Phoenix reads One Gorilla by Anthony Browne, this is a picture book in high definition, it's HD TV meets children's picture books!"

 

This is another one of our borrowing-books-from-the-library reads, I was so delighted to One Gorilla by Anthony Browne at the library since it was published so recently, in 2013 and is in bookstores right now on many displays of staff picks for picture books.

This is a picture book with high definition illustrations and my first thought was, "WOW! It's HD TV meets children's picture books!"

The illustrations are so vibrant, so detailed and beautiful. You should share this book with your baby ASAP, the colors will make your baby smile and their eyes will be so wide observing this counting book. It's like being in the wild with the animals.

You could say it's a "monkey counting book" but it's counting book of primates, gorilla, gibbons, lemurs,colobus monkeys, macaques, (<---opps, that one I'm sure I'm not saying properly) and you can easily make this book a color book as well and point out the colors of the animals too, so share with your baby because it also reminds us we are all connected as the author's illustrations show us that connection.

You'll be astounded by these "HD illustrations."

Read on!

~Isobella & Phoenix

Our latest library read is The Velveteen Rabbit

The library has lots of great picture books and story books for babies and kids of all ages, brand new books published in 2013 too. Get your baby a library card and start borrowing books weekly. We do!

We recently borrowed from the NYPL The Velveteen Rabbit, the classic story by Margery Williams, this edition is by Komako Sakai, an extremely popular author/illustrator in Japan, it's a heart touching story about a boy and his love for his stuffed animal rabbit which makes the rabbit believe he is real. The rabbit has a hard time fitting in with the nursery toys and one night when the boy can't find his regular favorite toy his nanny gives hiim the velveteen rabbit as backup, but the rabbit becomes the boy's favorite afterall. At the start, the rabbit has a hard time distinguishing what's real and he wants to be real, but later believes he really is real because the boy loves him and love is real.

Although we had a memorable time reading the book, a couple things stood out that I didn't like about it. The nanny was horrid, insensitive toward the rabbit and toys in general which was upsetting and I didn't like the part about how when the boy had a fever all his toys had to be burned and how much this scared the velveteen rabbit, thankfully magically he gets turned into a real-life bunny, of course there weren't detergents like there are today when the book was first published in 1922 and when kids got sick I imagine toys often did get burned or thrown out.

In the end the boy ends up seeing a real rabbit in the garden and thinks that it looks just like his stuffed animal he adored, and it is! :) awww.

Even though the book starts off on Christmas morning, it's a sweet bunny story and this is one of our Easter Read Suggestions.

~Isobella & Phoenix

Follow our reading adventures on Twitter here:  www.twitter.com/isobellajade

Baby Storytime adventures of the PBBC

 

Phoenix at library lap time /story time this morning, and we suggest Ollie's Easter Eggs as one of our Easter baby gifts and holiday reads, more suggestions later to come!

 

 

Yesterday we created our own story time at Barnes and Noble on Fifth Ave today this photo of Phoenix with the books we read, Rabbityness, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone.
 

 

 Watch the video of Phojenix showing off the books we've read:

 

 

 

I edited The Giving Tree for my son so that it involves the boy being thankful

Scroll down to see my edits, changes, adjustments I made to The Giving Tree

I'm confused about The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, do I like it, do I hate it?  There are aspects I really like, such as how useful the tree is and how generous. The story shares how the tree gives a boy her love, her branches to play on, leaves to play with, shade to cool off under, apples to make money, branches to build a house, trunk to make a boat, and when the tree has nothing left but a stump the tree offers the stump to the boy who is now an old man to sit on and rest...but the boy never once says thank you.

That REALLY pisses me off. Yes the title of the book is The Giving Tree, but when I read this book to my son I'm sharing with him a book about just asking for and getting stuff...Stuff that really helped the boy out. Ummm, I don't think that's the story I want to share because being a decent human being is noticing what people give you whether it be material or just their time, and being grateful for it.

