ABC's

Love these girls and their ABC dance on Sesame Street. So much fun!!!

A Tree That Bears Books

As I am writing, I am also avoiding picking up all the books that are scattered about the living room floor.... Wouldn't it be great to have a tree like this one?!! Designed by Shawn Soh.

The Moon's a Woman

Outside the door of my son's school library were these 2 great discards that I picked up. Both were bound in linen and illustrated with beautiful black and white etchings. Terrapin's Pot of Sense by Harold Courlander (1957) is filled with early African American folklore, narratives based on Old Testament themes, yarns of the supernatural and riddles like this one:

The Moon's A Woman:

River's all muddy,

Creek's gone dry,

If it wasn't for the woman

The men'd all die

Do you know the answer? The sun's a man and the moon's a woman because the sun is regular about his habits (always in the same place at the same time) BUT the moon changes to give us rain.......and "if it didn't ever rain three hundred sixty-five days a year, the sun would set the world on fire wouldn't it?" Then everything would dry up and the men would not survive.

Oh My!

The little green book is Jonathon Bing (1936) by Beatrice Curtis Brown. This one is full of wonderful little poems. I will leave you with a taste from

Jonathon Bing's Dreams:

When Jonathon Bing lies down in his bed

Most wonderful dreams come into his head;

He dreams of purple and pink and blue

And of various colors he never knew.

He will sometimes swim and he'll often fly;

He jumps on a cloud as it passes by-

Bouncing and swooping and floating afar,

He takes off his hat to the Evening star.

And sometimes when Jonathon goes to sleep,

He dreams of a cave which is dark and deep,

Where beautiful sounds go Boom and Bong,

Like a very mysterious ancient song.

Or he sometimes goes where the sky's pale green

And the leaves on the trees are all ultramarine,

Water is silver and apples are gold,

And the amethyst rain is a joy to behold.

"O fortunate Jonathon B.,

I wish in my dreams I could see what you see!"

"Oh, they're fun and they're pretty,"

says Jonathon Bing,

"But the wide-awake world is my favorite thing!"

Squirrels

My family has officially relocated to California and we are finally starting to feel settled in for the fall/winter season. Because we are living in a rental apartment, I am coming up with creative ways to make it cozy for the kids. Their bedroom has taken on a woodlands theme. Note the squirrel print from Wonting and acorn decal decor from Ikea. Since the previous post was about autumn foxes, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to blog about fall and squirrels.

First I must add this in because

Sleepyking's little plush handmade squirrel is on my favorites list right now. Just look at those cute rosy cheeks!

She even has a cute little brown fox for you, Nancy :)

Sarah from Tilbury House sent me this lovely book: The Very Best Bed as a gift for our new baby. She is so thoughtful and sweet.

It just happens to be about a little bushy gray squirrel. Author/illustrator Rebekah Raye takes us on a little squirrel's search for the coziest place to sleep as the moon rises higher and higher in the autumn sky. Rebekah's animal illustrations are beautiful.
It's a great bedtime story to curl up to with your toddler or pre-schooler and drink hot cocoa with. Enjoy the season!

Foxes

I have to share the trailer of The Fox and the Child as this film is gorgeous. Perhaps it is a little slow for what kids are used to watching these days but the cinematography is a visual treat. Filmed in the French and Italian Alps the English version of this French film is narrated by Kate Winslet and tells the story of a 10-year-old girl who befriends a fox. Over the course of a year she and her wild friend share adventures that lead her to the realization that you can not possess what you love- especially foxes that instinctively distrust all potential predators, for good reason. My suggestion- get some hot chocolate and popcorn and enjoy this movie at home with or without kids.


Thinking of foxes, we got the new movie tie-in edition of Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox in at the bookstore this week and Quentin Blake's illustrated version as well. Definitely read the story, or read it to your little ones if you haven't already, and then check out the movie.

Of children, Roald Dahl said, "They love being spooked... They love chocolates and toys and money... They love being made to giggle."

This is a wonderful time of year... fields covered in orange pumpkins, crisp mornings, soft sweaters, and rosy-cheeked children!

Bookmark This Bookfair

If you're in the SoCal area or passing through, October 4th is the West Hollywood Book Fair. Don't miss this one! It'll be lots of fun with loads of books, author signings and great things to do with the kiddies. Hope to see you there!

GIVEAWAY ALERT! Travels with Tarra & Just For Elephants by Carol Buckley

Come and Join us this week-end on Tilbury House's Elephant Tour!
Two books will be given away from the comments on this blog post. The winners will be announced on Sept. 10th and hey-you can also win a book stamped by Tarra the Elephant! Super Awesome!

Here is a list of blogs joining us on this tour: Reading Rumpus!, Sacred Elephants, Margo Dill's, Maw Books , Shelf Elf, Through the Looking Glass and Bri Meets Books.

These two gorgeous hardcover books, Travels With Tarra and Just For Elephants are an educator's/home-school parents dream. They have wonderful photographs on every page, excellent supporting materials and the Elephant Sanctuary website contains a K-8 downloadable curriculum guide full of fun activities to go along.

Travels With Tarra is the true story of how an elephant and her trainer (author Carol Buckley) became friends and founded an elephant sancturary in Tennessee. The sanctuary provides a haven for old, sick and needy elephants. For younger audiences this book works well as a read-aloud.

Just For Elephants is the non-fiction story of how Shirley the elephant comes to the elephant sanctuary and makes friends with Jenny elephant. It reveals the complexity and intelligence of elephants and their ability to feel and express intense emotions as well as bond with fellow elephants. The picturebook format makes the story accessible for all ages (with teacher/parent support for those age 5 and under).

Oh My! I almost forgot to mention that there is another blog comment giveaway for this post from Tilbury House as well, a collection of 3 animal books: The Goat Lady, Thanks to the Animals and an advance copy of Bear-ly There.

So Comment! Comment! Comment!

(And- anyone who tweets from now- Sept. 9th about the elephant blog tour will also be able to win a copy of Travels With Tarra or Just For Elephants :)