lit*chick

The 13 Days of Halloween

 

The 13 Days of Halloween by Carol Greene, Illus. Tim Raglin.  Ages 4-8. Originally published in 1985, reissued by Sourcebooks

There are only 11 costume prepping days until Halloween but you aren't too late to catch this one. The 13 Days of Halloween can be read or, as we prefer, sung to the tune of The 12 days of Christmas.  A spooky serenade unfolds as the "green man" (our name) tries to woo his lady friend with an odd assortment of gifts. And the boys think each gift is funnier than the last - thanks in part to the wonderful illustrations. We all have our favorites -  mine are the three fat toads with baby bonnets.

The illustrations are lively - each one a fitting and fun accompaniment to the verse. With so much to see on each page, we find a new creature every time.  And the pictures are not too creepy. I don't like creepy.

I'm giving my gently used copy away and in order to get it mailed before Halloween it's only going to stay open a short time. Leave a comment and tell me about a most memorable costume - it can be one from your past or something your children wore.

Giveaway ends Wednesday (that's tomorrow) @ midnight EST.

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Book Decor

I don't know about you, but one of the first things I notice when I visit someone's home is if they have books. I think a home is incomplete without a bookshelf or six and if you were to come to our casa, you will probably trip over a book on your way to the shelves. So I'm always noticing book decor and tips for organizing etc. Here are some I've come upon in the last week.

seen on ohdeedoh

Nesting Place - in the midst of an EXTREMELY insightful series "31 days to a better dressed nest" is a post about bookshelves.  On a tangent, this is the site where I found my basement paint color Tobacco Road...having never actually seen it in person before it went up on the wall. And she is right, it's fabulous - and now I do whatever she says.

stacked paperback wallpaper @anthropologie

 wakefield chandelier @ pottery barn

AND a baader-meinhof moment

While reading The Three Robbers to Owen we happened upon the word blunderbuss. I thought it was made up, but turns out it's really a nice way of saying gun. And then I saw this book:

Feel free to link to your favorite bookish pics or products in the comments. I'd love to see more!

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10 on Tuesday...Back to Life Edition

1. We just returned from a most wonderful and restorative time at the beach. Here is the dude crew:

 
2. Evie is almost 4 months old. How can that be?  She's working on rolling over and losing hair, progressing in both areas. Happy as ever.

 
3. Owen told his teacher the best part of vacation was looking for sea glass. That was a mama & boys activity and he really had an eye for it. As in

mama: let's look for sea glass

Owen: (bends over) like this?

mama: um, yeah.

Owen: and this?

mama: uh huh.

I spent 3 days finding my first piece. Right. 

4. Part of the loveliness that was our vacation included mama reading LOTS. I finished:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (2nd in the Hunger Games series)

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

  Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

    Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon

4. I'm excited that my favorite children's book "trilogy" is now a board book set. This is my new go-to baby gift.

Go AKR!

5. This year we did not have our traditional bag o' books. The Kindle at work. We did have the technology tote...a sign of the times I suppose. Yeesh.

6. Speaking of Kindle...they are down to $259.

7. Ready for October and all that it brings - even the sweater weather. I must admit I didn't expect it immediately, but cold mornings are jolting us back to reality. And I'm back to hot coffee and lots of it.

7. While away we discovered there is a name for when you learn something and then it seems like its everywhere - Baader Meinhof Phenomenon. And now you'll hear Baader Meinhof Phenomenon at every turn....tee hee.

8. How about another Evie? just because.

there's our lil hootie.

9. Can someone explain Tumblr to me?  I'm seeing it, and it looks cool. Is it like an online bulletin board?

10. Looking forward to returning to a more regular blog schedule. I've missed you, my peeps.

*I realize this is posting on Wednesday, but my loophole is that 8 of the 10 items were written on Tuesday - I blame my browser for locking me out repeatedly from 10pm on.

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Next Week....

Is National Children's Book Week. Not that we need an excuse to celebrate children's books but we'll take it.

 

For more info go here. The poster is adorable and you can send away (cheaply) for a poster & activity book.  Plus there's a downloadable bookmark by Dan Yaccarino.  And check out what's going on in your local libraries and indie stores.