Maybe it's meant to be a story, an analogy, of a parent giving everything to their child?  Loving the child and wanting him happy, okay, I get it, but what about teaching the child through the book about loving back and being thankful and appreciating what you are given.

I decided to give the book a little makeover, I added a message about being thankful, grateful and appreciative.

So with my Sharpie I edited The Giving Tree this weekend, adding some words, crossing off others and changing the ending.... now I can read it to my son and feel good about it.

You are welcome to use this as a guide if you want to edit the book as well for your baby's at home library.

Obviously these changes are very rough, they are written like notes to me while I read the book to my son.

Although we might really like certain aspects of a book, I for one, am the type of Mom and Reader that will grab my Sharpie and make the book more special or meaningful if needed. Without these edits, honestly I would toss the book because it's not enough for me for the boy to be given things that changed his life in great ways without taking a second to say thank you so much.

The Giving Tree starts with...


Once there was a tree...
and she loved a little boy.
And every day the boy would come
and he would gather her leaves
and make them into crowns
and play king of the forest.
He would climb her trunk
and swing from her branches
and eat apples.
And they would play
hide-and-go seek.
And when he was tired,
he would sleep
in her shade.
And the boy loved the tree...
very much.
And the tree was happy.
But time went by.
And the boy grew older.
And the tree was often alone.


Okay, I can make it that far. But then I had to add and adjust.

The boy doesn't seem that old here...maybe a teenager or young adult, so most teens and young adult wouldn't be "too big to climb and play (chill)." Besides, no one should ever be too old to climb and have fun! I still want to climb trees! If your body allows you to climb you should be climbing and never let yourself be to old to enjoy the little joys of life. Also I thought the boy should show a sense of missing the tree since he's been away so long, so I added that.

The boy climbs the tree afterall but doesn't express his thankfulness for the apples from the tree, so I added that.

Again, I added that the boy missed the tree. And on the following page gave the boy a more kind response to the tree's offer to climb her branches. When the boy asked for the house he came off kind of like a spoiled brat so I added the word Please.

I added that the boy was thankful for the branches that will help him build his house and left the tree bare.

 

The tree has offered the boy everything she is made of and it would be nice if the boy was surprised and appreciated the tree's generosity.

The boy has been away for a long time and doesn't share with the tree where he's been and how he's been doing on his boat made of her trunk so I added a line about him sharing his adventures with her.

This page makes the old man seem like a grump, so a light hearted "That's okay," gives a softer and kinder appeal to the old man's relationship with the tree.

Next I wanted the boy to remember that the tree has nothing to give because she's already given him so much, so I added for the boys thoughts "You've already given me so much..."

I'm not happy with the book ending with the tree happy, because it's not just about the tree, it's about the boy and that he has learned something and experienced something profound, a friendship, an appreciation for the tree in his life.

And the Mom was happy.

Read on!

Isobella & Phoenix

 

Phoenix read Otis by Loren Long

Phoenix read Otis by Loren Long this week, the little calf sitting under the apple tree with the tracker Otis reminded me a little of Ferdinand the bull sitting under the cork tree in Spain.

Loren Long is the illustrator of the book Nightsong, which we really loved.

Otis is about a little ol' trackor who works on farm and becomes best pals with a little calf and she follows Otis around everywhere and falls alseep to his "putt puff puttedy chuff" each night. They love to sit under the apple tree together and "watch the farm below." One day the farm gets a new tractor and Otis is put away behind the barn and is considered old and beat up but the new yellow tractor doesn't impress the calf and she misses Otis and sits with him although he doesn't feel like running around and playing anymore.

On a hot summer day while cooling off in the mud pond the little calf gets stuck in the mud and can't get out. The big tractor tries to save the day but only scared the poor calf and she sinks deeper and deeper into the mud.  After many attempts with different types of large machinery, Otis comes and saves the day. Little tough guy Otis who was put away shines and is the hero. And Otis and the little calf continue to sit by the apple tree watching the farm.

See more of Loren Long's books and also a new upcoming Otis book March 12th!  And Loren Long has prints for sale! YAY! I love it when children's book illustrators have prints! http://www.lorenlong.com/

http://www.lorenlong.com/prints/otis.html

 

Read books to your babies about friendship and the little guy overcoming the odds!

