Spring is Here!

Welcome Spring!

March is here and spring is just about to “spring”!  It’s the time of the annual EPCOT® International Flower and Garden Festival at Walt Disney World.  I have never been to the festival, but I’ve seen many photos and heard many stories about the flowers and butterflies, the topiaries and Flower Power concerts.  Someday, I’ll be there.  But until then, I’ll enjoy spring right where I am.  Even before Walt Disney began making feature films, he made many spring themed shorts as part of his Silly Symphonies.  And of course, Fantasia and Bambi can give you a taste of spring.

With more hours of daylight, maybe we adults can find more time to read.   I find myself starting to look for new and fresh books to read myself.  There are lots out there.  Looking for a biography?  Why not try Dick Van Dyke’s My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business.  I especially liked his recollections of the making of Mary Poppins and his thoughts about Walt Disney.  If you are looking for some nice, quick reads, try the Lillian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who…books or Rita Mae Brown Mrs. Murphy series.  And if you haven’t already read The Help by Kathryn Stockett or The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, I highly recommend them.

Spring

March began with Read Across America Day and Dr. Seuss’ Birthday celebrations in our communities and schools.  Dr. Seuss’ Bartholomew and the Oobleck makes us thankful for the “normal” things that come down from the sky in the springtime.  And making Oobleck is so-o-o-o-o-o much fun!  There are recipes out there in cyberspace, but basically 1 ½ cups of cornstarch and 1 cup of water and a couple drops of green food coloring will do it.  Mix it.  Play with it.  Have fun.  And keep it off carpets and fabric! ;)

Spring is also the time for nature or season themed books for children.  St. Patrick’s Day, Easter and Passover provide a good source for books to read to or with children.  My absolute favorite for this time of the year is The Easter Egg Artists by Adrienne Adams.  It is a wonderful story of Orson Abbot who desperately wants to help his parents with their painting.  His adventures and the beautiful pastels used in the illustrations are priceless.  This is the kind of book that will be read and reread and remembered for years.  Another favorite of mine is Bentley and Egg by William Joyce, who is also the creator of Rolie Polie Olie.  You will long remember Bentley Hopperton, an artistic and musical egg-sitting frog, long after you finish reading this to your child.  And look for the special signature of William Joyce inside the book!  Here are more great spring books.

The Easter Egg Artists by Adrienne Adams

Bentley and Egg by William Joyce (Who is the creator of Rolie Polie Olie!)

Waiting for Spring Stories by Bethany Roberts

Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel (Especially the “Spring” story!)

The April Rabbits by David Cleveland

That’s What Happens When It’s Spring by Elaine W. Good (Part of a series of four-one for each season)

Four Stories for Four Seasons by Tomie de Paola

The Lamb and The Butterfly by Arnold Sundgaard and illustrations by Eric Carle

The Reason for Seasons by Gail Gibbons (Here’s a non-fiction for you!)

The Spring Rabbit by Joyce Dunbar

Snip, Snip Little Lambs by Tomie de Paola

The Little Rabbit by Phoebe Dunn (Beautiful photography, as in all of the Phoebe Dunn books!)

The Chocolate Rabbit by Maria Claret

Max’s Chocolate Chicken by Rosemary Wells

Henry and Mudge and the Big Wind by Cynthia Rylant

The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins (Great cumulative tale!)

Hopper Hunts for Spring by Marcus Pfister (Author of The Rainbow Fish)

The Easter Egg by Jan Brett

Special Spring Days

Leading up to, and even after, March 17^th, many children enjoy the fanciful tales centered around St. Patrick’s Day.  Tomie de Paola’s Irish side shines through in the two Jamie O’Rourke books.  Disney’s Darby O’Gill and the Little People would be a great DVD to watch this month, too.  Springtime also brings us both Easter and Passover.  Here are a few books that children enjoy.

Jamie O’ Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie de Paola

Jamie O’ Rourke and the Pooka by Tomie de Paola

St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning by Eve Bunting and illustrations by Jan Brett

Clever Tom and the Leprechaun by Linda Shute (Never trick a leprechaun!)

My First Easter by Tomie de Paola

Biggest Easter Basket Ever by Steven Kroll

It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown by Charles Schultz

*The Berenstain Bears and the Easter Story by Jan Berenstain

The Matzoh That Papa Brought Home by Fran Manushkin (who wrote the lovely Latkes and Applesauce, too!)

