The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum

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One of the best-known stories in American culture, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has stirred the imagination of young and old alike for over 100 years. Best Actress nominee Anne Hathaway lends her voice to this uniquely American fairy tale.

Follow the adventures of young Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto as they get swept away into the magical land of Oz , where they encounter characters and places you may remember from the movie--and several more that never made it to the big screen--on an unforgettable journey to the Emerald City.





I'm not a fan of Anne Hathaway, so I was a bit nervous about listening to this version.  But I got it free from Audible, so it wasn't going to be a huge deal if I hated it and flounced.

I'm truly impressed.  Hathaway did an amazing job with the narration.  I've never read the book before, but I love the movie, and I wanted to know what they cut out when they adapted the story.

I wouldn't say that the book is better, but it is different.  Did you know that the ruby slippers were originally silver?  Or that Glenda the Good Witch doesn't meet Dorothy until the end?  And there are little made-of-china people who live in Oz?  There's a plethora of new experiences!

Highly recommended.  I can't wait until my kids are older so we can read this as a family.

Munchkin Monday #2: Splat the Cat Series

A quick look at the new books I have read with Boy Child and Girl Child

It's Splat's first day of school and he's worried. What if he doesn't make any new friends?
Just in case, Splat decides to bring along his pet mouse, Seymour, and hides him in his lunchbox.
The teacher, Mrs. Wimpydimple, introduces Splat to the class and he soon starts learning all his important cat lessons.

But when Seymour escapes and the cats do what cats do (they chase mice!), Splat's worried again.
Maybe now he'll lose all his friends, old and new!

Just in time, wise Mrs. Wimpydimple takes charge and teaches everyone an important new lesson. Maybe Cat School is going to be okay after all!

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Our whole family loves the Splat the Cat series.

We first read this book when my kids moved from a private, in-home daycare to a new, center-based "school."  I was probably more nervous than Boy Child (Girl Child was just a baby); this book likely helped to allay my own fears more than his.

It's a great book for shy students who are entering a new grade or moving to a new school.

And great for their worried parents, too.

We recently added a number of Splat the Cat books to our collection, including:

Fishy Tales
Love, Splat
 On With the Show

I love the lessons they teach, and it's easy to discuss the themes with my kids.

Jumping the Scratch, by Sarah Weeks

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Jamie Reardon has always heard that bad things come in threes. So after his cat, Mister, dies, his father leaves, and his aunt Sapphy has an accident that causes her memory to develop a skip, Jamie hopes his life will go back to being as normal as cornflakes.

But unfortunately there's one more bad thing in store for Jamie -- something he'd give anything to be able to forget -- and this one leaves him feeling like a stranger to himself.

Jamie tries in vain to find the magic trigger that will help Sapphy's memory jump the scratch, like the needle on her favorite Frank Sinatra record, but in the end it's Aunt Sapphy who, along with a curious girl named Audrey Krouch, helps Jamie unravel the mysteries of memory and jump the scratch in his own life.

Sarah Weeks's poignant characters and powerful prose come together in a story that is both heart wrenching and inspiring -- another gem from the award-winning author of So B. It.





***Trigger warning: this review contains information about sexual assault that may be upsetting to survivors***

This was a hard book to listen to because it was so real.  Because it's a kid's book, there are no gory details (thank goodness) about what happened to Jamie, but it's painfully clear.  Well, at least to an adult.  I don't have 8- to 12-year-old children, so I'm not sure how quickly they'd pick up on the molestation.

I worry about how to talk to my kids about sexual predators.  I feel sick to my stomach at the thought of someone hurting either of them, but how do you bring up such a difficult subject?  Adults tend to forget about what they knew as children; I knew about "bad touching" when I was little.  We were taught by our parents, our teachers, and our daycare providers.  But as parents?  We don't want to expose our children to such an awful part of life.  We want to protect them!  Shield them!  Make sure no harm comes to them!

This book is a great way to help explain what happens when a child is molested, why he acted the way he did, and how he'll deal with it in the future.  I am adding it to the list of books to read with my kids in a few years.

It's Time to Sleep, My Love, by Nancy Tillman

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It's time to sleep, it's time to sleep,

the fishes croon in waters deep.

The songbirds sing in trees above,

"It's time to sleep, my love, my love."

As children prepare for bed, the world around them is also settling down for the night. Animals who live in the jungle, the forest, the sea—all whisper to their babies a soft refrain: It’s time to sleep, my love.

As comforting as a soft blanket and warm as a goodnight hug, Eric Metaxas's lullaby is lovingly brought to life by bestselling artist Nancy Tillman  (On the Night You Were Born) , whose illustrations celebrate the wonders of the natural world, and the bonds of family.

I love love love this book. It's the perfect cadence for just-before-bed story time. It's soft and sweet and perfect for winding down from a busy day.

I will often sneak this book into the evening's reading pile, even when the kids don't want it. I tell them it's a freebie because they made good choices that day, but it's really for me. :)

Limu: The Blue Turtle, by Kimo Armitage

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Limu was different than all the other Hawaiian sea turtles - he was blue! But while other turtles made fun of him, Limu still had fun growing up in the sea, bodysurfing the big waves, laughing with seals and making friends big and small. Follow Limu’s adventures, as he discovers that no matter what he looks like on the outside, others like him because of the good turtle he is on the inside.



 

The moral of the story is one that parents teach their kids: beauty is on the inside. Yadda yadda yadda.

What I disliked about the book was the clear lack of editing. Three sentences in a row end with the word "water." Within a span of four pages, Limu has "never seen so many different types of seaweed before."

My son loves this book, so we read it over and over and over, and I cringe every time I get to these two sections.