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By Mom Unplugged, November 23, 2007 8:09 pm

The Tomten is a very old little elf-like creature who lives in the hayloft on a wintry Swedish farm.

No one has ever seen him, and only the children know of his presence. He comes out at night and checks on all the animals, and the family, making sure they are safe and comfortable, reminding the animals that spring is on the way.

This is a simple story with gentle, rhythmic text and soothing, muted illustrations. A wonderfully peaceful bedtime read by Astrid Lindgren, author of Pippi Longstocking and The Children of Noisy Village. (See my post on The Children of Noisy Village.)

Awards: An ALA Notable Book, and a Parent’s Choice Paperback Award Winner.

Also:

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By Mom Unplugged, November 8, 2007 10:11 pm

My friend Wishy lent me this Caldecott Honor book and I immediately had to rush out and buy a copy to keep.

The non-wordy story is very simple: the contrast between a typical dog and cat day. Hondo the dog goes to the beach and Fabian the cat stays home with “the baby.” Guess who has the better day!

The soft illustrations are very sweet and soothing. Yet the expressions on the cat and dog faces convey such nuances of emotion that everyone, adult and child alike, will enjoy this book.

(Paperback is eligible for Amazon’s 4-for-3 promotion.)

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By Mom Unplugged, June 20, 2007 8:37 pm

This is a find-it alphabet book with a twist. The challenge is to find each letter of the alphabet in very realistic paintings of scenes of city-life (New York City is the inspiration). Some letters are very obvious, others not so easy.

I did an experiment, and upon opening the book randomly, the letters were hidden well enough that I couldn’t always figure out what I should be looking for. But if I went through the book in order so that I KNEW what was supposed to come next, it was easy (for me as an adult), but often quite cleverly disguised.

This is a really fun book for pre-readers (no words, just letters to search for) and readers alike. It is a great travel book, or one to keep in the car. It really makes both kids and adults learn to look at everyday objects with new eyes.

The artwork is truly amazing and each page is a pleasure to look at. No wonder it is a Caldecott Honor Book!

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By Mom Unplugged, April 7, 2007 11:07 am

As an animal lover and a “sucker” for taking in strays and rejects (how do you think we ended up with eight cats?), I think this is a wonderful story! My kids and I really enjoy reading this over and over again.

This Caldecott Honor Winner is a true story of how a family discovers a stray dog while on a picnic and how that dirty little dog becomes part of their life.

The text is quite simple and minimal. The illustrations are wonderfully sweet and funny yet very effectively convey the emotions of the family members, and even the dog.

I guarantee that you and your kids will love this one, especially if animals are a big part of your life.

Awards: Caldecott Honor Book.

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By Mom Unplugged, March 10, 2007 5:50 pm

I just finished reading this book to my son’s class, and I whole-heartedly recommend it!

Anatole is a Parisian mouse who decides it is wrong to be stealing scraps to eat from people’s houses and decides to earn his cheese by being an anonymous cheese taster at the local cheese factory. The story and illustrations are so cute that children today enjoy this book as much as they did in the 1950′s when it was first published.

A Caldecott Honor Book.