Because a Little Bug went ka CHOO! by Rosetta Stone

This is a great story. It's not Dr. Seuss which is a little deceiving since the Cat in the Hat is right on the cover. A little bug sneezes and starts the story off. Since the bug sneezes everything goes haywire. This story would be very appropriate for teaching children about cause and effect. I was a little confused about the author. I wasn't sure if it was a woman named Rosetta Stone or if it was the company Rosetta Stone. Maybe the author is the person who started Rosetta Stone, that would be appropriate.

Do Your Ears Hang Low? by Dorothea DePrisco Wang

You can't help sing this book out loud. It has touch and feel parts although don't be to excited about those. They are just felt and they all feel the same. It has a lot of rhyming, a skill that helps children read. The pictures are cute. My daughter looked and looked at this book. The book also has pull out tabs. Those are pretty neat.

Little Critter Sleeps Over by Mercer Mayer

If you are looking for a book that both you and your child will enjoy Little Critter is the answer. Your probably thinking that I'm bias and I am, I love Little Critter books. In this book Little Critter is going over to a rich friends house for a sleep over. I would be so exhausted after all the activities they do, swimming, playing with the train set, volleyball, crochet, and hide and seek. Then they eat dinner. It is a fancy dinner where the napkins are shaped like hats, so Little Critter puts it on his head. After dinner they watch a little tv and then off to sleep. Little Critter gets scared but hugs his teddy bear and pretends he's at home. The next day they play in the hose with Froo Froo, a dog. Froo Froo gets muddy and runs into the house. Little Critter and his friend have to stop Froo Froo from getting the house dirty and take off after her. The house is a mess when they finally catch her. After the Froo Froo incident it's time for Little Critter to go home. I'm sure he wanted to stay longer but his friends mom appeared to be frazzled by him.

No Dinosaurs at Chruch by Melonie Park

This book is about a little boy who is going to church. He is a typical boy who has a fantastic imagination and who seems a little high strung. He starts to get ready for church and he decides he's an elephant. His mom tells him, "No elephants at church." The little boy pretends he's a bird, elephant, and a monkey. Each time his family and teacher tell him no and then he focuses on the lesson or speaker. I was a little disappointed at the end of the book, I thought they would tell the little boy something he could do at church or try to channel his energy into something else. This might be a good book for children who are having a challenging time focusing at church.

Ellie The Perfect Dress for Me! by C.M. Rubin

Ellie is back. This time she has her name down but needs a little help finding the perfect dress for her cousin's wedding. This cousin is either extremely lucky or a gold digger because she is marrying a billionaire. There are several VIPs coming with even a guest appearance from the president. She asks a friend who tells her more is better than less. Ellie's grandpa wants her to dress like him in a tux. Her mom can't decide what color will look best but finally decides on red. Her grandmother wants her to wear an antique dress. Each dress is wrong and Ellie just can't find the right one. Finally she has it. She wears a little something from each one! Everyone thinks she looks fabulous, even the president. This book, like the other one is a little wordy for young ones. These books would be good for little ones who are trying to discover who they are.

Eleanor, Ellatony, Ellencake, and Me by C.M. Rubin

I think most if not all of us go through the same thing that Eleanor goes through in this book. Nicknames! She was named Eleanor but just doesn't fit into the mold of Eleanor. Each family member has a different name for her. Just like the title says, Ellatony, Ellencake, Elle. After going through several different names and asking a grown up who's had these troubles she finally explodes and lets every one know what she wants her name to be. This book is a little wordy for little ones but appropriate for older children.

A Pocket Full of Kisses by Audrey Penn

This is the sequel to The Kissing Hand. In this one Chester is adjusted to school and everything is going great except he has a new little brother. He's going through some jealousy of all the attention Ronny is getting. In fact he wants to give him back, which I'm sure most older siblings want to do. Ronny is fine at first but then he starts playing with Chester's toys and he's following him wherever he goes, how annoying. Mrs. Raccoon tells Chester that Ronny just wants to be like him and she gives him a kiss in the middle of his palm. Chester is feeling like he's on top of the world until. . . Mrs. Raccoon gives Ronny a kiss in the middle of his palm! Chester freaks out, of course. Mrs. Raccoon in her ultra smoothing way comforts Chester and tells him she'll never run out of love for him. Then because he's the big brother he gets something extra special, he gets a kiss for his pocket. Which ultimately makes Chester feel better. This book would be excellent for older siblings who might need a little reassurance that they are always loved.

