Over in the Meadow by John Langstaff

Over in the Meadow
Written by John Langstaff
Illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky
1957

Hey Kiddos! The Boog and I are up to our ears in nature books and I thought I would share one of her Faves. I have posted on this book before. It's always a big hit with the kids, especially since it is sung instead of read. My last post only touched on the book briefly and there was some interest as to the lyrics and music by a few readers. It always makes me smile to know that my readers have a connection with the material I post. That being said, I would like to share a bit more than just the cover. The pictures are double spreads so I decided to take pictures instead of scan them. Musical notations included in the closing photo.

Enjoy!

Charlie Brown's Christmas is Together-Time

Christmas is Together-Time
by Charles M. Schulz
1964

Happy Day Kiddos! I don't know how most of you are feeling this Holiday Season. I have heard mixed reviews about the whole Octonovemcember thing. Plenty of people were complaining about how the push for the holidays started way too early. I do know that our family is getting into the holiday spirit and have since The Boog's 5th birthday in October. Favorite Ornaments have made their way on to the tree and The Boog and I have made paper chains to cover our entire living room! Another holiday staple of ours, and I'm sure many will agree, is Charlie Brown. I always buy a Peanuts book whenever I see one. This one, in particular, has been in my collection for a few years now and I have just never gotten around to posting about it.

Christmas is....



Hearing about those partridges and pear trees until you're ready to lose your mind.

Going over the hills and through the woods to grandmother's house

....except she's moved to an apartment.

When people say nice things to you who otherwise don't even know you're alive.

When you hug your little brother.

Another box of candied fruit from your Aunt Agnes in California.

Getting all those cards from people you never sent any to.

Losing your mother downtown in a crowded store.

Wishing you had gotten this stupid present gift wrapped.

A box of  tree ornaments that have become part of the family.

Suggesting we decorate the tree with strings of popcorn and cranberries like in the old days, but we never do it.

Waiting for the grown ups to finish eating so we can open the presents.

There are a few people I know who are big fans of A Charlie Brown's Christmas so I decided to knit each of them a very special ornament.....

"It just needs a little love...."

This is a picture of the one I made for our tree. One down 3 more to go!





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She-Ra The Princess of Power

She-Ra, the Princess of Power
Mattel
1985

She-Ra Princess of Power is an animated spin-off of He-Man Masters of the Universe. It's based on the toyline produced by Mattel, who decided that He-Man was such a hit, why not create Princess of Power to counterbalance the show's popularity among young boys. Aimed at young girls, Princess of Power spawned a line of "fashion action figures." It's ingenious really. Meshing a "boys" action figure with the likes of Barbie seems like a formula for success, right? Well, yes and no. The action figures, as was the case for He-Man Masters of the Universe as well, outlasted the animated series.

She-Ra was first introduced in The Secret of the Sword, which eventually went on to become the first 5 episodes in the She-Ra series.

Known for her incredible strength, She-Ra was able to lift not only grown men and robots, but mountain like-rocks and buildings! She was the alter ego of Princess Adora and the twin sister of Adam (A.K.A He-Man) Having been stolen by the evil Hordak when she was a baby, Adora had no idea of her true identity until presented with the sword of Protection. Together, with the help of her newly found twin Adam, she aims to defend her home planet of Eternia from Hordak's evil grasp.

As a kid I was partial to Jem but I did sneak in a few episodes of She-Ra here and there. My brother had the Castle Greyskull and I used to use my Jem doll and pretend it was She-Ra. Good times!

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Update: The Kissing Hand

The Kissing Hand
By Audrey Penn
Illustrated by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak
1994

*A Previously Published Post: A very dear story of the bond between parent and child and the courage to let go.*

This month’s Barnes and Noble Online Story Time features The Kissing Hand, narrated by author Audrey Penn.(Check it out here.)In this story little Chester Raccoon is getting ready to start school for the first time, but he is bit anxious to leave his home. Chester’s Mother lets him in on a little secret, a secret that has been passed down from her mother and grandmother, that will make his nights away at school feel just as cozy as his days at home. Behold the Kissing Hand. She takes his paw in hers, fans out his tiny fingers and leaves a kiss right in the middle of his palm. She goes on to tell him that whenever he feels lonely all he has to do is press his hand to his cheek and remember, “Mommy loves you. Mommy loves you.” And that the kiss will fill him with toasty warm thoughts. Ironically after Chester gets comfortable leaving for school, he gives his mother a kiss on her hand.

