The Duchess of Whimsy

This is a story about a girl after my own heart!  She fell for a grilled cheese sandwich.  Not really but I have to say that anyone who can make a great grilled cheese sandwich is a winner in my book!  This is an adorable book about a fancy, lively princess and a plain, normal prince.

My kids love this story and I don't know if it is because the story is original and fun or if it is because the pictures are colorful and enchanting.  I do know their favorite page is when the princess is staring down the grilled cheese sandwich!  They won't let me turn the page until they have memorized every detail of it.  I caught my daughter out of the corner of my eye trying to make the same faces as the princess the other day.  It was hilarious!

Randall de Seve is the author of this and other cute children's books.  In an interview she said that she wanted to write stories that kids and their parents would want to read over and over again.  I think she mastered this perfectly!

This book is illustrated by her husband Peter de Seve.  He has done a lot of great illustrations over the years.  These two make a fantastic team!

I'm gonna go make grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch but you should go find yourself a copy of this book.  Toodle-loo!

Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes

Am I as easy going as Pete the Cat?  Goodness, No!  Would I like to be?  Most definitely!

This book is just splendid and a lot of fun to read!

My favorite part is the lessons that it is teaching my children:

Lesson #1

They are learning colors.

Lesson #2

Learning to RELAX and enjoy the ride.

Lesson #3

They are learning that their mom CAN'T sing.

(This lesson may only apply to my kids)

Eric Litwin and James Dean have made a very fun book for all ages.  It is the perfect length for bedtime and I have caught my kids singing "I love my white shoes" multiple times this last week.  Click on Eric's name and watch the video on his site of two adorable little girls reading this book!

So put on your shoes and go grab yourself a copy of Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes.

Bedtime for Mommy

Bedtime for Mommy?  Does that ever happen? 

At my house when Mommy goes to bed the following takes place.  One by one my three children take turns coming down to my room, stalking up to my side of the bed in the dark, in complete silence, then sit there...STARING.

On some level I can feel I'm being watched and slowly I brace myself for an attacker and roll over to find little tiny eyeballs boring a hole in me.

"Uh, Mo-uhm, I need to go potty."

"Mommy, I had a bad dream about a really fast spider, and it was chasing me!"

"Mom, I can't find my blanket and I think the monster under my bed took it...Can you come check?"

"Um, Mom?" I lay in silence hoping it is a bad dream but then, "Mom? Can I have more water please?"

The last request, as I'm sure you all know, leads back around to the first request to go potty.

So when I saw this title I HAD to get it.  To my horror, my kids laughed when we read it.  I informed them that this is how it was going to go from here on out and they should take this seriously, again to my horror,  they laughed!  To be fair, it is hard not to laugh while reading this book.  It is very comical to see the bedtime roles reversed!

Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a magnificent author who has written a ton of books including It's Not Fair (one of my alltime FAVORITE stories). I know it can be scary looking for decent children's books but I dare say any of the books written by Amy will be fun for you and your kids.  Maybe a little more fun for you but what your kids don't know won't kill them, right?!

LeUyen Pham sounds like a really fun person, in fact she sounds a little bit like my mom (who is the coolest!).  LeUyen is pronounced Le Win and her illustrations are light and comical and make this story even more fun!

There is even a Bedtime For Mommy Contest on the books website.  Click the link to view the details!

Until next time, goodnight!

My Heart Is Like A Zoo

My Heart Is Like A Zoo has stolen my heart!  I really don't know how else to describe how amazing this book is.  Michael Hall has an amazing talent.  He made animals solely out of hearts!  I can't tell you how great I think this book is and you may have noticed that when I have too many things running through my small little head I have to make a list to get it all down. 

So here's my list of things I love about this book.

1.  I love the bright bold pictures.

2.  I love looking and counting how many hearts each picture has.

(Don't mock me...you'll wanna do it too!)

3.  I love the simple fun phrases on every page that totally describe everyday emotions.

4.  Josh (2 yrs old) said one word, "Again!" when I finished reading it.

5.  Sydney (5 yrs old) said "That book is a real zoo Mom!"

6.  Ryan (3 yrs old) said, "Okay, just one more time and then one more time again."

7.  Kirkus Reviews(really critical and hard to please) and a bazillion other people

said they LOVED this book!

(His own mother even said it was "Brilliant" and mom's never lie about how great their kids are :)!)

Come on, with all those hearts, was anyone not going to feel LOVE after reading this book?  Go to the website for this book (there's a beaver moonwalking on it, need I say more?).  Click on the link that says "Trailer".  It will give you a glimpse into what is so special about My Heart Is Like A Zoo.  So go spread the love and tell all your friends about this amazing book! 

Cupcake

A few months ago I mentioned that Cupcake would be coming out so you might have already read this one.  If not, there is no better time to read Charise Mericle Harper's book than now.  What's not to love about a plain 'nilla cupcake whose friend the Candle is trying to find her the perfect topping.  As with life, sometimes what you really need has been right there in front of you all along.  (My favorite part is the squirrel...you'll have to read it to see what I mean!)

Charise does an excellent job with fun colorful pictures and an adorable story line.  She is an extremely talented lady, not only did she write and illustrate this book, she sewed a little cupcake for her nepehew Henry.  This book would have been adorable no matter what the main character was but being a cupcake makes it all the more delicious in my book!  My kids are glued to the pages because for some reason they think that if we read this enough times I will actually MAKE THEM CUPCAKES.  Dear sweet kids, so full of youthful hope!

