THE PAINTER (Monday Poem)

by Shel Silverstein


I'm the man who paints the stripes upon the zebras,
And I also paint the warts upon the toad.
And with this brush and pot
I give leopards lovely spots
And add some color to the chipmunk's coat.

I paint the flamin' red on Robin Redbreast,
I pour the blue on bluegills by the shore.
And when the firefly's dim
I splash silver paint on him,
And he shines more brightly than he did before.

Jack Frost?  He's just a part-time workin' fellah,
Touchin' up the leaves and trees and things.
He's famouser than me,
But I'm happier than he,
'Cause I paint the ones that runs---and flies---and sings!



from A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, 1981, Harper & Row

Halloween Treats! No Tricks! (FAMILY magazine reviews)

--> Although Halloween excites even the youngest children, they can be easily frightened by the darkness of early evening as the seasons shift.  Also, costumes can be scary to youngsters who have not yet developed the ability to know the difference between real and make-believe. Bedtime is for sweet dreams, not nightmares. Choose from titles that tease without terrifying.

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The Spider Weaver: A Legend of Kente Cloth 

by Margaret Musgrove

illustrated by Julia Cairns

 Scholastic, $16.95 (hardcover) 

Interest Level: Grades 1-4 

(This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Main Branch, Culmer Overtown, Edison, Lemon City, Miami Lakes, North Shore.)

           

Long ago, a beautiful spider wove a complex and wonderful web.  Two weavers, who discover the web, ruin it by trying to take it with them to study.  Later, they decide to hunt for the spider weaver to watch her work.

            Sunlit paintings feature African people, animals and plants in lush scenes.  The dancing gold and black spider creates her amazing web between jungle green banana leaves. 

Plain clothing in the early pages contrasts to glowing colors in the kente cloth at the end.  Even today, weavers in Ghana craft bright patterned fabric.  They tell the legend of the spider’s web dance to share her generous gift.

An Afterword explains more about the famous African cloth featured in this remarkable picture book. A strong storytelling voice lingers in the reader’s ears long after the book is closed.

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Ghost in the House 

by Ammi-Joan Paquette

illustrated by Adam Record  

Candlewick, $15.99 (hardcover) 

Interest Level:  Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 2 

(This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

           

A ghost meets up with a mummy, a monster, a skeleton, a witch and more, in this lively, rhyming picture book.  Repeated lines, “in the creepy haunted house/on this dark spooky night” invite listeners into the rhymes.  Along with counting up to five and back down again, the digital illustrations show friendly-looking, mock-scary creatures. 

 The artist uses gray, black and white, and blue to make a shady beginning.  Adding orange and yellow starts to lift the gloom, with the bouncy text.  A witchy green brightens the dark, as the creatures, used to scaring others, are the ones who are now afraid.

Instead of frightening the boy, he scares them away in a satisfying ending.

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Haunted House, Haunted Mouse 

by Judy Cox

illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler

Holiday House, $7.99 (paperback) 

Interest Level:  Junior Kindergarten – Grade 2 

(This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

           

Mouse sees Halloween candy going into sacks carried by kids at the door.  He wants some goodies.  When someone drops a trick-or-treat bag, Mouse scampers in.  He begins nibbling gumdrops and chocolate.

            Soon Mouse gnaws a “peekaboo hole” to watch where they’re going. He doesn’t see as candy leaks out.  When the “ghost” drops the bag again, a sick Mouse staggers out.  Lost, he shelters from the thunderstorm in a creaky, empty house.

            Darks and brights, colors of Halloween night, fill the double pages with costumes, raindrops, puddles, and flashing lights.  Spooky text matches a quivering Mouse with the shadowy house.  His shivering boldness is coupled with golden moonlight as Mouse takes charge!

What happens in the scary house, and how Mouse finds his way home make for a reassuring ending.

Pumpkin Eye 

by Denise Fleming. 

Square Fish, $7.99 (paperback) 

Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 2 

(This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Main Branch, Lemon City, Miami Lakes, Naranja. 

