Toothwhale

We're reading: Books about Thanksgiving

 

If you want a juicy Thanksgiving turkey, use a brine. If you want a cute Thanksgiving turkey, use a small hand.

Harper tells how:

"You start with the wings. Then you make a fist. Then you pop out the head, and then you strut. Then you find corn before you strut."

Is that it?

"Yep. That's all a turkey does."

She learned to make a turkey with her hands at preschool. To strut, she moves her hands along. To find corn, she dips her thumb down.

To get ready for Turkey Day, we're also reading books about Thanksgiving. 

Thanksgiving Day by Gail Gibbons tells the story of the first Thanksgiving and shows how the things we do to celebrate Thanksgiving today are like the things the Pilgrims did. Gibbons' illustrations are simple but colorful. Her history lesson is easy to follow. Reading Thanksgiving Day is a good way to start talking about the holiday.

The Best Thanksgiving Ever by Teddy Slater and illustrated by Ethan Long has been our favorite Thanksgiving book since one of Henry's preschool teachers gave it to him a couple years ago. In it, a family of turkeys prepares for the Thanksgiving feast. They clean and they cook and they host family members from out of town. There's love and thankfulness and a Thanksgiving song for the cartoonish turkeys before the fun twist ending.

What are you doing to get ready for Thanksgiving?

Celebrate the Day of the Dead

 
"Scare"iachi was part of Cheekwood's Scarecrow! exhibit in 2009.

 

What is the Day of the Dead?

"The Day of the Dead, El dia de los muertos, is one of Mexico's most important holidays. It actually spans three days, from October 31 to November 2, and is a time to remember loved ones now gone. Families prepare favorite foods of the departed and picnic at their graves. They adorn the graves with marigolds, the traditional flower of the dead, and strew paths of petals to lead the spirits to the offerings, which, along with the delicious food, usually include salt and water, symbols of ongoing life. The people dance, sing, and share memories of their loved ones, welcoming their spirits, who are thought to return briefly to take part in the celebration." -- Tony Johnston, author of Day of the Dead

 

Where can I learn more about the Day of the Dead?

Day of the Dead, written by Tony Johnston and illustrated by Jeanette Winter, is a picture book about a Mexican family's preparation for and celebration of the holiday. The small, striking book is sprinkled with Spanish and figurative language. Children and their parents will enjoy and learn from the story.

SpanglishBaby is all about Dia de los Muertos this week. Start your reading with Veronica Gonzalez Smith's Cultures Intertwined: Halloween VS Dia de los Muertos.

 

How can I celebrate the Day of the Dead?

How to Celebrate Dia de los Muertos by SpanglishBaby's Ana Lilian explains traditional ways to celebrate. 

If you live in Nashville, you can attend the El Dia de los Muertos fall festival at Cheekwood this Saturday, October 30, 2010, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The festival is free for Cheekwood members, free for children 17 and younger, and $15 for adults. There will be hands-on art activities, community art, live music and dance, Mexican food, and a Mexican marketplace. The list of things to do, see, hear, taste and be tempted to buy at the bilingual event goes on and on.

My family and I are planning to attend the festival at Cheekwood on Saturday. My son Henry learned about the Day of the Dead at a Tuesdays for Tots art program at Cheekwood last October, and has asked that we celebrate the holiday this year. Like the family in Johnston's Day of the Dead, he wants to remember los abuelos, the grandparents.

We're reading: Cock-a-Doodle Quack! Quack!

Cock-a-Doodle Quack! Quack! makes my three-year-old laugh. It also makes me think.

It's the baby rooster's job to wake everybody up, but he doesn't know what to say. He goes to see the pigs and asks them what they say. He thinks "oink! oink!" sounds good, but when he tries "cock-a-doodle-oink-oink!" the next morning, nobody wakes up. He goes to see the cows and the ducks, but "cock-a-doodle-moo-moo!" and "cock-a-doodle-quack-quack!" don't work, either.

Seeing that something's the matter, the cat sends the baby rooster to see the wise old owl. The wise old owl tells the baby rooster to listen: "My friend, tomorrow, as the sun is rising, go down to the farm gate and sit there quietly. Don't say anything. Just listen. Then you will know exactly what to do."

The baby rooster follows the wise old owl's directions. He listens carefully and hears a noise coming from the farm next door. He tries to copy it, but "cock-a-noodle-noo!" isn't quite right. Neither is "cock-a-poodle-poo!" Listening as carefully as he can, he finally crows "cock-a-doodle-doo!" (and wakes everybody up).

The silly cock-a-doodles get my child laughing, but the rooster's search for his voice gets me thinking. It's my job to be the mom, but I wasn't born knowing how to do it. I have wise-old-owl moments when I echo good examples in my words and actions, but I also sometimes do things that don't work. I've been blogging for 15 months, but I don't always know what to say. I ask for help, and I try to stay true to my own voice. I don't know if authors Ivor Baddiel and Sophie Jubb meant for me to see my life in baby rooster's, but I do.

Cock-a-Doodle Quack! Quack! is a fun (and thought-provoking) read for families with young children. The acrylic illustrations by Ailie Busby are colorful and whimsical. Look for it at your library or bookstore.

We're reading: Goosebumps

When Henry really likes something, I hear about it all the time. His first passion was animals. Then there was Toy Story, Spider-Man, Bakugan, and Ben 10. Now, it's Goosebumps, the book series by R.L. Stine. He's too young for Goosebumps. He's not even six and he's the newest of new readers. But don't try to tell him that. He'll say he likes mummies and werewolves and spooky things. He'll say it doesn't matter that he can't read the books, because I can.

I was in high school when Stine created the series and I didn't read the books. When Henry started pulling Goosebumps off library shelves and pointing them out at Target, I said no to them. "When you're old enough to read them yourself, you can check out as many as you want," I'd say. From their covers and their vocabulary levels, I could see they weren't meant for five-year-olds.

Then, a couple Saturdays ago, Jake took the kids to the library and I stayed home. Henry saw an opportunity. He came home with Goosebumps: Deep Trouble. On the cover, a giant hammerhead shark circles a young swimmer.

I read a few chapters aloud each night last week. Henry listened and waited for the really scary part, and I waited for the really objectionable part. Neither ever came. There was violence in one chapter, but it wasn't gruesome. I actually enjoyed the story about a mermaid's capture and a boy who wants to do the right thing.

I don't know what lies ahead for us in the Goosebumps series -- we've moved on to reading Return of the Mummy -- but I give Deep Trouble a good grade for grade schoolers looking for literary thrills.

Goosebumps isn't what I would have picked (we're also reading the Nate the Great series, which the kids both like), but I want Henry to be able to follow his passions -- even if that means sharks, mummies, and monster blood. On his great site Guys Read, Jon Scieszka says, "Motivate guys to want to read by letting them choose texts they will enjoy." In this case, I've done that.

Have you or your children read Goosebumps books? Have you steered them away from books you thought they weren't ready to read?