I’ve just signed up to bring treats to my daughter’s class for Valentine’s Day, and am mulling over the depressing instructions in BOLD on the top of the page: “no nuts, everything store-bought and in its original packaging.” No homemade rice-krispie treats with red sugar and heart sprinkles, no beautiful cupcakes with a fluffy dollop of from-scratch buttercream frosting? I realize, however, that the treats are not the point of Valentine’s Day, and as we head toward the car, I think this may be a good teaching moment.

“Did you know Valentine’s Day is in February? Do you remember what Valentine’s Day is?” I ask my five-year old. “Sure,” she shrugs. “It’s about hearts. Can we make some hearts?” I am familiar with her stream-of-consciousness responses, so I steer back to the topic at hand. “Well, yes. It’s about hearts. But do you know why we celebrate Valentine’s?” “LOVE!” she shouts enthusiastically. “We celebrate our love.” “That’s right!” I say proudly. “We celebrate the love we have for others, like our family. Like the way Daddy and I love you.”

“How do you know someone loves you?” she asks.

“Well, one of the ways Daddy shows his love for you is by getting up really early every morning–even when he doesn’t want to–to go to work so he can take care of you.”

My daughter is silent for a moment, thinking about this. “Or like the way Adam loves me. You know, because he shares his dinosaurs with me, and we play dinosaurs together a lot. He’s really fun.”

It’s true. It’s much easier for a younger child to see love in concrete, tangible ways, like when a friend shares a favorite toy, or when I let my two-year old lick the beaters (“You’re my best friend, Mama,” she told me last week, after one such occasion). But it’s those intangible, seemingly mundane, daily tasks that slowly, but indelibly, etch our love on the hearts of those we care for. I don’t expect my five-year old to notice these things–and there are some things she simply can’t understand until she becomes a caretaker. Last week, after she had contracted a stomach bug in the middle of the night, I looked up from scrubbing the carpet to see my husband carefully washing her sheets out in the tub. We looked at each other and laughed out loud, “Wow, this is love.”

We don’t want or expect thanks for this, but simply want our little girl to feel–and expect–that invisible safety net of love.

February’s featured title, Bunny, My Honey, by Anita Jeram, is the tender, simply told tale of a mother’s unconditional love for her little one. Mother Rabbit teaches Bunny all those important rabbity things, like running and hopping, digging and twitching, and the right way to thump his great, big feet. Bunny plays with his two best friends, Miss Mouse and Little Duckling, and if a game ends in tears, “as games sometimes do,” Mommy Rabbit is there to comfort and cuddle.
But when Bunny becomes lost deep in the woods one day, he suddenly realizes just how much he needs his mommy. Mommy Rabbit isn’t long in finding Bunny, and they are joyfully reunited: she presses her nose to his and reminds him of her love.

You or your reader may recognize Ms. Jeram’s adorable watercolor illustrations from the popular Guess How Much I Love You? or All Together Now. When you BookChat, ask little ones if they can spot the concerned-looking owl or the tiny snail that is hidden among the leaves on some of the pages. Use the story’s comforting message–”I’ll always be there for you”–to reassure a toddler who fears the dark, or discuss with an older reader the ever-important subject of what to do if he is ever lost.

Special thanks to Candlewick Press for making Bunny, My Honey available to you and your honey bunny to read for free during the month of February.

Happy Valentine’s Day and happy reading,

Kristen

We’re sitting down to a delivery pizza dinner–a meal about which I feel an inordinate amount of guilt. Not, as you might assume, because of the calories represented by the pepperoni swimming in greasy cheese, but because we very rarely had pizza when I was a child. And I mean rarely as in, my mother was suffering from the stomach flu, and literally couldn’t get out of bed to prepare her usual fare, such as 10-vegetable whole wheat pasta. Or zucchini pie. This kind of diet also ruled out such childhood delicacies as Mac n’ Cheese, Lucky Charms, and Twinkies. As a kid, I fantasized about eating Jiffy peanut butter on white bread while I struggled to re-integrate the layer of oil that separates from 100% natural peanut butter. And like most kids my age, pizza was number one on my favorite foods list.

So, needless to say, I was nonplussed by my 5-year old daughter moodily picking at her pizza. “Is something wrong?” her dad asks. “I just want some icecream,” she says. “There will be no icecream until you eat your pizza, young lady!” I declare. Wow. Did that just come out of my mouth? Almost as good as my earlier doozie, “Stop cleaning up right now and put your shoes on!”

