bread and buttons

a book on Tuesday (16)

Today's book is The Cloud Collector's Handbook by Gavin Pretor-Pinney. We got this one for my son as he started to show an interest in clouds recently and I have to say this book is perfect.

I love the brief and often light-hearted information on each type of cloud, the informative pictures and I love the whole idea of spotting them and collecting points. I think once we are out and about more this book is really going to come into its own. If we can remember to keep filling in this book I think we'll all learn a lot about clouds and what's not to love about that.

On a side note I link all these books to on-line sellers but I buy most of our books from our local independent book shop. I love our book shop, it is a real corner stone of our community and makes a great weekly outing for all of us.

a book on Tuesday (15)

Today's book on Tuesday is Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet. This book was bought for my daughter mostly because of the illustrations which are beautiful and well, very....sweet. The story tells how the famous parade filled with balloons came to be and about the man behind it all.

A fun book to read if you've ever seen the parade (in real life or on t.v.) and as a bonus this book has a printable activity kit on Melissa Sweets website. Which is exactly what my staying-at-home-with-another-ear-infection daughter and I will be doing today.

a book on Tuesday (14)

Today's book on Tuesday is Let's Go Home: The Wonderful Things About a House by Cynthia Rylant.

This was another book we accrued over the holidays and it is a very sweet one. I love Cynthia Rylant's meandering prose and the pictures by Wendy Anderson Halperin are charming. We also have on our shelves, When The Relatives Came and I just adore the slow pace and subtle observations of that book.

This particular book takes you on a journey through one house, through the rooms and through the seasons. There are lots of familiar things for my kids in here, and lots of detail in the pictures that we like to talk about.

My daughter has started reading more independently now and loves the Annie and Snowball books also by Cynthia Rylant.

a book on Tuesday (13)

Today's book on Tuesday is Natural History, The Ultimate Visual Guide to Everything on Earth by DK Smithsonian.

This was one of my mum's present to me this Christmas but really it is one for the whole family. Its 600 pages are stuffed full of wonderful photographs and snippets of information. The big, bright and well produced pictures make it perfect for the kids and I often find them just flipping through it.

The book is split into sections on minerals, rocks and fossils, microscopic life, plants, fungi and the largest section is animals which is split into subsections such as birds, mammals, reptiles, etc. Occasionally, a subject is selected for further investigation and it has a whole page with close-up photos and detailed information. See the Ruppell's Vulture page above for an example.

The book lives next to our cabinet of curiosities when it is not being used, which is not so often. It is a great book for just dipping into and learning a bite size piece of information. To quote Andy, "There is something wondrous on every page."

For example, now I know Rhinoceroses are in the family of odd-toed ungulates. Good to know, just in case.

a book on tuesday (12)

We got so many lovely books over the holidays I have at least a dozen I want to share with you today but I will limit myself to two. Claire sent these books to the kids, both by Alice Melvin.

A to Z Treasure Hunt and The High Street.

I wrote about another of her books here, also sent by Claire. I couldn't help but sharing these ones too as the illustrations are sublime. Alice Melvin is a Scotland based illustrator and artist, website here.

A to Z Treasure Hunt is exactly that, only more interactive. There is space for kids to stick things in like buttons and wrapping paper, they'll need to find things like a tea bag and draw in spots on a dog and glue glitter on the goose egg. The kids were lucky enough to get one each and they are going to love completing these books. Love it, I tell you!

The High Street is a sweet story of a girl with a shopping list told in rhyme. Each page visits a new shop and it opens out for you to see inside the shop and the item Sally needs to buy. The illustrations are so great I can't describe them but I've included lots of lovely pictures below. There are tons of cute details in the pictures which are great for talking about and there's an element of eye spy about the book; you can find the number of the shop, the item Sally is looking for and so on. Sally can't buy the last item on her list but the end has a nice twist. This book is going to be a favorite for a long while.

Thank you Claire. I adore these books! Oh yeah and so do the kids.

And you, what have you been reading over the holidays? Did you find a new favorite? I'd love to hear about your best reads this season.

a book on tuesday (11)

"So hop into bed

Turn over thrice

And whisper this softly:

Night's nice, night's nice, night's nice."

Today's book on Tuesday is Night's Nice by Barbara and Ed Emberley. Such a sweet and happy book and I love the illustrations so very much. It makes for a perfect bedtime story and seems especially fitting at this time of year when there is so much more of the night.

Happy reading.

a book on tuesday (10)

I purchased this book Advent im Winterwald from Amazon UK. Although it is written in German it has clear diagrams for making things plus photo-copyable patterns in the back and cross stitch patterns which I guess are universal. I am not sure what shipping to the US would be (I picked mine up when on a trip to the UK). I have to admit that I am already beginning to think a little about Christmas and this book makes me want to have a really cute table while the kids are still young enough to find it amusing.

It is filled with sweet ideas for the holidays and if I can convince my German speaking friend to translate it there is even a delicious looking recipe.

I've got a super busy week so my presence here may be patchy at best.

a book (or three) on tuesday (9)

Illustration School: Let's Draw Plants and Small Creatures by Sachiko Umoto

I love the index page. So sweet.

Illustration School: Let's Draw Happy People by Sachiko Umoto

This page is the epilogue gallery. Adorable.

Illustration School: Let's Draw Cute Animals by Sachiko Umoto

I bought these three recently from Amazon and love them so very much. All three are by Sachiko Umoto and as the titles suggest, they teach you how to draw. I bought them for the kids because they love the Ed Emberley instructional drawing books and I thought they'd get a kick out of these ones. They love them as much as I do and would use them more if I would stop hoarding them to myself.

Sachiko Umoto website: here (it looks like she may have another new book in the same series. Fingers crossed.)

book on tuesday (8)

Rooms with a View: The Open Window in the 19th Century

My husband purchased this book a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to share it because the kids have also enjoyed looking through it. We try to have a rotation of large art books available to look through with the kids and in a very informal way we talk about what we see, what it means, how it makes us feel and art in general.

The books range from things like contemporary architecture to Chinese Posters, photography books, classical art and so on. We try to mix it up and so far they have shown lots of interest in everything they have seen with some fun conversations arising from it. We keep it simple and stop when they lose interest. I should say, neither my husband nor I are experts in any of it, so armed only with some basic facts and a love of art it is a great activity for any one and any age.

a book on tuesday (7)

Fanny at Chez Panisse by Alice Waters with illustrations by Ann Arnold.

I came across this book in Brooklyn at The Community Bookstore. If you are in the neighborhood be sure to check it out, it has a small but well considered selection of books and the kids area (complete with bearded dragon, garden pond and turtles) has lots of comfy seating for reading.

Fanny at Chez Panisse tells the story of a little girl growing up around the kitchens of Chez Panisse and the lessons she learns about food, gardening and cooking. The book ends with a collection of simple, child friendly recipes.

The illustrations are sweet and the stories simple and endearing. My daughter really enjoyed it and when we finished we talked about picnics and favorite meals and things we'd like to grow in our garden next summer. If a book gets you thinking, talking and dreaming, what more can you ask of it.