Conference moira::parenting

I'm looking for a set of books for my nephew, Brian, who is 6.5 years old and
just learning to read.  I'd like to find a series of books that tell stories
about the same bunch of characters.  When I was young, I loved reading all
the Bobbsey Twins books, then the Little House books, then the Nancy Drew
mysteries.  That's the sort of thing that I'm looking for, but at a reading
level for a beginner.

I checked out the bookstore yesterday, and came across a series called the
Pee Wee Scouts.  There were 19 books about a group of first-graders who all
belonged to a scouting group together.  Has anyone had any experience with
this set of books?  Do you have suggestions for other series that your
children enjoy?  Thanks!

                                                Tracy

                       <<< Note 599.1 by NODEX::HOLMES >>>
                         -< Book Series for Beginner? >-

Hi Tracy,

The Bobbsey Twins are still around in bookstores.  Our 7 year old enjoyed
the Beverly Cleary series of books (remember Henry, Beezus and Ramona?)
last year. 

One of my favorite books of Sean's is an oldie "Where the Wild Things Are"
by Maurice Sendak (sp?).  Its a tale of a little boy Max who sails to the
land where the wild things are and tames all the monsters by looking them
straight in the eye and saying "Be STILL".  We use this technique on all
monsters at our house.

Good luck,

Rochelle

    I would love some similar advice...both for books that
    he could read himself plus books that you can read.

    I have a few recommendations that have worked well for us...
    but I hope I get some more out of this note as well!

    Our Robin is just making the transition from 'picture' books
    (mostly pictures, a few words, like 'wild things') to
    'chapter books' (mostly words, a few pictures).  So I'm always
    looking for good chapter books.  Some that we have REALLY
    enjoyed reading....

    the 'Little House in the Prairie' series, especially 'Farmer Boy'.
    	very highly recommended

    My Father's Dragon, a 3 book series.

    Commander Toad (by Jane Yolen)
    	many books about the adventures of a 'star trek' like space ship
    	commanded by 'toad'.  All have titles like 'Commander Toad and
    	the Planet of the Grapes'.  Lots of puns.

    Early books by Rohl Dahl, like
    	The Fantastic Mr. Fox
    	Esio Trot
    	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
    

    Those come to mind as ones he especially liked.
    bob

    I have a nine-year old son, who found reading to be a chore for many
    reasons.  To encourage books and reading as fun things to do, we found
    the step level reading books in the bookstores.  They are numerous
    stories about many topics, but the nice thing is they progress along
    with your child's reading ability.  The first in the series is for
    1st-2nd graders, and go from there.
    
    Erik's favorite was Deputy Dan Got His Man, which was a Step 3 in the
    level system.  Some pictures, but a lot more words.  This worked for
    him as now he is enjoying reading by himself, even reading The Twits by
    Roald Dahl within a few days.
    
    One advantage to a lot of this, is that my husband owns a second-hand
    bookstore and would bring home books for Erik that he thought he might
    enjoy.  There is an Arthur series by, I believe, Lillian Hoban, which
    is about a monkey and there are about 10 books in the series and he
    enjoyed those a lot.
    
    From experience, to get your child reading takes a lot of patience and
    the willingness to find something they like and not what you would like
    them to read.
    
    

    Dr. Seuss' "Beginning Reader" series, especially _Hop_On_Pop_.  They're
    very simple, have similar words on a page (up, pup, Pop, etc.) and they're
    so funny that beginning readers are EXTREMELY motivated to "sound it
    out".
    
    Leslie 

    My children really enjoy stories by Eric Carle.  They began at first 
    looking at the wonderful pictures and progressed into reading the
    words.  Both my 7 year old and 9 year old read Eric Carle regularly.
    
    I'm so sorry, the titles to the books escapes me ... but all are 
    easily available at your local book store.
    

    Weekly Reader puts out series of books that are geared to specific
    grade level reading abilities.  I believe we started ordering these
    in the second grade and they would be sent to the house.  I think
    anything that your child likes to read should be encouraged, obviously
    within reason.  
    
    Reading to your child is very good for thier vocabulary as well as 
    a nice time to wind down the evening.  From day 1 I read to my son,
    it beats the one way conversations!  As my son got older he was able 
    to follow longer books. We have read Robinson Caruso, Call of the Wild,
    and some of the other classics.  His all time favorite though was
    hearing the Sherlock Homes stories.  He was given an anthology for
    his birthday several years ago and it made great bedtime reading.
    It has only been over the past few months that he has lost interest in 
    bed-time stories;-( 
                        

Thanks for all the replies so far.  I went to another book store last night
and found a couple of other series worth considering.  

One is a set of "Nate the Great" books.  It seems that Nate is a junior 
detective, and each book has him solving a different mystery.  The books 
are about 30 pages each and there are twelve or thirteen of them.

The other series is called "Cam Jansen".  These are also mysteries that 
are solved by Cam and her friend Eric.  They are also about 30 pages each,
and I'd guess that there are fifteen or sixteen books.

I think that Brian would really like mysteries since two of his favorite
things on TV are "Where in the World is Carmen SanDiago?" and "MathNet"
(which is a take-off of "Dragnet") on Square One TV.  Right now I'm leaning
toward "Nate the Great" books because they seemed to be at a lower reading
level than either of the other series I've looked at.  I think there's a
better chance that he'll be able to read them himself by Christmas time.

                                              Tracy

    I have found this note very interesting because the series book is
    exactly what my wife sees as one of the biggest things in getting
    children to love reading.  She is a high school English teacher who
    has had to deal with kids who couldn't read or wouldn't read for over
    twenty years.  
    
    She has written a book that has just been published that some of you
    may find useful.  I will add the review from Publisher's Weekly of
    October 4th:
    =====================================================================
    
    PARENTS WHO LOVE READING, KIDS WHO DON'T: How It Happens and What You
    Can Do About It - Mary Leonhardt, Crown, ISBN 0-517-59164-2
    
    Leonhardt, a veteran English teacher now on the faculty at Concord-
    Carlisle High School in Concord, Mass., here provides useful advice,
    based on her own years of experience, on how to overcome the
    disinterest - or downright hostility - of some children where reading
    is concerned.  Refreshing for its realism, the book admits to ideals
    but also insists on minding the facts of life and education: "In a bid
    for a child's attention," Leonhardt points out, "a Batman comic might
    have a chance over a rock video - but a beautifully illustrated book on
    how the Hopi Indians planted corn probably isn't even in the running."
    Well-organized chapters confront the problems of poor readers and
    suggest, in detail, what to do about them - make reading fun, even if
    it means feeding the kids with "trashy" books; "tolerarte a certain
    amount of disorder" in their housekeeping of books and magazines; be
    willing to spend money on their growing reading hobby; and let them
    squander time on it, instead of sending them off on errands, for
    example.  And what about television?  Don't ban it, she says; downplay
    it for preschoolers, but let older children who are reading watch some
    TV, too, lest denial inspire rebellion.  Also discussed in depth are
    the roll of schools in reading, the stages of reading that all children
    must pass through and books that may help spur reading even in the
    unwilling.
    
