BEDTIME-STORY for Busy Business-Parents is a site that offers e-books or books online. The quality of the stories vary greatly, but the classics are certainly worth looking at, especially because of the vintage illustrations combined with the text.
Month: September 2005
Harry Potter Lexicon
The Harry Potter Lexicon is the most comprehensive reference to the Harry Potter universe. It offers an atlas, encyclopedia of spells, bestiary, who’s who, history, muggle studies, Hogwarts details, and much more. Add to that the fact that it is gorgeously designed and fun to use, and you have a great resource to send your own wizards and muggles to visit.
Splendid Friend, Indeed
A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom is one of those picture books that has to be read aloud to be truly enjoyed. It is the story of an annoying duck and a studious bear. The bear is trying to read and is interrupted by the duck’s chatter. The bear tries to write instead and is again interrupted, and finally gets quite grumpy when he is trying to think and the duck again interrupts. Finally, the duck heads off merrily to get snacks and returns with a note that charms the bear out of his grumps and returns them to being splendid friends again.
The key to reading aloud this book is to give the duck a startlingly horrid voice and cuts through everything. This was the final book I read to a Kindergarten class and they loved it. They got the humor of being interrrupted. The humor of the ducks annoying voice. And then were charmed by the ending in the same way the bear was. It was a triumphant end to a story time. Great fun for both the reader and the listener.
Chicken Spaghetti
Chicken Spaghetti is a children’s literature blog that covers a wide range of children’s literature subjects well. The blog’s author, Susan Thomsen, is an author and editor. Her writing is strong, on the mark, and fun to read. Definitely add this one to your must-read list.
Inter-galactic Playground
The Inter-Galactic Playground is a children’s literature blog with an emphasis on science fiction for children.
If Dogs Were Dinosaurs
If Dogs Were Dinosaurs by David M. Schwartz and illustrated by James Warhola looks like a book for preschool dinosaur lovers, but it is acutally a book for elementary-age children that demonstrates the math concept of relative size. The silly concepts combine wonderfully with the vivid illustrations, bringing humor and fun to math. Children will enjoy the book and it easily extrapolates into them coming up with their own relative size humor. Recommend this one to elementary math teachers to get it into the right hands.
How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? by Jane Yolen with illustrations by Mark Teague is another success in Yolen’s How Do Dinosaurs picture book series. The books combine huge realistic dinosaurs with vintage feel homes and families. The dinosaurs first show kids how not to act at the table and then demonstrate how to be polite diners. I have used the previous books in storytimes and they work very well. Just be prepared to find the long dinosaur names on each page and pronounce them for the group. This one will be great in a food-related storytime.
Children's Media Professional's Community
April Pulley Sayre has created the Children’s Media Professional’s Community, an online forum for people working in children’s media, like educators, publishers, booksellers, illustrators, authors, librarians, and agents. Sections in the forum include ideas for professional success for specific professions, lesson plans, recommended books, cds and websites, business information, and publicity on new projects or job openings.
Via Cynsations.
Clara and Asha
Clara and Asha by Eric Rohmann, winner of the 2003 Caldecott Medal, is a wonderful picture book about a little girl and her imaginary friends. Clara isn’t sleepy, so she opens her bedroom window and in comes Asha, a gigantic blue and black fish. Clara tells the story of how she met Asha in the park and brought her home, the adventures they have had together, and then they go flying in the night sky side by side. It is a lovely gentle fantasy perfect for bedtime. Rohmann’s art is luminous and with its deep colors will remind reader’s of their own childhoods and the magic that they found there. Share this quiet story for pajama storytimes or with your own child. One can’t have better dreams than flying above the earth.
Waking Brain Cells 