All About Ama

This week I was at the international conference for librarians in
Quebec City. I met librarians from all over the world, and gave out quite a few Mayareads bookmarks. So we may get visitors from some other countries, which I am very excited about. Welcome to all of you librarians visiting.

Ivan from Singapore has already stopped in (See post below). He coordinates library services for teens for the entire country, I believe. Singapore has such an impressive library system. Their presentations were inspiring, and I got a great die-cut model of Molly the Mobile Library. You put it together and have a little cardboard bookmobile.

All About Ama, by Kathy Knowles, is a book I picked up at one of the sessions for Maya and her cousin, Addy. Kathy is an author in Manitoba who writes books for children in Africa. But you may purchase the books also, knowing that your contribution goes toward the production of more books.

Ama is a beautiful little girl who names and points to many body parts, from her head to her toes. She finishes by proclaiming, "That is all of me!" For those with children like Addy who are learning their body parts, this is a perfect book, with clear and simple photographs and a precise text.

Kathy has a lot of great books available. Here is her website:

http://www.osuchildrenslibraryfund.ca/

The conference was fascinating, but I experienced two problems. One is that I missed Patty and Maya greatly. I don't know if everyone wondered why I kept opening my cell phone but not making a phone call, but it was my only source of pictures of my two best girls.

The second is that, while America + better still = Canada, in the words of Pedro the Lion, "Canada's not what she used to be." What she is now is expensive. Be warned if you are planning a trip anytime soon. Our greens don't stretch as far as they used to.

Hush Little Baby

So I like the melody of Hush Little Baby, but I've always been bothered by the words ("Daddy's gonna buy you"). Have you felt the same way? Well, luckily Sylvia Long has. Her version of Hush Little Baby I really like.

I'm going to assume she would be happy to have you sing this to your child instead of the materialistic one, and that you will want to go out and get the book with the pleasant illustrations once you read it. Here's a sample of the song:

Hush little baby, don't say a word,
Mama's going to show you a hummingbird.

If that hummingbird should fly,
Mama's going to show you the evening sky.

Isn't that great? I once tried to change the lyrics myself when I was rocking Maya to sleep, but mine were too snide, especially when I got to diamond ring. Long's words are so gentle.

The image of rocking a baby to sleep, singing a lullaby is one of those that brings up feelings of warmth, peace, and love. But we all know sometimes bedtime can be anything but peaceful. Maya, like all babies, is so beautiful when she's sleeping. But occasionally she sprawls herself out like a drunken frat boy. Here's a photo of my little cherub sleeping.

Good Night, Little One

Good Night, Little One, by Salina Yoon, is a lift-the-flap book with great repetition and lots of animals your little one will enjoy.

Each page asks about where a different animal sleeps. You lift the home to see the baby animals inside. "Where do ladybugs sleep? Under flower petals, with pollen to eat." "Where do zebras sleep? In tall grass nuzzled with the herd."

When your children are wanting to know everything about animals, this will be a fun book with lots of information to talk about.

The Juggling Pug

The Juggling Pug, by Sean Bryan and illustrated by Tom Murphy, is a curious little book with a great rhyme. The text sounds a lot like something Shel Silverstein would write.

Here's how it starts: "Do you all know the story of the juggling pug? He started off juggling just for a hug. His town became famous, and folks grew quite smug." Every page rhymes with pug. The pug goes on to get into trouble, but nobody says anything because he is famous.

Finally a little girl says she has had enough and calls a town meeting to discuss the pug. The pug promises to reform his ways and go back to hugging. But when he happens along the home of his friend Doug, who isn't home, he shows that he is not completely reformed.

If You're Happy and You Know it: Jungle Edition

Another version of If You're Happy and You Know It, this time by James Warhola, depicting animals showing their happiness in their own way has come along.

For me this one has it's ups and downs. First the ups. I like the variety of animals included, such as the monkey, elephant, and snake. And I really like that all the animals participate on each page. My favorite page is when the children's parents are calling them to go home. All of the animals are in suspended animation, acting silly and with "Uh oh" looks on their faces.

The down side is that there is just one line on each page, then the full stanzas are written on one spread in the back. This isn't really a problem. I just sing the book through anyway. And I try to strategically skip over that one page at the end.

So if this is your kids' favorite song, and there's a good chance it is, here you go.

I Love Cats

The other day Maya and I went out into the backyard in the morning. There in the lilies was an interloper, a cat. Maya and I sat at the other side of the yard and watched. A few weeks back we had another cat sleeping behind the tomato plants. As our neighbor puts up the last bit of fence between our properties, I wonder how it will effect our neighborhood cats. I'll miss those guys, even the mangy one who lived in our shed all winter (Sorry, Fella, we tore it down).

You know those emails you get with all the pictures of baby kittens or puppies or hippopotamuses doing adorable things? Author Sue Stainton must have been inspired by those to make I Love Cats, illustrated by Anne Mortimer.

It's an homage to cats. There are very realistic drawings (except for the cat wearing sunglasses-wouldn't happen) of cats being cute. The text is simple and bouncy, merely declaring a love for cats and describing them.

That's the best part, literacy wise. There are so many great adverbs in this book. I think with an older child you could create your own book about dogs or babies, following this format.

Anyway if you're a sucker for those emails, like I am, I Love Cats is for you.

The Boy Who was Raised by Librarians

Maya signed up for the Summer Reading Program at our neighborhood library yesterday, and we already have the first cupcake colored in and 30 minutes colored on the clock. I had to try to remember why we didn't sign up last year. Maya would have trounced that goal last year. This year she doesn't sit still as long, but I know we'll make it.

We've talked about narcissistic librarians before, but The Boy Who was Raised by Librarians, by Carla Morris and illustrated by Brad Sneed, takes the cake. It's the Mr. Holland's Opus for children's librarians.

Melvin is a very curious boy who lives at the Livingston Public Library. There are three very nurturing librarians there who take Melvin under their wings. No matter what question ("How many kinds of fish are in the whole world and all the lakes and all the rivers and all the seas?"), they always found the answer. "That's how librarians are."

The three librarians help Melvin in all his school projects, and when he goes on to achieve greatness, they watch from afar.

After years have gone by and the trio have aged, another curious child walks into the library. Guess who the new librarian is?

I'm welling up with tears just writing about it. What greater good can librarians provide for mankind than breed more librarians? Maybe we really are trying to take over the world.

Joking aside, The Boy Who was Raised by Librarians would make a great gift for your children's librarian. Let them know you appreciate them.