~Isobella & Phoenix

 

#PBBC

Phoenix reads Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

You can't judge this book by it's green cover. To be honest I passed by Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey many many times at the bookstore, okay, a book about ducks...whatever...not really a go-to for me. Being new to the children's book world, I hadn't put two and two together that the book was by the same author as Blueberries for Sal, but it was my Mom who reminded me it was the same author and while checking out a sample of the book online, I really loved the detailed illustrations of Boston area, where the book takes place, and headed for the bookstore to buy it. It was really cold out and we ended up going to Grand Central to warm up and stopped into PosmanBooks.

Make Way For Ducklings is an adorable story about Mr. and Mrs. Mallard who are looking for the perfect place to hatch eggs and raise their family. I like the pages with the "birds/duck view" from the sky of the city and the pages when Mrs. Mallard is teaching her 8 ducklings how to swim and drive and walk in a line, and later walks proudly with her 8 ducklings around town as the police stop traffic and make way for the ducklings.

Read on!

Isobella & Phoenix

P.s. We had fun this afternoon listening and singing to the Over in the Meadow sing-along that came with with book, really loved the voice of Susan Reed and the kids singing. It just might become a daily sing-along! :)


Find more posts on Twitter: #PBBC

Phoenix reads Over in the Meadow from Barefoot Books

 

When we were at FAO Schwarz we stopped into the Barefoot Books bookstore (the bookstore sells all of the beautiful and colorful books Barefoot Books publishes) and discovered Over in the Meadow, a traditional English nursery rhyme and counting song. It caught my eye because the illustrations on the cover had a cut-out look that was unique. Come to find out the illustrator, Jill McDonald, "finds inspiration in pattern and nature" and has a textile design background and the pictures in Over in the Meadow area digitally created using collected and painted paper.

It's a fun book to share with your baby or toddler because it reads like a song and there's an interactive element.

 

Over in the meadow in a snug beehive

Lived a fuzzy mother bee

And her little bees five.

"Buzz!" said the mother.

"We buzz! said the five.

So they buzzed and they hummed

In the snug beehive.

There's are crows, a muskrats, robins, toads, sheep and more, and it's fun to say to your baby the action of the mother and get that cute expression of a smile or giggle from your baby. Have fun teaching numbers and also different animals and creatures in the meadow too.

 

The book also includes a CD of the song Over the Meadow sung by Susan Reed which we will listen to tomorrow.

 

Check out other books from www.barefootbooks.com

 

Read to your babies every day, inspire a reader for life!

 

Isobella & Phoenix

 

#PBBC

 

P.s. We picked up another book at Barefoot Books and will be sharing that soon!

 

Phoenix reads Blueberries for Sal

We recently read Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey, a classic, sweet story about how a little girl and her mother picking blueberries and a little bear and his mother bear eating blueberries meet on Blueberry Hill. 

When little Sal seperates from her mother she encounters mother bear and when little bear seperates from his mother he meets Sal's mother. I love saying Kuplink kuplank, kulplunk when Sal puts berries in her pail, although she ends up eating more than collecting, hehe, and I love beautiful the pen and ink illustrations.

 

Make a book memory each day,

Isobella & Phoenix

 

#PBBC

 

Phoenix visits the Barefoot Books Bookstore and FAO on Valentine's Day

 

On Valentine's Day I took my Phoenix to FAO Schwarz and I got him a cute brown bear, which will be perfect to have nearby when we read to Phoenix his favorite The Bear Snores On book before bed. He was all smiles when I showed it to him in the store and he reached for the bear.

 

I had no idea but there is a book store there too! It's called Barefoot Books (it's a great store to visit!) and we spent some time there looking at their books and Phoenix got to show off his "sitting" skills while sitting on the storybook time throne.

 

"Barefoot Books began with two mothers who wanted their children to have books that would feed the imagination, while instilling a respect for diversity and a love of the planet."

