|
|
Review by: Hannah and Sarah
Millie Waits for the Mail
- Author & Illustrator: Alexander Steffensmeier
- Published: Walker Books for Young Readers (July 24, 2007)
- ISBN: 0802796621
I found this book in my favorite children’s book recommendation source, Chinaberry magazine, while looking for the perfect Christmas present book for Ainsley a year ago. What sold me on it was their description of how funny the illustrations were. For my little giggler, it seemed like a perfect fit. And it was. But it was also a funny book for my then-six-year-old. And it is still a great book now that they’re five and eight years old. And it’s fun for us adults also.
Millie Waits for the Mail is the story of a cow who loves it when the mail carrier brings the mail because she *loves* finding new, creative ways of scaring him. She jumps out of watering troughs, hides behind (and in) trees, or pretends to be a pig and then jumps out at the terrified mailman and chases him down the road.
The farmer doesn’t like it because all of her breakable mail arrives broken. The mail carrier is starting to have nightmares about cows.
The problem of the mischievous cow gets solved by the end of the book – but not in the way that the farmer, the mail carrier, or the cow expect.
As we mentioned in the podcast, we’ve owned this book for over a year now and we are still finding funny parts of the illustrations that we hadn’t noticed before. Having said that, the illustrations are funnier for the younger 3-6 year old crowd, with hens doing goofy things and bugs skateboarding, but it’s well worth the read. This is the perfect book to buy grandparents for their grandkids book shelf.
My older girl who is emotionally sensitive did want to talk about an issue in this book – why someone (the cow) would want to keep scaring someone who obviously didn’t like it. That was a really good discussion to have because it comes up sometimes with siblings, someone bothering someone else to get a reaction that they like but that the other person may not like, and how to solve that problem before it gets to the bike crushing stage.
In writing this review I found out that there’s also a Millie Waits for the Mail game! We haven’t played it, but we love HABA games. I’m intrigued…
Ainsley (5 yrs) rated this book: Funny to read, but not every day.
Hannah (8 yrs) rated this book: Easy to memorize so I can read it to my little brothers. Silly pictures of a farm that looks like a real farm!
Sarah (35 yrs) rated this book: Ainsley’s right – this isn’t a read-every-day book, but it is a great one to pull out when giggling is needed or when you have new kids visiting. When the kids are bored and pawing through a book pile to find one that strikes their fancy, this is one that always gets pulled out.
Review by: Hannah and Sarah (Our first ‘one-take’ podcast! Woot!)
 
George Washington’s Teethwas a fantastic find. I was searching for books about teeth when Hannah started losing her teeth and this one was recommended.
This book is so much fun! The story of George Washington’s lifelong trouble with his teeth is told in rhyme that is easy to listen to and easier to read. Hannah, who loves poetry, has the book memorized.
The illustrations are fun and engaging. My favorite thing about these illustrations is that Mr. Cole redoes famous paintings of George Washington like Crossing the Delaware and his Valley Forge painting and, of course (since it is integral to the story), his most famous portrait. When we were looking up more information on President Washington we came across the original paintings and my kids were excited to recognize them. That was fun.
At the end of the book is a timeline of his life, focusing on his teeth trouble. I had thought that it would be so dry and boring that it wouldn’t be interesting to my girls at all, but Ainsley (5) really liked the photo of his dentures and Hannah (7) was excited to see the portraits and be able to point out the scar on his cheek (from dental problems) in one of them and to see the real portrait that inspired him to ‘fall on his fanny’ and say ‘I look like Martha’s granny!’.
On the podcast, we promised you a picture of hippo tusk, so you can see what they made his final teeth out of and a photo of his actual dentures. Hannah and Ainsley will both now tell anyone who cares (and anyone who doesn't, as long as they stand still long enough) that he never had wooden teeth.
If you have any recommendations for fantastic books for kids about presidents, let us know in the comments!
This book is listed for 4 -year-olds on up.
Ainsley (5 yrs) rated this book: Fun to listen to, but NOT EVERY NIGHT, HANNAH!
Hannah (7 yrs) rated this book: This book is so fun that I know it by heart and can read it to my little brother. I ask Mother to read it every night.
Sarah (35 yrs) rated this book: Fast, fun read that can (and has) lead to discussions on Washington and other presidents, dental hygiene, slavery, why we're glad to live when we do, war, freedom, walruses, the probably state of President Obama's teeth, and hippos.
