Can't Sleep Without Sheep by Susanna Leonard Hill

A while back, Hubs was out of town to ComicCon and Sprout was having trouble getting to sleep. It was the first time he'd been without Daddy at bedtime, plus we'd had a very full day of activities, and I think he was just finding it difficult to wind down. I was snuggling him, trying to get him to key down, but nothing was working. "I can't go to sleep, Mommy," he said, and in my half-asleep state I suggested, "Why don't you count sheep?"

Big mistake.

Thus ensued a huge round of questioning. Suddenly Sprout was wide awake and buzzing with queries. Who were these sheep, and where did they come from, and why were we counting them, and where would they go after we counted them, and were they sheep from a farm or what. . . you get the idea. Yeesh, make one off-the-cuff suggestion and there goes any hope of shut-eye!

But it got me thinking about the phrase and how honestly bizarre it really is. So when I came across today's pick, I knew I had to bring it home for Sprout pronto. Can't Sleep Without Sheep by Susanna Leonard Hill is the perfect blend of silly and sweet, a great selection for bedtime or anytime a dose of fun is in order. When Ava can't fall asleep, her mom does exactly what I did to Sprout, suggests Ava count sheep. But the sheep in Ava's room are totally worn out, and they want a night off. So they offer to find a replacement animal for our heroine to count. Unfortunately, nothing's quite right - the horses are too graceful, the pigs too slow, the cows too clumsy. Then even non-barnyard animals are getting into the action, as penguins, hippos and even buffalo take a crack at jumping over Ava's fence. It's all kind of a disaster, but a really hilarious one!

Mike Wohnoutka did the illustrations for this little beauty, and they are a whole lot of fun. The night sky is populated with twinkling stars and wispy clouds, the perfect setting for all of this animal craziness. Sprout likes the chickens - cross-eyed and chubby, trying to cram themselves between the boards of the fence. And   the sheep are everywhere in the background, trying mightily to orchestrate a suitable replacement for themselves so they can have one -- just one! -- night to themselves. (Spoiler alert: it never quite materializes.)

Hill's story is one tailor-made for preschoolers who love a good bit of zaniness at storytime or on the way to dreamland. And believe me when I tell you that after this one, you'll never count sheep in quite the same way!

Can't Sleep Without Sheep by Susanna Leonard Hill, published by Walker & Company
Ages 3-6
Source: Library
Sample: "The pigs were not in any hurry. 'One pig over the fence," said Ava. Then she had to wait while the others stopped to snack. 'Pigs are too slow,' decided the sheep."
Recommended

Wind Flyers by Angela Johnson {The Children's Bookshelf}

Three years ago next month, I flew home from Ethiopia with a chubby-cheeked baby boy that had just joined our family. I was so worried before the trip about how he would react to the air travel, but I needn't have been - he settled right in like he was born to cruise through the clouds.

And thus began a love affair between my son and airplanes. He just adores them. We live quite near a regional airport, and for a long time now, just about every time a plane goes over, Sprout rushes to the window to see if he can catch a glimpse. We've been on a couple of family vacations since he came along, and Sprout's favorite destinations are "fly-away" ones -- sometimes I think he likes the airplane part better than the actual vacation!

So it's no surprise that a recent library find, Wind Flyers,  was a huge hit with him. Honestly, even if it wasn't about air travel I think it would have been a winner, seeing that it was created by two award-winning kidlit luminaries: author Angela Johnson and illustrator Loren Long. But the fact that the cover features a young boy and his dog climbing aboard a yellow-and-red barnstormer? That just put Sprout over the top.

Johnson adopts an introspective tone with this tale, narrated by a boy who is telling the story of his great-great-uncle, who all his life wanted to fly. As a lad Uncle would do just about anything to try to touch the clouds, including jumping out of a barn window (don't worry, he landed safely in a mound of hay). When he grew up, Uncle enlisted as a Tuskegee Airman, flying missions in World War II in the famous squad of African American pilots. "We were something." Uncle tells his young nephew. "Some of us didn't come back, but we never lost a plane we protected." And Uncle still flies now, mostly just to keep the feeling of the wind, but also, we learn, to pass that feeling on to a new generation.