 

 

The story time is daily, which surprised me and impressed me, evey day at 11 a.m and 3 p.m

We picked up two beautiful books, Over in the Meadow and Star Seeker, which I will be featuring next week.

 

If you have a newborn or little one are expecting one or know someone who is pregnant, I suggest getting Baby's First Book, it's more than a traditional baby book for your memories with your baby, it also involves rhymes and cute quilt-like pictures and here are other books for babies from Barefoot Books, I think you and your baby will really enjoy the vibrant colors and sentimental and adorable stories.

https://twitter.com/BarefootBooks
https://www.facebook.com/barefootbooks

Read on!

Isobella & Phoenix

 

P.s: Read This: I love this post on Wired Magazine's Geek Dad's blog on Loving Damaged and Dirty Children's Books: http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2013/02/kids-books/

App Storytime: PBBC chats with Michel Kripalani, the President of Oceanhouse Media Inc, about creating children's book apps

 

 

 

The Phoenix Baby Book Club recently chatted about creating children's book apps with Michel Kripalani, the President of Oceanhouse Media, Inc.  Whether you're already sharing children's book apps with your baby, toddler or kids, or a newbie to discovering the great children's book apps out there, you'll enjoy this interview that shares the behind the scenes of creating educational worthy and interactive storybook apps for kids and how book apps can help kids learn to read.

PBBC: Your company’s mantra is “Creativity with Purpose,” and your apps fit that mantra perfectly, but what inspired you to create children’s book apps?

Michel Kripalani: As new parents, my wife and I recognized the opportunity to use mobile devices for storytelling and education. We saw how kids interact so easily with mobile devices and wanted to create children’s apps that were fun, engaging and educational that our own daughters could enjoy. Interactive storybook apps were a natural choice. We were given the chance to develop Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! into an interactive book app and this resulted in us partnering with Dr. Seuss Enterprises to bring all 44 Dr. Seuss titles to the app market. Soon thereafter, we partnered with other well-known brands, such as The Berenstain Bears and Little Critter, to develop apps for their classic children’s books. Today, we have more than 100 children’s book apps available.

As a veteran of the video gaming industry how has your background been an asset when publishing educational and exciting children’s book apps?

My background in the video game arena was key when it came to publishing apps for the children’s market. From the beginning, I assembled a great team of software engineers, many of whom I had previously worked with, and together we were able to enter the market early and connect with well-known brands. Without our strong knowledge of programming and running a business in the digital space, I imagine the early days of this business would have included much more guesswork.

 

What book has been your most memorable experience to translate it into the digital book market?

I have to say that one of my favorite Dr. Seuss titles, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, was a memorable experience since I remember my parents reading this title to me as a child. To now have the chance to create the digital version of this great book and share it with my own kids is terrific.

What benefits will a child get from reading with your apps? What skills or abilities will the child gain from the app whether when reading with their parent or by themselves?

All of our children’s book apps focus on helping kids learn to read. Features such as synchronized word highlighting and tappable words encourage the youngest of readers to expand their vocabulary and make reading fun, all at the touch of a screen. Furthermore, words and illustrations are enhanced with professional narration, custom sound effects and picture/word association. We consciously limit the level of interactivity in our book apps as to not distract from the overall reading experience.

I love that while using your apps we hear sound effects, like when Little Critter puts dishes in the sink we hear the clattering, we also love how when you click the illustrations the word of that object you touched appears. Also the voiceovers/storytellers when the app is read to you are all very fitting to the theme and style of the story. Can you share some insight on the behind the scenes of putting the pieces together to create educational worthy and interactive apps, are the authors involved?

Creating apps is indeed a collaborative process. Our team includes software developers, technical artists, professional voice actors, sound designers, music composers and graphic designers. We use a proprietary book engine that’s the backbone for all of our children’s book apps. Each app has its own custom features, such as original narration and background audio. My wife, Karen, overseas all the voice over talent and is herself the voice behind many of our children’s book apps. In some cases, authors do review their apps during the development process, for instance, Mercer Mayer (Little Critter) Mike Berenstain (The Berenstain Bears) and Eric Drachman (Kidwick Books).

