30 Days of Diverse Picture Books - Little Humans by Brandon Stanton

Put down that leftover Halloween candy and get ready for something even sweeter! It's November, and you know what that means!

Woot woot! It's one of my favorite things that happens all year long - Picture Book Month, a 30 day celebration of the books that speak to all ages. If you need convincing as to why picture books are important, you'll find a new reason each day on the official Picture Book Month website. But I know you're all believers, just as we are, of the power of picture books to change lives young and old!

AND this year, with all the attention swirling around the call for diversity in children's literature, I decided this year would be 30 Days of Diverse Picture Books. That means books that celebrate difference in all its forms - because, after all, there is nothing so beautiful as literature that includes everyone.

On to our first pick!

For Day 1, I'm choosing a brand-new title that's written by blogger Brandon Stanton, best known for his blog Humans of New York. It's an incredible site, full of humanity and laughter and heartache. Stanton includes kids on his blog quite a bit, and has compiled a cross-section of fantastic photographs into his new picture book, Little Humans.

If you've followed Stanton's blog, you'll recognize many of the photos, but it's really fun to see them in an entirely new context. Stanton's added some text to tie the images together, though that seems unnecessary - honestly, I think he could just have had his incredibly winning photography stand on its own, and young readers would have been equally charmed. But it is loads of fun, and a great way to include diversity in a collection, demonstrating all the ways in which humans are both alike and different.

It's a brave new diverse world out there - and we love the way Little Humans celebrates it!

Little Humans by Brandon Stanton, published by Farrar Straus Giroux

Read Around the World Summer Series

If you haven't been following us on Facebook or Twitter (and why not?!), then you've been missing out. As part of the Multicultural Kid Bloggers group, we're happy to be sharing some terrific picks from the Read Around the World Summer Series. Today's it's our turn, so I've picked one of our favorite picture books set in Africa: Rain School by James Rumford. Read our review here, and hit up your library to find a copy of this one-of-a-kind picture book -- this is a great one to read before your kiddos start school!

Booking Across the USA - Washington State Edition!

Today we're excited to be sharing in the fun of Booking Across the USA! This project, dreamed up by the fantastic Jodie of Growing Book by Book, brings together bloggers from across the United States. Each of us is sharing our review of a book in the same series, plus an activity or craft inspired by our home state. It's a cool opportunity to hear from bloggers from every corner of our country. Visit the main page of Booking Across the USA on Wednesday, May 14, to enter a fun giveaway and see the links to all the participating bloggers.

The book we're sharing is Way Out West in the Travels with Charlie series by Miles Backer. There are four books in this series: Down South, Travelin' the Northeast, and Across the Midwest. Each title focuses on a specific region of the US -- our home state just happens to be Washington, so we were squarely in the Western Region, which includes the Southwest, Alaska and Hawaii.

We received a copy of the book from Blue Apple Books in order to review it, and wow, was Sprout ever excited when we opened up the package and saw this colorful title. For starters, Charlie the dog is just about as cute as can be, with his flappy ears and bright red bandanna. Then, as soon as you open the book you discover the endpapers -- an outline map of the USA with the states featured in this book highlighted in different colors. Sprout's really into maps lately, so he was hooked as soon as we saw this.

Each state has a featured spread with the illustrations opposite a page with a bit of rhyming text that hits on the highlights of the state, plus the state flag and some facts. We learned a few new things about Washington that we didn't know, such as the origin of Mt Rainier's name (Peter Rainier, a British soldier in the Revolutionary War) and that the oldest gas station in the US is in Zillah, WA. Now where else would you find such terrific gems?!

Chuck Nitzberg did the illustrations for this book and they are a key component of the whole piece. The slightly cartoony feel he gives to the pictures adds to the sense of fun, and he definitely hits the highlights of each state in terms of fun stuff going on. (Although, seriously, does everyone have to be white? With the exception of the Native Americans in traditional garb, it's a white-wash -- a little disappointing, folks.) The real fun of this one comes into play when you start searching for Charlie. Yes, he's pictured in every state feature spread, and no, he's not easy to find! Little ones will love hunting for this rakish pup, who shows up, where else but in the most unexpected places.