This story is a great way of letting your child know that your love will always be with them no matter what and is the perfect book for any little one about to head off to preschool or daycare for the first time. Plus the book comes with little heart stickers so you can make a kissing hand of your very own and if your craving some raccoon and hearts fun:

The Kissing Hand Felt Story Board
By Glitterful Stories

Pocket Hand Warmers
By Worme Woole

Raccoon Mask for children
By Mahalo

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George Shrinks and the First Doodle Bugs Post

George Shrinks
By William Joyce
1985

"One day, while his mother and father were out, George dreamt he was small, and when he woke up he found it was true....."



Part of the Harper Collins Treasury of Picture Book Classics, George invites us to imagine living life as a tiny little person in a big world. After all, they are the small ones living in a grown-up world, so it's not hard for them to familiarize themselves with George's plight. Being in George's shoes is quite fun and as you will see, quite frightening at the same time.

Upon reading this book, The Boog stumbled onto a few ideas of her own. She discovered that if she shrunk she would like to "go into a snow globe and take a few trips on her Thomas the Tank Engine train set." Not a bad idea. I myself have always imagined eating a huge Oatmeal Cream Pie, just like the kids in Honey I Shrunk the Kids. Just one of my personal dreams I guess!

We got so inspired discussing different scenarios that there was only one thing to do. Draw about it! So we got out our crayons and she came up with a very happy take on Joyce's illustration. It turned out to be so much fun that I decided to do it again, and turn it into a series of blog posts aptly named Doodle Bugs. If you are at all interested in submitting some of your children's work, I invite you to comment. I would be more than happy to post about it. I'd love to see little budding Picassos in action!



This is The Boog's version of kitty chasing George

*I love that she made both the kitty and George happy despite the real image's suspenseful nature.





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Halloween for Frances

Super Crafty Halloween Costumes

Best Literary Adaptation In a Halloween Costume

Super cute Literature based Halloween Costumes! I just had to share!

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Cookie Monster's Famous Cookie Dough Recipe

The Sesame Street Treasury Vol. 1
Cookie Monster's Famous Cookie Dough
1983

Hey Kiddos! Just a quick post today. The Boog and I are baking up a storm these days in preparation for the holidays. The husband is lucky enough to be our personal taste tester. So far we have made Snickerdoodles, Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies and Mexican Wedding Cookies. Next on our list are sugar cookies, which segues into this post for a very simple sugar cookie that, as Cookie says, "has been in his family for years."

Feel free to click on the photo to see an enlarged version of Cookie's Famous Recipe!

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Meet the Muppet Babies

Meet the Muppet Babies
By Louis Gikow
Illustrated by Lauren Attinello
featuring Jim Henson's Muppet Babies
1987

My local library resale shop is a treasure trove of Muppet Babies Books. Every month or so I go in to take a peek and leave carrying at least one or two books from The Muppet Babies Series. Currently I have 9 of these. I assume this is the first in the series since it's titled Meet the Muppet Babies.

Published by Weekly Reader, the books are based on the animated T.V Series which ran for seven years. The first episode aired in 1984 and featured familiar characters from The Muppets Take Manhattan. The series added toddler versions of Animal, Beaker, Bunsen and Skooter's twin sister Skeeter. Nanny was also added and is only seen from the shoulders down, although the most most memorable attribute are her green and white striped legs.

Meet the Muppets is a great introduction into the imaginary world of the Muppet Babies and their nursery.

Baby Kermit is busy playing with a big box and each of the Babies in the Nursery gets a chance to imagine what it might be. Is it a castle, a piano or a cave?

At the end of the day, it is just a box. To a toddler, it's a key into their imagination.

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Grover, Messenger of Love: The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook

The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook

Grover Messenger of Love

Written by Patricia Thackray

Illustrated by Joseph Mathieu

1978

Hey Kiddos~

Yes! I'm doing another Sesame Street post! Why? Well, because I now have another book to add to my Sesame Street collection, and I am PROUD! Along with The (original) Sesame Street Storybook and The Sesame Street 1 2 3 Storybook, I am now the proud owner of a third. The Sesame Street Bedtime Story Book is mostly about the various dreams of random Sesame Street residents, however, this particular story I chose to scan for you today is about cute little furry Grover and his quest to bring messages between two kingdoms.

THE END

All that back and forth and not a computer in sight! Very creative use of resources if you ask me....

 Also By:

The Sesame Street Story Book

The Sesame Street 123 Story Book

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