Three Recent Readalouds: "B" is for Betsy, The Show Must Go On, and Gooney Bird Greene

A couple of months ago, with the approach of his fifth birthday, I felt like I needed to make more of a concerted effort to invite Clark to listen when I was reading aloud to the other boys. I mean, the invitation was always there, but he almost always opted for Mike to read a picture book to him instead (definitely not a bad thing). I couldn't really blame him since the last few books we had read hadn't exactly been preschool-friendly.

So I followed my own advice and picked several books with short chapters, lots of pictures, and characters/plot that would appeal to a five-year-old. My older boys were super accommodating, which proves that kids just love to be read to, even if it's not what they would choose to read on their own.

1. "B" is for Betsy by Carolyn Haywood

This was a really sweet and adorable story. It felt like a cross between Betsy-Tacy and Ramona with that innocent old-school charm (it was first published in 1939) and just a touch of spunkiness (although not up to Ramona levels).

Betsy enters first grade at the beginning of the story (which, we soon realized, was more like kindergarten would be today). She meets Ellen on the first day, and they become fast friends. She gets lost on her way to school. Under her teacher's gentle supervision, her classroom grows tadpoles, organizes a gift for an older friend in need, and create their own circus.

You might think that this story would be too old-fashioned or too girly for my kids, but the truth is, we all enjoyed it. And it was especially a winner for Clark. The plot wasn't intense or complicated. He could keep track of all of the characters. And he latched onto all of Betsy's little adventures because, even in 2019, they still sounded like just the kind of thing he'd like to do, too.

Although this wasn't Clark's first time listening to a chapter book, it was the first time with all of his older brothers listening as well. And I think it made him feel like part of the club. He enjoyed jumping in with the answers when we did a little review every night and coming up with his own ideas for what was going to happen.

And it meant he got to have his back scratched, which Clark is always in favor of.

2. The Show Must Go On! by Kate and Sarah Klise

This was our second readaloud with Clark. And while it was a cute story, in retrospect, I actually wish I hadn't read it aloud.

I always say that first readalouds should have lots of pictures, but it turns out that it actually is possible to have too many pictures, and this book is the perfect example. There were pictures on almost every page, which in and of itself wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The problem was that many of the pictures contained speech bubbles or other textual information that was actually critical to the plot of the story but that had to be explained if you weren't reading it yourself (i.e., "This is a conversation between Gert and Bert"). It was a bit like reading a graphic novel aloud, which would be very difficult.

When Sir Sidney decides to take a much needed rest and go on vacation, he leaves his circus in the seemingly capable hands of Barnabas Brambles. But Barnabas is only interested in making money, and in just a short week's time, he has effectively done way more damage than good and has literally only made a dollar in the process.

It was a fun story, and we made it work as a readaloud, but I honestly think it would have been much more enjoyable for my kids if they had just read it on their own.

3. Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry

I started reading this one with just Clark, but the other boys were around during the final three chapters, and even though they pretended they weren't listening, they totally were (especially Max, who picked up the book after we were finished so that he could read the first four chapters).

Turns out, this was actually a really easy book to just jump into the middle of because each chapter is kind of its own self-contained story. In fact, the art of storytelling is really the whole point of the book.

When Gooney Bird Greene arrives at Watertower Elementary, everyone can tell she isn't an ordinary girl (and it isn't just her name, although that alone is enough to make a person look twice). When Mrs. Pidgeon teaches the class about the format of a good story (it must have a beginning, middle, and end, etc.), all of the students agree that the story they most want to hear is about Gooney Bird Greene. And since that puts Gooney Bird right smack in the middle of everything, she is happy to oblige by sharing absolutely true stories about herself.

The thing is, they don't sound like true stories. One of them is titled "How Gooney Bird Came from China on a Flying Carpet." Another, "Beloved Catman is Consumed by a Cow." But by the end, the kids realize that Gooney Bird actually has lived a fairly ordinary life, but when presented in just the right way, it sounds rather extraordinary.

We liked this book, but it wasn't until the final chapter that I finally saw the genius behind it, and then I kind of loved it. Everything came together beautifully as Gooney Bird revisited the stories she had told and showed the class how each one of them also has similar experiences that are just waiting to be told.

I don't know if teachers use this book as a way to introduce the story format, but I can't imagine that they don't. This book is just too perfect not to use in a classroom setting.

What are some other short, easy readalouds Clark would enjoy?

Review x 2: Poppy and Poppy & Rye by Avi

Writing a combined review of these books seemed like a great idea until I put their titles side by side. But in case you're confused, I'm talking about two separate books here. The first one is Poppy. The second one is Poppy and Rye. But yes, the Poppy referred to is the same Poppy.

