A Turkey for Thanksgiving

Working full time and having two young children has slowed down my blogging! Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and Ivy has begun her holiday reading. We discovered Eve Bunting's A Turkey for Thanksgiving. Mr. and Mrs. Moose are having a grand Thanksgiving dinner, but they do not have a turkey. Mr. Moose asks all of his friends if they have seen a turkey. Spoiler Alert: When the turkey is finally found, the reader discovers that they want the turkey at the table - not on it. Ivy loved the pictures and found the ending amusing. A must read!

Bea at Ballet

Bea at Ballet 

is next in line in my ballet miniseries. Rachel Isadora spins a simple tale of a young girl named Bea who loves ballet. She introduces the reader to the routines of her class, her classmates, and the equipment/technical moves of a ballet dancer. Ivy imitates the illustrations of the moves as well as the attire of a ballerina. Although it does not have much of a plot, Ivy is just enthralled by this book. For the serious preschool ballerina...

Ballet

Ivy has entered the world of dance, a little to my shock and slight dismay. Attempting to embrace her passion, I have wasted countless minutes researching ballet books. A few favorites will follow over the next few days. 

James Mayhew has a series that will be a huge hit with Ivy. She has wanted Ella Bella and Cinderella read to her over and over. A young ballerina, Ella Bella, is a whimsical girl with a lively imagination. She drops a slipper on the way to her ballet class. Madame Rosa, reminded of Cinderella, has the girls dance to the Cinderella music. When the girls head home for supper, Ella Bella is left on the stage holding a beautiful borrowed slipper. She slips into a dream world in which she aids the real Cinderella. The illustrations are magical. What little ballerina wouldn't be drawn to this book? We are ordering all the others  - Swan Lake, Nutcracker, and Sleeping Beauty. 

Giant Dance Party

For a girl who has never taken dance lessons, Ivy is sure she wants to be a ballerina. Any book about dancing is a sure hit, and Betsy Bird's Giant Dance Party is no exception. 

Even though young Lexy loves to dance, she is quitting because of her fear of recitals. She decides to teach dance instead. Instead of having kids lining up to learn from her, Lexy's only takers are blue giants. Reluctant at first, Lexy warms up to the idea of teaching them. To show off their new skills, Lexy decides to hold a giant recital. When the giants get stage fright, only Lexy can save them. How will she do it? Find out in this adorable tale of overcoming fears. 

The Day the Crayons Quit

Young Duncan loves coloring but wakes up to a note from his crayons saying they have quit! Each crayon writes a lovely letter to Duncan thanking him for the good times, but that they are either overworked, neglected, jealous of another color, need some new items to be associated with, etc. What will young Duncan do? When he finally resolves his conflicts with the crayons, a colorful surprise awaits the reader! A must read this summer.

The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers.

Ivy has been home with me all week, and we have a smorgasbord of new books to review. One of her new favorites is a simple book with a simple message - Peace Baby by Linda Ashman.

 I think Ivy likes it so much because kids resolve conflicts among kids. Every day kids face issues of sharing, meanness, rough play, cheating, etc. The left side of the page presents lovely illustrations of kids facing problems, while the right hand side has the resolution and the message, "Peace, baby!" I read this to Ivy no less than five times while Atticus was napping this morning.

Bully

Laura Vaccaro Seegar's Bully seems too simple for an almost four year old upon first glance, but the clever plays on words and the message about bullying are compelling. When a large bull is mean to a small bull wanting to play, the small bull takes the hurt and lashes out at other innocent animals. The meaner he is, the bigger he feels. Each page contains the bull lashing out at an animal, calling the animal by its name but with the crueler meaning. He yells, "Pig!" to a pig, "Butt out!" to a goat, "Chicken!" to a chicken, and "Buzz off!" to a bee. Ivy is interested in the double meanings. Finally, the bully is deflated by a goat who calls him a bully. Since this book Ivy has been interested in what a bully is and how to stop them. A deeply advanced lesson for a young girl, but worth some thought.