April 24 – It’s National Frog Month

About the Holiday

As the weather gets warmer, rain falls, and swampy areas and wetlands swell with water, the peeps and throaty croaks of frogs begins to fill the nighttime air. April is the perfect time to learn more about frogs and their importance to the ecosystem. Frogs are vital to the food system, and they eat insects that are harmful to crops and carry disease. Because they don’t drink water but absorb it through their skin, frogs are particularly susceptible to pollution. This, in addition to habitat destruction, climate change, and an increase in invasive species, threaten the frog population, making the conservation of their environment of utmost importance. This month, visit an aquarium, nature preserve, or zoo where you can learn more about these fascinating creatures.

I Don’t Want to be a Frog

Written by Dev Petty | Illustrated by Mike Boldt

“I want to be a cat,” a little frog announces to his father. “You can’t be a cat,” his dad answers, which elicits the inevitable “Why not?” from his son. His dad isn’t quite ready for this conversation and gives him the standard “because you’re a frog” response. Well, it turns out the little frog would rather be almost anything other than what he is. As he rattles off a list of alternatives that he considers much better, his dad warms to the game and counters each of his son’s suggestions with the realities of life (at least their life).

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Image copyright Mike Boldt, 2015, text copyright Dev Petty, 2015. Courtesy of Doubleday Books for Young Readers.

When little frog opines that he’d like to be a rabbit, his dad points out that he doesn’t have long ears. Being a pig seems like an attractive option, but Dad reminds him that he doesn’t have a curly tail or eat garbage. While both son and father believe being an owl would be “the greatest thing ever,” three things are standing in the way: Frogs don’t have wings, they don’t look wise, and they can’t spin their heads around.

So what’s so bad about being a frog? It’s “too wet,” “too slimy,” and there’s “too much bug eating,” little frog complains. Just then a wolf sneaks up and wants to know why the little guy is so glum. Without turning around to see who’s asking, the frog reveals his plight.

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Image copyright Mike Boldt, 2015, text copyright Dev Petty, 2015. Courtesy of Doubleday Books for Young Readers.

With glee the wolf lets the frog in on a little secret, explaining that he revels in eating cats, rabbits, pigs, and owls. In fact, just talking about it makes him hungry. “Guess the one thing I never eat,” the wolf urges. “Badgers?” guesses the little frog. But no, the answer is “frogs.” And why? Because they are “too wet and slimy and full of bugs.”

Wiser for this fresh perspective, the young frog sends the wolf off with a hearty, “I guess you can’t fight nature. We are what we are. You are a fierce hunter.” As the wolf walks away all’s well that ends well—except not so much for the creature who next happens upon the scene!

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Image copyright Mike Boldt, 2015, text copyright Dev Petty, 2015. Courtesy of Doubleday Books for Young Readers.

Dev Petty’s sassy-in-a-good-way young frog’s identity crisis is pure fun! The notion of self-acceptance and that each person is built, has talents, and embodies skills just right for who they are is playfully presented by Petty’s sweet father-and-son team. The humorous, escalating dialogue will keep kids laughing, and the surprise ending is a perfect twist. Petty’s endearing amphibian has spawned two sequals—I Don’t Want to Be Big and There’s Nothing to Do. A third, I Don’t Want to Go to Sleep, is due this fall.

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Mike Boldt’s olive green frogs are a delight as they trade off assurance and skepticism in their life-lesson conversation. Dad, initially mystified by his son’s pronouncements, discusses the issue with patience and genuine curiosity, his eyes registering cunning and understanding behind oversized glasses. His son, wide-eyed and vocal, displays the honesty of children with his questions. Boldt’s illustrations of the rabbit, pig, and owl that so captivate the young frog, juxtaposed with the father’s objections, are comical joy, as are the frogs’ looong legs and expressive faces. The final scenes with the enlightening wolf, whose head spans two pages, offer more laughs as the father and son resolve their differences.

Kids will love hearing I Don’t Want to be a Frog again and again, making it sure bet for home and classroom bookshelves. And now, even the littlest tadpoles can enjoy the story with the new board book edition.