These two books are part of the Dimwood Forest series. If you look them up, you will see that there's another book, Ragweed, that comes before this one chronologically, but we opted to start with Poppy for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, even though Ragweed's story happens first, his story was not written first. It was written third. And, as with The Chronicles of Narnia, I'm a stickler for reading books in the order they were written in. If that means they fall out of order chronologically, then so be it.

It many cases, reading them in the order of publication sheds some added insight into the stories that would be lost if you read them in the forced chronological order, and that's definitely the case with these books. Ragweed starts out as a character in Poppy, but within the first chapter, he gets eaten by the evil owl, Mr. Ocax. We'd hardly become acquainted with Ragweed and so, although his death was sad, it didn't traumatize any of us. We didn't know Ragweed well enough to be traumatized.

But can you imagine what my boys' reaction would have been if we'd started with Ragweed's story, been on an adventure with him, and then he was gobbled up in the first chapter of Poppy? It would have been so devastating. As it is, we've gotten to know Ragweed first through the eyes of Poppy and Ragweed's family. Our curiosity has been piqued about this strong-willed, independent little mouse. We know what the final outcome will be, but that only makes Ragweed's story more alluring. By beginning with Poppy, we're seeing the series as it unfolded for Avi, and that's worth something. If you read these to your kids, I'd recommend doing it the same way.

Anyway, back to the two books at hand.

Poppy's story begins on a beautiful summer evening on Bannock Hill. Poppy, a deer mouse, and her boyfriend, Ragweed, are on top of it without permission from Mr. Ocax, the owl who rules Dimwood Forest. Ragweed laughs in the face of rules. He will do whatever he pleases without asking permission from anybody, including and especially Mr. Ocax. But he underestimates Mr. Ocax's need for power, and, as I told you before, Mr. Ocax swoops in and gobbles him up.

While the reader might not be devastated (but surprised and a little shocked, yes), Poppy most certainly is. Her journey back to her family's home at Gray House is dangerous. Mr. Ocax is out to get her. It is not acceptable that any mouse who defied his orders should live. When she gets home, she doesn't find any respite. Her parents' little family, as mice are apt to do, has multiplied rapidly and have totally outgrown Gray House. Lungwort, Poppy's father, has found a new place to live, New House, but moving there will require permission from Mr. Ocax.

It's permission that he won't grant, and he claims that it's because of Poppy's disobedience, but Poppy gets the feeling that there's something about New House that Mr. Ocax doesn't want them to know. Boldly, she sets out alone to find out for herself. Along the way, she meets Ereth, a porcupine with a colorful tongue and a penchant for salt, and does things she never dreamed she was capable of.

My kids love a book with a classic villain, and Mr. Ocax is classic. He's mean and controlling but also manipulative and cowardly. He convinces Poppy's family that he is actually their protector from, wait for it, porcupines. I thought this speech from Poppy's father was quite telling of the brainwashing many dictators do in order to keep their subjects placid and obedient: "Mr. Ocax has always been most accommodating. Need I remind you that he protects us from porcupines . . . Have we seen so much as one porcupine in these parts for years? Not one! Proof enough that Mr. Ocax is holding up hi end of the bargain." Hmmm, as if the fact that they've never seen a porcupine witnesses to the reality of Mr. Ocax's protection.

By far though, my kids' favorite character was the porcupine, Ereth. He is grumpy, ornery, and can't speak without a string of namecalling. There's nothing to particularly like about him. He's not loyal. He's not kind. And the only protection he offers Poppy happens either accidentally or because it works out in his favor. But for all his prickliness (literally and figuratively), he is rather entertaining (and, in the next book, we learned some things that helped us understand and sympathize with his tough exterior a little more). Normally, I feel like I wouldn't appreciate Ereth's saucy mouth, but it's hard to say things like "bug's bathwater" or "frog flip" or "snake sweat" and not smile a little.

In Poppy and Rye, Poppy leaves her new home where her family is living happily and comfortably and sets out to find Ragweed's family. Ragweed was a golden mouse. The only thing Poppy really knows about his family is that they live on the banks of The Brook and that The Brook is on the other side of Dimwood Forest. She feels like it's her duty to find and tell them about Ragweed's untimely death. Somehow (by calling him "old," which insults him), she convinces Ereth to make the journey with her.

What Poppy doesn't know is that at the very moment she is making her way through Dimwood Forest, Ragweed's family is being forced out of their beloved home by a band of beavers who turned The Brook into a large pond. They are led by a beaver named Castor P. Canad (Cas for short). He has big ambitions. After the brook is dammed up, he and the other beavers start building lodges, which he names, "Canad's Cute Condos" (a name so catchy that I caught Bradley saying it to himself over and over again).

