from our home collection--beautifully illustrated and we always love reading it.

Fun With Nature: Take Along Guide (Take Along Guides) is from the library (at a reader's suggestion) and is full of all kinds of information, but in particular, the first section is about butterflies and moths and has several activities suggested for more observation opportunities.

Have you ever raised caterpillars/butterflies? Also, please leave a comment with your favorite butterfly books!

how to build a butterfly garden

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:50:00 +0000

Juliet has been very interested in butterflies lately, so a few weekends ago we spent a Saturday turning a part of our backyard into a butterfly garden.

There were a few overgrown bushes and plants here, so Ben worked hard to dig them out. After it was clear, he tilled the soil for us and then we added generous portions of garden soil to the beds.

Juliet and I had the fun task of picking out the plants!

We looked on the labels to see if they were butterfly attractors and picked our favorites.

I'm sure it varies by where you live, but here's what we found available for our garden:

Lavender

Phlox

Coneflower

Cosmos

Zinnias

Heliotrope

Yarrow

We also have some catmint, a butterfly bush, speedwell, and bee balm in other parts of our yard.

Here's a link to some more flowers that attract butterflies if you want create your own butterfly garden.

The girls and I planted our plants, watered them, and even sowed some seeds. We are hoping that in a few years, we'll have a nice full garden full of flowers and butterflies.

So far, we have had one butterfly visitor! We are hoping for a few more. :)

The girls have had fun watering their garden and checking on the seeds growth and progress. In the fall, we will plant some bulbs, so we can have even more spring color next year.

We are on the hunt for this book: Butterflies in the garden. Our library does not have it, but maybe I will find it at a thrift store.

Have you done any gardening yet this spring? What flowers are your favorite?

linking to Someday Crafts

kids desk revamp

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:54:00 +0000

I found this old desk at goodwill a few weeks ago and have been busy working on transforming it into a perfectly pink princess desk for Juliet.

We recently moved the girls into the same room, painted the walls pink, and are in the process of hanging things on the wall.

With two girls' trinkets and toys to display, we were running out of space on the one bookshelf. So, when I saw this desk, I thought we could really use the surface area for display and also the drawers for extra storage.

Of course, blue would never do, so after spray painting the body of the desk white, Juliet and I have been painting the doors pink.

Each drawer is a different shade of pink, so it is that whole ombre effect (saw it on pinterest, thought I should give it a go!)

It's almost done, I'm just trying to figure out what to do with the hardware now.

I'll post more photos when it's complete--just wanted to share a bit today.

shell keepsake wall art DIY

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Mon, 21 May 2012 18:05:00 +0000

After our recent beach trip, the girls had gathered several bucketfuls of shells. And while it is always fun to collect shells, sometimes it is difficult to figure out what to do with them once we return home.

In the past, we have just put them in our sandbox and garden and played with them there. But since they are outside, they do get lost and dirty and worn down.

Since Juliet is older now and she found some particularly pretty shells this trip, I thought we could display a few in her room.

I found this old art piece at goodwill and thought it would be a good size and surface to use. To prep it, I painted the sides an antique copper (spray paint).

Then I mod podged a piece of scrapbook paper on the front. I tried getting all the air bubbles out, but somehow there were still a few after it dried. (Any tips on how to get it really smooth? I've heard a brayer works well, so I might be getting one for our next project.)

Once it dried, I let Juliet pick out as many shells as would fit on the front in three rows. She had fun looking through her collection picking her favorites.

Then she arranged them in the order she wanted them to be on the board.

I used a hot glue gun to affix the shells onto the board for her.

We are working on a gallery display (collection of frames) in her room, so as soon as I get that figured out, the shells will go on the wall!

We have several vintage shell guide books that we like to look at, but this is one that we checked out from the library before our trip.

Shells! Shells! Shells! is a really great book full of all the shell information your curious preschool or early elementary aged child will want to know.

