Of Mice and Hamsters

Nancy's cat Jake passed away. He was 20 years old. I think the girls took it kind of hard. They had a nice funeral in the backyard but I heard that her littlest daughter wanted to dig him back up because she missed him dearly.

So now there is a new addition to her family and it is a dwarf hamster named Tiny. I don't know much about hamsters. We had one as kids but I was too young to really remember. Nancy recommended this book which is all about dwarf hamsters.

Meanwhile we have been reading Petshop Lullaby by Mary Ann Fraser. It's nighttime in the pet shop but the littlest hamster can't sleep. The animals try everything to soothe and calm him. In the end they discover that he likes to sleep in the daytime. It's a great way to teach kids about nocturnal creatures. I wonder if Tiny's keeping Nancy up at night too? My little guy has a new tooth coming in so I'm there with you!

Since we're on the subject of cute rodents I must share this adorable blog I just found called Mouses Houses . Isn't it amaaaazing?!

Seems we have a soft spot for mice. Here's a few of our past book reviews on mice to check out: Mary and the Mouse the Mouse and Mary, Chopsticks, Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears and Miss Bianca.

Ocean's Child

I must return this overdue library book today. I've been holding onto it for a bit too long....

Ocean's Child by Christine Ford is a poetic, soothing bedtime story about parental love and oneness with the universe.
A pregnant inuit mother and her child paddle in a small boat through the ocean at dusk and observe the "children of the ocean" being snuggled to sleep by their mothers.

When the last lullaby of the whale song is sung, Baby naps on Mother's back.

To Ocean's child we say good night.

Goodnight, little whale, good night.

I held onto this book because the inuit seascape illustrations by (Caldecott award winning artist) David Diaz glow and radiate with a warmth that I've never seen before in any illustration and I'm in love with the peaches, yellow and turqoise color combinations....


(and also because I wanted to share this book with you).

It's a wonderful rhythmic and hypnotizing bedtime story that is sure to calm, soothe and lull your little one(s) to sleep.

Happy Easter

Author/ Illustrator, Marjolein Varekamp sent this darling photo of her daughter and her Easter Rabbit, Jip. Marjolein who wrote and illustrated A Wonderful Week with Bees Knees Books is currently working on a new book about a little mouse named Harold for a Dutch publisher due out fall next year. Congratulations Marjolein!!!

My family is enjoying a very wet and windy Easter indoors this year and the girls are looking forward to a week off for spring break. It looks like we'll be planning some crafty things to do inside the house. And some gardening when the weather clears and the earth is nice and soft.

Happy Easter!

Windy and Foggy, Dolls and Origami

Lately, I've been on an an origami bend. I stay up late at night folding butterflies to make these cheerful color garlands. I also like reading the blogs of other artists and recently connected with Australian feltist, Trudi from Me and Ewe. She's stayed in a teepee too.

Trudi has a little shop where she sells this Waldorf bead doll kit. You can make your own dolls! I think they're the cutest.

So, when I came across this book at our library last week, everything seemed to fall into place. Windy by Robin Mitchell and Judith Steedman is done with photo tableaux and contains both Waldorf dolls and origami. Just look at those adorable origami chickens and that's Windy flying her kite above the colorful cut-out paper trees. It's the sweet story of a little girl who lives beneath a tree. She loves to fly her big blue kite, but when the wind blows it away she sets out on an adventure to find it. You'll be surprised at where it finally appears.

I did a little googling and found out that Windy has her own blog here and is also on facebook, where she gives away prizes and free coloring pages to download and print

It just so happens that Canadian authors/artists, Robin Mitchell and Judith Steedman just had a book launch on March 20th at Collage, Collage. Foggy is the fourth book in the Windy series and it looks to be just as incredibly adorable. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!

Don"t Lick The Dog

Spring is officially here and we've been out and about, strolling here and there with the kids.

The apartment clustered neighborhood we live in (Sherman Oaks) must be second in the world to West Hollywood's largest pet-owned dog population. On an 8 block walk to school we encounter an average of 15 dogs being walked!

The best is when it rains here and the dogs are wearing raincoats and sweaters. I need to get my camera ready but I don't want to be rude. Dogs are not always in the mood to smile.

Don't Lick The Dog (Making Friends with Dogs) is a new book by Wendy Wahman. It teaches kids how to interact with unfamiliar dogs with silly rhyme and humor. The illustrations are wildly outrageous which make it even more fun to read to kids.

Wendy provides really great helpful tips about all kinds of dog behavior: slow down, stay still and remember, don't lick the dog!

" Good dog manners show you care...... when meeting new dogs everywhere."

The adorable Springy- Boston Terrier Dog illustration above is by etsy artist Brian Rubenacker.

Wormy Worm Meets Hip Hop Dog

My sister Nancy and I are big-time Chris Raschka book fans, so much, that we talk about his books over phone conversations.
Yesterday, I was telling her how my little C, who just turned 3 (rhymes) wants me to read Wormy Worm over and over again as she squeals in delight!

It's part of his series of Thingy Things published by Hyperion from 200-2002.
Some in this series include: Moosey Moose, Whaley Whale, Sluggy Slug, Doggy Dog, Snaily Snail, Whaley Whale, Goosey Goose and Wormy Worm.

I know we've already had a few Chris Raschka posts at Bees Knees: there's one on the Hello, Goodbye Window which you can revisit here and A Kick in the Head here.

Meanwhile, Nancy is raving about Chris' new book: Hip Hop Dog published by Harper Collins which I haven't seen or read but can't wait to check out. The illustrations are not by Chris but Snoop Dogg fan, Vladimir Radunsky. It's a great combo!
Here's a super neato trailer I found of it:

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

Dark Night

French author/illustrator Dorothee de Monfreid has created quite a few wonderful picture books. Unfortunately, Dark Night is the only one I found that has been translated to English.

These are some of my favorite illustrations from the story. You can find an excellent review of Dorothee's book by Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

If your library gets a copy in, check it out asap. It's wonderful!