The storyline is very simple: Augustus the tiger, wants to find his smile. He searches for it across hills and forests. In the end, he finds it in a pool of water. Augustus realizes that his smile is there all the while, on his face. Joy is found within oneself , this book seems to say.

The illustrator won the Best Illustrator Award in the Booktrust Early years Awards 2006.
I can see why. The drawings of Augustus ,the tiger, draws out the mystery of the animal and the child-likeness of his quest. The brush strokes are bold , much like what you see in Chinese paintings of horses and tigers.

Another lovely tiger book is “ Tiger Who Came to Tea” by Judith Kerr, Illustrated by the author, 2002. HarperCollins Publishers.

A tiger pays Sophie and her mother a visit in their home. He is warmly welcomed and is invited immediately to join them for tea. He eats and drinks everything up, including the water from the kitchen tap. His tummy full, he bids Sophie and her mother goodbye. But there is no food left for dad when he gets home. The problem is amiably resolved with a restaurant supper of sausages, chips and ice-cream.

The appeal of this book to children lies in its simplicity. A creature of great majesty and mystery –the tiger- drops in on an ordinary simple English family. He wallops up their resources, but leaves their lives unperturbed by his intrusion. The reader gets the impression that Sophie and her family are safe, because they are strong and love each other. Problems can be overcome.

My children have borrowed the book three times from the library. When they do, they insist on reading this story again and again. They are delighted with the tiger. And they are delighted that dad gets home and settles the problem of having an empty larder, so wonderfully. I , myself, love the gentle nuances of family life depicted in this story. A good read for Christmas I should think.

Prince Cinders by Babette Cole

This most be the most ridiculous rewriting of Cinderella ever! Cole rewrites the fairytale by plucking out the female Cinderella and replacing her with ta-daaah…the sensitive male- Prince Cinders! In this tale, Prince Cinders has to contend with three “big hairy brothers”, who- more hirsute than the average silverback- party-hop and tease poor Cinders about his limp biceps and sweet nature. Cole retains the ball motif but throws in plenty of curve-balls: a confused fairy, a princess dressed in sequined pants and a pair of tight trousers.

We laughed so hard our tummies ached !This version is pure anarchy, expelling weeping- damsel and macho -hero stereoptypes. We hope to get our hands on more of her books like ‘Princess Smartypants” and the Dr Dog books. The children haven’t viewed the video of the book yet. You can view it via the link below, but nothing beats the book which has Cole’s handprints all over it.

The storyline is very simple: Augustus the tiger, wants to find his smile. He searches for it across hills and forests. In the end, he finds it in a pool of water. Augustus realizes that his smile is there all the while, on his face. Joy is found within oneself , this book seems to say.

The illustrator won the Best Illustrator Award in the Booktrust Early years Awards 2006.
I can see why. The drawings of Augustus ,the tiger, draws out the mystery of the animal and the child-likeness of his quest. The brush strokes are bold , much like what you see in Chinese paintings of horses and tigers.

Another lovely tiger book is “ Tiger Who Came to Tea” by Judith Kerr, Illustrated by the author, 2002. HarperCollins Publishers

A tiger pays Sophie and her mother a visit in their home. He is warmly welcomed and is invited immediately to join them for tea. He eats and drinks everything up, including the water from the kitchen tap. His tummy full, he bids Sophie and her mother goodbye. But there is no food left for dad when he gets home. The problem is amiably resolved with a restaurant supper of sausages, chips and ice-cream.

The appeal of this book to children lies in its simplicity. A creature of great majesty and mystery –the tiger- drops in on an ordinary simple English family. He wallops up their resources, but leaves their lives unperturbed by his intrusion. The reader gets the impression that Sophie and her family are safe, because they are strong and love each other. Problems can be overcome.

My children have borrowed the book three times from the library. When they do, they insist on reading this story again and again. They are delighted with the tiger. And they are delighted that dad gets home and settles the problem of having an empty larder, so wonderfully. I , myself, love the gentle nuances of family life depicted in this story. A good read for Christmas I should think.

Edward is an emu who lives a lackluster life at the zoo. Bored of being an emu, he decides to try being something else. He attempts the outrageous, like swimming with seals, roaring in the lions’ den and slithering with snakes. Unltimately, his explorations lead him to the one obvious conclusion- that he is really best when he is himself.

Told in rhyming verse, with eye-catching illustrations that emphasize the absurdity of Edward’s exploits- this book is an attention grabber for reading aloud with kids, whether individually or in groups.

You could have a discussion with your child after reading. Ask her if there are some things she doesn’t like about herself. Ask her what they are. Are they other people or story characters that they wish they could be instead? Why? At the end of your discussion, assure her that she is special as she is and that you value her . Tell her five things about her that you like best. Let her take her turn telling you which five things she likes best about you!

fun with the ideas suggested!

And…

Here are some books that go well with the thanksgiving season:

“The Turkey Girl” by Penny Pollock, illustrated by Ed Young.1996. Picture book. Ages 6-9. A good laugh about a wish-granting turkey and a girl who wishes to attend the Dance of the Sacred bird.

