Strollerderby : books

Father's Day Book Pick: Buy Grandpa Time

JeanneSager — Mon, 25 May 2009 15:33:00 GMT

I've always been a fan of kids books for adults on holidays - especially grandparents who can very well buy themselves everything they've ever wanted . . . except time with the grandkids.

Just in time for Father's Day, Kristy Dempsey's Me With You offers grandpas plenty of time to cuddle on the couch with their favorite little munchkin.

A grandcub finds she's comfy just being herself with grandpa bear leading the way, in a story that's filled with gorgeous illustrations and the types of things grandfathers and grandkids do best (picking flowers, playing baseball, you name it . . .). Celebrating the special relationship between grandpas and grandkids, Me With You solves the bigger question - is there anything I can get him for Father's Day that he'll actually use?

How about time with his grandkids?

It's time they'll be looking back on when they paw through his shelves in twenty years so you can read it to their kids.

Though it's technically the tale of a girl cub, the story doesn't have a clear gender and some of the pictures are gender-neutral, which allows the book to find a wider audience. The simple rhymes put this at the earlier end of the four-to-eight age group recommended by publisher Penguin, but kids who enjoy snuggling up to grandpa will overlook the story and just enjoy the ride.

Check out the "video trailer" for the book and get it from Amazon!

Image: Amazon

10 Great Books For (Traumatizing) Children

Cole Gamble — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Great finds from Cracked.com

I Wish Daddy Didn’t Drink So Much

Wanna know why daddy's always asleep sunday afternoon, a high life tipping out of his limp hand and pouring onto the floor? Or how about when daddy gets all worked up and strats yelling at ghosts. Children's books are a great way to help kids cope with real problems, but if daddy really is a raging alcoholic, you need more than a book, kid.

The House That Crack Built

Don't sell drugs, kids, or one day you'll live in a beautfiul mansion.

Hiroshima No Pika

Once upon a time we dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and no matter how many of their cars we buy they're still a little peeved about it. As Cracked writer Michael Swaim puts it,

And yes, this book for kindergartners is about that. According to the author, the book is based on a true account of a woman leading her child out of the A-Bomb’s blast radius while carrying her wounded husband on her back. According to the picture on the cover, it’s about women running topless through a sea of blood.

More throughly depressing children's entertainment here.

More Good Stuff:

Eating Your Baby's Placenta

Dumb Kiddy Product Makeovers

Disturbing Baby-Swinging PSA

You Can't Scare Your Kids Out of an Eating Disorder

JeanneSager — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:00:00 GMT

They seem like the perfect mix of over-the-top drama and real-life cautionary tales to scare your kids straight. But all those books out there warning about the dangerous world of eating disorders?

Could be helping your kids advance their disordered eating.

A look at some books written for teens that fall in the "children's lit" category over on the New York Times' Well Blog hit home for me especially because I WAS one of those teen girls who, pardon the pun, but ate up the stories of teenage bulimics. I wanted to read about someone I could identify with.

But even as I read the horrors of girls whose bodies had begun to grow excess hair to make up for the lack of fat to keep them warm, of girls who landed in hospitals weighing what they did as elementary schoolers, I wasn't consciously thinking "ooh, can't wait until I land in a clinic for the eating disordered, wonder if my parents' insurance will cover the costs." What I was thinking was "interesting, she eats a brightly colored food first so when she throws up, she'll know by the color in the toilet that she's gotten to the bottom of her stomach contents."

It's why today I'm loathe to tell my daughter horror stories to scare her straight on anything. Because before you reach the awful ending, there are always the details that fascinate, that often overwhelm kids with their one-track minds, that are entirely more enticing than the sobering after-thought of a consequence.

Although I'm wary of blaming a book for a child's struggle with an eating disorder (ninety nine times out of one hundred, the seeds for that have already been sewn), just as I scoff at the idea that a video game is solely to blame for a child's violent tendencies, any book, movie, game, what have you, that shares intimate details of how someone navigates a dangerous path is a potential how-to manual in the hands of our kids.

It's why I read this warning about eating disorder books as just another reason parents can't pass the buck off onto a book, a movie, a CD. If you're going to keep your kid from disordered eating, get wise to what it means to have an eating disorder, find out the warning signs and then TALK to your kids. Let them read books, sure, but read them yourselves so you know what's in them. Then talk about them.

Because if all you're doing is trying to scare your kids into being good, it isn't going to work.

Image: UniversityofWisconsin

Playdate: Breastfeeding Bonds for Better Mom-Kid Relationships?

It's Not Swine Flu - Your Kid Has Whine Flu

Also on Babble:

Bad Parent: Weight Watcher

Children's Books You Will Never Read

Brett Singer — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:52:00 GMT

Why not? Because they're all fake and have offensive titles.

In honor of Children's Book Week (which Amy told us about), here is a list of "Children's Books That Didn't Make It" from Jokes.com, a site that compiles jokes and comedy videos from assorted funny people.

Accidents Happen: The Story of YOU - This one amuses me because so many people seem to have no problem asking expectant and new parents if their little peanut was planned. I've known people who have no problem acknowledging that a second, third, or in Nadya Suleman's case, ninth, pregnancy was unintentional. (Actually, Nadya's was intentional. But that's not the point.) But they offer this information if they feel like doing so. I can't imagine asking a question like that. Other folks, though, seem to have no such hang ups. (See also: Oops! You're Getting a Brother.)

