Strollerderby : books for children

Yertle the Turtle Was Based on Hitler--10 Strange Stories behind Dr. Seuss Stories

Cole Gamble — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:00:00 GMT

And it’s alleged Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! is based on Richard Nixon and Watergate.

7. Yertle the Turtle = Hitler? Yep. If you haven’t read the story, here’s a little overview: Yertle is the king of the pond, but he wants more. He demands that other turtles stack themselves up so he can sit on top of them to survey the land. Mack, the turtle at the bottom, is exhausted. He asks Yertle for a rest; Yertle ignores him and demands more turtles for a better view. Eventually, Yertle notices the moon and is furious that anything dare be higher than himself, and is about ready to call for more turtles when Mack burps. This sudden movement topples the whole stack, sends Yertle flying into the mud, and frees the rest of the turtles from their stacking duty. Dr. Seuss actually said Yertle was a representation of Hitler. Despite the political nature of the book, none of that was disputed at Random House – what was disputed was Mack’s burp. No one had ever let a burp loose in a children’s book before, so it was a little dicey. In the end, obviously, Mack burped.

5. Green Eggs and Ham. Bennett Cerf, Dr. Seuss’ editor, bet him that he couldn’t write a book using 50 words or less. The Cat in the Hat was pretty simple, after all, and it used 225 words. Not one to back down from a challenge, Mr. Geisel started writing and came up with Green Eggs and Ham – which uses exactly 50 words. The 50 words, by the way, are: a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you.

9. Oh The Places You’ll Go is Dr. Seuss’ final book, published in 1990. It sells about 300,000 copies every year because so many people give it to college and high school grads.

Thanks to Mental Floss for revealing the funky stuff that surrounded Dr. Seuss’s stories. Read the full list here.

More by this author:

10 Things I Learned about Poop from My Son

Musical SpongeBob Rectal Thermometer. Fun for Your Kid’s Butt?

The Most Awesomely Epic High School English Paper of All Time

Things You Should Never Say at a Chuck E Cheese Birthday Party

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

Round-Up: The Best Books to Read Before the Inauguration

editors — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

With all of the fervor surrounding this past election and the upcoming inauguration, it's no surprise if your children (or you) are pretty curious about President Elect Obama. Here, some helpful resources for kids of all ages:

Pictures Books about Obama:

Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope by Nikki Grimes Ages 4-8

This beautifully illustrated book covers Obama’s life from childhood to Presidential candidate. It is written as a conversation between a mother and a child in Grimes characteristically poetic style. While the words are simple enough for young children to understand, be forewarned: this is no balanced, historical account. In fact, it’s more in the tradition of George Washington, “I can not tell a lie. I cut down your cherry tree,” glorification. Not that they are trying to hide this fact from readers: check out that title!

Barack by Jonah Winter Ages 6-9

A slightly more nuanced account of Obama’s life for older kids; this book does a pretty good job of addressing some of Obama’s early identity issues and hints at a less-than-ideal relationship with his parents. The book does bring up some great questions for further discussion, but eventually veers off into total worship mode: “And on the horizon, at the dawn of a new age, there appeared a man who would be the embodiment of King’s dream.” Yikes! The pictures are delightful and, we must admit, this book brought tears to the eyes of more than one Babble editor.

Biography:

Obama: A Promise of Change by David Mendell Ages 8-12

You know this book is going to be a little bit different when you read the opening line, “The swagger in Barack Obama’s step appeared even cockier than usual on the afternoon of July 27, 2004.” Cocky? That’s not a very flattering thing to say about our future president! That’s also what makes this book so great. David Mendell, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, is certainly pro-Obama, but in a “feet on the ground” kind of way. In addition to the balanced information, there are tons of quotes, both from Obama himself and from his supporters and campaign workers. And who can resist a photograph of the future Prez in his high school basketball uniform?

Explaining the Role of the President:

If I Were President by Catherine Stier Ages 4-6

This is an adorable and informational look at what it means to be President. Six children of diverse backgrounds take turns explaining the President’s jobs, while colorful illustrations help to complete the picture. The story touches on everything from campaign speeches to veto power to lighting the national Christmas tree. The book tends to focus a bit more on the perks of the job (in-house movie theater and personal chef anyone?) than on the really hard decisions, but it’s a great introduction for little kids.

