Author: Petite Stag

The Princess in Black

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I’ve mentioned before my petites love of all things princess (here).  A few weeks ago I was doing some research on early chapter books for her and one title keep popping up – The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale with illustrations from the amazing LeUyen Pham.

The Princess in Black

This book is all about Princess Magnolia, who is a perfectly charming pink frilly dress wearing princess.  However, when her monster alarm sounds she is ready to change into her alter-ego The Princess in Black.  The Princess in Black is fearless and knows just what to do to save the goats from dangerous monster who is threatening to eat them.  She does this all while sneaking out of a tea party with Duchess Wigtower.  The only real problem is that the Duchess is sneaky – will she find out what Princess Magnolia is hiding?  You’ll have to read the book to find out.

What I love about this book, where to start.  I’ve read a huge amount of princess stories and this one is by far my favorite.  I thought I may need to sell the petite on it, since she is so used to her Disney princesses, however, this book needs no arm twisting – that is what happens when you read a truly wonderful story about a strong willed heroine.  It is a perfect early chapter book – the chapters are shorter and really engaging.  It is a real page turner, numerous times in reading the story my petite begged me to read just one more chapter.  She was just dying to know what would happen and to be honest, so was I.

I also love the illustrations, they are vibrant and really fun.  The book itself is high quality, the pages are thick and glossy and really sturdy for little hands.  Another aspect that is by far my favorite, this book is not just for girls.  This book is for any petite that likes adventure, if you like a strong will protagonist who saves the day, then this book is for you.  The Princess in Black is awesome!

I am thrilled that book #2 is slated to come out sometime in the fall, which will be a welcome addition to our shelves.  This is a great book, I am sure your petites will enjoy it as much as mine did.  Here is a bit more about this fabulous book.  Enjoy!

Source: Candlewick Press

Source: Candlewick Press

Illustrator Love: Naoko Stoop & Red Knit Cap Girl

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Cover

This is book, Red Knit Cap Girl and the Reading Tree, is simply lovely.  It literally jumped off the shelves at us, okay, it didn’t quite jump, but look at the stunning cover art, the book draws you in!  This book is darling, but it’s greatness doesn’t end there.  This is a book all about the love of reading and sharing that love with others.

Red Knit Cap Girl and her woodland friends follow squirrel as he shows them an amazing place that he has discovered – a hollowed out tree.  The animals all work together to fill the nook with books.  Even animals who don’t have books contribute something amazing to this project; beaver makes a shelf, the sheep bring blankets to snuggle with to make the nook even cozier.

This is a fabulous story about books, reading and the love of libraries for all.  This book is lovely and demonstrates how wonderful a community library can be; it made me think of all of the Little Free Libraries that are around my town.  I love this story and am sure you will too.

Other titles from Naoko Stoop:

Red KNit Cap To the Rescue

Etsy shop

Check out Naoko Stoop’s Etsy Shop – if you are looking for lovely prints to brighten the walls of your petites room you will find a huge selection of gorgeous prints.  They are charming and feature Red Knit Cap Girl being adorable and many of them show her reading – I’m gushing at the cuteness.

Friday Five: Oldies but Goodies

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Oldies but Goodies

I share a lot of books that have been published within the last few years, but there books that my girls adore that we read all the time that are classics.  These same books were read to me as a child.  I wanted to share six (I had to have six, I couldn’t possible cut one out) of our favorites that are oldies but definitely goodies.

ferdinand

Ferdinand (1936) this was a favorite of mine when I was little and now I get to share it with my own petites.  A fabulous story by Munro Leaf with illustrations by Robert Lawson about a bull who just wants to sit under his favorite tree and smell the flowers.

Kermit the Hermit

Kermit the Hermit (1965) by Bill Peet was one of my very favorites as a child, I loved this greedy little crab, his treasure trove of things.  My favorite part of the story is when his friend the pelican helps him to learn the value of sharing.  An excellent story.

Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are (1963) Maurice Sendak’s book has sold over 19 million copies worldwide.  This book is a must for your petites library.  A story of a little boy who is having a terrible day and is sent to his room and that is when the wild rumpus begins.