Some Kittens Can Fly - I'm more of a dog person. (Note: please don't let your children throw your cats.)

You Can Paint Anywhere! - my first child drew on the walls once and never did it again. My second is far more destructive. I wonder if such things are genetic.

Fun Four-Letter Words to Know and Share - Does anyone else remember the Truly Tasteless Jokes series? They were stunningly offensive (" How did Helen Keller's parents punish her when she was bad?"), but I had them and so did all of my friends. I didn't grow up attending Klan rallies either. I went to socialist summer camps and attended "no nukes" rallies. Somehow these slipped through the cracks. I wonder if kids are still reading these books, since they are still on sale. I doubt it, but who knows. (Some examples of what appeared in the books are here; be warned, most of the jokes are very very offensive.)

Source: Jokes.com and Jokes.com

Image: sxc

Celebrate Children's Book Week

Poll - Portia and Ellen Most Trusted Moms

When Toddlers Attack The Neighbors

Toddler Jail Break

Japanese Potty Training Video

10 Year Old Author Alec Greven Is Back

Post Partum Hilarity in Book Form

JeanneSager — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:30:00 GMT

Normal 0 Too often, the memoirs of celebrity parents and celebrity kids are self-indulgent drivel written more for those of us who want to live vicariously than to learn anything particularly useful.

So I was apprehensive when I picked up a copy of Afterbirth: Stories You Won’t Read in a Parenting Magazine, the newest series of parenting essays to come out of Hollywood.

Phewwww. I laughed my vicarious a—off.

Comedienne Dani Klein Modisett’s collection of written offshoots from her show “Afterbirth . . . Stories You Won’t Read in Parents Magazine” has a nice mix of names you’ve heard (Neal Pollack, Andrew McCarthy) and names connected to projects you’ve heard of (Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner).

Taking turns being irreverent and hilarious, the essays are not exactly “bad parenting” so much as they are “aww, crap, no she DIDN’T” tales . . . that sound vaguely familiar. Except eminently more fabulous.

Ironically, the standout in a book meant to be more funny than functional isn’t a laugh-a-word piece but an introspective (and not at all self-indulgent) essay from the unfortunately named Moon Unit Zappa. Describing her childhood as daughter of the famous rocker Frank as the very reason she has turned into a Type A parent, Zappa could be the poster child for “my parents sucked, but I still decided to procreate.” Which, again, sounds awfully familiar to half of today’s parents.

But she’s also refreshingly aware that she is no more expert than the rest of us.

“Despite all the ways I am trying desperately to do the job differently than my parents, I cannot claim with any certainty that I am doing it any better,” Zappa says.

Well, we’re trying anyway. Get the book from Amazon.

Image: Amazon

Don't Ask If We're Trying to Have a Boy . . . or a Girl

Should You Take Your Bump on a Date?

Madeline Holler — Mon, 11 May 2009 21:27:00 GMT

I'm trying to figure out why the book Postcards From Your Bump: A Chick's Guide to Getting to Know the Baby in Your Belly bothers me so much. Is it the "duh!" factor? Of course your child's personality is forming in utero and so what's on the inside is what you get on the outside.

Or is it the whole "bonding" thing in the first place. I sometimes wonder if we've overblown the notion of bonding and that some of us don't even recognize having actually bonded with our newborns. (I mean, where was the confetti drop? No one sounded the siren! Who issues the official certificate declaring mother and child "bonded"?)

Or maybe it's this piece of advice: take your bump on a date. (Should you bring flowers?)

Here's what the authors, Ame Mahler Beanland and Emily Miles Terry, tell VOANews.com:

"Take a little time to appreciate this process," Terry [said].

Good advice, sure. But that baby bump date? The writers don't mean dinner and a movie. Instead, you're supposed to take the Bump to the playground and explore places you'll eventually want to take the world-side kicking and screaming bundle of joy.

Let me be your 20-20 vision, bump daters. You'll love your baby. You'll figure out the playgrounds. So, no zoos. No pre-kid explorations. Take your Bump to a bar, a fancy restaurant, a dirty movie and a staff meeting. Read People magazine on a flight. Let your partner play with your boobs! Take a nap. Oh, for God's sake, take your bump on a nap!

They Say: Episiotomy Rate ... Cut!

A Really Graphic Homebirth

They Say: Hard Times, More Pregnancies

Doc Doesn't Just Support -- He Recommends -- Circumcision

They Say: Today's Kids are Rude, Here's Why

Photo: Amazon.com

Chat with Judy Blume!

JeanneSager — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:02:00 GMT

If you were once a teenage girl (and I'd dare say at least half of Babble readers once were), chances are Judy Blume got you through a tough spot.

Heck, if you were an elementary school boy, you might have spent an afternoon or two with her books that have nothing to do with PMS and plenty to do with the playground.

And if you ever sat, like Margaret, wondering, is someone there, we have good news. Judy Blume herself is answering questions from readers.

The author of who made great a Fourth Grade Nothing, taught us all to mix up lemon juice concoctions to fight the freckles and managed to make Fudge better than chocolate, appeared on Random Buzzers.com last week, and she's expected to spend the next few days checking back in to answer questions from readers. She's even blogging about it over at her own site (just in case you thought this was a hoax).

