I found a history series for children at Barnes and Noble entitled “History Maker Bios”  that I really like and recommend. 

Children learn interesting content that familiarize them with predominant U.S. historical names like Thomas Jefferson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Dolley Madison, and Susan B. Anthony, etc.  Numerous authors write condensed historical biographies about U.S. presidents and patriots.  Let’s take a sneak peek at a few of the interesting facts about  Franklin D. Roosevelt:  

• He was elected to four consecutive terms as president
• He served longer than any president in U.S. history
• When he was 39, he developed polio that paralyzed his legs
• He led the U.S. through the Great Depression and World War II
• He used the radio to speak directly to the American people. His radio addresses became known as “fireside chats.” 

Each book contains a nice collection of real-life photos pulled from past archives to help your child become acquainted with faces of the past.

After reading this series, it will wet your child’s curiousity, and he or she will likely want to go to the library to check out more books with additional information about their favorite U.S. presidents or patriots. 

For about age 8+

Story:

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen, published in 2006, is a New York Times Bestseller. I sometimes don’t like New York Times Bestsellers, but I really like this book because the story is  reassuring, and the  beautiful water color illustrations depict a library as a wonderful and relaxing place to go and spend time.

The head librarian, Miss Merriweather, was fussy about following rules while in the library.  When a lion comes to the library one day, no one is sure what to do.  There weren’t any rules about lions in the library and his big feet were quiet on the library floor, and he was good at  following  the rules so there was no reason to kick him out.

An accident happens, and the lion helps the only way he knows how.  Is there sometimes a good reason to break rules, even in the library?  This is a great question to explore with your child as you read this book with him.

About Age 5+

Illustrations:

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

My children used to love the story Tikki Tikki Tembo retold by Arlene Mosel.  We often checked it out of the library, and I enjoyed reading it to my young children. 

This story is about two brothers from China.  The oldest was given a very long name, Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi- pip peri pembo because he was the first born and honored son.  The second son was given a short name, Chang.  Are long names better than short names?  Your child will quickly answer this question after you finish reading this book. 

I like this story because it has a moral but it is also fun.  I enjoyed watching my kids respond by keeping rhythm to Tikki Tikki Tembo’s looooooong name as I read it out loud to them. 

The pictures in this book are all colored with rich tones of blues, grays, greens, golds, and browns that creates a unique,  flowing feel throughout the book.  The illustrations appropriately connect  with ancient Chinese landscape paintings that often have a dreamlike effect.

For Age 2+

Illustrations:

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★½ 

I am very impressed with the ”You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You” series by Mary Ann Hoberman.  It would have been so helpful to have these books available to liven up the tedious (even dreaded at times) chore of sitting by a child that is learning to read. 

The first line of text is purple for the children to read.   The next  line of text is light purple for the parent or guardian to read.  And the third color, blue, is the cue for the child and parent to read together.

I am including a sample excerpt:

I see a mouse.

                              I see one, too!

             We see two mice.
             What shall we do?

Let’s give them names.

                             What shall they be?

Pipe and Peep?

Each book in the series contains a compliation of various short stories.   Hoberman cleverly opens the way for increased natural interaction between parent and child with her “teeter-totter” method of reading….making it so much more enjoyable for both child and parent. 

Michael Emberley  illustrates this series of books using mostly animals with enthusiastic, charming and funny expressions that make learning a memorable and fun experience.

 For about age 4+

Illustrations:

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★½ 

This story, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett, is about fun foods like hamburgers, spaghetti, and pancakes that fall from the sky in a tiny town called Chewandswallow.

“Chewandswallow, in most ways, was very much like any other tiny town.  It had a Main Street lined with stores, houses with trees and gardens around them, a schoolhouse, about three hundred people, and some assorted cats and dogs.  But there were no food stores in the town.  They didn’t need any.  The sky supplied all the food they could possibly want.”

It never rained or snowed.  It only rained soup and juice, or snowed mashed potatoes and green peas.  Sounds awesome huh?  Well, a few weather problems arise in Chewandswallow so you will want to read this book to find out what happens.   Your children will also be delighted by the lightly- colored, whimsical illustrations by Ron Barrett (Judi Barrett’s husband).

I like this book because it is a fun and entertaining book that children absolutely love.  6/23/2009 FYI- I just learned that there is a movie about this book being released this fall.

For about age 2+ 

Illustrations:

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★¾ 

I think the biggest reason I enjoy this story, “the dot” is because I have absolutely no innate ability to draw so I appreciated the encouragement the teacher gives Vashti, the main character.  “‘Just make a mark and see where it takes you,’ her teacher smiled.”  How much difference can it make when someone believes in you?  Read this book to help your child answer this question. 

The illustrations are cheery, cartoonlike sketches accented with a bit of color.   The sketches do a great job holding the attention, and perking the imagination of children.  

About Age 2.5+ 

Illustrations:

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Story:

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Moral:

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Hold Kids Attention:

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Overall:

Rating: ★★★★¾ 

Of the many kinds of children’s books, board books are an ideal choice for babies.  However, because babies handle books roughly, board books often fall apart, but the children stories I prefer are not offered in plastic or more durable materials. 

The reason I like to have a few board books in a children’s library is because they give babies the opportunity to touch, analyze and even put the book in their mouths without ruining expensive hardback books or ripping nice paperbooks. 

I recommend two bright, colorful touch and feel board books featuring baby animals and shapes.   Little ones love the fluffy, silky, furry, and smooth textures featured in these books.

For about age 4 months+

This children’s book, Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is an adventure story about a mischievous boy named Max who is sent to his room by his mother for unruly behavior.   His room slowly transforms into a forest and his imagination takes him to the land of “The Wild Things.”  Romping in the forest with the wild things seems fun at first, but Max soon discovers he is lonely and wants to be “where someone loved him best of all”. 

Caldecott winning illustrations of corky, smiling monsters are clever and lively and are delightful to the young imagination. 

Sendak’s illustrations of monsters may be a bit scary to some small children so you may want to look this book over before reading it to your own kids.  

For about age 4+

Illustrations:

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Children (and probably adults too) get pleasure from reading Old Black Fly, an amusing book about a fly that flies from Apple pie to the Baby to the Cookies to the ……..well you’ll have to read this book that follows the alphabet to find out all the places Old Black Fly goes.  

Although this fun story doesn’t have a moral, it is educational and will add variety and entertainment to your child’s library. Children love the colorful and energetic illustrations by Stephen Gammel as they follow Old Black Fly’s adventures from place to place wondering where he will land next.  

 For about age 2+

Illustrations:

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★½ 

I wish this children’s book would have been around to read to a couple of my children who struggled being away from me in their early years.  The twin characters in this story, Jeremy & Liza, learn that we can be together even when we are apart when we are connected by an invisible string full of love.  If your child is feeling scared or lonesome when you are away from them, The Invisible String story may be useful therapy to calm your child while you are apart from him/her.   

The illustrations in this book are simple and cute, and I consider them average. 

I really like this story because it creatively, but subtly teaches children the power of the mind and positive thinking.

For about age 3+

Illustrations:

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Rating: ★★★★☆