    ===================================================================
    On schools, she shows how even avid readers will be turned off by
    many of the school practices, and how to combat it.  The recommended
    books come from student recommendations, not the NY Times children's
    reading lists.  I think you will enjoy it.
    
    Dick

    Any recommendations for my 12 year old niece who loves to read,
    especially adventure/imagination/sci-fi'ish books, and hates 
    "romance and mush"?  
    
    Jane

re: .10

Last year, my daughter (13 now) read several books by Christopher Pike.  
This is significant, in that my daughter is a reluctant reader.  Pike writes 
"thriller" type books.  Evidently, Pike books were quite popular for her age 
group, because they were available in the "book club" flyers she brought 
home from school, and they were well stocked in the book stores.

My 10 year old son (more aggressive reader) is flying through the 
"Goosebumps" series by R.L. Stine.  They are thriller/horror type books.  
When searching through a bookstore, we were told that there are some 
books by R.L. Stine that are aimed at slightly older readers.

Clay

re .10:
    Anything by Anne McCaffrey!  Some of her stuff is more juvenile-oriented
    than others, but I think a 12-year-old could handle any of it.  It's
    usually in the SF section of bookstores.

				cheryl

    Congrats to your wife, Dick - sounds great!
    
    Monica

Our daughter (10) loved the Madeline L'Engle series beginning with
a "Wrinkle in Time". (Actually I loved it too). It's a little adventure,
science fiction, mystery, family, troubles with growing up etc... Something 
for everyone.

The main character is a girl trying to find and rescue her father with
the help of some unusual friends. There are 2 other books in the series - 
"A Swiftly Tilting Planet" and one other that I can't remember.

Another fun series is the Narnia books (can't remember the author either -
must be all the sleep I'm NOT getting because of the 2 and 3 yr old...).  

(re: .-1)

    Don't forget 'The Hobbit' by J.R.R. Tolkein....Could lead to the whole
    Lord of the Rings trilogy...I think I started reading these in the 6th
    grade or thereabouts.

    I agree with the Narnia books and the Hobbit.  Though the Hobbit is too
    advanced for a young reader - my husband and I have been reading them
    to our five-year old son for the past year.  He loved the adventure,
    mystery and fantasy involved in these books.
    
    Laura G.

    Recommended childrens' books:
    
         Highly recommended:
    
              Burnett, Francis Hodgson
    
                  A LITTLE PRINCESS
    
                  THE SECRET GARDEN
    
              Farley, Walter
    
                  THE BLACK STALLION
    
              Kipling, Rudyard
    
                  THE JUNGLE BOOKS
    
              Wilder, Laura Ingalls
    
                  LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE series
    
              Montgomery, Lucy Maud
    
                  ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
    
                  ANNE OF AVONLEA
    
                  rest of series
    
              Lewis, C. S.
    
                  the NARNIA series
    
              Taylor, Mildred
    
                  ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY
    
    
             Mike
    

    FWIW Dept.:  My wife, Mary, will be on the CBS Morning Show on monday
                 Dec. 13th discussing reading and her book.
    
    BTW:  This is the third time this was scheduled.  First time the 
    producer's father died.  Second time Clinton announced his health care
    package.  That time they called as we were getting on the train for
    New York.  So, we'll see what comes up this time.......
    
    Dick

   While living in Pittsburgh we often visited the children's section
   of the Carnegie Library. The librarians had written a list of
   books appropriate and popular with various age/grade groups. They
   are: 
        Suggested readings with 
                2-3 year olds (about 65 titles)
                4-5 year olds (about 50 titles)
                5-6 year olds (about 65 titles)
   and
       Suggested reading for
                Grades 1-2
                Grades 3-4
                Grades 5-6
                Grades 6-7
   
   I've scanned the first list in and can either email to folks
   interested or post here (preferred).
   
   The lists are alphabetical by author which makes a book easy to
   find in the library. 
   
   Howie

    If the mods don't have a problem with it, I'd love to see
    the list(s).
    
    Thanks,
    Jodi-

    me too!

          SUGGESTED READING Grades 1-2

Asch, F.     	        Popcorn
Benchley, N.    	Strange Disappearance of Arthur Cluck
Bonsall,   C.   	Case of the Dumb Bens
Brandenberg, F.  	A Picnic, Hurrah!
Brenner,  B.   	        Wagon Wheels
Brown,   M.   	        Arthur Goes to Camp
Caines,  J.   	        Abby
Calmenson, S.   	What am I?
Christian, M.   	Penrod's Pants
Clifton,  L.       	My Friend Jacob
Cohen,   M.     	"Bee My Valentine"
Cole, B.      		Winter Wren
Degen,   B.   		Little Witch and the Riddle
Eastman,  P.   		Sam and the Firefly
Freeman,  D.   		Corduroy
Gackenbach, D.   	Mother Rabbit's Son Tom
Galdone,  P.   		What's in Fox's Sack?
Hazen,   B.   		Tight Times
Hopkins,  L.   		Surprises
Hughes,  S.   		Alfie Gets in First
Hutchins, P.   		Happy Birthday, Sam
Keller,  H.   		Geraldine's Big Snow
Kellogg,  S.   		Tallyho, Pinkerton!
Kent, J.      		Joey
Kessler, L.     	Old Turtle's Soccer Team
Krensky, S.     	Lionel at Large
Kwitz, M.      		Little Chick's Breakfast
Langstaff, J.   	Frog and Toad All Year
Lorian, N.     		A Birthday Present for Mama
Low, J.       		Fox and His Friends
Minarik, E.     	Little Bear
Narahashi, K.    	I Have a Friend
Parish, P.     		Amelia Bedelia
Robins, J.     		Addie Meets Max
Roche, P.      		Webster and Arnold and the Giant Box
Rockwell, H.    	I Did It
Sadler, M.     		Alistair's Elephant
Sadler, M.     		It's Not Easy Being a Bunny
Steele, M.     		Cully Cully and the Bear
Stevenson,  J.   	We Can't Sleep
Thayer, J.     		The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy
Van Leeuwen, J. 	Tales of Amanda Pig
Viorst, J.     		Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, 
                        No Good, Very Bad Day
Wyler, R.      		Spooky Tricks





     

