Dapoppins

Published in the early sixties, Russell C Hoban wrote seven picture books about a precocious badger named Frances.

I remember these books from my childhood, in the same way I remember Winnie the Pooh. There was always a Frances book around somewhere.

I could very much identify with her and sometimes I was a bit jealous of her- But Frances, I knew would not hold that against me, because we were very much alike.

Except, I think, she is much more clever than I am.

If you have ever met a strong willed and highly intelligent kindergartner, you have met a child just like Frances. I can almost hear her mind ticking as she thinks through problems and develops her own ideas.

Have you ever heard that ticking sound with your child? You know that sound, it's the thought process that brings them to a perfectly logical response to something you have said and done.

Like when you tell the child not to pick the "green" tomatoes, so she goes out and finds a "yellow/orange tomato." Because, what you should have said was, "Don't pick tomatoes that are not ripe."

Author Russell Hoban allows the little badger girl something I don't see very often in current children's literature. Frances, true to being a young child, is a little bit selfish. Instead of being a negative thing, I love her more for this.

Anyone who has ever been around children realizes they are not born empathetic, broad minded creatures - today's society expects children to be naturally loving and compassionate to all living beings while forgetting the life lessons that teach such traits. Frances acts just as a child would act, while her parents act just as they should, with wisdom, patience and clear boundaries.

In the book "Bread and Jam for Frances," Mother serves breakfast for the family and Frances decides she doesn't like eggs anymore.

Frances did not eat her egg.She sang a little song to it.She sang the song very softly:"I do not like the way you slide,I do not like your soft inside,I do not like you lots of ways,And I could do for many days

Without eggs."

Naturally all the talk about eggs in the story made me want eggs along with some bread and jam.

Frances parents don't argue with her food choices, instead they let her live with the consequences. Now I know parents who have had food troubles with their kids. I actually live with some picky eaters who develop new smell and texture issues on the daily basis. Sometimes the problem is not as resolved as quickly as it is for Frances.

However surprisingly, sometimes it is.

Illustrated by Lillian Hoban, the Frances books have a sweet continuity of color and style. She used soft pastels and details that perfectly match the writing. France's world is slightly old fashioned, I imagine they are more like my mother's childhood than mine, which for me is another positive.

I highly recommend all the books. Bread and Jam for Frances is a good bedtime story, with a decent length, great little poems, and an engaging story.

It would also be great coupled with lessons about food and trying new things. Nannies (and parents) might want to use the story as a starting point for time in the cooking kitchen where kindergartens help prepare a special egg breakfast, or pack a lovely special bento box. One of the keys to having kids try new things is having them prepare it with an adult. Frances just might provide a little inspiration.

Amazon.com Widgets

Passionate About Books!

World Read Aloud Day was last Wednesday February the 24th and I celebrated with some serious silliness.

I love the written word and especially children's books. The combination of art meets script, the sense of play and whimsy in books for children, all of it.

And I quite enjoy reading aloud.

I don't just read aloud to children either. I enjoy a good book with adults.

Last year I read "The Secret Life of Bees" aloud to a client who is in her 70's. We read the entire book together, and loved it so very much that we went on to read, "The Invention of Wings."

The two of us, me reading out loud as she lay in bed, as she sat on the patio, or in her wheelchair, these books changed our lives. The beautiful words shaped how I saw things and heard things for months afterwards.

We shared that moment because I was reading aloud.

I don't have any trouble sharing this passion with the world, so when a day comes up where lots of other people are reading aloud -

Well, I made an event of it.

Facebook kind of hides events after they happen, but no worries, I still have a link HERE.

Using Periscope as a method of live streaming, several other women and I read aloud to each other, to children, to the world.

If you click that link you will find more links to photos of read aloud day, and people reading aloud. Including yours truly. I did readings of Treasure Island and Green Eggs and Ham.

Really. Go see. You might laugh.

"And I dearly love to laugh." - quote from Jane Austen that just popped into my head.

It was Ah-MAZE-zING!

I also wrote more about why reading aloud is important in this post at Yourdori.com. Have you gone over there for a peek? You should. You can also find out what the heck a YOURDORI is.

