Homer Price

Although Robert McCloskey is probably better known for his picture books, Blueberries for Sal, Make Way for Ducklings, and One Morning in Maine, he also wrote a little gem of a chapter book titled Homer Price. Perfect for the newer chapter book reader, 2nd-3rd grade, Homer Price delivers equal parts humor, nostalgia, and entertaining adventure with a heaping dose of early 40s Americana. Homer's life is full of freedom tempered with responsibility, creativity along with occasional peril, wrapped in an Andy-Griffith-esque package.

Because each of the short stories are stand alone, I let my older kids pick and choose the order in which we read them about 3 years ago when I first read this book aloud. They, of course, were most interested in hearing the story about the doughnuts. The doughnut machine will not cooperate, a diamond bracelet is lost, and the finest marketing scheme in town is developed. The kids giggled with each development and couldn't wait to start the next story as soon as this one was finished. I don't think Finn really even heard much of this story, and I plan to read it aloud to him soon. There aren't too many books that I read aloud for a second time, but this is definitely one of them.

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Finn and I have been reading Mr. Popper's Penguins before his nap time every day for a couple of weeks. He was very attentive to this book and eager to continue when we picked it up again each day. I asked him to dictate a review for me, and here is his just-turned-5-years-old review:

Mr. Popper was a painter who painted people's houses. He went home, and he was reading about penguins at the Antarctic. And then a penguin came in the mail. His name was Captain Cook. Captain Cook got sick and then Greta came and made Captain Cook feel better. After Greta came, the penguins got all kinds of eggs, and the eggs hatched and made them have 12 penguins. Mr. Popper made ice in his basement, and Mrs. Popper would play the piano while the penguins danced and marched and made a show. Then they went to the theater to do their show and the people liked their show. At the end, the penguins went to the Arctic and Mr. Popper went with them.

I'm not sure why, but I really never heard of this classic until the movie came out. It's definitely a cute and entertaining read, especially for reading aloud to 4-6 year olds. The sparse illustrations are perfectly spaced and well-timed and add a sweet bit of whimsy to the novel, particularly Mr. Popper's character.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

When Elizabeth was in the first grade, she came home one afternoon talking incessantly about Edward Tulane. I listened with one ear as she regaled me with storied of Edward's various adventures, leaving out connecting details, as first graders often do. When the book fair came to Elizabeth's school and they offered this hardback copy at a reasonable price, Elizabeth begged and begged me to buy it to read it again to her. I relented...and a love affair began.

The following autumn I picked up The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane to read aloud to the kids. (Philip had just started kindergarten at the time, and I probably would have waited if I had read the book myself before I read it to the kids. He's a sensitive one, although ultimately, he handled this book very well and eagerly awaited each chapter.) I was no stranger to Kate DiCamillo, having read Because of Winn Dixie, but I was completely captivated by the language of Edward Tulane. His personality was so intricately developed that although his thoughts were arrogant and vain, you loved him in spite of his flaws as his spirit is continually broken during his despairing journey.

He travels from Abilene, who truly loves and cherishes Edward, to the bottom of the ocean floor, to the fisherman's wife, to the transient, to sickly, poor little girl, to the doll shop. Along his miraculous journey, he learns about life, and the various lessons that each owner teaches his eventually melts his frozen heart.

The ending is too precious and moving to give away here, but you'll be hard pressed to make it through the coda without a tear in your eye. The illustrations of Bagram Ibatoulline really lend an air of soft sensitivity to the story. He has a way of making a cold-hearted china rabbit look scared and distraught that really confers an emotional edge to the writing. I have to say that along with Inga Moore, he's one of my favorite illustrators of children's literature.

Hoglet the Spineless Hedgehog

I have a special guest reviewer for me today for Hoglet the Spineless Hedgehog, my oldest stepson, Paulie. The occasion that Hoglet came to join us was quite harrowing, and you can read about it here. As such, we've enjoyed his sweet presence in our home even more.

Summary: This book is about a spineless hedgehog named Hoglet. Hoglet will have to endure many things, such as starvation, frostbite, cats and owls. It will be especially hard for Hoglet because he is particularly small and, of course, has no spines. He has no clue what the future holds for him.

What I think: I thought this book was very entertaining. It was funny at first because he was very small and had no spines. But I soon became sorry for Hoglet because he didn't get a proper name. It was also suspenseful. For instance, when Hoglet was being carried off by the own, I thought he was a goner, but he wriggled free from the owl's talons. Sometimes it became scary, and I had to stop myself from leaning too close to the book. I was very happy when he got to Second Chance House and got his new name, Handsome!! I loved the story and wish there was a sequel.

Thank you, Paulie, for such a sweet review of a lovely, heartwarming tale. I'm sure Paulie's love of hedgehogs didn't color his review at all. ;)

We really did thoroughly enjoy this tale. As Paulie mentioned, there were a few tense scenes and even some sad parts, but his struggles proved to make the ending all the more satisfying. We are definitely looking forward to more of Allyson Marnoch's books!

Little House on the Prairie

What is the first thought that enters your head when you hear the words, "Little House on the Prairie"? I can scarcely ever hear those words without the theme song from the tv show entering my head. I know that not much can be written about Little House that hasn't been written before, but my kids are very much in a Little House phase right now, so here we are.