When Poppy arrives, the family has moved, but their new home is being threatened as well because Canad's Cute Condos are expanding. Poppy delivers her news but finds she can't just turn around and leave Ragweed's family. Something unexpected has happened to her: she has fallen in love with Ragweed's younger brother, Rye, and she knows she has to help him and his family reclaim their home.

If Mr. Ocax was a classic villain, Castor P. Canad is the opposite. On the surface, he seems nice. Full of motivational speeches, his motto is "Progress Without Pain." He pretends to stick to that, but really, he just wants to give the appearance of being a nice guy so that he can expand his business without any trouble.  

I have to say that even though we shouldn't have liked Mr. Canad, we couldn't help ourselves. His sections were some of our favorites because his speeches were so funny. His favorite expression is, "Well, bless my teeth and smooth my tail," and my boys laughed every time he said it. Mr. Canad has a habit of speaking in cliches (which furthers his disingenuous personality), and this speech (made to the other beavers to inspire and motivate them) was probably our favorite one of the book. At any rate, it's the one we memorized and have been repeating whenever we need a laugh:

"All right then. . . . Don't have to remind you, there's work to be done. I'll be by your side. Don't want to hear about any beaver who isn't busy. Hang in there. Be fresh as a daisy. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. And finally, from the bottom of my heart, and from the top, as well as the sides and also the middle, I want to say to you all, and I mean this, really, I do, with all my soul, honestly, sincerely, have a nice day!"

 It helped that I landed upon the perfect voice for Mr. Canad, which made his speeches even more fun to read aloud. I love it when that happens. So yes, he's still a villain but very atypical, which makes the whole situation fresh and interesting.

I will say that this book has quite a bit of romance in it (first, Poppy mourns the love of her life, Ragweed, then meets the mysterious Rye whom she dances with before she even knows about his relation to Ragweed, and finally we find out Ereth is actually in love with Poppy, too). These chapters were probably my boys' least favorites (and there seemed to be a lot of them), but the action in between kept them going, and the final battle between the mice and beavers ("The Battle of the Boulder") was so thrilling and exciting, it made up for every boring love scene before it.

Speaking of the battle, that was one of my favorite parts of the book too, but not for the same reason as Aaron, Max, and Bradley. Early in the story, you get the impression that Clover and Valerian (Ragweed and Rye's parents) are unwilling to put their family at risk by resisting anything. Consequently, they're being pushed around like they're nobody. But finally, one night, something snaps and then clicks and they decide to stop giving in to Mr. Canad. They come up with an elaborate plan to destroy the dam, and they pull it off beautifully.

The thing I love about the battle is that Poppy and Rye aren't even a part of it because they're trapped inside the Lodge at the time. Poppy still has many moments of bravery, but I just really loved seeing Rye's family step up and deliver instead of just being rescued by Poppy (although, if it hadn't been for her arrival, they never would have found the courage to make the first move).

I'm as bad at finishing series with my kids as I am with finishing them myself. We have our so many that we're in the middle of, and this just adds one more to the pile. Still though, we are looking forward to coming back to Dimwood Forest in a little while after we've read a few other books. In some ways, it's nice to not read all the books in one bang. It makes them last longer, and it's always fun to know we have tried and true friends we can return to.

Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes

I am well-acquainted with the cover of Ginger Pye. I must have seen it a hundred times when I was growing up. It seemed like one of my siblings was always reading it, and I would see it stacked on an end table or tented on the back of a couch or hiding under the bed.

And yet, with all that exposure, I never read it. I think this was because we didn't own a copy of it until I was a teenager, but I could be making that up. In any case, I'm going to maintain that as the reason for why all my brothers and sisters read it, but not me.

One of those siblings (my sister, Anna) was here visiting over the weekend. When she saw that I was reading this to the boys, she claimed she didn't remember much about it, but then proceeded to say, "Do the kids earn the money to buy Ginger by dusting the church? Oh, and is this the one where the father and mother met because the father tried to run up the down escalator and ran into the mother? And, I also remember that--what's the girl's name?--oh yeah, Rachel. Doesn't she say something like Boston was more important than New York because the two o's made it look more important?" Somehow she didn't convince me that she couldn't remember it. She also made me feel like I really missed out.

But not anymore. If Ginger Pye comes up in a conversation, I'll finally be able to hold my own with the rest of them.

The Speedy's dog had puppies, and 10-year-old Jerry Pye has his eye on one of them. If he can earn a dollar by Saturday, then Mrs. Speedy says it's his. Jerry and his sister, Rachel, wrack their brains, trying to come up with a way to make the money. Then, in a brilliant stroke of luck, Sam Doody comes by and asks Jerry if he wants to dust the church for him since he needs to go into town that afternoon and buy a new suit. He'll pay him a dollar. Of course Jerry says yes, and he and Rachel (and also Uncle Benny, who, although their uncle, is only three years old) dust all the pews in the church. It takes all afternoon, but they work fast and make it to the Speedy's before 6:00.