Just like this little vanilla cupcake, this book is perfect for any occasion!

Tikki Tikki Tembo

Tikki Tikki Tembo is a story about how the Chinese used to name their first born sons l  o  n  g names that held great meaning and why that tradition ended.  The story behind it is pretty funny however you may not have enough breath left to laugh after you read Tikki tikki tembo's name multiply times.

I was so EXCITED that I found this book.  I was in the second grade when I first heard this book and we had it read to us enough times that I still have Tikki Tikki Tembo's full name memorized.  I loved this book and for years have looked for it.  All I had to go off of was the name I remembered but I didn't know the spelling and so I had tried to sound it out.  I was wrong on the spelling by A LOT and so never found it until...a walk through Barnes and Noble and I caught this out of the corner of my eye!  At long last I have found this book!

Just because I had this read to me in the second grade does not mean that younger kids won't like it.  My kids are ages two to five and they all like it as well.  The two year old routinely falls asleep while I'm reading it while the other two sit there quietly and listen.  Either reaction is a good reaction in my book.

Arlene Mosel is the woman responsible for this great book!  I am not sure which is more special to me, the book or the memories it brings back.  Regardless, I hope to read this to my kids enough times that they can recite the whole name back when they are my age and that it brings them good memories too. 

For those of you who are planning to read this for the first time I'm going to give you a little help.  Here is how I learned to pronounce Tikki Tikki's name :

Tick-y tick-y tem bow   no sa rem bow   cherry berry ru chee   pip perry pem bow

Enjoy and don't forget about the contest!

Dinosaurs Love Underpants

Really?  I need to do more than just show you the cover of this book to make you want to read it?  Okay then, this book is beyond comical.  It is rhyming, humorous, and a guaranteed winner with your kids!

I have a son that is two and has been potty trained, however, now that he is not wearing diapers he thinks he doesn't have to wear anything.  I think the root of the problem is that he wants his undies off so all the other clothes have to come off for him to get to the cause of his discomfort.  My oldest two children suffer from MSMD Syndrome (monkey see monkey do) and so once the youngest is declothed, I have a little nudist colony on my hands.  I got this book because they love dinosaurs and I was hoping once they saw that dinosaurs loved undies they would start loving theirs. 

I am sorry to inform you that if you stop by to visit you will most likely see a naked child but they DO love this book! 

 Claire Freedman and Ben Cort do an incredible job with this book and for those of you who may suffer in silence over your own little nudist colony but are afraid Dinosaurs wouldn't entice your kids enough, try Aliens Love Underpants.  Claire and Ben's most recent release is Aliens in Underpants Save the World. 

I gotta run, my son just ran outside and is jumping on the trampoline...

naked!

Claire and Ben can you write a book called Joshua Loves Underpants?

JUST A REMINDER...

Don't forget about our little contest!

For those of you who missed the contest post, here is a recap:

30 (or more) Followers

by April 15th, 2010

and

New Followers will receive one entry

Already Loyal Followers (the original 15) will receive three entries

into a drawing for:

One of the books reviewed during the month of March

and a bunch of Easter Candy

(because my husband bought enough for three families)

So...keep spreading the word!

The Jellybeans and the Big Dance

With a cover like this, there was no way my daughter was going to let us out of the library without it.  Not to mention, what kind of MOM would I be if I didn't allow my daughter to check out a book with ballerinas on the front and the word JELLYBEAN written boldly across the front of it this close to Easter?  Not a very COOL one, that's for sure!  Thankfully I lucked out.  It is a great book about persistence and jellybeans!

Nate Evans and Laura Numeroff co-authored this energetic, tutu clad book.  Most of you already know Laura Numeroff from my other favorite book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and that means you also know that you can't really go wrong with one of her books!  (phew!)  It is nice having some constants in this crazy world.  Nate Evans has done this book as well as lots of other books and if you click on his name you'll find all of them.  They look awesome and are going on my list of books to check out very, very soon! 

Lynn Munsinger did a splendid job with all the little dancers and their costumes!  They are so cute you wish they were real! 

Finally, it's time for the most exciting news of all (can you hear the drumroll?).  The Jellybeans don't stop here!  There is another Jellybean book called The Jellybeans and the Big Book Bonanza. 

Have a wonderful Easter weekend, and don't forget the Jellybeans!

Little Blue Truck Leads the Way

This is a fantastic book for all the children in your life.  Not only will your little boys (and little girls) love it, nay...CRAVE it, but you can feel good about reading it over and over and over and over and over when they beg you for it without ceasing because it teaches a very important lesson.  I find myself constantly hollering over the hollering, "Take turns!  Share!  Take Turns!"  This book teaches both.  In fact, instead of yelling, "Take Turns Dang IT!"  I have adopted a calmer, almost Zen-like approach where I say in my sweetest mom voice, "What Would Blue Do?"  (Okay, I know I'm not fooling anyone when I say I'm now calm and sweet but it HAS helped even my attitude a tid bit!)

Alice Schertle and Jill McElmurry are a great team.  I was thrilled when I was looking up this book and saw that not only is there Little Blue Truck Leads the Way but there is also the book that started it all, Little Blue Truck.  I can guarantee that you will enjoy reading this book to your kids the 800th time just as much as you did the first time, and isn't that what reading children's books is all about?