Flashback Friday: 26 Fairmount Avenue

Tomie dePaola has long been a favorite children's picture book author of mine. His Streganona series is hilarious and sweet. We've read dozens of his books from his Bible stories to his Native American legends. I'm almost ashamed to admit that I never even knew about his 26 Fairmount series until several months ago when I stumbled upon the first one at our local used bookstore.

26 Fairmount Avenue is the first book in dePaola's autobiographical early chapter book readers series. The story begins with the hurricane that hit his hometown of Meriden, CT in 1938 and continues through his kindergarten year until his family finally moves into their long awaited new house at 26 Fairmount Avenue. Each chapter contains a nearly independent story of an event that happened in dePaola's life during that period from spending time with his great grandmother, Nana Upstairs, to watching Disney's Snow White on the big screen and is woven with updates to the house that dePaola's family was building during that time. These events are relayed with dePaola's knack for beautiful storytelling. His ability to tell historical events through the lens of a young child brims with charm. My 7-year-old and I couldn't put the story down, and he's already asking for other books in the series to read on his own.

The Fourteenth Goldfish

Ellie, beginning middle school with a best friend who has just found a passion in volleyball, is dismayed over the changes happening in her life when a surly, grouchy teenager steps into her life. This teenager happens to be her grandfather, a scientist made young again as the result of an anti-aging experiment. Forced to attend school with Ellie, Melvin, her grandfather, has a contentious relationship with Ellie's mother, despite their reversed roles. Worse, he's been kicked out of his own scientific laboratory as a trespassing teenager! As Ellie tries to help her grandfather retrieve his scientific formula, she learns about famous scientists, her mother's rebellion in choosing the arts over science, and even her own proclivity toward scientific thinking.

This is the first book I've read by Jennifer L. Holm. The cover art is eye-catching and cute in this fun and engaging middle grade read. The story is charming while departing astute observations on family dynamics. Ellie's divorce parents not only parent without dysfunction, but they are actually friendly toward each other. And Ellie discovers that despite her grandfather's and mother's oil-and-water relationship, she actually identifies with her grandfather's scientific obsession. The Fourteenth Goldfish is a humorous, enjoyable, speedy read, not laden with heavy vocabulary, and filled with realistic, identifiable characters. I hope we'll see more middle grade books coming from Jennifer L. Holm!

The Year of Billy Miller

My rising second grader and I recently finished reading the Newbery Honor title, The Year of Billy Miller, together. I was thrilled when I first heard about Billy's story. The early chapter book genre is in dire need of some fresh lovely works and Billy Miller fills that void nicely. Aside from the classic Ramona series, there really aren't many beautifully written books for the not-yet-middle-grade chapter book readers, at least not that are written about them. Henkes captures the 7-year-old boy's thoughts, motivations, and fears perfectly. Billy Miller reminded me so much of some combination of my own boys, and his story features charming language covering the simple, yet complex, challenges of every day life.

Billy Miller visits the Jolly Green Giant on vacation prior to starting second grade. He falls over a guardrail, and although he's not seriously injured, he does develop a lump on his head, a lump that is still visible at the beginning of school. After overhearing his parents discussing his injury, Billy worries that he might not be smart enough for second grade. His dad reassures him that this is "The Year of Billy Miller". Throughout the story, Billy feels misunderstood by his teachers, worries about his father's success as an artist, is alternately annoyed and comforted by his little sister, dislikes to his classmate, builds a bat diorama for school, and writes about his mother for the second grade poetry slam. 

Each part of the year is broken into the sections Teacher, Father, Sister, Mother. My own almost-second grader particularly connected to the Sister section. He sighed and declared it his favorite when we finished. Henkes writing is beautiful descriptive, such as when Billy first spots Grace Cotter in his class:

Grace Cotter slipped into her chair. Billy had known Grace since kindergarten. She was so shy she seemed almost invisible. Like vacuums, her wide eyes were sucking in everything.

Although The Year of Billy Miller is a stand-alone novel, I found myself wishing at the end that Billy's story would continue. His family became so familiar that Henkes could easily write a follow-up novel in a year or two.

You can find The Year of Billy Miller in the Early Elementary Read Alouds section of The Book Children Store.

