Lionden Landing

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...

Froggy would like to congratulate Lori and Nora. She was thrilled to draw the numbers. We hope you enjoy your books. I am glad everyone had so much fun celebrating Darwin's and Lincoln's birthdays

This week's Fridays Find are a bit early so that you can find them and share them on Valentines day. One of the things I have always loved about Barefoot Books is their ability to draw the reader closer to the listener. Or e as a parent closer to my kids. The language and art give you the feeling you are sharing something magical and special even after the 100th reading! Here are two of my favorite books about love and sharing. You and Me Written by: Stella Blackstone Illustrated by: Giovanni Manna You and Me is a large format board book by Stella Blackstone that celebrates differences and teaches opposites through beautiful illustrations depicting the imaginative play of a boy and girl. While the text is simple enough to captivate even the youngest readers, the illustrations and rythym will entrance all listeners. Someone I Like Poems A bout People Compiled by: Judith Nicholls Illustrated by: Giovanni Manna If You and Me is too young ...

Today is Charles Darwin Day ! Thursday, February 12, is the 200th anniversary of English Naturalist Charles Darwin’s birth. Don’t we all need something fresh to celebrate today? I am celebrating by giving away two copies of “We’re Sailing to Galapagos” written by Laurie Krebs , published by, whom other, than Barefoot Books . I love this book! It has a wonderful “sing-song rhyme” rich, col orful illustrations (the collage-y cut paper kind that amazes me every time I study it). Finally, as all of the titles in Laurie’s world travel series , it has an amazing “glossary” in the back - my friend refers to them often as “Harvard extension programs set to rhyme”. Laurie does a wonderful job of writing informative, yet light, easy to read rhyming stories. She keeps the main part of the book relaxed and fun (this one among many things introduces the days of the week) then by finishing with rich end notes that, for us, make her books top of the to...

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...

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 ...

You probably remember these from your childhood, a record (yes I am showing my oh so advanced age) that would ding when you needed to turn the page. I had a few Disney stories that I would listen to over and over again. By the time I found these I was reading on my own even at the level these books were and still loved having the record read to me. These days everything is digital and so there is a much larger selection than my parents could find for me. Our local library has a large collection of read-along books for children, with stories geared to all different age levels and attention spans. These books are perfect for long car trips. Froggy does not like ride in the car. She does a better job of it now that she is older but it is still not an enjoyable activity for her. Planning long car trips for a family is a major ordeal. We have two scheduled in the next six weeks. My solution - hit the library and stock up on these special books. I start early. Read them at home wit...

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...

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...

Here is a midweek pick-me-up to continue the joy of Book Giveaway Week. This one if for the little ones. Do you have a little one in your family? Then share with them the joy of books. I will pick two winners. Tell me which book you want and bit about the child with whom you read. Earn extra chances to win by posting about this giveaway in your blog - leave the link to your post in a comment. Earn a third chance to win by subscribing to this blog. Winners will be announced Monday morning. Animal Boogie will let you shake, shimmy and boggie-woogie-oogie with the creatures of the Indian jungle! Enjoy a tale that is bright and fun, wacky and exotic! The vibrant, fun illustrations in this book are packed full of jungle animals to find and count. The rhyme bounces alo ng introducing a colorful collection of intriguing animals through lively word play and repetition. A musical score is included in the book. In this sequel to Llama Llama Red Pajama, llama llama gradually learns to b...

It's hard to believe that time is going by so quickly, but here it is already - the big Fall 2008 Bloggy Giveaway kicks off today, and you're invited. Click on the link (going live at 8am CST) to participate in literally hundreds of great bloggy giveaways. . For my own giveaway this time I'm giving away something that combines my three favorite things in life; children, books and cooking. Cooking with Herb is a companion book to Herb, The Vegetarian . Bright, funny watercolor, crayon, and pen-and-ink illustrations set the tone for a happy time in the kitchen. Grand-Ma-Ma Flora, Squat, Haggis, Gorse and Meathook, help Herb the Dragon prepare such vegetarian specialties as Spaghetti Sandwiches (a frittata of pasta, eggs and cheese), Veggie Sailboats and Radical Dragon-Salsa. To enter the drawing leave me a comment telling me your favorite book, recipe or childhood moment and be sure to leave a way for me to contact you if you win. While you are here, relax and look around...

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...