The Field Guide to Parenting
Great Advice and Book Reviews
for Parents, Teachers, Child Care Providers,
and Anyone Who Loves a Young Child
www.fieldguidetoparenting.info
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Book Reviews for Children, Parents,
Child Care Providers, and Teachers Picture Board Fiction Adults Special Guest Reviews |
Best Summer 2008 Reading & Read-Alouds Click here to read reviews
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The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
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All Ages
A Beginning, A Muddle, and an End by Avi
Delightfully charming and
humorous. |
Picture Book
One Duck Stuck: A Mucky Ducky Counting Book by Phyllis Root Our favorite stuck duck is gloriously LARGE in this new Big Book edition. Click here to read review |
 Board/Specialty Book
Alphabet Animals: A Slide-and-Peek Adventure by Suse MacDonald
Guessing what letter of each animal shape is great fun! Click here to read review |
Non-Fiction Sisters & Brothers by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Explore sibling life in the animal kingdom. |
For Mothers, Child Care Providers, Teachers, and All Who Work with Kids
The Mindful Woman: Gentle Practices for Restoring Calm, Finding Balance, & Opening Your Heart by Sue Patton Thoele Supportive advice for a
happier life. |
Picture Book Reviews
The
Dog Who Loved the Moon
by
Cristina Garcia,
Sebastia Serra
(Illustrator)
Atheneum, 2008
Pilar got a puppy for her birthday. She adored him. Paco was a happy pup during the day but grew melancholy at night. On full moon eves, he hollowed. Pilar and her family realize that he loves the moon, and all get together to sing and dance to cheer Paco up. And then am amazing thing happened: the sky darkened, the moon seemed to disapear, and then...
I don't want to spoil the delicious surprise ending. Digital illustrations are somewhat flat, but Pilar and Paco are appropriately adorable. The family and world around them are colorful and full of energy.
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More picture book reviews coming soon |
Colors + Flavors Red + Green Stripes + Arrows Circle + Square
by Jill Hartley, Groundwood Books, 2008 (First published in Mexico)
Gorgeous photos alone, exuberant colors, unique items, and adorable children are the hallmarks of this board book series. Many photos include much detail, which will provide a fun challenge for young readers. A series of board books a cut above the rest -- Highly enjoyable!
Fiction
The Seer of Shadows by Avi
HarperCollins, 2008
Kirkus Reviews
In 1870s New York, at the intersection of scientific advances in photography and post-Civil War superstition, sentimentality and mourning, Horace's father apprentices him to a spirit photographer.
This tale proves that the time-honored ghost story, capably researched, well-paced and fusing the Gothic elements of mystery, madness and romance, can still thrill in the hands of a skilled craftsman. (Fiction. 8-12)
Field Guide Review coming soon
Books for Parents, Child Care Providers & Teachers
A Hands-On Activity Guide Filled with Delicious Learning
Both by Connie Liakos Evers from 24 Carrot Press.
Nutrition education is not just for educators anymore! How to Teach Nutrition to Kids is a well-researched, thorough, engaging, and extremely friendly book for parents and anyone who loves and works with children. Using everything from language, math, and science to performing arts, learning about healthful food and ways of eating has never been more fun! And that's the point.
Fun is an integral part of effective nutrition
teaching and learning, as are hands-on activities that offer kids "real
experience with food." Nutrition is not something to be learned with
answering questions at the end of the chapter. Hoagie Faces and Smiling
Burritos are just a drop in the bucket of fun things to do with and
about food, with the overall goal of helping kids learn to make healthy
choices and behavioral changes as needed.
Nutrition Fun with Brocc & Roll
expands the possibilities using
"a discovery approach to learning with a healthy dose of humor" with
over 200 more activities, reproducible activity sheets, and tips.
Parents, child care providers, as well as teachers will find the easy,
clear directions a joy to work with.
What I love most about both these books is the positive, engaging, and
enjoyable approach to a subject that can often be just the opposite.
Instead of telling kids what they shouldn't be eating and doing, show
kids what they can and should do--the possibilities for healthy, fun
eating and learning are endless. WELL DONE!
I knew I was going to like this book when the author proudly announces on the second page, " At first, we just did what we knew--being silly and thinking of kid-friendly ways to get food into the mouth..it was the parent-child relationship that worked." Kid-friendly is an understatement at the Toddler cafe. With lily pad pancakes, banana hot dogs, and tropical glop, this book is full of fresh ideas to make food really fun.
Also included are tips on creative food play, toddler-friendly tools, and pantry essentials. Engaging, colorful photographs, semi-glossy pages, clear organization, and food you will want to try for yourself, The Toddler Café is a winner that you will find yourself turning to time and time again.
by Pam Schiller Gryphon House, 2006
"Put a song in your heart and put joy in your teaching." The emphasis here is on positive, enjoyable encounters with food in every area of development. Fab Food is well-organized and thorough; early childhood teachers will appreciate the adaptations for special needs kids, home activities, the variety of things to teach and do within each activity, the interesting "Did you know?" facts, and the reproducibles in the back. Each set of activities has an acompanying song on the CD which is included. Great format and easy to use; all in all, a good early childhood classroom resource.
