droolicious : children's books

The Double-Daring Book for Girls

Meredith Broussard — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:45:00 GMT

I just picked up a copy of the Double-Daring Book for Girls, and already I’m high on nostalgia, remembering insanely fun childhood adventures. This follow-up to the NY Times bestselling Daring Book for Girls picks up where its predecessor left off, with tons more information and adventures for girls young and old.

Double-Daring is organized into short chapters about things to do and things to know. My current favorites: “How to Balance a Spoon on Your Nose,” “How to Conduct an Orchestra,” “How to Run Away and Join the Circus,” and “Dangerous Volcanoes.”

I’m also blown away by the book’s array obscure and fascinating facts. For example: remember making gimp (aka lanyards) at summer camp? Turns out that there’s a proper name for the practice of weaving brightly-colored plastic string: Scoubidou. It’s pronounced just like Scooby-Doo. I’m tempted to go to the craft store and pick up some gimp just to see if I still know how to do a box stitch, or a barrel, or my all-time favorite, the butterfly. (Butterfly was the easiest stitch, natch.)

I originally intended to give the Double-Daring Book to my pre-tween niece for her birthday, but now I’m pretty sure I’ll have to get another copy to give to her. Instructions like “How to Make a Rope Ladder” and “How to Turn Your Backyard Into A Farm” are going to come in handy for outdoor adventures with my toddler this summer.

The Double-Daring Book for Girls, $17 at Amazon.

Bing Books: Bingo! Bongo! Brilliant!

Cathy Hale — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:00:00 GMT

My youngest son got another goodie for Christmas, his first Bing Bunny book. This is a beautifully illustrated delight called Bing: Make Music. Bing and his friends use a variety of household items to explore music, just like my son. The author, Ted Dewan, has won many awards in the UK. If you haven't seen these books, you must check them out. Available at Amazon. It's a Bing Thing!

For Multiculti Kids: Amy Hodgepodge

Meredith Broussard — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:02:00 GMT

It seems like the media is talking nonstop this week about multiracial identity and what it means in America today. As a multiracial person myself, I've been talking about this stuff for years-- but when I was a kid, not a single children's book spoke to my experience as a biracial kid.

I'm delighted that the situation has changed. My kids (and yours!) have a number of options for books featuring multiracial kids.

One outstanding example: the Amy Hodgepodge series by husband-and-wife team Kim Wayans and Kevin Knotts. Our heroine, Amy Hodges, is part Asian, Caucasian, and African American. She gets the nickname "Amy Hodgepodge" on her first day of school since she's a mix of so many ethnicities. Oh, and her first day of school is the first day of fourth grade-- she was homeschooled through third grade, so she's a tabula rasa when it comes to elementary school politics. Amy's adventures provide an easy opportunity to talk with elementary school kids about race and social differences in a positive, nonjudgemental manner. And they're funny: co-author Wayans comes from the Wayans family comedy dynasty.

Amy Hodgepodge: All Mixed Up! is the first book in the series. Buy it for $4.99 at Amazon.com or get more info on the series and its authors at the Amy Hodgepodge website.

The Only Book You'll Need This Season: David Shannon's 'Too Many Toys'

Aaron Burgess — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:04:00 GMT

As the holiday shopping season and its attendant financial panic draw near, let us all reflect on the greatness of David Shannon's new book Too Many Toys, which finds the young character Spencer surrounded by more toys than he can play with in three lifetimes. (Sound familiar?) The last straw comes when Mom and Dad can't walk for fear of stepping on another piece of plastic junk, and Spencer is forced to make some hard decisions. He fills a carton to overflowing but in the end realizes he'd rather have this plain old box than any new store-bought toys -- and so our little hero learns the very grown-up joy of living simply.

$16.99 (with 20% off if you buy online) from Barnes & Noble.

Freaky Freebies: Printable Activities from 'Vunce Upon a Time'

Aaron Burgess — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:04:00 GMT

Leave it to Olive, the Other Reindeer creator J.otto Seibold to conjure up a blood-sucking undead character we'd actually want to cuddle up with this Halloween. Okay, that's not entirely true about the blood-sucking stuff: See, Dagmar the vampire is actually a shy, people-fearing vegetarian, and his real weakness isn't A, B or O-positive; it's more like Almond Joy, Butterfinger and Oompas. In Seibold and Siobhan Vivian's delightful new book, Vunce Upon a Time, the candy-crazed cutie has to overcome his fear of the living to score big as a trick-or-treater.