So maybe now's the perfect time to pull out your old Judy Blumes and pore over them for questions, er, get your kids reading your favorites.

Go on over to Random Buzzers to join the comment string and post your question, but let us know - what was your favorite Judy Blume book, and have you shared it with your kids yet?

Image: Amazon

Is Kindle Coming to a School Near You?

JeanneSager — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:30:00 GMT

The Amazon Kindle has made the jump to academia, signing deals with several textbook publishers to make their materials available via the electronic device.

It's limited to college at the moment, but when you look at how quickly Kindle has spread (from its introduction in 2007 to its move into institutions of learning in 2009), I can't imagine it will be long before the paper bag covered textbooks are a thing of the past.

Pretty soon, our kids could be book-free.

At least books-as-we-once-knew-them free.

Don't believe me? I remember the kids in my classes in elementary and high school whose only exposure to books were the texts they hauled in their backpacks (or, just as likely, left in their lockers).

Frankly, I'm a self-described Internet addict, and yet, I always return to books at the end of the day, to physical paper volumes. I can get my news on the 'net, do my work on the 'net, even listen to my music and watch my tv on a computer. But I need a real live book to slip off and escape into the written word. Maybe I'm just an old fuddy duddy.

I can see the advantages - portability for one (no more aching backs from those overpacked bookbags), the ease of updating a school's resources as information changes (instead of making do, as we did, with textbooks marked with our parents' names at the front, read out to us by our parents' old football coaches) for another. Whether a cost savings could be realized, I don't know (do you weigh the damage to one book by a student against the damage to a machine carrying many books?).

And not having to craft one more paper bag bookcover? Priceless.

Still, I may cry the day my daughter comes home with all her homework shoved away in her pocket. And the Kindle 2 - or some other player that "reads" the books aloud to them? Uh uh, no way, no how. She may be living in "the future" we dreamed about when we were kids, but she's still got to do the work herself.

Image: Amazon

Book for Gay Parents' Kids Creates an Uproar

JeanneSager — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:26:00 GMT

I love how Fox News fairly and I dare say balancedly (is that even a word?) laid out the news that there's a new book out there for kids of lesbian moms who used a sperm donor to conceive:

"Gay Sex Education Book Targets Children as Young as 2"

Gets your dander up, doesn't it? Oh my sweet henry, they're trying to teach our two-year-olds to have sex! And not just the missionary position but you know, the naughty, we don't do that in the heartland kind of s-e-x.

Except they're not.

Where Did I Really Come From? was apparently written to help children of gay couples understand the myriad other ways children come into the world other than a man and woman having sex . . . together. The book includes a chapter about surrogacy (with pictures of two gay men holding a child) and another on lesbian moms using a sperm donor.

According to the Australian, there is some discussion of sex - although I'm not sure how graphic (I haven't read the book myself). They cite a chapter that notes: "Sometimes, a woman really wants to have a baby but she doesn't want to have intercourse with a man. Some women want to bring up a baby by themselves, or with another woman, so the baby gets two mums."

Author Narelle Wickham says she was just trying to normalize for kids the different forms of conception, and the stands behind the suggestion that kids as young as two be given the book by their parents.

Many of the "anti" comments, frankly, are bizarre. Here's a taste:

"Let children be children, they do not need to be introduced to sex or alternative lifestyles at a tender age." Well, if this book was purchased by a parent who used a surrogate or a sperm donor (the families it was written for), that introduction came at the very tender age of CONCEPTION folks.

"Another shot at sexualising and brainwahsing youngsters." Yes, it's brainwashing to let them know that gays really exist, and, by the way, Mommy is one of them. And for that matter, so is Mommy!

"I believe young children should be taught about gay and lesbian parents as this will help them identify them when they are older and allow them to stay away from these types of parents." Because the gay and lesbian parents are so desperate for children that they're going to come after them?

"I think any book about this subject shouldn't be targeted at 2 year olds. Do two year olds really need to be told about sex?" That depends - what did you tell your kids when you or your partner got pregnant? I was four when my parents gave me a book about mommies and daddies making a baby in preparation for a new addition to our family. Which means those books have been out there for decades, aimed at toddlers (this one too has been out since 1992, but is all of a sudden back in the spotlight). Because kids as young as two will certainly notice there is a burgeoning belly if there's a pregnancy or notice a new person suddenly arrive in their lives.

But I guess that was OK, according to most of these posters. Because I had a mom and a dad. Although if I'd had a mom and dad using a surrogate, would that have been OK? Or a mom and dad who had to use a sperm donor? An egg donor? IVF? IUI?

This book addresses them all, giving thousands of kids an alternative to that same old "Mommy and Daddy made me" book I read as a kid. Fortunately for their mommies and/or daddies, it's out there for them.

Image: Evolution (where you can buy the book - straight from Australia)

Ten of the Best Lines from Kiddie Lit

JeanneSager — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:27:00 GMT

Be it a movie or a book, there's always one line that stands out in the good ones. Hence that dorky guy at the office who answers everything question with a movie quote.

So what's the kiddie lit version of "I'll be back?" The Associated Press got a series of celebrity parents to dish on their favorites,but we were suprised which of our favorites were skipped. So we're bringing them up here.