The Presidency by Patricia Ryon Quiri Ages 6-9

Part of the classic “True Books,” series, The Presidency is a short, but informative look at the highest office in the land. The book divides the information up into helpful categories like “Who Can Be President?” and “Who Helps the President?” There’s even a chapter on the Inauguration. Lot’s of colorful photographs give the book a more grown-up feel for older kids. Now if they’d only include a chapter entitled, “What does the Vice President Do?”

- Lindsay Armstrong

(Image taken from www.harpercollinschildrens.com)

Et Tu, Scholastic?

editors — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:11:00 GMT

These two books came into the office the other day:The Girls’ Book of Glamour: A Guide to Being a Goddess and The Boys’ Book of Survival: How to Survive Anything, Anywhere. Ha-ha, we thought, how retro and ironic and . . . OMG, THEY ARE TOTALLY SERIOUS.

The jacket flap copy on the girls’ book: “Be confidant. Be glamorous. Be gorgeous . . . Be the goddess you were born to be!” On the boys’ book: “Be brave. Be prepared . . . Be a hero!”

Now, our son loves trucks, planes and dinosaurs. Our goddaughter loves tutus. BUT. STILL. Our son has been known to dance around in a skirt, and our goddaughter has been known to play with dinosaurs. The truck books do not say, “TRUCKS FOR BOYS.” They say, “TRUCKS TRUCKS TRUCKS. TRUCKS.”

We read both of these books to make sure they are as bad and reactionary as their covers suggested. In fact, they are worse.

Girls are instructed to “accessorize fabulously.” Boys are taught to “survive an avalanche.” Girls are told how to “give yourself a mini-facial.” Boys are given instructions for making a dugout canoe.

The major theme in the boy book: Be ready for anything! You’re a leader! (“How to Be a Good Leader,” p. 12) The girls’ theme: Be pretty! Also, friendly! (“How to Have the Best Manners,” p.81) And “jazz up” that “boring ponytail.”

For realz? This is the publishing house that gave us Hermione Granger? For shame. — Ada Calhoun

Program Helps Incarcerated Dads Keep In Touch

Amy Kuras — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:30:00 GMT

Imagine that you’ve done some stupid stuff, made some mistakes, and now are incarcerated for your crimes. But instead of being sent to the state pen that’s in your actual state, you’re shipped 3000 miles away.

That’s the situation facing prisoners at the Saguaro Correctional Facility in Eloy, Arizona. They are all from Hawaii, which has contracted out some of its correctional functions to a private company called Corrections Corporation of America. CCA runs several facilities in and near Eloy.

Many of these men have children, and their only option to keep in touch -- and even make sure they are remembered by their kids – has been expensive phone calls home and monthly 15-minute videoconference calls.

But thanks to a federal grant, inmates can now participate in the “Fathers Bridging the Miles” program. Fathers can choose two books per month for each of their children, and read the books themselves aloud on CD. Kids can pop in the CD and read along with their father whenever they want to.

Fathers participating also are required to take a yearlong parenting class and work with a social worker at the prison. If they fulfill the requirements, they get an additional half-hour video visit each quarter.

Men with a history of domestic abuse or crimes against children are barred from participating.

Although it must be difficult for these men to be so far away from their families and never get visitors, they did the crime. Imagine how hard it must be for their innocent kids. And if anything is going to set these guys on the straight and narrow, being a better example to their children is probably it.