Rules

School is out for the summer, and Catherine is not exactly looking forward to spending it without her best friend, who is visiting her father out-of-state over the summer break. Catherine learns that a girl her age is moving in next door, and although she desires a new summer friend (someone she can use flashlights to blink Morse code with at night), she worries that the new girl won't understand her younger brother, David, who is autistic. In an effort to curb some of David's social behaviors, Catherine creates rules for him, such as "No toys in the fish tank." or "Late doesn't mean not coming." While Catherine is attempting to make a new friend next door, she discovers that with little effort she's managed to make a friend at David's therapy clinic. Jason is a mute paraplegic who communicates through a word book, and Catherine, upon discovering he only has boring words, offers to make some hip words with pictures for him. As her friendship with Jason grows, and she tries harder to become friends with the girl next door, Catherine realizes that defining relationships can be complicated. 

When I asked my oldest 3 kids which books were the top 5 that they would recommend to other children, Rules was the very first book my 11 year old mentioned. (Before the Hobbit, even! That's high praise coming from the most sensitive member of this household.) Upon reading Rules, which won a Newbery Honor award, I could definitely understand why he was so moved by this book. The language in speaking of autism, and the feelings and actions of the other family members, rings with an authenticity that generates the backbone of this novel. Catherine is such a relatable character, full of practical observations, and with more responsibility thrust upon her than most kids her age. Although many of the issues in this book, such as Catherine's desire to befriend the girl next door and her ambivalent friendship with Jason, were not wholly resolved, the way Lord ended the book felt satisfying and realistic as life often doesn't wrap up neatly with tidy resolutions to relationship challenges.

You can find Rules in the Middle Grade Books - Philip Recommends section of The Book Children Store.

a Mother's Day book list

To celebrate Mother's Day, I'd like to share a list of my favorite books about mothers and their special relationship with their children. Although there are many lovely books in publication depicting mothers, these are a few of my person favorites. I hope you find an old favorite or a new gem among this list.

Time for Bed - Although this book doesn't specifically address mothers, the pictures depict a sweet interaction between an animal mother and her baby on each double page spread. The text on each is a rhyming lullaby to help baby to sleep and expresses a lovely sentiment. All of my babies loved this bedtime story, and I always enjoyed reading it to them.

Owl Babies - I didn't discover this gem until my youngest was a baby, but it quickly became a favorite. It succinctly addresses the fear of many little ones when mommy is gone, whether it's to the store for a quick trip, or to the bathroom with--horror of horrors--the door closed. Even though my baby is now 7, he still reaches for this book on occasion.

Are You My Mother? - This is the only book on the list that I remember and love from my own childhood. A baby bird's search for his mother is complicated by the fact that he isn't quite sure what she looks like. Hilarity ensues and makes for a perfect first reader for the preschool or early elementary set.

The Kissing Hand - My daughter discovered this book when she was 3, and it became a nightly read for her. Although the separation mentioned in this book is because of school, many children relate to the notion of holding onto their mother's kisses regardless of why they are separated. My youngest did a unit of this during kindergarten, and it quickly became a favorite of his as well.

Ramona and Her Mother - Ramona is 7 (and a half!) in this Ramona book and struggling a bit with growing up. She's jealous of her older sister and discovering that families occasionally have problems. Her relationship with her mother is going through some changes as well, and Ramona can't understand why she can't just remain her mother's little girl. Fortunately, Cleary provides hope for all children who feel misunderstood. As children grow older and the relationship with their mothers evolve, Ramona and Her Mother does an excellent job of helping them navigate those sometimes turbulent years.

Little Women - Little Women. How could any list of books about motherhood not include the loving, progressive Marmee. A pillar of strength in time of trouble, Marmee represents the best attributes of all of our mothers. Marmee is wise, steadfast, hard-working, a counsellor in time of trouble. She has strong principles and believes that the poorest members of society are just as important as the wealthiest. She raises her daughters to chase their dreams and believe in their talents. In my opinion, Marmee is the perfect role model of motherhood, yet even she admits she used to have a temper.

