Review: A Place for Elijah by Kelly Easton Ruben and Joanne Friar

It's okay to review a holiday book nowhere near the holiday, right? Good. Because Passover isn't until April.

9781467778411

$17.99

As Sarah's family prepares for Passover, Sarah makes sure to save a chair at the table for the prophet Elijah who is said to visit every seder. But when the electricity goes out in the buildings across the street and the neighbors start arriving at Sarah's apartment, her parents invite each visitor to join the seder. Sarah adds another place setting for Elijah, and then another, but soon the table is full with people from her neighborhood and there are no more chairs to spare! How can Sarah honor the Passover tradition of saving a place for Elijah?

Sounds like Thanksgiving at our house. Especially last year, when I joked that people should bring any random person they found on the side of the road, and someone actually did! Highlight of the day!

Seriously, the idea that everyone is welcome at the seder table has always been one of its most appealing aspects to me. Welcoming and sharing with everyone regardless of differences is never a bad thing to contemplate on, and it's especially timely during the winter holidays. It doesn't have to be limited to Passover or Thanksgiving or Christmas or any other holiday, though: without rehashing national news, I have been encouraged by reports of people going out of their way to make others feel safe and welcome, which is the best response in any conflict.

Sarah's family makes sure each neighbor feels welcome, and explains traditions and symbolism along the way. A good introduction to the non-Jewish reader, but not so heavy-handed that a Jewish child will be rolling his eyes all the way through. The evening turns into quite the party, but Sarah still frets about Elijah's arrival, until a - coincidence? or not? - resolves the dilemma quite perfectly.

Whether your family celebrates Passover or not, this is a nice little book about sharing what you have and being a gracious host.

Review: Home at Last by Vera B. Williams and Chris Raschka

9780061349737

$17.99

Talk about "at last" - I have for years been bemoaning the lack of picture books for kids who were adopted out of foster care. There are dozens of picture books about some young mother, often in another country, making the decision to give her newborn baby up for adoption. While I respect the choices those women made, that is just not the reality for many children, and those other children need a book that is about them.

This book will go a long way towards closing that gap. From the very beginning, we read that adoption takes a LONG time. There are visits, and paperwork to be done...and adjustments to be made. There are fears to overcome, routines to learn, habits to deal with one way or another. Parents, new or experienced, don't always know what to do (shocker, I know.) Fortunately, with the help of "Two not-so-smart dads" and "one brilliant dog," Lester is well on his way to feeling safe and secure in his new family.

This was Williams' last book before passing away in October last year, and the end notes of her collaboration with Raschka are worth reading for their own sake. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I have something in my eye.

Story Time - Being Thankful - and a Giveaway!

For our Thanksgiving story times, we steer away from historical depictions (traditional or more accurate) of the 'first' Thanksgiving, and focus on being thankful and sharing. There is so much goodness and fun to have with this topic, it could easily take the whole month!

Stories



My kids at home have read this so many times that, whenever we see wild turkeys cross the road in front of us, even the two-year-old says, "Gobble-gobble wibble-wobble!" Such a fun rhythm and rhyme, the words just roll off your tongue.



Cumulative lines, great for predicting, follow the family as everything is prepared just right, and then - oh, no! The turkey meets with disaster. All is well, however, because the family still has each others' company and plenty left to eat.


9781416958567
$17.99

Another one with predictable lines that let kids chime in, and again focusing on sharing and enjoying each others' company.



Not about the holiday at all, this is a fun way to talk about sharing, with call and response and predicting. And dinosaurs!

Songs


This site has some fun and easy turkey songs. Since we ended up skipping the Monster Pokey last month, we went with the Turkey Pokey this time around. In the middle of "put your tail feathers in", I did think to call out, "no Facebook videos!" Nobody needs to see Miss Ami shaking her tail feathers all about.

Craft

Omg, why in 2016 am I still seeing paper headdresses and buckled Pilgrim hats on Pinterest? Just...don't, people. Please. Don't.

We did a few thankfulness-related crafts during field trips, but this week took an entirely different tack and spun off of Groovy Joe. What could a library possibly need more than 30-40 preschoolers with their own drums?!

We put out a plea for tubs, and actually came up with more coffee than ice cream, but those worked even better. City employees drink a LOT of coffee, so we got bunches from City Hall, as well as a literal truckload from a friend who hadn't made it down to the recycling place in a while.

And then I got stuck at home with sick kids, and had to cancel the second story time. That's okay, our craft table had finally run out of leftover Halloween crafts, so EVERYBODY can have a drum!

We didn't get too fancy, just put out paper, foam shaped, and various shinies. The important part is the fun, and tapping out rhythms - a great skill to form now which helps with hearing syllables later!

Prereading Skills

So, we had rhythm, rhyme, repetition, predicting, vocabulary, and print motivation. Quite a bit packed into those four short stories!