Though my statements sound wrongheaded, it’s the underlying principles that I’m trying to teach (i.e., “dinner before dessert”, and “listen to your mother the first time”); it’s that universal struggle to get the kids you love to do what you think is best for them.

This universal struggle extends even to the animal kingdom in this month’s featured book, Little Hoot, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and illustrated by Jen Corace. You and your reader will laugh your way through this unexpected tale about Little Hoot, a happy little owl who enjoys school, playing with his friends, and even minds his mother when it’s time for “pondering practice.” Yet, like all little ones, he does not like bedtime–but for a very different reason than most: “All my other friends get to go to bed so much earlier than me! Why do I always have to stay up and play? It’s not fair!”

Children will enjoy the lovely, yet simple, line drawings and the comic-book-style bubbles revealing Little Hoot’s thoughts. As you BookChat, ask younger readers if they can find four forest friends playing hide-n-seek with Little Hoot, or to point out Little Hoot’s favorite nighttime blankie throughout the book. Older readers will enjoy the ironic reversal of roles as Mama and Papa Owl pull out the familiar stall tactics like “One more story!” and “One more glass of water!” Talk about the stall tactics you used when you were a kid, or ask your readers what they’ll let their kids do when they’re grown-up.

As an extra bonus, you might find that the reverse psychology actually works! Little Hoot’s constant pleas for a little shut-eye and the final relief of his cozy bed may tempt your little night owl into dreamland.

Special thanks to Chronicle Books for making Little Hoot available to lull your loved ones to sleep during the month of January.

If you love Little Hoot, don’t miss Rosenthal and Corace’s other endearing books, Little Pea and Little Oink, also available in the Readeo library!

Happy reading!

Kristen

Days after Thanksgiving, as I drove through our neighborhood with my two little girls, ages 5 and 2, they pointed out the cheerful houses decorated with white twinkly lights, the red and green wreaths and candy cane lawn ornaments, the animatronic deer bending their heads to nibble at the ground, the blow-up penguins, snowmen, and Santas. My two-year old sighed heavily as she looked out the window. “Mom? See the Christmas? Our house is NOT Christmas.”

It’s true. Though I actually remembered to replace my Halloween wreath with a harvest-themed one, I can hardly believe it’s time to replace it with an evergreen. I’ve gone from raising my eyebrow at our ambitious neighbor hanging lights in August to fearing I’ll be dangling from the side of the house on December 21st, stringing lights in 20 degree weather.

No, our house is not Christmas. Yet. But I remembered the sage advice from Buddy, the lovable character from the movie, “Elf”: “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” Thanks to the local radio station that begins playing Christmas music the day after Halloween, I cranked up the stereo and we all felt a little more Christmas.

So, to get us all in the spirit of the season, we are featuring a book that takes its title from the well-known, much-loved Christmas song, “Jingle Bells.” In Iza Trapani’s version, Jingle Bells begins traditionally with laughing happily through snow-covered fields, but then takes us on a magic ride around the world for a peek at the celebrations in other cultures. Your little reader will enjoy Trapani’s warm, colorful illustrations of the Polish family dining by candlelight and the smiling faces of the children in Kenya, the Phillippines, and Italy. Older readers will enjoy reading Trapani’s postscript, which explains more fully the traditions highlighted throughout the book. As you BookChat, discuss how your family traditions compare with those in the book or favorite customs you remember from your childhood.

And don’t be surprised if you and your readers spontaneously burst into song between verses (who can resist singing the chorus of “Jingle Bells”?). Whether your lights are hung or you’re still waiting to deck the halls, reading (and singing!) together is the perfect way to be Christmas with those you love.

Special thanks to Charlesbridge for making Jingle Bells available to read with your loved ones throughout the holiday season.

Don’t miss three NEW holiday additions to the Readeo library:

• Ricky’s Christmas Tree, by Guido van Genechten
• Little Snowman Stan, by Guido van Genechten, and
• Kevin’s Christmas, by Liesbet Slegers

Log in today or sign up for a free guest account to read our other holiday books, including:

• Angela and the Baby Jesus, by Frank McCourt
• Auntie Claus: Home for the Holidays, by Elise Primavera
• Bear’s First Christmas, by Robert Kinerk, illustrated by Jim LaMarche
• The Child in the Manger, by Liesbet Slegers
• The Christmas Baby, by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Richard Cowdrey
• Christmas Delicious, by Lyn Loates, illustrated by Mark Jones
• Great Joy, by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
• Hanukkah Haiku, by Harriet Ziefert
• Ho, Ho, Ho Tucker, by Leslie McGuirk
• The Little Matchstick Girl, by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Debbie Lavreys
• The Little Red Elf, by Barbara Barbieri McGrath, illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet
• Looking for Christmas, by Peggy van Gurp
• Maisy’s Snowy Christmas Eve, by Lucy Cousins
• Olivia Helps with Christmas, by Ian Falconer
• Snow! Snow! Snow!, by Lee Harper
• Suzy Goose and the Christmas Star, by Petr Horacek
• Winter Trees, by Carole Gerber, illustrated by Leslie Evans

Happy reading–and happy holidays to you and yours,

Kristen

As a child, did you ever dream of owning an exotic pet, like a tiger or a giraffe? I wholeheartedly sang along with Gayla Peevey,“I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” and thought she made it sound so practical and reasonable. And she’d apparently done her research, too: the hippo was clearly no danger (being a vegetarian) and there was plenty of room to house him in the two-car garage (where she could also give him a massage).

Why have a cat or a hamster, my small self reasoned, when I could have a hippo instead?

In November’s featured title, Me and My Dragon by David Biedrzycki, the little boy decides that–while it’s okay for some kids to want a dog or a cat–for him, only a dragon will do. Readers of all ages will appreciate this imaginative and charming exploration of what it would be like to own such an exotic, fire-breathing pet.

The adorable, bright red dragon starts out small, showcased in the window of “Eddie’s Exotic Pets,” hilariously grouped with a tiny chihuahua and two concerned-looking puppies. But the adventure grows, along with the dragon, as the pair goes camping (fire-breathing dragons are perfect for making s’mores), trick-or-treats, and even helps the community by clearing some snowy driveways.

Parents wishing to raise only the most responsible pet-owners will also appreciate the little boy’s attentiveness to his new pet, which includes a check-up at the vet, daily walks, filling Sparky’s bowl with “Dragon Chow,” and regular bathtimes. Ask your readers to look for the tiny animal Biedrzycki has hidden on almost every page, and while BookChatting, talk about what kind of exotic pet they’d like to have. Discuss what kind of care a dinosaur would need, or where they’d keep their pet rhinoceros.

Log in to read or Bookchat with Me and My Dragon, and don’t forget to check out our Facebook page. Let me know what you think of November’s Book of the Month and share reading activities with other Readeo fans. I’d love to hear from you!

A special thank you to Charlesbridge for making this book available to read for free during November.

The month of October means digging out warm sweaters, enjoying the brilliant golds and blazing reds of changing leaves, plump harvest pumpkins, crisp apples and pink cheeks. And of course, October brings the excitement and anticipation of a very special holiday–especially for children–Halloween.

Our October featured title, The Little Green Witch by Barbara Barbieri McGrath and illustrated by Martha Alexander, pays homage to the classic tale, “The Little Red Hen,” but with a humorous and spooky twist. Children will enjoy following the little green witch as she completes her “unhousework,” her list of unconventional chores that include hanging the cobwebs, dirtying the laundry, and pulling those “unsightly flowers” from the garden.

Alas, our little green witch works alone at her tasks, despite her continual requests for help from her lazy companions. As you BookChat, invite your little readers to come up with their own list of “unhousework”, or ask older readers whether they can guess the surprise ending. With delightful illustrations and expressive descriptions (have you ever “grouched,” “grumped,” “groaned” or “growled” about doing your chores?), this book invites multiple readings. (And while you’re at it, can you spot the Mickey Mouse mug, the discarded eyeglasses, and the hen-shaped cookie jar?).

Please log in to our Facebook page and tell me how you enjoyed The Little Green Witch –and share any of your own reading activities! I’d love to hear from you.

A special thank you to Charlesbridge for providing this entertaining book–for free!–through the month of October.

Log in today and enjoy some of our other featured titles offered free throughout October:

• Over in the Hollow, by Rebecca Dickinson, illustrated by Stephan Britt
• Haunted Party, by Iza Trapani
• Alice and Greta, by Steven J. Simmons, illustrated by Cyd Moore
• Jeepers Creepers, by Laura Leuck, illustrated by David Parkins

And don’t miss our other seasonal titles:

• Hello, Bumblebee Bat, by Darrin Lunde, illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne
• Mercy Watson Princess in Disguise, by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
• By the Light of the Harvest Moon, by Harrriet Ziefert, illustrated by Mark Jones