Book of the Week: Can You Guess the Twist Ending?

editors — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Let’s play a guessing game – I’m thinking of something that is round like a ball. Your guess is “ball,” right? You’re totally wrong. Round Like a Ball is an expanded version of this game, with each family member making a guess in response to clues, until the round object is revealed to be (spoiler alert!) the Earth. Each of the thickly painted illustrations has a hole in it, which gets progressively larger as the game goes on, revealing more and more of the mystery object. The hole becomes a matzoh ball (Grandma’s guess), a fishbowl (the cat’s guess), a stone (the crunchy hippie aunt’s guess), and so forth. Finally there’s an oversized fold-out page with a satisfying painting of the Earth. And then the last page has conservation tips. But really, you can skip the straightforward Al Gore stuff and enjoy the actual story, which give kids an entrée into thinking big-picture thoughts about their planet. – Gwynne Watkins

Round Like a Ball (Blue Apple Books, March 28th) by Lisa Campbell Ernst is available for pre-order on Amazon.

Book of the Week appears every other Friday. Sometimes every Friday. We’re fickle like that.

Book of the Week: More Quirky Ducks for Your Kid's Library

editors — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:05:00 GMT

What is it with children’s book writers and quirky ducks? In the last few years, we’ve seen gay ducks, assembly-line ducks, political ducks, unwelcome-houseguest ducks, and feuding ducks, to name just a few. I suppose this tradition goes back as far as duck-in-drag Jemima Puddle-Duck and outsider-duck The Ugly Duckling, so we’ll probably be seeing those wacky ducks in our kids’ books for decades to come. With that in mind, here’s a brand new one that’s worth a look: The Duck Who Played Kazoo.

Written by Amy E. Sklansky and illustrated in appropriately wet-looking watercolors and pastels by Tiphanie Beeke, The Duck Who Played Kazoo is a verse book about a duck who spends his days kazooing his heart out (“La ditty, da ditty, zu zu”) on his favorite lake. Sadly, a hurricane has hit the lake – shades of Katrina here – leaving him all alone with only his kazoo for companionship. So he flies south, finds another group of duck friends to play music with, and eventually convinces them to fly back to his hometown lake for springtime. It’s a sweet little spin on the idea of migration – especially relevant if you live in a place where V’s of ducks fly overhead each fall and spring. – Gwynne Watkins

The Duck Who Played Kazoo (Clarion Books, February 18th) by Amy E. Sklansky and Tiphanie Beeke is available on Amazon.

Book of the Week appears every other Friday. Sometimes every Friday. We’re fickle like that.

Turn the Page

Adrienne Martini — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:00:00 GMT

My brain goes on vapor lock whenever I step into the kids' book section of any bookstore. There are just too many choices. Usually, I gravitate to the books I loved as a kid -- but my offspring have made it clear that you can only read The Phantom Tollbooth so many times before you want to tell your mom to just stop telling you that it's "timeless," already.

Kids. No sense of the classics.

Which is why I'm thrilled that the Cybils -- the Children's and YA Bloggers Literary Awards -- have made it into a second year. Two things about the Cybils rock: 1) they're less stuffy than the Newbery's and 2) they cover a wide range of titles, from non-fiction to graphic novels that all have kid appeal.

The list of the best books of 2007 is one to tear out and carry with you to the store. Join me, won't you, in a journey out of the books of days past.

Book of the Week: Creepy in a Good Way

editors — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:16:00 GMT

The press materials for The Girl In the Castle Inside the Museum predictably describe the book as “whimsical.” But there’s a dark side to whimsy, a Roald Dahl/Neil Gaiman/Tim Burton side that kids and adults alike are drawn towards. That’s what The Girl Inside... so effectively captures, thanks to Nicole Ceccoli’s incredible illustrations.

Ceccoli is an Italian painter whose work often depicts haunting, vaguely menacing childlike worlds. (Mark Ryden and Eva Montanari are other artists in this vein.) For The Girl Inside…, about a tiny girl who lives inside a museum exhibit, Ceccoli creates a fantasy museum of Escher-like labyrinths, clockwork birds, Victorian doll-fairies, and ephemera floating through the air like dust mites. The story is open-ended and mysterious: we never learn how the girl came to live in the museum, only that she’s lonely and needs the reader’s friendship. If the reader is a child who’s spellbound by detailed illustrations, he won’t mind returning her feelings. — Gwynne Watkins

The Girl In the Castle Inside the Museum (Schwartz & Wade, February 12^th) by Kate Bernheimer and Nicoletta Ceccoli is available for pre-order on Amazon.