Chronicle Kids, Vunce Upon a Time's publisher, has rolled out some Halloween-friendly treats of its own to celebrate the book, and we're happy to report that you don't need to make a donation, blood or otherwise, to enjoy 'em. Each is a printable PDF, and when you put everything together you've even got the ingredients for a party.

Check out the "Vunce in a Lifetime Halloween Adventure" site for the full-color experience, or grab the whole lot via the links below. Happy crafting, and a totally premature Happy Halloween to all!

Turn Into a Vampire in 6 Easy Steps

Vampire Jack-O-Lantern Pattern

Face Painting Template

Bat Ear Pattern

Sticker Sheets

Coloring Sheets

Spiderweb Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes Recipe

Caramel Apples and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipes

Mini-Trend: Writing Workshops for Kids

Meredith Broussard — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Is your kid a dreamer? A thinker? A reader? A writer?

She's not alone. We're seeing a small boom in creative writing workshops for kids all across the country as more and more book-loving kids get in touch with their inner J.K. Rowling.

The mini-trend was likely started by Dave Eggers and his merry band at 826 National. 826 National began as 826 Valencia, an afterschool tutoring/enrichment program for kids in San Francisco. Now, it's the largest kids' writing organization we know of, with chapters in New York, LA, Seattle, Boston, and Chicago. Each location has a themed storefront (pirates! spies! superheroes!) and regularly publishes books, zines, and anthologies. To take a class, volunteer, or donate, check out 826national.org.

If you're not local to an 826 project, snoop around for a private writing workshop; they're springing up everywhere. In New York, try Pencil Heads, and in Philadelphia check out the Swarthmore Writers Room. An example of what you'll find: this summer, the Swarthmore Writers Room hosted a Pet Shop Writing Workshop led by Judy Schachner, author of the fantastic Skippyjon Jones confused-cat series.

I hardly need to tell you why creative writing workshops are so fantastic for kids. But just in case: "Pencil Heads workshops encourage kids to unleash their imaginations directly onto the blank page," write Pencil Heads founders Andrea Maywhort and Eric Saiet, who also write for Super Why! on PBS. "But don’t tell them that — they’ll be having too much fun!"

Photo of Skippyjon Jones courtesy of Judy Schachner

7 Days of Summer Reading: Corduroy

Chris Ford — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:04:00 GMT

Lately I've been rediscovering classic children's books. I told you about the personalized Little Poky Puppy Golden Book earlier in the week, but for 7 Days of Summer Reading I want to remind you of another classic: Corduroy by Dan Freeman.

Originally published in 1968, Corduroy is the tale of a shabby, shop-worn bear in a big department store, and his quest to finally be taken to a home and loved. A really sweet story beautifully illustrated, it's the perfect summertime (or anytime) read.

Buy the hardcover version of Corduroy for $11.55 from Amazon.com.

7 Days of Summer Reading: No, David!

Aaron Burgess — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:30:00 GMT

If David Shannon's award-winning 1998 picture book No, David! looks and reads like the handiwork of a hyperactive 5-year-old, that's because Shannon drew from his own childhood experience -- and most everyone else's, for that matter -- in writing it.

Bounding from one mischievous act to another, little David just wants to have fun, but at each turn of the page, it seems the only words he hears are "No, David!" Still, despite all her scolding, David's mom never gives up on her little rapscallion, and in the story's last few pages she reminds him with a big, warm hug, "Yes, David, I love you."

No, David! has been a longtime favorite with all three of my sons, and even as the tales on our oldest's bookshelf have gotten wilder and more grown-up, he'll pull out this classic every few months for a reminder that there's a little bit of David and his mom in all of us, and that's all right.

No, David! is on sale now for $11.55 from Amazon.

Scratch-n-Sniff 2.0: Mo Smells Red

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:04:00 GMT

Inspired as much by her own senses as by the scratch-and-sniff craze many of us likely also remember from our childhood years, author Margaret Hyde found the perfect union for the two muses in her best friend and illustrating collaborator Amanda Giacomini's rescue dog, Mo. In Mo Smells Red: A Scentsational Journey, the pair explore the world of senses through the endlessly curious canine, who "sees" the world around him with his nose.

