A close friend of our family was visiting the other night and was carefully scrutinizing my five-year old’s latest artwork–our friend was being silently observed by the artist herself. Though I can readily acknowledge that I am not immune to the motherly bias of believing my children are smart, talented, and beautiful, I like to think that I can sometimes take a step back and have an objective eye.

And objectively, my eldest daughter’s creations are quite amazing. She uses her afternoon “quiet time” to create collages made of tiny pieces of colored paper, pieced together like a mosaic featuring our family under a sunny sky. The sky is made from undulating pieces of alternating blues, creating waves of atmospheric strata. Her school teacher tells me that while the end-of-year goal is for each child to draw a “five-part person” (head, arms, legs, eyes and mouth), my kiddo draws five fingers and five toes, eyelashes and eyebrows, nostrils, colorful outfits, and different hairstyles (Daddy always has hair resembling Alfalfa from Little Rascals). But my little girl is also afflicted with an almost-painful case of perfectionism, and waits somberly for my friend’s opinion.

“This is very, very good,” my friend observes in a serious tone, speaking to her as one peer to another. “I think you could become an artist when you grow up, and sell your art for money.” My daughter thanks her quietly and takes the picture up to her room.

Later that evening, my husband compliments her patience and skill as she teaches her two-year old sister to pronounce a word correctly. “Maybe you’ll be a teacher when you grow up,” he says. Instead of looking pleased, our daughter looks concerned–and a little resigned. “But I can’t be a teacher or an artist when I grow up. I’ve already decided to be a mom.”

What a pleasure it was to explain to her that she could be a teacher AND an artist AND a mom! And, as a mother, she would also be an entertainer, a chef, a nurse, a tutor, a maid, a diplomat, a cheerleader, and a therapist…all in one.

So, in honor of Mother’s Day, our May Book of the Month celebrates the many roles played by women in The Biggest Job of All, written by Harriet Ziefert and illustrated by Lauren Browne. In this sweet tale, Lulu tells her mom that she wants a really big job when she grows up. Her mother guesses at all the big, important jobs that could await little Lulu: a teacher? (Lulu is not very enthusiastic, “Teachers have to wipe noses, tie shoelaces, and fix stuck zippers.”) A doctor or a nurse? (“I don’t like medicine and I don’t like shots,” Lulu replies as her mother applies a band-aid and dispenses some medicine to her little brother).

Your reader will be tickled at the silly suggestions of what this big job could be: operating a big crane? Or washing an elephant? But when Lulu asks the all-important question, “What’s a really big job–the biggest job you know?” Lulu’s mom cuddles her close and tells her the important truth we’ve known all along, underscored by the series of images illustrating the myriad tasks of a mother.

Share this beautiful story with your little readers this month, and talk about the things your mother did that were special to you as a child. Use the storyline to talk about all the future possibilities of what your reader would like to do and be when they grow up; but above all, don’t forget to say “Thank you!” to all the women who have influenced you and inspired you.

Thank you to Blue Apple Books for providing this heartwarming story to enjoy for free during the month of May.

Happy Mother’s Day, and happy reading,

Kristen Johnson

Dear Readeo Friends,

As April rolls on, Colorado has recently enjoyed the blossoming of spring. I woke up to the cheery ruckus of twittery birds one morning last week, and the uncommonly warm weather had me removing my jacket while my two-year old inspected the tender shoots of hyacinths and daffodils, the bold leaves of tulips. As a Utah native, I grew up in the snow, and have a great affection for the particular beauty of winter. But there is nothing that compares with the beauty of a world shaking itself from winter sleep and becoming renewed in budding, green Spring glory. Nature’s new beginnings often parallel with our own, I thought, and we look forward to our own renewing and the changes that each new season brings.

This month, I’d like to introduce three new additions from Clavis, each a unique kind of coming-of-age story. Our youngest readers will enjoy Ian’s New Potty, by Pauline Oud, the story of a young boy who is learning all about being a big boy. He builds a tall “big boys’ tower,” enjoys a “big boys’ sandwich” for lunch (with his big boy appetite), and spends his afternoon playing in a “big boys’ tent,” with his stuffed bunny, Flap. With all of these new abilities comes another important step in being a big boy: wearing big boy underpants and learning to use the potty. With simple, bright illustrations and clear language, this story is a helpful and encouraging introduction to toilet training and the joys of becoming a little more independent.

For readers aged 4 and older is the beautifully written story of Nina, a little girl struggling with the aftermath of her parents’ divorce in I Have Two Homes, by Marian De Smet and illustrated by Nynke Talsma. Told from Nina’s perspective, this book brilliantly and sensitively explores the feelings a child might have as they face an extremely difficult transition: from living together as a happy family in one home, to the confusion of separation, and finally the realities of living in two different homes. Nina remembers standing in her parents’ happy embrace, like a “hotdog in a bun,” and then recalls days of fighting. She remembers Mom spending long hours talking to Grandma, so intent in their conversation, that they don’t notice Nina misbehaving. But Nina also talks about the bright parts of her new life, like having two different birthday parties, or both parents coming to watch as she takes her first dive into the deep pool at school. Most importantly, Nina–and we as readers–are emphatically reassured that while Mom and Dad are no longer happy with one another, their love for Nina will never change.