So who was talking? Maria Canals-Barrera of Disney Channel's "Wizards of Waverly Place" hit on that old Dr. Seuss classic: "a person's a person no matter how small" from Horton Hears a Who and Poppy Montgomery of Without a Trace hit upon Seuss' Oh the Places You'll Go. Soprano Renee Fleming and fashion designer Cynthia Rowley paid tribute to those mommy and baby lovefest features Guess How Much I Love You and Love You Forever. You can check out the rest of the list via the AP . . . or read a collection of Strollerderby's favorites:

Another Dr. Seuss fave: "Truffula Trees are what everyone needs. Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air. Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack.Then the Lorax and all of his friends may come back."
And one more from the Seuss: " "on those wild screaming beaches..." (from The Sneetches)
What's the use of having a trained balloon if it won't do what you want?"- The Red Balloon by A. LaMorisse
"I am a nuisance in the lobby. Mr Salamone said so." - Eloise by Kay Thompson
"Though I've grown old, the bell still rings for me as it does for all who truly believe." - The Polar Express by Chris VanAllsburg
"I don't want to be sensible," said Ramona. "I HATE being sensible." - Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
"In my experience, well-read people are less likely to be evil." - Lemony Snicket (not sure which one)
"It's my ponytail and I like it!" - Stephanie's Ponytail by Robert Munsch
"...and an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max and he sailed off through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are." - Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
"And the music was sad and joyous and it filled the quiet street and went out over the darkling trees and the whole world." - from Dudley Pippin and the Principal in Free to Be You and Me

We could probably fill Strollerderby up with this list, but we'd like to hear yours. What are the lines your family repeats ad infinitum?

Image: Amazon

Hooray for Book Banners - No Really

JeanneSager — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:33:00 GMT

There's been plenty of talk about the books that short-sighted Americans have been running around trying to keep out of the hands of their precious innocent little angels this month.

And, as usual, I got that clenchy feeling atop my chest when I saw the list of top ten books Americans wanted banned last year - that "hooray, I showed them, I actually READ some of those books!" kind of feeling.

I've got plenty of words for the book banners out there (who are increasing in numbers by the way, challenges were up last year by close to one hundred), but I have to thank them.

Shocked? Don't be - I've found some fantastic books on the banned book lists over the years. As they say, even bad publicity is publicity. And everytime homophobes try to keep And Tango Makes Three from filling their babies' minds with the hogwash that two boys might make good penguin parents, I'd be you they sell a few copies for Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell.

A lot of the books that make these lists aren't landing in school libraries to make a point to censor-happy parents. They're being purchased by librarians because they're plain old good books, fun books, books that get people - and kids especially - reading. A newcomer to the list, Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner was dubbed "sexually explicit" because of a brief mention of sodomy - in the context of abuse, not gay sex. There are difficult parts to get through even for a parent in the tale of two Afghani boys, but it's packed with good lessons for teens, especially in light of the ongoing conflict with Afghanistan.

With Hosseini's name now plastered all over lists of "banned" books, want to bet it's going to pique some more interest and bring some more readers?

How about Uncle Bobby's Wedding or the The Perks of Being a Wallflower? My daughter and I apparently have some reading to do.

Image: Amazon

Get Ready, Get Set, Read With Celebrities!

JeanneSager — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:29:00 GMT

It might be April and frigid in upstate New York (come on sun), but the summer reading campaigns are already going full bore.

This year the big names in books are booking celebrities to convince our kids that all the cool kids are doing it . . . reading I mean.

Scholastic is giving kids a sneak peek at its Summer Challenge, which will kick off on April 30 in classrooms nationwide. Kids can get started by downloading summer reading lists (there are sections for the three to five set on up to young adult) and posting their own question to be answered on a reading game show live webcast on the 30th. Sign your kids up now, and they can be part of the Read for the World Record challenge, which kicks off May 1. Videos with celebrity readers, games and prizes will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

Reading is Fundamental (RIF) has revealed a portion of its line-up, including "honorary book team" members Jerry Seinfeld, Al Roker and Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony and two of our faves: Eric Carle and Sandra Boynton.

RIF has teamed up with U.S. Airways for its summer reading promotion, Fly With US, Read With Kids, which will give readers chances to win Disney vacations, U.S. Airways gift packages and more as they book their way to five million minutes of reading time for parents and kids in the nation by June 30. Get your kids signed up, create your team and add to the minutes on their site.

For the off-times, when you don't have time to sit down with them and a book, check out Speakaboos for celebs reading nursery rhymes, fables and folk tales to your kids. You can get a look-see at Lisa DiSimone, Chazz Palminteri, Christopher Meloni (you know, the guy who does all those "you have to read to your kids" ads on Noggin? oh yeah, and the yummy dad from SVU?) and more on their site, and buy them to download onto your iPod for on the go.

Image: People (we promise, he does a much better job on Speakaboos)

Ben Affleck Suffers Same Fate As Dads of Daughters Everywhere

Also on Babble:

Five Minute Time Out: Sandra Boynton

Five Mintue Time Out: Eric Carle

Amy Winehouse Writing a Children's Book

JeanneSager — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:30:00 GMT

The best word to describe my daughter's library? Eclectic. We have the bunnies saying goodnight to their room on through to stories about funky jazz cats.

But here's where I may have to draw the line: Amy Winehouse says she'll be writing a children's book about her life.