Hyde tells Mo's story in graceful, Zen-simple prose even the youngest reader can follow, while Giacomini mirrors the pup's sensory journey through monochromatic illustrations (dogs, after all, only see in black and white) accented with vivid splashes of red.

As kids flip through the book, they can also go everywhere Mo's nose goes, thanks to a series of "scent pouches" filled with natural, non-allergenic essential oils. No scratching here, though: All it takes is one press to release the delectable red smells Mo encounters along his journey: ripe strawberries, fresh roses, a crackling fire, and love (which in this case smells like a box of chocolates).

The hardcover first edition of Mo Smells Red is $17.95 from the Mo's Nose Store, with a portion of all proceeds going toward the Best Friends Animal Society.

7 Days of Traveling Helps: Lift the Flap Books

Chris Ford — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:47:00 GMT

Let me say first that I've already written about the best Traveling Help that I know, the Panasonic DVD-LS82 Portable DVD Player. But considering I've already shared that with you, I'll give you my number two Traveling Help. If you're going to be traveling with any child between the ages of one and three, you need to go get a lift-the-flap book. And then hide it until the trip is underway.

The last part of that is the key really. Go out shopping a week before your trip, buy some books and then don't show them to your child until the moment you need it most - either on the plane, train or in the car. Brand new things hold the most attention.

And lift the flap books are best, because you can read them to your child, and it also give them an activity (lifting the flaps). We've used this trick on multiple airplane trips, and it works every time. The problem is my youngest is starting to get to old for lift the flap, so now we're graduating to "Where's Waldo" type seek and find books.

Search for Lift the Flap books at Amazon.com

Design with David Netto: Amos & Boris

davidnetto — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:47:00 GMT

When I was small, Amos & Boris was one of my three favorite books. It wasn't until I asked my wife to hunt it down on the Internet (she's good at those things, I am useless) that I realized it was by William Steig, the great New Yorker cartoonist. So duh...

Amos & Boris is the story of a friendship between a mouse and a whale, but what it's really about is the meaning of loyalty and of human relationships in life - and how you never know when you will need a friend. The drawings are terrific (obviously) and manage to be cozy and, when appropriate, kind of terrifying in a way that helps you feel the moods of the story. The illustrative style looks cute but it is a gutsy little book, and while nothing ends badly, it certainly doesn't hide the scariness of what's out there in the wide world.

I love Amos & Boris deeply for its' charm, for what it meant to me, and for the important things that will find their way into my daughter's mind from it. And I think you will love it too.

Olive, the Other Reindeer Revisited in Pop-Up and Calendar Form

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:02:00 GMT

From a purist's perspective, there's really no improving on Vivian Walsh's 1997 book Olive, the Other Reindeer: Cute: Jack Russell Terrier named Olive mishears a Christmas carol, heads to the North Pole to find her calling as the "the other reindeer," confuses Santa's crew in the process, and eventually proves herself a valuable asset to both the team and holiday lore. (The movie is another story.)

Olive, the Other Reindeer: Deluxe Edition ($19.95) brings to life Walsh's story via pop-up versions of J.otto Siebold's wonderful artwork. For the most part, the pop-ups aren't mind-blowers: The simple lift-the-flaps and pull-out tabs don't really add to or take away from the story; they're just sort of... there. The scratch-and-sniff pages (mmm, gingerbread...) and book-closing Santa's-castle pop-up, on the other hand, are truly awesome, and kids will find them worth the price of admission alone.

If you're looking for a way to keep the magic going, Seibold's Olive the Other Reindeer Pop-Up Advent Calendar ($9.95, above) expands on the book's grand finale in just the right ways, with a deluxe pop-up version of Santa's castle and 24 punch-out figures that children can place around it.

Finger Puppet Playtime, Please?

crazedparent — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 19:03:00 GMT

Can you resist tiny, cute board books? I can't, especially ones that have little stuffed animals poking out of them like this Finger Puppet Playtime boxed set.($22.95) The Little Puppy storybook is just calling out, "Take me home! Take me home!"