*The Berenstain Bears and the Easter Story was published early this year, shortly before the death of Jan Berenstain.  Stan and Jan Berenstain, and now their son Mike, have given us many books for all seasons.  Generations of children and parents are thankful for the many stories of the Berenstain Bears.

Spring is here!  The weather is warm, windy and changeable.  Visit your libraries and bookstores and find some good spring books.  It’s another great time to read!

Winter is Still Here!

It’s February.  It’s winter.  It’s the coldest time of our year.  But with the cold, comes the chance to warm up inside with a great movie or a good book to read.  For some, winter can be the fun of watching Thumper and Bambi sliding on the ice or the sadness of watching Bambi’s mother in the snow.  Maybe you are ready to watch the Jamaican bobsled team in the 2008 Disney movie, Cool Runnings. 

But it’s also a wonderful time to choose some great books to read with your children.  This February, I have some good books for winter and for the February holidays.  With the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, it’s a good time to introduce your children to some US History.  Check out these and many more great winter books at your local libraries and bookstores.

Winter

I may dislike winter, but I love reading these books to children.  Old Winter will have your children smiling at the antics when Old Winter won’t leave!  Snowballs is a photographic classic.  Snowflake Bentley was a real person who actually did photograph and study snowflakes.  Check out some of his actual photographs at  .  His photographs are works of art.  The After Christmas Tree might lead you to set up your own feeder outside your window.  Look for something special when you read The Biggest, Best Snowman.  And Jan Brett retells the class The Mitten with exquisite drawings as only she can do.

·        Old Winter by Judith Benet Richardson

·        Snowballs by Lois Ehlert

·        Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

·        The After Christmas Tree by Linda Wagner Tyler

·        The Biggest, Best Snowman by Margery Cuyler

·        The Mitten by Jan Brett

Need more winter books?  Here are more good winter reads.

·        Elmer in the Snow by David Mc Kee

·        Geraldine’s Big Snow by Holly Keller

·        The Big Snow by Berta Hader

·        The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel

·        The Little Snowflake by Steven Metzger

·        The Magic School Bus Sleeps for the Winter by Eva Moore

·        The Snowball by Jennifer Armstrong

·        What Do Animals Do in Winter? by Melvin Berger

·        Winter Days in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

·        Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft

·        Henry and Mudge and the Snowman Plan by Cynthia Rylant

·        Best Friends in the Snow by Angela Shelf Medearis (HR)

·        Rabbit’s Wish for Snow by Tchin (HR)

·        Snowy Winter Day by Estelle Feldman

·        Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton

·        It’s Snowing by Gail Gibbons

·        It’s Snowing!  It’s Snowing by Jack Prelutsky (Good poetry)

·        Winter Wishes by Apple Jordan (Disney Princesses)

Valentine’s Day

Children love exchanging valentines and giggling about their secret admirers.  Why not try a couple of books about Valentine’s Day?

·        Cranberry Valentine by Wende Devlin

·        The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting

·        Arthur’s Valentine by Marc Brown

·        Arthur’s Great Big Valentine by Lillian Hoban

Learning About Our History

The first five books below are wonderful to introduce your children to historical figures.  The language and pictures, especially in the David Adler books, are just right for you to read aloud or for your young readers to read to you. 

·        A Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln by David A. Adler

·        A Picture Book of George Washington by David A. Adler

·        A Picture Book of Harriett Tubman by David A. Adler

·        A Weed is a Flower (George Washington Carver) by Aliki

·        The Many Lives of Benjamin Franklin by Aliki

·        Abe Lincoln Remembers by Ann Turner

·        George Washington by James Cross Giblin

·        If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln by Ann Mc Govern

·        If You Grew Up with George Washington by Ann Mc Govern

·        Frederick Douglas by Sheila Keenan

·        Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King by Jean Marzollo

·        If You Lived in the Time of Martin Luther King by Ellen Levine

·        Martin Luther King by Rae Bains

·        Martin Luther King Day by Linda Lowery

·        At the Crossroads by Rachel Isadora

·        Everett Anderson’s Goodbye by Lucille Clifton

·        I Am Freedom’s Child by Bill Martin, Jr.