As you might expect, coming from two such gifted artists, this is an incredible book. First and foremost it serves as an important introduction to a group of heroes whose contribution to our nation's history must never be forgotten. And it's also just a beautiful book to share with a young child. Johnson's narration is spare and perfect, each word set precisely as a stone in a beautiful mosaic. Long's paintings capture the elegance of the prose in visual form, lifting the viewer up into the wind that Uncle loves, the smooth wind, the magic wind of the Tuskegee wind flyers. This is the sort of book you read through several times just for the experience of it. Sprout can never get enough on just one reading, and often asks us to stop on one page or another, drinking in the heady mixture of poetry and light that is word and picture combined.

Whether you read it for the history, for the airplanes, or just for the lyricism, make sure you add Wind Flyers to your reading list soon. It's a piece of art as smooth as the wind that carries it.

Wind Flyers by Angela Johnson, published by Simon and Schuster

Ages 4-6

Source: Library

First lines: "Great-great-uncle was a wind flyer. A smooth wind flyer. A Tuskegee wind flyer. . . . "

Highly recommended

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This post is part of The Children’s Bookshelf, a weekly linky party with the goal of connecting parents with great books for their kids. Do you have a book review, literacy or book-related post that you think will be helpful for parents? If so, please add your link below.

NOTE: By linking up you are giving permission for any of the co-hosts to pin and/or feature a your photo on a future The Children’s Bookshelf post. Kindly link up to an individual post, not your blog’s homepage. The hosts reserve the right to delete any links to homepages, commercial links, repeat links or otherwise inappropriate links. Thank you for your understanding.

You can also follow The Children’s Bookshelf on Pinterest or visit TCB’s co-hosts: Sprout’s Bookshelf, What Do We Do All Day?, No Twiddle Twaddle, Smiling Like Sunshine, My Little Bookcase, The Picture Book Review, MemeTales and Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns. You can find more details here.

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Series Spotlight - Shanna's First Readers by Jean Marzollo

I've mentioned before that I'm always on the hunt for series that have diverse characters. A similar hunt is for diverse reads for beginners - it seems like there are plenty of picture books, and novels for middle grade and teen readers, but where the multicultural children's literature field falls short is in board books (more on that another time) and books for beginners. Beginning readers are tough because they already have to accomplish so much: be readable for those just starting to decode the written word, but at the same time be colorful and inviting, have plots that are easily understood, and be interesting enough to compel those beginners to pull them off the shelf. Tall order indeed!

But there are choices out there, if you're willing to look. Libraries are one of the best places, as are used bookstores, for the simple fact that some of these series start out strong and then don't get the backing from their publishing houses that one might hope. (Lots of thoughts on that, again, for another time.) Today's pick is a series that I unearthed by rooting around in the library catalog. It's one I hope will stick around for a while on our library shelves because Sprout loves them now, and I know he'll be thrilled to read them on his own one day.

The series in question is Jean Marzollo's Shanna's First Readers. We've read three of the titles: Shanna's Hip, Hop, Hooray!; Shanna's Bear Hunt; and Shanna's Party Surprise. Each of the books is fairly shimmering with energy and excitement, from the cover right on through, which makes them a perfect selection for catching and keeping a beginner's attention. They're also fairly simple, so perfect for low level readers, and make use of speech bubbles and other comic-inspired devices. There's so much going on here, but each spread is carefully constructed to move beginners sequentially through the story.

And the plots, while easy to follow, are fun too. In Shanna's Hip, Hop, Hooray!, Shanna and her brother Shane are putting on a show with their animal friends. Everybody's dancing and moving to the beat, which readers can't fail to catch on to - it's infectious, to say the least! Illustrators Maryn Roos and Shane Evans keep the backgrounds uncluttered so the focus is on the characters and the action, just as it should be. At the end of each story, Marzollo gives kids a fun word game to help reinforce the skills learned in the book. For Shanna's Bear Hunt, for example, the game is matching up rhyming words, underscoring the rhyme scheme occurring in the text -- just what a beginner needs to succeed.