Ages 3 – 7

Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2018 (Board Book) | ISBN 978-0525579502 | 2017 (Paperback) 978-1338225259 | 2015 (Hardcover) 978-0385378666

Discover more about Dev Petty and her books on her website

To learn more about Mike Boldt, his books, and his art, visit his website.

You do want to watch the I Don’t Want to be a Frog book trailer!

National Frog Month Activity

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Hop Along Matching Game

Hop along now and help these frogs! Each of these fantastic frogs has a twin, but they’ve gotten separated. Can you spot the identical pairs? Print out the Hop Along Matching Game and draw a line between the pairs.

picture book review

April 21 – National Kindergarten Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

As the school year winds down, all of those soon-to-be preschool graduates are looking forward to going to kindergarten in the fall. Becoming a “big kid” with new friends to make, new responsibilities, and lots of new things to learn is exciting. National Kindergarten Day celebrates that feeling and wishes all young learners the best start to their school career.

My Good Morning

Written by Kim Crockett Corson | Illustrated by Jelena Brezovec

A little girl wakes up before the sun to start her day. She’s ready and rarin’ to go so why aren’t Mommy and Daddy? Slippers on, she runs to wash her hands “without a hitch” even though—Oops!—the soap is so slippery! Next she brushes her teeth, which is a cinch once there’s more toothpaste in her mouth than in her hair and on the mirror. She’s even got the potty thing down.

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Then, says the girl it’s “Onto the bed, where I jump up and down. / Whee! There’s no time to waste as I flop around. / Mommy wrestles me into my clothes. / Daddy slide socks and shoes over my toes.” She ties her own shoes over mismatched socks, and her coat, though askew, is buttoned bottom to top. Before school she has just enough time to slurp down some milk. Her kitty laps up the splashes and drips.

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Bundled up for the cold, the little girl strides out the door, but just at the edge she trips over the rug. Not to worry, she says. “I pick myself up, / then I wave and smile.” And so what if “getting me into the car seat / takes a while.” At school she climbs the stairs without any help. She puts her backpack on the shelf and her coat on the hook—well, almost.

In the classroom, the little girl says hi to her friends and then with “so many puzzles and toys, / I’m ready to play! / I hug Daddy good-bye, / I’m going to have a great day!”

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In Kim Crockett Corson’s “can-do” book for young readers, a little girl is exuberant and positive as she gets ready for school. Kids will love the girl’s infectious personality that turns every experience into a self-confidence boosting success. The cheery rhymes echo the little girl’s attitude, making My Good Morning a perfect book to share with readers who are beginning to make their way in the world.

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Jelena Brezovec’s colorful illustrations offer both humor and encouragement as she juxtaposes the little girl’s view of her accomplishments with the small mishaps that accompany them. The girl’s parents are in turn smiling, frazzled, watchful, and ultimately proud. Brezovec’s portrayal of an interracial couple is welcome, and the curly-haired little girl will become a fast friend to little readers.

Ages 4 – 6

Clavis, 2017 | ISBN 978-1605373423

Discover a gallery of illustration work by Jelena Brezovec on her website!

All or Nothing Day Activity

Today is a Good Day Coloring Page

You can make every day a good day just by remembering the good things (even one good thing) that happened. Color and hang this printable Today is a Good Day Coloring Page. It will make you smile!

Picture Book Review

April 20 – National Look Alike Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Do people say you look like someone else—a family member or friend or maybe a celebrity or historical figure? If so, today is the day to embrace that dopplegänger and perhaps have a little fun with the resemblance. The holiday got started in 1980 when television news reporter Jack Etzel was looking for a feature story on a slow news day. Out on the sidewalk with his camera crew, Etzel spotted a man who looked like Humphrey Bogart. He stopped him and asked him who people said he looked like. Etzel and his crew went on to ask more people about their look-alikes. The next day, Etzel contacted the people who organize the Chase Calendar of Events and proclaimed April 20 as Look Alike Day. Why not join in the fun and go all out? Dress up as your look alike, talk and act like them, and enjoy a day of fame!