Really. Click over and look.

I dare ya.

Well, if you didn't check out the link. Here is Green Eggs and Ham. Let me know if you laugh, cause, well, I did. And hit the like button, will you please? Or else people will think it was me who watched it ten times just so I could laugh at myself.

And, if you want to hear a really fantastic reading from a former teacher who now writes books for children to help them learn to READ- you must check out my friend LUCY.

Lucy Ann Jennigs blends action and brain power to connect the dots between letters and words. She uses art (the action) to engage children in learning (the mind) how to read. It's a great idea because adding an action to the sight and sound of letters learning helps embed the reading concept in the mind of some children who are struggling with memorization.

Grab a child and listen to Lucy read aloud HERE. She has a great voice.

Who are you reading aloud to? I'd love to know in the comments!

What is next for the Blog? What is next for Dapoppins? What is the next step in the journey?

The Heart of Gratitude Journey was such an amazing ride. I had focus, goals, prompts and yes, giveaways all planned. I was feeling so very professional blogger there for awhile. I made new connections, met new people, and explored new feelings. Seriously amazing ride.

But unfortunately I don't get paid for this, and I don't have an avenue for income set up on Dapoppins.

I love that Nancy found some focus along the journey about who she is and where she is going. Those are my favorite posts. But I still feel like I want to do, try and be everything! (cue confetti)

My word of the year last year, actually, was focus. I thought I was going to focus: find the center of an activity, produce a clear vision, become able to see clearly, go in one direction, and one goal. I tried to focus my blog to be more audience driven instead of random stuff. I set myself the challenge of blogging weekly, promoting my blog, promoting myself, participating in more social venues, and putting myself out there.

But at the end of 2014 my epiphany was a totally different kind of focus. I should have been focusing more on God. As a Christian believer, when I focus on God, when I make Him the center, all other things become clear, all other things come into balance. My perspective becomes one of faith, hope, humility, and gratitude instead of worry, strife, struggle, and disappointments. The Heart of Gratitude Journey has given me a reset to my focus and literately renewed my love for God and His creation: the people around me.

But I still don't have a focus for the blog or my future. I'm just taking things as they come.

March is World Read Aloud Month - I will be posting about that and other literacy related topics
I am on The Canvas Corp Design Team - I will be posting and sharing projects
I belong to several fun G+ crafty groups. I will be posting some crafty stuff related to those groups.
I'm leaving my family home for three weeks and going to Arizona to live with an elderly couple and help them out- I will be posting photos etc. about that for sure.

I truly hope that any new followers who might have found me because of the Journey, might stick around and take things with me, and share not just my journey, but my story.

Here is a great book to introduce the toy purge idea. "Too Many Toys" is written and illustrated by David Shannon. I chose it while at the library because of the bright colored cover and I recognized the art. . David Shannon is the author and illustrator of "No, David!" and several other books.

I haven't read all of Shannon's books, but I've noticed that while his stories start out typical, and relatable, they end with an even better "understandable" twist. Does that make sense? It seems to me that his book endings are wonderfully unexpected and unpredictable but they come together so perfectly. In a short, simply plotted book with maybe only one or two characters, this is truly something special.

I had this book in my bag with me when I went on a Nanny Temp and the just-turned-five year old girl made me read it over and over again. She told me how her mom often said, "You have too many toys!" Then she took the book with her into bed for nap time.

There is a full page spread of all of David's toys in the book, some of them are slightly scary in that way that David Shannon has. But she wasn't scared. She was intrigued One of the things she did after the fifth read through was start to pour over the pictures, searching for details. - This is one of the signs of a keeper book.

It would be great to pair this book with a "great toy clean-up and reduction!" You know. The Toy Purge.

That time of year when you realize you just can't fit any more kid toys into your house without them taking over

That moment when you feel like if you step on one more Lego,

Find one more small car under the couch,

Or have to move one more stuffed animal out of the way,

- If you have to do any of that just one... more... time... someone might get killed!

