Go to the library often, and let children choose books they find appealing.  Use the ideas in the books as a springboard to ask questions…to challenge their independent, creative thinking about the world.  

For instance, if your little boy chooses Donald Crews’ Trucks, then you might ask him, “Where do you think the truck is going?” and “I wonder what could be in the back?”  Help your child to know that many possible answers could be given to those questions.  To drive the conversation even further down the road you could add more questions to the conversation such as, “If you had a truck where you would go?” and “What would you put in it?”

Check them out by clicking here.

For those of us who grew up as gleeful co-conspirators with Max and Micky, and who were empowered by Ida and her wonder horn, the loss of Maurice Sendak marks the end of an era.

I believe that Sendak’s books are the best and bravest children’s books ever written because of his unwavering determination to focus his art squarely into the heart of desire and longing, danger and perseverance, love and joy. What rare courage for a children’s author. His creations are operatic and triumphant, a stage upon which children face and overcome the most difficult challenges in a sometimes dark, but often transcendent world.

Earlier this week, I drove around for an hour listening to a series of brilliant interviews with Mr. Sendak on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, which I highly recommend. Listening to the great author speak about his life and work will give you new insight into the deep well of love and sorrow that he poured into his illustrations. It was hard to listen without tears. Maurice Sendak was the first adult who spoke the truth to me, and I loved him for it.

Maurice Sendak was the son of Polish immigrants who lost many family members to the Holocaust, and spent part of his childhood bedridden and sickly. His greatest artistic works are driven by these difficult childhood experiences. You can find it reflected in his illustrations for books like Dear Mili: An Old Tale and The Juniper Tree, and in books he authored like Outside Over There and We Are All in the Dumps With Jack and Guy. Sendak also knew the love and humor of those (exemplified by Italian neighbors he adored when he was growing up) who loved to sing and dance a wild rumpus, embodying the expressive joy that life has to offer. His most endearing early illustrations are full of the same life, mischief and laughter.

To read and understand more about Maurice Sendak’s art, check out: Making Mischief: a Maurice Sendak Appreciation  by Gregory MacGuire, or The Art of Maurice Sendak: 1980 to the present  by Tony Kushner 

Sendak’s books will always have honored places on my bookshelf and in my heart. There are memories of my mother and I snuggled together on the golden sofa, giggling over the clever pictures in A Hole is to Dig, and of my stuffed animals attending formal tea parties, or school lessons, inspired by Little Bear and his friend Emily. My baby brother, and these days my grandson, played with small books from the Nutshell Library, working hard to master slipping them in and out of the small case. Though they were decades apart, both shouted enthusiastically “I don’t care!” as we read Pierre…overjoyed that someone was encouraging them to say such a naughty thing. The need for independence never changes.

When we were children, many a wild rumpus took place in our living room. Years later, as a drama teacher, I witnessed magical transformations as 8-year-old bodies morphed ever-so-slowly from bedroom furniture, to trees and vines as “the walls became the world all around”. Every child wanted to be Max (of course) so we created multiple scenes of mischief, involving Sendak’s little dog and various pantomimed implements of destruction. This time, the wild rumpus was a game of “follow and lead”, as each child came up with a move for the ultimate power dance, which we would then complete together in our most ferocious manner.

I treasured the reading of In the Night Kitchen at bedtime with my son, crowing with Mickey as he triumphantly burst forth in all his naked glory, claiming his freedom over his nighttime fears. I love the fact that Mickey takes a peaceful dive into the milk afterward…the comfort of the feminine.

There are also sweet memories of my mother, a children’s librarian, lovingly giving away copies of Chicken Soup with Rice with a recipe tucked inside to children in the hospital who were also being treated for cancer.

Such great gifts I have received from Maurice Sendak. My heart is full.

View all of Maurice Sendak’s books at Nashville Public Library. I’m intending to collect them all and to make sure that my grandchildren hear them read aloud, over and over again.

NT5VXRH295CJ

With such big ears, you would think a little bunny would be able to listen!  Read Listen, Buddy, by Helen Lester, a story about a bunny that just couldn’t seem to hear his parents.  Instead of a “pen,” he brings them a “hen;” instead of slicing “bread,” he a cuts up a “bed.”

See if your child can think of words that rhyme or sound similar when you say a simple word like “cat” or “fan.”  Create a game by filling up a rhyming object bag, and pouring the contents on the floor. Ask a child to bring you something that rhymes with “moon” (she might bring you the spoon) or something that rhymes with “love” (he can bring you the glove), etc.

Other great books that provide simple text that plays with basic rhyming words are A Boy and His Bunny, by Sean Bryan or Rhyming Dust Bunnies, by Jan Thomas. Once children can identify rhymes in these simple texts check out stories that rhyme and poetry for children. Listening to how words sound alike is an important skill when they begin to read. So keep those ears sharp and listen!

The appearance of a peek-a-boo puppet can make any occasion special.  An elf who arrives on Christmas day…a springtime rabbit…a fairy who comes out to listen to stories at night in bed.  Puppets can pop out of yogurt containers, paper cups, hats, baskets, boxes, purses…anything that can hide it for the surprise. 

 Some stories lend themselves to pop-up puppets.  Especially when a character meets others in the story one at a time.    Rabbit’s Good News  by Ruth Bornstein makes a great pop-up story as the little rabbit finds a flower, a worm, a bird, a butterfly…then they all pop up when the little rabbit realizes…it spring!   Make a cup by adding grass around your container, and let your characters pop up as little rabbit encounters them.  This is a simple puppet that a child can manipulate as you read.  A perfect first puppet show for family, friends or classmates!