Quackers

By Liz Wong

Quackers, a little orange tabby, wants to say hello! “Meow.” Quackers is a duck. “He knows he’s a duck because he lives at the duck pond with all the other ducks.” Not only that, but all of his friends are ducks. Sometimes, though, when he looks around at all the white feathers and orange beaks, he feels a bit out of place, and communicating is sometimes difficult. There’s also the issue of food—some of the things he’s given to eat are pretty slimy or tiny or hard to chew, and duckweed seems to be on the menu all the time. The worst, though? Getting wet.

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One day, Quackers meets another duck who looks like him and sounds like him. In his joy, Quackers blurts out, “‘I’ve never met a duck who understands me!’” The gray kitten, Mittens, is confused at first and then understands and then laughs. At last, she invites Quackers to follow her. They end up at a farm where Mittens lives with “a whole flock of strange ducks. Ducks just like Quackers.”

Mittens shows Quackers how they “chase mice,” which Quackers prefers to swimming; “drink milk,” which is more delicious than duckweed; and clean themselves, which Quackers is a bit iffy on. Soon, Quackers is napping with his new friends. As much as he enjoys being a cat, Quackers starts to miss the duck pond. He even finds that he has a craving for duckweed. He scampers back and discovers that “most of all, he missed his friends.”

Now Quackers splits his time at the pond and the farm. Sometimes he’s a duck, and sometimes he’s a cat. But all the time “he’s just Quackers, and that makes him completely happy.”

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As mom to a cat who thinks he’s part person and possibly part dog, I fell in love with Liz Wong’s little Quackers and little readers will too. Kids will giggle as Quackers sits contentedly on a lily pad, accepts slugs and snails as snacks with a meow-nimum of fuss, and explains to Mittens that he’s a duck. Readers, who are beginning to develop their own identity, will be cheered when Quackers embraces both his duck and cat sides. They’ll understand that it’s what’s inside a person that matters and that being yourself is the best thing you can be. Wong’s adorable kittens and ducks will charm kids, and her simple hand-lettered text and speech bubbles create a cozy reading experience that’s like a sweet hug in a book.

Full of humor, self-acceptance, and inclusion, Quackers should find a home on any child’s and classroom’s bookshelf.

Ages 3 – 7

Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2016 | ISBN 978-0553511543

Discover more about Liz Wong, her books, and her art on her website.

National Look Alike Day Activity

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Match the Kittens Puzzle

These adorable kittens all have a twin, but they’ve gotten mixed up while playing. Can you find the matching pairs in this printable Match the Kittens Puzzle?

Picture Book Review

April 19 – Poetry and the Creative Mind Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

During April we celebrate National Poetry Month, but poetry comes in so many shapes and sizes, genres and presentations that today is set aside to honor both the poets and artists that interpret our world. Sounds like the perfect definition of a poetry picture book! With its rhymes and rhythms and ability to embody emotions from serious to humorous, poetry is often the first type of literature little ones hear. There are so many wonderful collections of poetry for children as well as picture books written in rhyme to share with kids. Today, stop by your local bookstore or library and check some out! And don’t forget to ask about this new book that will be rolling onto shelves soon!

Circle Rolls

Written by Barbara Kanninen | Illustrated by Serge Bloch

An achoo! started it all. Well,,, it certainly got the circle rolling. And once circle was on the move, he passed up Oval and solid Square, rolled through the legs on which “Rectangle stands” and up the ramp where “triangle points without any hands.” When Circle came down on Triangle’s point, he popped and rained down “as tiny bits, which land on Square as it sits.”

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Image copyright Serge Bloch, 2018, text copyright Barbara Kanninen, 2018. Courtesy of Phaidon Press.

That cold—or whatever—must be catching because suddenly Square sneezes, blowing Diamond into Star, who end-over-end stumbles into straight Line, crumpling him like an up-and-down graph. But those clever friends just see a slide and so one-by-one those happy “shapes glide…” Oh no! “And fly…and collide!”

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Image copyright Serge Bloch, 2018, text copyright Barbara Kanninen, 2018. Courtesy of Phaidon Press.