You know that moment. If you have kids, have worked with kids or know anybody with some well loved kids, that moment in time has happened. At least once a year.

Once they get past the initial idea of getting rid of toys, I find most kids are receptive to the idea.

Read this book to introduce the "great toy clean-up and reduction."

give toys away to needy single mom's group or a woman's shelter
sell toys to a resale shop
donate toys to a charity store
give toys to a new baby or friend with a younger child

just get rid of some toy clutter-

And do the activity David does in the book to make the end of the day pass with fewer complaints.

Although the illustrations of "Too Many Toys," are more quirky than beautiful and the story is simple and tight without challenging the vocabulary, this is still a great story. Kids get it. Shannon tells it without making it seem like I have heard Too Many Toys or yelled "You have Too Many Toys," at my kids, a hundred times.

I would recommend this book for the families I work for.

I'd had Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible No Good, Very Bad Day on my mind for a long time as one of my favorite books to review and share. Published in 1972 it's a book I read to my own kids, and a book I remember from my childhood. If you didn't know, Disney made a movie based on Alexander which will be out soon.

Absolutely Positively Alexander is a great collection of three of the Alexander stories.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day

Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday

Alexander, Who's Not (Do you hear me? I mean it!) Going to Move

I was looking on Wikipedia and actually discovered that there is one more Alexander story I've never seen before and now must find: Alexander, Who Is Trying His Best To Be the Best Boy Ever.

Judith Viorst captures the attitude of a families precocious, active youngest son perfectly. I recognize this boy because many of my Nanny jobs were with little boys, who grew up to become fun, active little boys who sometimes had bad days. I know this because I raised three boys of my own and have my own Alexander.

Her writing style emulates the petulance and exasperation of one whose day started bad and isn't getting better with an ending that offers just enough hope to carry us through to the next day. All three stories in the compilation mirror that same theme. Alexander is a kid whose glass is not only half empty, but when things start to look good, something comes along to make them turn down again -yet at the end of the story he's always lead to a realization that it's not ALL bad after all.

I'm pretty sure that a book written like this would a hard time finding a publisher in today's market. Not because of the theme of course. There are loads of grumpy kids books available at the library. The style of the book, which absolutely embodies the voice of a smart, articulate boy between the ages of eight and eleven, is so out of fashion in children's picture books. In the opening page of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day, young Alexander wakes up and uses 62 words in one first person sentence to create the setting for the entire story.

Sixty Two Words! One sentence! First page! You may not know but let me tell you. That breaks every rule of writing Children's book created in the last twenty years.

I am having a hard time not inserting sarcastic comments here about those stupid rules, but I just wanted you to know they were floating around in my head. I'm using a great deal of self control to keep them from streaming down to my fingers and into this post.

,Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day has been in continuous print since 1972. You can find Alexander in every library in the country. You can find Alexander in most schools across the nation. Plus there is a T.V. adaptation made in 1990 and a couple of theater adaptations and now an upcoming Disney adaption.

This is a book that will appeal to school age boys and girls because they have all felt as Alexander feels, like the downtrodden, misunderstood, I- tried-my-best-and-failed, kid.

"I am having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, I told everybody. No one even answered."

It's easy to read aloud because Alexander's personality shines strongly and every line flows easily. It's fun to read because Alexander is a smart kid who loves big words and isn't afraid to string them together into sentences full of emotion. Children emphasize with him because they have been him.

This book is a great discussion opener for feelings and attitudes for school age children. Boys, who might have trouble expressing themselves or describing "why" they feel picked on or defeated, might be able to see themselves in Alexander and open the door for some pretty important conversations.

I highly recommend "Absolutely Positively Alexander," as a bedtime storybook, an after school storybook, and a quiet time storybook. I'd share with four through six year olds while sitting down to mealtime (captive audience) and watch it grab their attention (even though they don't have long attention spans,) and I share it seven year olds and older during quiet times and bedtimes.

I've had this book checked out from the library for several weeks. I just keep reading over and over again. I take it with me when I have a temp-Nanny day. One long day I got to read it out loud three times.

