international children's book day

Today is International Children's Book Day!  If you have read anything on this blog, you are probably not surprised that I am excited about today- it is no secret that I love children's literature.  I have always loved it.  As a teenager I would ask for children's books for my birthday.   I loved the art and the stories.  This is what largely guided my degree in college- Literature and Language.  My children's literature classes were some of my very favorite!

International Children's Book day is celebrated on April 2 in honor of Hans Christian Andersen's birthday. What a lovely tribute!

In honor of ICBD, I thought I'd share some of our current spring favorites (that have been favorites for a very long time!):

Emily and Daisy by Elsa Beskow

Pelle's New Suit by Elsa Beskow

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

The Chicken- Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice N. Harrington

Bently and Egg by William Joyce

Moonpie's current favorite chapter book series:

Happy International Children's Book Day!  Go read to someone you love!

favorite book friday

I must admit that it can be challenging for me to find modern novels that I want to read to my children.  Most of the books we read around here are classics.  I appreciate books that are well written, subtle, and sweet with some adventure thrown in for good measure.  Sadly, this isn't the formula for most chapter books written today.  When I find one that reads like a classic, I tell everyone in shouting distance that they must buy this book!  Enter Tumtum and Nutmeg: Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall  by Emily Bearn (check out her website while you're at it- she's just as lovely as her books).

This book is so charming and endearing!  The characters are noble and sweet.  And they are mice that wear tiny jackets and aprons!  The stories have gentle adventures in them that are just the right kind of intensity.  And they are funny!  There are several times that we have to take a break because we are all laughing so hard!

I highly recommend this book.  I went ahead and bought the second book as well.  Let's just say that I have a good feeling about it!

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What about you, friend?  Do you prefer classic children's books to the modern?  Do you have any good, modern novels to recommend?

favorite book friday

i checked this book out from the library this week, and i am loving it! reinhart delves into the history of bread in the united states, the science behind fermenting loaves, and some great recipes. if you are a bread baker of nerdy persuasion who likes to know the why behind everything- you must read this book. so good!

in related news, have you seen the footage of bob moore, founder and owner of bob's red mill, announcing that he's giving his company to his employees? in an age of natural, whole food companies selling out to major conglomerates, my heart was warmed by this story. that it is the people behind a company that makes the company. love it.

favorite book friday

we purchased this version of pippi longstocking for moonpie for her birthday, and all i can say is,

pippi + lauren child = MAGIC!

if you are a fan of the red haired, striped sock, inhumanly strong, cleverest of them all, little girl- you must buy this version of the book! the illustrations are sensational! (i haven't even used that word in like 5 years, so you better believe that i mean it!)

favorite book friday

i found this cookbook, the harvest eating by keith snow, in our library this week. i like how the book begins with his story- starting from his early love of food, working in million dollar restaurants, and then developing an auto-immune disease. that, coupled with the birth of his first child, led to his current passion- eating seasonally and locally.

this cookbook differs from other seasonal cookbooks i've read in that it is not organized seasonally, but more like a typical cookbook (example: all the soups are together). i prefer the seasonal grouping, but that is just a personal preference.

the recipes here (and there are over 200 of them!) are pretty basic- which i love! it really seems like a work out of a whole foods kitchen in any home. when cooking with whole, seasonal foods, you become creative- and that shows up here.

one of my favorite aspects of this book is the 'cookonomics' section in the back. it is here that all the basics are spelled out. and some not so basics, like how to make creme fraiche.

what comes across most in this book, is that this is a man that is passionate about good food (righteous food, as my friend brad calls it). and he desires to pass that passion and all of his wisdom onto us. i love that.

for more information on what keith snow is up to check out his website harvesteating.com. this will also give you lots of yummy recipes to try out.

and if you're stumped on finding local food- check out www.localharvest.org.

favorite book friday

don't call it a comeback! i'm bringing back one of my favorite series from last year- favorite book friday!

last year i bought the kids the little animal series from thornton burgess. they did not like them one bit. while at a friend's house recently, i noticed that she was reading the adventures of reddy fox to her daughters. i decided then and there that i was going to give it another go, and i'm so glad i did! my kids love this book! in our first sitting, we read 28 pages. out of those 28 pages only there was only one picture. the story is just that good. it reads quickly, has fantastic character development, and each chapter ends in a bit of a cliff hanger.

such wonderful little books!

favorite book friday

two years ago we traveled up to portland, or to visit my brother and sister in law.  they had a friend that loaned them a box of toys and books for us to use the week we were there.  jamberry was one of the books included.  i recently picked us up our very own copy while thrifting.  when i read it i am taken back to that lovely week in fall, where fresh berries were being sold on the street corners, or free for the pickin' on all of the hiking trails we took.  this is a fun read, with words like 'razzamatazzberry'.  lots of rhyming and a rolling text.

i'm off for the weekend.  today marks the 10th year of my marriage to my beloved.  10 years!  yowza!  we've known each other for 20, which is even crazier.  he is whisking me away to an undisclosed destination.  that is so much like him- always full of surprises and adventure!  gotta go pack...!!! 

