A Peaceful Garden

     With most of our country in the throws of the harsh winter weather, Lucy London's sunny, charming new tale, A Peaceful Garden, brings it's readers the comforting warmth to our hearts that a garden can always bring to our lives.
     Two sweet cats delight in showing your little ones all of the joys that they will receive (with a little help from you of course!) by planting a garden right at the first signs of Spring.  "To grow a peaceful garden, wait for the last frost (just kiss the cold goodbye!) Now dig yourself a patch..."
     This thoughtful duo remember to highlight the importance of planting other types of seeds that will attract visitors to your garden--- plants that will bring the bees to help pollinate the flower buds; to making sure that the birds who will be sure to stop on by to admire your bounty have a bird bath or two for a few sips of water while on their way.
With easy, short sentences for your beginning readers to get through, to the creatively thoughtful detail brought to this book by Ms. London and her talented illustrator, Christa Pierce , A Peaceful Garden will leave you and your little ones yearning for winter to quickly cease so you can join these kitties in creating your very own tranquil space.


A Peaceful Garden

Written by Lucy London

Illustrated by Christa Pierce

Publisher: Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers (2018)

For Ages 4 thru 8

ISBN: 978-0-06-229747-1

Website: www.harpercollinschildrens.com

A Modest Momma's Tips:

Here are a few good articles that I hope will help you as you start to plan your very own  "Peaceful Garden" with your little ones:

1. https://www.babble.com/toddler/10-tips-for-gardening-with-a-toddler/
2. https://kidsgardening.org/garden-activities/
3. http://www.parenting.com/family-time/activities/10-inspired-gardening-projects-kids

Which Tale From Your Childhood Led You to Become a Reader?

     Looking back, I would have to say that when I discovered Laura Ingalls Wilder's classic, "Little House in the Big Woods," it was the book that made me become a reader.  I would love to know which one was yours! :)

Dear Girl

     This exquisitely eloquent tale, a loving collaboration between the late, and deeply missed Amy Krouse Rosenthal and her daughter, Paris Rosenthal (who has been gifted with her mother's talent of prose that is tinged with hints of the delights of childhood innocence and curiosity) sets out to send an empowering message to little girls everywhere that they should always embrace and learn to love all of their unique characteristics, instead of being afraid to be themselves.  To say that this talented mother and daughter duo have succeeded would be an understatement.  

       I am especially fond of the passage where this eloquent mother and daughter reiterate the healing power of the written word, imploring girls to, "...write down your thoughts once in a while, even if it's just to enjoy the way your pen feels against the paper."  The accompanying image of a little girl surrounded by her words as she is deep in thought, with pen in hand, instantly transported me back to my childhood, where my books, my #2 pencil and my trusty, yet worn, black and white marble composition notebook brought my imagination to life and lifted my spirits during the trials and tribulations of my teenage years.
     Dear Girl  is the perfect literary gift not only for the special little girl in your life but for yourself.  You see, this enlightening tale serves as a sweet, gentle reminder to our adult selves, most especially during those times in our life journey when you can use the uplifting message as found in these pages to always be true to your unique self, and to learn to love all that makes you who you are- inside and out.

Dear Girl
Written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Paris Rosenthal
Illustrated by Holly Hatam
Publisher: Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers (2017)
Retails for $17.99 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-0-06-242250-7
For Ages 4 thru 8 (and above!)

Continuing to Nurture the Visitors to the Neighborhood- Joanne Rogers

     A lovely read from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and the  Fred Rogers Center that I wanted to share with you all about Joanne Rogers, who continues the good works of her deeply missed husband.
     Thank you, Mrs. Rogers, for continuing to foster and nurture young minds and lives.


http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/tv-radio/2018/01/11/Mister-Fred-Rogers-50th-anniversary-special-Joanne-Rogers-wife-Neighborhood-legacy-love/stories/201801110144

Paying Off Little Ones Overdue Library Fees by Reading More Books!

     Very happy to share this article that I found on Facebook the other day with you all
about an ingenious program started by the Los Angeles library system that lets children pay off their overdue library fees by... guess what.... reading!  :) Here's to hoping that more libraries across the country will start similar programs that will foster, and not inhibit, the joy of reading.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/522641/los-angeles-libraries-letting-young-readers-work-late-fees-reading-more

Who Led You to the World of Books?

@Raising Readers

This someone was my mother.... Who was your special someone who led you to the world of books?

Sydney's Reading and Learning Center in Central Florida

     I'm quite proud to share this article about Sydney's Reading and Learning Center, which was recently published in Central Florida Lifestyle Magazine.  This organization, located in Central Florida, has done amazing things to help boost the confidence of children in the area who encounter difficulties with reading to help gain their confidence and self-esteem.

http://www.centralfloridalifestyle.com/orlando-local-stories/sydney-reads/

In The Land of Words by Eloise Greenfield

     "Maybe there's a place where words live, where our minds and hearts can go and find them when we want to write--or read" explains  National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Excellence in Poetry for Children Award winner Eloise Greenfield in her author's note at the beginning of her imaginative tribute to the written word, In the Land of Words. This beautifully eloquent piece is the perfect first spotlight for this new year.
     Greenfield's love of the written word is evident throughout this collection of twenty-one poems. From the lively first entry, "Nathaniel's Rap" (where my decades long love of old school rap and hip hop comes into play. I can completely  imagine in my mind the rhythmic vocals coming from a multitude of classic artists from KRS One to RunDMC who could bring their unique melodious flow to these animated verses)  to the expressive, quiet simplicity found in "Story" (my personal favorite entry that is found in Part II's In the Land).  Greenfield's cadence mirrors my own feelings towards the power that stories can bring over us:
                     "I step into the story,
                     I leave my world behind. 
                     I let the walls of story
                     Be the walls around my mind.
     
                      New faces and new voices.
                      I listen and I see,
                      and the people I have never met
                      mean everything to me."

    All of Greenfield's rhythmic patterns throughout this collection are playful and are aptly backed up by colorful, sensory loaded illustrations from Jan Spivey Gilchrist. 
     The lessons that you and your little ones will learn and carry with you from enjoying Greenfield's odes in this collection are undeniably invaluable---anyone--- big or small,  if you open your minds, eyes and hearts,  can can find the inspiration to write the many experiences that we discover from wherever life's journey takes us.


In The Land of Words- New and Selected Poems
Written by Eloise Greenfield & Illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist
Publisher:  Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Published in 2004
Website: www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Retails for $6.99 (Softcover)
ISBN: 978-0-06-443692-2
Accelerated Reader Book Level: 3.8
Accelerated Reader Quiz Points: 0.5
For ages: 4 to 8

New Year Wishes for 2018

Wishing all of the little readers, their families, educators and all who promote the joy of reading a New Year filled with peace, happiness and more tales that inspire!  

xo- A Modest Momma