Eliza Wheeler's illustrations feel drenched with honey and life. I know that might sound strange, but she relies on sunshine and light, using my favorite color, yellow, on many of the pictures, adding water color washes of paint that at once gentle and colorful. Her people have a quill pen feel, from the bell of their gowns to the frowns on their faces, there is just something so...fun and flowing about them.

Mara Rockliff's story wields alliteration, consonance and assonance with the same quill pen Wheeler used in her drawings, unafraid of the beauty, power and play of words. While still very tightly written, Mara Rockliff writing just sounds good when read out loud. Certainly, some of it is a bit of a tongue twister, but that just makes it all the better. Kids will remember those sounds. They will better connect with the story because like a pretty song- it sounds good. This book was made for story time and crafted perfectly for bed time.

Set in the little fictional town of Bonnyripple -It sounds like someplace on the English countryside - where no one ever keeps a grudge, "that is, except old Cornelious, the Grudge Keeper."

Every time the townspeople become upset by some mishap they march down the road dressed in clothing that resembles something from a Dickens novel-only with less formality, and deliver their grudges to old Cornelious. Until one day...-and that's the story. What happens when you have to deal with your grudges?

Eliza Wheeler shared sketches and other projects over at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, back in March in 2013. Here is just a peek of her work- But you might want to pop over there for the full interview and even more lovely pictures.

Character sketch for the Grudge Keeper.

You can check this book out from the library locally, once I return it. Or you can buy it from Amazon -here.

Amazon.com Widgets

Storytelling is a great skill that can be taught to preschoolers that will help them later in life. Having been a Nanny for ten years before having my own kids, I discovered some of the early childhood skills that would help for later development. Storytelling is one of those fun, easy skills that can be learned and shared almost anywhere.

One of the things I have done with three and four year old's as their scribbles turn to shapes is write down what they tell me they are drawing. This is one of the first steps of teaching them to tell stories.

While I am always sharing stories by reading aloud, parents and Nannies can encourage creativity, confidence, communication and an understanding of cause and effect by making story telling a game.

Storytelling is a required skill in third and fourth grade, and it can be intimidating.

Teaching storytelling for toddlers, games, activities, stories, writing, 3rd grade

From Stephanie at 3rd Grade Thoughts

This graphic doesn't even include third grade requirements for strong adjectives and verbs, limited use of the to-be verb, and progression that includes a beginning, middle and end.

By exposing preschoolers to some of the steps of the writing process at an early age, Gathering Ideas, Developing an Idea, and Publishing The Idea, children will begin the process with creativity and confidence already at their disposal.

I came across this wonderful little "Tell A Story" game while working as a Temp Nanny for a local family.

Not only did I think it was a great idea, I loved the graphics and sturdy chipboard pieces. The product description on Amazon says it "...is a game for two to four players, participants spin for a hero, treasure, rival, means of transport, helper, magical object or fairy tale places. The person to collect them all first wins and gets to use all the elements in a story." The three of us played it twice before bedtime.

This company also makes story cards, which can be used somewhat the same way, or as a creative idea starter. (I discovered the cards while with a different nanny family!)

+Children's StoryBook originally shared this link to 50 Story Telling Ideas from Inspiration Labs. It is a great comprehensive list of links, many on how to make your own story cards, (or story shakers, story stones, etc!) For parents and Nannies who need sit-down, calm, and transitional activities for Preschoolers during the day, this is a must save list of links.

Practically speaking, I know that little girls, who tend to communicate earlier than little boys, may seem more inclined to storytelling activities than boys. Which is why this skill is doubly important for teaching to pre-school boys. If we listen, little boys have plenty to say. (They can be absolute chatter boxes. I have actual proof of this!) Boys may not want to sit, draw, and craft, but if you hand them blocks, cars, and army men, you have just given them a story to tell. Many boys are drawn to physical and action based learning. I have found if we act out the story first, they don't mind writing (with my help) and drawing afterwards, just so they can remember and share it later.

If you do one of the activities, already have the Fairy Tale Spinner game, or just want to share a story with me, let me know in the comments! I love to hear how other people share stories.