30 Days of Picture Books - It's Time for Preschool by Esmé Raji Codell

It's Day 10 of our 30 Days of Picture Books. What's your favorite of the titles we've shared so far?

Today happens to be Sunday, and as he does almost every weekend day, the second he woke up, Sprout wanted to know, "Is it a school day??" Sprout loves his preschool, and so do we. He's been fortunate to have had excellent day care providers, and now is in a more structured preschool program where he really shines. His teachers are involved and creative, thoughtful and kind. As a parent, it makes my day so much better when I know that Sprout is thriving in his everyday environment.

When Sprout first started preschool, we read and recommended a number of excellent titles for the transition. It's Time for Preschool! by Esmé Raji Codell is a great addition to that list. One glimpse at the cover and you know you're in for a good time with this one. Lively and fun, this is a great look at all the activities that most preschools incorporate into their regular routine. The only downside I can think to this title is that it makes me want to spend all day in such a cool place.

Codell is a teacher, librarian and reading specialist, so you know you're in good hands with the text here. She's got an engaging thread of rhyme that crops up now and again, and she does a fantastic job of explaining just what an average day in preschool looks like. She even covers special events, like field trips and fire drills, that are left out of most preschool-prep titles. Sue Ramá did the illustrations for this title, and true to form with her other work, she includes a healthy dose of diversity among teachers and students. There's loads of variety in the games and activities , as well - boys and girls alike playing house, making crafts, playing dinosaurs (and princess dinosaurs!).

Best of all, the book includes acknowledgements that kiddos may have a hard time during the day, and addresses worries like a parent not showing up at pick-up time ("But never never never / (I will say it with a shout) / Would your folks forget to pick you up. / It's not even worth thinking about.") This is a nice reassurance for kids who may feel uneasy about this new phase in life.

Whether your kiddo's a preschool veteran or still has that phase to look forward to, It's Time for Preschool! is a great escape into the fun of a busy school day.

It's Time for Preschool! by Esmé Raji Codell, published by Greenwillow Books

Lulu and the Duck in the Park by Hilary McKay

We're in transition around the Kinser household. Reading-wise, that is. Whereas we were once a 3-4 (or 5, or 6) picture-books-at-bedtime kind of family, now we appear to have moved on to chapter books, in a big way. This all started with our family vacation in May/June, where I read Sprout his first chapter books. To be honest, I thought it would take a while for it to stick but he's embraced this new format wholeheartedly. And so now, Mommy often finds herself reading maybe one picture book, as a prequel to the chapter-book-of-the-day.

I'm both strangely unnerved by this transition, and absolutely okay with it. It's a process.

This sea change means that we're visiting a whole new section of the library now. (Moment of huge librarian-mommy pride: when, during our most recent library visit, Sprout approached the desk and asked the clerk, "Excuse me, do you have any dinosaur chapter books?" Swoon.) Thankfully there are some really great early chapter books out there, and we're enjoying the vast majority of the titles we've brought home. But, as with other areas of publishing, diverse characters are few and far between, so we do have to do a fair bit of hunting.

One recent series that I can wholeheartedly recommend are the Lulu books by veteran children's author Hilary McKay. Best known for her award-winning Casson family series, McKay dips her toe into different waters with these books for younger readers. Happily, McKay's knack for creating enthralling characters translates beautifully. The story is peopled with types that readers will find familiar but not boring, a balance that isn't easy to strike by any means. The plot, while easy to follow, offers just enough uncertainty that a preschooler or early elementary kiddo will be on the edge of his/her seat (or in Sprout's case, pillow).

And best of all, Lulu and the Duck in the Park is the kind of book for younger kiddos that doesn't try to be more than it is. It's a simple story about two girls: Lulu, who loves animals, and her cousin/best friend Mellie, who's really quite a character. The friends are in the same class, and their teacher, Mrs. Holiday, is decidedly NOT an animal person. In fact, she even threatens to trade the class guinea pig for a pair of stick insects! So when Lulu unexpectedly begins fostering an abandoned duck egg, it's up to the two girls to keep the egg safe without letting pet-unfriendly Mrs. Holiday know about it. And as you might expect, there are more than a few risks involved in doing so.

Laced with humor and realistic observations (not to mention super-cute illustrations by Priscilla Lamont), Lulu and the Duck in the Park is a great match if you're looking to add some diversity to your classroom or library shelves, without having a heavy message involved. Naturally books on African American history or Latino holidays are important, but so too is the example of people of color living everyday lives - and this title is a lovely instance of that, a light adventure that's familiar enough for most kids to find it relatable. What's even better is that Duck in the Park is only the first of the Lulu adventures, with several out already in the UK and Lulu and the Dog from the Sea just out in hardcover here in the US. I know we'll be reading the rest of the series - if Sprout has his way, probably as soon as they hit the library shelves!