Book of the Week appears every other Friday. Sometimes every Friday. We’re fickle like that.

Book of the Week: The "Zen Shorts" Sequel

editors — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:05:00 GMT

Zen Ties is Jon J. Muth’s eagerly awaited follow-up to Zen Shorts, the 2005 book about a giant panda who imparts Buddhist lessons to neighborhood children. Reading Zen Ties, I was happy to spend more time with Stillwater and meet his little panda nephew Koo. But I did find myself wishing that this second book was a little more like the first. The best parts of Zen Shorts were Stillwater’s Zen tales, illustrated in simple brushstrokes to contrast the elaborate watercolors of the “real world.” Instead of offering a series of ancient anecdotes, the sequel tells a single story: Stillwater and his nephew foster an unlikely friendship between a group of children and their cranky old-lady neighbor. Its Zen twist is that Stillwater’s nephew only speaks in haiku. Overall, it’s a lovely stand-alone story for older children (I’d say ages 7 and up), with really dazzling illustrations. But if you come to this book looking for more bite-sized lessons from a Zen master, you may be disappointed. — Gwynne Watkins

Zen Ties (Scholastic, February 1st) by John J. Muth is available on Amazon.

Book of the Week appears every other Friday. Sometimes every Friday. We’re fickle like that.

Book of the Week: Now with Talking Fetus!

editors — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:15:00 GMT

Okay, generally I find children's books about pregnancy vaguely creepy, in a pro-life-propaganda sort of way. We've gotten a bunch in the office these past few months, most of which show frighteningly happy little fetuses doing adorable things in the womb and it just seems wrong. But then this week, Ma! There's Nothing to Do Here! showed up on my desk and I totally fell for it.

Maybe it's because I'm eight months pregnant and my baby is actually starting to seem person-like. Or maybe it's because the baby in the book, while cartoonishly adorable, is also hiliarously disgruntled. The book takes the form of a letter of complaint: the child wants his mom to know that his "womb with no view" is getting tiresome. There are no playmates, nothing to pass the time except learning how to hiccup. Hopefully he'll be able to come out soon and then they can start to have fun.

This is how I imagine my unborn kid actually feels when he's banging his little feet on my intestines. Why would he do that unless he's trying to tell me he's bored? Really, it can't be that entertaining. But this book is entertaining, and recommended for baby showers and younger siblings. — Gwynne Watkins

Ma! There's Nothing to Do Here! (Random House, January 22nd) by Barbara Park and Vivian Garofoli, is available on Amazon.

Book of the Week appears every other Friday. Sometimes every Friday. We’re fickle like that.

Who Killed Santa Claus?

makeitadouble — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 20:26:00 GMT

It's a classic scene straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Christmas morning, children in pajamas crouched in front of the tree bursting with anticipation. Their weary bath-robed parents smile in the background as the kids tear open a gift wrapped box containing a book describing in graphic detail the murder of Santa Claus.

This is essentially what happened in British Columbia to Krista Saunders family this past Christmas morning when her two sons opened a gift they’d received from their grandfather. Based on the packaging alone the book of short stories, called “Whodunits: Little Giant Book and Kit” which comes complete with a flashlight and magnifying glass, seems innocuous enough and even comes with a disclaimer stating the contents of the book are appropriate for children over the age of seven. However, one of the stories depicts a famous chef being hacked to death with a meat cleaver while another shows a child seeing bruises on his mother’s arm, and then of course there’s the story titled, “Who Killed Santa Claus?”

A section of the story reads, “They discovered every child's worst nightmare, the lifeless body of Santa Claus. He was in a storage room his head bashed in by the butt end of a .44 revolver.” Apart from whether or not parents encourage their children to believe in Santa Claus and besides what are the ingredients of 3am night terrors for any second grader, how could anyone, especially a child, tell on first glance that the murder weapon was a .44 revolver? What is this: CSI: North Pole? You got David Caruso in an elf tunic collecting forensic evidence and monotoning one-liners like, “Some one’s been naughty.”?