Done sputtering?

There's no doubt the English singer is a talented writer - at least somewhere beyond the booze, the drugs and the face scratching. Her jazzy fifties influence to pop has been refreshing, her awards well-deserved. But how will her life translate into a children's book?

A glance: Newspapers have published pictures of her smoking crack, she's been hospitalized for ODing on a mixture of heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and alcohol (all in one night), she's admitted to self-cutting, and she's landed in jail for assault. How many times has this chick been to the rehab she sings about? And should we mention her song titles? Hello, F--k Me Pumps.

If she's writing a cautionary tale of how to end up looking like you're forty when you're four, she's got plenty of fodder.

I've always said the danger of trying to make celebrities into role models for kids is the fact that they are human too - just because they're famous doesn't make them any more fit for the job than the rest of us. And if you want your kid to grow up to be Amy Winehouse, you might want to check yourself into rehab.

With all the creativity of Babble readers, I figure we can help Amy come up with titles for her foray into the world of kiddie lit. Here's a few from me and my colleagues here on the 'derby:

Baby Goes to Rehab
Baby Got Crack (Pipe)
How To Hide Pot In The Potty
Arsenic, Baby Powder and Cocaine: Substance Abuse ABCs
F--k Me Stride Rite
Beehives for Babies
Back to Crack
Smoke Away Your Baby Fat
Nursery F--kery
They're trying to make me go to preschool, but I said no, no, no

Come on readers, help us out!

Image: Wikipedia

Book of the Week: Retro Round-Up!

editors — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:00:00 GMT

In the fifties and sixties, illustration was everywhere -- from magazine ads to movie credits – and judging from April’s picture books, the hyper-stylized designs of that era are back in a big way. Here are four new books to read your child between the three-martini lunch and the Ed Sullivan show. – Gwynne Watkins

Moon Man (first printed in 1967) by Tomi Ungerer

Don't be surprised if Toni Ungerer's illustrations seem familiar; among myriad projects in the fifties, sixties and seventies, the French artist contributed animations to Sesame Street and created the Dr. Strangelove poster. He also wrote dozens of children’s books, long out of print in the US, which are now being re-released by art press Phaidon. Moon Man’s vivid colors and dark, inky backgrounds are rare in contemporary children’s books; the absurdist story of the Man in the Moon’s visit to Earth, where he interacts with pitchfork-wielding yokels, hotheaded army generals and a mad scientist, takes a backseat to the strange complexity of the illustrations. (Moon Man,Phaidon, April 2009 - $11.53 at Amazon)

The Fantastic UnderSea Life of Jacques Cousteau by Dan Yaccarino

Jacques Costeau reached the peak of his fame in the sixties, so it’s fitting that Dan Yaccarino illustrates his story with a Mad Men-era aesthetic. In this stripped-down biography, Costeau is monochromatic line drawing, but the ocean that surrounds him is full of lime-green starbursts, rippling orange-and-pink jellyfish, and smudgy red waves. (The Fantastic UnderSea Life of Jacques Cousteau, Alfred A Knopf, March 2009 - $11.55 on Amazon)

Sergio Saves the Game by Edel Rodriquez

For the latest in his Sergio series, Cuban-born artist Edel Rodriguez takes on his home country’s favorite sport: soccer. The fifties look of the pictures comes from a minimalist color scheme – black-and-white, with splashes of aquamarine, red and orange – and the fuzzy, overlapping edges of Rodriguez’s penguin world. (Sergio Saves the Game, Little Brown, April 2009 - $10.87 on Amazon)

A Walk in New York by Salvatore Rubbino

This storybook tour of New York City owes a debt to Miroslav Sasek’s This Is… books, which have been in print internationally since 1960. Rubbino’s squiggly tourists could be from almost any era as they gawk at charcoaled skyscrapers, slanting bridges, and Macy’s windows full of hastily doodled hats. (Does anyone still wear a hat?) (A Walk in New York, Candlewick, April 2009 - $11.55 on Amazon)

Book of the Week appears in Strollerderby every other Friday or so, although we haven’t been so good about it lately. But we’re getting better, I swear.

Where Have All the Trees Gone?

JeanneSager — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:36:00 GMT

Arbor Day is coming up fast, and nothing gets kids in the mood for fun better than a big mystery. Babble took a look at Oliver Jeffers' new nature-inspired novel for little bears.

There's something funny in the forest, and it's up to the critters in Jeffers' The Great Paper Caper to put an end to the great tree disappearing act. But first they need to stop finger (paw?) pointing and figure out who's to blame for lopped-off branches and stand-alone stumps.

Peopled with goofy looking animals with sticks for legs, Jeffers' books are always a hit with the three to five set, and The Great Paper Caper gives them a look at their favorites from the forest. The tale of missing trees - being stolen by a bear with a good heart but very little brain (sound like someone else we know?) - doubles as a warning that deforestation can happen quickly. And it's up to little critters - and little kids - to protect our woods. They can start, Jeffers' animals learn, by reducing their paper waste.

After reading, parents can head over to the Arbor Foundation Website to find out when their state will celebrate Arbor Day (the national day is the last Friday in April, the 24th this year, but some states vary based on the best time for planting) and download a nature explorers kit for their own adventure in the woods.