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

This is a book that might help a child who is going through a hard time. The foreword says it's "for a child who confronts a difficult situation." Maybe they are having separation anxiety or are confused and afraid after the death of a loved one. The book is about a little raccoon named Chester. He doesn't want to go to school. His mom tells him that sometimes we have to do things we don't want to, isn't that the truth. Chester's mom tries to ease his anxiety by explaining what he will do at school and then she tells him about the kissing hand. She spreads his hand into a fan and then kisses the palm. Whenever he feels lonely or needs a little encouragement he can put his hand on his cheek and know that his mom loves him. He's able to go to school and know that he is loved.

Just A Mess By Mercer Mayer

These books are classic. I love the Little Critter books. They just make me laugh. In this one Little Critter needs help finding his baseball mitt. He looks everywhere for it but just can't find it. His mom tells him to look in his room and hey while he's there he should probably clean it. I love the mom, she's not enabling at all. He asks for her help but she tells him, "You made the mess, so you can clean up the mess." He asks his family for help, his little sister tells him no and the baby didn't understand. So he does it himself. He shoves a few things in the closet, attempts to put his clothes in the closet and uses the shovel to pick up his games. When he's done his bed is lopsided because of all the things stuffed under it. He decides to wash the floor (with the hose!) but his mom says no so he vacuums instead. In the end he finds his mitt. I think these are classic books because everyone knows a little boy like Little Critter. I can recall doing some of the same things he did, like shoving things into the closet. His books always make me giggle.

Without You by Sarah Weeks

This book has excellent pictures. They are beautifly done and will hold your kids attention and your attention. The book describes how the emperor penguin lives and hatches their eggs. I get chocked up almost everytime I read this book. I barely didn't crying when I read this book to my class. It's one of those feel good books that you want to read again and again. I read this to my daughter and give her a big hug. After we've read this book together I feel like we've had great bonding time.

Signing Time!

I had never heard of this until my Mother-in-law introduced it to me. Rachel and her friends Alex and Leah teach children how to sign. They sing lots of catchy songs and repeat the sign several times. I have the alphabet dvd and I find myself singing their songs all the time. I think that they are on PBS but I don't get that station so I'm not sure. You can find clips of the dvd's on utube to preview them or you can go to their website at http://www.signingtime.com/?gclid=CPuK5oXztZQCFR4sagod1C__TA I have enjoyed my one dvd so much that I would like to have more of them.

Earthquack by Margie Palatini

I bought this book without reading it first or hearing too much about it. I enjoy picture books with no abundance of words. I think picture book words should be brief and to the point. Most of the time the children who are reading the book or having the book read to them have a hard time maintaining focus when a book goes on and on. My first impression when getting this book was, "Wow, that's a lot of words!" I even passed it up when reading books to my kindergarten students. I didn't want to get half way through it and have all my students day dreaming about before the book had started. The nice thing about this book is it would be a great introduction to a discussion on earthquakes and rhyming. Little Chucky Ducky feels what he thinks is an earthquake and rushes off to warn all of his friends. They run into a weasel who wants breakfast, lunch and dinner out of Chucky Ducky and his friends. Luckily they discover the weasel before they become stew and also discover the reason for all the quakes. Here is a link to activities that correlate with the book.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.oregonread.org/images/pg_Earthquack.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.oregonread.org/gallagheraward06.html&h=144&w=112&sz=34&hl=en&start=8&sig2=uJsmp51OSVJreR6DzEkKNA&um=1&tbnid=FPP0rsgUK5sC0M:&tbnh=94&tbnw=73&ei=mRl2SLqwO4yipwTAyvnfCg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dearthquack%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1GGLQ_ENUS284

Corduroy by Don Freeman

I remember reading this book as a kid. I enjoyed it then and I enjoy it now. It's one of those books that have lasted through the ages and will continue to last. Corduroy is a little bear that lives in the toy department. He tries to get people to buy him and one day a little girl wants to buy him but her mother tells her no because she has no more money and he's missing a button. Poor Corduroy misses out on having a family. That night he goes out in search for his missing button. He looks around the department store and finds a button, unfortunately it's attached to a mattress. He's a pretty strong little bear and pulls the button off the mattress and pushes a lamp over. Which causes the night gaurd to come and check. He sees Corduroy under the sheets (for some reason this doesn't freak the night gaurd out but personally if the bear magically appeared under the sheets and I didn't know how it got there I'd be a little disturbed). He puts Corduroy back in the toy department. The next day the little girl comes back to buy him and Corduroy gets a home and family. There is a sequel to the book, A Pocket for Corduroy. I haven't read it or if I have it's been a long time. If you have read it let us know what you thought about it.

