SHARE A REVIEW

Here you can share your - or your kid's - favorite books! Please tell us the title and author, year published, number of pages, why you liked it, why your kids like it, and any other info you think would be of interest about the book. After review, your submission will appear at the top of the list below!

Just for fun: Share with us your favorite reading experience with your kids - could be a favorite place, time of day, routine, or...?

Share your review or story!

Haley Baquian (age 10)

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
Kevin Henkes
1996/32 pages

"Lilly had a new pair of movie star sunglasses, complete with glittery diamonds and a chain like Mr. Slinger's. She had three shiny quarters. And, best of all, she had a brand new purple plastic purse that played a jaunty tune when it was opened."
Lilly gets a new purse that plays music, and brings it to school, but gets in trouble from her teacher, Mr. Slinger, who she likes A LOT. She likes him so much that she pretends to be a teacher at home with her little brother. When she gets in trouble she gets mad, and decides she does not like him anymore. Then she apologizes, and he forgives her. The lesson I learned was that you have to be patient, and you have to brave when you have made a mistake, and apologize to someone you have hurt. Other kids would like this book because of the details in the pictures and the funny descriptions of what Lilly does. After reading this book, kids will wish Mr. Slinger was their teacher too!
Here are a couple other books by Kevin Henkes that I really like: "Chrysanthemum", "Sheila Rae, The Brave".

Melia Baquian (age 7)

Farmer Brown Shears His Sheep - A Yarn About Wool
By Teri Sloat/Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott
2000/32 pages

This story is about when Farmer Brown shears his sheep, but then the sheep are freezing. So Farmer Brown knits the wool from the sheep into sweaters. I think the story teaches you to be patient, but not to give up when you need something.

"The sheep grew nice and warm again,
In brightly colored cardigans,
In patterns made of red and green
And all the colors in between."

I liked how the sheep ran after Farmer Brown as he had the wool made into colored yarn, shivering, and calling, "Baaaa, we want it back!" The story and the pictures will make kids laugh!

Gary Horsfall

Emma's Pet
David McPhail
Puffin (1993) / 24 pages

ok, I cheated and have pasted the review written by Amanda J.u WIlliam, of the Dallas Public Library. It does the job nicely and makes up for my lack of time to write a proper one myself........
A clever, heartwarming story about love between a father and daughter. Emma, the precocious young bear first seen in Fix-It (Dutton, 1984), now searches for the perfect pet. She encounters a bug, a mouse, a bird, a frog, a snake, a fish, a dog and a turtle, but for one reason or another, none of them is right. At the end, Emma spies "the biggest, softest, cuddliest thing she had ever seen"her father. Emma is an endearing young bear, with expressions of frustration, sadness and finally joy that will be familiar to young children. McPhail's soft pastel watercolor illustrations, which show Emma and her struggles with a potential pet on each page, complement the mood of this warm and humorous story. The one or two lines of easy text per page make the book suitable for preschool story hours and beginning readers.

ABOUT US

Please help me!

My 3-year-old daughter loves to be read to (hopefully she will read to me someday too - ah, yes, lying in the shade on a warm day, nibbling chocolates, while dear daughter reads my favorite book to me in a calm, soothing voice...screeeech! Well, I can dream can't I?). Because of the universal desire of little kids to hear the same book over and over and over again, I'm always looking for new books we can read together. We love all kinds of books, new and old, classic to cutting-edge, just about anything really. And everytime I ask another parent about what their kids' current favorites are, I discover wonderful new books I had never heard of before (or had forgotten as the distraction of having a young child in the house jars my brain).

With this web site I'm hoping to share some of our favorite books and, more selfishly, hear about yours. I also want it to be a place where we can share ideas about how you read to your kids, where to get books - beyond the library and full-price retail chains - and maybe your favorite moments reading to your kids. Check back often to see what our current favorites are!

Contact Me

READING TIPS

Here are a few sites where you'll find info about reading to young children, lists of books by age group, and ideas to encourage your kids to read themselves.

Starfall is a learn-to-read web site geared towards Pre-K through 2nd grade. It's an interactive site with very nice graphics and audio. It includes sections for those learning their ABC's, as well as reading activities for beginning readers.

Hedgehog Books

This is basically a bookstore site, but it has so many excellent lists and tips about reading to your children, that I wanted to include it in this 'Tips' section. They have lists by grade level (including Pre-K), Top 10 lists, and reviews by the teachers. They also have an "Ask A Teacher" bulletin board, where you can ask questions about reading issues, finding books on specific topics, etc.

The Word Pool

This is a web site out of the UK that lists books by topic rather than age group. Includes many reviews, as well as an interesting section full of ideas about encouraging reluctant readers. Even has a section with articles and information about writing for children.

The Child Literacy Centre

This is another UK web site that is truly FULL of information about helping your child to learn to read, and for the younger ones, be prepared to learn to read. Covers pre-reading skills and reading problems. The site design is a little difficult to look at (bright red background), but there is a lot of great information here.

FINDING BOOKS

Here are sites I like to use to buy childrens books. Coming soon: some of our favorite ways to find inexpensive books 'offline'.

Powell's

This is my favorite local bookstore in Portland, Oregon. They sell both new and used books, and the link here will take you directly to their children's books section. The list of categories covers every topic imaginable, as well as special sections for different age groups, award winners, and used books. This is a great site for finding classic books at great prices. They buy over 1000 used books every day, so if you're looking for a particular book, you should keep checking back on a regular basis, or you can sign up for their 'Recently Arrived Used Books' newsletter. You can't pick a specific book, but you can select books by category. I found all my daughter's favorite Berenstain Bear books (the early ones) this way, and avoided paying $8.99 for each one new. The used prices ranged from $1.99 to $4.99.

Amazon

Another site full of both used and new books, always useful when looking for older classic books. Unless it's a just published book that you must have, you should never have to pay list price, and Amazon's prices are always discounted anyway.

Alibris

This site works best if you are looking for a specific title, not so great for just browsing. They have great prices when you find something you want, and have a vast selection of used and out-of-print children's books.

Barnes & Noble

Easy-to-navigate site with helpful categories for browsing. You can browse categories by subject, format, awards, bestsellers, and age. Members save 10% off list price. You can also sign up for their newsletter, which will alert you to new arrivals by favorite authors or on specific subjects.