Tiny Treasury

Her parents are working and her sister is apparently at “a difficult age” and Ramona is just trying to do her part to keep the family peace. Usually, however, she ends up behind every uproarious incident in the house. Ramona has a way of not quite getting it right and being painfully misunderstood. This makes Ramona’s life as far from dull as possible. She may be found dying herself blue, watching the demise of a box of kleenex or wearing pajamas to school! At seven and a half Ramona isn’t sure of anything and the one thing she always counted on, her mother’s love, seems to be on shaky ground. Of course Ramona has nothing to worry about…her mother loves her and so does everyone else!

Ramona is starting first grade and she is determined to put on a brave face. As usual things are changing…Ramona has to be brave about sleeping in the dark and brave about her mother going back to work and brave about the ferocious dog on the sidewalk. There are so many things to brave about. Ramona is also forced to deall with all the things that first grde brings…a copycat and a teacher who “doesn’t like” her.

Ramona is the quintessential everygirl. You can’t read her story and not relate to her and all of her problems, fears and life experiences.

Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks
by Margaret Sutherland, Sonja Lamut
Thanksgiving is about pilgrims and history-and turkey, of course!-but most importantly, it’s a holiday all about everything that we are thankful for. Cheerful, colorful illustrations accompany the simple text in this celebration of family, friends, and the holiday that brings them all together.

The Night Before Thanksgiving
by Natasha Wing, Tammie Lyon (Illustrator)
A Thanksgiving twist on a classic story.

A Turkey for Thanksgiving
by Eve Bunting, Diane de Groat (Illustrator)
Mrs. Moose’s table is set with a paper turkey but a real turkey is what she really wants. Her husband sets out to find her one. He is joined by his soon-to-be dinner guests: Rabbit, poky Porcupine and ravenous Mr. Goat, who devours everything in sight, including Sheep’s plaid hat. They find Turkey hiding in his nest, surrounded by signs that discourage guests. Mr. Moose trys to calm the terrified bird by explaining: “We just want you for Thanksgiving dinner,” which only scares Turkey more. Young readers will be as thrilled as Turkey to hear that Mrs. Moose wants him at her table, not on it.

Five Silly Turkeys
by Salina Yoon
A fun counting book full of silly turkeys doing very silly things! From twirling on a dance floor to being chased by a bee to tanning in the sun, these are no ordinary Thanksgiving turkeys.

The Perfect Thanksgiving
by Eileen Spinelli, Joann Adinolfi (Illustrator)
A tale of two Thanksgivings. A little girl compares her family’s less than perfect Thanksgiving to the perfect Thanksgiving of another little girl.

It’s Thanksgiving
by Jack Prelutsky, Marylin Hafner (Illustrator)
Presents twelve poems about Thanksgiving, including “When Daddy carves the Turkey,” “I Ate Too Much,” “Daddy’s Football Game,” and “If Turkeys Thought.”

P is for Pilgrim: A Thanksgiving Alphabet
by Carol Crane
P is for Pilgrim covers the history and traditions of Thanksgiving from its earliest days to modern times. Educators will find the inclusion of the Core Democratic Values, and how our early settlers laid the foundations for these ideals.

Fried Feathers for Thanksgiving
by James Stevenson
Emma’s friends beg her not to invite mean witches Dolores and Lavinia to their Thanksgiving. The group is surprised when the witches’ invite them to come to their house for Thanksgiving, the group is even more surprised when they are expected to clean the house and receive no dinner. When they finish at the witches’ the group sets off to prepare their own dinner. They catch wind of a plan by the witches to crash their feast and make their own plan to set a trap.

Thanks for Thanksgiving
by Julie Markes, Doris Barrette (Illustrator)
We all know that Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks but where to begin? From the turkey on the table to warm, cozy cuddles, life is full of small things and big pleasures. The most important thing is being able to share them with family!

Thanksgiving Day
by Anne Rockwell, Lizzy Rockwell (Illustrator)
Charlie and his classmates take different roles in a class play, and each character explains why he or she is thankful. The page opposite each child in costume features a picture of a historical incident such as the landing at Plymouth Rock or the Thanksgiving feast.

thanksgiving, books, children’s books

Newbery Honor Award Winner

Eight year old Ramona is starting 3rd grade, and she is discovering that things are very different. She really likes her new teacher but she does not think her teacher likes her. There is a new kid and Ramona is being teased by the new kid! Ramona’s life at school is not the only thing changing. Her father has quit his job to go back to school, so now her mom is working. Now Ramona and her sister Beezus are expected to take on more responsibilities. As Ramona begins to understand the changes in her life she realizes that change is hard but it can be a really good thing.

Suggested Activity: In the book Ramona and Beezus have to cook diner one evening. Have your child help you come up with a menu for dinner. You can choose to let your child help you cook diner or not. You can also have your child create an original recipe to share with friends and family.

ramona, beverly cleary, children’s books

Newbery Honor Award Winner

Ramona is now in second grade and she just wants everyone to be happy. Things in her life are really starting to change. Her father lost his job so Ramona decides she can help him by being in commercials. She soon discovers this is not such a good idea. Another conflict in the Quimby house arises when Ramona and Beezus take up a no smoking campaign to help their father quit smoking. Ramona wonders if her life will ever be good again.Will Picky-picky ever eat his food again? In the end Ramona learns that with a little mascara and some old pajamas…anything is possible.