Lulu and the Duck in the Park by Hilary McKay, published by Albert Whitman and Company
Ages 5-9
Source: Library
First lines: "Lulu was famous for animals. Her famousness for animals was known throughout the whole neighborhood."
Recommended

The Secret Shortcut by Mark Teague {The Children's Bookshelf}

Not too long ago I read a review about a reprint of a children's book from way back when. In the blurb I read, the reviewer questioned whether or not modern-day children would be able to connect with the book, because it featured such unfamiliar scenes as children playing unattended in the yard, or walking to school without an adult.

The horror!

Seriously, though, I couldn't take that condescension. I think attitudes like that sell our kids incredibly short. Okay, so in the world today probably very few of us let our kids run around the neighborhood without a clue where they are -- yes, my generation has a whole lot of hypervigilence going on. But still, I think kids have the ability to extrapolate, and I daresay they won't chuck a book across the room if a character is listening to a phonograph or delivering newspapers sans grownups.

At least I hope they won't because if they do toss away books like that, kids would miss out on gems like today's pick, The Secret Shortcut by Mark Teague. We love Mark Teague for his integration of diversity into his books, seamlessly and consistently. In the book, Floyd and Wendell make their own way to school -- wait for it -- walking! Without their parents!

Are you still with me? Whew! So the two boys are chronically late, and their teacher Ms. Gernsblatt is getting fed up with their silly excuses about being detained by pirates and so forth. (Readers see the scurvy naves; Gernsblatt does not.) On Thursday the boys are determined not to get into trouble, leaving very early just to be sure. For good measure, Wendell suggests they try his secret shortcut. Floyd's a little dubious, but he gives it a whirl - and very soon the two boys are off into the most harrowing adventure of the whole week, complete with crocodiles, a rocky gorge, and swinging like monkeys from vine to vine.

The Secret Shortcut is such a fun read, with a whole lot of tongue-in-cheek humor that parents will love (kids might need to be clued in to the joke). Ultimately the boys do reach their destination, somewhat the worse for wear. Sprout's favorite part is when Floyd and Wendell land in a puddle of mud, a scene that's captured with Teague's trademark sense of whimsy. You can't really appreciate this one without looking at the pictures, as this is a title where illustrations and printed word join together to convey the whole message. Overall, this is a good choice for preschoolers who are beginning to get the sense that the world they see may not be the same as the one adults live in, after all.

If you want to spare your kids the trauma of reading about unchaperoned exploits on the way to school, pass this one by. Please. Because if you do, it's all the more likely to be there on the library shelf when we're in the mood for something lively and oh-so-imaginative.

The Secret Shortcut by Mark Teague, published by Scholastic
Ages 3-6
Source: Library
First lines: "On Monday, Wendell and Floyd were late for school. / They had nearly been captured by space creatures, they told their teacher. "Ridiculous," said Ms. Gernsblatt, and she warned them not to let it happen again."
Recommended
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30 Days of Picture Books - Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I Don't) by Barbara Bottner

Day 10 of Picture Book Month is today! We've had some awesome picture book choices featured here on the Bookshelf, if I do say so myself, and today's is no exception. It's one that both Sprout and I adore, and when he saw it on the shelf at the library again today there was no way he was checking out without this in our book bag.

I love books about books, it's just a personal weakness of mine. One of the benefits of this type of narrative for preschoolers is that it connects the dots. Like other activities that they see modeled in the literature they read, having a book about a character who indulges in literary pursuits just validates what they themselves are doing. There are fantastic titles out there about bookmobiles, about libraries and even bookstores, and then there are books just about the sheer joy and passion of reading itself.

And that's exactly what we have in Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I Don't) by Barbara Bottner. Our heroine Missy thinks her school librarian, Miss Brooks, is loopy for loving books to utter distraction. The woman adores all kinds of titles, and she wants Missy to love reading too -- but Missy's equally determined that she won't like books, no way no how. But then along comes something "truly terrifying": Book Week. Everyone in the class must choose a favorite book and create a presentation about it, complete with costume. Missy figures she's sunk, because there are no books that tickle her fancy that much. Or are there?

Michael Emberley illustrated this little gem, and I especially love the way he captures the title character. She's a short-skirt-and-boots kind of gal, with hair that's wild and full of flowers and braids. Miss Brooks is the kind of librarian all kids should have, and many lucky ones do, someone who's not afraid to dress up like a turkey and read Thanksgiving books, or become a Wild Thing when they're reading Sendak. Her wacky ways alone don't persuade Missy, but her persistence does -- in one of the innumerable stacks of books Miss Brooks sends home, Missy finds a title that suits her fancy just fine. Proving once again my own personal credo: there's a book for everyone, you just have to keep looking.

Sprout loves all the books this title alludes to (look for Miss Brooks as a Hungry Caterpillar in my personal favorite scene). The only problem is, we often end up checking out even more books when we bring this one home, because as Sprout says, "Miss Brooks loves books and I do too!"

Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I Don't) by Barbara Bottner, published by Alfred A. Knopf