Can you share the benefits of reading the app yourself or having the app read to you?

With simple navigation tools, children can easily read the app alone and at their own pace. Kids love to have that sense of control. If they stumble on a word or sentence, for instance, they can tap on the screen and have the text read back to them, adding to their vocabulary and understanding of the story. We have a variety of books apps aimed at different reading levels, from pre-readers all the way up to kids 10 years old so you can find the perfect title based on age or reading level. Of course, reading a story to a child is just as beneficial since it creates a wonderful bonding experience and a hands-on way to connect with your child, creating life-long memories.

In addition, our Record and Share feature allows readers to record themselves reading a story and then share the recording with family, friends and teachers who also own the digital book. For teachers, it’s a great way to evaluate, track and save a student’s reading ability throughout the school year.

What are some new children’s book apps you are working on or are excited about right now?

Currently, we’re finishing up the classic Dr. Seuss collection. All 44 books that Dr. Seuss wrote and illustrated will be available by the end of summer on the app market. We’re also adding some fantastic new titles over the next few months in our The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library, Smithsonian and Little Critter series. Stay tuned!

 Follow Oceanhouse Media on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/OceanhouseMedia) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/OceanhouseMedia) for regular app updates and announcements on new releases. 

Read on!

Isobella & Phoenix

#PBBC

Check out some of our features on Oceanhouse Media apps that we've explored and love.
http://phoenixbabybookclub.blogspot.com/2013/01/phoenix-reads-cat-in-hat-book-app-for.html
http://phoenixbabybookclub.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-little-critter-series-just-me-and.html
http://phoenixbabybookclub.blogspot.com/2013/01/phoenix-read-sneetches-by-drseuss.html
http://phoenixbabybookclub.blogspot.com/2013/02/phoenix-was-read-500-hats-of.html

Phoenix read Nightsong by Ari Beck and it's a special and meaningful picture book for babies and all ages

I have a thing for darkness, before Phoenix was born I was a night owl, up till 3 a.m. often working, thinking, writing, doing my thing. Now I'm a farmer, up before the crack of dawn with my little bundle who is so excited, kicking and grabbing for my face and everything else, ready to take on the new day!

At the bookstore I noticed this book because it has a sense of darkness to it and I was intrigued to flip through it, a little bat with a dark background on the cover, simple, powerful, cute. Perfect! Within two pages I was hooked.

I have a new love for bats after checking out Nightsong by Ari Beck and illustrated by Loren Long recently at the bookstore and I love how this book starts off talking about the senses and using them to "help you make your way in the world, as little Chiro takes his first night flight alone his mother reminds him to sing, and his song will help him find his way.

"What is sense?" The little bat asked.

 

His mother folded him in her wings and whispered into his waiting ears, "Sense is the song you sing out into the world, and the song the world sings back to you..."

Awwww!!

This is Phoenix's chill spot. I sit on that white pillow and we entertain eachother all day.

 

The illustrations are based on the darkness and shadows and what bats see. I like the "bat perspective" of how the trees and branches look at first like hands to Chiro and how the telephone wires are "strange lines of noise," to Chiro. He is using his senses during his first flight!

This book is about being brave and not letting yourself miss a great experience because your afraid of the unknown. It's about going out in the world and finding your way and peace, as Chiro does.  In the unknown you can find something new, something beautiful, something special, like your confidence.

Chiro needs to be a stuffed animal by the way Mr. Beck! Scroll down here to see illustrations from Nightsong.

Fly on!

Isobella & Phoenix

#PBBC
 

Two beautiful books to add to your baby's bookshelf

Need a warm place to relax with your baby, head right for the bookstore. Sit right on down and grab some books to check out with your baby, that's what we do! Use it as an opportunity to check out new books and decide which you want to buy. I always pick books that I think will last while my baby grows, we can enjoy it now but also it will be a story we can share in a year or two and my baby will get something else out of it then.Be careful to watch your baby's curious hands, they might want to grab the page and until you own the book you won't want to rip a page! While you're at the bookstore there grab a coffee pick me up and a snack too.