Giveaway

The kids can't have all the fun, can they? Today we would like to offer up this pretty adult coloring book from Harper Collins:

9780062481917

Just tell us in the comments something you are thankful for, and you are automatically entered! I will draw a winner at random on Wednesday, November 16, and try to get it in the mail before Thanksgiving - so you have a way to tune out any family...discussions going on around you, should the need arise. Make sure your comment includes a way for me to get hold of you, and US addresses only, please!

Our New President!

Who? No, not THAT President. That's already old news. We mean, the President and Vice President elected here at our library, from a list of candidates as varied as they were enjoyable. All day yesterday, kids and adults alike came to cast their ballots, including a first grade class from a nearby school who were an absolute trip!! One older lady giggled as she filled out her ballot, then looked up at me and said, "I'm laughing! On Election Day!" I saw another adult walk in the front door in her work uniform, come over and vote, and then leave again without conducting any other library business. Those all made my day!

The plan was to tabulate the results first thing in the morning...and then I got stuck at home with sick kids. Thank-you to Lisa for doing that for me!

Without further ado, the winners are...

Elephant and Piggie!

They took 26% of the vote, and were followed by:
Pooh and Piglet - 20%
Pete the Cat and Groovy Joe - 18%
Ladybug Girl and Curious George - 18%
Fancy Nancy and Pigeon - 6%

Write-ins took 10% of the vote, and included Snoopy, Ranger's Apprentice, Frog and Toad, Katie Woo, and Pippi Longstocking.

All wonderful choices!

As for that other election...I'll just repeat what I posted on Facebook yesterday morning:

"Go vote (if you haven't already). Then let it go. Whatever the results, the world will still be here tomorrow. 99% of what affects your life has nothing to do with who the President is, so once you have done your part in the 1% by voting, get off your butt and see about the other 99%. That should keep us all way too busy to gripe about that first bit."

Review: Mervin the Sloth is About to Do the Best Thing in the World, by Colleen AF Venable and Ruth Chan

9780062338471

$17.99

Just what IS the best thing in the world? Mervin's friends think they know...digging! No, flying! No, gazelling! No, turning into a robot! It becomes quite the argument, until everyone finally leaves in a huff except Mervin's best friend, and Mervin...well, we're not going to tell you what he does, you'll have to read the book.

Kids will get a huge kick out of the animals' commentary, and will enjoy coming up with their own suggestions before the actual Best Thing is revealed (easy drawing/writing extension!). The illustrations are also a lot of fun, with the text dropping down onto the page (giving hints along the way), and becoming a physical part of the scene - koala falls asleep on an "r", while gazelle fractures more than one letter with his...gazelling. Through it all, Mervin doesn't budge until it is his time to act.

Definitely one for the shelves and for the read-aloud list!

Review: Buddy for President, by Hans Wilhelm, and some Election Day Fun!

9780062403667

$17.99

Hunter Green would like everyone to know why his dog, Buddy, would make a great President. 

- he is helpful

- he loves the great outdoors (like Theodore Roosevelt)

- he is great at kissing babies

- and who better to preserve, protect and defend than a hound?

Campaign promises include more recess, and throwing frisbees rather than going to war. Who could argue with that? A fun read-aloud for this time of year, offering a discussion of the elections without being overly technical or political.

With Election Day coming up very soon, we have had quite a bit of campaigning here at the library. Thanks to our local County Clerk, children can come in November 8 and cast their ballot for any of these presidential candidates and 

their running mates:

Elephant and Piggie - Balance and Enthusiasm!

Pete the Cat and Groovy Joe - It’s all Good!

Ladybug Girl and Curious George - Take chances! Make every day an adventure!

Fancy Nancy and Pigeon - What our country needs is accessories!*

                                                                                      *and hot dogs!

Pooh and Piglet - Steadfast and dependable

(Unfortunately, Buddy did not make this year's ballot).

At least one local class of first graders is coming by to vote, and the polls so far are showing Elephant and Piggie with a strong lead. Who would you choose? Cast your vote in the comments - and don't forget to go vote grown-up style on Tuesday (if you haven't already)!

Review: Can I Tell You a Secret? by Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant

Is this guy cute or what?

9780062396846

$17.99

Young Monty instantly draws readers in by addressing them directly, asking if they can keep a big secret for him. The secret? He's afraid of water! And he's a FROG!!! How embarrassing! He hasn't told anyone, not even his parents. He goes to all sorts of extremes to hide it, but he is running out of ideas. What should he do?

After several false starts - and with the helpful support of the reader - Monty finally comes clean to his parents (who, of course, knew all along). With their encouragement and with the reader coming along for moral support, he finally faces his fears (in a small way). 

I love the interactive nature of the book, and the empowering feeling that comes from helping someone else with their fear. Who knows - just maybe that will translate to readers facing a fear of their own (which, of course, is the whole point.)

The illustrations are both simple and bright, featuring mainly Monty and a little bit of pond background, but showing an impressive array of facial expression! The close-up focus on Monty really helps pull readers in and feel as if they are exchanging confidences with him. 

A great addition to the shelves, and one to put on your bibliography lists for parents!