Blueberries_for_Sal

Blueberries for Sal (1948) written by Robert McCloskey is a darling story about a mother and her daughter Sal who are picking blueberries and happen upon a bear and her cub who are eating blueberries on the very same hill.  I also love that the mother and child are written with his own wife and daughter Sally in mind.

Madeline

Madeline (1939) by Ludwig Bemelmans, I love a story with a little redhead who is brave and outgoing don’t you?

Strega_Nona

Strega Nona (1975) by Tomie dePaola is a favorite in our house.  Strega Nonas helper uses her magic pot and creates so much pasta that it is all over the town, she returns and stops the pasta, but there are consequences for Anthony, he must eat all of the pasta.

These books are timeless and truly belong in your petites library.  What are some of the timeless tales that you read with your petites on a regular basis?  I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

 

Giving the Gift of Literacy

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First Book

Source: First Book

 

First Book

The other day I happened to hear the end of a story on NPR’s Morning Edition about this really amazing organization called First Book.  The story struck a serious chord with me when research into the prevalence of books in different communities was shared.  Dr. Susan Newman did a study 15 years ago, although this is a long time period, I believe that it is still relevant.

“We found a total of 33 books for children in a community of 10,000 children…Thirty-three books in all of the neighborhood,” she says. By comparison, there were 300 books per child in the city’s affluent communities.

To say that my jaw dropped when I heard this is an understatement.  Let that sink in for a minute.

“On average, a premium picture book is about $18 at retail,” she says. “And you imagine who the customer base is that can afford an $18 picture book for their family. What you’re talking about is probably the upper 5 to maybe 10 percent of the socio-economic ladder.”

Here is why First Book is amazing; they are working together with publishers to get the cost of high quality books to a price point that will allow for those books to get into the hands of the children who need them the most and into their homes.  What is amazing is that now different organizations can contact First Book and choose a book for $2.85.

Since 1992 over 120 million books have been distributed.  That is amazing.  This non-profit organization is doing amazing things for children and literacy.

Here is their website if you would like more information or to know more about what a donation can do for a child in need.

 

 

Out of the Mouths of Babes

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Kids say the darndest things.  When I was teaching I would love all of the silly things kids would tell me about their families.  I would quietly giggle at how honest and truthful they were if sometimes a bit disparaging.  When my oldest starting talking I was sure I would remember all of the really funny things she said, but as time when by I realized I needed to write these wonderful little statements down.  This way when she is older I can share with her just how incredibly cute, charming and funny the things she said as a petite were.

My quotable kid

Source: Chronicle Books

I came across this book a few years ago at a local store and fell in love with it.  It is small and beautifully bound.  There is a page in the front where you can add a photo of your petite, this is the perfect keepsake and place to jot down all the silly things the little ones say.

If you order if from Chronicle Books you can have it personalized with your petites name, making it all the more unique and special.

Source: Chronicle Books

Source: Chronicle Books

I love that there is just enough space to write quotes, in some of the books that I have seen there is a really large amount of space to write down quotes which seems wasteful – this book is perfect.

I feel compelled to share some of the things my petite has said that have made it into the pages of the book:

When she was 3

Petite: Mom, what’s a wombie?

Mom: A what?

Petite: a wom-bee

Mom: oh…a zombie

Petite: Yeah, a wombie.

When I was very pregnant with her little sister and she saw my bare belly:

Petite: Oh no Mommy you’ve broken your belly.

Mom: What do you mean?

Petite: Well, look at all those cracks in your tummy

When she was 4

Mom: You can do anything you put your mind to, you have to believe in yourself.

Petite: Yeah, like if I see a brown bear I can kill it with a big sword and it will have blood down its back.

Just the other day

Petite: Hey Mommy, how did you put your germs all over daddy and make him sick?

Mom: I don’t know, I guess I just breathed on him

Petite: But, why did you put your germs on him? 

A Girl with Gumption: Julia’s House for Lost Creatures

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Source: Macmillan

Source: Macmillan

Name Your LinkIn Ben Hatke’s lovely story Julia’s House for Lost Creatures you will quickly fall in love with the protagonist.  Julia is a little gal with gumption.  The petites and I love this book.  The magic starts even before the story begins with the amazing illustrations – Julia’s house resides upon a giant tortoise!  The petites screamed with delight, the adventure continues just as you would expect.  Julia is delightful, she has a lovely house with a fire and toast and tea, but alas her house is too quiet.  Although I have to say I think her house is delightful, I love that she is sitting reading by the fire with a cup of tea, Julia is my kind of girl.

