Blue Bug and the Bullies

Madeleine found this at a little thrift store near her apartment.  While she was in the book section she sent me a photo of the cover and I said "Get it!!".  

Blue Bug and the Bullies
Virginia Poulet
illustrations by Donald Charles 1971

 This is a great toddler book with adorable insect pictures.  Little blue bug is bullied by other critters such as spiders, a praying mantis, a hornet, a dragonfly, etc...  Each page is a single verb of how little blue bug gets away.  He runs, hangs, crawls, digs.  Finally blue bug takes a stand and it's his bullies' turn to skedaddle.  This would be a fun one to act out too.

Let's Eat

 We adore Gyo Fujikawa!  Her books always bring back nice memories of my childhood (I must have had one or two of her books as a little girl) and of my own children when they were toddlers.  The illustrations of children and animals are always so sweet and especially sweet is the diversity of children  that she drew.  

This article from the New Yorker is wonderful and makes me love her artwork even more!

(Also here's a tip, thrift stores always have her books!)

Let's Eat

Gyo Fujikawa

This is a nice sized board book, just right for toddler hands, all about what we eat. 

We Help Mommy

Another sweet Eloise Wilkin book about how a little boy and his sister help their mother throughout the day.

We Help Mommy

Jean Cushman 1959

illustrated by Eloise Wilkin

Charlotte saw this little clothes tree and wanted it so badly!  I think my mom played with a little clothesline set when she was a girl.

(Charlotte loves how she illustrates the bedrooms.)

Other books illustrated by Eloise Wilkin:

Baby's Christmas

We Like Kindergarten

My Big Book of the Outdoors

Oh, What a Busy Day

Even though it's the lazy days of summer we seem to be fairly busy with the very best of things. We visited the Arboretum and stayed in the shade for an hour playing along the banks of a creek. We biked to church Sunday morning and stopped for water ice on our way home. And we packed our nature journals for a day at the Wissahickon where we caught crayfish in nets and waded in the cool water. I was afraid that in the heat we would all plop in front of the tv and not move. But surprisingly our tv has hardly been turned on. Whole days have gone by and we've never even missed it.

Oh, What a Busy Day

Gyo Fujikawa 2010

I love Gyo Fujikawa.  Her cute illustrations always include kids of all different colors and nationalities.  In this book there are rhymes on each page as the children wake up and fill their day with jump rope, hide and seek, imaginary games inside, gardening, helping others, picnics by the beach, etc...   It's a busy day indeed!

Harriet, You'll Drive Me Wild!

Harriet, You'll Drive Me Wild!

Mem Fox 2003

illustrated by Marla Frazee

This book could very well be titled "Charlotte, You'll Drive Me Wild!" The little girl in this story is so very much like Charlotte, full of exuberance and curiosity. She doesn't mean to make such messes, and is always truly sorry afterwards but her patient mom can only hold it together for so long. All of my kids have heard me shout (in a half joking/half frustrated voice), "Ahhh, you're making me crazy!"

 

One morning at breakfast, she knocked over a glass of juice, just like that.

Her mother didn't like to yell, so instead she said, "Harriet, my darling child."

"I'm sorry," said Harriet, and she was.

Before lunch, when Harriet was painting a picture, she dripped paint onto the carpet, just like that.

Her mother didn't like to yell, so instead she said, "Harriet, my darling child.  Harriet, you'll drive me wild.  Harriet, sweetheart, what are we to do?"

"I'm sorry," said Harriet, and she was.

After Harriet is supposed to be napping and a feather pillow gets torn apart, her mom finally loses it and yells and yells.  There's hugs and smiles at the end though.

Emily's Balloon

Emily's Balloon 
Komako Sakai 2006

I hardly ever buy brand new books, but this caught my eye at Barnes and Noble. There was something about the pictures and story that reminded me of Charlotte. And sure enough, she loves this book- enough to accidentally rip one of the pages. (It’s been carefully mended with tape).



“Brrnnnn” (balloon) was also one of her first words, so this book was read a lot. I love how simple and vintage-looking the drawings are.






Emily's mother cleverly ties a spoon to the balloon string to keep it from flying away. Then Emily spends the day playing with her balloon, and takes it outside for a tea party where the wind blows it up into a tree. It doesn’t quite have a happy ending, Emily’s balloon gets stuck and she has to go to bed without it. But her mother promises to borrow a ladder and get it down in the morning. It ends with Emily looking out her window and saying goodnight to her balloon.