The puppy is theirs, and they are thrilled. They name him Ginger, and he turns out to be everything they wished for in a dog: playful, affectionate, loyal, and incredibly intelligent. But then, on Thanksgiving Day, Ginger goes missing. Jerry and Rachel can't imagine how he escaped from the yard, and they spend the evening searching everywhere for Ginger before finally coming to the conclusion that Ginger was stolen! And the only clues they have to go on are an old yellow hat and some mysterious footsteps.

Written in 1951, Ginger Pye felt very similar to another book we've read: Half Magic by Edward Eager, which was written in 1954. (Also, I always get Eleanor Estes' and Edward Eager's names all mixed up--too many E's or something.) We read Half Magic nearly two years ago, and at the time, it was just a little over my boys' heads. We still liked it, but I remember thinking the length of the chapters and scarcity of pictures made it hard for them to stay engaged. I think it took us about three months to read. Ginger Pye took us about three weeks, and reading it made me realize how far my kids' attention spans have come in two years. It might be time to read Half Magic again because I'm pretty sure it would be a completely different experience this time around.

We all really liked Ginger Pye. Bradley, who is three, usually has his own storytime with Mike while I read to the older boys, but even he got pulled into the story and sat and listened to many of the chapters. Aaron and Max liked it for its mystery and suspense and adventure, and I was surprised by some of the profound insights I gained from it. The boys' favorite character was Uncle Benny (they were so intrigued by an uncle who was younger than his niece and nephew), and my favorite character was Sam Doody (I told Aaron and Max I want them to be just like him when they're teenagers).

(Spoilers ahead! Read further at your own risk.)

Maybe I'm reading too much into it and pulling out meaning where there isn't any, but I was struck by how Jerry and Rachel's sadness over losing Ginger mimicked the pattern and cycle of grief. At first they were supported by many friends who helped them look for Ginger, "but after a while [those friends] grew tired of the same old search. Though they all promised to keep their eyes open for the man whose pictures they had examined at the Town Hall, and his hat which Jerry described, one by one they dropped off. Then, only Jerry and Rachel looked, either together or by themselves."

Ginger is gone for many months, and as the days pass by, normal life resumes for Jerry and Rachel (just as it moves forward for anyone who is grieving). In some ways, they are able to find joy and excitement even without Ginger (some of their best adventures (East Rock and West Rock, for example) happen during this time). But always, always, Ginger is at the back of their minds. Jerry keeps a continual lookout for him, both with eyes and ears. And sometimes, they are gripped with a sharp pain of sadness because they miss him so, so much. And some things do not go back to normal. For example, Jerry and Rachel have this long-standing tradition of making up stories about Martin Boombernickles when they go to bed at night, but when Ginger disappears, so do the stories. They just don't have it in them anymore.

I also kept thinking about this line after Jerry and Rachel realize that the thief is Wally Bullwinkle (a fellow classmate of Jerry's): "'We didn't know Wally was a thief and he didn't look like the picture we drew of the unsavory character. We didn't know an unsavory character could be just a boy in my class,' said Jerry." We didn't know an unsavory character could be just a boy in my class. Jerry says that line at least three times. He just can't believe that Ginger was so close all along, and he never guessed the thief could be someone he knew (although the reader can figure it out very early on). So often we make quick and hasty judgements that end up hindering us in the long run. If Jerry hadn't assumed that the "unsavory character" was some villainous looking man, he might have found Ginger much sooner (and you also have to wonder (at least, I have to wonder) if maybe a faster discovery would have helped Wally Bullwinkle out of a bad situation as well.

The ending made me want to cry. Having Ginger reunited with his family was touching and tender, yes, but there were some hard truths beneath the surface . . . such as that Ginger was most likely abused during those many months; such as that Wally Bullwinkle had a hard home life that he was not rescued from; such as that for all that time, Ginger was desperately trying to get back to his family. It kind of hurts my heart to think about him in the Bullwinkle's backyard, listening to Jerry and Rachel's calls, straining at his rope, but unable to get to them (I loved Mrs. Pye's surmise that hearing them "helped [Ginger] remember [them] and keep [them] in mind until the right moment came for his escape.'") 

This review turned a little deeper and darker than I was planning on, but I have to say that while all those elements were there, the overall tone of the book was light and happy and hopeful. I don't think my kids were too young to listen to it, and I think it's a book that will grow with them. They can reread it in four or five years and pick up on some of those things they were too young to understand this first time.

