Owen

Our most recent trip to the library had us bringing Owen by Kevin Henkes home with us. Owen is a mouse who has a lovey, Fuzzy, a worn yellow blanket. Fuzzy does everything and goes everywhere with Owen and is not so fuzzy anymore. But Owen will be starting school soon, and won't be able to take Fuzzy with him. His parents, armed with some encouragement and advice born from a rather nosey next-door neighbor's disapproval, try to break Owen of his Fuzzy habit, but to no avail. Finally, Owen's mother devises a solution that works for everyone.

My own kids are a bit too young to have to worry about having the conversation of where the lovey can and cannot go, but this book made me think about it. And when that time comes, we will borrow this book from the library again. Henkes does great job of writing in a way that speaks to both the kids and their parents. The words are reassuring, the illustrations fun and engaging. His world of mice tackle a lot of the "issues" little kids have to deal with.

This book has inspired me to look at the relationships my own children have with their lovies. Of course, that will be an upcoming post or two.

Oh My Gosh, Mrs. McNosh

Oh My Gosh, Mrs. McNosh is the book Purple Butterfly fell asleep reading that I wrote about a few days ago. It is one of her favorite books right now, and I really enjoy it, too.

Nelly McNosh and her dog George go for a walk in the park, where George chases after a squirrel, and Mrs. McNosh chases after Geroge. They crash through streams and fountains, weddings and baseball games. Will Mrs. McNosh ever catch her beloved George?

This is a great book to read out loud. The rhyme and cadence are wonderful. The adventure George leads Mrs. McNosh on is just silly and fun. The pictures support and enhance the story and are equally as silly. There are other Mrs. McNosh books by the same author, and I plan on seeing if they are available in our local library the next time we visit. To me, that is the mark of a good children's book - wanting to read more by the same author and/or illustrator.

Pigs to the Rescue

Our process for picking books to check out the library is random. We randomly pick books off the shelf and check them out. The title or author may pique my curiosity. For Purple Butterfly, it's usually the color. She likes to pick out purple books.

Pigs to the Rescue is one of my randoms, and it was such a good choice. It's one of very few books we've renewed because we liked it, not just to avoid a fine.

The Greenstalk family owns a farm that is home to some overly helpful pigs. Their good intentions never turn out the way the Greenstalk family would like.

This book is fun and funny. It's not a long book, and what it may lack in words, it more than makes up for in its vivid illustrations. There is so much movement and joy in the artwork that it will keep big kids and little occupied for long time as they take in all the details. And they'll just love the silliness. We do.