Any favorite shell books, crafts, or activities you want to share with us? I'd love to hear. :)

linking to craft, made by you monday,

when I grow up, I want to be gail gibbons

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:45:00 +0000

Long ago, I professed by love for Gail Gibbons' books when I made this hanging lovebird valentines craft to hang from our kitchen chandelier. I think Juliet was 2 when I made it and now that she is 5--we still have it and hang it up every February.

I had just discovered the wonder of Gail Gibbons' illustrations and had to recreate one of her designs from Valentine's Dayfor myself. (Bookspiration can strike at anytime, right?)

After loving the Valentines day book so much, I sought out other holiday books she had written. They are all lovely, but at the time, Juliet was not quite ready for non-fiction reads. They was a little too much text for her and no story line made it hard for her to concentrate and enjoy.

I stopped checking them out and put them on my list for "when she is older." I knew one day she would love them.

What I did not know, however, is that Gail Gibbons writes so much more than holiday books! She has a whole arsenal of non fiction books from everything to shipwrecks, to frogs, vegetables, to how to build a house! Seriously, if you are looking for a certain subject, she probably wrote a book about it.

I was clued into her other works by one of you when I asked for non-fiction recommendations. (Thank you for your comments! They are so helpful to me!)

I typed in her last name into our library's search catalog and up came several pages of titles. I can only request 10 at a time, so I got 5 of hers and 5 others this week.

I wanted to share them with you because we loved them so much! At 5 years old, Juliet is now ready to enjoy and learn from these beautifully illustrated non-fiction works.

The Berry Book is probably our favorite of the ones we checked out this week (mostly because the girls and myself are quite fond of berries of all types, but especially strawberries.) Who knew there was so much to learn about berries? It also was a great tie in with a favorite activity of ours: making blueberry paint. (Great backyard fun for a spring day and toddler friendly as well. Find the recipe here.)

Sunken Treasure was SO interesting! At the end of the book, Juliet looked at me and said, "Is this a TRUE story?" And it was so fun to tell her, "YES!' Real treasure, real sunken ships, real treasure hunters--what more can you ask for?

We also enjoyed Emergency and How a House is Built. I can't remember which ones I requested for next week, but it's safe to say I will be trying to get a few every week until we read all our library has to offer from her.

Do you have a favorite Gail Gibbons book? What should we check out next?

never smile at a monkey

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:29:00 +0000

A few afternoons ago, we were in our backyard. I heard Juliet call to me, "Um, mom?"

Yes?

I think there's that lizard we read about in THAT book.

What book?

The NEVER SMILE AT A MONKEY BOOK.

Oh. Let me see. Hmmmmm...I think it's different, but let's check to make sure.

We got out the book and double-checked. Sure enough, the lizard in question was not the venomous one we were instructed to never touch, but just a regular- old, touchable one.

Back to the book, though. It's fantastic. Every animal is dangerous in some way and it tells you how to avoid them (most live in exotic places, so there is no chance of us ever running into any of them, but still, it was an exciting read.)

If your child is very sensitive or easily scared, this might not be the best book, but for us, we loved it.

We've recently started to really enjoy non-fiction, so it has opened up a whole new world of books for us.

Never Smile at a Monkey: And 17 Other Important Things to Remember is just one of several books by Steve Jenkins that look to be really good.

Next on our list is What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You?

Run? :)

peter spier

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:27:00 +0000

Recently, a kindergarten teacher shared some of her favorite authors and illustrators with me in a comment. I reposted her entire list as a post so everyone could see.

I know a lot of you get book ideas from reading my blog, but I get a lot of book ideas from reading your comments. Although we've read a lot of books, I am always amazed and (delighted!) to find out that there are more and more amazing books that I've never read or even heard of before.

I used the favorites list as my library search list that week and we found a lot of the ones mentioned. One of the illustrators mentioned was Peter Spier.

As I typed in his name, I found several titles. I requested ALL of them.

This is just the sort of move that gets me some comments from my librarian, but I thought it was worth it. (As in, "OH. Looks like you checked out ALL the Peter Spier books this week." "Yes, ma'am. I sure did.")