(for what, i'm not sure.  snow skis?  wet suit?  unitard?  oh please god, don't let me need a unitard!!!)

favorite book friday

there has been a lag in my blogging here lately, but no such lag in reading!  enter our choice for 'favorite book friday', the happy lion by louise fatio.  

like most of our vintage children's books, i picked this one up at a thrift store for 15 cents.  this little story is set in france- we love the nods to the french language, "bonjour mr. lion!".  the happy lion lives in the middle of france and has friends who visit him daily.  but on the day he decides to go visit them, things change.  no longer are the people happy to see him, now they are frightened.  at one point he stops his walk to watch the fire department and police department set up a trap, not realizing it is for him.  then his hero comes, the little boy pierre.  pierre walks him home and the lion gratefully walks back into his cage.  more grateful for a true friend than anything else.

now that i see the other books offered by louise fatio on amazon, i may have to order them.  or just hope they end up at my local thrift store!

favorite book friday

for the mama:

Weekend Sewing: More Than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Stitching Heather Ross

this book has been receiving lots of praise on various blogs so i was eager to check it out for myself. picture with me if you will one hour alone with your husband, climbing the steps of the largest independent bookstore in texas, a stack of books tucked under your arm. weekend sewing was just one amongst many in that stack. but truly, it was the only one that had enough interesting projects in it to make me want to buy it. i am notoriously cheap and therefore have never bought a sewing pattern book. but this one is worth it! it is the next step i needed in my sewing. i am for sure at a point where i need some instruction and this book has it. everything from knowing how to choose the right fabrics for a project to how to 'true' the fabric once you go to use it. the small tips on each project are hugely helpful to me.

i am eager to start my first project- a shirt for my little buddy. and then on to something for myself- a dress? perhaps a shirt? let's be honest- it's gonna be those pajama pants!

for the kids:

we checked this little book out from the library based on the cover alone. i am always on the search for good books with a boy as the lead character. and this one is great. the focus is really on the boat and its adventures, but you learn on the first page of the cleverness of the boy- he has built the boat himself out of found materials (a favorite theme around here!) and loves his little creation. after the boat is accidently set free the boy waits for him on the shore until his eventual return. sweet book- or as buddy says 'petty tool' (that's 'pretty cool' for those of you that don't speak buddy).

favorite book friday

i am so excited to share with you my most favorite book of all time (or at least it has been for the past couple of months- there are too many great ones to choose just one ). pelle's new suit written by the amazing elsa beskow, is the pinnacle of books for spring. it tells of a little boy named pelle (pronounced like bella) that is in need of a new suit. the story follows him as he sheers his sheep and goes through the process of making his new suit. as in all beskow books, i love how gentle this story is and how empowering it is for the child reader. pelle is imaginative. he is a hard worker. he is respectful. he sets his mind to a task and accomplishes it (with the help of some loving adults).

this book is a treasure!

favorite book friday

in honor of the beautiful spring weather we are having around here, i have chosen miss rumphius by barbara cooney for today's favorite book friday.

as a little girl, alice rumphius is instructed that whatever she chooses to do in life, she should really only aim for one goal- to make the world a more beautiful place. there is much wondering about what makes a person successful, and this is the message i want my children to hear. that a successful person makes the world more beautiful. period. what a lovely, open ended charge to give someone. making the world more beautiful is up for much personal interpretation...and i like that. around here we talk about how we can make the world more beautiful on a daily basis, the little ways- showing kindness, respecting someone's wishes (siblings, ahem), working in the garden, making bread for a friend, picking up trash...every day is a new opportunity to make the world more beautiful.

favorite book friday

children of the forest by elsa beskow is a wonderfully, gentle book, perfect for the first day of spring! we love all of her books, but right now, this is one of our very favorites!

happy spring, everyone!

favorite book friday

my little buddy woke up in the night throwing up. poor little guy- he was in the church nursery more than usual this week and just couldn't withstand the bug going around. so in honor of my little man, i present buddy's favorite book (this week):

i cannot count how many times we have read this book this week alone! but i don't mind it at all- it is such a wonderful story. one of determination, doing what you say you're going to do ( "i meant what i said and i said what i meant, an elephant's faithful 100%" ), not being lazy and then wanting the reward of hard work. if you don't have this book in your home library, first slap yo'self upside the head, and then go get it.

in my humble opinion, this is dr. seuss' finest work- his opus, if you will...

what's your favorite dr. seuss book?

