Book Review: Always By My Side

Always By My Side by Susan Kerner

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Tear-filled Smiles

Recommends for readers of Love You Forever by Robert Munsch and Your Moon, My Moon: A Grandmother's Words to a Faraway Child by Patricia MacLachlan

Summary: Children share ways to remember their fathers in rhyming text.

Review: The story begins with a very young child looking out the window answering the unasked question, "Where's your daddy?" His answer is lyrical, "He's in me and around me, never far away."

The illustrations depict a vibrant range of children, both emotionally and ethnically. Each finds a way to see their fathers everyday in the nature and people who surround them. The book is a gentle approach to death. The final scene of the book shows the same little boy from the beginning sleeping next to a photo of his father. I love the continuity of ending with the same character and the sense of peace it creates.

Sensitive Readers Beware: This book may bring up lots of questions about death, it did with my 4-year-old. If you are not ready to breach this subject, you may want to save reading this book until that time comes.

WMCIR: Every Little Thing

I am one of those moms who has struggled with getting her little one to sleep. My safest bet to lull him into oblivion has always been reggae music. I'm not sure if it's the rhythm, instruments or lyrics, but it works every time. One of my favorite songs to sing is "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley. 

Cedella Marley has adapted her father's song in a beautiful, whimsical way. I love the original lyrics because they are repetitive, which make it easy to remember when your child starts to melt down. The rhythm and beat is soothing with a hopeful message. 

Image borrowed from Crafting in lala-land

I thought this book would simply put illustrations to the words and was pleasantly surprised to find Cedella had made up new verses. They can still be sung to the original tune! The new parts follow a little boy to the playground, kitchen and bed. I will be purchasing a hardback version for our home library. What did Bobo think about the book? I'll let you know when he wakes up. Thanks Cedella!

Valentine Read Alouds

Jasper is searching for the perfect gift for his bunny love. Snowy Valentine reminds me a bit of the Gruffalo in that it is a circuitous story with a hint of danger. Bobo and I both enjoyed this adorable story.

I Love You, ZooBorns! is a fantastic easy reader with new vocabulary. The owl is our favorite. He's so fluffy and cute! The photography is just right with capturing the love mood.

The perfect Valentine book for a boy! Leon has a secret crush on Zoey Maloney. He makes her a Valentine confessing his love. The Valentine tries to persuade Leon to give up his crush because, 

Love is yucky,

Stinky too!

It will turn your brain to goo.

Bobo has been singing this song all week. The little Valentine may change his mind about love when he comes face-to-face with a girl Valentine. Definitely check this book out for a funny, upbeat Valentine story.

I love Jan Brett, but I don't often share her stories aloud. The story becomes richer with the illustrations, which you need to explore carefully. It doesn't lend itself to sharing with a large group. Fortunately, I have an audience of one at home, so I was excited to read the new Jan Brett book about a lovesick turtle. Mossy is an interesting character. She is a turtle who loves her home and even begins to grow part of it on her shell. She is discovered by a natural museum curator and taken away. But the curator's niece shows her aunt, Mossy would be happier in her natural environment. Mossy returns to her beloved Lilypad Pond to find her mate, Scoot. The last page is simply an illustration, which I flipped right over, but Bobo exclaimed, "Awww, her babies!" When I turned back, Mossy did indeed have a family.

What has your family been reading? Find more ideas for read alouds at Read-Aloud Thursday and the Children's Bookshelf.

WMCIR: Stunts

I don't know if it is intentional, but Kel Gilligan is totally Kick Buttowski! Disney, if you're reading this, please don't sue! It's a fabulous book. It reminds me of the Dinosaur VS books by Bob Shea, but for an older crowd. Kel Gilligan embarks on death-defying stunts like getting dressed BY HIMSELF. I love the parent's dialogue bubbles. Bobo thought the whole book was hilarious and didn't think Kel was at all like Kick (Kel has a nose, after all).

See, Disney? No blue stripes or cape.

I feel like a broken record, but Bobo loves ninjas, superheroes and jokes. I am keeping everyone updated with new books at least, I hope. The illustrations by Ed Young in this picture book are beautiful. The ninja is on a stealthy mission which is a mystery to the reader. The text is sparse, relying heavily on the gorgeous illustrations to tell the story.

And the joke book for the week... See, so predictable! We did not enjoy this book as much as Monkeyfarts. The jokes weren't as funny and Bobo didn't get some of them. Plus, I don't think there was one crude joke about bodily functions, which (let's face it) are B's bread and butter. 

And since we are learning about jokes, I'll leave you with a Bobo original. Q: How did the policeman catch the slob? A: He peed his pants.

Read Aloud Thursdays

What My Child Is Reading: Something old, Lots of new!

Little monkey has lost his mommy, but the butterfly helps him look. I sang the butterfly part to the tune of "Hush Little Baby." The monkey gives the butterfly clues to help find the mama, like she's "bigger than me." The animals the butterfly finds, like the elephant, made Bobo laugh. This is a great interactive book with a little science and a surprise ending. Published in 2008, it is also my "old" pick. Now, for the new!

A new Elmer book, and a superhero character too! Super El gets caught in a bush and tears his super suit. Elmer helps him get to Aunt Zelda to mend it without being seen by the other animals. How embarrassing! Bobo loves rainbow, so he adores Elmer. Our favorite part was finding Aunt Zelda. We first saw her with a group of elephants, but it was easy to pick her out of the crowd.

"Cave Boy had lots of things. Rocks. Sticks. A club. But no pet." The simple illustrations in this book are perfect for a toddler. I love the caveman speech and had lots of fun imitating it. Cave Boy has to find the right pet for his family, not too big and not too allergenic. At the end, he has some problem solving to do.

We love this non-fiction series with foldout pages. Bobo loved all the little ninjas, like him. The book goes over common karate terms, warm-ups and stances. Our favorite was the criss-cross applesauce block, which we used all weekend.

What is your child reading? I love hearing about books!