Oval, Rectangle, Triangle, Diamond, and Star toss and tumble in a swirling mess until Octagon knows just what to do. The reeling stops, and the shapes untangle. Circle is still a mass of dots, but “Heart appears and gathers bits.” Everyone helps put circle together, and after a check for any left holes, “ready, set…Circle rolls!”

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Image copyright Serge Bloch, 2018, text copyright Barbara Kanninen, 2018. Courtesy of Phaidon Press.

Barbara Kanninen’s poetic story is as infectious as that sneeze that sets the shapes in motion in a domino effect that will have little ones laughing more and more with each mishap. As the shapes fly through the air tumbling and tossed, the images of the rectangle, diamond, oval, triangle and star at topsy-turvy angles provides an opportunity for adults to discuss the nature and recognition of shapes and to point out how they remain true even if not presented in the “usual” way.

Children knowledgeable about stop signs will be happy to recognize Octagon’s role and join in stopping the shapes’ shenanigans. Introducing Heart as the peace-maker and healer is a nice touch and offers a gentle lesson on kindness and cooperation for the youngest readers. You can bet that as Circle gets rolling again, the story will get a second, third, or… reading.

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Image copyright Serge Bloch, 2018, text copyright Barbara Kanninen, 2018. Courtesy of Phaidon Press.

Serge Bloch’s expressive, glasses-wearing shapes demonstrate their surprise and dismay at the ruckus caused by circle who, despite the cause, seems to be enjoying his somersaulting until he is scattered like a popped balloon by hitting Triangle’s point. Also populating this town of over-sized shapes are tiny sketched-in people who hold the ramp for Circle, open umbrellas as he rains down on them, offers a hanky to sneezing Square, and take part in all the events. They even send an ambulance to the scene of the accident. Kids will love narrating this charming substory that shows the power and caring of community.

Circle Rolls would make a terrific gift (maybe even paired with a set of blocks) for little ones and a go-to book for home and classroom libraries for fun story times and playtimes.

Ages 3 – 5

Phaidon Press, 2018 | ISBN 978-0714876306

To learn more about Serge Bloch, his books, and his art, visit his website.

Poetry and the Creative Mind Day Activity

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Fun Shape Pages

Even little ones love making up stories and poems! These two printable shape pages can inspire story time and playtime and a mix of the two!

The Shape of Home Page:

Color the page and then tell a story about who lives inside.

Plenty of Shapes Page:

Color and add faces to the shapes then cut out them out and use them to make up stories or even a poem.
You can also make the shapes from felt or fleece and use another sheet of felt as a background to place them on. Then see what kinds of shenanigans those shapes can get into. You might even want to act out Circle Rolls!

Picture Book Review

April 16 – It’s National Humor Month

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

There may be no more infectious sound than the tinkle or guffaw of a good laugh. Laughter is therapeutic and can make tough times a little easier. Kids, it seems, are born with the ability to see and appreciate the silliness, absurdity, and fun in life. This month, enjoy the zany side of things—it’s guaranteed to brighten your days and give you a new perspective.

The Book of Mistakes

By Corinna Luyken

The whole thing started while drawing a picture. The head of the child looks good—nice little ear and nose, a dot for the left eye. The hair goes on pretty well—a swoop on the right side, straight on the left. The eyebrows are tiny dashes, and the mouth the size of a chocolate sprinkle. Just have to add the right eye…Oh, no! The right eye is too big!! Okay, okay, this mistake can be fixed. The left eye just needs to be a liiittle bigger…Oh, good grief! “Making the other eye even bigger was another mistake.”

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Maybe…the perspective might just be right for…Yes! “the glasses—they were a good idea.” Okay on to the body. Hmmm… “The elbows and the extra-long neck? Mistakes. But the collar—ruffled, with patterns of lace and stripes—that was a good idea.” And elbow patches make the arms look a little less pointy.

