The BEST read-aloud book!

I never get tired of reading this book to children: it is so enjoyable to see their eyes widen with surprise and delight as the story unfolds. It also extends into a discussion, art, or writing activity by simply asking the children at the end of the book "What would YOUR house look like?" In the story, Mr. Plumbean lives on a "neat street" where all the houses look the same. Things take a surprising turn when a seagull flies over and drops a can of orange paint on Mr. Plumbean's house.His neighbors all tell him he needs to paint his house--and he does. But what happens then is a surprise to everyone, including Mr. Plumbean. Don't miss sharing this book with all the children you know. You will definitely enjoy it as much as they do!! The Big Orange Splot is a book every child should own.
P.S. I first learned about this book in an early edition of Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook-an essential resource for parents and teachers.

It's fun to build with Rig-a-Jig

This is a toy I discovered when I bought a large set from a school supply store while teaching second grade in Florida in the 1980's. I stored all the little parts in an old tackle box and then had to referee the kids who all wanted to play with it during free activity time. They loved building with it; it was even more popular than Lego. Any such 3-dimensional building sets develop a child's spatial perception, which will be useful in math later on!
Unfortunately it is no longer on the market, but old sets frequently pop up on ebay and other online sales. You need this construction set!

The 100 all-time best children's books

This book is a great resource for parents! Anita Silvey is an editor and publisher of children's books. She looked at books published for children between 1902 and 2002 and chose what she thought were the 100 best for the 100-year period. Of course she left out your all-time favorite, but there are many old favorites you may have forgotten and will want to share with your children. She has a short essay on each book, telling fascinating things about the author and how he got started in writing or illustrating, and about the writing of the book. Who knew that Maurice Sendak was "discovered" while decorating department store windows? It's available from Amazon.

Christmas menorahs

The perfect holiday book! This is a fictionalized account of actual events in Billings, Montana, in 1993. Someone threw a brick through a window displaying a menorah, and other vandalism directed at racial and religious groups took place. People in Billings who were not Jewish began displaying menorahs in the windows of their homes, and the local newspaper printed pictures of menorahs which were displayed as well. Eventually thousands of homes and businesses displayed the menorahs. Later, a photographer posed hundreds of Billings citizens holding menorahs. It can be viewed at this Library of Congress site; just scroll to the bottom of the page and click the photo to enlarge it.
The book is available from Amazon. It's appropriate for older elementary children.

Let's borrow Grandma's button jar!

Once your child is old enough to stop swallowing anything that fits in his mouth, he may enjoy playing with a jar of buttons. You may be lucky enough to have people in your family who have saved buttons over the years, and to be able to get these buttons for your child. I am told that people also sell quantities of buttons cheap on ebay. Kids of a certain age enjoy pouring buttons from one container to another, sorting the buttons by color, size, or shape, or arranging them in patterns. There's even a book about this activity,Grandma's Button Box by Linda Williams Aber and Page Eastburn O'Rourke, which is part of the Math Matters series-fun books for kids that tell about mathematical concepts.

Amazing resource for learning about music!

The Metropolitan Opera Guild has amazing CDs which contain the very best selections of various types of music. They include Broadway, ballet, music, opera, and piano. Sets are available at a reduced price. They can be purchased online from the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Just click here to go to their website:

Growing Up With- Series

Turkey for Thanksgiving!

My favorite Thanksgiving book. Little Mrs. Gumm finds an egg that turns out to be a turkey egg. She then begins looking forward to having turkey for Thanksgiving. All year long she is anticipating her Thanksgiving turkey, and that's exactly what she has. The turkey is a guest at her Thanksgiving meal! It's available from Amazon.