 

 

We recently enjoyed reading Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae and illustrated by Guy Parker-Ress at Barnes and Noble on Fifth Avenue yesterday, it's message is aboutdc   ax finding your own song and listening to your own inner voice to gain confidence in yourself (whether you can dance or not). You and your baby will love the bright colors of the illustrations and how detailed they are, there's a lot of extra details to bring to the story, notice the flowers, the leaves and point to them and share the nature found in these beautiful illustrations with your baby as you read.

 

  

We also read The Mitten 20th Anniversary Edition written and illustrated by Jan Brett. I love these illustrations look like a folktale style.  Phoenix just recieved a pair of crocheted mittens from his grandma, and I enjoyed reading this book to him about a boy who's grandma knits him a pair of mittens. When the boy loses one of the mittens in the snow like his Grandma worried about animals of the forest discover the mitten and make a temporary home inside, a mole, rabbit, a badger, fox, even a large bear and others!

 

It's cute how the mitten shape on the side of the page tells us which animal is coming up next!

The mitten is obviously stretched when the boy finds the mittens and I loved the last page of Grandma curiously looking at the larger mitten and wondering, "what happened?"  Every lost thing has a story.

 

Read on!

Isobella & Phoenix

 

#pbbc

Other posts you may like:
PBBC Valentine's Day book suggestions for Valentine's Day and every day of the year to celebrate family, friendship and love.

Phoenix reads Snowy Day

Phoenix reads There's a Wocket in My Pocket by Dr. Seuss


 

 

 

Phoenix was read The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss

 

Celebrating the 75th anniversary The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss, Oceanhouse Media has a great app out right now and we are enjoying it. It's a long read, but a good one, so it might be best to break it up into a few seperate reads for little ones.

A good guy Bartholomew goes to the market to sell his cranberries when the King and his procession prance by and accuse Bartholomew of not taking off his red hat as the King passes, although he has taken off his hat. But another red hat has appeared on his head and after he gets (basically abducted I mean) "grabbed by his shirt" by the Captain of the Kings Guards on his horse and taken to the castle to be examined and punished most likely.

"He took off hat after hat after hat after hat until he was standing in the middle of a great pile of hats."

All these "hat professionals" and "wise men" to try to figure out Bartholomews hat problem but none of them can.

"Does this mean there is no one in my whole kingdom who can take off this boy's hat?" bellowed the King in a terrifying voice.

Then a "very proud little boy" with "a big lace collar," the nephew of the King is curious what all the commotion is and tries to fix Bartholomew's hat issue by shooting bows and arrows at his hat and one by one the hats soar off a balcony of the castle. Then they try a bigger bow and arrow but it only makes the hats fly further and further away it doesn't mean less hats. Then they call magicians, to see if the hats appearing again and again is black magic but the chant will take ten years to work!

A terrible proposal comes from Grand Duke Wilfred who suggests chopping off his head! And the King, although knowing its a "dreadful thought" decides there is no other solution and sends Bartholomew to the dungeon.

Desperate for his hat to come off, Bartholomew starts whipping his hats off faster and faster and but lucky for Bartholomew there is a rule that he can't be killed with a hat on! YAY!

Yes this book is okay for babies, hold on...there is a happy ending.

So the King decides to push Bartholomew off the "highest turret" and Bartholomew starts frantically pulling off his hats, his last chance...but once he passed hat 450 the hats began to change and appear more fancy and unique. 

At just the right moment, right as they reached the highest turret Bartholomew's hat turns into something extravagant and festive and has many many feathers streaming off of it.

The King is distracted by this flashy hat and now wants to buy it from Bartholomew, the 500th hat! For 500 gold coins!

I was sad all it took was the hat to become unordinary, and if I had been Bartholomew maybe from the start I would have decorated the hats with beads and feather with my glue gun like when making my Belmont Stakes hat.