When we got the books home and started to read them, we found out that most of them were wordless books.

We have mixed feelings about wordless books. While we appreciate them and occasionally enjoy them. We don't really want to read a pile of them before bed.

We want a story.

We want WORDS.

Luckily, one of the books we checked out did have words. Oh, Were They Ever Happy! is one of the best books I've read in a long time. I LOVED it. I laughed out loud at the end. I won't even ruin it by telling you what it is about, but I think you will love it.

It looks like it is out of print, but I am on the hunt to buy a copy for our personal collection.

Don't get me wrong, the wordless books are wonderful, too! Noah's Ark was incredible. This was the first version of this story that I've seen that really depicted what sort of mess you would have with all those animals on a ark for 40 days and nights.

Do you have a favorite Peter Spier book?

maurice sendak bookworm cover art

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:38:00 +0000

We went to Goodwill this morning and found this! It's actually an old elementary reading textbook.

I probably would not have bought it if not for the beautiful cover art and the photo of Sendak on the back, but then again, I always enjoyed my literature textbooks.

Not sure what grade this is for, but maybe one day Juliet will have fun reading through it on her own.

For now, I might just prop it up on a shelf in the playroom as book art.

With Maurice Sendak's recent passing, I have been thinking about his books. Of course, everyone immediately thinks of Where the Wild Things Are when they think of him and I am no different.

I remember my kindergarten teacher reading it to us and I also remember going home to tell my parents about the MOST AMAZING book we had read at school.

Something about it was so magical to me. I really don't know what it was, but I loved it.

It is the only book I can remember my teacher reading to me that entire year--even though surely she would have read dozens upon dozens to us, right?

I have no idea. Where the Wild Things Are is the only one I remember.

We never owned a copy of it. I don't know that I ever read it again after kindergarten.

When Juliet was two, I dared to pick it up at the library, but then quickly put it back on the shelf because I didn't want to rush into it! I didn't want to spoil it for her by reading it to her before she could fully appreciate it.

We still haven't read it together because I wanted her be in kindergarten and be blown away by it like I was.

So guess what? She starts kindergarten this fall.

It's time for me to get a copy!

Do you have a favorite Sendak book or a special memory associated with one of his works? Please share!

adoptive mothers

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:53:00 +0000

As I was looking through our books for images of mothers, I could not help but search for this one of baby Moses and the Egyptian Princess who rescued him from the floating basket.

I found this children's Bible at a kids sale a few years ago and have been saving it for when Juliet is old enough to read a copy of the actual Bible (as opposed to a kid's Bible.)

This image struck me as I was flipping through it--checking to see if the pages were in good shape, not torn, written on, etc.

What a powerful image--it made me think of all the adoptive mothers and children that I know.

It reminded me that love is what makes someone a mother--whether it's for a birth child or an adoptive one.

I love reading books about adoption with my kids--here is a list of some of our favorites. My sister-in-law is in the process of adopting a child, so I would love to add more books to the list. Do you have any favorites to suggest?

mom style

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:41:00 +0000

It is my dream to look like Johnny's mom. Of all the storybook moms in our collection, I feel like she gets it just right. She's stylish and except for the shoes, she looks comfortable!

Hair pulled back nicely, pretty earrings in--everything is just right.

I'd truly love to look like her everyday.

But I don't. I look more like the lady next door from one of our favorite books called The Cat's Pajamas.

Or at least I FEEL like her. I really and truly feel like her on most days despite having 7 less children than she does. :)

Source: etsy.com via Vanessa on Pinterest

My momiform consists of jeans, a soft cotton tee, and navy slingback crocs. If I'm feeling especially fancy, I'll wear a pair of small earrings like these. And when we go out? I always carry one of my plum pin cushion bags.

Style-wise, are there any storybook moms that you would like to look like or do actually look like?

Motherhood

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:12:00 +0000

With Mother's Day coming up, I have been searching through my books for images of mothers. I've been looking for ones that I can particularly relate to or that inspire me.

