Happy New Year's Eve!

As today is the last day of the year I thought it would be a great time to recap some of the new 2009 books I suggested since I started this blog. I want this blog to be a place for people to go if they have a question about a book or want a suggestion for a child in their life. My goal is to be helpful~so here in no particular order are some of the 2009 books I suggested this year!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All the Broken Pieces by Ann Burg (you know I had to do this one first )

The Marvelous Toy by Tom Paxton

Scanimations: Waddle! by Rufus Butler Seder

Princess Hyacinth by Florence Parry Heide

Otis by Loren Long

Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

Leaving the Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z by Kate Messner

Big Frog Can't Fit In by Mo Willems

Violet Wings by Victoria Hanley

Here Comes Jack Frost by Kazuno Kohara

Boris & the Wrong Shadow by Leigh Hodge Kinson

Heart of a Snowman by Mary Kuryla

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I know these two books are technically reissues but they were reissued this year and I just wanted to mention them again:

Giant John by Arnold Lobel

The First Night by B.G Hennessey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So Happy New Year ~looking forward to more great new books to recommend!

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Today is the Fifth Day of Kwanzaa~it is called Nia or Purpose. We all want to have a reason for being in life, I know I do. How do we teach our children about what a purpose is. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein I think is a perfect book to read to children about having purpose. I know some people see this book with controversy, the tree gives everything to the boy but gets nothing in return. I see it differently. The tree has a purpose and because of her love of the boy she gives all she can to make him happy. The tree has a reason for being ~may we all have the satisfaction some day of knowing why we are here!

Flashback Tuesday: Angelina Ice Skate's by Katharine Holabird Illus Helen Craig

Yesterday I talked about New Year's books , well today I wanted to suggest an old favorite. Angelina Ice Skates is part of the Angelina Ballerina series of books. I always liked this particular book because it was a holiday book that everyone could enjoy. When this book originally came out back in the early 90's there were not many books that took place at New Year's. Angelina Ice Skates is all about a New Years Eve ice dance so it is appropriate for today. Even though it is about a "ballerina" it also has hockey players and a fantastic snow ball fight so that it appeals to boys & girls....it is a fun book to read.

It is a classic story to read again & again!

New Year's Books

New Year's Eve is coming up so I thought it would be a good time to suggest some books to read to the kids before the ball drops. Most kid's I know love New Year's Eve because they get to stay up late~

There seems to be a book for every holiday these days~New Year's is no exception. Here is a list of fun books to read while we wait for the New Year to begin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

P.Bear's New Year's Party: A Counting Book by Owen Paul Lewis

The Night Before New Year's by Natasha Wing & Amy Wummer

Happy New Year's Corduroy by Don Freeman & Lisa McCue

New Year's Day (Holiday Histories) by Kathryn A. Imler

Shante Key's & the New Year's Peas by Gail Piernas -Davenport & Marion Eldridge

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy New Year!

Reference Sunday: Tsunami: Helping Each Other by Ann Morris & Heidi Larson

It has been 5 years since a Tsunami destroyed parts of Asia. It happened the day after Christmas 2004. There are many books that have been written since the disaster but none so poignant as Tsunami: Helping Each Other is. This is a great book for children because it is told very visually with its many photographs. It also focuses on the children who were affected by the tragedy. The two boys it highlights, Chaiya & Chaipreak, were just 8 & 12 years old at the time. They are beautiful children who have suffered a great sadness. The book not only tells children what Tsunami's are but how they can change the lives of anyone.

Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry

Yesterday ~Christmas Day~was my oldest nephew's birthday. Coincidentally his son Oliver was also born on Christmas 1 year ago. I remember distinctly the day my nephew Michael Louis was born~we were in the Bronx at my aunt's for dinner when we got the call. Needless to say we were too excited to really eat after that. My Dad piled us all in the car~including the dog~and drove us to Ohio for New Years. It was really just to see his new grandson.

When my nephew Michael was a little boy he loved his little matchbox cars. He was always very orderly about them. It would make sense that one of his favorite books was the Richard Scarry book Cars & Trucks & Things That Go. He would look at it for hours. This is a classic book for any child in your life!

Happy Birthday Michael Louis! Happy First Birthday Oliver!

~~~MERRY CHRISTMAS~~~~~~