snow.

“It’s snowing!”, said boy with dog.

“No snow”, said radio.

“It’ll melt”, said woman with umbrella.

Then one flake turns into two, then two to three, on and on until the whole city is filled with glorious white snow. “Dancing playing, there and there, floating, floating, through the air.”

A lovely book that will spark the child in you, bringing you back to that magical first snow fall. And after the last few days we’ve had here on the east coast, it only seems fitting. Hope you are finding ways to enjoy the snow. I am finding plenty of ways to enjoy my new cozy socks, warm cocoa, and my mom’s famous sugar cookies. Since we’ve no place to go… let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

This book needs to be on your bookshelf.

I am in love with this book.

Edward Tulane is a china rabbit-- an arrogant, narcissistic toy that, against his will, is taken on an astonishing journey that changes his life. This story is wonderfully special and it will touch your heart.

It is considered children's literature, but it's most certainly not only for children. Every adult should read this book. This is one that will bring tears of sadness, tears of pure joy, and one you will clutch to your chest when your through, replace on the shelf with satisfaction, and read over again and again.

This is a story about hope, and how it can be found in even the most devastating circumstances. And mostly, this is a story about love, how it can be found in the strangest of places, and how being loved and being able to love is what makes life so miraculous.

"Open your heart and someone will come for you."

Oh, how my heart has been touched. ♥

These things are fun, and fun is good.

photo by kitchen doughdough

"If you never did, you should.

These things are fun, and fun is good."

Dr. Seuss

How cute are these cupcakes?!?!!

We have been reading a lot of Dr. Seuss lately in 1st grade. It's been fun so I thought I'd share this with you... I've always loved this quote from Cat and the Hat. :)

Have a terrific weekend!!

Crazy Times

Sorry for being MIA.

This week was just CRAAAZY!! I started up with classes again and boy is it gonna be a busy one.

I feel a lot like Olivia looks in these pictures:

You know, like skittering around on a scooter, kicking a soccer ball, and playing with cats (EEK!). Well, not really, but something like that.

Anyways, I hope YOU had a good week!

Have a great Friday.

And a SUPER weekend!!!

xoxo.

The Horn Book Magazine

My first Horn Book Magazine (Jan/Feb 2010) came in the mail yesterday! Excellent! I already know I'm going to love this subscription--- it's just such a perfect resource for the teacher in me. In this issue I particularly liked the section on "Horn Book Fanfare: Our Choices for the Best Books of 2009"... gives me a chance to see what the experts think.

After reading through the list here are the books I'm most excited to find at the bookstore:

All the World

written by Liz Garton Scanlon

illustrated by Marla Frazee

The Lion and The Mouse

illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

Button Up!: Wrinkled Rhymes

written by Alice Schertle

illustrated by Petra Mathers

Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors

written by Joyce Sidman

illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

LOVE that book.

LOVE

THAT

DOG

This book

is

wonderful.

"This is the story of Jack

who finds his voice

with the help of

paper

pencil

teacher

and

dog."

I smiled. I cried.

The ending

made me

happy

inside.

Love that dog.

little people that I love.

Had a visit with my Isabel and my favorite little monkey this weekend! BOY are they getting big!! As some of you may remember, a few years ago I started nannying for Isabel when she was only 16 months old! (She is such a sweet pea. LOVE HER to pieces.) 2 months later, her little brother Alistair was born and it's been true love ever since. They are the happiest kids on the block and it's so fun to be able to watch them grow up. Last May Alistair was baptized and I am now a proud Godmother!! It's so special and now I feel like I'll always have a special bond with him. I'll never forget how little Alistair was the day he came home from the hospital...the teeniest, most precious little thing!

Aaaanyways, I went over to Charlestown on Saturday to hang out and give them their Christmas/birthday presents. They were so excited it wasn't even funny. Don't you just wish you were a little kid again sometimes? The pure joy and excitement from a gift of a flashlight. Imagine!

I picked out some great Christmas books for the kids:

Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas is seriously a-dorable! I bought Isabel the first Fancy Nancy book a few years ago so this was a nice addition to her collection!

And I chose If You Take A Mouse To The Movies for Alistair. This is part of a cute series of children's books and I thought this one was especially fun because it comes with a Christmas CD and activities in the back of the book. Cool Beans!

Check out Alistair's excitement!

Isabel... 51/2 years old now! :)

And I absolutely have to add these pics I found while looking through my old snapfish albums... some of the kids (and Lamby too of course) when I first knew them, back in 2005-2006. Oh the memories! It doesn't get much cuter than this....

Holiday Wish List

Here's a wish list of some things I am wishing for this year....

Blogging for Bliss is a fun book all about blogging. It gives you neat ideas on how to craft your blog to be just the way you want it.... looks great!!

The Horn Book Magazine has up to date articles and reviews on all the best children's literature... great for an aspiring reading specialist like me!

These Wicked Good Moccasins from l.l.bean just look SO COZY!!! I need a new pair anyways since the pair I've been wearing are the black and pink Guinness slippers Erin and Edith brought back to me from their trip to Ireland.... 5 years ago.

Love this Merino Trapper Hat from j.crew!! It will perfectly fit over my ears keeping them nice and warm. Plus, the gray will look great with all of my winter coats!

And the gift card never fails to please.... here are my favorite stores!!

Those are just a few things I've come up with so far....

happy shopping ;)

Wave.

This is an absolutely gorgeous book! It's a wordless picture book all about a little girl's day at the beach. The art is incredible, with gray and white pictures and the brilliant blue of the ocean. After seeing this book in a children's bookstore, I just had to have it. This book needs no words because the pictures 100% speak for themselves. The little girl arrives at the beach with her mom, unsure of what the ocean will bring. First she is shy, then bold, then soaked! All before discovering hundreds of seashells that have washed ashore. This is a book all people can relate to because everyone has experienced the delight of going to the beach. Wave is a book that will bring back all your memories, placing you right back to that perfect summer day.

It's so real I can taste it.

Wave by Suzy Lee
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Chronicle Books (April 16, 2008)
ISBN-10: 081185924X
ISBN-13: 978-0811859240
Source of book: Review copy from publisher

alphabeasties.

alphabeasties (and other amazing types).

This is an adorable book that I came across the other day while babysitting. It's an animal alphabet book and each of the animals is created with the use of the letters that they begin with. Super unique and creative! I'm a lover of children's books so I thought I would start adding some fun children's literature to my blog. You can buy this book through amazon, and probably your local barnes and noble as well (I'm partial to my local bookstore, Brookline Booksmith, but sometimes they don't carry certain books). I'll include a few pictures from the book so you can get an idea of how cute it is!