If you read my blog regularly, you probably have this image of me in your mind--that of Lola's mom
who takes her little girl to the library every Tuesday and reads her stories before she tucks her in at night.

And while that image is true (we do go to the library a lot and we read a heck of a lot of books together), it is only part of the picture.

Something I don't write about a lot, but is equally as true as the book-reading mama image is this one:

The one where no matter what I do or how hard I work, there is always someone (or two someones!) working just as hard to undo all that I have just spent minutes or hours doing. (Cleaning the house, folding clothes, picking up toys, etc.)

Just like Sal's mom, I sometimes send off my kids to pick blueberries on their own. So far, they have not run into any bears, but it's still early in the game. :)

While reading books with your kids does have a lot of positive benefits, it turns out they don't eliminate messes, temper tantrums, fighting, screaming, or any of the other usual childhood delights.

Being a mom is hard.

And completely and utterly exhausting.

But despite all that, motherhood is the best and most rewarding job I've ever had. And getting their little hugs makes all the hard moments worthwhile.

What storybook moms do you most relate to?

(two images above from We Were Tired of Living in a House.)

vintage princess book

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:23:00 +0000

Recently, Christina of Pretty Little Nest sent me this gorgeous book that she picked up at a thrift store. A fellow vintage book lover, she saw it and had to pick it up!

Since she has two boys at home, she was kind enough to send it over to my princess-obsessed girls. We have been reading it over the past week--it's a collection of princess stories and we finally got to the end.

I had never read any of the stories before, so it was new to both Juliet and myself. We really enjoyed the illustrations and have even found some inspiration for some new princesses dresses (she really loves the patchwork princess dress in the second photo!)

It was a really nice break from the Disney gals. :)

Although, The Princess book is out of print, you can find copies for sale on amazon and probably ebay as well. Or maybe you could get lucky and find it in your library.

Even though the stories were fun to read, I think the thing I love most about it is the cover. Wouldn't it look great leaning against a wall on a display shelf with the cover forward?

Do you have any "display" books in your home? Which ones do you showcase or which ones would you love to showcase?

Thanks again for the beautiful book, Christina!

mother's day picture books to read with your kids

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:40:00 +0000

I posted this list last year, but I like all the options for Mother's Day reading. They are not about the actual holiday--just stories about moms that celebrate all the things we love about our moms and about being a mom.

I went to the library in search of Mother's Day books and came up with three good ones for you.

Mother's Day Sandwich by Jillian Wynot (sorry, couldn't find a cover image!)
This book is actually about Mother's Day! The kids make breakfast for their mother--and a huge mess. :) It's cute, though. And a perfect read for mother's day.

Lyle Finds His Mother by Bernard Waber
Everyone needs a mother--even crocodiles.

My Mom Has X-ray Vision by Angela McAllister
Very fun book about the superpowers all moms have.

The rest of these are just some good books (you probably have some of these on your shelves already) that are beautiful stories about moms and their kids.

The Runaway Bunny

A Little Bit of Love

Little Bear

Love You Forever

I Love You Stinky Face

Lola at the Library

Over in the Meadow

Stellaluna

You Can Do It, Sam

Hugless Douglas

Are You My Mother?

What would you add to this list?

don't read to your kids: no good can come of it!

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Wed, 02 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

image from Rain Talk by Mary Serfozo

I've been reading to Juliet since she was a baby. And I always thought it was a good idea.

Until now.

Here are my top four reasons why you should NOT read to your kid.

1. Reading to your kid will eventually make them smarter than you.

And while I have no problem with my kid being smart or even smarter than myself one day, I never in my wildest dreams thought that "one day" would occur when she was a mere 5 years old. 18 I could have handled, but 5? It's too much.

Here's a conversation we had a few nights ago:

Mom, tell me something SCIENTIFIC.

Ummmm...okay, let's see....butterflies have tiny scales on their wings that...

I already know THAT. It was in a book. Tell me something else that I DON'T know.