SUGGESTED READING Grades 3 - 4

  Aliki       	        Digging Up Dinosaurs
  Babbitt, N.    	Phoebe's Revolt
  Berends, P.    	The Case of the Elevator Duck
  Blume, J.     	Superfudge
  Brittian, B.    	Devil's Donkey
  Cameron, A.    	The Stories Julian Tells
  Carrick, C.    	Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
  Chew, R.      	Mostly Magic
  Cleary, B.     	Dear Mr. Henshaw
  Clymer, E.     	The Spider, the Cave and the Pottery Bowl
  Cobb, V.      	Gobs of Goo
  Cohen, B.     	The Carp in the Bathtub
  Cole, J.      	The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body
  Conford, E.    	Jenny Archer, Author
  Corbett, S.    	The Lemonade Trick
  Erickson, E.    	A Toad for Tuesday
  Fleischman, S.   	The Midnight Horse
  Goble, P.     	Buffalo Woman
  Greenfield, E.   	Talk about a Family
  Greenwald, S.   	Valentine Rosy
  Heide, F.     	Treehorn's Wish
  Heine, H.     	Friends
  Henry, M.      	Misty  of  Chincoteague
  Hildick, E.     	The Case of the FeIon's Fiddle
  Hodges, M.     	Little Humpbacked Horse; a Russian Tale
  Hurwitz, J.     	The Adventures of Ali Baba Bernstein
  Krementz, J.    	A  Very  Young  Dancer
  Levy, E.      	Frankenstein Moved in on the Fourth Floor
  Klein, N.      	Tomboy
  Lindbergh, A.    	Bailey's Window
  Lowry, L.      	All About Sam
  MacLachlan, P.   	Sarah,  Plain  and  Tall
  Manes, S.    	        Chicken Trek: The Third Strange Thing 
                        That Happened to Oscar Noodleman
  Mathis, S.    	The Hundred Penny Box
  Miles, M.      	Annie and the Old One
  Mitchell, B.    	We'll Race You, Henry: a Story About   Henry  
Ford
  Myers, W.      	Me, Mop, and the Moondance Kid
  Parsons, A.     	Amazing Spiders
  Peet, B.      	Big Bad Bruce
  Pfeffer, S.     	Kid Power
  Rockwell, T.    	How to Fight a Girl
  Sachar, L.    	Sideways  Stories  from Wayside School
  San Souci, R.    	The Boy and the Ghost
  Schwartz, A.    	Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
  Selsam, M.     	A First Look at Seashells
  Sharmat, M.     	Get Rich Mitch!
  Silverstein, S.   	A Light in the Attic
  Taylor, M.     	Song of the Trees
  Van Allsburg, C. 	The Wreck of the Zephr
  Viorst, J.      	If I Were in Charge of the World and  Other  
Worries



   Suggested Reading  Grades 5-6

     
Alexander, L.	        Westmark
Alcock, V.	        The Monster Garden
Babbitt, N.	        Tuck   Everlasting
Bauer, M.	        On My Honor
Bellairs, J.	        The House With A Clock in It's Walls
Boston, L.	        The Children of Green Knowe
Brink, C.       	Caddie     Woodlawn
Byars, B.	        Bingo Brown and the Language of Love
Cleary, B.      	Ramona and her Mother
Cleaver, V.     	Where  the  Lilies Bloom
Collier, J.     	My  Brother   Sam Is Dead
Dahl, R.	        Matilda
Danziger, P.    	The  Cat  Ate  My Gymsuit
Duncan, L.      	A  Gift  of  Magic
Eager, E.       	Half Magic
Fitzgerald, J.  	The  Great  Brain
Fleischman, S.  	Chancy and the Grand Rascal
Fox, P. 	        The  Slave   Dancer
Freedman, R.    	Lincoln: A Photobiograpahy
George, J.      	Julie of the Wolves
Gilson, J.      	Do Bananas Chew Gum?
Greene, B.      	Philip Hall Likes Me, I  Reckon Maybe
Greenwald, S.   	Give Us a Great Big Smile, Rosey Cole
Hamilton, V.    	The House of Dies Drear
Hodges, M.      	Saint George and the Dragon
Howe, D.        	Bunnicula
Hurwitz, J.     	Aldo Applesauce
Konigsburg, E.  	From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E.
Frankweiler
Langton, J.     	The Fledgling
L'Engle, M.     	A Wrinkle in Time
Lester, J.      	How Many Spots Does a Leopard Have?
Lewis, C.       	The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Lively, P.      	The Ghost of Thomas Kempe
Lord, B.        	 In the Year or the Boar and Jackie Robinson
Lowry, L.       	Number the Stars
Macaulay, D.    	Pyramid
Miles, B.       	Maudie and Me and the Dirty Book
Naylor, P.      	Witch's Sister
Paterson, K.    	Bridge to Terabithia
Paulsen, G.     	Hatchet
Pearce, P.      	Tom's Midnight Garden
Peck, R.        	The Ghost Belonged to Me
Pinkwater, D.   	Lizard Music
Silverstein, S. 	Where the Sidewalk Ends
Slepian, J.     	The Alfred Summer
Sobol, D.       	Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective
Spear, E.       	Sign of the Beaver
Taylor, M.      	The Gold CadillacThe 
Tolkien, J.     	Hobbit
VanAllsburg, C. 	Jumanji
Wallace, B.     	Hawkins



    
Suggested Reading Grades 6-7

       
 Adams,  R. 	        Watership Down
 Aiken,  J.      	The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
 Alexander, L.	        The Town Cats and Other Tales
 Bawden,  N.     	The Outside Child
 Blumberg,  R.          Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun
 Bond,  N.      	String in the Harp
 Byars,  B.      	Goodbye, Chicken Little
 Cohen,  B.      	Thank You, Jackie Robinson
 Evemden,  M.   	The Kite Song
 Forbes,  E.     	Johnny Tremain
 Fox,  P.       	One-eyed Cat
 Fritz,  J.      	China's Long March
 Greenwald, S.  	It All Began with Jane Eyre
 Hartling,  P.  	Crutches
 Holman,  F.     	Slake's Limbo
 Howker,  J.     	Badger on the Barge and Other Stories
 Hunter,  M.     	A Stranger Came Ashore
 Hurmence, B.   	A Girl Called Boy
 Jones,  D.      	Dogsbody
 Kheridian, D.  	The Road from Home
 King-Smith,  D.        Pigs Might Fly
 Konigsburg,  E.        A Proud Taste of Scarlet and Miniver
 Lawrence,  L.  	The Earth Witch
 Le Guin,  U.    	The Wizard of Earthsea
 Lester,  J.     	To Be a Slave
 Lowry,  L.      	Rabble Starkey
 McCaffrey,  A. 	Dragonsong
 Mahy,  M.      	The Haunting
 Myers,  W.     	The Young Landlords
 Naidoo,  B.     	journey  to  Jo'Burg
 O'Brien,  R.    	Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
 O'Dell,  S. 	        Island of the Blue Dolphins
 Park,  R.       	Playing  Beatie  Bow
 Parker,  S.     	Pond & River
 Paterson,  K.  	Master Puppeteer
 Pearce,  P.    	The Way to Sattin Shore
 Peck,  R.      	Ghosts  I  Have  Been
 Pinkwater,  D. 	The Hoboken Chicken Emergency
 Raskin,  R.     	The   Westing   Game
 Ride,  S.      	To  Space  and  Back
 Roberts,  W.    	The View from the Cherry Tree
 Rodgers,  M.   	Freaky Friday
 Sleator,  W.    	Interstellar Pig
 Snyder,  Z.     	The  Headless  Cupid
 Steig,  W.     	Abel's Island
 Stevenson,  R. 	Treasure Island
 Streatfeild,  N. 	Ballet Shoes
 Taylor,  M. 	        Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
 Voigt,  C.     	Dicey's Song
 Wells,  R.     	The Man in the Woods
 White,  R.     	Sweet  Creek  Holler
 Yolen,  J.     	Dragon's Blood