It was the happiest day of Ramona’s life! She was starting Kindergarten. She loved her teacher, Ms. Binney, and could not wait fo r the adventures Kindergarten would hold. Kindergarten was NOT everything Ramona hoped it would be. There was confusion and misunderstandings. Ramona does the only thing she knows to do…she drops out.

This is a wonderful book to read to your Kindergartener or the reminisce over with an older child.

It is important to read to your child. You already know that. Why not step it up? When you read a book with your child find an activity to go along with it. This is beneficial in so many ways. It helps increase reading comprehension, it helps build interest in reading and most importantly it is quality time spent with your child. The activity doesn’t have to be big and grand or complicated and expensive. For example, if you and your child are reading Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary, you could have applesauce as a snack that day. If you are feeling motivated you could make applesauce and have your child write down the steps to share with friends and family. If you are feeling very motivated you could throw a “Beezus Birthday” party. You activity doesn’t have to be a big event each time. Your child will be just as excited to share a bowl of applesauce with you one day as they will make cookies another.

I will start adding some suggested activities to some of the posts. If you have ideas please share them with us! If you have a book and you just can’t think of an activity…ask me. I will come up with something!

reading, reading comprehension, reading activities

Ramona Quimby is 4 years old. As with all 4 year old little sisters she sometimes bothers her older sister Beezus. Ramona always wants to be the center of attention and she always wants Beezus to read to her and worst of all…Ramona always gets her way! One day Ramona takes one bite out of every apple. To keep from wasting all the apples, her mother is forced to make applesauce out of them. Ramona is always up to something. She invites all of her friends over for a party…that wasn’t planned. With all of Ramona’s antic, Beezus becomes worried that Ramona will ruin her birthday!
A perfect book for anyone who has ever had or been a little sister!

ramona quimby, children’s books, beverly cleary

If you and your children have not experienced the magic of Sandra Boynton…shame on you!
Her short, hilarious books are perfect for babies and toddlers. They have all the elements that make a great book for the little readers. Bright colors, silly animals, funny rhymes, vivid images….they have it all! Her board books are a great way to introduce books to your children and before you know it they will be reading it along with you or even to you!

For more on Sandra…check out her site.

boynton, children’s books

Chrysanthemum was born on the best day of her parent’s lives. She was perfect and her parents graced her with a perfect name. Chrysanthemum loves her name until…she starts school. On her first day of school the other children laugh when her name is called. The tease her until she “wilts.” That night at home her parents assure her that she has the perfect name and she starts to bloom again. The next day at school the children tease her again, they threaten to “pick” her and “sniff” her. Her parents try one again to assure her that she has the perfect name…but she is not so easily convinced. The girls in her class start singing a different song when they meet the new music teacher and find out her name.

This is a wonderful book to read to children at the beginning of the school year. Kevin Henkes is amazingly gifted at really “getting it” when it comes to childhood emotions. Highly Recommended!

henkes, chrysanthemum, children’s books

2006 Newbery Honor Books

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Hudson Talbott

These two books also received the Newbery Honor this year..but alas I have not had time to read them. If you have read them and would like to fill us in…please let me know!

2006 Newbery Honor Book

A fresh approach to the “Princess” story. Miri is small for her age. She is not allowed to work in the mines with her father and sister. She feels useless. Then the Prince announces that he is in need of a bride. The bride must come from Miri’s small mountain village. The girls are quickly sent to Princess academy so that they can learn how a Princess should behave. Miri begins to shine in her new environment. A beautifully written story of empowerment and coming of age.

princess, Newbery award, chilren’s literature, Newbery honor

2006 Newbery Honor Book
In Whittington, Armstrong creates a wonderful barnyard fantasy that weaves together three stories: Whittington the cat’s arrival on Bernie’s farm, his retelling of the traditional legend of his 14th-century namesake, and a boy’s struggle to learn to read. These three stories bring the disparate citizens of the barn community together in a remarkable example of oral and written language, the power of friendship and the joys of a life.

Whittington, Newbery award, Newbery honor, children’s books, Alan Armstrong

The 2006 Newbery Medal winner is Criss Cross written by Lynne Rae Perkins.
Criss Cross follows the lives of four 14-year-olds in a small town, each at their own crossroads. The characters explore new thoughts and feelings in their quest to find the meaning of life and love.

I am curious if any of you have read this. It met with very mixed reviews. Let me know what you think.

newbery medal, children’s literature, Perkins

Established in 1922, the Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The recipients must be citizens or residents of the United States.

Often Honor Books are named. There is no limit on the number of Honor Books, and none need be named. Usually, two or three Honor Books are named in addition to the medal winner each year.

newbery award, children’s literature