books by Keiko Kasza

This past week my students and I read a bunch of books by Keiko Kasza.  Kasza has written and illustrated over a dozen picture books.  All of her books have animals as the main characters.    
The Pigs' Picnic was my students' favorite book.  Mr. Pig plans to ask Miss Pig to go on a picnic.  He gets some well meaning but poor advice from his friends Fox, Lion, and Zebra.  He decides that their advice was not for him, and Miss Pig does agree to go with him. 

Ready for Anything! is my favorite book by Kasza.  Raccoon and Goose are opposites.  Goose is excited about going on a picnic, but Raccoon is thinking about everything that could go wrong.  In the end, they do have a great time.

One of my nieces really liked My Lucky Day when she was a preschooler.  She got the book as a participant in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.  Fox thinks he is going to have a great meal when Pig shows up at his door, but Pig outwits Fox.  If you have children or work with children, look for Keiko Kasza's books next time you are at the library.  You and your children should enjoy them.       

book discoveries

Here are a few books I discovered recently.

In the Garden with Dr. Carver by Susan Grigsby is a historical fiction picture book about George Washington Carver.  It would be best for older elementary students because of the topic.  When I was done, it made me appreciate Carver's work more than I had previously and made me wonder if there other high quality picture books in this genre.  

Hamsters Holding Hands by Kass Reich is a book I came across at the library.  This board book  is a counting book done in rhyme.  It would make a great gift for a baby shower, or an excellent present for a one or two year old child.

What book discoveries have you made lately? 

A Perfect Day

A Perfect Day written and illustrated by Carin Berger is a picture book that is a reminder of the fun parts of winter.  Which seems timely after coming off a week with extremely cold weather and then today dealing with icy sidewalks.  The text is brief enough to share with preschoolers, yet engaging for elementary aged children as well.  Today when I was reading it aloud, it reminded of the classic The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.  

a couple of cards

 Here are a few cards I made last week.  This one is obviously made for the current season.

 

I still make cards, but I don't stamp as many as I used to.  Lately, I have used two sided paper to cover the front and stamp an image or phrase to complete the card.  Simple, yet pleasing.

This one is a collage of sorts...I even put a miniature tree on the back. 

The Phantom Tollbooth

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is a novel some consider a classic of children's literature (it was written in 1961).  I picked it up after reading about it in the Children's Book-A-Day Almanac.  The boy Milo thinks everything is a waste of time.  One day he gets home from school and finds a large package for him.  Inside is a tollbooth and a car and  soon he is driving the car in another land.  Tock, the other main character, is a watch dog.  Milo and Tock encounter many unique people and situations.  The story's appeal is all the play on words written into it, and may be better understood by adults than children.  It would be a good read aloud for an older elementary students.  It would also work well for a book group.

Winter Reading Challenge

I am hosting a Winter Reading Challenge here on my blog to encourage you to read. At the end of the challenge, I will draw one winner for a $10 gift card to Barnes and Noble.    The challenge is to read four or more novels or nonfiction books I have reviewed on my blog. Here is how you can participate.
 1. Leave a comment on this post telling you are participating, what books you might read(your choices are not written in stone), and your name. You need to do this by January 11.
2. Read four or more books between now and February 28.
3. Leave another comment on the Reading Challenge Wrap Up post telling which books you read and which you would recommend to others. You will have from February 21 to February 28 to do this.
4. A winner will be drawn on March 1 from the people who successfully completed the challenge.

This contest is open to people I know living in the United States.

For those of you not familiar with navigating blogs, you can go down to the bottom of the screen and click on the label books. Then only the posts talking about different books will show up, not every single post.