Did you read Ginger Pye when you were a child? Have you read it to your kids? What was the most memorable scene for you?

Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary

Ramona is like comfort food to us. Sometimes, we like to be adventurous and try new characters and plots and settings, but every few books, we come right back to her. We know we’ll love whatever she does, and so we can immediately settle into her without any false hopes or pretenses.

This installment leads off with some drama in the park, followed by Mrs. Quimby’s announcement that she is starting a job, which will make it possible for them to build a much-needed addition onto their house. Ramona begins first grade and discovers Mrs. Griggs is nothing like her beloved Miss Binney from kindergarten, and Ramona’s creativity and spunk are under-appreciated (at least in Ramona’s eyes). She can hardly bear the unfairness of it all (and gets into her share of trouble because of it), but in the end things work out, and her indomitable spirit continues to shine.

I was a little caught off guard by the aforementioned drama in the park. Some boys call Beezus a name (her name rhymes too perfectly with “Jesus” and really nothing else), and I didn’t feel comfortable saying it. So I changed it, but then of course, what Ramona and Beezus and Mrs. Quimby were saying in relation to it just didn’t make sense.

(I felt a little too much like Alice Ozma’s father in The Reading Promise when he’s reading Dicey’s Song and begins editing out big chunks with noticeable consequences.)

So we had to pause for a minute so I could explain what the mean boys were really calling Beezus and why I was not okay with saying it. The episode does involve Ramona staunchly reprimanding the boys and defending Beezus, and that is a super sweet thing to witness (even though Beezus is very unappreciative). But I know Max is going to want to listen to the audio of this book now, and I just don’t know how I feel about him listening to that chapter over and over.

One of the things I really appreciated in this particular story was the character of Mrs. Griggs. Ramona doesn’t really like her, and I can’t say that we really liked her either. And yet, there was nothing to really dislike about her. In Beezus’, own words: “She wasn’t my favorite teacher . . . There wasn’t anything really wrong with her, I guess. She just wasn’t very exciting is all. She wasn’t mean or anything like that. We just seemed to go along doing our work, and that was it.”

I think it would have been so easy for Beverly Cleary to make her into a mean teacher, one that punished Ramona unfairly and that the reader could truly hate. But Mrs. Griggs was not that. She and Ramona just didn’t see eye to eye. She couldn’t appreciate Ramona’s feisty personality, and Ramona couldn’t appreciate her stable (but boring) methods. They just didn’t connect. In the world of school, having a teacher that you don’t click with is much more common and realistic than having a teacher who is truly despicable and cruel. And so I really appreciated Mrs. Griggs’ character because she was such a believable teacher.

Our favorite moment was when Ramona says a “bad” word. I could tell Aaron and Max were a little tense, waiting for it to come and wondering what it would be. When Ramona finally let it out and it was, “Guts! Guts! Guts,” oh, how they laughed (right along with Ramona’s parents and Beezus). 

Once again, Beverly Cleary tackled real childhood dilemmas (who among us hasn’t wanted our own room only to discover that it’s pretty lonely (and a little scary) to be by ourselves?) but did it in a completely original way. Nothing is predictable with Ramona, and although things always work out, they never do in the way you expect them to. We sure love that “spunky gal.”

What are YOUR comfort books?

Raising Readers: The Example of an Older Child

The selection of our very first chapter book to read aloud was a long and agonizing process. Aaron was three-and-a-half at the time, and I was very concerned about it being a positive experience so that he would want to do it again (and again) (and again).

I finally decided on The Mouse and the Motorcycle, and I can still remember introducing (essentially, selling) the book to him: "See? This book is divided into chapters. We read one or two chapters at a time. Then we put in a bookmark to save our place and we come back to it the next day. There are only a few pictures, so you just listen and make a picture in your head instead. Isn't that awesome?!"

In the three years since that time, we've read dozens of chapter books. A few days ago, I realized, with something of a start, that Bradley is now the same age as Aaron was when I made the grand chapter book introduction.

But Bradley needs no introduction.

As the third child, he is very well acquainted with the concept of a chapter book. Although he has yet to listen to one from beginning to middle to end, he has been listening in on snippets for years. He knows Ramona and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Charlie Buckets. He knows what a chapter is (the other night, he asked, "What's the name of Chapter 7?" and when I told him, he said, "Oh! Chapter 7: Alone in the Dark. Dad! Do you know what Chapter 7 is called? Alone in the Dark."). He knows that there are only scattered pictures (and often asks, "Is there a picture yet?").

This prompted me to think about all the other things I haven't taught Bradley but he has just absorbed through the examples of his older brothers.