Image: Amazon

Book of the Week: The Creator of "Wonder Pets" Does Some Rhyming

editors — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:01:00 GMT

Josh Selig -- the brain behind the preschool hit "Wonder Pets" and the weird-and-wonderful "Oobi" -- doesn't have kids of his own. What he does have is one of the most beautifully childlike imaginations to be found outside an actual child. Take his new book, A Book For You. It's a collection of small rhymes, nothing fancy, that brings to mind a bygone era of children's poetry: A.A. Milne's When We Were Very Young, Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses. The book is handmade, printed on thick paper with watercolor illustrations by Stephanie Cleaver. It looks like a labor of love, and it is; when we asked Josh to talk to us about his inspiration, here's what he said:

"A Book For You is a group of short poems for young children. It is about friendship, hope and appreciating the small yet important things that fill up a child's day: a cat, an apple, a star.

I wrote these poems many years ago after an important relationship ended. I was looking for comfort and I found it in myself. These poems are a gentle reminder that beauty, laughter and love are always around us at all times. The hard part is being patient enough to see them."

The book is being sold exclusively in the Little Airplane studio store in downtown NYC -- yet another reason (beyond the studio tour) to pay a visit. -- Gwynne Watkins

Ready for Easter? Peter Rabbit's Gone Green

JeanneSager — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:24:00 GMT

Part of getting ready for Easter in my house means stocking up on books for the basket to take up as much room as possible (leaving space for a few jellybeans, but just a few).

This year, you can go green for Easter with a new edition of the beloved bunny books from Beatrix Potter, reissued in a "naturally better" format.

Using Potter's original drawings and text, the new line of Peter Rabbit . . . Naturally Better books are as much an ode to Potter herself as they are the earth. A staunch environmentalist and conservationist, Beatrix Potter's love of the outdoors inspired her bunny books as well as her work with the National Trust in her native England during her life. She bred sheep and kept rabbits so child visitors would not be disappointed.

When Potter died, she left some four thousand acres and several fams to the Trust to keep the land pristine and undeveloped. To this day, the area remains one of the most rural in all of England.

Now her books are going to help her cause, along with new environmentally-friendly food, toiletries and toys.The licensor of theThe World of Beatrix Potter has drawn up a comprehensive Corporate Social Responsibility calling for all products to be made by suppliers who adhere to ethical working practices and who support healthy formulation of products. "Everyday food products will contain organic ingredients, be GM free, and will contain no added salt or sugar. Toiletries are free from harmful and unnecessary chemicals such as artificial musks, parabens and phthalates, are not tested on animals and will be hypoallergenic."

Publishers of the twenty-three original Peter Rabbit books plus a few new titles (including the Peter Rabbit Peekaboo with interactive flaps) have earned certification from the Forest Stewardship Council, an international non-profit which focuses on the sustainability of forests. According to FSC, "products bearing the FSC logo, which guarantees that the wood from a certified well-managed forest, are available across the world from a variety of mills, manufacturers, and distributors."

Want to turn your kids' Easter baskets green? Fill up on bunny books from Beatrix Potter that are "naturally better" at Amazon.

Image: PeterRabbit.com

Back to the Third Grade for This 71-Year-Old

JeanneSager — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:26:00 GMT

He stands more than a head taller than his classmates, but what really makes Alferd Williams stand out as a member of the third grade at Edison Elementary School is his age. He's seventy-one.

The son of a sharecropper, Williams headed to elementary school two years ago when he was sixty-eight. He started back in first grade, the last grade he attended before dropping out as a child in Missouri to help his family make a living.

He promised his mother then that one day he would learn to read. At sixty-eight, he found a teacher in Alesia Hamilton, a first grade teacher at Edison Elementary. Hamilton was uneasy, but she started teaching Alferd during summer school and when the school year began invited him into the classroom in the mornings to help out as a volunteer and read with the kids. She made the rounds with Alferd of talk shows (including Ellen, which helped launch a Website to help Williams build a house) noting he was a model student.

Two years later, he still is. Williams made a presentation to the kids in his school recently, explaining to them, “I don’t have a mother living, and I don’t have a father living, so it’s up to me how long I go to school and how well I learn.”

I confess I got a little weepy with this one and grateful that I can indulge in a good book to destress at the end of the day. Feel lucky you're reading this right now. Recent statistics released by the U.S. Education Department showed one in seven adults in American lack basic prose literacy skills. There are thirty-two million people like Alferd out there, all shining examples to our kids of how bad it can be - not able to read a newspaper, a blog or the back of a box of cereal.

Maybe we need an Alferd at every school in America. Can he take this show on the road; speak with kids who are pondering dropping out? He's got just the message every kid needs to hear - stay in school or spend your "retirement" back in the third grade.

Image: KC Star

Harry Potter Book Sells for $19K - Too Much?

JeanneSager — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:34:00 GMT

I love me some Hogwarts. But I don't know that I could ever love a children's book this much.

A rare copy of the first book in the Harry Potter series - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone here in the states, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in author J.K. Rowling's native England, has sold for $19,120.

Autographed by Rowling, the first edition soft cover book was expected to fetch $12,000 at the auction in Texas, and the sale obviously exceeded the auction house's expectations. It's not actually the biggest blowout for Potter paraphernalia - an eight-hundred word prequel hand-written by Rowling sold for almost $50,000 last June to help an English writer's group and a charity for dyslexics.