Moving on to the background, a thick and leafy bush is just the thing to hide the animal. Animals? It could be a cat, a cow, or a frog. “Another mistake.” And why is the ground so far below the girl’s feet anyway? Oh! Because she’s wearing roller skates. Nice save! “Those were definitely not a mistake.” Let’s see, the “second frog-cat-cow thing made a very nice rock.” Now, what about the other girl with long hair and one very long leg? Got it! She “looks like she always meant to be climbing that tree” on the side of the page.

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The ink smudges at the top of the paper can be leaves, but back to the roller-skating girl. What to do with those awkwardly positioned arms? Oh dear—the pen should not have been hovering over the page. How to fix the splotch on the side of her head? Ah-hah! An old-fashioned aviator’s helmet. Or is it a swimming cap? No matter…she’s now holding a yellow balloon in her left hand and lots of strings in her right. Wow, tons of yellow balloons are at the ends of those strings!

She’s skating toward the tree with the long-legged girl, and there are a bunch of other kids playing in it too. Cool! They’re all wearing aviator helmets/swimming caps too. Some are wearing roller skates—good—and they’re erecting some kind of tent over a big branch. Wow! Look at the pink balloons and the green ones! There’s a kid riding a hot-air unicycle through the sky and a skateboarder is floating down to a ramp supported by springs in the top of the tree. Someone’s even tatting a lace banner.

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“Do you see?” They’re all waiting for the roller-skating girl to bring the yellow balloons. But let’s step back a little. “Do you see—how with each mistake she is becoming?” If we back up some more, she and the tree look so tiny and there’s a big, dark forest in the foreground. “Do you see—” Looking from way far away, doesn’t that forest look a bit like curly hair or…Oh! The top of the roller-skating girl’s cap! She’s so big now, and she’s gazing out of those green glasses at the white page where she’s drawing a small head with a nice little ear and nose and a dot for the left eye. “Do you see—who she could be?”

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Kids will be charmed by the start of the little head on the first page, begin giggling at the one too-big eye on the third page, and laugh out loud at the even bigger eye on the fifth in Corinna Luyken’s magically inventive The Book of Mistakes. As each mistake is adjusted for or inspires a new twist in the story, young readers will appreciate how creatively right the fix is and look forward to the next mistake and the next. The final pages presenting the tree full of children are so enticing that readers will want to linger over each one to find all the details. Luyken’s minimally colored drawings are funny and endearing and lead readers to question their own perspective and give free reign to their imagination.

The Book of Mistakes is a must for classrooms and highly recommended for home libraries for all those times when mistakes can be perfect conversation starters or the inspiration for…anything!

Ages 4 – 8 and up

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2017 | ISBN 978-0735227927

To find a portfolio of artwork and more information about Corinna Luyken and her books visit her website.

National Humor Month Activity

Share a Laugh! Word Search Puzzle

Sharing a laugh with friends makes a day better. Can you find the fifteen words about laughter in this puzzle?

Share a Laugh! Word Search Puzzle | Share a Laugh! Word Search Solution

Picture Book Review

April 15 – National Rubber Eraser Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Today we celebrate that little item at the end of the pencil or near at hand that gives us second (or third…or fourth…or…) chances. The rubber eraser has been around since 1770, when Joseph Priestly invented a vegetable gum that could remove pencil marks and Edward Nairne developed it into an eraser that could be widely marketed. In 1839 Charles Goodyear’s work with vulcanization made erasers more durable, and Hyman Lipman put pencil and eraser together in 1858. What did people do before the rubber eraser? They still made mistakes, but wax and even crustless bread were the remedies of choice. To celebrate today, draw or write with abandon and feel free to erase as often as you want!

The Pencil

Written by Allan Ahlberg | Illustrated by Bruce Ingman

Even before the title page readers learn of a little pencil, alone in the world. One day the pencil quivers and begins to draw. The pencil draws a boy, who asks for a name, and receives “Banjo” in reply. The boy wants a dog, and the pencil obliges. Bruce is the dog’s name, and he wants a cat. Mildred is immediately created, and of course Bruce chases Mildred. Banjo chases Bruce. They need a place to run, so the pencil draws a house, a town, and a park.

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Image copyright Bruce Ingman, 2012, text copyright Allan Ahlberg, 2012. Courtesy of Candlewick Press.