Rooster's Off to See the World by Eric Carle

Silly Rooster wants to see the world but before he gets very far he decides he needs some companions. He cons some cats, frogs, turtles, and some fish to come along with him. Before long it gets dark and everyone gets cold and hungry. The Rooster really didn't make great plans for the trip so he has nothing to feed them or any place to sleep. They all decide to go back home even the moon disapears. Rooster goes home and dreams about a wonderful trip around the world. This book is great to help kids who are starting to add and subtract. There are pictures in the corner to helps kids visualize the addition and subtraction.

The Learning Station

Ok here's another cd that you will really enjoy. The Learning Station is a great group that has tons of cd's. They have conferences, workshops, and even do live concerts. Their songs are to help kids learn and to get them moving. They are dedicated to family and learning. My class loved the songs and would even request them at music time.

Froggy Goes to the Doctor by Jonathan London

If you haven't read any of the Froggy books yet, DO! They are fabulous. Froggy is hilarious. In this wonderfully crafted tale Froggy visits the Doctor, poor Doctor. He goes through a whole check up with Dr. Mugwort barley surviving. Froggy does everything wrong including forgetting his underwear and has to wear paper ones his mom makes for him. In the end Froggy makes it through the check up with everything just fine.

Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn and Mark Buehner

You'll soon learn that I enjoy Caralyn and Mark Buehner books. They have a talent of telling a wonderful story and illustrating it beautifully. The snowmen decide that it isn't fair that us humans have Christmas so they have their own. They sing carols, have snow cones, go sledding, they even have Kris Kringle pop on by to deliver snow presents. This book will entertain your kids for hours. Mark has added a cat, a rabbit, a Santa face, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and a little brown mouse in each picture. It's a challenge to find them all and a lot of kids are up to the task.

Dr. Jean

I know that this is not a book but I must tell you that if you are looking for some great kids music that will have you tapping your foot and singing along this is it! Dr. Jean is fabulous. I played the songs to the students in my classroom and they loved them. She sings some silly songs that will have you laughing. We used some of her songs for our Kindergarten Graduation program which were a hit with the parents. She has some classic songs that I sang at summer camp and she puts twists on songs you thought you knew. I recommend all of her cd's.

Olivia's Opposites by Ian Falconer

Olivia shows opposites. This is the only book I've read of Olivia's and based on this book I might not buy another one. I need to go to the library and check some other ones out to decide if I'm a big fan of Olivia's. This book is very easy so I wouldn't recommend it for older readers. Some of her actions are amusing. It would help children with their vocabulary and understanding opposites.

That's not my monster. . .

The little mouse is trying to find it's monster but has to go through so many other monsters who all have something wrong like their nose is to bobbly or their horns are to rough. It's a fun touch and feel book that kids enjoy. The colors are bright and the monsters are all wacky. It might even help the kids that are afraid of monsters in their closet or under their bed. Although I'm sure it won't cure all of kids fears.

Kisses by Nanda Roep and Marijke ten Cate

At first this book wasn't one of my favorites. It seemed a little simplistic. The book is about a little raccoon that wants a goodnight kiss and her daddy goes through all the different kind of kisses there are; a grandma kiss, a circus kiss, and a monster kiss to name a few. Then I read the book to my daughter and found that it was more entertaining when I tried to recreate the kisses for her. She laughs when we read the book and I love to give the kisses to her. Now we enjoy a little extra bonding with this book.

Tails by Matthew Van Fleet

Tails is a story about just that, tails. It is a touch and feel book. It's for children ages 2 to 5 but my 6 month old baby loves to feel the different textures. There are plenty of different animals to look at and lots of different tails to feel. The pages flip out and there are several places to pull that make the tails move. There is also the wonderful scratch and sniff sticker for the skunk! It has rhymes and wonderful pictures that will make you giggle (if you're the giggling sort). If you are looking for a great book that will entertain even the smallest of ones this is it. Look out though this fabulous book will set you back $13.95.

Hi

I was a teacher for a couple of years before my first child was born and am now a stay at home mom. I would always buy books for scholastic and most of the time I wouldn' t know if the books were any good or not. So now I'm taking the guess work out of book buying for you and writing about the childrens books that I've read. Hope you enjoy.