But I confess I just don't get it - and not just in light of the current state of the economy. It's a children's book, and what crazy loon is going to let their kid flip through the pages of a $19,000 book? I'm one of those adults who went hogwild for Harry, but I still think books are to be read . . . not stared at on a shelf somewhere. When it comes to children's books in particular, I'm all the more inclined to say get them out there, get those kids reading!

What do you think? If you had the money, would you blow it on something like this?

Image: Amazon

Barack Obama to Pen Book for the Kids

SunnyChanel — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:29:00 GMT

Barack Obama doesn’t have to worry about getting a job after he leaves office in four or eight years, depending. He’s already sold his next book for a pretty penny. His next book, which has bestseller written all over it, will be a “youth oriented version of his published memoir,” Dreams of My Father. Yeah, he’ll be doing just fine. Last year alone he received about $2.5 million in royalties for his book/s.

In January, before he took office, he agreed to deliver the abridged youth version of his book after he leaves office. Before the inauguration, Obama signed the deal for a $500,000 advance (half for him and half for his publisher) for the middle school /young adult version of Dreams of My Father. The deal and his advance was discovered in his new personal financial disclosure report that was released to the public this week.

Do you wish he signed on to do a board book version too, for those really young readers?

Source: Huffington Post

Kate Gosselin Dreamt Of A Husband and Children - Did You?

Brett Singer — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:00:00 GMT

Christianity Today has an excerpt from Kate Gosselin's book "Multiple Blessings":

"I'll say it again: Like most little girls, I had dreamed of the day when I would meet my husband, have children, and settle down to live a happily-ever-after kind of life."

Is that what "most little girls" dream of? Getting married and having kids? Am I living in some fantasy world where women have moved beyond the notion that this is what they should do? I realize that Kate isn't saying "all little girls" or even "women belong at home in the kitchen." And most of the rest of the excerpt (I didn't read it all) talks about Kate and her faith, which is a different topic. But isn't this notion that little girls dream of getting married (perhaps in a princess gown) and making babies kind of 1950's? Is "today's Christian woman" (the slogan on the website) the same as yesterday's Christian woman? What the heck, Kate?

Oh, and while you're up, could you get me a beer? Thanks babe.

Source: Christianity Today

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Fun Stuff To Do When The Kids Get Older

Expose Puts Another Spin on Jon and Kate Plus 8

God's Army

Five Minute Time Out: Kate Gosselin

Book of the Week: 7 Great Pop-Up Books

editors — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:00:00 GMT

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pop-Up Book by Eric Carle Ages 3 and Up
If you already own a version of this Eric Carle classic, you’re probably thinking, “How much better can the pop-up book really be?” To answer your question, imagine listening to music on those dinky, white earbuds that came with your iPod. Now, imagine listening to music on those noise-canceling, tonally balanced, acoustically correct, hardcore headphones. This is The Very Hungry Caterpillar in stereo. For added fun, little pull-tabs and wheels allow you to move the caterpillar around as he eats his way through everything in sight. It’s hard to improve upon a classic, but this one is worth a read.

Maisy Bakes a Cake by Lucy Cousins Ages 2 and Up
Oh, Lucy Cousins, you’ve done it again. Masiy Bakes a Cake is another in a long line of irresistibly cute books. This time your little Maisy fan can help Maisy wash her hands, measure the ingredients, and stir the batter by pulling a series of wide tabs that are perfect for little fingers. Each illustration includes a sidebar with the pictures and names of objects used in that step of baking, which is a great way to inspire early readers (or early bakers).

Little Monsters by Jan Pienkowski Ages 2 and Up
If your little one is afraid of imaginary things-that-go-bump-in-the-night, then Little Monsters may be just the cure you’re seeking. It’s filled with fluffy, colorful, googly-eyed little creatures and a simple, rhyming text. The pop-ups here lack the intricate details and moving parts of some of our other offerings, but that just means there are fewer things for little fingers to tear. A great pop-up book for younger kids.

The Castaway Pirates by Ray Marshall Ages 4 and Up
Told in (rather awkward) rhyme, The Castaway Pirates is the story of a group of pirates whose boat has sprung a leak in shark-infested waters. As the leak gets bigger and the shark gets closer, the pop-ups grow increasingly elaborate and the pirates grow increasingly frantic: “Slugs-n-slime. There’s no more time!” Save this one for older listeners, as there is a considerable amount of text. And make sure to read it in your best pirate accent.

There Are Cats in This Book by Viviane Schwarz Ages 3 and Up
This is a quirky little book about three cats named Tiny, Moonpie, and Andre. It’s not so much a story as it is a list of things cats like to do, but there are lots of colorful illustrations and fun flaps for kids to turn. I also enjoyed the author’s very dry humor. While I was reading, I had the funny feeling that if my cats could write a book, this is exactly what they would say.

Dinner for Eight by Roger De Muth In Dinner for Eight, our narrator has decided to throw a dinner party for his friends, but soon realizes, "Dinner for eight is quite a feat. Everyone wants different food to eat." Hmmm...sounds like dinner at my house. Lucky for the narrator, he is an octupus. Kids will have fun lifting the lids of dishes to reveal gourmet creations like "cheddar cheese low mein" and "housefly souffle." The octupus looks a little bit too much like a giant dill pickle for my taste, but all-in-all, this is a very cute read.

