Anansi the Spider Books

I heard Anansi and the Talking Melon at a library story time about 4 years ago.  I loved the clever story and laughed right out loud!  Since then I have enjoyed reading every Anansi book by Eric A. Kimmel.  The stories about a spider who's always trying to play tricks on other animals in the jungle and does anything to get out of doing any sort of work.  The great thing is, his tricks usually come back to bite him!  The Anansi legend originated in Africa and there are many different versions of these stories. 

Here are the Anansi books by Eric A. Kimmel:

Anansi and the Talking Melon

Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock

Anansi Goes Fishing

Anansi and the Magic Stick

Anansi's Party Time  (Not my favorite, but still worth a read)

A Few Favorites

Recently I pulled out a few books I hadn't read in a very long time and I fell in love with them all over again!  Here are a few:

The Bear Came Over to My House by Rick Walton - A spin off of "The Bear Went Over the Mountain."  This Bear gets into mishap after mishap. 

Dog's Colorful Day by Emma Dodd - A great story to teach counting and colors!  Dog goes throughout the day accidentally getting colorful new "spots" on his fur.

Over in the Meadow by Ezra Jack Keats - The traditional counting rhyme.  My kids always love having this sung to them and the pictures are beautiful.  I will tell you it says "gay mother cricket"  since it was written when that meant "happy."

Easter Books

Good Easter books are so difficult to find.  Here are a few of our favorites:

Minnie and Moo: The Attack of the Easter Bunny by Denys Cazet

The farmer doesn’t want to dress up as the Easter Bunny for his grandkids this year.  So Minnie and Moo set out to find someone who will!

Minerva Louise and the Colorful Eggs by Janet Morgan Stoeke

Easter through the eyes of the ever confused chicken, Minerva Louise.

Max Counts His Chicks by Rosemary Wells

The Easter Bunny has left 10 chicks for Max and his sister Ruby, but Max can’t find any!

Queen of Easter by Mary Engelbreit

Ann Estelle receives a spring surprise in her new Easter hat.

The Easter Egg Farm by Mary Jane Auch

Pauline is ashamed she can only lay crazy patterned, colorful eggs, until her owner discovers her talent.

I Need an Easter Egg!  by Harriet Ziefert

Little Rabbit is on a quest to find an Easter egg.

The Night Before Easter by Natasha Wing

An Easter spinoff of the popular “Night Before Christmas” poem.

Splat the Cat:  Where’s the Easter Bunny? by Rob Scottin

Splat needs to put in his Easter request to the Easter Bunny, but he can’t find him anywhere!

 Fancy Nancy’s Elegant Easter by Jane O’Connor

Love Fancy Nancy!  Nancy’s getting ready for an Easter Gala with her friends and family.

Elephant and Piggie Series

My kids and I were introduced to this series at a library storytime a few years back and we’ve read everything we can get our hands on since!  The stories are hilarious and often ironic.  Mo Willems has a knack for drawing amazing expressions and you can tell exactly what each character is thinking and feeling.  Every book is unique and creative.  This is a series even you are an adult will enjoy!

Today I Will Fly!

My Friend is Sad

There is a Bird on Your Head!

I Am Invited to a Party!

I Love My New Toy!

I Will Surprise My Friend!

Are You Ready To Play Outside?

Watch Me Throw The Ball!

Elephants Cannot Dance!

Pigs Make Me Sneeze!

I am Going!

Can I Play Too?

We Are In A Book!

I Broke My Trunk!

Should I Share My Ice Cream? (Coming June 2011)

Farmer Brown Books

Teri Sloat wrote a humorous little series about Farmer Brown that is so much fun!  Illustrated by one of my favorite illustrators, Nadine Bernard Westcott, these books feature Farmer Brown and his farm animals and tell about a few crazy happenings on the farm!

The Thing That Bothered Farmer Brown  Farmer Brown and all the animals are ready for a well earned rest, but some buzzing noise keeps them all awake!

Farmer Brown Goes Round and Round  A tornado hits the farm and mixes up all the animals; cows oink, sheep cluck.  How can they fix this problem?

Farmer Brown Shears His Sheep  Time to sheer the sheep, but now the sheep are cold.  How will they keep warm now?

Maybe it's because we have Kindergarten Orientation on Friday, but I've been thinking about Miss Bindergarten Books.  This series is wonderful!  I've read it to both my oldest when he was in Kindergarten and also my Preschooler who will be embarking on Kindergarten this year.  I attribute my Preschooler learning her ABC's from reading these books to her.  

The first book in the series,  Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten follows Miss Bindergarten and her students as they get ready for the first day of Kindergarten.  Each book rhymes and all the students first names start with each letter of the alphabet, from Adam Krupp to Zachary Blair.  The illustrations are delightful and seem to have something new each time you read.  We’ve read all of the books in the series numerous times, but Miss Bindergarten never gets old!

Here are the books in the series:

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten

Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100^th Day of Kindergarten

Miss Bindergarten Stays Home From Kindergarten

Miss Bindergarten Takes a Field Trip With Kindergarten

Miss Bindergarten Plans a Circus With Kindergarten

Miss Bindergarten Has a Wild Day in Kindergarten  Definitely my Favorite of the series!

Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the Last Day of Kindergarten

Iza Trapani and Mary Ann Hoberman

I really enjoy when authors take something well know and completely recreate it.  Books by Iza Trapani and Mary Ann Hoberman take traditional songs (Like “Mary Had a Little Lamb”) and write additional verses to create a story.  I love singing the story to my kids and they are always enthralled!  Right now my youngest is stuck on Mary Had a Little Lamb and The Eensy Weensy Spider.  I can’t help but notice that my older two always seem to end up right by my side listening too!  Kids love books that you can sing!

Here are by favorites:

Iza Trapani:

How Much is That Doggie in the Window

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Shoo Fly!

Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

www.izatrapani.com

Mary Ann Hoberman:

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Bill Grogan’s Goat

The Eensy Weensy Spider (I sing “Itsy Bitsy” because that’s how I learned it!)

Miss Mary Mack

www.maryannhoberman.com