Lionden Landing

I believe that reading books about a topic help children process and understand and engage with the topic. We love to read a whole passel of books for a couple of weeks around each holiday. It helps Froggy understand the timing and cycle of the year. So without further ado here are our Friday Finds for Pesach Pesach is Coming and Pesach is Here - by Hyman and Alice Chanover. This wonderful pair were written back in the '50s but they are timeless. In these books, Mimmy and Joel get ready for Pesach and celebrate Seder with their cute family. Everyone helps and everyone enjoys the experience. Let My People Go - by Tilda Balsley. This was a new find for us from the PJ Library last year. We fell in love with it and now include it in our readings every year. It is a raucous, lively retelling of the Passover story. But it is more than that. It is a script with each charactors lines in a different color to make an easy production for young people. One year I would love t...

This week's Friday Find is a classic. We are reading it both at home as well as listening to it as an audio book in the car. We have read short stories about Pooh Bear to Froggy every since she was born. Reading the stories in their original form the way they were meant to be told is so much more satisfying. For over 70 years readers have been reading and enjoying these stories. Why change them for children now? They were written for children in their original form. One does not have to wait until children are school aged to share quality literature with them. However it is important to pick the right story for the child. We had tried other of my favorite classics and they were not as well received as Pooh Bear. It may be that we need to set the stage properly. Please join us next week for some Passover Finds.

Anne Bishop, one of the few authors I follow enthusiastically, has created a fascinating world with her Black Jewels series. "In the Realms of the Blood, the war has been fought, the bat tle has been won, and the epic tale has been told. But life goes on, so there are other challenges to face, smaller battles to be fought and other stories to tell. This is one of them." Tangled Webs is the novel so few authors write. Most authors only tell the epic tales. We as readers don't get to share in the "normal" life of the characters. In Tangled Webs, we do. I love that with this novel, we get another visit to the Realms of the Blood without Ms Bishop needing to create large complicated intrigue. For those not familiar with the Black Jewels series, it is important to start at the beginning. There are six other books set in the Realms of the Blood starting with Daughter of the Blood and including the just released The Shadow Queen

In honor of St. Patricks Day, this Friday's Find spotlights my favorite Irish tales. The classic for me is Tales from Old Ireland . This enchanting collection of favorite Irish folk tales deserves to be read aloud at every hearth. Described by Malachy Doyle i n captivating language, the larger-than-life characters, dramatic landscapes, and magical happenings of all the tales, including the famous legend of the bewitched Children of Lir, are also brought vividly to life by the luminous art of Niamh Sharkey, making this a book that will transport readers to another world for many happy hours. My favorite story from this anthology is The Twelve Wild Geese . This is a classic folktale that has been retold in many formats. The Grimm Brothers wrote a version called the Six Swans. The second selection is Tales from Celtic Lands . Formerly, Celtic Memories , this re-release of joyous stories, songs and values of the Celtic peoples create an irresistible magic both for descendants of t...

As part of my 999 Literary Challenge , I am reading many books I would not have otherwise investigated. In doing so I apparently discovered a new series. I did not realize when I started The Vor Game that I was starting in the middle of a series. I do not as a rule enjoy space odysseys but this one is holding my attention well. I will need to go back and investigate the rest of the series. It is a full series which explores the characters in depth. Miles Vorkosigan has serious birth defects in a culture that is phobic about genetic mutations. Yet he manages to overcome those challenges and become a military officer. Here is the complete list in order chonologically according to the story time line. Shards of Honor Barayar (these two books are also combined into "Cordelia's Honor") The Warrior's Apprentice Short Story: The Mountains of Mourning (all short stories are contained in "Borders of Infinity") The Vor Game Cetaganda Ethan of Athos Short Story...

I have not fallen in love with a new book as thoroughly as I fell in love with this one in a long long time. Going Around the Sun, Some Planetary Fun by Marianne Berkes is a fantastic way to introduce any child to the way our solar system works. Books like this make learning fun and engaging. Froggy learned all the planets in order along with some unique facts about each planet. Not the typical lessons for a preschooler. I would never have tried to teach such information in a traditional setting to this age. But with literature like this the students seek out the learning. Modeled on "Over The Meadow", this rhyming tour of the solar system is set a conversation between Mother Sun and her satellites. Each planet is introduced as Mother Sun speaks to it in turn. Each stanza of the poem is about one of the planets in the solar system, and underneath the stanza is a short fact about the featured planet. Pluto even gets a mention and a little chastising from Mother Sun for...

This week's Friday Find is brought to you by Froggy. Her new most favorite non-Disney based books is Grandma Chickenlegs. If it were up to me this book would not be quite as well read as it has been this week. The book is fun with incredible illustrations. The story is a retelling of the Russian folktale about Baba Yaga with a Cinderella twist to it. McCaughrean's language is vivid and wacky. The witch's front door, for example, "swung on its hinges, squealing like a thing in pain"; the house itself is a "rickety-rackety shack" that runs around the garden atop "four scratching, paltry poultry legs." The illustrations are a wacky as the language. Using a style that is a pleasing mix of realism and impressionism, the artist captures the fantasy inherent in the tale. With their vivid greens, reds, oranges, and blues, the lively art jumps off the page. There is detail to discover in every page. For instance, Grandma's iron-fanged dentur...