READ TOGETHER: Suggested Reading with Two and Three Year Olds

Alexander, M.       		Nobody Asked Me If I Wanted a Baby   
Sister
Asch, F.            		Turtle Tale
Bang, M.            		Ten, Nine, Eight
Barton, B.          		Building a House
Benjamin,     A.    		Rat-a-tat, Pitter-pat
Blundell,    T.    		Joe on Sunday
Brown, Marc         		Hand Rhymes
Brown, Margaret W.   	        Goodnight Moon
Browne,      A.     		I   Like   Books
Bucknell,    C.     		One Bear, All Alone
Carle, E.             		The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Carlstrom, N.       		Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?
Christelow, E.      		Five Lime Monkeys Jumping
        		        on   the   Bed
Demarest, C.        		No Peas for Nellie
Ehlert, L.          		Growing Vegetable Soup
Ernst, L.           		A Colorful Adventure of the Bee,
          			Who Left Home One Monday
          			Morning and What He Found
          			along the Way
Flack, M.           		Ask Mr. Bear
Florian,     D.     		Nature      Walk
Gardner,     B.     		Have You Ever Seen--?
          			an ABC Book
Goennel,     H.     		Seasons
Graham,      T.     		Mr. Bear's Chair
Hayes, S.           		Eat up, Gemma
Hill, E.            		Spot Goes to the Circus
Hoban, T.         		Red, Blue, Yellow Shoe
Hutchins, P.      		The Doorbell Rang
Johnson, A.       		Tell Me a Story, Mama
Jonas, A.         		Now We Can Go
Kanao, K.         		Kitten Up a Tree
Kasza, K.         		The   Pig's    Picnic
Keats, E.             		The    Snowy    Day
Kovalski, M.      		The Wheels on the Bus
Levinson, R.      		I Go With My Family To Grandma's
Lloyd, D.         		Cat and Dog
McDonald, M.      	        Is This a House For Hermit Crab?
McMillan, B.      		One Sun
McPhail, D.       		Something Special
Mark, J.          		Fur
Marshall, J.      		Red Riding Hood
Martin  , B.         		Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Miller, M.        		Who   Uses    This?
Mother Goose      		Tomie dePaola's Mother Goose
Murphy, J.        		Peace at Last
Noll, S.          		Jiggle Wiggle Prance
Ormerod, J.      		101 Things to Do with a Baby
Oxenbury, H.      		Tom and Pippo Read a Story
Parker, N.        		Poofy Loves Company
Polushkin, M.     		Who Said Meow?
Rice, E.          		Goodnight, Goodnight
Rockwell, A.      		First Comes Spring
Rosen, M.         		We're Going on a Bear Hunt
Serfozo, M.       		Rain Talk
Szilagyi, M.      		Thunderstorm
Tafuri, N.        		Spots, Feathers and Curly Tails
Walsh, E.         		Mouse Paint
Watanabe, S.      		How Do I Put It On?: Getting Dressed
Weiss, N.         		Dog Boy Cap Skate
Wells, R.         		Max's      Birthday
Williams, L.      		The Little Old Lady Who Was Not 
                                Afraid of Anything
Yolen, J.         		No Bath Tonight
Ziefert, H.       		Bear All Year


READ TOGETHER: Suggested Reading with Four and Five Year Olds

Alexander, M.       	        Blackboard Bear
Asbjomsen, P.          	        The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
 il. M. Brown
Bare, C.            		Never Kiss an Alligator!
Berger, B.          	        Grandfather Twilight
Bright,                 	Georgia
Burton, V.         		Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Caines, J.          		I Need a Lunch Box
Carle, E.          		The Very Busy Spider
Caseley, J.         		Apple Pie and Onions
Conrad, P.          	        The Tub People
DePaola, T.         	        Strega Nona
Dragonwagon, C.	                This Is the Bread I Baked for Ned
Elborn, A.           	        Big Al
Fowler, S.          	        When Summer Ends
Galdone, P.         	        The Gingerbread Boy
Havill, J.          		Jamaica's Find
Hayes, S.           		This Is the Bear and the Picnic Lunch
Henkes, K.          	        Sheila Rae, the Brave
Hoban, R.           	        Bedtime for Frances
Hoban, T.           	        A Children's Zoo
Holabird, K.        	        Angelina Ballerina
Howard, E.         		Aunt Flossie's Hats (and Crab Cakes
Later)
Kachenmeister, C.   	        On Monday When It Rained
Kasza, K.          		Wolf's Chicken Stew
Keats, E.          		Whistle for Willie
Lewin, H.          		Jafta
Loh, M.            		Tucking Mommy In
McPhail, D.        		Fix It
Mayer, M.          		Frog Goes to Dinner
Merriam, E.        		You Be Good and I'll be Night
Miller, M.         		Whose Hat?
Morris, A.         		Bread Bread Bread
Murphy, J.         		Five Minutes Peace
Numeroff, L.          	        If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
Potter, B.         		The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Prelutsky, J.      		Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young
Rey, H.            		Curious George
Rockwell, A.       		The Three Bears & 15 Other Stories
Ross, T.           		I'm Coming to Get You
Rounds, G.         		Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Russo, M.          		The Line Up Book
Sednak, M.        		Where the Wild Things Are
Spier		 	        Noah's Ark
Steptoe, J.        		Baby Says
Stevenson, J.     	 	If I Owned a Candy Factory
Westcott, N.       		Peanut Butter and Jelly
Williams, V.       		Something Special for Me
Wood, A.           		King Bidgood's in the Bathtub
Yolen, J.          		Owl Moon
Zion, G.                	Harry the Dirty Dog