***silence***
(while I wrack my brain for something, anything scientific that I could tell my five year old...)

I'm sorry. I don't think I know anything that you don't already know. We read the same science books, so we probably know the same things at this point.

***silence***
(in which she wracks her brain trying to fathom the horrible fact that she knows more than her mother. In the end, she just rejects reality.)

Just think of SOMETHING.

Maybe tomorrow night.

Sigh...

2. Reading to your kids will increase their vocabulary.

I know, I know. Again, that seems like a good thing.

Until this happens:

Your mother-in-law is over, she's helping out with the baby while you are trying to get some cleaning done. Your older child is playing happily on her own.

Everything is fine until you hear your well-read child scream, "Get back, you brutes!!!" at the top of her lungs and then proceed to furiously kick the refrigerator over and over again.

Your mother-in-law then looks at you, laughs, and says, "Where did that come from?"

And you will have to say, "I have no idea....but I'm guessing it was in a book."

(It took me a few weeks, but I eventually hunted down the source of this outburst: Lady and the Tramp)

3. Reading to your kid will give them an active imagination.

Again, at the beginning of my parenting journey, stimulating my child's imagination was one of my number one goals.

I've begun to rethink it lately.

More specifically, I began to rethink it when I became a step-mom.

No. I did not remarry. The man I am married to is the one and only man I have ever been married to.

He, too, has only been married to me and the only children we have our the ones we have together.

So, how am I a step-mom, you ask?

I'm a step-mom because Juliet has read too many fairy tales.

You've probably noticed that most fairy tale heroines live under the care of wicked step-mothers. (Cinderella, Snow White, etc...)

My daughter believes, as every young girl her age does, that she is a princess.

So, since she is a princess, it naturally follows that she needs a step-mom.

Here's where I come in.

Fortunately, she has graciously allowed me to be a "nice step-mom."

So there is that.

4. They will use books to outwit you.

Fables may seem like useful, edifying reading material, but don't let them fool you. The minute they get a chance, your kids will backtalk you with those same lessons.

Last fall, I gave Juliet the task of deseeding the pumpkin while I made dinner. I worked for about 15 minutes, walked over to check on her progress and discovered she had only pulled out 3 seeds.

I calmly said, "You sure are taking a long time getting those seeds out...why don't you hurry up a bit?"

And she, not missing a beat, looked up at me with those big, brown eyes and said, "But mom. Slow and steady wins the race."

Well-played, Aesop. Well-played.

Disclaimer: Hopefully, it is obvious that I am attempting to be humorous. I actually do think reading to your kids is a GOOD idea. Sometimes I write these posts and I get comments from people who try to convince me that reading is good--which, of course, I agree with completely--so, please! Don't try to convince me that reading is good! I'm already convinced. I promise! :)

the cloud collector's handbook

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:47:00 +0000

I bought The Cloud Collector's Handbook for Juliet and intended to put it in her Easter basket, but took it out at the last minute. I wasn't sure if I was jumping the gun on it--was she ready for a book like this?

She can't read yet, and writing is something she is just now getting the hand of, so a journal like this one might not be right for her.

I kept it for a few weeks and then broke and gave it to her. :)

I read the intro to her and she got really excited.

We looked through all the photos and she was completely on board with starting her own cloud collection.

The book is really fun--the intro shares the idea that you don't have to own something to collect it--you just have to notice it and record it.

So that is how we are cloud collecting.

We are trying to observe and notice them and then as we see specific ones mentioned in the book, we can record where and when and possibly snap a photo of it. Each cloud is worth a set number of points and evidently, there are other cloud collectors out there with which to compare scores.

After I looked through the book with her, she sat down and looked through it again, page by page, on her own, so I think that even though she is young, this is something we can do together and have fun with.

Are any of you cloud-collectors? Have any favorite cloud books to share?

Hot air balloon: book-inspired nursery art

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:16:00 +0000

I made this hot air balloon nursery art for my nieces last spring. It was inspired by the cover of The Travels of Babar.

