Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

 We flew out West for a wedding and it was a wonderful week with family and fun.  Now that we are back on the East coast and trying to adjust to our time zone, school and work - the book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day has been on my mind.  I love this book. Author Judith Viorst and illustrator Ray Cruz created this book back in 1987.  If you have this on your shelf pull it out and read it again - if not run to the library or the store - you will LOVE this book.

This is a story about Alexander and his "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day."  He wakes up with gum in his hair and that is just the beginning to his day.  He slips on a skate left on the floor, his brother gets the toy out of the cereal box, and at the shoe store they don't have his favorite shoe in his size.  It is just one of those days.  The illustrations are pencil drawings and perfectly capture Alexander's expressions.

This books is humorous and gives words to the kind of days that everyone has sometimes - the "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days".  This book helps kids (and adults) remember that some days are like that.  Even in Australia.

Birds

Since it is spring (almost) I am sticking to a birds theme this week.  A book we love is Birds by Kevin Henkes and illustrated by Laura Dronzek. The illustrations are very simple and uncomplicated putting the focus on the birds.  Her use of bright colors make the illustrations very fun.   The text captures the relationship of a young girl with the birds from the viewpoint of her window.  The reader sees birds as she does: small, big, red, and yellow.  My favorite part of the books are the pages about birds on the telephone wire - they sit and sit and then as soon as she turns away - they are gone.  Isn't that how it usually goes?

Check out Birds from your local library and get ready for spring!

Stokes Field Guide to Birds

Nothing says "springtime" like birds chirping outside the window.  Our birds are beginning to chirp: the prelude to spring in our area.  At our house, we love to press our noses up to the window and watch the birds come and eat our birdseed.  But watching them is simply not enough.  My children want to know what kind of bird each one is.  So we have purchased Stokes Field Guide to Birds as our personal bird guide for deciphering which birds are which.

Although this is not a children's book, it is very child friendly.  It breaks birds up into groupings and once I flip to the grouping my children are able to look through the pictures to try and figure out which bird is at our feeder.  We LOVE this book.  It is so fun to learn more about the birds in our area.  We have the Eastern Region because we live on the East Coast but you can find one for wherever you live!

Happy Springtime Birdwatching!

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. SEUSS!!!

Is there anything more iconic in children's literature then Dr. Seuss?  His books gave new meaning to early readers.  The pictures are fun and the play on words is even better.  We love Dr. Seuss at our house.  Here are a few of our favorites:

My son loves "the beezlenut juice."  So much, that when my dad comes to visit he buys grapefruit juice and calls it "beezlenut juice."  They are the only two who will drink it. 

This is a favorite from my childhood.

I don't ever remember reading this one as a child but my children love it.  A book about the environment well before its time.

They have printed some of them as smaller board books as well.  I love them. The rhythm is so great you can almost dance while reading them.  My kids seem to love these from a very young age.

So what is your favorite Dr. Seuss book?  

Read one today to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday!