Picture Books - Big Smelly Bear

Big Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrup 2007 has the smell of a delightful book. If you have a small one that just hates to take a bath or just a little one with a funny bone this is a book that will bring lots of smiles. Our little one really loves to take baths on most days. Luckily for us she is a bit on the dainty side and so far doesn’t play with too much mud.

What we have here is a case of Big Smelly Bear who has an itch. Could be due to not ever taking a bath or could be his fur hasn’t been groomed or something else all together. But, whatever it is the itch needs some tending to, but he can’t find the solution. About this time Big Fluffy Bear speaks up and offers to assist only after Big Smelly Bear takes a bath. Well, you can probably see where this is heading.

Both boys and girls I’m sure will enjoy the situation, but I have a feeling boys could probably relate more to Big Smelly Bear’s situation. Recommend for ages preschool to about 2nd grade.

A Lone(ly) Wolf

Some days I really wonder about nature. A few weeks ago on the way to church we saw a wolf lying beside the road that had unfortunately been hit by a car. Now it seemed odd to see a wolf that close to city limits, but we were traveling towards and almost in a rural area. So, it didn’t seem too odd. However, this morning on our way to Thanksgiving dinner we saw another one only this guy was inside city limits and in an industrial park area (opposite direction of our last encounter). We had to do a double take and then slowed down to get a better look. Sure enough it was a wolf and a large one at that and meandering a bit anxiously along. However, it made my heart sink when I noticed that he was heading in the direction of the interstate. Hopefully, he found a different and safer path to get were he was heading. I have heard about coyotes and even a fox or two in city limits heck there was even a beaver in my old neighborhood, but this was my first wolf sighting. The picture posted here is almost identical to the one we saw today. Had I not been driving I would have grabbed the camera. The cool thing was both my husband and wee one got to see it too. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Picture Books - All Afloat on Noah's Boat!

It has been almost two weeks of illness chaos for us here, but mostly me. Fortunately for us the last visit we made to the library provided some really good reads. The wee one is having such a good time with the treasure trove of books we borrowed. One of my favorites has to be All Afloat on Noah's Boat! by Tony Mitton and illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees 2007. We’ve all heard the tale of Noah and his ark, but did you ever wonder how all the animals got along while hold up together for a really, really long time in an ark? Well, Mitton does a great job in putting an imaginative spin on how Noah kept the animals from getting too restless. From the building until dry land Mitton keeps the text flowing with humor and rhyme and keeps the listener engaged. The illustrations are comical and colorful. It’s wonderful book for preschool and up.

Picture Books: Ant, Ant, Ant & Two Sticks

Know a wee one that is into bugs? If so, then run to the library and get Ant, ant, ant!: an insect chant by April Pulley Sayre and illustrated by Trip Park. This fun chant is so simple and it teaches the names of a number of different types of insects like slugs, brush-footed butterflies, and various other wiggly and flying critters. It makes for a really good read aloud. The illustrations are nice, but do caricaturize the insects some in funny ways others in a bit more grotesque manner. A definite must for those who have bug interested wee ones in the house.


Another off beat humor book that we found this week was Two Sticks by Orel Protopopescu and illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf. It is about a girl named Maybelle who desperately wants to play the drums. She finds a number of things to “bang” on with her two “drum” sticks. Unfortunately, she is unsuccessful in persuading her parents to get her drums until she happens to bring home some crocodiles she is currently using as a drums.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder!?

Oh where, oh where has the bookish woman gone? Well, let’s see there was this book called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, then the ever present home repairs that seem to keep me way too busy, and then there were the amended taxes for my mom because she hired someone from 2004 to 2006 to do them that apparently lacked basic reading skills (she now has returned to her bean counting daughter who is free). Ah, but the best of the last two weeks was hanging out with my family. My hubby, wee one and I spent some us time together over that last four days. We hung out at the zoo, went to the butterfly conservatory, checked out the botanical gardens, and visited with family and friends. What fun we had and memories we made. Check out a few of the delightful photos we took.

Hope you have been enjoying your summer and it has been filled with books that are entertaining and pleasurable. We have been trying various genres and I hope to get back to some regular book notes later next week. In the meantime, I will probably post a few more zoological photos and fun notes.


The top photo is of a plumeria. The one to the right is that of a 12-day old baby reticulating giraffe and its Momma. The bottom photo is that of a blue morpho butterfly. This is one I tried last year to get and did, but this time I was able to get a picture of it in full spread. They are a beautiful brown on the outside with this brilliant blue on the inside and are about 4 to 6 inches in size.

Picture Books - Time to Say Goodnight

We have been into lots of various bedtime books of late and one of the many favorites is the delightfully illustrated book Time to Say Goodnight by Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by Jane Chapman (2006). I would be the first to admit that I would probably pick up anything with Jane Chapman as the illustrator. This particular picture book takes a wonderful rhyming looking at how the woodland animals are told to go to bed by their own parents with the exception of the owl who is waking up the little ones. After reading how each of the animals are tucked in for the night with reassuring words of comfort and security, the animal parents then address the reader in reminding them it is also time for them to say goodnight. My wee one gets a kick out of the parent animals “talking” to her. Of course, you need to add that little subtle message in how you read it. Makes for a great selection for toddlers through probably 2nd grade.

Seek and Find

Don’t you just love seek and find books. These were some of the favorites amongst the elementary school kids especially grades 3 and 4 at my former school. If you have fond memories of these books or the seek and finds like those in the magazine Highlights, take a look at the following. Can you find the mommy and baby robin? Have fun. (Oh, I took this in my backyard this weekend. We have two trees with robins' nests. This is the only nest that was successful. Also, I’m several feet away and stretching my short legs as far as they go to get it.)

Picture Books - Going to the Zoo

Ah, don’t you just love spring weather, we are taking walks, visiting local sites, and trying to take it all in. With usually having mild winters these past few years, the late nastiness of this past February made for a bit cranky cooped up feeling in many around the area. I think it gave us a bit more appreciation for the newly greening grass, daffodils blooming, and fresh spring air.

Today, we dropped by our local zoo and visited with a number of animals. The wee one even got to pick up a few new books (as if we needed anymore). One of the books we found I couldn’t pass up as it was based on the “Going to the zoo” song. It was overpriced and a tad beat up, but it was so worth it to see her face when we “sang” the book. It is great to find books to connect with a memory.

If you like the song or just want to recreate a fun zoo memory try this book out. Going to the Zoo by Tom Paxton and illustrated by Karen Lee Schmidt 1996. The illustrations do great justice to the song/text and the ending is so cute.

The elephants say Hi and come visit!