She gets to work making an inviting sign for Lost Creatures and low and behold the most amazing bunch show up; dragon, mermaids, goblins, ghosts and trolls are just a few.

These lost creatures are not very good at cleaning up, as my petite pointed out during the story.  Julia then goes to work again making a chore chart for her new guests.

The story is completely delightful, the illustrations are divine.  I love that she opens her home to lost creatures and has this sweet nature about her.  I also love that she helps the creatures to be responsible and creates a chore chart – this was a huge hit with my petite, she asked if she could have a chore chart too…thank you Ben Hatke, thank you very much.

I adore Julia, her strong will and gumption.  Those amazing red curls.  Everything about this book is visually pleasing, it is a book that has to be read numerous times to see all of the little details, a book you want to read to discover said details with your petites.  I can’t wait to see what Mr. Hatke comes up with next.

Petite Historians: John, Paul, George & Ben

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My husband loves history and reading all about it.  One of the very first things we bought for our daughter (years before she was born, actually) was an Abraham Lincoln stuffed doll at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.  One of her favorite stuffies was Lincoln, she took him to preschool for show and tell.  It was pretty cute.

Lincoln

We’ve come across some really great history picture books for petites over the past few years.  Here is just one of my favorites.

John, Paul, George & Ben

I love this book, it is really funny and my five year old is just really starting to get into it and the funny parts.  It is a fun read because Lane Smith wrote about the Presidents and John Hancock in such a relatable way.

I really like that this story tells you fun little tidbits.

I am so partial to our Lincoln doll that I strongly believe no petite historians’ nursery would be complete without one of these dapper fellows from The Unemployed Philosophers Guild.

Stay tuned for future installments of Petite Historians.

If you liked this post you may also like:

An Inspiring Read…What Do You Do With an Idea?

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Title

The petites and I saw What Do You Do With an Idea? the other day and immediately fell in love with the stunning illustrations by Mae Besom and the inspiring story from Kobi Yamada.  This is one book that I think all parents and teachers will want to add to their repertoire.

This is the story of a petite who has an idea, it starts out small and then grows into something beautiful.  The illustrations are amazing in that the little one is androgynous, letting the reader decide.  The idea follows him/her around and sometimes people look at him/her a little funny, but he/she perseveres and keeps on growing the idea.  The idea is a little golden egg with a paper crown, the image is so perfect.

 

What I loved the most about the idea is that the crown is made from paper and held together with tape, I love that Mae Besom thought to make the idea exactly as a small child would do it.  Brilliant.  While the idea is growing he/she gets more and more comfortable with it and in doing so eventually gets to a point where he/she really dedicates time to the idea.  Then the most amazing thing happens, his idea hatches and turns into the most beautiful colorful images.  With one of my favorite final lines of a book.

What do you do with an idea? You change the world.

For Teachers:

I think this would be an amazing book to use at the beginning of a writer’s workshop.  There are so many points in this story that are so valuable

  • that the idea starts out small
  • the idea is something the petite isn’t sure about, is almost nervous about
  • the idea is always there
  • with dedication the idea it begins to grow and blossom.

After reading this book, I started to think about whose classroom I could guest teach in just to read this amazing book.

I absolutely love this book.  I plan to get this for my girls because I believe that reading this story with them will foster confidence in their ideas.  As a parent this is something I think about often, how our little people especially girls don’t always have confidence in their ideas – especially those really quiet petites.  I believe that this book put in the hands of parents, teachers and librarians could empower our petites and inspire them to put their ideas out into the world.

Want to know more about the author:

Kobi Yamada is the CEO of this really amazing company in Seattle called Compendium they make some pretty amazing journals, notecards and really beautiful gift books that are sure to inspire and you might want to check out. 