• A pleasant afternoon can be spent looking through a stack of books
• The idea that letters on the page make words
• How to listen to a picture book
• What speech bubbles are
• How to listen to an audiobook
• The library is a thrilling place
• We treat books with respect
• It's exciting to receive a book as a gift.

But most importantly, he has learned that reading is fun, enjoyable, and exciting. He has observed and applied with virtually no instruction from me.

Of course, it's easiest to have the "example of an older child" if that older child is a member of your immediate family. But cousins, friends, and, yes, even adults can also provide a wonderful example. In retrospect, I'm wondering if I could have utilized someone else's example a bit more with Aaron (or even now, who might provide that example for him for the new reading experiences that are still coming down the pike).

I'm very interested to hear from all of you about how the examples of others have influenced your child's love of reading? For those of you who have only children, do you feel like there was a particular person (or people) who provided an example that got your child hooked on reading? Or, like me with Aaron, have you had to make a special effort to introduce new ideas?

Review x 2: The Trouble With Chickens and Fortunately, the Milk

Both of the books below were short, quick read-alouds, so I thought I'd review them together.

1. The Trouble With Chickens by Doreen Cronin


The thing that convinced me to read this book was not the title or the cover or the plot summary. It was the author. Doreen Cronin wrote one of our favorite picture books (Click, Clack, Moo), and when I discovered this chapter book, I knew we'd have to give it a try.

J.J. Tully is a retired search and rescue dog. After seven years on the job, he now lives the quiet life on a farm. But J.J. is not a fan of the quiet life, and so when Millicent comes to him for help, he tries to overlook the fact that she is a chicken and throws all his energy (and well-groomed skill) into rescuing two of her baby chicks. The only problem is, do they really need rescuing? Or is J.J. about to walk into a well-laid trap?

Okay, so I only had two issues with this book. First, the insults. Oh the insults! Why do authors feel compelled to have their characters be so rude to each other? Is it supposed to be funny? Because I am seriously disenchanted.

Second, the story is actually told from two perspectives: J.J. and another dog named Vince. But Vince's first turn isn't until chapter 10, and it really confused the boys and me. By that time, the story was already well established, and we'd already had so many chapters from J.J.'s point of view that we just assumed that would continue for the rest of the book. Then all of a sudden, he was sounding mean (not just rude, but downright mean) and vengeful and dangerous. After a page of that, I backed up and realized that we were now getting Vince's thoughts, not J.J.'s. I really feel like Vince's voice needed to be introduced much sooner (like chapter 2, perhaps?) so that we had some notice that this story was going to be told from two perspectives.

But the boys really liked it, and, aside from the things mentioned above, I did too. I've already checked out the second book, although I'll probably let Aaron read it on his own--not because I wouldn't enjoy it but just because there are so many good books I'm dying to read aloud to them.

2. Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman, illus. Skottie Young

I picked up this book for Aaron to read on his own, but then he liked it so much and it looked so good to me that I decided to read it aloud. He didn't complain. Not one bit.

There was no milk in the fridge on that fateful morning. The kids' mother was out of town, so the father did what any good father would do: he left for a few minutes to pick up a jug of milk. Only . . . it seemed longer than a few minutes. And when he finally got back and the kids demanded, "Where have you been all this time?" he had the craziest story to tell. But fortunately for them, while facing aliens, wumpires, and pirates and dealing with a collision between past, present, and future, he always kept tight hold of the milk. Well actually, not always. But he at least kept it in his sights.

This book is completely unbelievable. And that's what makes it so awesome. Seriously, about a third of the way through (after the father had been abducted by aliens, escaped, only to be threatened by a band of pirates, saved from walking the plank by Dr. Steg (a stegosaurus) in a hot air balloon (which actually turned out to be a time machine), and then almost sacrificed to the Eye of Splod), I thought, How much crazier could this story get? A lot, actually.

The time travel element was completely unexpected and really took the story from just being fun and crazy to wildly creative. I think it ended up being a good thing for Aaron to hear it again right after reading it himself because it gave him a second chance to really get a grasp on all the time travel details and sort them out.

We read it over three sittings, but it's one of those books you could easily read in an hour if you had an empty hour just laying around. It's filled to the brim with illustrations, and in fact is not divided into chapters at all, so it's more like a long picture book. In fact, now that I'm thinking more about it, reading the whole thing at one time probably makes more sense, but don't let that discourage you if you need to split it up like we did.

The whole thing was just so delightfully ridiculous. I'm still laughing over some of the lines, like these ones: "'How does a volcano know so much about transtemporal metascience?' asked one of the pale green aliens. 'Being a geological formation gives you a lot of time to think,' said Splod. 'Also, I subscribe to a number of learned journals.' I coughed, in what I hoped was an ominous sort of way."

After we finished it, I checked out the audio, and Aaron and Max have been listening to it over and over and over again.