READ TOGETHER: Suggested Reading with Five and Six-Year Olds

Aliki               		Feelings
Balian,      L.     		Sweet Touch
Berenstain,   S     		The Berenstain Bears and Too Much
Vacation
Bonsall,     C.     		Who's Afraid of the Dark?
Brown,       M.     		Arthur's Birthday
Brown,       R.     		A Dark, Dark Tale
Brett, J.           		Annie and the Wild Animals
Burmingham, J.       	        Mr. Grumpy's Outing
Clifton,     L.     		Everett Anderson's Nine Month Long
Cohen,       M.     		See You in Second Grade
Cole, J.            		Norma Jean, Jumping Bean
Crews,       D.     		School Bus
Degen,       B.     		Jamberry
DePaola,     T.     		Tomie depaola's Favorite Nursery Tales
Ehlert,      L.     		Eating the Alphabet
Freeman,     D.     		A Pocket for Corduroy
Gackenbach,    D.   	        Hurray for Hattie Rabbit!
Galdone,     P.     		Three Little Kittens
Gag, W.             		Millions of Cats
Gibbons,      G.    		Trucks
Haus, F.            		Happy Birthday Cookie Monster
Hautzig,     D.     		Happy Mother's Day
Heller,      R.     	  	Kites Sail High:  A Book about Verbs
Henkes,      K.     		A Weekend with Wendell
Hennessy,    B.     		Jake Baked the Cake
Hoff, S.            		Danny and the Dinosaur
Howard,      E.     		The Train to Lulu's
Isadora,     R.     		Max
Jonas,       A.     		The Quat
Keats,       E.     		Peter's Chair
Kellogg,     S.     		Pinkerton, Behave!
Kessler,     L.     		Old Turtle's Baseball Stories
Kraus,       R.     		Come Out and Play Little Mouse
Lemer,       S.     		Big Bird Says:  A Game to Read and Play
Little,      E.     		David and the Giant
Lobel,    Anita     		Alison's Zinnia
Lobel, Arnold       		Frog and Toad Are Friends
Lyon,        G.     		Together
Lionni,      L.     		Matthew's Dream
Maass,       R.     		When Autumn Comes
Marshall,    J.     		Three Up a Tree
Marshall,    J.     		Three Little Pigs
Marzollo,     J.     		Pretend You're a Cat
O'Connor,    J.     		The Teeny Tiny Woman
Parish,      P.     		Good Work, Amelia Bedelia
Pearson,     S.     		Molly Moves Out
Potter,      B.     		Tale of Two Bad Mice
Rey, H.             		Curious George Flies a Kite
Rockwell,    A.     		I Like the Library
Rylant,      C.     		Henry and Mudge and the Happy Cat
Sendak,      M.     		Pierre, A Cautionary Tale in
         				Five Chapters and a Prologue
Seuss,      Dr.     		I Can Read With My Eyes Shut
Sharmat,     M.     		Mooch The Messy
Spier,       P.     		Dreams
Stevenson,   J.     		We Hate Rain
Thomas,      1.     		Janine and the New Baby
Tafuri,      N.     		Follow Me
Van Leeuwen, J. 		More Tales of Amanda Pig
Watanabe,    S.     		Daddy, Play With Me
Wells,       R.     		Peabody
Wheeler,     C.     		Marmalade's Yellow Leaf
Wilkes,      A.     		My First Cookbook
Williams,    K.     		Galimoto
Wood,        A.     		Napping House
Word,        V.     		All the Small Poems

	Hmmm, I apologize, but some of the format got messed up between
	scanner and notes. 

	In any event, hope you find them useful. Any suggestions, 
	additions appreciated. We are always looking for more 
	books to read.

	Howie

    Thanks for posting the lists!
    
    Jodi-

    re: .19  ----  CBS called, postponed again.... boy can the big boys
    jerk you around....
    
    :-(
    
    Dick

    re -1:  She made it.  Tue the 4th.  
    
    Dick

    re -1
    Barns & Noble, Nashua, NH, thur Mar 3, 7 pm

    	I am trying to find a book that has mothers and their baby animals 
        in it.
    
    	Ohpha Winfrey used the book to decorate her girlfriends nursery.
    
    	It has a mother dear and her fawn and a mother bunny and her
        baby bunnies.
    
    	I am also looking for a book that has Pegasus (the flying horse) 
        in it.. 
    
    	Any help would greatly be appreciated.
    
    	Thanks

I think there's quite a few out there, and cheap ones that you can cut up
for a nursery, in case you can't find the particular one you are looking for.

For a more "sophisticated" child (say, age 2 or 3 instead of age 0 or 1), 
we like "Is your Mama a Llama?"  :-)  Beautiful pictures by Steven Kellogg,
and a fun "story".  Not for decorating with, but I thought I'd mention it.

    Carol

Sort of a funny story....

We have a 1924 Studebaker touring car and a 1926 Studebaker hearse so the kids
know something about the older cars.  Anthony has 'Library Day' in kindergarten
on Tuesdays and yesterday was able to take a book out for the first time.

The title of the book is 'Who Can Fix It?' and has a drawing of an old touring
car (really from the 'teens, but close enough) on the cover.

It just struck us funny at his choice of book, but it's fun to see your children
share your interests.

Dave

Selected American Library Association Children's Newbery Award Winners

...with the ability to read the first chapter online.

Awesome!

Just curious..did anyone in here ever read Enid Blyton books?  She is a British
author..we grew up on her books...there are several different series..and I
can't think of more wonderful books to read during childhood!  The books are
meants for readers of different ages...I had a huge collection when I was a
child and I have already started collecting these books for my daughter!

--Chaya.

I live in England and I remember loving these books when I was a child.
I can only vaguely remember stories about fairies and toadstools - my mum
must have given away all of my old books.

Can you refresh my my memory with some of the book titles.

Did she write the Noddy and Big Ears books ?

Heather

>Did she write the Noddy and Big Ears books ?

Yes she did, I have almost the complete set a
already for my lttle girl. She is a wonderful 
author.


Elaine  :^)

Seems to me I remember several libraries not keeping her books because of the 
racist attitudes and her use of slang. So I guess Enid Blyton is not everybody's
cup of tea.

However, I think we have most of the Noddy collection. I used to read them 
to Rowena but she seems to have moved onto Goosebumps books now.

Peter.

    
    This whole note is geared towards books for kids older than 2 years
    old.  How about something for the little ones?
    
    Lauren has lots of cardboard books that she enjoys reading on her
    own but as for books for me to read to her, I only have a couple that
    both of us really enjoy.
    
    "Grandfather Twilight" has beautiful pictures that include a cat, dog,
    birds, and the moon.  Lauren loves all those sort of things.
    
    And "Goodnight Moon", my personal favorite and I think Laurens too.
    She can pick out the mouse on every page!  We also have "The Runaway
    Bunny" but it is not as popular.
    