The contents of the book so upset Mrs. Saunders that she took her concerns to the manager of the book store where the gift was purchased and demanded the book is pulled form the shelves immediately. Whoa, slow down Mrs. Saunders. I can see how the stories in this book could be upsetting and I even agree with you that the contents are not suitable for young children, but Canada like the United States has a constitutional law that protects the freedom of expression.

Get store credit and let your sons choose a book that you approve of, but don’t start demanding that a book be pulled from shelves simply because you don’t agree with it. This is no different than using ratings as a guide to limit the levels of violence children are exposed to in video games, movies and on television.

If you believe that the qualification on the packaging that states that the book is appropriate for children over the age of seven is wrong then contact the publisher and suggest they change it to include a warning explaining that some stories contain violence and mature themes that may be unsuitable for young readers.

Do it for the children Mrs. Saunders, and if not for them then do it for David Caruso.

Book of the Week: To-Do List by Maya Waldman

editors — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 19:15:00 GMT

Babble gets a lot of submissions of independently published children's books. Sadly, most of them are — how shall we put this delicately? — lacking. So we were delighted when we received To-Do List (4N Publishing), an indie children's book that turns the tedious to-do list into something inspiring. Maya Waldman's ink drawings and simple text offer a clever twist on the counting book: she lists tasks for the reader, numbered 1-20, ranging from "make friends" to "speak pineapple" and "dance like an octopus." It's a fun, imaginative read, but as Levar Burton used to say, don't take our word for it — you can preview the whole book on the 4n website before you pick up a copy on Amazon. — Gwynne Watkins

Book of the Week: Battle of the Princess Books

editors — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 18:25:00 GMT

It's practically a standard developmental phase for little girls: suddenly, she won't leave the house without a tiara and she insists on being addressed by her royal title. So this week, we'll look at two new books for your little princess: The Silk Princess by Charles Santore and Princess Baby by Karen Katz.

We'll start with Princess Baby (Schwartz and Wade Books). Aimed at younger children —officially 4-8, we'd say 3-6 — this is a pink, sparkly ode to princessdom. It starts out well: the rosy-cheeked protagonist complains that no one ever calls her by her real name, then runs through an illustrated list of the names she doesn't like: buttercup, giggly goose, cupcake, little lamb, sweet gumdrop. (The drawing of a disgruntled toddler dressed as a gumdrop? Priceless.) Then she goes through a litany of her princess-like traits and habits, to prove that her real name is "Princess Baby." The final page shows her parents happily obliging, carrying her train as she skips away. Obviously, this book is total wish-fulfillment for preschool-age princesses. It certainly has its adorable moments. But if you're looking to quell your princess' more diva-ish tendencies...

...then check out The Silk Princess (Random House). Based on an ancient Chinese legend, it follows the adventures of the young princess who discovered silk. Although Hsi-Ling Chi is often neglected in favor of her brothers, she is far from timid, following a silkworm's thread up a dragon-infested mountain, then returning home with the fabric that her travels have woven. This one is a good read-aloud for ages 4 and up; it's a little text-heavy but the illustrations (inspired by ancient Chinese paintings) will keep younger ones going. Boys might even be into this one (see: dragosn). And it's a nice change to see a children's book princess be pro-active about something other than her sparkly shoes.

See also: the classic story The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch.

— Gwynne Watkins

Book of the Week Special: Books You Can Play With

Gwynne Watkins — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:15:00 GMT

Yes, we skipped Book of the Week last week. (Although we do have lots of suggestions in the Holiday Guide -- check it out.) But to make up for it, we're going to give you five this week. Here's a review round-up of new books your kid can play with, as played with by Babble editors.

My Mommy's Tote by P.H. Hanson (Workman)

The gimmick: An 'interactive book' modeled after a suburban mom's totebag, it's full of two-dimensional objects that can be lifted, removed and played with, i.e. key rings, a flip phone, a hankerchief and a functional wipe board.

Our verdict: We were hopeful when we discovered that the book contained a laptop, a phone and a day planner. Go multitasking mommy! But what website is the laptop open to? Perfectmom.com, featuring '10,000 great cookie recipes.' Baking cookies, in fact, is a recurring theme throughout My Mommy's Tote. And there's a joke about the mom having too many shoes. Sigh. We're holding out for My Mommy's Briefcase.