(Updated and Expanded) by Richard Louv, Algonquin Paperbacks, 2008
From Publishers Weekly
Today's kids are increasingly disconnected from the natural world, says
child advocacy expert Louv (Childhood's Future; Fatherlove;
etc.), even as research shows that "thoughtful exposure of youngsters to
nature can... be a powerful form of therapy for attention-deficit
disorder and other maladies." ... Gathering thoughts from parents,
teachers, researchers, environmentalists and other concerned parties,
Louv argues for a return to an awareness of and appreciation for the
natural world. Not only can nature teach kids science and nurture their
creativity, he says, nature needs its children: where else will its
future stewards come from? Louv's book is a call to action, full of
warnings—but also full of ideas for change.
Agent, James Levine. (May 20)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
All rights reserved. --This text refers
to the
Hardcover edition.
Field Guide Review coming soon
To read an interesting article by this author about the movement sometimes called Leave No Child Inside with "five actions you can take today" to reintroduce nature to your family, click here or on title below:
BEYOND
NATURE-DEFICIT DISORDER It’s Time to Turn Consciousness into Action
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Special Guest Picture Book Reviews
Little Boy
by Aillson McGhee, illustrated by
Peter Reynolds This story is about a day in the life of a little boy. He wakes up, plays with his favoriote things and goes about his day enenjying the little and happy things in life. The illustrations bring the story to life and the writing hasd a nive rhyme and rhythm. It is refreshing to see a child enjoying his day without all of the bells and whistles of modern electronics. This boy lives in an environment that encourages his sense of adventure, allows him to make mistakes, and encourages playfulness as it should be for young boys. We highly recommend this book to parents to help us stop and "smell the roses: of the wonder of childhood." --Reviewed by Janine Ketchel and Debra Kellermann,
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Way Up and Over Everything
by Alice McGill, illustrated by Jude Daly Alice McGill shares a folktale that caputres the desire for freedom in a story passed down through the generations of African-American families. The tale is set in 1842 and vividly captures the day that five newly purchased slaves arrive at the plantation. By the end of the day, they magically achieve freedom by flying away. Panoramic illustrations capture the feel of a plantation. The author brings the tale inot the present by relatng how the desire for freedom had to be told and retold throught the generations. Younger schoolagers will appreciate this story as borth an introduction to the issues of slavery and freedom, and as personal inspiration for how they feel free in their own lives. --Reviewed by Cathy Goh and Melissa Prokop, Room For Growing, Forest Lake, MN |
Book Announcements
Intriguing New Graphic Novels from First Second Books
Little Vampire: Three Stories (including the New York Times bestseller "Vampire Goes to School") by Joann Sfar, 2008
Review in Kirkus Reviews
Three episodes...feature the diminutive, grey-skinned
bloodsucker, his human friend Michael and a haunted-houseful of
spectacularly lurid ghouls and creepies. All three tales progress
in small, brightly colored panels packed with brisk action, sight gags
and dialogue in miniscule type. Fans of Emmanuel Guibert’s Sardine in
Outer Space series, which is illustrated by Sfar, will find his solo
outings just as appealingly off-the-wall. Libraries that bought the
first two chapters (which were issued by a different
publisher)
will need this as a value-added replacement. (Graphic novel. 9-11)
Kaput & Zosky by Lewis Trondheim, 2008
Review in the Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books
In this French import, the absurd misadventures of the daring Kaput and Zosky, space explorers and would-be conquerors, are presented in brief, full-color installments that, when combined, form a graphic novel detailing several attempts at planet takeovers and a complete glimpse into the humorously bizarre psyches of the two comic protagonists....this hilarious collection is overall fresh, creative, and particularly appealing in the refusal to apply any sort of moral: sometimes space conquerors don’t have to learn from their mistakes, and they get to keep assuming that their next attempt will stick.
iRead 2 You Interactive Voice Recorder & The
Adventures of Cali Gift Pack
by
Michele Lallouz Fisher, Cali Publishing, July 2008
A slim recorder comes clipped inside the book with the idea that an
adult could record the text of the book or a message to a child to
encourage reading, or a child could listen to himself/herself reading.
You can record over your original message and use the recorder in a wide
variety of ways and with many books.
in case you missed it...
Teens and the Job Game: An Inspiring Guide for Developing Your Whole Person Today and Winning the Job of Your Dreams Tomorrow
by Beverly Slmoka, iUniverse, 2007
Written by a former VP of Merryl Lynch, the title pretty much says it all. Success is within your reach.
| Field Guide Great Advice |
Fostering the Skills of Paying Attention and Following Directions
Typically, by age five, children are able to undestand and follow four simple, related directions. To help kids master this skill, offer them opportunities to practice understanding and following directions by asking them to accomplish a series of tasks, such as:
"Please, go to the bathroom, wash your hands, brush your teeth, and brush your hair."
--From The Field Guide to Parenting by Shelley Butler & Deb Kratz, "The Growing Child at Age Four," p.93
| Spotlight On Ways You Can Help |
Children's Defense Fund Freedom Schools
This program provides critical summer and after-school enrichment through a model curriculum that supports children and families around five essential components: high quality academic enrichment, parent and family involvement, civic engagement and social action, intergenerational leadership development, and nutrition, health and mental health.
To find out how you can help this important program or find one in your area, click here.
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©2002-2008 Shelley Butler
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