Monday Mix: Me...Jane Book Review

Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell (Little, Brown, $15.99)

What an amazing and beautiful picture book written and illustrated by the creator of the Mutts comic strip Patrick McDonnell. It's a simple story about the true childhood life of Jane Goodall, a curious girl who loved nature and discovery, started a club called the Alligator Society, and decided at the age of ten that she would live in Africa and study animals. The illustrations are spare and beautiful, mixing McDonnell's drawing style with collages of stamp designs and actual childhood drawings and puzzles by Jane Goodall herself. This is a perfect introduction for the youngest of children to the life of a truly inspiring environmental activist. This is an inspiring story for adults too... everyone told Jane that her dream was impossible, but she did it. It's never too late!

-Maleka

Monday Mix: Frida Kahlo Coloring Book and Hundertwasser Create Your Own City

Frida Kahlo has been one of my favorite artists throughout my life for her bold choices in life and art. Her magical realism partnered with identity explorations of what it means to be a strong woman, especially in the art world, is so compelling. Friedensreich Hundertwasser is another personal favorite- his art and activism were amazing. He dedicated his life to a strong mission of ecological awareness which followed through in his art, even to the choices of materials he used to create his art (he made his own paints out of earth based dyes and substances). I was thrilled to see both of these artists appear in kid-friendly book versions - Frida and her life and art as a coloring/activity book (Coloring Book: Frida Kahlo), and Friedensreich Hundertwasser's art and architecture as stickers in a create-your-own city book.


These will totally be my go-to gifts for any upcoming birthday parties (they're inexpensive, too...). Wrap them up with cool paper and a bow, add some art supplies and you have a wonderful little bundle for any burgeoning little artist in your life.

CHICKEN!

Nope, not nuggets.  And not the flinching game.  This post is hereby dedicated to our new family favorite picture book: Interrupting Chicken, written by David Ezra Stein (2010).

This is one of those magical children's books that is as entertaining for the adults reading it as it is for the children for which it was designed.  All four of my kids (3,5,8 and 12) think it's a riot.  Their parents agree.

Little Red Chicken's Papa just wants to read a story and get his dear sweet chicken to fall asleep.  Who among us can't relate to that?  But as the title suggests, his wee one LOVES to interrupt.  Every time Papa starts to read a classic tale (Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and of course, Chicken Little), his darling interrupts and spoils the story.  "Don't go in!  She's a witch!  She'll eat you!".  Every time, Little Red Chicken PROMISES not to interrupt again, but every time, she finds the opportunity too tough to resist.

They finally compromise when Papa wisely asks Little Red Chicken to tell HIM a story.  The result is both clever and sweet, but I'll let you read that part yourself.  No spoliers here.

The illustrations remind me of The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza (another absolute favorite).  This book is a quick read with engaging pictures and a playful dialogue.  My three year old had Little Red Chicken's lines memorized after hearing the book twice.  But then again, she was made for the part.

Monday Mix: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Book Review

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Little Brown, $9.99)

I finally got a chance to sit down and read this book, which has been on my to-do list since it won the National Book Award, became one of the One Book, One Philadelphia choices, and was talked about in length on NPR with the wonderful Sherman Alexie. My favorite anecdote by Alexie during the interview was when he was talking about the many movie offers the book has had but how he won't do it unless they find a kid who can REALLY play basketball. He joked about not even caring if they were Indian, as long as they could play basketball right.

This book is definitely for young adults and older- there are some mature themes that might be too intense for some middle graders. Alexie's coming of age story of a high school boy named Junior (real name Arnold) from the Spokane reservation is both heart-wrenching and hilarious simultaenously. The comics drawn by Ellen Forney throughout the book are right on point. Simply put, life on the reservation is hard. Kids deal with alcoholism, poverty, and depression on a regular basis. When Junior decides on his own to attend a school outside of the reservation to get a better education he realizes how different his perspective is just by the amount of funerals he has attended in his young life. His white friends at his new school have barely lost any of their immediate and extended family. He has seen countless people close to him die. The balance of tragedy and humor is so solid. I was choked up with tears and smiling, finishing the book with countless sighs and silent prayers. I wish I had been able to read this book when I went to high school.

Monday Mix: To Market, To Market Book Review

To Market, To Market by Nikki McClure (Abrams Books for Young Readers, $17.95)

I will admit right away that the entire Big Blue Marble Bookstore are big fans of artist/author Nikki McClure. She's a self-taught artist and mama, interested in capturing the beauty in motherhood, the changing of the seasons, and living a sustainable and simple life. She works with an X-acto knife, creating intricate paper cuts. Her newest picture book is a gorgeous tribute to visiting the Olympia, Washington farmer's market every week. Her family's market list becomes a list of stories of gratitude to each person responsible for their basket of goodies- from the farmers who grow the dark green kale to the man who smokes salmon bought directly from local fishers to the artisan Yukie, who uses the indigo plant and wax to dye and then batik beautiful cloth napkins.