Book review work for me. I love exploring new books. There is no way I could complete the 999 Literary Challenge without exploring new books. But how do you know if a book is any good. The best way for me is a book review. I hunt down book reivews all the time. In all different catagories. There is a blog carnival that I regularly participate in and read that is book reviews for all age levels and types of books. As well, I host Friday Finds here. Friday Finds is a more casual, laid back place to share your reviews. You can leave them in a comment. Or better yet post in your blog and place your link in the Mr. Linky at the end of each Friday's Find similar to WFMW that Shannon has been kind enough to host. So come back on Friday and share your review. This week I will have a contest as well as a review.

I just found out that one of my favorite books for Daddy to share with the little one is no longer being printed. Daddy Island was the top gift for Fathers Day among the crowd around here. It is currently on sale and when it is gone, it is gone. Barefoot Books claims that in Daddy Island , "Philip Wells celebrates father and son in enchanting verses that will delight and lull the most wild of wild things as they prepare for bed". I believe that it is can and is a celebration of fatherhood with any and all children. "The power of a little boy's imagination as he plays around on his daddy's body is the premise of this superb rhymed tale for the four-and-under crowd. Daly's exuberant pictures show the child dancing, sleeping, and roughhousing with a parent who clearly revels n the relationship between physical play and imaginative reality." - NAPRA Review In this wonderful poetic book, the child fantasizes about all the different kinds of games he ca...

This book combines two of my favorite things, reading and cooking. It is a collection of 20 fairy tales, each accompanied by at least one recipe. Froggy and I love to cook together and we love to read together so what could possibly be more fun than a cookbook from one of our favorite authors. Jane Yolen . She doesn’t much like to cook, but her daughter Heidi E. Y. Stemple loves to spend time in the kitchen. The two collaborated on Fairy Tale Feasts : A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers and Eaters a book filled with fairy tales and folklore from around the world, all of which contain references to food. To accompany the tales, Stemple created recipe s to match the tale’s themes. For instance, Red Riding Hood needs recipes for her picnic basket favorites and Brer Rabbit must of course make carrot soup. The tales and accompanying recipes will delight children of all ages. There are favorites for the preschooler with a very classic Little Red Riding Hood as well as more mature v...

Even babies need books. I like to start reading to little ones as soon as they are big enough that I can hold them and still hold a book. As soon as they are capable of holding the book themselves, I believe they need to be given books to hold. Board books are perfect for this. So what board books I hear you ask. The best books for babies are ones with captivating pictures. Since we are talking here about older infants who can sit up on their own, these babies are beyond the black/white/red stage. They like color and fun pictures just like we do. The other key thing in a board book is readability. I pity the poor mom who is asked to read most board books because the text is too stupid to be tolerated. That is absolutely unnecessary. So here are some great board books that both child and adult can love. All three recommendations are examples from what I consider a series even though the stories are independent. The series has the same author, illustration style, and language ...

After several failed attempts to find a cozy fun read for bedtime for me, I finally succeeded. I found Strange Relations by Sonia Levitin. This book will be part of the 999 Reading Challenge in two different categories, Young Adult and Jewish Authors. Strange Relations is an engaging story about Marne, a fifteen year old girl, who goes to spend the summer with her Aunt Carole in Hawaii. Only Aunt Carole isn't even Aunt Carole anymore—she's Aunt Chaya, married to a Chasidic rabbi and deeply rooted in her religious community. Nothing could be more foreign to Marne, and fitting into this new culture—and house full of kids—is a challenge. But as she settles into her newfound family's daily routine, she begins to think about spirituality, identity, and finding a place in the world in a way she never has before. In addition to the main story of Marne's adjustment to life in Hassidic community is an understory of pain and grief. Marne's younger sister was kidnapped m...

Edith Nesbit (1858–1924) was a writer and poet whose most famous work is Railway Children. Her works have inspired many others. The modern child may be more familiar with Magic By the Lake . But it is the wonderful works of Nesbit that prompted Edward Eagar to write his fun series. Take your child back on in time and share with them the original ideas. Other writers such as Arthur Ransome were also strongly influenced by Nesbit. In Railway Children , Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis have a series of fantastic but non-magical adventures while they try to make sense of their father's mysterious disappearence. The story, like the slightly more modern Swallows and Amazons, is particularly appealing to many parents because it portrays realistic children having realistic adventures. Some may argue the realistic comment with me but there is no magic involved. The adventures the children have are all activities that occur in reality. People get saved from fires, homeless people nee...