Also may be purchased from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

Rhymes that seem effortless describe sights, sounds, and smells of Halloween night.  Those who are out for trick-or-treat may discover scary sights. 

Jack-o-lanterns and bright house windows light up the otherwise dark night artwork.   The artist used hand-cut stencils and colored cotton fibers to craft the spooky illustrations. Surprising costumes match the playful text. 

Moon-cast shadows change the ordinary into heart thumping unexpected. Repeated words, “trick or treat – pounding feet” give something familiar to sooth listeners.

Everyday places like our street, fill with “eerie shadows.”  Even the neighborhood cats look surprised in this perfect picture book for the youngest listeners.

More terrifying titles to try!

Trick or Treat: A Happy Haunter’s Halloween 

by Debbie Leppanen

illustrated by Tad Carpenter  

Simon & Schuster, $16.99 (hardcover) 

Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3 

(This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com) 

(Poetry)

Who’s Who? 

by Ken Geist

illustrated by Henry Cole

 Macmillan, $16.99 (hardcover) 

Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Kindergarten

(This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com) 

(Inspired by Over in the Meadow by Olive A. Wadsworth)

Big Brown Bat 

by Rick Chrustowski 

Henry Holt, $16.95 (hardcover) 

Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 3 

(This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Main, Allapattah. 

Also may be purchased from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)  (Nonfiction)

Ol’ Clip Clop 

by Patricia C. McKissack

illustrated by Eric Velasquez

Holiday House. $16.95 (hardcover) 

Interest Level: Grades 1- 5 

(This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)  

 (A Ghost Story inspired by a spooky tale told by storytellers in the author’s family.)

STRANGE WIND (Monday Poem)

by Shel Silverstein


What a strange wind it was today,
Whistlin' and whirlin' and scurlin' away
Like a worried old woman with so much to say.
What a strange wind it was today.

What a strange wind it was today,
Cool and clear from a sky so grey
And my hat stayed on but my head blew away --
What a strange wind it was today.



from A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, 1981, Harper & Row

INVITATION (Monday Poem)

by Shel Silverstein

If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer . . .
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!



from Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, 1974, Harper & Row

MY GUITAR (Monday Poem)

by Shel Silverstein


Oh, wouldn't it be a most wondrous thing
To have a guitar that could play and could sing
By itself -- what an absolute joy it would be
To have a guitar . . . that didn't need me.



from A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, 1981, Harper & Row

SHAPES (Monday Poem)

by Shel Silverstein


A square was sitting quietly
Outside his rectangular shack
When a triangle came down -- kerplunk!--
And struck him in the back.
"I must go to the hospital,"
Cried the wounded square,
So a passing rolling circle
Picked him up and took him there.



from A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, 1981, Harper & Row

Getting Along (FAMILY magazine reviews)

 

Together autumn and school are reminders of the importance of the work we all do, in childhood and as adults, to keep our friendships strong and healthy. Not only reading stories, but also taking time to talk about both the story and the practice of reading offers a chance to strengthen our ties with each other.

·     Plan to read favorite stories again and again – not only your child’s favorite stories, but ones you like too!  We all learn by repetition.  Don’t forget to enjoy repeats!

·      Talk about what happened in the story. Ask about the characters, places, and events that took place. Ask what new information your child has learned from the book. Encourage her/him to read on her/his own.

·      Ask your child if s/he has any ideas about what happens next in the story.  This can happen either in the middle or at the end of the book.  Sometimes a tale ends but many times we wonder what comes after.  Here’s a chance for you and your child to imagine together. Predicting what happens next in the middle of the story gives your child a sense of power and builds interest in reading to the end to see if the prediction is accurate.  It’s like putting puzzle pieces together.

·     Read different kinds of books; try folk tales, poetry, songs, information books, books about animals, space, biographies and cookbooks. Variety opens up possibilities.

·      Read lots of stories with rhyming words and repeated lines. Invite your child to join in on these parts. Point, word by word, as your child reads along with you.

