Add this book to your collection: One Smart Cookie: Bite-Size Lessons for the School Years and Beyond by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

I can’t tell you how much I love this series! Amy, if you read this … I’d be thrilled to interview you!

©2010 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

Not long ago, I reviewed a few books that had mice as the main characters. Well, now the counterpoint to that: books with cats as the main characters!

A Cat Named Haiku

by Mark Poulton (Author), Dexter Weeks (Illustrator)

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Paperback: 42 pages

Publisher: Arcana Studio (2010)

Source of book: Publisher

In A Cat Named Haiku, author Mark Poulton tells us the story of a mischievous cat through the use of haiku, a form of Japanese poetry. The beautiful illustrations perfectly capture Haiku’s antics and the haiku poetry lyrically evokes all the trouble that the cat gets into. It’s a great combination and a perfect way to introduce little ones to different forms of writing and literature.

Add this book to your collection: A Cat Named Haiku

Said the Kitty to the Cat

by Vincent Spada (Author), Steve Whitlow (Illustrator)

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Paperback: 32 pages

Publisher: Top That! (2010)

Source of book: Author

In Said the Kitty to the Cat, author Vincent Spada tells us of a pair of fluffy cats, one large and one small. The story is told in rhyme and has a lovely, lilting quality–perfect for lulling little ones to sleep.

Add this book to your collection: Said the Kitty to the Cat

©2010 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

©2010 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

A new batch of stories have recently been translated into Spanish. Following are some interesting tales:

Mr. Groundhog Wants the Day Off

by Pat Stemper Vojta (Author), Esther Szegedy (Illustrator)

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Paperback: 32 pages

Publisher: Raven Tree Press (2009)

Source of book: Publisher

Mr. Groundhog Wants the Day Off by Pat Stemper Vojta follows the travails of a poor groundhog in the run-up to Ground Hog Day. He’s tired of all the pressure and tries to get his friends to step in for him instead. But his friends help him find ways to cope.

Add this book to your collection: Mr. Groundhog Wants the Day Off

Nathan Saves the Summer

by Gerry Renert (Author), Carrie Anne Bradshaw (Illustrator)

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Paperback: 32 pages

Publisher: Raven Tree Press (2010)

Source of book: Publisher

Nathan Saves Summer by Gerry Renert tells the tale of a hippo that wants to be a life guard. His animal friends try to dissuade him–the pond they’re swimming in just isn’t big enough for Nathan. But Nathan perseveres and proves that size shouldn’t be a determining factor, drive should be.

Mom’s Choice Award (Gold Recipient: Adventure, Adventurers & Heroes)

Add this book to your collection: Nathan Saves the Summer

Grandma’s Pear Tree

by Suzanne Santillan (Author), Atilio Pernisco (Illustrator)

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Paperback: 32 pages

Publisher: Raven Tree Press (2009)

Source of book: Publisher

In Grandma’s Pear Tree by Suzanne Santillan, Jessie disobeys his grandmother’s order to not play near her pear tree. He gets a ball stuck in the tree and asks his grandfather for help. But his grandfather is busy, so he gives him an idea instead….Jessie ends up in bigger trouble than before. This amusing tale isn’t fully translated into Spanish but some key terms are and it makes for a very lyrical reading!

Add this book to your collection: Grandma’s Pear Tree

©2010 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

Whether your children have yet to start school or they’re struggling with reading at a beginning or intermediate level, it is your responsibility to see that they are getting the proper education.  A strong foundation in reading at an early age is the cornerstone for everything else they will learn down the road, and it can influence related subjects like writing and comprehension, as well as seemingly disparate topics from history and geography to math and science.  So in order to ensure that they are starting their education off on the right foot, you might want to work on reading at home before they even start school and continue throughout their early education.  Here are a few tips to get your enterprise off the ground.