My Dance Recital by Maryann Cocca-Leffler Ages 3 and Up
I'm not usually a fan of girly, princessy dance books, but My Dance Recital stands above the rest. First of all, there is a boy in this dance troupe, which is very refreshing. I also fell for the details. Everytime I read the book, I found new tabs to pull, flaps to open, or wheels to turn that I hadn't previously noticed. Highlights include helping the main character get into her costume and making Tommy tapdance.

-Lindsay Armstrong

Kids Get in on the Man on Wire Story

JeanneSager — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:28:00 GMT

Since the adult version won an Academy Award last month, the buzz about Man on Wire has hit a fever pitch. Want to share it with your kids?

Scholastic has adapted the Caldecott Award-winning children's book about Philippe Petit's tight rope walk between the towers into a movie just for them.

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers . . . and More Inspiring Tales is based on a 2003 title for kids four to eight. Using Mordicai Gerstein's dramatic and richly detailed illustrations from the book, Scholastic added animation that lets the kids hop from a Petit-eye-view to the pedestrians on the street and up into the sky. Jake Gyllenhaal lends his voice, telling the tale of the long night of preparation and the day that shocked the world. Petit is almost childlike himself, lying down on his long balancing stick, dancing among the clouds and grinning all the while, giving kids a look at a dream.

It's accompanied by three more tales, including Snowflake Bentley, another Caldecott Medal-winning book adaptation that tells the story of a real life hero, the man who discovered that no two snowflakes are alike and The Pot that Juan Built, about one of Mexico's most famous potters. Each is voiced by stars with stellar voices, including Claire Danes, Sean Astin and Alfred Molina, taking kids on real-life adventures.

Borrow the books from the library, read them, then watch them in animated form - some with live action thrown in - to give your kids another look at the world of literature. Like the read-along tapes we had as kids, the focus on putting books on DVD can be a great companion piece to your regular storytime or a jumpstart to get kids interested in reading.

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers . . . and More Inspiring Tales has stories for kids at any age - even big kids who would give anything for one day as Petit, who knew as long as he stayed on the wire "he was free."

Image: Amazon

Mr. Popper's Taking His Penguins to the Movies!

It's a Circus Out There for The Wonder Pets

Mr. Popper's Taking His Penguins to the Movies!

JeanneSager — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:02:00 GMT

Third graders everywhere are about to get a chance to cheat on their book reports. Come on - you know that's what happens when they push a classic children's book onto the big screen.

In this case, they made a good choice - because before there was the March of the Penguins and the Madagascar penguins, there was Mr. Popper and his brood of waddling birds.

Mr. Popper's Penguins, a 1938 Newberry Honor Award winner, took a broke house painter on an adventure of Antarctic proportions when explorer Admiral Drake ships him a penguin via air mail. The family names him Captain Cook and sets up a home for him in the icebox (the name for a freezer back in 1938), but when he gets lonely another penguin gets shipped in - a female, who starts laying egg after massive penguin egg.

There's not much known about the film version yet - Twentieth Century Fox apparently paid seven figures for rights to produce it, and writer/director Sean Anders and co-writer John Morris (the men who wrote Sex Drive) have gotten the nod to write up the screenplay.

Get your kids ready for the film with this site, full of facts on explorers like Admiral Drake, Antarctica facts and even a house-painting practice game.

Image: ScreeningLog

What Do You Really Read to Your Kids?

KeriF — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:00:00 GMT

A recent British survey found that 65 percent of respondents admitted to claiming they had read classic books when, in fact, they had not. The biggest fib-provokers? George Orwell's 1984 (42 percent) and Tolstoy's War and Peace (31 percent). Other books we like to say we've read include James Joyce's Ulysses (25 percent) and the Bible (24 percent).

I read 1984 in junior high school and attempted Ulysses for all of five minutes, which I'll freely admit to anyone who asks (no one ever does, though). I'm never tempted to lie about books I've read because I love to read and am proud of the books I have read.

Well, I'm proud of the adult books I've read.

No one ever asks me what books I read to my kids, but sometimes I do feel a bit embarassed about the stuff I read to them. I've tried the Curious George books and every Dr. Seuss book ever written, but I find them a bit tiresome. Don't even get me started on Maurice Sendak. I love Where the Wild Things Are, but have you read Outside Over There? Talk about creepy. I also can't get excited about the Margaret Wise Brown books, specifically The Runaway Bunny, which seems a bit stalkerish to me.

The books I prefer might not have been written 50 years ago, but they do actually teach something to my kids (and me), which is more than I can say for a lot of books. My sons' favorite books right now are a series their aunt in Ireland sent them and have titles like Terrific Tractors and Amazing Aeroplanes. Here's a line from the latter: "When the plane moves fast enough, the air around's so swift, it pushes up beneath the wings, and makes the whole plane lift." Is it great literature? No. Do my kids ask to read it every night? Yes.

And maybe that's more important than how many decades a kids' book has been around or how well-known its author is. Maybe what's most important is just that we are reading to our kids, or frankly, reading ourselves, whether it's great literature or pop fiction. According to the British survey, it's the latter: the most popular authors named were J.K. Rowling and John Grisham.

Have you ever lied about books you've read, to yourself or your kids?

I'm Not a Brat, I'm Autistic