All this excitement makes the trio hungry and tired. Banjo demands the pencil draw him an apple, Bruce wants a bone, and Mildred really wants a mouse but settles for cat food. There’s just one problem—the food is so unappetizing in black and white. The pencil thinks for a bit and comes up with a solution. He draws a paintbrush named Kitty. Kitty colors the food, the boy, the dog, the house, the town, and the park. Mildred is left as created – she’s a black-and-white cat anyway.

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Image copyright Bruce Ingman, 2012, text copyright Allan Ahlberg, 2012. Courtesy of Candlewick Press.

The team of Pencil and Paintbrush creates a whole family, a friend for Bruce, a ball (Sebastian) for Banjo, and a kitten for Mildred. But all these extra characters cause trouble. Sebastian breaks a window, and the mom, dad, sister, and grandpa aren’t completely satisfied with the traits they’ve been given. What’s a pencil to do? Draw an Eraser, of course!

The eraser takes care of the problems, but he grows fond of his power to rub things out. He erases the table, chair, front door—the whole house. And that’s not all! Nothing the Pencil and Paintbrush have created is safe. Eraser rubs everything out until all that’s left is the pencil and the eraser locked in opposition.

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Image copyright Bruce Ingman, 2012, text copyright Allan Ahlberg, 2012. Courtesy of Candlewick Press.

The pencil draws a wall, a cage, a river and mountains with fierce animals but none of it is a match for the eraser. Then the pencil has a brainstorm and draws…another eraser! The two erasers engage in an epic battle, and in the end they rub each other out.

Pencil recreates everything he had before, and Kitty colors it all in, including a new picnic with a runaway boiled egg named Billy and ten A-named ants to clean up the crumbs. As the day fades into night, a moon appears in the sky along with a cozy box for Pencil and Paintbrush to sleep in.

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Image copyright Bruce Ingman, 2012, text copyright Allan Ahlberg, 2012. Courtesy of Candlewick Press.

Allen Ahlberg is a master at tapping into children’s unbridled imagination and silly side. His endearing story of a little pencil who creates himself a world full of friends and excitement—as well as the inevitable conflict—will keep kids laughing with its word play, topsy-turvy names, and mad-dash action. As the eraser rubs out everything in its path, kids will also understand the gentle, underlying lesson that simply getting rid of a problem can sometimes just create more and that resolution is a better tact.

Bruce Ingman’s sly, childlike illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to Ahlberg’s story, deftly depicting the friendship and collaboration between Pencil and Paintbrush as they create house and its family with a mom sporting a crazy hat, a dad with large ears, and a grandpa smoking a pipe he doesn’t want. As Eraser begins his rampage, readers will enjoy the giddy suspense of how it will all end and will be happy to see that Paintbrush once again fills the pages with joyous and vivid color.

Ages 4 – 8

Candlewick Press, 2012 | ISBN 978-0763660888

National Rubber Eraser Day Activity

CPB - Pencil Maze

Pencil It In! Maze

Sharpen your pencil and start having fun with this printable pencil-shaped maze.

Pencil It In Puzzle! | Pencil It In! Solution

Picture Book Review

April 11 – National Pet Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Throughout this month we’re celebrating pets, and today is specially set aside for people to make sure that their pets are getting all the care they need to be healthy and happy. If you have a pet, show them how much you love them with a little extra attention and a special treat or two. Another great way to celebrate the day is to donate supplies to your local animal shelter or even ask about volunteering.

Mommy, Baby, and Me

Written by Linda Elovitz Marshall | Illustrated by Ged Adamson

Once, an adorable corgi says, Mommy and I did everything together. We played, went on walks, snuggled, and I got to sit on Mommy’s lap. But “then Mommy met Daddy” and pretty soon he was coming along on our walks, Mommy and Daddy cuddled, and “I got my very own bed. Then things changed even more.” Mommy’s lap got smaller…and smaller…until there was no room at all.

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Image copyright Ged Adamson, 2017, text copyright Linda Elovitz Marshall, 2017. Courtesy of Peter Pauper Press.