Review by: Ainsley and Sarah
This book is one of my husband’s finds – very unusual since he rarely visits the library with us. It is so much fun and has been checked out three times now by Ainsley. The big, bright cartoonish illustrations that accompany the text are irresistible to her, and now she wants a pair of disco pants, just like Hilda. Thanks, Ms. Watts.
Hilda Must Be Dancing is about a hippo who loves to dance – and she’s good at it – but her dancing around the jungle makes the bananas fall from the trees, the ground shake, the plants get trampled …. After a year, her friends suggest other things she can do – knitting, singing – but these have no better results. She tries different kinds of dancing – ballet, flamenco, disco, samba – but all of them leave the jungle a mess. Finally someone suggests water ballet and it’s a perfect fit. She’s graceful and the other animals can enjoy her dancing and they cheer her on.
The podcast for this book is pure 5-year-old. Ainsley loves this book but thinks it could be better if the author told you where Hilda poops. Necessary information, that.
This book is listed for 4 – 8 year olds but kids as young as 2 years old will love the big pictures and the rollicking text.
Ainsley (5 yrs) rated this book: I love this book! And I want my mom to make me a rumba dress just like Hilda’s dress.
Hannah (7 yrs) rated this book: This is a funny book for Daddy to read. And I want Mother to make me the disco pants.
Sarah (34 yrs) rated this book: One of the few books that I don’t mind reading the sound effects in – thumpa bumpa, boom bang crash. Fun, short book for cuddle and bedtime.
Review by: Hannah and Sarah
Today we’re reviewing Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy . We’re packing up the house to move, library day is two days away, and this one was on the bedside table – always a sign that it’s a good kid’s book.
This book was a gift for Hannah when she was 5 years old. I chanced across it in a book store and it had three elements that made me think it would be a perfect book for her – a fancy little girl (since she has been dressing up since she could pick out her own clothes), a posh puppy (she had been saving money for a year at that point to buy her own dream dog, a white chihuahua), and ‘fancy’ words (for my girl that puts communication as a high priority and eats new words for breakfast, lunch, and dinner).
She is now 7 years old and still likes to read it. The majority of the ‘fancy’ words aren’t that fancy – ‘ecstatic’, ‘exhausted’, ‘spectacular’ (I don’t read the “That’s a fancy word for …” lines) – but there are a few that she didn’t know and loved learning. She got to learn a few words in French which is always good for a girl with an Eiffel tower model on her style desk. Also, while looking for this book on Amazon, I came across Nancy la Elegante y la perrita popoff  , the Spanish version of this book. I’m betting that it will have fancy words in it that Hannah doesn’t know. I’m tempted to add it to my Spanish language book collection …
The plot of this book is cute – a little girl wants a dog, her family is willing, but they want an ordinary dog like a golden retriever – something good for a family. She decides to talk them into her kind of dog by babysitting their neighbor’s posh papillon. Through the course of the day she learns that a tiny dog like that is not the best dog for her family and her parents help her find the perfect dog for the family at the shelter. Which brings me to something I loved about this author – the parents she gives Fancy Nancy are kind, tolerant parents who let her express herself and are gentle when she makes a mistake – like yelling at her little sister. I liked my girls being able to hear that in a book.
What sold me on this book overall, though, was the pictures. My posh little girl who mixes and matches from her closet, my closet, the dress-up box, the craft room, and the recycling bin absolutely loved the little girl in this book who dressed just like her. The detail paid to these pictures was amazing – the illustrator knows fancy girls very well. She also knows little girls that aren’t fancy pretty well as evidenced by Fancy Nancy’s not-so-fancy little sister. It was like seeing my own two little girls in print. Let your kids pore over the pictures if they want to – there is so much detail hidden in them to giggle at and so many style ideas, too.
When I got this book, I didn’t know that it was part of a series – it was like checking out an Angelina Ballerina book and then finding out that what you read was just a derivative. After checking out and reading other Fancy Nancy books, this one is still our favorite. If you have a child who is really into Fancy Nancy, there is a website with games and activities .
This book is listed for 4-8 year olds.
Ainsley (5 yrs) rated this book: I liked how they made the little dog throw up. That was funny. I really like the pictures.
Hannah (7 yrs) rated this book: If we didn’t own this book, I’d buy it. Mom even likes it and she’s 14 years old, I think.
