Anyone Up for Some Adorable Picture Books?

Mondays stink. Even my girls think so. They are OK with school, and they love their teachers and friends, but still, Monday mornings at my house are filled with moans and groans (mine included).

Everyone needs some cheering up on Mondays -- so here are a few picture books for girls (all right, for boys too) that will make you smile on a Monday or any day....

First, give Plaidypus Lost, by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel a try. Susan came and did an author's visit at my kid's school last spring, and I was lucky enough to be in the audience. Once you've read a few of her books (which she collaborates on with her illustrator sister Janet), you can imagine how funny she was in person.

Plaidypus Lost (that's right P-L-A-I-D) is a tribute to best loved toys everywhere -- most especially those stuffed friends that go everywhere -- the ones that parents live in fear of losing (see my posts about Knuffle Bunny). This stuffed creature is made out of, yep, you guessed it -- a plaid flannel shirt -- and is constantly in danger of being lost forever. Of course, he is always found by his owner who swears she will "never, ever, ever" lose him again.

With clever, sing-songy prose that is as fun to read as it is funny -- this is one of those books that girls of all ages will love to read -- whether by themselves or with a grown-up.

Another great picture book for girls is Cha-Cha Chimps by Julia Durango. This counting book is filled with hilarious illustrations by Eleanor Taylor and clever rhyming verses. Girls will love this literary dance lesson and mom readers will especially will love the end, when Mama Chimp escapes for a little cha-cha-ing of her own.

I love books that leave us laughing and reading together. These are a few that are sure to leave you and your girls doing the same.

Remember, EVEN Mondays can be fun when you sit down and read a book with your girls!

Enjoy!

Robert McCloskey and Some Great Books for Girls

If you are in search of great picture books for girls, give Caldecott Medal -winning Robert McCloskey a try. His classic stories feature curious, sweet characters who are portrayed through detailed illustrations and lyric prose that is perfect for read aloud.

Start with Blueberries for Sal, with beautiful illustrations that are tinted a deep blue. Adorable Sal spends goes blueberry picking with her mother -- only to inadvertently end up trailing a mama bear who is out with her cub doing the very same thing.

Both Sal and the cub are so engrossed in eating their juicy treasures that they don't even realize the mix-up. It's a funny story with a satisfying ending -- a tribute to girls who love adventure -- and filling their tummies!

My personal favorite McCloskey book is One Morning in Maine, the perfect book for girls who happen to be losing their teeth! Sal again makes an appearance as an older girl whose loose tooth disappears in a sandy pile of clams. Now she has nothing to make a wish on (ah, the good old days, when the Tooth Fairy didn't have to dig in the bottom of her purse for four quarters!)

After a futile search, Sal finds a gull feather and realizes that, like her tooth, the gull has lost something that will grow back. She decides to make a wish on the gull's lost feather.

The rest of the morning is spent running errands with her father and her cute baby sister, Jane in their quaint Maine village. You'll get plenty of warm fuzzies meeting the characters who inhabit the town -- hearkening back to a Norman Rockwell-like era.

You'll love it -- and your girls will love it too -- especially when Sal's wish comes true. Enjoy these two great books for girls by Robert McCloskey -- whose stories and illustrations are just utterly charming (he also wrote the timeless classic Make Way for Ducklings -- definitely worth a read!)

Quiet Books Before a Not-So-Quiet Weekend

As I sit at my laptop and count down the minutes until the girls get out of school for the weekend, I am soaking up the quiet.

After a summer of non-stop noise, I relish the hush that falls over the house when I get back from morning drop off. I am able to work on writing assignments, balance the checkbook, do some laundry, go for a walk, eat lunch, and write for fun (to me -- that's fiction).

I know very well that in just a few hours there will be screaming, conspiring giggles, pounding footsteps up the stairs and questions. "Mom, can I ... have a popsicle, can I watch TV, can I keep this snake I just found?"

We all need our quiet time -- am I right? Even children need something non-narcotic to lull them into a relaxed state. I advocate using books for this purpose.

One of my favorite "quiet" sleepy-time books that I read to my girls for years is the classic The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown. This is a perfect book for all girls who still appreciate read aloud books. The rhyme is rolling and charming, the illustrations, by Felicia Bond, are so adorable -- your girls will love to scan the pages for little suprises.

Now that my girls are older (and have read The Big Red Barn about a million times) they prefer picture story books like Fancy That by Esther Hershenhorn. This book, about a limner (painter of portraits) named Pip enthralls my girls every time we open it up.

The story tells a vivid tale of life in the mid-1800s (through gorgeous illustrations by Megan Lloyd) -- but it also weaves a story of determination, finding one's calling and family love.

Sounds like a lot for a picture book, but Hershenhorn and Lloyd have done such a fantastic job of layering this story and its illustrations -- and my girls delight in discovering all the patterns that occur throughout the pictures and text.

Pip and his sisters are left at the end realizing that siblings are a true gift (sometimes I like to reiterate that once or twice when I finish reading), and when I put my girls to bed, they are smiling and hopefully, maybe thinking that they've got it pretty good.

I hope you have some quiet time this weekend -- I know I probably won't -- but that's OK. As my own mother keeps reminding me -- someday they'll go off to college and there won't be noise after school.

That's the kind of quiet time that I'm more than willing to wait for....