She sent me this photo of it hanging in the nursery and I thought I'd share it. It's reminded me of how much I enjoy making book-inspired nursery art.

Perhaps it's time to get another project going. I recently moved Juliet and Lucia into the same room, so maybe we could make something new to go into their shared space.

What books would you use as art inspiration in your children's rooms?

How plants live

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:43:00 +0000

I picked up this book How Flowers Live at goodwill a few weeks ago because I wanted to rip out this flower page and frame it.

Before doing so, I decided to read it, and liked it so much, I cannot destroy it now. It's perfect for spring and right on target with all the questions Juliet has about plants and flowers and seeds.

We seem to be getting into the non-fiction science books these days--do you have any that you would recommend to us? We are interested in just about everything nature-related!

P.S. I had to include a shot of the old library card in the back! Brings back so many fun memories! I also wonder what Peggy, Amber, Michelle, and the rest are doing these days--do they remember what they learned about plants from this beautiful book?

The beach before breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:36:00 +0000

The Beach Before Breakfast

This is one of my favorite beach books. We read it every year before we go to the beach in the spring.

I collect books illustrated by Leonard Weisgard, but I love the story as well even though I can't say I have ever seen the beach before breakfast--I'm more of a "beach after breakfast" kind of girl.

We found a lot of tiny sand crabs this year--not the kind you eat, but still, it was exciting for us. I have a lot of favorite beach/ocean books that I've mentioned before in my top ten beach books list, but I am always looking for more! Have any to share with me today?

Caterpillar book

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:29:00 +0000

Last week, a friend of mine posted a photo of a strange looking caterpillar on facebook. She had discovered it in her yard and asked the question, "Does anyone know what this creature is?"

Because Juliet is fascinated with caterpillars, I showed her the photo on my phone. She immediately jumped up, ran to her room, grabbed her caterpillar book, and came back with it opened to this page. She had seen it before and knew exactly what it was--the white-marked tussock moth, of course!

A few months ago, Juliet found a caterpillar in our yard and wanted to know what it would turn into--we searched online and found what we thought it was. And while the internet is useful for such things, I wanted her to be able to search on her own and thought a book would be better.

I researched caterpillar books and found Caterpillars of Eastern North America: A Guide to Identification and Natural History. It said it had every caterpillar east of the Mississippi, so that seemed perfect for us.

It's already proven useful and very child-friendly--I'd highly recommend it if you have a budding lepidopterist on your hands.

Ladybug book

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:21:00 +0000

I have a few spring books to share with you this week from my collection. Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly Away Home. appears to be out of print now, but maybe your library will have a copy. Ed Emberly's illustrations are amazing. I want to frame all of them.

This is not a storybook, but a "let's-read-and-find-out-science-book" which I love. We learned a lot about ladybugs and it started a quest to find as many ladybugs as we can to bring to our garden.

Do you have any favorite lady bug books to recommend?

shark party: first birthday

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:14:00 +0000

Several weeks ago, I asked for help with my nephew's upcoming shark party (he turned one in early April.) I got so many wonderful shark book suggestions, that I compiled them into a list here.

I wanted to share a few of the party details--first and foremost are these adorable handmade sharks made by Robyn of Pen Pals and Picture Books. Aren't they wonderful? (The bunnies (also made by Robyn) wanted to be in the picture, too.)

I say this again and again, but the best thing about blogging is making so many wonderful new friends--like Robyn. She whipped these up and sent them to us for the party just because she is awesome. Thank you again, Robyn! The kids loved them! They had fun "being sharks" by running around the house with these.

I looked everywhere for these shark gummies, but had no luck in finding them. My sister-in-law found some and saved the day. We made blue jello in clear plastic cups and dropped the sharks in them--fun in theory, but since the sharks are blue, you couldn't really see them in the jello--but it kind of ups the scary factor which is half the fun of sharks anyhow--you don't know there's a shark lurking in the jello until its too late!