This book details what each person does to produce what ends up in your household. It's such an inspiring story to read and really contemplate what it takes to support a community, and almost depressing to read when you think of how little thought goes into these mass-produced and highly processed food products we take home every day. It's hard to buy all locally grown food and products when you're just trying to get by financially, but this book truly inspired me again to support my neighbors and embrace Philadelphia as much as we sustainably can.

Introducing the Monday Mix: Book Reviews, Quotes, Neighborhood Fun, and More Mishmash

Greetings Germantown Avenue Parents!

It's Maleka Fruean, mama of three, events coordinator at Big Blue Marble Bookstore in Mt. Airy, and Germantown resident. I'm introducing a new series of GAP posts I'll be doing on Mondays called the Monday Mix, filled with book reviews on new and older children's and parenting books arriving at the bookstore, quotes on parenting and kids, neighborhood fun in Germantown and beyond, and a mixture of other mishmash.

This Monday I'm starting with a short book review about a great little picture book that just arrived at the Big Blue Marble.


A Sick Day for Amos McGee
by Philip C. Stead (Roaring Brook Press, $16.99)

This book just won the 2011 Caldecott Medal! All of the staffers at the bookstore cooed over it as soon as it came in and when you read the story and look at the beautiful illustrations by Erin Stead you will see why. It's a simple and touching story of an older gentleman named Amos McGee, who has a daily routine of catching a bus, going to work at the zoo, and spending time with all of his good animal friends. His friends include the elephant who likes to play chess, a tortoise who wins every race, the rhino with a runny nose, a shy penguin who simply likes to sit quietly with him, and an owl who is afraid of the dark. They each have their daily routine with Amos, which is one day interrupted by him waking up with a cold. So the animals pack into a bus and visit Amos instead. It's adorable in every way- from the sparely colored illustrations to the friendships that Amos has with each animal. Highly recommended.

MLK Day of Service, Used Clothing Sale, and Lovett to reopen!

Wanting to be part of the Day of Service and finding meaningful and appropriate ways to do that with young children can be two very different things.  I know our best bets have been to jump in to preschool/childcare/school-sponsored events geared toward family participation.  Our school will be putting together PJ packages for children who need new ones after a disaster.

But if you want to do something small tomorrow that may make a big difference in a child's life, you can stop by The Little Treehouse to donate a winter coat.  They're doing a "One Warm Coat" drive and asking for new or gently used coats.  Anyone who donates a coat will also receive 20% off class registration for tumbling, art, music, yoga, or dance. 

Or you and the kids could gather up the gently used children's books your family has outgrown and drop them off at either O'doodles Toystore or the back of St. Joseph's Hall at Chestnut Hill College (you can pull right under the portico, drop off box is right inside the door).  These books will be used to build a library for the Fitler Academics Plus School in Philadelphia.  The school houses children from K-8th grade, so a wide range of books can be suitable for donation.  

If you find yourself with a kid-free day and really want to roll up your sleeves, the Allen's Lane Art Center is looking for volunteers to help paint!  Starts at 9am.

Or if you're looking for something completely different, try searching the Greater Philadelphia MLK Day of Service website:

http://www.mlkdayofservice.org/

And this isn't quite service, but it goes to a good cause and is definitely "green".  Abington Friends School is having a Used Clothing Sale on Monday, January 17 from 1- 3p.m.  The sale will be held at Abington Friends Lower School.  All items are $1, $2 or $3 dollars and all proceeds support the Women’s Center of Montgomery County.  

http://www.abingtonfriends.net/Home/Home

If you can't get out with the kids, but want to do something to commemorate Dr. King, I highly recommend reading Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport and Brian Collier.  The book is beautifully illustrated and does a nice job of balancing the power of the man and his words with the uncertainty of the times and the tragedy of his death.  We also like Happy Birthday Martin Luther King by Jean Marzollo and Brian Pinkney.  But our new family favorite is Americans Who Tell the Truth by Robert Shetterly... where you'll find quotes and pages on everyone from Jonathon Kozol to Mother Jones to Frederick Douglass.  

And everyone keep your fingers crossed... barring any more issues, rumor has it that the heat will be back on and the Lovett Library will reopen on Tueday January 18th at 9am!  It's a temporary fix, but it will keep the doors open until a more permanent replacement can be arranged.