Down with the kids

Olivia

We have a new favourite book in our household! Olivia is a cheeky little pig that really makes you laugh! The illustrations are incredibly witty, Ian Falconer has captured the ego-centrism, magic and unbridled enthusiasm of preschoolers perfectly.

Olivia’s biggest talent is wearing people out - something all parents of little kids can relate to! She also has a little brother who loves to copy her, and occasionally needs discouragement. It’s just like real life!

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Imagine

Alison Lester is an Australian writer. Her books are very clever, with captivating illustrations and beautiful language, they celebrate the magic of childhood and imagination!

Imagine is a favorite for both Big Sis and Little Bro, the first page of each “part of the story”, starts with “Imagine..” and then a scenario, like the jungle or under the sea, and an illustration of kids playing make believe.

On the next page the kids are transported to the real place and surrounded by a detailed landscape. This invites a game of - “what is this?” The answers are set out in the back of the book so the grown ups can make sure they get them right!

The detail in the pages and the delightful scenarios of the kids playing make it a joy to read. The kids love spotting all the background detail and even Little Bro now recognises a pterodactyl!

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Where the Wild Things Are

This book is a favorite. Maurice Sendak takes us back to a time when you could send your kids to bed without their supper! Imagine that!

The little boy Max then travels to the place “where the wild things are” and tames them to become their king. They wear themselves out making a “wild rumpus”, then Max returns home, missing the place where “someone loves him best of all”!

I love the beautiful turn of phrase in this book:

But the wild things cried “Oh please don’t go-

we’ll eat you up-we love you so!”

And Max said, “No!”

The pictures are amazing - monsters looking, well, just like monsters should! Max is debonair, dressed in a smart wolf suit throughout.

Kids literature doesn’t get any better than this - DSO and I will be reading it to each other long after the kids have grown out of it!

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What to Expect When Mummy’s Having a Baby

When I was pregnant with Little Bro I searched around for books to explain to Big Sis what was about to happen and how it would change her life. I found some good ones, which I will review later. This pregnancy she is 2 years older and needs slightly different books. The thing is, Big Sis has got all technical on me!

She’s been asking lots of questions, for example:

• How does the baby come out? (a particularly good one!)
• Does it hurt if the baby kicks you?
• How does the baby eat?

What I need is a book that gives us a jumping off point to talk about the reality of the baby in my tummy. The closest I’ve found is “What to Expect When Mummy’s Having A Baby” by Heidi Murkoff.

Heidi Murkoff is the co-author of the “What to Expect” series of grown up books, and let me say I am no fan of these! I dutifully bought “What To Expect When You Are Expecting” and “What To Expect In the First Year” when I was pregnant with Big Sis. The tone of the books are judgmental and prescriptive with all the fun and magical bits sucked out, information is delivered with thinly veiled prejudice. It was like being informed about the whole thing by a particularly sanctimonious old Aunt who you never got along with! I would read them in bed and invariably sigh and abuse her, in the end DSO hid them from me for the remainder of my gestation!

Having said that this kids book is very good! It deals with all the technical questions simply and clearly and has good illustrations. For some reason she has this weird dog called Angus who introduces everything. Neither Big Sis nor me see the point in the twee dog (we have discussed it at length), so we just ignore him. All in all its a good book for curious kids.

Now my explanation of the placenta, umbilical chord and the baby eating through its belly button has been backed up by a book I think Big Sis believes me, she was looking very skeptical before, and who can blame her? The whole thing does sound a bit like a fairy story!

What to Expect When Mommy’s Having a Baby (What to Expect Kids)

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A Monster Wrote Me A Letter

This is one of Big Sis’ favorite books. She loves monsters and this is the perfect story of a little boy’s encounter with a monster, that isn’t too scary! A monster writes a letter which by mistake ends up in the hands of a little boy, explaining that he is visiting on Saturday, the little boy not wanting to offend, writes back to firm up the arrangement and they then both spend the week preparing, each as nervous as the other!

The illustrations are fab and it even rhymes! I have to read it every night - and I gotta tell you, I look forward to it! A Monster Wrote Me A Letter is by Nick Bland and published by Scholastic Australia. Buy it for your little monster freak’s Santa stocking, they (and you) will love it!

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Fine Young Cannibal

Those fairy tales really are grim (excuse the pun).  We borrowed Hansel and Gretel from the library and I have been reading it to Big Sis.  I realised how closely she was paying attention when I opened my handbag at the shops today to discover she had filled it with torn up pieces of bread!  It was later the same day that I observed her loading her play oven with her baby dolls - “They are for eating mummy”, she calmly announced.

I’m a bit perplexed by how to react to this?  I mean, is it normal to role play a cannibalism?  Either way Hansel and Gretel might find it’s way to the back of the bookshelves for a while and we might focus on something a bit more cheery like good old Dr Seuss!

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Yesterday it rained, today it rained and boy was it cold! So, by this afternoon we were running low on the indoor activities! First we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and after a discussion crafted our own. Very inventive use of an egg carton if I do say so myself, and even Little Bro helped with the pasting!

You need:
egg carton
glue
scissors
pipe cleaner
pieces of coloured paper/tissue paper or confetti
pen or texta

Cut the egg carton so you have one row, and snip in at the bottom so it looks a bit like legs. Paste small pieces of the colored paper or confetti along the carton and attach the pipe cleaner as antenna. Draw your little fellas face and your done!

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