We’re Going on a Book Hunt, Going to Find a Good One

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Going on a book hunt

A friend of mine asked me just the other day how I come across so many cute books – she said she always gets so overwhelmed with all of the choices at the bookstores.  I spend a huge portion of my time  sitting on the floor at my local public library pulling books off the shelves and reading little snippets.  I go to the library on average three times a week.  I have checked out hundreds of books over the past year; and have the library fines to prove it.  Although I check out so many I only share with you the ones that we really love.

I spend a lot of time on the  internet reading about illustrators and publishers and what books are coming out.  I follow a lot of my favorite authors and illustrators on Twitter and pay attention to who they follow.  Here are some of my favorite places to get inspired with all of the amazing books that are out there.  When I am looking for books on specific topics, I check out No Time For Flash Cards, this is a fantastic resource books that are already organized by theme/topic.  Little Crooked Cottage is so helpful in sharing about new books that they love.  Not to mention, my local indie bookstore and of course indie bound for what new releases are going to be on the shelves soon.

No TIme for Flashcards

No Time for Flash Cards

Little Crooked Cottage

Little Crooked Cottage

Elliot Bay

Elliot Bay Books Blog

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When I hear about a new book coming out I try to get my hands on it as soon as possible.  I am a big proponent of using the public library – I am so fortunate that I have seven libraries within a four mile radius to choose from – basically, I place a lot of holds on books.

There are so many books out there that are just not my cup of tea.  Honestly, it is shocking how many books are just massed produced and don’t have any literary value to them.  I realize saying that makes me somewhat of a snob, but that is okay.  I have those mass produced books too – my kids love them and they serve a purpose.

How I Choose the Books

However, with this blog what I want to do is showcase the books that are special, extraordinary, inspiring and important.  On my quest to find these books I’ve realized I have a criteria for the books that make it into the tote bag and come home.

  1. positive story that is well written
  2. illustrations that support the story
  3. illustrations that are stunning
  4. a strong willed character
  5. something different that we don’t normally read
  6. a cover image that intrigues
  7. a new or novel way to tell a story
  8. story that inspires
  9. a story where you learn something new or want to learn more when it’s over
  10. story that my kids love (even if I don’t get why)

These are the criteria that the books I share with you, my lovely readers, have met in some way.

At this point I am reviewing and sharing the books that we love.  However, if you would like me to review your book please contact me to do so, but please note, my thoughts and opinion are my own.
Erin

Alphabet-abulous!

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Awesome Alphabet Books for Petites

There are so many books out there about the alphabet…so many.  When I think of all of the board books and picture books that we have, I am guessing we own probably 15 to 20 books.  However, some of these alphabet books are stand out books that go above and beyond and are a pure delight to read.

My husband picked up this amazing book, Have You Ever Seen a Smack of Jellyfish? that is a true treasure in our house.  For the petite who loves interesting facts about animals I bet this alphabet book would be an absolute wonder.

Have You Ever Seen a Smack of JellyfishSarah Asper-Smith has created and illustrated such a fantastic first book.  This book has been around since 2010, and needs to be added to your petites bookshelf or library queue immediately.  These are the prints of the book and as you can see your petites will learn all of the fabulous names for groups of animals you may even learn some knew ones too…I know I sure did.  What I really love most about this is that the illustrations do not distract from the playful words which are what is so entertaining and educational about this book.

Art Prints

Source: smackofjellyfish.com/print.php

Recently we picked up Work: An Occupational ABC  at our library, this is another first book.  This book was just published in August and is so incredibly unique.  Kellen Hatanaka has chosen out of the ordinary occupations to showcase in this awesome alphabet book; some of our favorite are: butcher, explorer, grocer, horticulturalist, K-9 officer, oceanographer, and skateboarder just to name a few.

WorkABC_PLC_Square_KELLEN

Source: KellenHatanaka.com

The illustrations are done in a minimalistic style.  What I love best is that the men and women in the illustrations do not conform to gender roles, we have female K-9 officers, Naval Architects and Oceanographers which I think is great.  The illustrations are delightful and humorous, my petites especially like the butcher with the raccoons stealing the sausage.

We chose these books because the illustrations are stunning, not traditional alphabets, with fun and engaging words that are new my girls.  With so many options for alphabet books I wanted to share two of our favorites.

Erin