Sadly this series is out of print (come on, Jump at the Sun, bring it back, will you?) but you can find used copies if you hunt around. Our library copies have seen better days, but I'm hoping they can hold on a bit. Fun, engaging titles just right for a beginner, featuring an adorable girl and her equally cute little brother? What's not to love?!

Shanna's First Readers:

Shanna's Animal Riddles
Shanna's Bear Hunt
Shanna's Hip, Hop, Hooray!
Shanna's Lost Shoe
Shanna's Party Surprise
Shanna's Pizza Parlor

also look for the Shanna's Show titles:

Shanna's Princess Show
Shanna's Doctor Show
Shanna's Teacher Show
Shanna's Ballerina Show

Wild About You by Judy Sierra {The Children's Bookshelf}

It's been awhile since I wrote about any adoption-themed titles here. Although I used to spotlight these quite frequently, I haven't run across any lately that we just loved. That is, until we came across the newest effort by author Judy Sierra and illustrator Marc Brown, Wild About You. And this is one, my friends, that we truly are wild about!

The story is quite similar to their earlier effort, Wild About Books, in that it is set in a zoo that's populated by some quite inventive animals. This time around, it seems that everybody's having babies -- except for the tree kangaroo and a pair of pandas, who unfortunately seem to be lacking the little additions they are longing for. The pandas in fact are so upset that they are "black, white, and . . . BLUE." (A nice bit of punny humor for you there.)

Then a rescue truck pulls into the zoo, carrying a mysterious foundling egg. Of course the zookeeper asks all the birds if they can foster the little one, but everyone has some complaint. So the tree kangaroo steps right up to pouch-sit, and once the egg hatches, she's thrilled with her unexpected surprise. She's now the mommy to an adorable little penguin! Luckily the other animals pitch in to help out, supplying fresh fish and avian role models. Similarly, the pandas find themselves parenting a little kitten, and the zoo community rallies around them as well. The most terrific part is the final spread, where the entire menagerie gathers together -- those who have keen eyes will pick out other trans-species families in addition to the pandacat and the pengaroo.

We love this title for plenty of reasons: its subtle message (you don't have to "match" in order to be a family), its upbeat tone and positive take on adoption, and of course its infectious rhyme scheme. Brown has pulled out all the stops with these illustrations, utilizing geometric shapes, dots and bold primary colors to bring a warm, cheerful feel to this warm, cheerful story. Families who read this one will be strengthened in all kinds of ways, and foster or adoptive families in particular will find the positive message very reassuring.

This is a gentle treasure, perfect for introducing the topic of adoption in a classroom or home setting. And the next time your kiddos ask about a family that doesn't look alike, just reassure them that "to bring up a baby. . . it takes a whole zoo!".

Wild About You by Judy Sierra, published by Alfred A. Knopf
Ages 3-6
Source: Library
Sample: "So the puffins delivered fresh fish every day. / The flamingos invited her over to play. / And one happy day, she hopped her first hop -- A super-sensational pengaroo bop."
Highly recommended
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This post is part of The Children’s Bookshelf, a weekly linky party with the goal of connecting parents with great books for their kids. Do you have a book review, literacy or book-related post that you think will be helpful for parents? If so, please add your link below.

NOTE: By linking up you are giving permission for any of the co-hosts to pin and/or feature a your photo on a future The Children’s Bookshelf post. Kindly link up to an individual post, not your blog’s homepage. The hosts reserve the right to delete any links to homepages, commercial links, repeat links or otherwise inappropriate links. Thank you for your understanding.

You can also follow The Children’s Bookshelf on Pinterest or visit TCB’s co-hosts: Sprout’s Bookshelf, What Do We Do All Day?, No Twiddle Twaddle, Smiling Like Sunshine, My Little Bookcase, The Picture Book Review, MemeTales and Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns. You can find more details here.