Our final new addition, Amy, by Ritva Lukkarinen and Pirkko Vainio, is a coming-of-age story for older readers. While exploring her snow-covered backyard, Amy discovers a sick duck taking shelter under a woodpile. Amy fixes up a bed of warm straw for her new friend, whom she names “Lucky,” and provides him with food and water. During the ensuing holiday season, Amy and Lucky spend all of their time together, eating and even napping together. But as Lucky recovers, Amy’s mom gently reminds her that ducks belong outside. Share this important coming-of-age story about responsibility and doing what’s best for those we love, and read about Amy’s final decision as she seeks to do the right thing for her friend, Lucky.

Please let us know what you think of our newest additions on our Facebook page, and share your reader’s reactions, comments, or questions about these characters and their new beginnings.

Happy reading,

Kristen Johnson

When I was a child, my mother was in a professional choir that occasionally went on tour, necessitating that my father play the role of “Mr. Mom” while she was away. Dad’s way of doing things differed greatly from Mom’s, and when faced with a particular challenge or a new obstacle, he came up with some brilliantly creative solutions.

When faced with the challenge of doing hair, he laid my sister on the huge butcher’s block that stood like an island in the middle of our kitchen, positioning her so that her head hung slightly over the edge. Though it could have been some macabre scene out of a horror movie, the reality was much funnier. He had decided this was the only way to get her hair to hang straight, and, with rat-tail comb and spray bottle in hand, he was able to make a perfectly straight part running down the center of her head. Because I had requested curls for church, I was also laid upon the butcher’s block, with the strict injunction to “lie still.” From the depths of our linen closet, he had found a decade-old curling iron with the diameter of a no. 2 pencil. Over the course of two hours, he proceeded to curl every hair on my head until it rivaled Shirley Temple’s curly mop.

Another time, when no utensils could be found, and with only yogurt in the refrigerator, Dad pulled out his wallet and methodically began removing plastic cards. He carefully washed them with soapy water, and we ate our yogurt with his American Express and Visa, and we marveled at the previously unknown multi-functionality of credit cards.

I will never forget the time when I lost a tooth while Dad was in charge. Like many, we had a family tradition of placing our teeth under our pillows before bedtime for the Tooth Fairy to find. When we woke up, however, we would find a tightly rolled scroll tucked near our heads. In fancy calligraphy-type writing, the Tooth Fairy would congratulate us on our fine tooth, and include several quarters or dimes glued next to her elegant signature. On this occasion, I woke up to find a thick envelope sticking out from my pillow. I opened it to find a nice letter congratulating me on my clean tooth, but in a blocky script that I didn’t recognize. The requisite quarters were glued to the bottom of the page, but the letter was signed–”With love, the Easter Bunny.” When I showed my dad the letter and questioned him about this breach in holiday mascot protocol, he had a plausible story about the Tooth Fairy being on vacation, and that her buddy, the Easter Bunny, had kindly stepped in to help out. To this day, I am unsure whether this was an elaborate cover to explain the difference in handwriting, or the momentary lapse of a sleep-deprived father writing a letter in the middle of the night to his seven-year old daughter.

While the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny are inextricably linked in my mind, the advent of spring usually conjures images of sunny daffodils, tightly-wound green buds, and Easter with its attendant symbols of new birth: bright eggs, yellow chicks, and fluffy bunnies.

To celebrate spring and the Easter holiday, April’s Book of the Month stars a diligent Rabbit in Carrot Soup, written and illustrated by John Segal. Rabbit celebrates the new season by fastidiously planning his carrot garden so that he may enjoy his favorite food: carrot soup. After plowing and planting, watering and waiting, Rabbit heads out to harvest his crop, only to find rocks, dirt, and mud…but NO CARROTS! Rabbit rushes from neighbor to neighbor, asking if each has seen his carrots, but everyone seems to have an alibi (“I prefer fish to carrots,” says Duck, while Mole says that he doesn’t see very well). When all have pleaded ignorance, and Rabbit’s friend, Pig, can’t be found, Rabbit comes to the hard conclusion that there will be no carrot soup for him and dejectedly walks home.

Your little reader will be giggling at the successive images of Rabbit’s friends toting wheelbarrows of carrots in the background, and bursting with the knowledge of the unexpected surprise that awaits Rabbit at home. When you BookChat, point out the various types of carrots Rabbit orders, such as the “Sugarsnax,” the “Thumbelina,” and the “Short n’ Sweet.” Or use the story to talk about what a seed needs to grow, and follow up with Eric Carle’s The Tiny Seed, also in the Readeo library. Share stories about favorite or unexpected surprises you’ve had in your life, and ask your reader if he or she enjoys surprises, and why. A recipe for Rabbit’s Carrot Soup is included in the back of the book–I challenge our readers to try the soup, and let us know how it is on our Facebook page!

