Submitted by Allana from Leonardtown!
Snow by Cynthia Rylant. Before you open this book, you may want to put on a jacket, and maybe a hat and some gloves, because as you read this lovely book, you’ll feel like diving into a pile of snow. You may also feel the urge to make snow angels, or engage in a snowball fight! Using simple but flowing language, Cynthia Rylant has created a wonderful wintry scene, and the illustrations, although chilly and icy in appearance, will warm your heart. “The best snow is the snow that comes softly in the night like a shy friend… this is the snow that brings you peace.” One of my favorite illustrations is the one with all the children’s faces at the window, with snowflakes billowing around creating a frosty frame. Gorgeous! I love the contrasting images of the cozy inside with the glittering landscape of snow covered hills and trees outside. This is a wonderful book for any season! See this book listed in our catalog
Seasons
Pink
Submitted by Amanda from Lexington Park!
Pink by Nan Gregory and Luc Melanson. Vivi is dizzy wanting pink! She wants to have “perfect pink” like the cool, rich girls at her school. They have all the “perfect pink,” she whines to her mother and her father. Vivi’s father is a truck driver, and her mother cleans the halls in the apartment complex they live in. Vivi wants a perfect pink bride doll that she knows she will never afford. So she runs errands all winter for her neighbors to save for the perfect pink bride doll. On a beautiful spring day, Vivi’s mom suggests that the family goes on a “pinknic” in the park. Her Mom makes pink sandwiches, pink tea, and they even stop to buy pink cakes for desert! They make a list of all the things they see that are pink that day. On the way home they stop by the store to see the perfect pink bride doll that Vivi has so desperately been craving and working for, only to find it has been sold. Vivi learns that you can’t always have what you want that day–the same day she learns that she has all she wants in her family. It is a great lesson about not getting what you want, and fitting in. It is a great tale for little girls! Plus it is filled with PINK! See this book listed in our catalog
Applesauce Season
Submitted by county youth coordinator Janis!
Applesauce Season by Eden Lipson. Applesauce season begins when school starts. This is a perfect read-aloud book with great cadence. A little boy tells the story, and he talks about different varieties of apples and how each makes a unique kind of applesauce. In the city, where this little boy lives, there are no apple trees, but the family goes to the farmers’ market to get the apples to make applesauce. The little boy tells how they choose the apples, chop them up, and then cook, grind and finally taste the applesauce. With the descriptive language you can almost smell the apples cooking. At the end of the story there is a recipe for making applesauce. What a wonderful way to help your child be ready to learn to read by making applesauce and talking through the steps involved! See this book listed in our catalog
The Little House
Submitted by Allana from Leonardtown!
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton. Beautifully illustrated in its simplicity. The Little House sits on a hill surrounded by trees and flowers and all of nature’s splendor in the countryside. Through the seasons you see the little house in the varying light and settings. The little house is content but becomes lonely as the family spend less time there. Gradually, the surroundings change, as technology takes hold. Buildings go up, trams or trains start coming and going, pretty soon it’s the hustle and bustle of a large town or small city. The little house seems to shrink and decline more and more, and becomes really lonely and sad as the owners have forsaken their former home. Finally the little house is “rescued” by a descendant of the family and carried back to the countryside. Even though it’s a different hill in a new location, the little house looks brighter and happier, and once again enjoys the loving care of a family in the beautiful countryside.
Max’s Chocolate Chicken
Max’s Chocolate Chicken by Rosemary Wells is perfect for the springtime holidays. Someone (maybe the Easter Bunny) has left a chocolate chicken in the birdbath! “I love you!” Max says to the chicken. He’s ready to chow down, but his big sister Ruby (who’s kind of like the fun police) insists that they hunt for painted eggs. Whoever collects the most can claim the chocolate chicken. Ruby find eggs of all colors and patterns, but poor Max only finds mud, acorns, and ants, so he decides to run away with the chicken and eat the whole thing! This is an adorable story of sibling rivalry, and I guarantee you will fall in love with Max, the young and foolish title character.
I Can Save the Earth!
I Can Save the Earth! is from the line of “Little Green Books” teaching children about the environment. In this story we’re introduced to Max, a little monster with some bad habits. Max throws his trash anywhere he pleases. He lets his sink overflow, and clogs his toilet with paper. He leaves every light in his house on, until one day there’s a blackout. Max goes outside to see what caused it and discovers how beautiful the earth is. He hadn’t noticed how much he loves the beach, and animals, and playing outside. Max changes his ways to help the earth. He conserves energy, recycles, reduces and reuses. He’s a green monster now, and you can be too!