Toothwhale

We're reading: Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary

He already had his Pop's old action figures, he had gotten a handful more from Santa, and I knew there were even more coming at his birthday party. Plus a light saber (or two), and a couple of vehicles. What more could a boy who had fallen hard for Star Wars want for his birthday? A Star Wars book, of course.

I found Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary on Amazon, and it's been a winner of a gift. Henry has spent some part of almost every day since his birthday last month with the thick book. If he continues to be interested in Star Wars after he can read to himself -- and I think he will -- then he'll only treasure it more. Now, as a pre-reader, he's enjoying the more than 250 pages of amazing photographs of the characters and creatures of Star Wars. Jake and I have read some bits and pieces to Henry, but mostly, he's been happy to explore the book on his own, which is really nice.

Besides the visual dictionary's potential longevity and its appeal for even the youngest of Star Wars fans, I like that we now have a resource for answering some of Henry's more obscure Star Wars questions. I know enough to get by, and Jake knows more than that, but even still, he can stump us.

All six Star Wars episodes are represented in the book's pages, characters are introduced by episode, and each page includes numerous photos and detailed explanations of every photo. If you know a Star Wars fan of any age, then you know someone who would appreciate Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary by David West Reynolds, James Luceno, and Ryder Windham.

We're reading: Harry the Dirty Dog

One of the books from my husband's childhood collection that's now a part of our children's collection is No Roses for Harry!. The kids and I have enjoyed reading the story of the white dog with black spots who succeeds in losing his unwanted flowery new dog sweater, so when I was making a wishlist of books this Christmas, I put another Harry book on it: Harry the Dirty Dog. In addition to No Roses for Harry! and Harry the Dirty Dog, author Gene Zion and illustrator Margaret Bloy Graham created Harry and the Lady Next Door, and Harry by the Sea. (We haven't read those yet, but I've put them on my mental list for the library.)

In Harry the Dirty Dog, the rascally dog Harry likes everything except getting baths. He takes the scrubbing brush from the bathroom, buries it in the backyard, and runs away from home for the day. He plays in tar at a road paving site, at the railroad, in dirt piles and inside pipes at a construction site, and in coal. Harry gets so dirty that he looks like a black dog with white spots rather than a white dog with black spots. Feeling tired and hungry, Harry heads home. But his family doesn't recognize him, and as hard as he tries to show them that he's himself, they don't see it. Just before he gives up, he remembers he's hidden the scrubbing brush in the yard, digs it up, and sneaks in the house. He begs for a bath, and during the soapiest one he's ever had, the children see he's their Harry.

My kids got Harry and the Dirty Dog for Christmas, and I'd estimate that they've asked me to read it at least eight times since then. Both Henry and Harper have chosen it as their bedtime book multiple nights. So, I'm giving Harry and the Dirty Dog an enthusiastic recommendation for young children -- mine are five and almost three. The story is simple but not simplistic, and the illustrations feel fresh despite depicting an American family and neighborhood of more than 50 years ago. Check it out.

We're reading: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

The librarians at our branch make finding the Christmas books easy by setting them on top of the shelves. On our last few trips to the library, I've loaded our library bag down with seasonal goodies with little regard for who else might like to have some. Among the goodies this week was How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Surely you're familiar with the Dr. Seuss character. I was, and I thought I was familiar with his story. That's where I was wrong. When I read the book, I realized I hadn't known what the Whos' Christmas traditions are. I hadn't known that my husband's sometimes saying roast beast for roast beef was a nod to the book. I hadn't known that Cindy-Lou Who looks the way she does and not like the little blond Sally in The Cat in the Hat. I hadn't known that the Grinch doesn't indeed succeed in stealing Christmas. Now I know, and I'm happy I do. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is better than I knew it was, and reading it makes my heart grow.

Read it yourself if you never have or if it's been a while. Read it to your kids if you never have or if it's been a while. Read it even if you think they might be too young to understand it.

