Happy July with Grover and Madeleine Kahn!

Here's to a fun July with your totz! Let's kick it off with a little song from Grover and Madeline. Watch as a few more classics pop up on readertotz this month. Happy July!



~Lorie Ann

Slippers: Maisie Munro and Jenny Hale

I just received a set of adorable books from Little Hare of Australia. Slippers, Boots, and Shoes make a sweet collection of board books about foot apparel.

Maisie Munro's spare text is carefully chosen to create sensory action: creeping softly, toes to snuggle, slipping and sliding. Your totz will quickly memorize the wonderful words.

Maisie's stories are paired with Jenny Hale's art. I love the uneven thick black line, simple compositions, and color choices. The books are shaped and the first pages are in the form of the object discussed with added texture. A different main character and four sidekicks in each work demonstrate the use of the featured shoe, but it is the sidekicks who show non-traditional uses in the final spread. The humorous beat will be appreciated by your totz.

Check out these works and what Little Hare is adding to the board book market!

Slippers, Boots, Shoes
by Maisie Munro
illustrated by Jenny Hale
Little Hare, 2008

Poetry Friday: Coffee and Tea

I haven't heard this one and thought it was funny for totz. Let's say it's for well-deserving moms and dads this week. Raise a cuppa!

COFFEE AND TEA

Molly, my sister and I fell out,
And what do you think it was all about?
She loved coffee and I loved tea,
And that was the reason we couldn't agree.

Catch the full roundup with the AMAZING Kelly Herold at Crossover.

Author signing!

Just a quick note that I'm signing at my local Costco, Saturday at 1:00. If you are in the area, stop on by and help me celebrate the release of Bedtime Kiss for Little Fish!

Costco
1201 39th SW
Puyallup, Washington

My First Signs: Michelle Anthony and Reyna Lindert

Photos of babies, totz, and adults illustrate four simple signs on each spread in My First Signs.
This is a true board with with sturdy, glossy cardboard pages, yet also includes an unusual feature--the seven tabs on the right edge, which offer visual cues to help totz locate specific signs. Some of the signs introduced include: DADDY, PHONE, BALL, MORE, MOMMY, and DRINK.

This is part of a series called Signing Smart, which is described as:
*the first interactive baby signing book series designed to expand your child's signed and spoken vocabulary.
*developed by experts in the field and cofounders of the Signing Smart international playclass program.
*full of tips and tools to playfully engage your child in reading, signing, and speaking.

Instructions on each spread and in the back of the book will guide parents in introducing the signs to their babies and totz:
*Use these signs in your everyday life, talking about the LIGHTS on the toy, or commenting how you are ALL-DONE with the tickle game, or noticing that the balloon looks like a BALL.

Happy signing!

My First Signs
Michelle Anthony and Reyna Lindert, authors
Scholastic, 2009

~ reviewed by Joan Holub, author

Poetry Friday: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Animated

Watch this adorable animated Chicka Chicka Boom Boom from Scholastic with your totz. Enjoy!




Catch the full round up with Carol Wilcox at Carol's Corner.

June Pick for the Older Sibling: How to Get Married by Me, the Bride

Remember when you played bride as a child? How to Get Married will make you want to do it all over again. It's a step-by-step guide to staging a happily-ever-after wedding, told by a child, with some help from her friends. There are suggestions for finding a mate, getting engaged, and dancing at the wedding. No bride will go wrong with advice like:

You should never get married when it's dark
because you won't be able to see
and you might marry the wrong person.

Sue Heap's illustrations are just right--simple, adorable, and appropriately frilly. The text is playful and often reads as if we're actually eavesdropping on children who are having a make-believe wedding:

Your friends and sisters and pets and toys and grandmas
should all come to see your wedding in their best outfits.
And when the music starts everyone has to stop whatever
they're doing and look at you.
And you walk down the aisle, which means you must go
extra slowly down a long path and not fall over.


I can't say enough good things about this picture book. I love it!

How to Get Married
Sally Lloyd-Jones, author
Sue Heap, illustrator
Schwartz & Wade Books (Random House), 2009

~ reviewed by Joan Holub, author

Wednesdays Win: How To Find Lost Treasure in All Fifty States and Canada Too by Joan Holub

Summer is prime treasure-hunting time! Drop a comment here on readertotz for a chance to win Joan Holub's chapter book for your totz's older siblings (ages 8-12), How To Find Lost Treasure in All Fifty States and Canada Too (that’s a mouthful, isn’t it?). Good luck, and don’t forget to check back to see if you’ve won next Wednesday when we'll announce the winner and also post a new contest for yet another book! (Open to USA only, due to mailing costs.)

~ Joan Holub and Lorie Ann Grover

Petr Horacek: Silly Suzy Goose

Suzy Goose doesn't like to be just like everybody else. Who does? Wouldn't it be great to flap like a bat, squawk like a toucan, or slide like a penguin? Suzy compares herself to animals throughout the world and finds she comes up short, repeatedly. Until she compares herself to a lion and discovers it might be helpful to appear just like every other goose!

Petr Horacek's text and illustrations for Silly Suzy Goose are fresh and delightful. The theme of wanting to stand apart is handled in a new way that will engage your totz through the various large type verbs and mixed media illustrations. From watercolor to collage, Suzy's story is brilliant in color. The plot is well-paced and varied compositions contribute to the fun beat.

I really enjoyed how Suzy incorporated her discoveries and experiences into her life and grew. All of this in a board book with wonderful humor! Enjoy Silly Suzy Goose!

Silly Suzy Goose
by Petr Horacek
Candlewick Press, 2009

Poetry Friday: Hop a Little

Hop a Little

Hop a little, jump a little,
One two, three;
Run a little, skip a little,
Tap one knee;
Bend a little, stretch a little,
Nod your head;
Yawn a little,
sleep a little,
In your bed.

