“Once upon a time there was a little brown mouse.” “No, wait! I want the mouse to be blue.” “Well then, this mouse was blue, except for her tail, which was black. Her coloring was an advantage for the mouse, because she lived in the library, and she could blend in among the books. She […]

My declaration yesterday that Mo Willems’ Gerald and Piggie are kid lit’s best-written friends since Frog and Toad was rash. While I do love the duo, had I considered more carefully, I would have qualified that statement: they are one of the best pairs. How could I have forgotten Houndsley and Catina? Like Gerald and […]

The winners of the 2009 Children’s Choice Book Awards, announced this week, include The Pigeon Wants a Puppy, by Mo Willems, as the Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year. While I’m charmed by the simplicity of Mo Willems’ drawings, and I think his Elephant and Piggie are the best pair of friends in […]

Sandman and a fifth of Jack are the only appealing things I ever found in a guy’s dorm room. That was 15 years ago, and I haven’t discovered a comic book that’s grabbed me since. Now I’m in the position of trying to find intelligent comic books that work for a young child and aren’t […]

Audio books make for pleasant car rides, especially with my girl. Though I’d never listen to hours of Raffi on a road trip (or any other setting, truth be told), I’ll gladly revisit favorite books from my childhood read by talented performers. A good audio book does require a good narrator. We’ve discovered some gems, […]

I didn’t read Charlotte’s Web as a kid, sadly. Re-reading such books in adulthood is like finding the butter-yellow stuffed elephant you cuddled and carried on car rides. A new buttery elephant encountered first as an adult is likewise endearing and cozy, but it doesn’t smell of warm sleep and grandparents. I read countless other […]

Flat Stanley Flat Stanley visited us this week. He’s a children’s book character who inspired a literacy and geography project for elementary school classes. Larry Gets Lost in Seattle Our visitor arrived from LaRue, Ohio, home to my cousin Natalie’s family. Her daughter Avery sent Stanley to visit my daughter Meg. We took him on […]

Each Peach Pear Plum This journal is about books that inform and inspire me. I often find it in an inviting story or a cogent argument — in words. I didn’t expect to find it in pictures. I’ve read most of the books in our daughter’s library tens of times. Only a few interest me […]