Sarah (34 yrs) rated this book: Short book, so easy to read when your kids need a spurt of attention, cuddling, and giggling between your own chores or when you need a fast book at night because they are thisclose to going to sleep.
Review by: Hannah and Sarah
Ace the Very Important Pig is a perfect book for reading a chapter or two at night before bed – except for the giggling it induces. The book is only 134 pages long, but it fits a lot of story into those pages. The chapters are short and all are titled similarly – ‘A Pig with a Gift’, ‘A Pig with a Plan’, ‘A Pig in a Pickup’, and so on.
I picked this book up at a library book sale last year and it’s been sitting on our kids shelf since then. One night a few weeks ago I pulled it off the shelf and stuck it in the ‘possible bedtime books’ pile. I wasn’t disappointed in the reception it got from my oldest, as you’ll hear from the amount of giggling in the podcast. I have yet to be disappointed by a Dick King-Smith book.
The cast of characters is irresistible – a pig who can understand human language (and just happens to be related to another famous pig, Babe, who was dreamed up by the same author), a farmer who he trains to understand simple commands, a goat and cat who become his friends, and a ridiculously regal Corgi dog who is very proud of her heritage.
The pencil illustrations are divine and it is obvious that the illustrator is not only familiar with country life but enjoys it. She took very seriously the suggestions by the author throughout the book that the farmer and the hog are similar-looking and the result is hilarious.
Because the plot is gentle and funny, this is a good read-aloud book for any child from the age of four on up that will sit still for it – just be aware that you may have to answer questions about alcohol consumption when the pig visits a pub. It’s not a bad thing, though. Three days after we finished this book, my 7-year-old brought back in her plate of Oreos with cookies still on it. I asked her if she wasn’t hungry anymore and she said “No, but I felt full and like Nanny said, “You can have too much of a good thing.”
For children who are at the read-alone stage, this book is listed for 7-12 year olds.
Ainsley (4 yrs) rated this book: Fun pictures to look at, but boring. Except for the dog.
Hannah (7 yrs) rated this book: Too good to read at night because it kept me up giggling. Especially the dog.
Sarah (34 yrs) rated this book: Easy to pick up and put down as the children’s interest demanded. Glad we own it.
Here’s what we’re doing to start this out …
I’ll put up a podcast that you can download or listen to right on this site. In the podcast I will review one book, sometimes with one or more of my kids, sometimes by myself. I will also post more information and links in the blog post that the podcast is attached to. Because I’m talkative. Also, the blog post will include information about the book that I may not have wanted to say in the podcast with my kids listening – information that is helpful to parents, but would affect the way my kids look at that book or other books in the future.
Here’s what you can expect from the podcast-
- For the first bit, me seeming to coach them. What’s really happening is me reminding them of what they wanted to say when we did a practice run before they got a microphone stuck in their face. We’ll find our authentic on-air voices quickly I hope.
- Maybe weird clicks and background noises and volume issues as I figure out how to run the recording program – bear with us for that. I don’t want to put off the podcast until the sound is perfect.
- LOTS of giggling. My only verbal kids are both happy, giggly girls who love the books they’re recommending. That part of our sound will be perfect.
- Speaking of that, you can expect to only get recommendations of books that my kids loved so much that they want to talk about them into a microphone.
- Spoilers. You will hear spoilers. I don’t know how to stop that with kids – or if I want to.
- No swearing. Totally kid-safe podcast if your kids want to listen to other kids recommend books so that they can find ones to put on their library list.
- Random podcast lengths which vary depending on which kid is doing the podcast and how much they have to say about that book.
What I would like to see happen as we build the site -
- Community!!! Comment. Tell us if you liked the book or hated it. Tell us if you have related books to recommend. Tell your friends to listen if you liked a podcast. Spread the word and build an awesome parent-and-kid-recommended book site!
- Guest (other kids and parents) podcasts so you could hear from people with other interests. This would be amazing. Also amazing? Me figuring out how to do that.
- Guest librarian to record podcasts.
- Author and illustrator interviews. Wouldn’t that be cool?
- Maggie Gylenhaal/Emma Thompson/Angelina Jolie recommending their favorite kid books. Because I need to shoot for the moon in order to land in the stars. Or something like that.
So come along for the ride, let me know what you think, and here we go …
|
|