A big thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing this delightful spring book to read for free during April.

Happy Spring and Happy Reading,

Kristen

I’ve just dropped off my five-year old and her friend at school, and have also just witnessed my two-year old experience her first taste of heartbreak. “Can I stay at school, Mom?” she asks with liquid eyes that rival Bambi’s. “You’re too little,” my older daughter asserts. “You have to stay at home.”

As my little one and I walk away from the classroom, I see that she is craning her head to get a last glimpse of the older kids scurrying around their classroom, setting out art supplies and obviously having a riotous good time. “But I am big,” she insists. “I’m very strong. I just need a backpack.”

I kneel down so we are eye to eye. “Oh, love, you are very strong,” I say, resisting the urge to pronounce ‘very’ as she does, like ‘berry,’ “but you have to be five years old to go to that school. But I promise, when you are five, you can go to school too.”

She seems mostly satisfied with this answer, and is doing her best to endure her disappointment and the long afternoon ahead with her mom as sole playmate. I know that feeling, and am surprised and a bit saddened that it comes at such a young age: that sudden revelation that the world is so much bigger than we are, and that we are being excluded by virtue of our size, or our age, or our abilities. That knowledge–and the heartbreak of exclusion–if left unchecked, can affect our perception about the world and our place in it.

So when I read Little Pig Joins the Band, by David Hyde Costello, I immediately knew it was the right choice for this month’s featured title (aside from the obvious pun in there about “bands” and the month of “March”). This reassuring coming-of-age story confidently (and with great humor) affirms that every child has a vital, necessary, and significant role to play–all couched in the clear, simple language of a children’s book. When Little Pig and his siblings (“My name is Jacob!” he reminds them) visit Grandpa one day, they excitedly pull out his old marching-band instruments. While every older brother or sister seems to find a complementary instrument, Little Pig finds, to his chagrin, that he is too little to play the drum or the trombone…and most especially the tuba. His every effort to participate is innocently thwarted by his distracted family, tromping about in charming, clean watercolors (“Do we have any piccolos?” “There’s a jar in the fridge, behind the olives,” his sister replies. “A kazoo?” “Gesundheit.”).

When his sisters’ and brothers’ aimless marching causes them to collapse in a heap, read how Little Pig uses his powers of observation and problem-solving skills to become a much-needed leader. A fabulous pick for a BookChat, this story can launch all kinds of important discussions: ask your young reader if she has ever felt passed over or left out. Has he wished for certain skills or talents, and why? Share a story about a personal triumph or a time you succeeded against all odds, and then discuss specific ways your reader can use their unique talents and abilities to make a real difference in their world.

A special thank you to Charlesbridge for making Little Pig Joins the Band available to you and your not-so-little one to read for free during the month of March.

Dear Readeo Friends,

Our first new addition this month takes us into the wild in Mommies and Their Babies, by Guido van Genechten. The brown and white high-contrast illustrations teach young readers about the proper names of mommies and their little ones, from the tiny “baby spiderling” to the big “elephant calf.” Read this book along with its pair, Daddies and Their Babies, also by Guido van Genechten.

We move from the wild to the zoo with Swing Like a Monkey, by Harriet Ziefert and Simms Taback, which should perhaps come with a disclaimer: Do not read before bedtime. This book will get you and your little reader jumping and wiggling, stomping and leaping from its very first injunction to “Move! Move! Move!”

The animals creep a little closer in Lisa Campbell Ernst’s How Things Work in the Yard, a fun and interesting book that explores and explains your great backyard in simple, clear language. Ernst uses clever three-dimensional paper cut-outs illustrating everything from robins, squirrels, caterpillars, and fireflies to wagon wheels, acorns, and bubbles. A great book for the very curious or very restless since reading in order is not required.

And don’t look under the couch! The animals have invaded the house in Prickles vs. the Dust Bunnies, by Daniel Cleary, a silly comic-style book about a cat named Prickles who is none too happy about his mouse friend, Squeeky, who is harboring dust bunny fugitives in his otherwise-spotless house.

In My Dog Thinks I’m a Genius, another addition by Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Barroux, the animal star, Louie, grows bold when his owner is away at school. He seizes the opportunity–and a paintbrush–to create the masterpiece of his doggy lifetime…a still life that looks astonishingly similar to a famous painting by Cezanne. As you BookChat, look for the other subtle references to famous paintings in Barroux’s illustrations.

It’s one thing for the animals to be hiding under the furniture or sneaking into your art studio, but it’s quite another when they brazenly invite themselves in and plop down on your sofa as in Jan Thomas’ hilarious book, Is Everyone Ready for Fun?. This book has quite possibly become one of my all-time favorites with its laugh out-loud illustrations of three lively cows (and one very distraught chicken) and comical storyline. Read about how these exuberant cattle arrive at a mutually agreeable solution with their stern chicken friend.

Log in today to let these characters invade your child’s imagination, and please let me know what you think of our new additions on our Facebook page. I’d love to hear from you!

Happy reading!
Kristen Johnson