Poetry Friday: Around the Block with Sesame Street

Happy Poetry Friday! Sing with Elmo, totz!

May: Community Service

Plant produce with your totz hoping to donate your harvest to the local food bank!

May: For the Older Sibling, I'm Not.

I love, love, love I'm Not. Absolutely. Here's a book to encourage the introvert, the quiet one blessed with a friend who is "all that." Here is a book to encourage the extrovert concerned with his own short comings.

Evelyn is not ordinary. She's mysterious, fashionable, a decorator, and a jumping bean. The protagonist is none of those. However, Evelyn is horrible at karate, scared of the dark, and crummy at making cookies. She's in need of a very best friend, exactly what the protagonist can provide, while at the same time happening to be great at karate, unafraid of the dark, and able to make the most excellent cookies.

I'm Not. is the perfect work to begin to explore how we are different and how those differences create joy in the world as well as great friendships. Older siblings will enjoy author Pam Smallcomb's humor and Robert Weinstock's cartoon images. Think James Marshall meets Dav Pilkey. How can that not be fun?

I'm Not.
by Pam Smallcomb
illustrated by Robert Weinstock
Schwartz & Wade Books, 2011

May: Around the Block with Sesame Street

This was performed at Jim Henson's funeral. So moving, right? I miss him!

For the Older Sibling: Paris in the Spring with Picasso

I am so happy to recommend Paris in the Spring with Picasso for the older sibling of your totz! Gertrude Stein and her friends were always so compelling to me. How about introducing your children to Paris and Gertrude's friends?

Come along to the Saturday soiree at Gertrude and her brother Leo Stein's home. But before you arrive, spend the day in the city with her fascinating friends, among them: Guillaume Apollinaire, Marie Laurencin, Max Jacob, and Pablo Picasso. Visit each in turn and more as the day progresses, until you are walking past the Notre Dame Cathedral and Circus Medrano as the sun sets. Peek in on Gertrude and her friend Alice B. Toklas as they prepare for the evening. When the guests arrive, the party begins for all.

Joan Yolleck's cheerful conversational tone makes the material completely approachable and fun. She speaks directly to the reader and closes the work by asking what you think the friends will talk about. A nonfiction spread completes the picture book with short biographical notes of the characters.

Marjorie Priceman, Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, is the perfect illustrator for this work. Her loose, free line with transparent layers captures the vitality of both the city and people. She takes freedom to turn the illustration layout when necessary to convey the size and commotion of the street. Her black lines dance among the bold, popping colors. It's obvious she visited Paris in preparation for these paintings. Brava, Schwartz & Wade Books for matching these two artists, Joan and Marjorie.

I heartily recommend this excursion with the older siblings of your totz! Join the soiree!

Paris in the Spring with Picasso
by Joan Yolleck
illustrated by Marjorie Priceman
Schwartz & Wade Books, 2010

May Totz Playlist

Here's the playlist from our sidebar for this month. Get dancing with your readertotz!

Do you have a favorite? I love African Alphabet!

~Lorie Ann