    We have alot of Dr Suess but she is too young for them at this point.
    The pictures do not catch her interest.  Same thing for the Clifford
    the red dog books.
    
    What do you folks recommend for 1-2 year olds?
    
    Karen

    
    
    When Haley was between 1 and 2 she loved Carl the Dog books.  They
    were her favorite.  
    
    She used to keep one under the couch - she allways knew exactly where 
    it was and when we were done with it she'ld put it right back under 
    the couch.  
    
    Kirsten

    There is a series of books by Lisa McCue that we enjoyed.
    Off hand I remember, "Puppy Peekaboo" and "Moo-Moo Peek A Boo".
    
    The rhymes are catchy and the pictures are interesting.  There's
    a mouse hiding somewhere on every page.
    
    The thick cardboard pages can withstand lots of abuse (and chewing)
    
    	Linda

Karen,

How old is Lauren?  15 months?  Shruthi is almost two now( birthday coming up
next week!) and loves all her Dr Suess books!  She has several of them..at about
12 months, she didn't have the patience to sit while we read one of the Dr Suess
books...but sometime in the period between 15 and 16 months, she loved to read
all the Dr Suess books!  She has several of them...and she knows what is on each
page of those books!  Several time, we find her reading the books by
herself...and pretty accurately too...all from just memory!  The Foot Book was
one of her early favorites...Hand, Hand Fingers Thumb was another one!

Now, she is into the Berenstein Bears books...she seems to love them! 

There's also another really nice book for that age/...I think it is called
Elmo's Big Lift and Look book...it really helped Shruthi in learning her
alphabet, shapes and colors!

Talking of the Enid Blyton books I mentioned a few notes ago, they are fantastic
books for all ages.  The Noddy books that people have mentioned are suitable for
the 2-3 yr olds.  I didn't ever find any racist remarks or slang in her
books..but then it was a long time ago!  Although, the sad part is that those
books are not available here in the US...at least, I have not been able to find
them anywhere!

--Chaya.

    Alyssa is 7.5 months old and she loves the small (4 inch x 4 inch)
    cloth books.  She will grab one and sit up with it and hold it as if
    she is reading it.  (Of course sometimes it will be held upside down)
    ;^)
    
    Re: Previous, isn't it dangerous to allow children to chew on books due
    to the lead content involved in the printing process?

> I didn't ever find any racist remarks or slang in her books but then it was a 
> long time ago! 

I can't remember what the racist stuff was exactly. I remember there was a "Golly
Wog" family and Golly Wogs are no longer Politically correct. There was also a 
thief that was a person of colour. The slang was more in the older books, not 
noddy and it's probably all slipped into current use anyway.


> Although, the sad part is that those books are not available here in the US.
I've not seen them here and I think my parents were having difficult getting them
back in Britain.

I think the older kids books were the "Famous Five" series. I know she did a lot
series and several one offs too. My niece was really into reading any Enid Blyton
book. She seems to be turning out fine on it.

for under 2... The Foot Book  by Dr. Suess  is simpler, fun to read, 
and before you know it, you might have it memorized!  Also, Are You My 
Mother was a fun memory the first time Rachel saw a noisy "SNORT"!

But I agree... Goodnight Moon (thanks to Grandma) is also my favorite.

...and speaking of old children's books... I have a set called My Bookhouse,
which was my fathers, a 12 volume set from Nursery Rhymes to Beowolf (and 
the like), that is a beautiful collection.  I'd like to have some pages 
repaired, though... Anyone know of any libraries (or the like) that have 
a preservation service.  (Univ. of Conn. does, but they're a hike).

-Tanya

    Anything for kids under two.
    
    Atlehi has the newspaper read out loud to her, (the only way I can get
    to read the paper when she is up), trashy novels, or whatever I am
    reading at the time.  She also likes dr. suess "Fox in Socks", "Earnie's
    Bath Book" (Plastic covered for the tub), any magazines that have
    pictures in them, and whatever else is lying around.  
    
    It may seem strange, but I have read to her from whatever I was reading
    for so long that I don't worry so much aboout content, as much as I
    want her to realize there is all kinds of stuff to read out there.
    
    meg

	I like the Sandra Boynton books...

	Moo, Baa, La la la

	Barnyard Dance

	Etc.  They are simple rhyming books that you can sort of sing

	The Foot book and Goodnight moon were also popular, along
	with some very simple books that just had one item on each
	page (For example, the "sounds" book  had a page with a train,
	a page with a drum, a page with a telephone...

	Andrew loves books, too, especially for dessert ;-)

My daughter started with the Clifford cardboard puppy books, and loved 
them.  

Now she's into the paper-page Clifford the Dog books.  We have ABC's, 
Counting, Manners, and the Word Book.   I think they do a very good 
job on all four of these.    The manners one we work into daily life, 
like "you need to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze, just like 
Clifford does", etc.  

    I don't know the author, but Each Peach Pear Plum was a favorite.

    Nursery Rhymes of any sort went over well, but they preferred ones with
    only one poem per page and lots of colorful pictures.

    Many of the Golden Book series.  

    They didn't last very long, but the books where you pull a tab and some
    object on the page moves.  Or pick up a piece of cloth and there's
    something behind it.  Or open a door and see what's behind it.

    Disney books, especially if you have the matching video.

    The first books that David latched onto were the SPOT books, about a
    dog family.  They are large books, colorful, and have only the words of
    the items on the page printed.  Spot visits the farm was a good one,
    since he could do all the animal sounds and learn a few new words like
    "barn" and "tractor". He also really enjoyed some small pop-up books,
    "Oh My! A Fly!" "Dinner Time" and "Little Monsters".  Can't remember the
    author, but they are about 4 inches high and have about 10 pages to
    them.
    Dr. Seuss and the Berenstain Bears were a bit later for him.
    Sarah
    

    Anything by Jan Brett (I *love* her illustrations!) - Berlioz the Bear,
    The Mitten, can't remember any other titles right now.  (trivia - I think
    she's local to the Boston area, because I heard an interview with her on
    a local public radio station doing fundraising last week, and she said
    her husband is a professional musician, and was the model for Berlioz
    the Bear - she just had to add some fur and modify the ears slightly :)

    I also like "Mama, Do You Love Me?" (an Eskimo mother and her daughter
    talk about whether mom would still love daughter if she was naughty,
    turned into a hungry polar bear, etc. - maybe too sweet for some, but
    my kids and I like it).

    Pat the Bunny (and the sequel, Pat the Cat) were favorites - I think we
    went through 3 copies of Pat the Bunny.

    And I have one page from another favorite book that's falling apart.  I
    don't know where the cover is.  I think the title is "Oh I Love".  The
    words start out "Oh I love my little <something - lamb??> and my lamb
    loves me.  I'm gonna feed my little lamb as it feeds me.  Little lamb
    goes baa, baa, ..."  It's a bedtime story - it ends up with baby and
    all of baby's animals sleeping in baby's room as mama and daddy quietly
    close the door.