Get it for: Kids ages 3 and up whose moms bake cookies. Lots and lots of cookies.

The Sleeping Beauty Ballet Theater by Jean Mahoney and Viola Anne Seddon (Candlewick)

The gimmick: Looks like a book, but unfolds into an elaborate cardboard stage. A little drawer contains everything you need to put on the ballet: backdrops, paper doll dancers, a CD of musical selections and a book that tells the story, with instructions on which dancers and set pieces go with which songs.

Our verdict: Seeing as the whole thing is made of paper, it's on the fragile side. But it's compact and easy to assemble, the illustrations are quite lovely and the CD is a nice touch.

Get it for: Tiny dancers and fairytale obsessives, ages 6 and up.

How To Be a Spy in 7 Days or Less by Justine Smith (Kingfisher)

The gimmick: A training program for aspiring spy kids, the book offers seven days of sneaky activities, like hiding secret messages in fall leaves, writing in code, building a periscope and applying disguises. An envelope in the back contains sunglasses, a spy book, a cipher wheels and a mustache.

Our verdict: Thumbs up for the fun spy ideas, thumbs down for the cheap accessories. Thumbs back up for featuring a black girl as one of the spies.

Get it for: Wannabe James Bonds, ages 6-10.

Book and Toy Gift Sets: My Penguin Osbert and You're All My Favorites (Candlewick)

The gimmick: A shrunken-down version of a popular book, accompanied by plush beanbag toys of the characters.

Our verdict: It's hard to go wrong with this one. The books are classics for a reason, and the little stuffed animals really do look like Anita Jeram and HB Lewis' illustrations. (Which means that the penguin Osbert is pretty odd-looking, but whatever. The bears are cute.)

Get it for: Kids 2 and up who are into talking animals.

Kids Books You Can Stomach

Matt Wood — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 13:20:00 GMT

Some time in the past six months, my son really got into his books. We've been trying to foist them on him since he could sit up straight, but before he mostly cared about the ones that played music or had pictures of animals. Now he actually "reads" them; not following every word like you or I would (he's only three, I'm not that deluded), but poring over every single page like it matters. Occasionally he'll disappear into his room and get very quiet. Fearing the worst, I holler, "What are you doing up there?" and he'll say, "I'm just readin.'" It makes my nerdy senses tingle.

The only drawback to this budding bookishness is that he also wants me to read to him all the time, and as encouraging as it may be for him to show an interest, I want to throw some of those books out the window. His favorites now are a couple books with pictures of all kinds of trucks, to which he points and asks, "What's that carry?" making me recite every single possible cargo. I feel horrible, but every time he requests one of those, I start setting arbitrary limits. "If you want me to read the truck books, that's it, no more. But if you want to read, say, this Richard Scarry book, I'll stay up here."

Thankfully, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Working Dad blog is on the lookout for more books that won't have parents considering a bonfire. They offer up Meet Mr. and Mrs. Green, a story about two cohabiting alligators. "The characters are exuberant and entertaining, the language is clear and direct, and the chapter length is perfect for a good bedtime story," writes Tegan Tigani.

That last part is the key for me. I'm trying my best to encourage books with actual stories instead of just pictures, but they need to be just the right length. The Mouse Cookie books are good at this: fun story, not too short, not too long. What other books fit this bill? And what others just flat out suck?

Image: Harcourt Trade Press and Working Dad

Book of the Week: How Many?

aprilpeveteaux — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:12:00 GMT

Pop up books never stop being fun and when you have a paper engineer on the job, expect nothing less than a minor miracle in book architecture, or bookitecture as we like to call it here at Babble. How Many? Spectacular Paper Sculptures (Random House, 2007) by Ron Van Der Meer is not only a visual delight, but the questions posed on each page are designed to challenge your youngster’s deductive skills as well. The circles are mirrored, the stars are transparent and the lines wave back and forth as if rustling in the wind. But what will occupy a good amount of the day (or plane trip to Grandma’s) come when the reader is asked:

How many circles are hollow?