When the baby came along, Mommy and she cuddled and sang. “And Mommy groomed Baby a lot.” Mommy didn’t seem to want me near the baby. Everyone thought the baby was cute, but not me. “I thought the baby made way too much noise, was way too stinky, and was not at all housebroken!”

One day I realized that Mommy and the baby looked a lot alike, and I made a wish that “things could be the way they used to be.” Pretty soon Baby began walking on all fours, and when I played with her now, Mommy and Daddy smiled. We began doing more together. While the baby slept, I was a good “big dog” and guarded the door, and during meal times the baby fed me.

One day while Baby and I were playing fetch, Baby hugged me and I suddenly knew “why Mommy and Daddy got Baby. They got Baby…for me!”

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Image copyright Ged Adamson, 2017, text copyright Linda Elovitz Marshall, 2017. Courtesy of Peter Pauper Press.

Adjusting to a new baby in the house can be daunting for new brothers and sisters, but Linda Elovitz Marshall’s funny and heartfelt story, told from a dog’s point of view, shows kids that they aren’t alone in their feelings and that while things may change, change really can be good. Marshall’s trajectory, from “the old days” to Mommy’s meeting and marrying Daddy to Baby’s growing ability to sit and play, helps children see that acclimating to new situations takes time, that love is ever-present, and that their role in the family can expand.

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Image copyright Ged Adamson, 2017, text copyright Linda Elovitz Marshall, 2017. Courtesy of Peter Pauper Press.

Ged Adamson’s sweet corgi will steal readers’ hearts as he spends happy times with Mommy, comes to terms with the changes in his life, and finally accepts Baby as his own. In the early pages, the corgi is Mommy and Daddy’s constant companion, but as he feels squeezed out by Baby, he disappears from the pages. When he reappears it is with a new wariness and distance, but a wish and a bit of time restore him to his former place in this charming family that is growing in many ways.

A sweet, funny, and original take on introducing a baby into a family, Mommy, Baby, and Me is a reassuring story for all new siblings and works to assuage uncertain feelings in other situations as well. The book is a great choice for home and classroom libraries.

Ages 2 – 5

Peter Pauper Press, 2017 | ISBN 978-1441322388

Discover more about Linda Elovitz Marshall and her books on her website.

To learn more about Ged Adamson, his books, and his art, visit his website.

National Pet Day Activity

CPB - Dog Biscuits

Homemade Dog Treats

Pets love it when you do something special for them! Here’s a recipe for homemade dog biscuits that will taste even better than store-bought because they’re made with love! Making dog biscuits is a fun way to spend time together and benefit furry friends. These biscuits make tasty treats for your own pet, or consider making a batch to donate to your local animal shelter. This recipe is easy and proven to be a favorite.

Children should get help from an adult when using the oven.

Supplies

1 large bowl
Large spoon or whisk
Cookie cutters – shaped like traditional dog bones or any favorite shape

Ingredients

3 cups Buckwheat flour
½ cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup water
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted
1 egg beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Add buckwheat flour to bowl
Add powdered milk to bowl
Add salt to bowl
Stir to mix dry ingredients
Add water
Add melted margarine or butter
Add egg
Stir until liquid is absorbed
Knead for a few minutes to form a dough
If the dough is too dry, add a little more water, 1 Tablespoon at a time
Place the dough on a board
Roll dough to ½ inch thickness
Cut into shapes with cookie cutters
Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes
Biscuits will be hard when cool.

Makes about 40 biscuits.

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Written by Kim Crockett Corson | Illustrated by Jelena Brezovec

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Today is a Good Day Coloring Page

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By Liz Wong

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Written by Barbara Kanninen | Illustrated by Serge Bloch

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By Corinna Luyken

National Humor Month Activity

Share a Laugh! Word Search Puzzle

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The Pencil

Written by Allan Ahlberg | Illustrated by Bruce Ingman

National Rubber Eraser Day Activity

Pencil It In! Maze

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Mommy, Baby, and Me

Written by Linda Elovitz Marshall | Illustrated by Ged Adamson

National Pet Day Activity

Homemade Dog Treats

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