The Brave Cowboy: a lot more than a children's book with guns

Phoenix holding the book The Brave Cowboy in Madison Square Park recently

Honestly, even though the little boy wears a two gun holster, I really enjoyed The Brave Cowboy by Joan Walsh Anlund and plan to read it over and over to Phoenix.

The book shares black ink illustrations and in red ink the illustrations represent the boys imagination: The boy sits on a fence with a rope tied to a small bush, but how the boy sees it (shown in red ink) is he is sitting on a horse roping a bull.

The Brave Cowboy is very clever and made me have an inside giggle while reading it to Phoenix, and the creativity in this book reminds me a little of Harold & the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. 

Yes, there are guns in this children's book, perhaps they are toy guns, if that makes a difference, but I personally can't imagine a brave cowboy without a gun, but let's keep in mind this book is about a boy and his cowboy dream, and let's also consider that guns are a part of American history which we can't deny.

My husband is from Texas and the boy and his two holster belt hardly phases him, but I can understand how a children's book with the main character having a two holster belt can be alarming, but the cute and charming story of this little boy with an active mind and an adventurous spirit stands out to me more in the story. It's about how you read it to your baby and what YOU make more important while reading too. The fact that the boy has a gun might be too much for you though, which is understandable in our current state of gun control.

It's up to us not to use guns to kill each other, it's up to us to make the choices we make.

Perhaps the guns themselves could have been a part of the boys imagination but the gun is not the focus of the book, it is something as a parent you will notice, for sure, but you'll be surprised how the boys imagination puts the gun itself in the background during his adventures around his house and town as a sweet helpful  and brave cowboy.  I hope you still consider this book as a fun and memorable read for your child, especially those with kids who are creative and active and always tinkering around and creating fun in their own way.

The Brave Cowboy on Amazon.com

The Brave Cowboy on BN.com

 

Prom dress photo contest to win a signed copy of my YA novel Careful

 

 

 

My text message to Phoenix wouldn’t matter now. It was too late. Even though I sent him a “yes” an hour before, we wouldn’t be going to prom. There wasn’t even a chance that I could be saved. It was February 12th, and I was dead.  ~Estella, chapter 1 of Careful

 

In my YA novel Careful, the first book of the Careful, Quiet, Invisible series, Estella tragically dies in a texting and driving crash the day she tried on her prom dress with her best friends Zara, Jett and Eva. In memory of Estella I'm holding a photo contest based on the prom dresses of the main characters in the book!

Win a signed copy of Careful by submitting to the prom dress photo contest!

Contest Details:
 

 Did you wear white as your prom dress like Estella? Or pink like Zara or black (with sequins) like Jett or choose a purple/ plum color like Eva. Submit a pic of your prom dress that matches a character for a chance to win a signed copy of Careful. Submit your prom dress pic by email petitepride@yahoo.com or tag me in a photo on Facebook or share the image with me on Twitter.

It would be cool to get submissions for each character so I can give away 4 books!


 

 

 

Contest Starts Today!

Ends Tuesday June 11th 2013

 

You can read an excerpt in Careful based on the girls prom dress shopping here. 

 

Here are pins similar to the dresses the characters wore in the book.

 

Estella's white dress on pinterest

Jett's black dress on pinterest

Eva's purple/plum colored dress on pinterest

Zara's pink dress on pinterest

WATCH THE BOOK TRAILER HERE

LISTEN TO PODCAST READINGS HERE

 

 

Boston: Make way for ducklings and more!

One of the big highlights of our weekend in Boston was visiting the Public Gardens, the location where the book Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey.

I loved how the beautiful public gardens are seen in the book and you can ride the swan boats and there were even baby ducklings and it's an adorable park to bring your baby and take photos too.


Live the book!

We also enjoyed the aquarium, a whale watch tour, a trolley tour too!

 

The tree and the boy

the tree loved the boy and the boy loved the tree — at Madison Square Park.

 

 

We recently read Bluebird by Bob Staake and tips on reading wordless children's books

I was impressed by the children's book Bluebird by Bob Staake recently but at first glance it was just a book with a bird on each page, okay, um, kinda boring , a wordless picture book? Boy was I wrong.

You might think, "How do I read a wordless book to my baby?" Well, it's about being a bit creative.

When I read picture books, which are fun for little hands to rip up, I put Phoenix in the jumper, so he can sit and jump and listen and I can sit back a little and hold up the book for him to see the illustrations, but not touch. Take in with his heart.

While Phoenix looked at the illustrations of Bluebird I created the words based on the actions on the page, the illustrations had a unique graphic feel with blues and grays and reading this book was sort of like reading a graphic novel.

When reading this story of a bird and boy I used a similar tone that I use when reading The Giving Tree.

I would say, "The bird is following the boy, the bird is on the mailbox waiting for the boy, the bird is ontop of the street sign looking down at the boy and the people walking by."

The boy ends up in Central Park. I love that this book is a New York City book, by the way.

"The bird and the boy go to the park and the boy buys a sailboat and plays with it in the pool."

The bird gets hurt when a bunch of mean boys, bullies, attempt to steal the boy's sailboat and the boy is deeply sad about this. I was sad too, shocked, my tone of voice for sad and Phoenix noticed. The poor bird.

Then a flock of birds of all different colors (a perfect moment to share the colors of each bird with your baby) appear and help the boy bring the bird to heaven, or into the clouds where his soul is set free.  Or to wherever you want to say the bird goes is up to you. The boy goes up high in the sky too...

You can create your own words to go with the illustrations as you read to your baby, and let the illustrations guide you and use your own imagination to intrigue your baby. By watching, looking, observing there is so much to take in and see and share together.
Phoenix loved it when I said the word bluebird over and over, he giggled so hard each time. :)

When reading use your tone of voice to enhance emotion and your facial expressions, suddenly a wordless book becomes a special moment to bond with your baby.

~Isobella & Phoenix

Did You Know:  Get ready, Saturday morning storytelling at the Hans Christian Andersen statue in Central Park begins in June, I plan to check it out with Phoenix and will review for the www.phoenixbabybookclub.blogspot.com check out the schedule here: http://www.hcastorycenter.org/storytelling-schedule.html  Central Park and 72nd street

Don't let your baby hold you back, instead engage your baby in all you want to do. I understand that it's tough when you become a parent and you have to say no to the things you did when you were just you, but get into the mindset that you as a parent can still enjoy the things you used to enjoy. Go to museums, go to events, go to that sample sale for Jimmy Choo's (just get there early cause the line is CRAZY) and live your life together in joy and observe and discover and do something exciting together each day, exciting can be something simple too, like touching the bark of trees at the park, something I love to do with my son because the texture of trees feels so cool. Also, it's okay to bring your baby in adult situations, I mean come on of course ALL places but there is a lot to do and your baby can come along as long as you are prepared make sure baby is already fed, changed, happy and know where the exits or bathrooms are just in case...but I think it's great to take your baby to museums especially, and I love singing twinkle, twinkle little star as Phoenix looks at Starry Night, here are some books I say on Mommypoppins.com based on taking your kids to the museum: http://mommypoppins.com/kids-books-nyc-museums-childrens-books-moma-metropolitan-guggenheim


 

Phoenix's photo shoot at the Union Square Park Playground, NYC

 

 

 

Phoenix is wearing an adorable onesie by Gymboree and pants and shoes from Old Navy Baby.

 

Photography by Robert Milazzo

Okay baby you can have your own computer keyboard

Since he's always all over ours we got him one of his own :)