Froggy Eats Out

Froggy is one of Ivy's favorite characters.  In this particular story, Froggy Eats Out, by Jonathan London, Froggy goes out to eat at a fancy restaurant.  His mother asks him to, "Be neat, be quiet, and don't put your feet on the table".  Froggy just can't sit still.  His fidgeting culminates when he spots Frogilina, an attractive girl frog from his class.  He tries to hide under the table, pulling the cloth along with his spaghetti and flies dinner onto the floor.  Will his parents' anniversary dinner be spoiled?  

My Busy Little Bee

Ivy has had an interest in bees now that spring has sprung.  Let's just hope she did not inherit daddy's allergies!  She has been enjoying two recent books about bees.  She loves Daniel Roode's simple tale of Little Bea, who buzzes about all day from morning til night.

BZZZZZZZZZZ.
Little Bea
is a busy, busy bee.
When the sun wakes up,
so does she!

Ivy also enjoys Eileen Spinelli's dramatic tale of Buzz, an adorable little bee who loves to fly about and visit her friends.  One day she sees part of an article that states bees are not designed to fly.  Reading this, Buzz loses confidence and cannot fly.  However, when her friend Mr. Owl's tree is on fire, will she gain back her confidence in time to warn her friend?  Find out in Buzz!


Buzz loved being a bee.
She loved the taste of honey.
She loved dozing in her cozy hive.
She loved nosing in the sunlit clover.
But most of all -
she loved flying!

The World Champion of Staying Awake

Sean Taylor and Jimmy Liao have written an adorable tale about a young girl named Stella called "The World Champion of Staying Awake".  Stella just wants to go to bed, but she cannot go to sleep until her three young wards, Cherry Pig, Thunderbolt the Puppet Mouse and Beanbag frog, go to sleep.  All three claim to be the "World Champion of Staying Awake".  Stella, desperate for her stuffed animals to go to sleep, concocts creative ways to lull them to sleep.  Will they work?  Will poor Stella finally get some rest?  Find out.  Ivy has requested this over and over.  Right now she is my world champion of staying awake.  Sigh...

Ave atque Vale, Maurice Sendak

No blog would complete without a tribute to Maurice Sendak, especially tonight on the eve of his death.  Although Ivy is still scared of Where the Wild Things Are, I know that she will soon love it. I am a huge fan of this book - who could forget the wild imagination of Max?  Trapped in his room with no supper on the night that he made mischief of one kind or another while wearing a wolf suit, Max is forced to go deep into the recesses of his imagination.  Max sails on a private boat to a land of wild beasts.  He is thrilled to let the "wild rumpus" start after he has been chosen king.  Growing lonely, Max decides to return into the night of his own room.  Maybe now is the time to attempt to publish my Latin version of this classic tale.  

In aeternum, Maurice, ave atque vale!

Pocket Full of Posies

Sally Mavor created one of Ivy's favorite books of all time - Pocket Full of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes.  Ms. Mavor is a local Cape artist with an amazing talent for sewing.  Each nursery rhyme is decorated with intricately sewn illustrations ornamented with natural objects such as acorns, shells, and stones.  It is one of the few long books Ivy could sit through at a young age - she could sit through all 62 pages at a little over a year!  Thanks, Sally!  

Bear With Me

Bear with Me is a charming play on words about a small boy names Gary.  Gary thought life was perfect until his parents brought home a bear.  This bear broke his swing, snored, and would not put the caps on markers.  The bear was ruining his life!  Will Gary find a way to be friends with the new bear, or is he doomed to a life of broken toys?  Find out in Max Kornell's striking story!