    The Sesame Street book and tape sets are good (Elmo's Music to Move By,
    etc.).

    We love books and buy far too many - I could go on for days...

							cheryl		

If you love Grandfather Twilight, you'll probably also love When the Sun Rose,
also by Barbara Berger.  At least, I do!

	-Neil

    re: .46 -- wait till your daughter is old enough to realize that...
    
    "hey mom -- those are the same words that are in MY books"!  this from
    my then 5-yr old.  Now I'm waiting for her to ask what they mean in
    those combinations......  :>) [i enjoy reading "trashy" novels]

    re .53.
    
    Been there.  Carrie and Lolita got the same exposure.  The results can
    be comical.  I wonder if Carrie, who loves to write stories, is going
    to become the next Stephen King, Barbara Cartland, Mecedes Lackey,
    Marion Zimmer Bradley.........
    
    ;-)
    
    meg

    One of our favorite authors is Rosemary Wells.  The girl's favorite is
    "Hazel's Amazing Mother".  She writes for all levels of children which
    is good since I have a 7 yr, 5 yr and 2 mo old.  Some of their favorite
    books (and they have TONS) are:
    
    New Kid on Spurwink Avenue - this one is lots of fun to read and they
    love to join in to "Naw man, it's just a dumb ...".
    
    The Polar Express - wonderful Christmas story for ALL ages (my personal
    favorite)
    
    Books of Poems - My 7 yo is a wonderful reader and will read anything
    to anybody that will listen (in fact even if we're not listening, she
    just sits and reads aloud).  Poems are wonderfuld for this and her
    little brother (2 mo.) will even stare at her when she's reading poems. 
    It's pretty cute.
    
    I love this note and am planning on going out and trying to find some
    other "favorites" out there.  Our policy has always been - you can't
    own too many books - they just get read over and over (and over..)
    again!
    
    Cindy

    
    I second the Elmo book .... it's something like "Elmo's big book of ??"
    shapes and letters??  It's about $10.00, and is primarily yellow, with
    a huge Elmo on it.  
    
    There's also another called "Alpha-Bugs" that's pretty close to that
    age range.  Lots of flip up/pull tab kinds of things.
    
    

    Andy also loves book, and we've got a lot of the ones mentioned (Dr.
    Seuss, Good Night Moon, etc.).  "Each Peach Pear Plum", which was
    mentioned, is by Janet and Allan Ahlberg.  This was a favorite for a
    while.  It's sort of like a beginner's version of Where's Waldo (but
    only one figure to find in a picture).
    
    Another series that I don't remember seeing mentioned is the Eric Carle
    books.  They're a little more pricey, but have been favorites.  We've 
    got "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" and "The Very Quiet 
    Cricket".  Each of these has enough repetition that Andy thinks he's 
    reading along.  I love the cricket one because the baby cricket is 
    looking for someone who sounds like him.  At the end, when he finds 
    another cricket, there's a little unit in the book that plays a very 
    quiet cricket sound!

    Current favorites at our house:
    
    For my 2 yr. old:
    
    	- The very hungry caterpiller
    
    	- anything that makes noise (we've got several of those read and 
    	  squeak book (squeak toy w/in a book), and those books where you
    	  push the matching sound button when you get to a picture in the
          text). My 2 yr. old does better w/ the smaller, knock-off
          versions than the larger Disney ones...too short an attention span.
    
    	- Any book w/ pictures of toddlers/preschoolers
    
        
    For my 4 yr. old:
    
    	- any of the 'Arthur' books by Marc Brown
    
    	- Big Scary Green Monster (add's funny feature page by page and
          then subtracts them page by page...It's great!)
     
       

<    For my 2 yr. old:
<    
<    	- The very hungry caterpiller

Jeepers!  I had to read that one in Spanish the other night!  My son assumed
he was bringing home from school the English version of it.  I took 
1 quarter of Spanish in college about 15 years ago!

But I did it, and was able to translate almost all of it.  :-)

      Carol  (brag, brag!)

  Does anyone have suggestions for "chapter" books to read aloud to a 4 and
5 year old?  I'm about to go on a long trip  and my son has already packed
Charlotte's Web.  Now I like Charlotte's Web but I have already read it to
him cover to cover 3 times.

  I picked up The Borrower's and A cricket in Times Square.  I would like
longer books - less to pack.

 
Thanks,

Elizabeth

    Indian in the Cupboard is an excellent book to read aloud.  I read
    it to my daughter at age 6.  I thought that some of the words would
    go over her head, but she was attentive throughout.  We read it over
    a period of several weeks, a chapter a night.  
    
    The book has a good deal of suspence between chapters, so often
    there were pleas to read just one more chapter.
    
    Diana

Elizabeth,

The Beatrix Potter books come in a miniature size (set of 24, I think).  Some
are very short, but some (Little Pig Robinson, Mister Tod, etc.) are
substantial.  Both my kids went through stages of spending a lot of time
with these books.

There are several Borrowers books (The Borrowers Afloat, The Borrowers Afield,
The Borrowers Aloft, maybe more).  My son the Borrowers fan loves them all.

Alice in Wonderland.
The Winnie the Pooh set (4 books).
Pippi Longstocking (I think there are several of these, too).

We have books all over the house - wanna come over and browse?  :)

						cheryl

    You might try Roald Dahl books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,
    James and the Giant Peach and Fantastic Mr. Fox. You could als have a
    look at the rec.arts.books.childrens newsgroup.
    
    michael

    Another really good book for children is "The Trumpeter Swan".  This
    was one of my favorite books as a child.  It's a story about a swan who
    had no voice, and how he got around it.
    
    Holly
    

My daughter has enjoyed the "Cam Jansen" mystery series by Adler (can't
remember his first name).  They are simple enough for early reading later on.
Also "Stuart Little" by E.B. White, and "The Black Stallion" (can't recall the
author).

Some other of her favorites that aren't exactly chapter books:

	Greek/Roman/Norse/Japanese mythology, although some of it may be too
		intense for the younger crowd
	Just-So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling

						Brian

    
    The "Narnia Chronicles" is a series of chapter books by C.S. Lewis
    that my son has enjoyed.  
    
    Also, "Black Beauty" by Anne Sewell
    
    Have a fun trip!
    
    Pam

    My girls love "The Great Brain" books by John Dennis Fitzgerald and I
    love rereading them.  
    
    I had never read "The Borrowers", but lately my girls have enjoyed
    picking out books on audio and we just finished it.  I'll have to let
    them know that there are more books in the series. 
    