And lastly, the shark cupcakes! Ben found these Shark Cupcake Picks for us, so it saved me from cutting out shark fins from paper (my original plan.)

I ended up ordering the hooded shark towel from Rub a Dub Buddies and yes, it was the cutest thing ever. Especially with him in it. :)

Any party plans in your future? What themes are your kids into?

tales from the ballet illustrated by alice and martin provensen

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:13:00 +0000

Source: wherethelovelythingsare.com via Kitschy on Pinterest

I came across this image on pinterest last night and began furiously hunting for more information about this lovely book called Tales From the Ballet by Louis Untermeyer and Illustrated by the Provensens.

I am a huge fan of the Provensen's work, so it is no surprise that this book is one I can't stop thinking about.

Source: wherethelovelythingsare.com via Kitschy on Pinterest

You can see more images from this book here on the blog My Vintage Book Collection.

I checked my library to see if they had a copy, but no luck. Have any of you ever read this? What do you think?

thrifted finds

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:23:00 +0000

I love hitting up kids sales in the spring. Usually, I find some good secondhand books, but for some reason, I found ZERO books this year.

Either people are hanging onto the good stuff or I got there too late and other more early-rising shoppers got to the goods first.

I did find some other cute items, so I thought I'd just share some photos of my non-bookish stash. I hope you don't mind. :)

The first picture is of the dresses I found for Juliet.

Lucia got a few cute outfits and also a rabbit backpack! Who doesn't need a rabbit backpack?

These vintage sesame street puzzles remind me of ones I had as a kid.

And finally, a set of play tools for the girls when they are helping "fix" things around the house. I got lucky to get two sets of safety goggles! Now they don't have to fight about who gets to be safe--just about who gets to pull out the measuring tape.

Do you go to thrift stores, kids sales, garage sales, etc? Found anything fun lately?

a kindergarten teacher's favorite children's book authors and illustrators

noreply@blogger.com (silly eagle books) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 01:26:00 +0000

I apologize for my absence on the blog lately--we've been on vacation and I have been slow to get back in the swing of things.

But, I do have a lot of share and will do so soon. For today, I wanted to share a comment that someone left a few weeks ago.

Her name was "booklover," but there was no link to a blog--so I am not sure who you are, booklover! But I wanted to thank you for sharing so much wonderful knowledge with me and also, wanted to share your book suggestions with everyone who reads this blog.

Here is the comment:

Hi, there! I discovered your blog recently, and was drawn to your list of favorite authors/illustrators. You certainly have taken note of some of the best.

I, myself, have somewhat of an obsession with children's books, particularly picture books. I teach Kindergarten and naturally, my classroom library is well over 2000 books and growing. One of my favorite places to find children's books is the Goodwill. (It's amazing what literature people will GIVE away!) I am quite critical, and buy only the best books, taking into account elements such as: plot/story line, rhythm, phrasing/writing, illustrations, etc.

If I may, I'd like to make a few suggestions, and share some of my favorites (in addition to those you have on your lists). I hope I haven't repeated too many books/authors you already know of or may have blogged about in the past:

Favorite Authors:

Eve Bunting (especially The Wednesday Surprise)
Karma Wilson

Bernadine Cook (Her darling book, The Little Fish That Got Away is an all-time favorite and is sadly out of print.)

Peter Spier
Nancy Shaw
Jane Yolen
John Archambault

Toby Speed (especially Brave Potatoes)

Chris Van Dusen (especially If I Built a Car)
Beatrix Potter
Sally Lloyd Jones (especially The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name)

Favorite Illustrators:

Julie Vivas
Paul O. Zelinsky

Brinton Turkle (especially Deep in the Forest , a wordless book which antiparallels The Three Bears)
Jan Brett

It's Vanessa again---
I'm using this list as my library list this week! I am hoping to find several of these titles. I do love several of the authors she listed, but I have not read the books I have included pictures and links to.

Do you see any of your favorites or do you have other titles by these authors to recommend? I love hearing what you are reading!