1. Start with the alphabet. You know the song and you can start teaching it to kids as soon as they say their first words.  Familiarizing them with letters early on will make it easier to associate them with symbols when you want to start teaching them to read, which many parents try to do as early as age three.  You shouldn’t expect too much from them right away as children develop at different rates and you don’t want to push them to the point of frustration, but some kids do grasp the correlation between symbols and sounds more quickly than you anticipate.
2. Try rhyming. This is a good way to help your children focus their auditory skills as you prepare them to read.  They’ll become familiar with groups of sounds that will make it easier when they begin to try sounding out words on a page.
3. Use the phonics method. This is basically a system of teaching that relies on a child’s ability to memorize the sounds associated with letters and letter groupings and then apply that knowledge to sounding out whole words.  You’ll want to start out simply with single-syllable words, then move on to words with multiple syllables before you even attempt more difficult words, phrases, or whole sentences.  There are plenty of resources that you can either purchase or find free on the web to help you with this teaching method.
4. Improve memory. Play memory games with your child to help them learn to flex their mental muscles, focus, and retain information.  There are all kinds of simple memory games you can play, but the best ones for your purpose will include words that sound alike or all start with a certain letter.
5. Use the whole language method. This form of teaching is a rival to phonics and there is some debate over which is the better technique.  While phonics are essential to reading in the long term, the process can cause some initially difficulty for children who have trouble memorizing the rules associated with language.  The whole language system, on the other hand, encourages children to memorize whole words in order to encourage successful reading more quickly.  Unfortunately, this may make it more difficult for them to learn new words later on (unlike the sounding-out of phonics).  However, it is not necessary to choose one method over the other.  A combination of practices may be your best bet to get your child reading and keep them on track with expanding their vocabulary.

Breana Orland writes for Medical Coding Certification website where you can find information on a career in medical billing and coding industry.

©2010 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

Add this book to your collection: How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills

©2010 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

The Legend of the Acai: Retold and Illustrated by Montserrat Lehner

Hundreds of years ago, a land of plenty existed in the Amazon Rainforest. A tribe of people lived there and enjoyed the rich flora, food, and beauty. Men fished and hunted, while women raised their children and harvested the crops.

One summer, a terrible drought leaves the people with no food. The tribesmen have to travel great distances in order to bring their families sustenance. A darkness overtakes the people and their land.

Itaki, chief of the tribe, has to make a very difficult decision that will affect all members of the tribe. Sorrow fills their hearts; the birds stop their singing and the animals leave. Itaki’s beautiful  daughter, Iaça learns she is to have a baby soon. But with the sacrifices her people have to make, she knows she must make a difference before her baby is born. She does – making an exotic discovery – one that exists to this day.

Montserrat Lehner combines her love of nature with a beautiful story that teaches the importance of preserving our resources. This story, illustrated with vivid and colorful pictures by the author, delivers a message to readers, from 2 to 102, about the wonders of the Rainforest and how crucial it is to protect it. Lehner is an artist, author and educator, who grew up in Colombia, where she fell in love with the colors, shapes and sounds of this stunning country. She is currently writing two children’s books and lives with her family in Florida.

Publisher’s website: http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TheLegendOfTheAcai.html
Author’s website: http://www.thelegendoftheacai.com

Author Showcase: A place for authors and illustrators to gain visibility for their works. Titles featured in the Author Showcase have not been reviewed by The Children’s Book Review, and reflect the thoughts of the author, illustrator, or publishing company. Read more …

©2010 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

Add this book to your collection: Kindergarten Diary by Antoinette Portis.

Antoinette Portis is one of my all-time favorites. If you haven’t read Not a Box and Not a Stick, you are seriously missing out. They are both highly imaginative books that are executed in simple, concrete perfection.

©2010 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

Immersing children in literacy activities can help them improve their reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar, and spelling skills. There are a number of organizations and sites that provide online activities, teaching tips, and free books for children. Here are 20 sites to explore over the summer.

National Children’s Literacy Website – This non-profit organization is dedicated to improving and promoting children’s literacy in child care and home settings. Helpful materials on the National Children’s Literacy Website include general literacy tips, advice on teaching children to read, educational activities, story-time tips, and links to additional resources.

Reading Comprehension – The University of Connecticut provides a wide range of literacy resources for children and adolescents. Resources include vocabulary instruction, text comprehension instruction, teaching strategies, and a list of websites offering comprehension practice.

Literacy Zone – Created by Woodlands Junior School in the UK, Literacy Zone offers online literacy games and activities to help children improve spelling, grammar, punctuation, and writing skills.

StoryPlace – StoryPlace is a digital library created specifically for children. Library materials include free online books, online activities, take-home activities, and reading lists for preschool and elementary students.