Henry and I read the book twice before tonight, and tonight I read it to both him and Harper. Harper listened intently with a look of concern on her face. She seemed to be trying to understand -- like Cindy-Lou Who -- WHY the Grinch was taking everything. I reassured her that in the end, it would be OK, because the Grinch doesn't really steal Christmas. She reassured herself, too, by saying, "Him not take us tree."

I asked my kids what their favorite parts of the book are. Henry said he likes when the Grinch carves the roast beef. Harper said she likes the Whos' singing, and when the Grinch is taking everything (seeing as how it ends well, I suppose).

Now that we've read the classic book, we're ready for the animated television special. See Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas this Wednesday, December 23, 2009 on ABC at 7 p.m. Central/8 p.m. Eastern time.

We're reading: Ballyhoo Bay

I expect to find good children's books in libraries and bookstores, but I don't expect to find them in cereal boxes. In the case of Ballyhoo Bay, though, that's how it happened. I bought a giant box of Cheerios when giant boxes of Cheerios were on sale, and I got an even better deal than I knew.

The little paperback copy of Ballyhoo Bay that was tucked inside is one of the titles in Cheerios' Spoonfuls of Stories program. Since 2002, Cheerios has been selecting five books each year to be featured as part of Spoonfuls of Stories. The books are free inside specially marked boxes of Cheerios starting each November. In addition to distributing more than 40 million little paperbacks, Cheerios has donated more than $3.2 million to First Book, a children's literacy nonprofit. All the more reason to like Cheerios, I think.

Now back to Ballyhoo Bay. Spoonfuls of Stories says its collection is most appropriate for children ages four to eight, which includes Henry, but Harper, who's not yet three, also is enamored of Ballyhoo Bay. It's easy to understand why. Author Judy Sierra and illustrator Derek Anderson have created a colorful story in which art and nature triumph. Judy Sierra also wrote Wild About Books, which is fabulous beyond fabulous (and illustrated by Arthur creator Marc Brown!).

In Ballyhoo Bay, Mira Bella teaches art classes to beachgoers and sea creatures. As she and her students prepare for an art fair, signs appear announcing a plan to raze the beach to make way for zillion-dollar penthouse apartments, a casino, and a parking garage that all will be off-limits to children and wildlife. Everyone is deflated, but Mira Bella assures them they aren't defeated, and rallies them to draw up a Plan B. Off they go to Ballyhoo Hall to make their case to the town council. The council is persuaded by the overwhelming support of Plan B, and the beach is saved. The art show goes on.

We like Ballyhoo Bay so much that I'm putting a full-size hardback on the kids' Christmas wish list. In the meantime, I'll be on the lookout for more sales on giant boxes of Cheerios.

We're reading: The Squeaky Door

When I heard the kids laughing while my husband read them The Squeaky Door, I knew the book was a winner. I've read it to them a couple more times since then, and they're still chuckling. During our last reading, they both were reciting some of its lines, which I take as another sign of a star.

The Squeaky Door is based on the Puerto Rican folk song "La Cama." Author Margaret Read MacDonald tells the tale as she learned it from another storyteller, and here, it's a humorous bedtime story. Little Boy goes to Grandma's house to spend the night. He insists he won't be scared in the big brass bed all by himself, but when Grandma closes the door, the door's squeak does scare him, and he begins to cry. Grandma brings in the cat to help him feel unafraid, but when Grandma closes the squeaky door again, both Little Boy and the cat cry out. Grandma brings in the dog, the pig, and the horse before the bed breaks. Seeing that the situation won't do, Grandma puts the animals back in their own spaces, and brings Little Boy in to sleep with her and Grandpa. The next day, Grandma fixes the broken bed (I like that it's Grandma who does the fixing), and oils the squeaky door. That night, Little Boy and the cat snore the night away in the big brass bed.

My summary of The Squeaky Door doesn't do the book justice. MacDonald and illustrator Mary Newell DePalma have created a delightful book that I feel sure would tickle any young listener's funny bone.