Books

Since we seem to be reading a lot of books lately, we thought we'd start reviewing a new favorite children's book every week. The books aren't necessarily new, but are those that are new to us! If you have a book that you'd like to have us review for the site, please contact us and let us know about it.

Our favorite children's book this week is the delightfully twisted Cowboy and Octopus, by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith (40 pages, Viking Juvenile, 2007). Scieszka and Smith are the creative team behind the equally funny and offbeat The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, which my husband brought home one day and has remained a favorite in our house ever since.

Discover some of the finest Italian children's literature available at the third annual Festa del Libro, a children’s Italian book fair extravaganza that takes place Saturday and Sunday, August 29 and 30 at Book Passage in Corte Madera, and September 5 and 6 at Book Passage's second location in San Francisco's Ferry Building. Both events run from 10 am to 6 pm. Festa del Libro is also taking place this year in San Jose, during the Italian American Festa at Little Italy Kids School, noon to 6 pm, August 28 and 29. Story time, in Italian, takes place at the Corte Madera location at 11 am and 4 pm on both August 28 and 29.

Over 400 illustrated children’s books from distinguished publishers will be on hand direct from Italy. With vivid illustrations and trademark Italian creativity. the selection on hand is ideal for children 0–10 and beginning Italian language students of all ages. If your child or anyone else in your family is learning Italian or is interested in Italian culture this is an event not to be missed! This year's event features additional multimedia materials, as well as works from smaller specialty publishers that are difficult to find even in Italy.

Congratulations to Karen R., winner of our 2010 back-to-school BusyBodyBook giveaway!

School's about to start and getting organized both for yourself and the kids is a must. Our favorite way to get organized is with the BusyBodyBook! The BusyBodyBook is a stylish and easy-to-use family organizer designed specifically for families. It allows you to keep track of the entire family's schedules at a glance, and it's something I can't live without. BusyBodyBooks are available for both 2010–2011 school year (August 2010–August 2011) and traditional January–December, 2010 calendar year versions. This year, they have some really new cool designs.

To help you get organized, we're giving away a free BusyBodyBook to a lucky Marin Mommies reader! Send an e-mail with BUSYBODYBOOK in the subject line to contests@marinmommies.com by midnight (Pacific time) this Friday, August 6, 2010 One winner will be selected at random, and we'll announce the winner on Saturday, August 7. Good luck!

Now that summer's around the corner and school is almost over, I like to plan out different and funs things to do with my kids. A few summers ago, we discovered the reading game program at the Novato Library, which my son loved being a part of. Participants were awarded prizes based on the number of books they read. This year the Marin County Free Library will be sponsoring the “Make a Splash” reading program from June 12 through August. Check with your local library for details.

Here are a few selections from the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2010 Children’s Notable Book recommendations. Visit their website for more reading suggestions.

For the younger reader:

All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon
The myriad joys of the world are reflected with warmth and affection in this look at a day in a small community near the ocean. (A 2010 Caldecott Honor Book.)

Benny and Penny in the Big No-No! by Geoffrey Hayes
Siblings Benny and Penny encounter trouble when curiosity about a mysterious neighbor leads them into unexpected adventures. (The 2010 Geisel Award Book.)

I Spy Fly Guy! by Tedd Arnold
A disastrous ending to a game of hide and seek finds Fly Guy hauled away to the local dump in this new take on a lost pet. (A 2010 Geisel Honor Book.)

Little Mouse Gets Ready by Jeff Smith
Little Mouse narrates this story with humor and excitement as he dons clothes and dreams of adventures to come. (A 2010 Geisel Honor Book.)

Mouse and Mole: Fine Feathered Friends by Wong Herbert Yee
Artistic Mole and poetic Mouse join forces to hatch a clever plan for watching skittish birds and create their own book of paintings and poems celebrating their bird-watching adventures (A 2010 Geisel Honor Book.)

Today, March 2, 2010, is the 106th birthday of celebrated children's author Theodore Geisel, better known to everyone as Dr. Seuss. The good doctor is no longer with us, of course (he passed away in 1991), but he's left us with a nearly unprecedented body of work that includes some of the most playful and imaginative books for children ever written.

As a parent, I suppose the most obvious difference between Dr. Seuss books and a lot of other children's books—especially books for early readers and small children—is that the Seuss books are usually as fun for adults to read as they are for kids to listen to. There are some books on the kids' bookshelf that we simply dread to read (I'm not going to name names, but Dora the Explorer figures highly in a few), but the Dr. Seuss books are not among them. Furthermore, Dr. Seuss' "Beginner Books " are some of the first books for beginning readers that are really fun and exciting to read, teaching important concepts and skills while entertaining and delighting. Fun with Dick and Jane? Bah! Bring on The Cat in the Hat!

One of the things I take great pride in is our daily habit of settling down at the end of the day and reading for at least a half hour. This is something I've done with both my children since they were old enough to sit up and look like they were paying attention. I think it's partly responsible for the fact that my son is a pretty advanced reader for his age, too. It's also responsible for helping to instill the idea that reading is a fun form of entertainment, as well as a necessary life skill. It also gives my wife a priceless daily moment of "me time" after being around two small kids all day.

These days, our current nightly reading repertoire is dominated by the A to Z Mysteries series of books by Ron Roy. If you've never heard of them, you probably will at some point. The A to Z Mysteries are aimed at about the second- or third-grade level, and, as the name implies, are mysteries that are solved by a team of ordinary third-graders from fictional Green Lawn, Connecticut who just happen to have a natural aptitude for detective work. Each book—there are 26 in all, but you probably figured that out already—has a title tied into a letter of the alphabet, such as The Absent Author, The Jaguar's Jewel, or The Zombie Zone.

Get a jump on your holiday shopping, and get excited about reading at Pleasant Valley Elementary School's 2009 Book Fair—Destination Book Fair: Read Around the World. Organized in cooperation with Scholastic, the Book Fair offers hundreds of different titles for all ages—even parents, with many at bargain prices, in both paperback and hardcover. Popular titles and series include Flat Stanley, Magic Tree House, I Spy, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and more.

Destination Book Fair takes place from November 16 through 20 in the multi-purpose room at Novato's Pleasant Valley Elementary School, located at 755 Sutro Avenue (between Center and Vineyard Roads). Hours are Monday-Thursday 8 am to 2 pm and Friday from 8 am to 1 pm, with a family shopping night on Wednesday, November 18 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. The Fair is open to the public, and inexpensive Scholastic books made great gifts and stocking stuffers.

Books may be purchased with cash, check, or credit card, and all proceeds go to support the school. You can also purchase books to donate directly to the school library and classrooms.

As Halloween nears, kids love to read spooky (and not-so-spooky) stories about ghosts, goblins, witches, and pumpkins. Actually, in our house, we read some of our Halloween books year-round. If you're looking for some great Halloween reads to enjoy with your family, the Marin County Free Library has put together a list of six scary classics as chosen by their children's librarians. Here they are, in ascending order of creepyness:

• A Woggle of Witches (E Adams) begs to be read alound in a scratchy, witchy voice.
• In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories (ER Schwartz). So why did Jenny always wear a green ribbon around her neck?
• The Tailypo: A Ghost Story (J 398 Galdone) This "jump" story is a variant of "The Golden Arm."
• The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight: More Poems to Trouble Your Sleep (J 811 Prelutsky) Read the title poem by candlelight.
• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (J Schwartz) The first of three popular spooky collections by folklorist Alvin Schwartz.
• Tales of Edgar Allan Poe (J Fiction Poe) with sinister illustrations by Barry Moser.