·      Reading is an everyday activity.  When we read together each day, we build strong relationships with each other and strengthen reading skills too.  Reading is fun, and doing it together makes it even better.  Try some of these titles! 

  

Hunter’s Best Friend at School 

by Laura Malone Elliott

illustrated by Lynn Munsinger

HarperCollins, $6.99 (paperback) 

Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 2 

(This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Main Branch. 

Also may be purchased from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

             

When Hunter’s best friend Stripe starts making mischief at school, Hunter joins in.  Following Stripe’s lead, Hunter even destroys his own careful art project.  This makes him feel awful. He realizes he doesn’t always want to do everything Stripe does.  With help from his mom, Hunter recognizes that “sometimes being a best friend means you have to help your friend be his best self.” 

            Once again artist Munsinger creates lovable animals (this time raccoons) wearing clothes, in this story about peer pressure. Her sunny watercolors add drama in both face and body movement in this humorous story. 

            Familiar places at home and school help young children to understand how Hunter works to change his own behavior.  And how Stripe changes too.

Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon 

by Patty Lovell

illustrated by David Catrow 

G.P. Putnam’s Sons, $16.99 (hardcover) 

Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 3 

(This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Main Branch, Miami Lakes, North Shore. 

Also may be purchased from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

            This gleeful picture book takes a comical path to handling a bully.  It shows tiny, buck-tooth, frog-voice, clumsy Molly Lou Melon acting on her grandma’s advice to “believe in yourself.”  But Molly Lou Melon must move away from all that is familiar.  At her new school she meets up with Ronald Durkin. His bullying “talents” are well developed.

            Bright yellow, green and blue watercolors with lively details keep the movement in the story swinging.  Peppy text and occasional repetition convinces young listeners to join in.

            This cheerful tale may not be true to life.  It can, however, offer youngsters one way to talk about and steer through sometimes-difficult school relationships.

Each Kindness 

by Jacqueline Woodson

illustrated by E. B. Lewis

Penguin, $16.99 (hardcover) 

Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3 

(This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Little River. 

Also may be purchased from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

            Maya is new to the class, and the other girls make fun of her second-hand clothes.  Every time she offers them a chance to play, Chloe and her friends refuse. They even turn their faces away.  Mrs. Albert, the teacher, brings a bowl with a stone to show the ripple effect of one small kindness, as it goes out into the world.              

Watercolor paintings are shaded with quiet wintery colors to match the shadows this story creates in the mind and heart of the reader.  Framed by the bully who is the speaker, this powerful tale allows the listener to feel both points of view.  Losing a chance to make a friend is painful.

 

Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School 

by David Mackintosh  

Abrams, $16.95 (hardcover) 

Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 2 

(This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

            Everything about Marshall Armstrong blares DIFFERENT.  This includes freckles that “look like birdseed,” “space food . . . in silver wrappers,” wearing a hat outside “because of the ozone,” and staying “in the shade.”  These comments come from the student who sits beside Marshall, and dreads going to Marshall Armstrong’s birthday party.

            Bold colors and lots of white space make the several sizes and shapes of text stand out.  Cartoon-like pictures have child-like qualities and show the details of an unusual party.  The sense of being out-of-step with “normal” is a highlight.  It can offer any who march to a different drummer a chance to speak up.

More terrific titles to try:

Llama Llama and the Bully Goat
by Anna Dewdney
 Viking, $17.99 (hardcover)
Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Kindergarten
(This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

 

Back to Front and Upside Down
by Claire Alexander 
Eerdmans, $16.00 (hardcover)
Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 2
(This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Little River, Miami Lakes, Miami Springs.
Also may be purchased from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

 

Bugs in My Hair
by Catherine Stier
illustrated by Tammie Lyon  
Albert Whitman, $6.99 (paperback)
Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3
(This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

Ready and Waiting for You
by Judi Moreillon
illustrated by Catherine Stock  
Eerdmans, $17.00 (hardcover)
Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 2
(This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)