    Roberta 

How about some Beverly Cleary books?  I'd especially recommend 'Ramona the Pest'
for 4 and 5 year olds.  It's about the trials and tribulations of kindergarten
and of being a little sister.  One of my favorites!

						Tracy

  Thanks for all the suggestions.  I started reading The Borrowers to myself
last night.   I think it will work out well.

> Pippi Longstocking (I think there are several of these, too).

> We have books all over the house - wanna come over and browse?  :)

  Your house sounds like ours.  We have many Pippi books and the Emil
series (I think all by Astrid Lindberg)  Those books are hardcover Swedish
though.  Since we're going to Sweden I'm only bringing along English books.
(I figure we can always get Swedish books from the library)


ELizabeth						

We started reading my daughter books by Bill Peet
just before she turned 3.  He seems to have written
quite a few.  We started with "The Caboose Who
Got Loose" and "Huge Harold".  All the books we have
read by him seem  to have a good message besides
an enjoyable story.  Libraries around here carry a
good selection.

We were surprised to find out he was originally with
Disney and did the story or animation for Dumbo (and
a few other older movies/cartoons).

    re: -1
    
    one of the nicest things about Bill Peet's books is that YOU will enjoy
    reading them too!  Along with Dr. Seuss, Bill Peet is one of my
    favorite authors.  My kids love his books, we own quite a few and the
    rest get taken out over and over again from the library.  His biography
    is fascinating too.
    
    sandy

    
    "Goodnight Moon" is a great book for really young kids.
    
    We started reading it to Patrick when he was about a 
    month old and now at 4.5 months he gets all excited 
    when we even say "Goodnight Moon".
    
    Kristin

The several "Mrs Piggle-Wiggle" books might also be a good choice for that
age. The chapters here are separate stories/incidents, almost like a series
of short books about the same main character(s). I'll check tonight for the
author.
		Helen

What comic books are reasonably non-violent and non-sexist?

       Carol

Peanuts?

    For Better or For Worse?  I don't know which cartoonists put out the
    cheap newsprint comic books we grew up on, but there are paperback
    collections of comics out there.  FBoFW is a great strip but may not
    have great appeal for Carol's kids (the only non-teen kid in the strip 
    is a preschool girl).
    
    And (playing devil's advocate here) Calvin & Hobbes is equally well
    drawn and very wittily shows the consequences of brattiness (including
    violence in the form of snowball fights and imagined alien air combat).
    I *love* Calvin's parents, too--they're no chumps, and they're not
    above giving Calvin some of his own medicine sometimes.
    
    Leslie 

    Speaking of non-sexist books, I was delighted to see my daughter's
    book of the month club version of the "The Little Train That Could"
    The train is a she! 
    
    Gail

I'm looking for comic books like "Casper", "Richie Rich", "Aladdin", 
and so on, that come monthly or weekly in a softback, thin "book" form
like I used to read when I was a second grader.

However, I've seen that Aladdin is incredibly sexist, and so I'm looking for
something better.  Doesn't *anyone* else's kids read comic books?

        Carol

I'm trying to find some baseball-related titles for a 7 year old boy.  
Preferably that refer to mixed-gender teams.  (the Peanuts comic books are on 
order :^}, as they're not available in Australia any more)

Anyone have any ideas?



\Chele

    I have a couple of questions related to books.
    
    1) Where can I get the book "Once Upon a Potty" (and the video for that
    matter)?
    
    and
    
    2) How do I clean the rubber/plastic books that can go in the tub?
    	(my son loves reading in the tub, but the books are getting
    	 mildew on them, yech!)
    
    Thanks!
    
    /Karen

    
    I would think that you could get "Once Upon a Potty" at any of the
    upscale toy stores (e.g. Learning Express in the Greendale and soon
    in the Solomon Pond malls).   Also, I would be surprised if they
    didn't have it at the Paper Store children's section (you're in 
    Hudson, right?)
    
    I'd wipe the books clean with a bleach & water solution to kill
    the mildew.  Rinse and dry them.
    
    Carol

    Barnes & Noble have the potty books.  I just saw them last night in
    Nashua while I was getting some to provide more stimulation and
    encouragement.
    
    After you get the mildew off the books, make sure you prop them open
    to dry between baths.   That will prevent mildew.
    
    judy

    re -.1 I know you were replying to two separate questions, but...
    
    > potty books.... 
    > make sure you prop them open to dry...
    
    Bwahahahaha!
    
    Leslie

    re: .82
    
    Should I be concerned about using bleach and water if I have a todler
    who still puts "everything" into his mouth?  I'm guessing that as long
    as I rinse it well he should be okay?
    
    Thanks!
    
    /Karen

Bleach kills mildew.  Just rinse it off several times thoroughly until it
no longer smells like bleach and you should be OK.  A 10% bleach solution
should do the trick (1 part bleach to 9 parts water).  To prevent mildew,
dry off the books/toys after bathtub use.

    Re: It is kind of funny, now that I read the note over.
    
    And kind of gross too, but with a 2-year old, my gross meter runs
    pretty high.
    
    judy

    You guys are killing me!  :-) :-) :-)
    
    That was one of the funny strings of notes I have ever read!
    
    					cj *->

I just saw the "Once upon a potty" videos at Shop N Save last w/end.  Odd
place for them, but maybe they have the books too??

    Is it just me, or does anyone else despise the "Once Upon a Potty"
    books?  I can't stand the way it's written in the first person.
    
       "And I, Prudence's Mother..."
    
    I have the girl's version and I refused to buy the boys for my son. 
    I ended up getting the Mr. Roger book, plus one other one written by
    Bob McGrath from Sesame Street.  My son really likes the Mr. Roger one
    and is refusing to read the other.  But my daughter liked it, even
    though she's been potty trained for over 3 years.
    
    Just wanted to vent on those potty books!
    
    judy

    I didn't like whatever words were used in the book for urine and
    for feces, so I took a ballpoint to the book and changed their
    words to "tinkle" and "poop", our euphemisms-of-choice :-) .
    
    I don't think I'd want to watch a "Potty" *video*, though :-P
    
    Leslie

Now that Spring is really here in New England, my 3.5 year old daughter
loves to look at all the flowers.  I'd like to find a book that I could read
with her that identifies the flowers.  Has anyone seen (or heard) of a book
like this?  I can identify the simple ones myself but I have never been very
good at horticulture.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
         
Thanks,

Alison

    
    I think golden used to have some plant, flower and tree identification
    books. 
    
    meg

    
    
    You can search on the internet at the Troll Books WEB Site
    http://www.troll.com
    Those of you with children in school may recognize the book company for
    children.  You can search by subject, age, etc and I think I recall in
    the science or nature section a book on flowers, and I was looking at
    the 4-6 age then too.  The prices are very reasonable.
    
    Good luck Beth
    reasonable.  I