One thing I really appreciated about the Washington spread of Way Out West was how it emphasized our proximity to the water and the many water-related activities we take advantage of here in the Evergreen State. Sprout in particular thought it was cool that the book shows the state ferries. We had a great time on the ferry last year when we vacationed in the San Juan Islands. In case you can't tell by the *huge* grin in the picture below, Sprout's a big fan of the ferry - the whole thing, from the excitement of driving on to the wind whipping around on the deck to cozying up and watching the world sail by.

Our favorite pastime during that trip was beachcombing, which meant that we brought home some really fantastic rocks, shells and seaglass. If you've been reading this blog long, you know that I'm not exactly crafty, but I do make an effort from time to time. And since we really want to preserve our memories from the San Juans, we'll be making a stepping stone using some of the treasures we found on the beach! It's actually pretty easy to do this kind of thing - we've got a basic stepping stone kit, much like this one pictured below, and will stir up the mix as directed, then imbed our stones and shells in a fun design.

(Though the reviews I've read indicate that this isn't super messy and can be done in the house, we're taking Sprout's propensity for "oops" to heart, and we'll be doing this project outside, just as soon as the sun sticks around for us a little bit.)

Whether you're traveling this summer, or sticking around home, I bet you'll find some great info about our country when you go Booking Across the USA!

Bonus: check out some fun coloring pages at this link to the Washington State Junior Grange!

48 Hour Book Challenge - Finish Line!

Well folks, I can't quite believe it but just like that 48 hours have elapsed - or almost, anyway, but close enough for me. My totals aren't exactly what I thought they'd be but all in all, for someone who only rarely gets pleasure reading time, this weekend did help me put a dent in the TBR pile, albeit a small one.

Here's the rundown:

13.50 hours spent reading, blogging or networking in the Kidlitosphere
4 books completed (When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, Everything on a Waffle, Sparrow Road, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda)
1 book read halfway (Grave Mercy)
1 audiobook read halfway (The Year of Living Biblically)
3 completed review posts - Origami Yoda is one that my husband read also, and as our resident Star Wars geek, he'll do a much better review than I ever could

None too shabby! I'll be making my donation to Reading is Fundamental after I finish this post - technically I think I'm supposed to post the dollar amount, but I'm more comfortable donating anonymously.

Overall this was a fantastic experience. I definitely learned that for me, shorter books are better with this kind of project - though I tried mightily to finish Grave Mercy, it just wasn't in the cards (it's awesome, though!). I'm really looking forward to participating again next year. Thanks to MotherReader for a truly wonderful weekend of books and blogging!

48 Hour Book Challenge - Here We Go!

OK peeps, I have a towering TBR stack and a cozy place to read, so I'm all set to start off MotherReader's 7th Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge. I'm so excited to be a part of the challenge this year - last year I hadn't started up my blog yet, so I missed out, but this year I'm ready to roll.

There are a couple of potential stumbling blocks for me, though:

1. Sleep. As in, haven't had much for several days. Ah, the perils of having a three-year-old who wakes up at 3 a.m. ready to roll. I'll tell you what folks, this is not going to be an all-night proposition for me, that's for sure. Even if I wanted it to be, I'm just too dog-tired.

2. Work. I have a shift tomorrow morning, albeit a short one. If I'd been thinking, I'd have downloaded an audiobook for that timeframe. . . hmmm, maybe that's not too late. . . .

3. Date Night. OK, I know what you're thinking - why not just reschedule? Well, reference the aforementioned three-year-old plus the fact that with our school and work schedules, we just NEVER get out anywhere together. Like, haven't in months. So there's no way I'm turning down an offer of babysitting for tomorrow night - guess I'll just have to make up for it on Sunday!