This evening during our family reading time, we will finish On The Banks of Plum Creek. We have been wading through the Little House series for more than a year now, with breaks between each book to bounce around to other literature. Last night, when I asked the kids what they would like to read next, all 3 of the older kids immediately replied, "the next Little House book."

And so I wondered, what is it about these books that remains timeless and appealing to my 21st century family. Even though we choose to live more simply than many folks in this day and age, we are a far cry from uprooting our family to travel via horse-drawn wagon across the countryside, living in a wagon until a new house can be built, and foraging/planting/hunting all of our own foods. Is it the real-life adventures by children so similar to them, yet so foreign in experiences? Is it the unflagging earnestness with which the Ingalls faced each hardship? Is it the secret naughtiness that Laura sometimes wishes she could express that they can identify with?

What do you think? What in this series still holds appeal for you and your children?

As a side note, the My First Little House books are a wonderful introduction to the magic of the Ingalls family for young children. We've purchased several used and they are all thoroughly enjoyed.

The illustrations are very true to the original style of Garth Williams' illustrations which lends a level of authenticity to the picture books that might be otherwise lacking.

Even though we buy these with Finn in mind, I often catch the older kids reading them and pouring over the illustrations. I think they wish they could visit this unusually magical, yet sometimes stark and frightening, place in time.

spreadin' the Bobbsey love (through a giveaway!)

I've mentioned a few times in the past (including the intro to this blog!) of my childhood love of the Bobbsey Twins. Through an unfortunate circumstance, I lost all of my childhood volumes that I spent many Christmases and birthdays collecting. Since then, I've always checked used bookstores and thrift shops hoping to catch someone offloading a Bobbsey Twin book or two but have been mostly unsuccessful. Even on eBay, most of the auctions I've seen would cost upwards to $200 to replace my entire collection.

Recently however, my luck in finding Bobbsey Twins books turned around in a big way. I found someone's old collection of about 20 Bobbsey Twins books at one of my favorite local used bookstores and within days found an auction on eBay that also had 20 books that were selling Buy It Now at less than $2/book. I now have something close to two-thirds of my original collection for less than $60. Of course, I realized that I would end up with a couple of duplicates. My duplicates are your gain! I'm offering a double giveaway of the following Bobbsey Twins books: The Bobbsey Twins' Adventure in Washington and The Bobbsey Twins The Secret At The Seashore.

The Secret At The Seashore is #3 in the series, although the books in this series can be read independently without needing context from previous books. Each chapter has a sketch of a main event. I can remember as a child how the pictures of the stories in my head were shaped by these sketches.

And in typical Bobbsey fashion, each book begins with the same description of the twins. Tall, slender dark-haired Bert and Nan and short, chubby blond Freddie and Flossie.

Adventure in Washington is #12. I remember feeling so much more informed about Washington, it's city, monuments, government buildings and even the political process after reading this book. What a joy it is to take the trip back to my childhood each time I read these. My own kids have really enjoyed them too. They were almost as excited as I was with our recent acquisition of so many volumes!

This giveaway will run from now through Friday at noon. At that time, I will draw 2 numbers to each win a book. To enter, simply leave me a comment (if you want to tell me about your favorite childhood book, that would be special too). To double your chances, become a follower of The Book Children (or be a current follower) and let me know in the comments. To gain another entry, blog about this giveaway and leave me a link in the comments. I'd love for another Bobbsey-lover to be born through this giveaway! :)

The winners are Bending Birches and Janice! Congrats. Email me with your address and I'll mail these out right away!

come visit Noisy Village

"In the winter the boys usually throw snowballs at each other during recess. In the spring they shoot marbles, and the girls play hopscotch. When the boys have nothing else to do they fight, and during class they get into all kinds of mischief, whether it's winter or spring."

~The Children of Noisy Village

I'm not sure where I first heard of these books, but in my opinion, the stories of these children from Noisy Village even surpasses Astrid Lindgren's more famous offering of Pippi Longstocking. The simple, sweet adventures of the children around the farm, on their way to and from school, and their holiday celebrations make for a fun and gentle read of farm life in Sweden in the 1940s.

In The Children of Noisy Village, the story is told from the perspective of Lisa who lives in middle farm with her two older brothers. Her friends who make up the rest of the children from noisy village live on either side of her farm in north and south farms. Together they squabble, tease and play their way through an idyllic Swedish childhood.

In the sequel, Happy Times in Noisy Village, the farm next door has a new baby, Lisa is a little older, but essentially there are more stories and adventures along the same vein as the previous book. This second adventure in Noisy Village includes losing teeth, capturing a musk oxen, finding a chest of the wizards, taking a baby lamb to school and learning how to babysit.

Another story including the Noisy Village children is Christmas in Noisy Village, a beautiful picture book depicting the celebratory activities around the Christmas season. All of my kids enjoy this addition to our Christmas-time book basket with it's joyous portrayal of the children's holiday gatherings.

Apparently there's another picture book in this series as well, Springtime In Noisy Village, but I have yet to snag a copy of this out-of-print book at a thrift store. So if you see one, grab it! ;)

Be sure to visit the Caps For Sale post and leave a comment, if you haven't already, so you can be entered into the giveaway!