Suzette and Nicholas

Satomi Ichikawa's Suzette and Nicholas In The Garden is a treat for the eyes, one of those books that almost renders the words pointless because the pictures are so amazing that the book would be hard pressed to be made better or worse by the text. I stumbled on this lovely gem at a book sale benefit and my eye was immediately caught by the almost wallpaper look of the cover.

When I opened the book, I was struck by the beautiful soft color of the illustration, lovely rendering of the gardens, and the sweet floral frame surrounding the text on each page.

The illustrations definitely have a bit of Japanese flair and wonderful pops of color make the scenes burst alive with springy air. You can almost smell the blooms and feel the warm sun on your face as Nicholas and Suzette travel through the garden surrounding their home.

It seems like a fitting tribute on this Earth Day. A book so full of pictures of a lovely garden and children enjoying the gardens. Even as they climb garden walls, peer into the pond, pull their baby brother in a wagon along the paths of blooms and investigate the insects therein, you see a childhood full of nature and children who appreciate this nature to it's fullest.

Happy Earth Day!

Where Do They Go When It Rains?

One of my favorite spring books to return to the seasonal book basket last week was Where Do They Go When It Rains? Aside from the crazy acquisition of the book and the endearing adventure we had last spring based on it's contents, this story is so charming and gentle that my littlest one heads for it again and again.

From the sweet illustrations Gerda Muller never fails to deliver, to the irresistible frolicking of the children throughout the farm, to the authentic glimpses into the animals, bugs and other farm happenings, you'll wish you had a grandmother with a farm to visit!

Finn's favorite, of course, are the pigs rolling in their mud. Now he's asking to visit a pig farm. :) Surely there must be one near us...we'll have to check into that!

At the end of an action-packed day full of farm fun and roaring thunderstorm, a beautiful rainbow appears in the clearing sky. An invitation to return to this sweet farm soon.

Ruth Krauss favorites

The first time I remember seeing this book was as an adult and it caught my eye because the boy on the cover so closely resembled the boy from my beloved The Little Fish That Got Away. There's a very good reason for that! It turns out that Crockett Johnson illustrated both books. Not only that, but he was married to Ruth Krauss, the author of The Carrot Seed, which is one of the longest published children's book. This lovely classic has been in print continuously since 1945!

Once I fell in love with the boy character similarity, I realized the text of the book is amazingly similar in style to the fishing book as well. I really like that simple repetitious text of many early children's books. It makes for a great first reading book.

The artwork is quite lovely in it's simplicity as well. I think you can really concentrate on the important points when you aren't bombarded by thousands of pictorial details on a single page. (Not that those books don't have their place too, as evidenced by Finn's love of Findus and Pettson.)

Another one of my favorite Ruth Krauss books is The Backward Day. Most children seem to love to see the ordinary turned extraordinary and having an entirely backward day is certainly extraordinary!

Finn giggles with glee when we get to the page where the boy puts his underwear on over his clothes. Oh, the humor of it all!

The illustration in this book is classic 1950s from the tablecloth to the hairstyles to the narrow variety of color. I love it! I also think it's very special to see the family of this little boy participate in his backward day and not just stare oddly at him. How refreshing for little readers to think they can mix up life and have their family joyously participate.

And "when backward day is done, backward day is done." And everyone just goes about their business like it's an ordinary day after all.

Owl Moon

Owl Moon was first introduced to me through a reading-in-schools program I participated in when Elizabeth was about 3. She and I proceeded to check it out from our local library many times, especially during the coldest parts of the winter. I'm not really sure why it never found it's way into our permanent collection.

Earlier in the year, when my mother was asking about Christmas presents for the kids, she asked me if Finn had a copy of Owl Moon. When I answered "no", she determined that he should have a copy, which proved to be a good call as it is now one of his favorites.

Winner of the 1988 Caldecott medal, Owl Moon showcases the beauty and expanse of a snowy winter on a farm. The perfect bedtime story, it whispers quiet winter softness and you can practically hear the echo of father's who-ing.

The illustrations depicting the owl's point-of-view are a beautiful change of pace when they appear. You'll find yourself wondering how you might find your way to a snow-covered farm for a bit of late-night owling.

As you can see, Finn didn't take kindly to my kidnapping his book for even a few photos. I think this will certainly remain a treasured piece of our winter book basket for years to come.