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Moving Day - 6 Sensational Picture Books to Help Kids Adjust to a Move

A few weeks ago, a friend contacted us asking about our favorite titles about moving to a new home. Honestly, I was stumped for a minute. Aside from Judith Viorst's classic Alexander, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move (my love for Alexander could take up a whole post all on its own), I couldn't think of a single one. We haven't had occasion to seek this topic out yet with Sprout, so off to the library catalog I went to search for some titles. In short order I had a big ol' stack, all of which we read as a family.

And without further ado, here are our favorites!

First up is Bandit, written by Karen Rostoker-Gruber and illustrated by Vincent Nguyen. The main character in this title is a somewhat snarky housecat, Bandit, who is shocked when movers show up and then he's taken to a new house. No way is Bandit taking that lying down, so he high-tails it to his old place, but someone else is already there. Fortunately his owner shows up to claim him, and Bandit discovers that the new place is just fine - with all his things in it! The retro illustrations and comic-inspired format make this lots of fun, and kids will identify with Bandit's feelings when a move seems to come up out of nowhere.

In a similar vein, Jessica Harper's I Like Where I Am is also about a boy who isn't thrilled to be moving house. "I've got trouble," he tells us, "I've got BIG TROUBLE." And it certainly seems that he does, because he's got to leave behind his house, his room, and even his friends to move to a place called Little Rock. But the narrator eventually changes his tune, because in Little Rock, he not only finds a new friend (with a swimming pool!), he also gets his own kitten. G. Brian Karas illustrated this spunky title, and as usual he mixes in a nice bit of diversity, a clear bonus in our book.

Apprehension about a new place is a familiar theme in Anika and Christopher Denise's Bella and Stella Come Home. Bella and her stuffed elephant Stella enjoy a relationship similar to that of Calvin and Hobbes, where Stella is alive, but only to her owner. Bella's glad to have her friend along to explore the new house, where everything seems just wrong, from the color of the kitchen to the lack of a tree in the back yard. Resigned to their fate, the friends settle in for the night - and in the morning, with all their toys and furniture around, things start looking up. The soothing text pairs nicely with the soft palette and cozy pictures - a great choice for bedtime, even if you're not moving house.

Sprout was especially excited about this next pick, A Brave Spaceboy by Dana Kessimakis Smith, with pictures by Laura Freeman. He had really enjoyed the pair's other title, A Wild Cowboy, and I love that these books both feature a multiracial family (African American and Asian American). The moving theme in this title is conveyed very subtly, almost entirely through the pictures, while the text centers around space exploration. That makes for a great opportunity to talk about words and images working together to tell a story. As with their other outing, this one is colorful and high energy, a great book for emphasizing the fun part of moving to a new place.

For another series title, we also read Niki Daly's Where's Jamela?, a book set in South Africa and featuring Daly's recurring character. The vivacious Jamela is not so thrilled about her Mama getting a new job, which means moving to a new place. Everything about their old place is just right, from the smell of cooking to the familiar neighbors nearby. So Jamela does what any sensible girl would - she hides out in a moving box! Naturally that causes quite the ruckus, but it all ends well in Daly's capable hands. This title fairly bursts with life, and readers will love seeing Jamela settle in to what will, we know, be a great place to live.

The last title in our list is a quieter one, perfect for winding down the evening or bringing a thoughtful tone to a  story session. Clancy & Millie and the Very Fine House, by Libby Gleeson, echoes the tone of many other titles. Clancy's not happy about his new home, which seems all wrong to him, though his parents love it. Depressed about the whole situation, he ventures outside, where the huge stack of moving boxes towers to the sky. As Clancy begins to explore, he meets Millie, whose idea of fun is much the same as Clancy's, and the two happily build cardboard trains and crazy houses. And then, suddenly, the house that wasn't so terrific, seems great after all. I love the sketchy quality of Freya Blackwood's illustrations, as well as her deft portrayal of Clancy's eye-view of the first very-wrong, then very-fine house he now calls home.

With these titles, the intense emotions that can arise due to a move are explored through humor, sensitivity and lots of great pictures. Whether you're planning a move or simply want a moving reading experience, add these titles to your library list today!