How many circles are within other circles?

How many circles are formed from words?

Guess which color has the most circles, then count all the colors to see if your guess is correct.

Put this on the list for your favorite too-smart-for their-own-good kindergartener, but keep How Many? away from the grabby toddlers; there are many strings to be broken and interesting shapes to be ripped from the pages for closer inspection.

Buy it from Amazon.

Because Gorging on Candy Isn't the Only Way to Celebrate

aprilpeveteaux — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:02:00 GMT

It's just the best way. Still, the build-up to any holiday is half the fun. Whether you and your kids eagerly anticipate all the TV specials, or you’re just looking for something to do while your trick or treaters come down from the sugar high, Babble has created two handy entertainment guides for the season. Gwynne Watkins gives you spooky book options, outlining age appropriate fare for all. And Lisa Carver and family review the latest in Halloween DVD’s. While most don’t seem to pass ‘The Great Pumpkin’ test, Carver’s brood do have some thumbs-up options. Carver herself, however, is cranky.

Book of the Week: "Do Unto Otters" by Laurie Keller

Gwynne Watkins — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:08:00 GMT

"A Book About Manners" may sound like a preachy subtitle, but let's get one thing straight: kids love books about manners. Books like Jane Yolen's H ow Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? and the Maurice Sendak-illustrated What Do You Say, Dear? allow readers to revel in the characters' outlandish, hilariously rude behavior, all under the guise of learning to say "excuse me." Now we can add a new book to the pantheon: Laurie Keller's silly, slightly grotesque Do Unto Otters.

Do Unto Otters (Henry Holt and Co., 2007) the story of a rabbit who panics when he discovers his new neighbors are otters: he's never met any otters! What if they're smelly and rude? A wise owl advises him to simply "do unto otters as you would have otters do unto you." For the rest of the book, the rabbit imagines different scenarios in which the otters might be rude, and devises polite solutions. The illustrations are a riot; many pages are jammed with cartoons of bug-eyed forest animals exchanging pleasantries, bickering, and learning to say "thank you" in Japanese. It's an odd book for sure, but that's part of its charm -- and underneath the Japanese lessons is a stealthy moral about embracing people who look and act a little different.

Book of the Week: George and Martha

Gwynne Watkins — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 21:10:00 GMT

Like Bert and Ernie, George and Martha are close companions with an ambiguous relationship: are they friends? are they lovers? I remember being confused about this as a kid, but I also remember that it didn't much matter: I was so devoted to the George and Martha books that I can still picture exactly where they were shelved in my childhood library. James Marshall first created these characters in 1971, while the film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? played in the background (hence the names). Between 1972 and 1980, Marshall published seven books about the devoted hippos, each one a collection of short, illustrated stories. And by "short," I mean that they're often only a few sentences long. But they're perfect that way, each one a sweet, punchy little sitcom. The simplest of these stories appear in two new reprints, George and Martha and George and Martha: Two Great Friends (Houghton Mifflin, September 2007), both aimed at early readers. Read them to your child and he'll learn some valuable lessons: not everyone likes split pea soup, privacy is important, and hippos are too heavy for hot air balloons.

Babble Talk: Chick Flicks & Lit with Maria Bello

aprilpeveteaux — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 20:03:00 GMT

Mina Hochberg interviews mom and actress Maria Bello, who is starring in the upcoming love story, (that men will enjoy too, for really's) The Jane Austen Book Club. Bello wouldn’t be caught dead reading Pride & Prejudice, and she has a lot to say about the books her six-year-old ingests as well. It’s refreshing to hear a celebrity go on about kid lit, and even if Bello doesn’t give in to the sentimentality of Austen, she is still no match for the allure of Harry Potter and Captain Underpants. Bello also answers the question of why so many ‘serious’ actors hop on the G-rated train shortly after procreating and how those go together as well as De Niro and Shark Tale.

