The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

A beautiful and touching story by William Joyce about a young man who finds meaning to his life through books.  When his personal world and literary world is destroyed by a storm (Katrina, Wizard of Oz reference), he is forced to start over again when he follows a beautiful young woman floating towards the sky.  She hands him a book on her way towards what appears to be heaven. He finds himself at a beautiful library and dedicates his life to these books. The passage of time and seasons is beautifully depicted.  At the end of the story he says goodbye to his book friends and floats off much the same way the young woman he met did, having changed to a handsome young man. The books grieve for him, but are relieved to see a young girl discover them at some point in the future. Although Ivy cannot appreciate all the literary references, connections to the cycle of life, and the transformative power of the written word, something about it speaks to her. We did watch a lovely 14 minute animated film based on the book.  She was captivated by the images, but it was a silent film.  I loved it!

One Snowy Night

Percy the park keeper loves being outdoors.  One cold and snowy night Percy is just settling down in his warm hut with a cup of hot coco when he hears a knock at the door. It is a shivering squirrel looking to snuggle with Percy in his bed.  As the night progresses, more and more animals want to snuggle with Percy until there is no more room. When something scares Percy's guests, all the animals scatter and hide. Who/what is causing the noise, and where will everyone sleep? Find out in Nick Butterworth's beautifully illustrated One Snowy Night. 

A Baby Sister For Frances

This book resonates well with Ivy these days.  Despite the excitement of being a big sister, it is hard to listen to crying and not get as much attention.  Frances, much like Ivy, is experiencing all of these things.  One day when her mother forgot to buy raisins and did not have her best dress ready for school, Frances decides that things aren't very good anymore and runs away under the kitchen table with some cookies.  She overhears her parents knowingly talking about how they love and miss Frances.  A family just isn't family without everyone,

Atticus's Corner

Ivy would like to announce the birth of her new baby brother, Atticus Christopher Glenn.  He was born on George Washington's birthday, February 22nd 2013.  We decided that this new chapter in our lives called for a new blog for baby boys' books.  This blog will start with books for newborns and follow the life of Atticus.  Atticus shares the same name as both Atticus Finch, the learned lawyer from To Kill A Mockingbird and Titus Pomponius Atticus, Cicero's best friend.  Titus used his inherited wealth to maintain a staff of slaves as copyists and bookbinders.  He published many of the works of Cicero.  

Atticus is a fitting name for our baby boy born into a family of bibliophiles.  

Coming Soon:  http://atticuscorner13.blogspot.com/

Emeraldalicious

In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, Ivy has chosen Emeraldalicious by Victoria Kann.  Pinkalicious and her brother Peter visit their favorite park only to discover it is filled with trash.  Pinkalicious decides to make a wand out of an old stick, some flowers, and a vine.  Thrilled to discover the wand is magical, Pinkalicious and her brother make wishes and turn trash into treasures.  When Peter gets a little greedy with his wishes, Pinkalicious helps him remember that "green" wishes are really the best. A little bit of Earth Day and St. Patrick's Day magic rolled into one!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day

The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting and Jan Brett is an adorable classic tale from the 1980s.  The Bears have never celebrated Valentine's Day together because they are always hibernating.  Mrs. Bear decides that this year will be different.  She has a special surprise; she just needs to wake up Mr. Bear from his slumber!  Will Mr. Bear have a surprise of his own?

The Secret of the First One Up

Lila, a young spirited groundhog, is just just not ready for bed.  As her Uncle Wilber tucks her in, he  mentions a special secret that is revealed to the first one up in the spring.  Lila is so excited she can barely fall asleep.  When she finds herself awake on Feb. 2nd, she is so thrilled she dashes Above Ground.  All the forest animals are awaiting her.  They curiously ask about her shadow.  She is disappointed when she cannot see her friend.  Where could her shadow be?  However, the forest animals are thrilled with the news.  Old badger explains the job of the first groundhog up, and Lila is excited to be part of the big secret.