Review x 3: Toy Dance Party, Henry and Ribsy, The Boxcar Children

Can I just tell you how much I treasure the time in the evenings when I get to read aloud to Aaron and Maxwell? I love it so much that even when we've had a busy evening, and it's already 8:00, I can't put them to bed without reading a couple chapters.

Here's what we've been reading recently:

1. Toy Dance Party: Being the Further Adventures of a Bossyboots Stingray, A Courageous Buffalo, and a Hopeful Round Someone Called Plastic by Emily Jenkins

This is the second book in the Toys series, and, from most of the reviews I've read, it's not as well liked as the first one, Toys Go Out. But I'm here to put in a good word for it because my kids and I loved it just as much as the first one.

Toys Go Out was delightful because all of the characters were new (we didn't even know what kind of toy Plastic was for the first couple of chapters). But Toy Dance Party was delightful because most of the characters were old, and it was so fun to get more of StingRay's "wisdom," Lumphy's bravery, and Plastic's optimism.

There were also several secondary characters (the one-eared sheep, the mice, etc.) that got more attention this time around as well as a couple of new characters (Spark (aka, DaisySparkle) and Buttermilk).

This one was also a little more poignant than the first one since Honey (the little girl) is growing up, and even though she still loves her toys, her interest in them is waning (à la Toy Story).

I think my favorite scene is when the new toy shark is writhing around in her box and Plastic realizes (rather mournfully) that when she was at the beach she was actually eaten by a beagle dog and not a shark. Either that, or when Honey names the shark DaisySparkle, much to StringRay's dismay. 

These are just all-around really great books--equally enjoyed (at least in this family) by both parent and child.

2. Henry and Ribsy by Beverly Cleary

It's been nearly six months since we finished Henry's last adventure. In the meantime, we read a couple of the Ramona books, but it was definitely time to return to Klickitat Street. In this one, Henry really wants to go salmon fishing with his dad. After an unfortunate (and embarrassing) incident where Ribsy steals a policeman's sandwich (while Henry is stuck in a car lift, no less), Henry's dad tells him he can go on the fishing trip with him if he can keep Ribsy out of trouble for the six weeks until it's time to go. That's a really big if.

My kids loved this book, and it's just so fun for me to overhear their various reactions and conversations about certain parts.

They loved the chapter when Ribsy pulls out Henry's two canine teeth at the same time. None of my kids have lost any teeth yet, but Aaron and Max were very impressed with Henry's method. "I wish we had a dog," Aaron lamented, "so he could pull out my teeth." "What about Molly?" I asked (because, hint, we are never owning a dog). "Oh, I never thought about using our cousins' dog!" So look out, Molly. Your services may be required at a future date.

And then of course they loved the last two chapters where (spoiler) Henry and Ribsy are on the fishing trip and Ribsy nearly gets swept out to sea and then a little later (spoiler again), Henry lands a chinook with his bare hands. I know, be impressed; my boys certainly were. They loved it so much that after we were done we had to look up pictures of chinooks. And Maxwell, always ready with a story, has been telling the wildest tales of catching a chinook himself . . . while he's at preschool, of course (everything I don't know about conveniently happened at preschool.).

3. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Sometimes I like to read the first book in a series to my kids just to sort of kick it off for them so that they're already familiar with it before launching into the rest on their own. I never thought I'd be grateful for such formulaic and long-winded series as Magic Tree House, but now that I have a well-established reader on my hands, I'm discovering how nice it is to say, "Oh, you liked Dinosaurs Before Dark? Well guess what? There are approximately 12,751 more books about that magic tree house. Read up."

These were the thoughts that were going through my head when I picked up The Boxcar Children: we'll read this first one together, and then Aaron will be set for life . . . or at least until third grade. Plus, I had a certain nostalgia tugging at me, prodding me to return to this much-beloved series from my childhood.

And you know what? The magic was still there. I honestly wasn't expecting it to be. I thought it would be a somewhat painful readaloud and that I'd be happy to let Aaron read the rest of the books on his own. But I truly enjoyed it.

True, the language is a little old-fashioned and overly simple. There were times when I felt like I was reading a Dick and Jane early reader ("What a good house that will be in the rain," she thought). And yes, it is pretty unbelievable that four kids could live on their own in an old boxcar and not seem to have any emotional trauma over losing both their mother and their father.

But . . .

. . . there was also something so exciting and, dare I say, even empowering watching those four kids be so capable and self-sufficient: using the space behind the waterfall to make a refrigerator, scavenging for useable items in the dump, and damming up the stream to make a swimming pool.  I could see the sparks in my kids' eyes, ideas churning in their heads, given voice when Max asked, "Maybe if I had some wood, I could build something out of it." This story taps into that quiet longing for independence that lies within every child.