All of these factors taken into consideration, I'm still ready, willing, and happy to be plunging in for the challenge. I'm committing at the 12-23 hour level and looking forward to whittling down my TBR pile by even a few titles. I'm thrilled to be able to participate in this event with so many fantastic book bloggers of all stripes. Are you joining in??

Liebster Blog Award

Thanks to Michelle Cusolito over at the fantastically-named Polliwog on Safari, Sprout's Bookshelf is now an award-winning blog! That's right folks, Michelle honored me with the Liebster Blog Award. From her post: "The origins of the Liebster Blog Award are unclear, but the word translates from German as "darling" or "beloved." It's given to bloggers who have less than 200 followers in order to generate some traffic for them." Of Sprout's Bookshelf, Michelle writes "This blog is new to me. I discovered it during the KidLit Comment Challenge and boy am I glad I did."

Well, how can I not be honored by that?? Seriously, it's been such a pleasure just writing this blog, mainly as a way for me to keep track of all the books we read as a family - getting kudos from anyone is just the icing on the cake!

Here's the deal - as part of the award I need to thank the giver (done - thanks, Michelle!), post the award here, tell 5 random facts about myself, and pay the award forward to 5 more deserving blogs.

On to the random facts:

1. I love to travel. Love, love, love it. We don't get to do it enough. And one of my favorite travel rituals is buying trashy magazines to read on the plane - hold the Jane Austen, when in transit I'm a People magazine girl all the way.

2. I hate squash (all kinds), watermelon, olives, raisins and pickles. And coffee, even coffee ice cream, makes me gag, which is too bad since my son is from Ethiopia, home of the world's best coffee -- or so I'm told.

3. In high school, I played the part of Ernestine in our school's production of Cheaper by the Dozen. It was cheesy and fantastic, and I loved every minute of it.

4. I have zero artistic talent. Seriously. Can't crochet, knit, draw, sew or play an instrument, although I have nothing but admiration for those who can. The closest I get is baking, and I mostly do that when I'm stressed out. Come finals, it's wall-to-wall chocolate chip cookies around here!

5. I love water rides at theme parks. My favorite ride at Disneyland is Splash Mountain. At Disney's California Adventure I once begged the attendant to let us stay on Grizzly River Run until my husband got wet - by the third time around he was pretty drenched, but I was soaked through and had to go back to the hotel to change. Totally worth it.

Soooo, now on to the five blogs I'd like to honor with this award!

1. Storied Cities -- I love book blogs with cool and unusual slants, and this one has a great premise: children's books set in and about urban landscapes. Though this blogger's bio states "I've never laid claim to being a great reviewer", I absolutely beg to differ. And you will too.

2. A Mother, A Daughter, and 100 Books -- Ditto the unique approach on this recently launched blog. This mom and daughter aim to read their way through Betsy Bird's Top 100 Fictional Chapter Books, examining each one in detail and blogging their reaction. So far the duo has tackled Little House in the Big Woods, and reading along with their thoughts about Laura Ingalls Wilder's book has been a true pleasure. Can't wait for more, ladies!

3. A Random Hodgepodge of Bookishness -- Amy describes herself as "a public librarian who doesn't get to talk about books enough at work", and her blog is truly a great mix of adult, teen and children's picks. Every word in Amy's reviews is well chosen and her comments are thoughtful, something I really appreciate and would love to emulate!

4. Literary Lunchbox -- Here's someone who's not afraid to mix it up - picture books, chapter books, series reviews and some adult stuff too. Ali's posts are written in a personable, conversational way, so you feel like you're learning about books from a trusted friend. And how can you not love a blogger whose profile pic shows her reading The Tale of Despereaux??

5. Delightful Children's Books -- I suspect a lot of folks are already reading this entertaining and visually appealing blog. If you're not, you'll want to add it to your reader right now. (Go ahead, I'll wait.) Because this one is chock-full of goodness, including booklists broken down by age and a feature called "Read Around the World". Delightful indeed.

And there we are! Thanks again to Michelle, blogger at Polliwog on Safari, for sharing this award with me!