·        Uncle Jed’s Barbershop by Margaree King Mitchell

·        Working Cotton by Shirley Ann Williams

So, put a fire in the fireplace, grab a cup of cocoa, curl up and enjoy a good winter book and before you know it spring will return.

The Circle of Life



© Walt Disney Company





“From the day we arrive on the planet
And, blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
… In the Circle
The Circle of Life” 

© 1994 Walt Disney Music Company

For a Disney lover, the re release of The Lion King this fall, brings to mind the song, “The Circle of Life” by Elton John and Tim Rice.  The circle, or cycle, of life is always around us, but as seasons change we are reminded of that even more.  It resonates all around as we experience weather changes, see the leaves change (at least those of us in the north), even see the early snows and think ahead to all of the upcoming holidays and celebrations.

There are many books for children, as well as adults, that are based on life cycles.  Adults have classic family sagas, historical fiction and biographies as well as current selections from which to choose.  Many classics, such as John Steinbeck’s East of Eden and James Michener’s Centennial and the all time favorite, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, revolve around the lives of generations of people and their impact on each other. Roots by Alex Haley, is another excellent example.  Many books of today do the same.  Adrianna Trigiani writes family sagas that span time.  Another good current one is Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.   Think about the message that Randy Pausch gives the reader in The Last Lecture.    Marley and Me by John Grogan and The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein examine life and its changes through pets. 

When it comes to books about the cycle of life for children, there are many.  Here are a few of my favorites which have been loved by many.

Cycle of Life Books (*especially good ones!)

The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall illustrated by Shari Halpern

*Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

The Enormous Egg by Leo Lionni

*Frederick by Leo Lionni

*The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry

The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco

Knots on a Counting Rope by John Archambault

*The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

*Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

*Ox Cart Man by Donald Hall and illustrated by Barbara Cooney

Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington

The Quilt Story by Tony Johnson and illustrated by Tomie de Paola

The Reasons for Seasons by Gail Gibbons

Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons

The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle

A Tree for All Seasons by Robin Bernard

A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry

*The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

If I had to choose my favorites in this category, I would have to choose both Charlotte’s Web and The Velveteen Rabbit.  These two books are not just books for children.  They tell all of us about the “circle of life”.  Children can hear them, read them and enjoy them, but adults can see life reflected through these supposedly, simple children’s stories.  As adults, we can often learn a lot through children’s books and movies.  So, the next time that you pop in your DVD and watch The Lion King, listen closely to what Rafiki and Mufasa have to say.  It is a circle of life.

Apples! Leaves! Pumpkins!

Fall to many of us here in the Northeast can be summed up in three words – apples, leaves and pumpkins!  And there are many great books, both fiction and nonfiction.  Here are a few that I always read to children.

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert

               I absolutely love Lois Ehlert’s style of utilizing photos and cut-outs to tell her stories. 

Why Do Leaves Change Colors? By Betsy Maestro

               Betsy Maestro has a series of wonderful non fiction books called the-Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out-Science series for young readers.  This one is an excellent one for sharing facts about the changes in the fall.

Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins

               This lovely book is described as a photo essay and is just the thing before or after taking a nice fall walk in the woods.

Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell

               The simple illustrations lend themselves to fall adventures.

Picking Apples and Pumpkins by Amy Hutchings

               Here is a great photostory of a family going to a farm in the fall.

Fall Leaves Fall, It’s Pumpkin Time , and The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall

               Three simple stories by Zoe Hall with nice big, beautiful illustrations by Shari Halpern make for three  great fall read alouds.  

Apples!  Apples!  Apples! and Leaves!  Leaves!  Leaves! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

               These are two short books, especially for younger children which teach about fall while telling a story.

Walt Disney Classic Storybook – “Johnny Appleseed”

               Don’t forget to search your local library or bookstore for the Johnny Appleseed story that can be found in the Walt Disney Classic Storybooks.  It may not be as historically accurate as others, but it’s a great way to introduce kids to a great American.  And follow it up with Disney’s American Legends on DVD.

More Magic!

Come and visit my friends and me at Enjoying the Magic and Crafting the Magic.   These arethe sister/brother/sibling sites of Scrapping the Magic.  You're sure to find something great to read!