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Amy Krouse Rosenthal

If you've hung around here long enough, you already know how I adore AKR's books. And this month there is an AKR trifecta of loveliness (3 new books). I can't wait!

Duck! Rabbit! (available now)

Little Oink (available April 1)

  Spoon (available April 7)

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well rested

I should be inserting my sigh of contentment here, but I can't hear out of my right ear (waterlogged) and it's really bugging me. Truthfully, I've had a mostly relaxing week - slept alot, ate some, read a little, and traveled none. I hope you had a lovely Christmas and found some time to read. Did anyone get books as gifts?  Do tell.

My December reading has been pretty blah (much like my blogging). I did read The Hunger Games (ya novel -fantastic!), Mrs. Mike, and finally finished America, America. 

And if you haven't emerged yet from your Christmas cave, no worries. Although I will tell you that this is an excellent time to add to your kids' Christmas book library - it's all half price (and online at b&n)!  This year we added Lemony Snicket's Lump of Coal and Drummer Boy.

Plans for New Years', anyone?

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Boo to You!

Even though I'm not a big Halloween gal, these books for the kiddos are all good:

Where's My Mummy? by Carolyn Crimi (my fave this year)

  An old Golden Book - gotta hunt this down.

Skeleton Hiccups - we thought this was funny,and a little bit strange

It's Halloween by Jack Prelutsky - KWB's pick

The Bake Shop Ghost (recommended by e.)

And Question of the Week:

What's the scariest book you've ever read?

My answer: Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi about the Manson Murders during a true crime phase about 20 years ago, still scares me. Recently - Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn creeped me out.

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Guest Reviewer: Son Number One

Paul at Sourcebooks sent us a double dose of Humpty Dumpty Jr.: Hardboiled Detective - we read The Case of the Fiendish Flapjack Flop AND The Mystery of Merlin and the Gruesome Ghost.

KWB's thoughts are as follows:

I thought the first book was better because the end made sense {was wrapped up nicely} and reminded me of a cross between Geronimo Stilton and Captain Underpants. Even though the second book was funnier, I still like the first book because the story was better and the characters were explained better. In the second book there were characters that popped in and you never knew anything about them.

The pictures were funny. The mystery was a little bit obvious, but I still liked it because there were parts I didn't expect. I think it would be a good book for seven year olds. (he's almost 10)

I agree that these books would make a good transition from picture to chapter books for second & third grade boys.  Humpty Jr. lives in New Yolk City (puns abound) and the bad guys aka The Potty Mouth Gang contribute to the lowbrow humor that boys love. They made for a quick read in our house - which is always a good sign. Caleb (the new reader) just picked one up, so we'll see...

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Pippi & Savvy

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, Illustrated by Lauren Child

I loved Pippi as child, and had not yet pulled out my beat-up old copy to share with the boys. But when KWB found this at the library..."Hey look Mom, it's Charlie & Lola" I knew the time had come. Lauren Child's illustrations make Pippi come alive...it's a perfect combination of a classic story and cool artwork. If you're thinking about adding Pippi to your list, this edition would be a fun one.

And there is a new review in the feed - for Savvy by Ingrid Law.

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starting a bookclub for the kiddos

If you are interested in starting a bookclub for the littles, Family Fun magazine has a great article with some creative ideas and book suggestions. Since I can't link to it, I'll paraphrase using my favorite method - the bullet point.

• they recommend starting in 2nd & 3rd grade, but I don't see why you couldn't have a micro in-house version..
• cooking book club, i.e. the book Everything on a Waffle - have a waffle bar with different toppings.
• crafty book club, i.e. a map for The Phantom Tollbooth, or give them Legos to build their favorite characters or scene
• make up a board game, or do it quiz-show style - to change up the discussion and answer questions about the book - we like to get our blank board games here but posterboard works fine too
• field trips - KWB's class read the book Chasing Vermeer  then went to the National Gallery and saw the real deal.

Clearly this involves some work on your part, but after a while the kids can pretty much steer the ship -picking books & activities with minimal guidance.  And if I can plan ahead, it would make for a good rainy day activity seeing as it is storm central lately. My wheels are turning...stand back.

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