Children's Books Online: Classic Lit from the Public Domain

Patti — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 15:03:00 GMT

One of the first things that made me think the internet might be good for something other than porn was the birth of sites like Project Gutenberg and Bartleby, where public domain works of literature were transcribed and presented for online perusal or download. Talk about a great way to get through the dark hours of a night shift during the mid-1990's! Now that all of us geeks have had babies, the internet's keeping up with the times. The Rosetta Project's Children's Books Online is a gorgeous repository of classic children's picture books of the sort our grandparents would have read, neatly scanned for your enjoyment.

Awesomely, there are numerous works in translation as well as several audiobooks, so you can download them for car trips and quiet time.

With the noisy clatter of modern websites geared toward children, it's sweet and kind of a relief to see old fashioned stories like these. Definitely going to be bookmarked in our house.

For more fun with downloadable audiobooks in the public domain, including children's literature, check this out.

Too Young for Harry Potter?

Karen Murphy — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 13:53:00 GMT

It should come as no surprise by now to learn that my kids haven't read Harry Potter. I've been operating under the thumb-rule that the protagonist's age should roughly match that of the reader, give or take a couple of years, and depending of course on the book. So my older son is 11 and I figured this was the year for him to begin reading the first couple of Harrys.

But I'm on the protective side. I admit it. So when is it right for kids to begin reading books that have more mature themes? I'm not necessarily talking sex here, but what about just plain life? Divorce, loneliness, parental alcoholism, poverty, bullying, depression... I could go on and on here. But with Harry Potter we're talking (mostly) fantasy and fun and playfulness. And with those elements I think that the books become more approachable. I'm still not going to read it to my seven-year-old, but I'm not going to throw Every Flavor Beans at you if you read it to yours.

Here's an insightful article detailing reasons to expose, or choose not to, your child to Harry. Although it's definitely leaning in the "yes" direction, the "if they get scared they'll get over it" camp. Which I'm not so good with unless they're willing to come to my house and comfort my kids in the middle of the night when they have nightmares.

What about you? Harry or not? And at what age?

Last Harry Potter Book Leaked. Maybe.

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:37:00 GMT

J.K. Rowling's last Harry Potter book is scheduled to be released (75 million strong) on Saturday. Some ne'er-do-wells have taken it into their own hands to post it on the Internet.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has numerous downloadable versions on line (though according to some, they are not to be trusted.) Personally, I don't think most kids will prefer to read the last installment on a computer screen, when they can hold a lovely book in their hands and hide away in a reading cubby somewhere to enjoy it.

Hopefully, libraries will stock up on the book too.

Father's Day: Great Books for the Kid to Give Pops

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 21:03:00 GMT

When your kids are small and can't splurge for a hearty Father's Day brunch for the family as their gift to dad, it can be tricky to pick out a present that is sweet and sentimental and won't get shoved in a drawer next to a pocket watch and other well-intended offerings made to him over the years. My favorite gift to give my husband from our son is a great kid's book.

In our house, the book basket next to the rocking chair is already filled with father-child centered books that my husband and son love to read before bedtime. My son loves to give a book to his dad that is really a book for himself and my husband is always happy to read a book that doesn't require pushing a button to make Elmo sing and where a dad and his kid are the stars.Here are a few of the parent-pleasing and kid-satisfying books we adore that are an easy and sweet last-minute-pick-up present sure to bring lon-time reading pleasure to father and child:

The Daddy Mountain by Jules Feiffer has hilarious illustrations that center on the simple story of a girl climbing up her father's body in her excitement to see him. Do warn dad that it will naturally inspire your wee one to leap into the air onto the big man's shoulders.

My Daddy is a Pretzel by Baron Baptiste is a yogafied introduction into the unique occupations parents have. It includes corresponding yoga poses with instructions for moivng in and out of them together. Watching a toddler interpret the pose is just as much fun as watching the daddy try to get himself out of it.

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen is a stunning book about a father and daughter who take a walk in hopes of encountering a magnificent owl.

Daddies Are For Catching Fireflies by Harriet Ziefert is not the most progressive or complex book but it has cute illustrations and is one my son reaches for over and over again. I admit, I bought it in the grocery store toy aisle, and have been surprised at how happy I've even been to read it.