Welcome to a special festive Hanukkah edition of Friday Finds. There are more wonderful Hanukkah books out there than most parents realize. There are books that even preschoolers can enjoy that actually tell the story of Hanukkah. Books about draydles and counting candles are fun and provide variety but including an explaination of why Hanukkah exists is important and difficult for many parents. And on that note - here is this week's Friday Find. Grandma' s Latke s by Malka Drucker . It is a modern story in which a young girl learns the meaning of Hanukkah with her grandmother. We read it for the first time last year. It is a good story that weaves culture aspects of celebrating the holiday for her family with the telling of the Hanukkah story. The illustrations as well as the dialog with Grandma help young readers and listeners to be attentive through out. The book is thirty-two pages with more text per page than most picture books of a similar age rating (ages 4-8) ...

Tamora Pierce has released a new novella, Melting Stones. It was originally released as an audiobook. According to the press release , this is the first time a prominent author has ever chosen to release the audio version first. The book was written to be performed, with specific actors in mind. The only differences between the audio version and the print version are attributes like "he said" or "she said". The story itself is a continuation of adventures begun in Street Magic , part Circle of Magic reforged series. You do not need to have read any of the prior books to be able to follow the story. Unlike other novels in the series, there is a large jump in time between these books during which life happens that is not written about but shapes the characters. Evvy, a fourteen year old rock mage, goes with her guardian Rosethorn to a "battle island" where the plants are dying off. She is supposedly along for the ride, a reluctant observer. Yet, as ...

As all my loyal readers know I am obsessed with Fairies. Fantasy novels have been my preferred reading genre since I became an independent reader. I am currently reading the latest installment of Laurell Hamilton's Fairy series, Swallowing Darkness. I just started it so I cannot really review it yet. The series as a whole is nice mind candy. It is not a profound thought provoking series. But it is a captivating story which provides a nice escape. As a mom I sure need an escape sometimes. Yet as much as I love fairies and fairy stories, I cannot stand the insipidness with which most children's books treat fairies. One wonderful exception to this general rule is The Barefoot Book of Fairies . It is an anthology of twelve stories from around the world about realistic fairies. These are classic stories retold in modern language. One of my favorite is "The Fairies and the Cake Baker." The young mother is a town baker. The fairies, who of course love sweets, com...

Please forgive me. This week's Friday Find is late due to technical difficulties. I hope you all will still add your favorite Thanksgiving finds. Our family needs some new good books for Thanksgiving. Mary's First Thanksgiving – This book is set during the early 1900's. Mary and her family are recent immigrants from Ireland. This is the first year they are in America for Thanksgiving. Mary comes home from school angry saying she hates Thanksgiving and has nothing to be thankful for. Her family is extremely poor and has little food yet her parents help her find reasons to be thankful and show her how life is good and getting better. I really like that the book shows an honest child’s perspective of envy and poverty. I also like that it shows Mary finding age appropriate yet meaningful things to be thankful Fletcher and the Falling Leaves – This book is more an Autumn book than a Thanksgiving book but we hold it until November rather reading it earlie...

This week is Book Giveaway Week in the blogosphere and coincidentally Barefoot Books just announced a free product giveaway . All my loyal readers know how much I love Barefoot books so clearly these became my Friday Finds Yoga Planet is a new addition from Barefoot. It is similar in concept to Y oga Pretzels but takes the concept farther. Instead of just yoga poses, it also adds relaxation tips for children and cards to help the whole family live more ecologically. But neither of those are really books. The book that started it all is My Daddy is a Pretzel. It is a favorite in our household. Before acquiring this book, we had never done yoga or even considered it. Now Froggy pulls it out and asks to do yoga. So much so that later today we will take our first Mommy and Me Yoga class at the local Arts Center . Unlike most exercise books, the is a story here. You can read the book snuggled on the sofa and never move. The setting is a classroom where each child tells about...

Happy Halloween We do not read many specifically Halloween books around here. What with all the Autumn books, the High Holidays, Sukkot and two October birthdays, it is just hard to fit many in. Still we always find time for a good Fairy story. All Hallows Eve: The Story of The Halloween Fairy is a nice story that does not focus on costumes or gluttony. Many parents use it as an introduction to trading the Halloween candy away for something else. We have not broached that idea yet but may in the future. We just read it because it is fun. So those are my Halloween Friday's Finds. What are yours? Please encourage your readers to share their reviews as well by linking back to this site.

Today's edition of Friday's Finds is a bonus round. In the past few years, there has been a big push to get children reading "chapter books" independently earlier and earlier. The books the child is capable of reading a junk with no meaningful plot, lousy language and flat characters. There is no reason for this. Finally sense is returning and parents are slowly moving away from this trend. That does not mean that children cannot or should not be exposed to longer stories or books during preschool and early elementary. Parents can and should read these books with the children. So what books I hear you ask? Well... First there is All-of-A-Kind Family . This is one of the very few books I remember reading and enjoying over and over again when I was in early elementary. We are reading it with Froggy now. The chapters are short enough and captivating enough that we can make it through a chapter in one or two sittings. Yet the language is rich and the story spa...