“Molly’s Pilgrim” by Barbara Cohen, illustrated by Daniel M. Duffy, 1998. Picture Book, Ages

6-9. A thought-provoking story about how a little girl feels about showing off her

Russian pilgrim doll to her classmates.

“The First Thanksgiving” by Jean Craighead, illistrated by Thomas Locker. 1993. Putnam. Ages

6-9. A picture book about how Squanto comes to the rescue of the pilgrims.

Blessed thanksgiving!

Engaging introduction for young ones to the works of Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Paul Cezanne. There are startlingly gorgeous reproductions of the artists’ works in the book so that flipping through the pages itself becomes a real visual treat!

The story begins when Katie and her grandmother decide to visit the art gallery. As grandma sits down to rest, Katie wonders off on her own. The first picture she sees is Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”. “Perhaps I could grow the seeds in my garden,” Katie says to herself. She reaches for the sunflowers in the picture and they spill out of the picture frame! Katie rushes through the gallery, entering paintings and bringing the various characters through the gallery with her on an adventure of sorts.

Try reading the rest in the series: “Katie’s Picture Show”, “Katie Meets the Impressionists” and “Katie and the Mona Lisa”.

If “Little Mo” ministered to my little one, this book brought assurance to my first child.

Bear and Dog are Ellie’s toys . Bear sleeps with Ellie on the bed while Dog sits on the shelf. Ever since Ellie started school, Bear has felt lonely. One day, Ellie comes home from school and tells bear that the children have been told to bring their facourite toy to school. Bear is elated . He just can’t wait to meet the rest of the children .

But when the next morning comes, it is Dog that Ellie picks, not bear. Bear is heartbroken.

When Dog is brought back, he tells Bear about the wonderful experiences that he had at school. This makes Bear even sadder. That night, while lying on Ellie’s bed, he looks out into the might sky and imagines that he sees the “Great Bear” among the stars, looking at him, understanding him. In his sadness he cries. This wakes Ellie up. The two friends talk into the night. Ellie explains why she brought Dog and not him for show and tell. And the two friends are reconciled.

At the end of the story, both Dog and Bear feel affirmed that they are both “first best” to Ellie.

If you have a little one who constantly tries to keep up with her big sister ( and other big kids at the playground), this book is a must-buy.

Little Mo is a polar bear cub. She wants to be able to ice-skate. The little thing tries it out and falls over. Some big polar bears come and help her up. They give her a fun time on the ice. However, the “Big Ones” get carried away with their own fun – whizzing and whirling on the ice – and forget about little Mo. In their excitement, they bump into her countless times. Little Mo cries . But the big bears are too engrossed in their own fun to take any notice of her.

“ It was all my idea,” Little Mo reminds herself.

When the Big Ones go home, Little Mo reclaims the ice and her freedom to try, to fail and finally, to succeed.

A wonderfully encouraging book to little fellas who want to make it “out there” !

This picture book scores high in terms of factual information, captivating storyline and beautiful illustrations.

Prior to this book, my soon-to-be three year old wanted absolutely nothing to do with snakes. No books about snakes, no snake toys , nothing. And then she read “Verdi”. Well, we read it to her- Joy and I.

That’s because Verdi, the main character of this book, is simply so lovable. He is a yellow baby python who simply can’t see why he should grow up. He meets three adult pythons- Umbles, Aggie and Ribbon- who do not seem to want to do anything except droop along the branches. Verdi slithers away from the encounter , thoroughly disgusted with their laziness and dullness.
“I will jump and climb and keep moving so fast that I will stay yellow and striped forver.” Verdi vows.
But there is no escape for the poor young snake. His shiny yellow scales begin turning green. Verdi tries everything, from vigorous scrubbing to hurtling himself from branches until he hurts himself. Unable to move, it is the three “dull” adult pythons that rescue him. Through the experience, Verdi learns the important lesson that he can still be true to himself and grow up at the same time.

The book also contains additional notes containing information about snakes.

This is one in a series of books about the time-traveling adventures of the Binkerton twins, Josh and Emma, and their kid sister, Libby. Their journeys into foreign lands and the past begin when they first step into a dilapidated travel agency called (guess) “ The Good Times Travel Agency”.

In this book, the kids end up knee-deep in a flooded paddy field in ancient China. While Josh and Emma bicker about whose fault it was for landing there, Libby wanders off on her own. The twins set off on a perilous journey to find their sister so they can return to the present. They battle freezing cold nights, hard labor working on a “ dragon’s backbone “(go find out what this is) and thoughts of giving up. They unwittingly stumble upon China’s “best-kept secret” (not telling here) and end up being pursued by zealous soldiers, bent on keeping the secret from leaking out to foreign lands.

The whole book is action-packed. Facts about ancient China are presented in the context of the kids’ adventures and there are additional notes on each double page. You get insights about The Great Wall of China, Chinese inventions, The Silk Road, medicine and occupations.

My 6 year old is so enthralled with this book that she wants to find out more about China. That’s reason enough for me to get the whole set: Middle Ages, Ancient Egypt and Vikings.