And then, self-sufficient or not, you can't help but be thrilled when their grandpa finds them, and they discover that he isn't cruel and mean after all and he takes them to his home but lets them bring the dog (and the boxcar) too.

What fun books have you been reading to your kids lately?

Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary

Soon after I checked out this book from the library, it disappeared. Completely. I literally searched for it for weeks . . . under all the beds, couches, tables, behind dressers, in closets, in every bag we own. I was very thorough. I began to wonder if maybe I had returned it to the library accidentally, and it hadn't been checked back in properly (I have had that happen before . . . ). I was running out of renewals when one evening, I was sitting on the floor sorting the laundry. I glanced over to my bed, and there, under one of the corners in plain view, was Beezus and Ramona.

Of course, I was overjoyed to find it, especially since the boys and I were just ready for another chapter book. But I was also completely baffled. I had looked under my bed close to a million times in search of that book. I absolutely, positively know it wasn't there before. So where was it all that time? These kinds of happenings drive me insane.

The good news is, we still had enough time to read it before its final due date, and it was (almost) good enough to be worth the mental stress it put me through.

Ramona is four years old, and she can be, in the words of her older sister, Beezus, "exasperating." Everyone thinks she is so adorable and imaginative, but Beezus knows better. She's the one who finds Ramona eating one bite out of every apple in a big box. She's the one who has her checker game ruined when Ramona locks Ribsy in the bathroom. She's the one who has to scramble to find activities for a dozen children on a rainy afternoon when Ramona invites them all over for a party. And she's the one whose birthday is almost ruined when Ramona decides to put her doll into the oven with the cake. Ramona can be so exasperating that sometimes Beezus not only doesn't like her, she doesn't love her either. And Beezus feels absolutely awful about that . . . until she gets a glance at the other side from her mom and Aunt Beatrice.

One of Aaron and Maxwell's favorite characters from the Henry Huggins books was Ramona, so I thought it might be fun to switch series and read about Ramona in a starring role.They loved it.

I had to laugh when we had read just the first page, and I paused for a moment and asked, "How old do you think Ramona is?" Aaron and Max guessed, "Two? Or maybe one?" They were shocked when I turned the page and we found out she was four years old. It's one thing to be reading this book as a nine-year-old where you have years of wisdom between yourself now and the lowly age of four and to be an actual four-year-old (like Max) and look at all Ramona's antics and think, "I would never do something like her" (even though your mother knows you very well might).

But whether they were enchanted or offended that Ramona was close to their own ages, they loved her anyway. Maxwell is still marching around the house shouting, "Bingle-bongle-by!" I don't blame him. Even if you're not part of a kid-parade, it is still such a fun thing to say. I think they both felt the most empathy for Beezus when Ramona ruined her birthday cake (twice). At that point, they weren't laughing at Ramona's actions (which they were for most of the book). They just felt so sorry for poor Beezus.

I loved this book for different reasons. Having just finished Quinny & Hopper, where I mentioned my disappointment in the way Quinny talked about her two younger sisters, it was really refreshing to see the older sister/younger sister dynamic played out in a different way. It wasn't that Beezus was always kind to Ramona (she wasn't) or that she always watched her willingly and cheerfully (she didn't) or that she was full of patience and love (she wasn't). However, Beezus acknowledged the way she sometimes felt, and she had the sincere desire to be a nicer sister. In fact, the sister relationship is probably the main theme (which, in Quinny's defense, it wasn't), and I think it's very relatable to all siblings, not just sisters. Several times as we were reading, I stopped and asked Aaron and Max if that's how they sometimes felt with Bradley or with each other. I don't want my kids to only read books with perfect examples of sibling relationships. But I do want them to see how to work through these differences and frustrations in a meaningful way.

This was such an enjoyable book for us to read. At the end of the edition we read, they included the first pages of Ramona the Pest. Aaron begged for me to read it, but I told him we'll just check out the whole book from the library (and pray we don't lose it!).

Helping Young Children Love Chapter Books - Guest Post

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know that one of my favorite children's lit blogs is What Do We Do All Day. Erica has a virtual treasure trove of book lists, not to mention game and snack and craft ideas. If my only source for new book ideas came from this blog alone, I would still be set for years!

A couple months ago, Erica asked me if I wanted to do a guest post on her blog. I can't even tell you how flattered I was! One of my very favorite bloggers wanted me to write something for her?! Of course I said yes.

So today I am over at What Do We Do All Day sharing some ideas for how to help young children enjoy chapter books. I hope you'll pop over there, read my post, and then explore some of Erica's great posts for yourself!

How to Help Young Children Love Chapter Books