Starfall – Starfall relies on phonics to help children learn how to read. The site offers movies, interactive games, and engaging activities for readers in pre-k to second grade.

The Baldwin Online Children’s Project – The Baldwin Project makes classic books freely available to children online. The project publishes books that are in the public domain (books published before 1923). Books are sorted by author, titles, genre, and subgenre.

International Children’s Digital Library – This online library hosts nearly 5,000 high-quality digital books in more than 50 different languages. Books contain both text and illustrations and can be discussed in a community forum.

Storynory – This site publishes a new audio story each week. Storynory offers both classic stories and original tales that have been adapted from stories around the world.

Kiddie Records – Kiddie Records publishes recordings of children’s records that were made between the mid forties through the early fifties. Recordings include classic stories like Horton Hatches the Egg and Casey at the Bat. All of the recordings can be downloaded or played for free online.

DogEared – Dog Eared is a National Geographic book blog written by kids for kids. The blog offers reviews, book recommendations, and a book of the month feature.

RIF Reading Planet – Operated by the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit children’s literacy organization, the RIF Reading Planet provides book reviews and recommendations, an author showcase, reading activities, teaching strategies, and much more.

The Reading Tub – The Reading Tub is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting reading and literacy projects. The organization’s site offers a book zone and a special section for budding writers.

KidsLit – Operated by the director of the Menasha Public Library in Wisconsin, this blog offers book reviews and recommendations for children and young adults. New reviews are posted each week.

Grammar Girl – Grammar Girl Mignon Fogarty provides a free podcast that covers common grammar mistakes and issues. Each podcast episode lasts only a few minutes and provides easy-to-understand grammar advice and tips.

The Story Kitchen – Created by Bruce Van Patter, The Story Kitchen offers dozens of story starters to help inspire young writers. Each story beginning consists of a few paragraphs with a note at the end that encourages site visitors to finish the story.

Writing with Writers – Writing with Writers is a scholastic project that allows kids to work with authors and illustrators in special workshops designed to improve writing and literacy skills. The project also provides featured writing activities and step-by-step writing guides.

ClassMarker – ClassMarker makes it easy to test your child’s reading comprehension or vocabulary. The site allows you to make free online quizzes with multiple choice, true false, short answer, and fill in the blank questions.

Flashcard Maker – Scholastic’s Homework Hub Flashcard Maker is a good tool for children who need to learn sight words. They can test themselves online or print the flashcards to practice off the computer.

FreeRice – This UN World Food Program site offers a great vocabulary-building trivia game for students at any level. Every time a question is answered correctly, FreeRice donates ten grains of rice to hungry people.

Shelfari – Created specifically for book lovers, this social media site makes it easy for kids to track the books they have read and make a list of books they would like to read. Shelfari is also a good place to discover new books.

Guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about pharmacy technician education for PharmacyTechnicianCertification.com.



©2010 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

I’ve recently read a few new books that aim to teach our children Spanish the old-fashioned way: with songs and nursery rhymes. There are a plethora of computer programs that can be used to learn foreign languages but many language teachers will tell you that vocabulary and practice are the only real ways to learn a foreign language. What better way to learn new words and practice them over and over again, but by learning catchy songs and nursery rhymes?

Following are some recently published books that caught my eye:

Buenas Noches, Amigos

by Heide “Pina” Madera (Author), Christina Spangler (Illustrator)

Reading level: Ages 0-3

Paperback: 14 pages

Publisher: Sing-A-Lingo (2009)

Source of book: Publisher

Buenas Noches, Amigos by Heide “Pina” Madera is a “singable” book that can be incorporated into a child’s bedtime routine easily since it follows a little boy, his cat, and a mouse on their journey from bath to bed to sleep. The book comes with printed music and words for two songs and–in a more modern twist–these can be downloaded from the publisher’s website to accompany the bedtime routine.

Muu, Moo!: Rimas de animales/Animal Nursery Rhymes

by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy (Authors), Rosalma Zubizarreta (English versions) and Vivi Escriva (Illustrator)

Reading level: Ages 2-7

Hardcover: 48 pages

Publisher: HarperCollins (2010)

Source of book: Publisher

Muu, Muu! Animal Nursery Rhymes by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy is a collection of traditional Spanish nursery rhymes and their English translations. The book is full of beautiful Latin American-inspired illustrations with lots of colorful images.

©2010 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.