Something terrible can become something grand, maybe it's hope, maybe it's fate, maybe things "just happen for a reason," it's about perspective but also I think Bartholomew is lucky that his hats became extravagant at just the right moment.

Warning, it is a long book, so be prepared to bring your tiredless animated and upbeat voice to the story, you can also skip some words if your baby is getting restless but keep your fun voice and make the word of the book 'HAT'. So maybe tickle your baby or say the word "Hat" in a silly way. ((My husband does the character voices, I'm still warming up to that, but I do some. ;) )) Or you could even get a hat, a red one, and keep putting the hat on your head over and over as if it's a new one each time and I bet the action of it would make your baby giggle, especially with a silly expression and eyebrows that are saying "what is going on!"

 

I think The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss can remind us not to jump to conclusions, since Bartholomew wasn't trying to offend the King but got accused of it anyways. It wasn't in Batholomew's control to stop the hats but still he got treated awfully...until the 500th hat. Although he never gave up trying to prove himself and the truth. Which is always a nice lesson to share.

 

 

500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins on BN.com

500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins on Amazon.com

 

Read on!

Isobella & Phoenix

P.s. We ordered this KaysCase KidBox Cover Case so Phoenix can throw the iPad around and chew on it. KaysCase KidBox Cover (Blue) going to try it out and I think it's cool how it sits up.

Phoenix's toy box for babies, help your baby explore and discover

We just ordered these learn and grow toys for Phoenix, who already shows signs of wanting to crawl at 4 months and is sitting up well on his own! I'm excited about the Vtech sit-to-stand learning walker and since Phoenix grabs the remote all the time, he might as well have his own :)

 

Vtech Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker

 

 

 

Kidoozie Little Tuffies Trucks

 

Fisher-Price Click & Learn Remote

 

Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Smilin' Smart Phone

 

 

 

Earlyears Baby Farm Friends Bowling

 

 

Phoenix read The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore

 

Phoenix enjoying The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore yesterday

 

"Everyone's story matters," said Morris

A fanasty book about the love of books has stole our hearts, The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore by William Joyce who also illustrated the book with Joe Bluhm, starts with Morris Lessmore writing his own book about his joys and sorrows. Until one day a storm scatters the words of his book in every direction, and he starts off wandering and becomes enchanted with the flying books that befriend him and lead him to a mansion full of books wanting to be read.

"Morris Lessmore loved words.

 

He loved stories.

 

He loved books."

Morris cares for the books in the mansion and "fixing those with fragile bindings and unfolding the dog-eared psges of others," as he continues to write his own book.

Written with great imagery, "...Morris could hear the faint chatter of a thouand different stories, as if each book was whispering an invitation to adventure." And the illustrations are phenomenal and so beautifully detailed.

Love this one with the moon and Morris sitting in the book, THIS should be a print! I'd buy it and frame it for Phoenix's wall!

 

Phoenix enjoying the The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore today.
 

As Morris ages the "...books never change. Their stories stayed the same" and says he will carry the books in his heart on the day he finishes his book and decides it's time to move on. And just as The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore started with opening the book is also ends with a girl opening the book Morris has written and left at the mansion. Another book wander'er perhaps, creating a full circle of the love of reading and words.

The book is about the love of books, and I'd love to sit in the room (above) where an older Morris wrote his book in, the sunlight coming in the room, beaming on the books, it's such a peaceful illustration that warmed my heart while reading the book to Phoenix.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore on Amazon
The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore on BN.com
The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore on Indiebound.org

Check out the other books of William Joyce.

I first flipped through this book out of curiosity, a large book with books on the cover, at the bookstore and was surprised at how much I really enjoyed it and had a moment of "THIS is a book we have to own!" And it shows how much bookstores are needed for discovering amazing books!

Phoenix already ripped a page of this book but that's what getting down with a book can involve and I'll patch it up real good with some tape and we will be reading this book time and time again because it's an incredible book to share with your baby. Yes, your baby might be little but there's a lot of great books to share together, to grow with, to love, dive in!

~Isobella & Phoenix