favorite book friday

today's favorite book friday is in response to some comments on my post about herbs. i am a lay-herbalist, if you will. i have had no formal training, but i look forward to one day being able to become a master herbalist. until then, here are some of my favorite herb books:

this is a great guide to growing your own medicinal herbs- something that i'm slowly beginning to do. there are directions on how to make tinctures, salves, and poultices. she also gives a comprehensive guide in the back to 101 herbs with picture guides, growing info, and companion planting guide. great book!

this book was written by a medical doctor and herbalist. it's not my first herb book to pick up, but it is still full of really great information. the reason i highly recommend this book though is because it tells you when to stop messing around and get your kid to the doctor without being hysterical. there is a guide in the beginning about herbs that are safe for children, along with pictures of the plant. there is a section on antibiotics too. then the book gets into the specifics. it is divided into chapters based on ailments (like allergies, flu, pink eye, etc). each chapter is very detailed. this is probably why i don't grab this book first- it's not a quick reference guide. however, it is highly recommended as it gives a good balance of medicine and herbs. this is a great first book to start with!

i love this book! it is usually the first book i pick up for information (however it has been stolen by a friend- you know who you are). it is divided by ailments as well- all alphabetical. the info over each ailment is only about a page long. she gives information on herbs and what form it is best to administer. really good!

and of course, what list could be complete without the BIG mama! if you do not have this in your home library, you need it. if nothing else, you need this book! it is full of nutritional information, supplemental information and herbal information- all in a handy graph form that lists in the order of essential to important. however, information for children is lacking.

i hope this is a helpful guide. there are some herbs that i mix myself (by buying single herbal tinctures and mixing them), but i also use pre-mixed formulas. i love the herbal tinctures by wish garden herbs. they carry a great line for pregnant, lactating women and children.

favorite book friday

around here we really aim to live seasonally. we eat seasonally from our csa and garden, we go out and enjoy the day in all forms of weather, we keep a seasonal nature table and next to that table i keep a box of seasonal books. today's favorite book is from our winter book basket.

i am a collector of jan brett's books.
the mitten is one of our new favorites that i recently found at a local thrift store. it is based on an ukranian folk tale, about a little boy who loses his white mitten in the snow. before he eventually finds it, it is made a home by several animals- everything from a mouse to a bear. when the boy finds his mitten and returns home, his grandmother checks to first see if he is ok, and second to see if he has both mittens. when he hands them to her one is the normal size and the other is the size of a boxing glove.
my kids love to see the the animals piling in the mitten, scared that the owl might eat the mouse, etc. they also think it's hilarious to see the giant mitten at the end of the story!

what makes this book really special are the detailed illustrations. it is set in the ukraine and the clothes the boy and his grandmother wear are amazing. and in jan brett's signature style the borders of the book sum up what happened on the previous page, and foreshadow what is coming up. some of her drawings even look like embroidery. i also can't help but love the fact that the grandma knit these little mittens for her grandson. anything that echos the theme of handmade with love becomes a regular in the rotation for us!

so fantastic!

this is definitely one to add to your winter book list!

favorite book friday

you will see a pattern here on 'favorite book friday'. there are some authors that i can't get enough of, that i love anything they write. and virginia lee burton is one of those authors. katy and the big snow was published in 1943. it has all the elements of a great story! there is peril and there is a hero- and the hero is a girl! sort of...i mean, she's a steam shovel, but her name is katy. there is a detailed map of the city of geopolis, complete with compass rose. that makes the first feature i like, learning map skills. the first few pages have illustrations framed in drawings of big trucks with their official names (helpful to me..."umm, that's a bulldozer", "that's another bulldozer").
on with the story- there is a big snow that blankets the city (that page is just white-so creative!) and the only machine strong enough to plow the streets is katy. she goes through the city uncovering roads. i love how it states that she is going east, or west and the compass rose is at the top of the page, reinforcing the map skills.
apart for my apparent love for map skills (?) the best thing about this book is the theme of hardwork and determination. she gets tired, but does not stop until the job is done. what an important message! i love this book and my kids love this book. little buddy is in my lap right now begging to read it. how's that for a positive review?!?

favorite book friday

i know, i know, two themed posts in a row, how annoying. what can i say? i'm a sucker for a catchy title and i couldn't resist this new blog feature. i've had requests over the last couple of months from different friends for kid book lists. that is how this idea came about. so if you can bear it, i'd like to offer this new blog feature: favorite book friday (i promise, i won't make any more...mandi's menu monday, titillating tales tuesday, wacky windows wednesday...no more i say!)



oh how i love the story of ferdinand the bull! i bought it for buddy because he reminds of ferdinand- gentle and loving, picking flowers for me all the day long. it is a wonderful story reminding the reader that it is ok to be different from the 'herd'. as one of the best children's books written of all time, it definitely deserves a spot in your home library.