 Parents at home can invite their child to decorate the box like a little theatre, and then your child can create scenery and puppets for any story.  You can have your own “Dinner Theatre” at the table following a meal, or a bedtime puppet show at night.

You can get an unused box from a pizza shop, which avoids pesky grease stains, and if you tell the manager that you are a teacher and it’s for your classroom, they might give it to you out of the goodness of their hearts.  These boxes can also often be purchased at packaging or restaurant supply shops.  And you have a lovely little puppet theatre that is easy to store with all the puppets snugly tucked away inside!

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature

Spirals draw you in…as does this exquisitely illustrated book; for as soon as you pick it up, the cover and the binding swirl with life.  Krommes’ illustrations, detailed wood engravings in dark earthy tones, present a visual feast as the text unfurls as gently as a fiddlehead fern, helping us see all the ways that spirals protect, reach out and move.  As animals curl up under the earth, plants reach tendrils up and out, while storms and galaxies swirl through the heavens, we see the spiral in all its glory. This is a book to dive into before a nature walk where you and your child might search for spirals all around.

Me…Jane  by Patrick McDonnell

Jane Goodall inspired this delicious 2012 Caldecott Honor Book that chronicles her childhood dreams of exploring the jungles of Africa with her stuffed chimpanzee, Jubilee. The use of McDonnell’s free-flowing childlike watercolor drawings, paired with engravings of animals from the 19^th and 20^th centuries, contrast Jane as a child dreamer, and also a budding scientist. However, the biggest treat is a double page spread of animal drawings penned by Jane herself, from a nature magazine she wrote with friends at the age of 10. The photographs of Jane Goodall that bookend the story glow with her love of her chimpanzees, both real and imagined.  This is a book that takes our childhood dreams seriously, and is likely to inspire many children to listen to their hearts and dream big as well.

A Seed is Sleepy  by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long

This is the second book in a nature trilogy by Aston and Long that are must-haves for a child’s nature library. Sylvia Long is a master of watercolor and renders the world of seeds in all its colorful diversity. And although Aston suffers a bit from giving seeds qualities of human feelings, she also presents us with fascinating facts about the many kinds of seeds and how they sprout, travel and grow. This is the kind of book that a child can pour over again and again, looking for ever-finer details and small facts. 

Ever have one of those days where nothing goes right?  Toddlers and young children have them, too.  Rosemary Wells’ series of  Bunny Planet books help children know that no matter how terrible or traumatic their day, freeing their minds from worry helps them feel better.

In the books First Tomato,The Island Light  and Moss Pillows  little bunnies find that when they are upset by daily strife, a trip to the Bunny Planet where they can imagine “the day that should have been” helps to smooth out feelings of hurt or frustration.  It’s a great concept for children to know that when they are having a bad day, they can imagine a good one, giving those bad feelings a peaceful moment to turn around.

Read one of the Voyage to the Bunny Planet books, and talk to your child about how you create feelings of peace and ease. Share with your child how to do deep breathing and simple body stretches. Set up a table with watercolors and turn on soft, peaceful music. Invite your child to paint a picture of the Bunny Planet while they listen.

Think about bad days and what might help make them better.  Use your child’s  ideas to create a “Bunny Planet” experience for a rough, emotional day. Create a restful corner in your home or classroom with special toys and books for Bunny Planet moments. Talk gently with your child about the day that should have been. The Bunny Planet is a place that little bunnies can go to feel peaceful and at ease. If you could make the trip, what would your perfect day look like?

Check out books with rhyming text from your library and enjoy them often. Most children begin with Dr. Seuss classics or books by popular authors such as Sandra Boynton, Anna Dewdney or Karma Wilson. Follow these up with classic nursery rhymes and poetry books for children that provide hours of word play, and your child will absorb the sounds of letters and words as they enjoy your time together. 

You can also look for stories that rhyme by following this link to Stories in Rhyme Juvenile as your subject line on the Nashville Public Library classic catalog page. This will pull up a number of rhyming picture books that you will find at the library. Here are a few of our recommendations (Click on picture to find in the library):

 Rhyming books for little ones:

Favorite nursery rhyme and poetry books for preschoolers:

Picture books in rhyme that we love:

 Thank You, World
by Alice B. McGinty; illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin

The simple joy of being a child is the same the world over!  We see children in eight different countries happily celebrating their day…the swing that shoots me like a rocket, the grass that softens my footsteps, the stars that shine like Mommy’s eyes…the lovely, detailed color-pencil drawings and simple text give us a window to the universal experience of being a kid.  This book is a terrific first introduction to world cultures.

 In a sprightly song-like verse, Johnston takes us on a dancing journey of a little girl’s whole green world – through her yard, her house and her village by the sea - as she plants, tends and celebrates the planting of a garden.  The pictures are colorful and detailed, guaranteed to spark lots of conversation with preschoolers.  The simple text has the lilt and bounce of the very best folk songs

All the World
by Elizabeth Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee

This Caldecott honor book from 2010 follows a circle of family and friends through the course of a day from morning ‘til night, this book affirms the importance of all things great and small in our world, from the tiniest shell on the beach, to warm family connections, to the widest sunset sky.   The text is a lovely poem, accompanied by beautiful and timeless charcoal and watercolor drawings.  It’s a must read, and a great addition to any library!