Photo from Photobucket

Catch the full roundup with Brian Jung at Critique de Mr. Chompchomp.

Wednesdays Win: Biscuit's Walk in the Woods

Drop a comment here on readertotz for a chance to win Biscuit's Walk in the Woods, an adorable board book by Alyssa Satin Capucilli just published by HarperCollins! Good luck, and don’t forget to check back to see if you’ve won next Wednesday when we'll announce the winner and also post a new contest for yet another book! (Due to mailing costs, open to USA only.)

Congratulations to Hannah, winner of last week’s Wednesday’s Win -- A Little Kitty -- on readertotz! Please email joanholub at aol dot com with your snailmail addy.

~ Joan Holub and Lorie Ann Grover

Tie A Bow, Ben Bunny: Mavis Smith

Ben Bunny's shoes are untied and he doesn't know how to tie them. Luckily, his pal the crow will teach him, step by step. Totz can follow the instructions using the four colorful laces that are provided. (recommended for ages 3 and up)

"Uh-oh," said Ben. "What'll I do?
I don't know how to tie my shoe."

"Pay attention," said the crow.
"I'll show you how to tie a bow."

The 5-step tying instructions are easy to follow, and there's a big diagram of a pair of shoes on the facing page that encourages young readers:

"Now you try!"

Delighted with his newfound skill, Ben Bunny goes a little wild, tying bows everywhere. In a humorous ending, even his ears wind up in a lovely bow. Good job, Ben Bunny!

Tie A Bow, Ben Bunny
Mavis Smith, author-illustrator
Scholastic, Cartwheel Books, 1996
(recommended for ages 3 and up)

~ Joan Holub, author-illustrator

Poetry Friday: Sally Go Round the Sun

I'm enjoying these English Mother Goose rhymes. It's fun to find ones that are unfamiliar to me. Enjoy this with your totz! Can you sing along?

Sally Go Round the Sun

Sally go round the sun,
Sally go round the moon,
Sally go round the chimney pots,
On a Saturday afternoon.

Then I found picture books that carry this title! Her's one by Edith Fowke.



Does everyone know this rhyme but me?

Catch the roundup with Sara Lewis Holmes at Read Write Believe.

June: Around the block with Sesame Street, India Arie

Every month I choose a Sesame Street clip for the right side panel of readertotz. Just in case you didn't see it below, here's India Arie with Elmo. India is my fav musical artist!

Wednesdays Win: A Little Kitty

Drop a comment here on readertotz for a chance to win A Little Kitty, an adorable board book by Jane Feder and Amy Schwartz just published by Candlewick Press! Good luck, and don’t forget to check back to see if you’ve won next Wednesday when we'll announce the winner and also post a new contest for yet another book! (Due to mailing costs, open to USA only.)

~ Joan Holub and Lorie Ann Grover

Press Release for Bedtime Kiss for Little Fish

CO-FOUNDER OF READERGIRLZ AND READERTOTZ CELEBRATES A NEW BOARD BOOK: BEDTIME KISS FOR LITTLE FISH

Author/illustrator Lorie Ann Grover’s new board book for babies is “utterly serene from start to finish,” says Publishers Weekly.

June 1, 2009 (Seattle, Wash.) – readergirlz and readertotz co-founder and author/illustrator Lorie Ann Grover’s new board book Bedtime Kiss for Little Fish has just been released from Scholastic/Cartwheel. Endearingly illustrated by Debra Ziss, the work beautifully expresses soothing images of sea creatures preparing to sleep. A small orange fish instructs:

"Night is dark, baby shark.

Make no fuss, octopus."

Lorie Ann says, “I love the short rhymes offered up by the tiniest fish as he encourages the sea life to go to sleep. Thanks to my editor Rotem Moscovich for realizing the baby fish needs a bedtime kiss as well!”

Bedtime Kiss for Little Fish introduces sea life and adds a quiet calm to babies’ evenings.

About Lorie Ann Grover, Debra Ziss, readertotz, and readergirlz

Lorie Ann Grover is the author of three young adult verse novels (Loose Threads, On Pointe, Hold Me Tight) and three board books (When Daddy Comes Home, Hug Hug!, Bedtime Kiss for Little Fish). http://lorieanngrover.blogspot.com

Debra Ziss is an illustrator and hand lettering artist from New York. Her clients include: Scholastic, Random House, Houghton Mifflin, Grosset and Dunlap, Barnesandnoble.com, The Gap, The Limited, and American Girl Magazine. http://www.debraziss.com

readertotz is a blog which showcases infant-toddler books as important additions to children’s literature. http://readertotz.blogspot.com

readergirlz is the foremost online book community for teen girls, led by five critically acclaimed YA authors. The site is the recipient of a 2007 James Patterson PageTurner Award; the Association for Library Services to Children, ALA, Great Web Sites Award; and the National Book Foundation’s Innovations in Reading Prize. www.readergirlz.com

The Small Seed: Judith Nicholls

Looking for a great book with textures to engage your totz? Pick up The Small Seed by Judith Nicholls. Here's non-fiction at its best.

"In the dark, dark earth
was a small, small seed.
And the sun came up,
and the rain came down."

Illustrator Mara van der Meer has chosen to illustrate the concluding noun from the first sentence of each page on the right side of the spreads. i.e. a white, white root, a brave, brave shoot. These images include unique textures to represent flower petals, leaves, and stems. The additions work well with the torn paper collages.

The most exciting feature is the last page which opens three panels as the sunflower grows and grows!

Thanks, Little Scholastic, for bringing nonfiction to totz and sharing the beauty of our world!

The Small Seed
by Judith Nicholls
illustrated by Mara van der Meer
Little Scholastic, 2004