Olivia's Pick of the Week--10 May 2009

It's Children's Book Week and Olivia has decided to celebrate by compiling her first ever Top 5 list.

Olivia's Top 5 Favorite Books Ever:

1. Winnie the Pooh -- A.A.Milne
2. Olivia and the Missing Toy -- Ian Falconer
3. Peter Rabbit -- Beatrix Potter
4. Madeline -- Ludwig Behmelmans
5. The Wind in the Willows -- Kenneth Grahame

Olivia's Pick--29 March 2009

"Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood..." my little one fell in love with a Silly Old Bear and his band of loyal friends. That's right. Olivia has discovered the world of Winnie-the-Pooh (and Christopher Robin, too!). Rereading these sweet stories for the first time in many, many years, I find that I am falling in love all over again. I'm also thoroughly enjoying the perspective of my years; it sheds new light on these beloved old stories.

With the distance of the intervening decades and the recent reintroduction of Pooh-Bear into my life, suddenly the idea of another book, The Tao of Pooh makes complete sense. Looks like I'll have to add that to my own library, just as Olivia and I are making our way through the original.

Olivia's Pick--22 March 2009

I love yoga, though I don't pretend to be all that good at it; I'm proficient enough to enjoy it.

Lately, Olivia has been loving it, too. We took a class last fall, at Growing Tree Yoga (a link for my Fairfield County readers) and since then, she's shown increasing interest.

Apart from it being a healthy habit for her mind, body and spirit, it's also a lot of fun to be able to share something I enjoy so much with my favorite little person.

Some of our favorite yoga resources for kids are:

Yoga Pretzels--Don't have a half hour to commit to a DVD? This oversize card deck is perfect for the yogi on the go! Pull out an illustrated card with simple instructions and then you and your little one can twist yourselves into a few of your favorite poses before you head out to the supermarket.

The Treasure in Your Heart--A wonderful guide for parents, this book by Sydney Solis weaves the ancient art of storytelling with the ancient practice of yoga. Solis' volume is a handbook focusing not just on yoga, but on compassion and communication.

Yoga by the Dozen--I'll be honest; it isn't easy to find a yoga-for-kids DVD that doesn't make me roll my eyes and apologize for recommending it. But JoAnna and the kids at Yoga by the Dozen have managed to make a yoga DVD that's actually a lot of fun. But don't let her flair fool you, JoAnna knows her yoga, too.Namaste, Mamas!

Olivia's Pick--15 March 2009

We're compiling our Beatrix Potter library and Olivia is loving these sweet stories of animal adventure. Her most recent addition to her collection was The Tale of Jemima Puddle Duck.

We'll give her one of these little books as a gift now and then, for good behavior, for a pick-me-up when she's sick, or for no reason in particular.

These classic books in their classic format are perfect gifts for your little one or someone else.

Olivia's Pick--1 March 2009

Of late, Olivia has been embracing her French side. She has been much more adventurous with her words and sounds, speaking to Papa in his native tongue daily.

Papa is thrilled, bien sur, as am I. The more languages we can shove into that sponge of a brain before the walls start to go up, the better. And there's no better teacher than a native speaker.

We've been having fun reinforcing her Francais with books and music.

And we even have a few French favorites that are actually in English:

Adele & Simon (Thanks, Auntie Kiki!)

This is Paris

Degas & the Little Dancer

and, of course, Madeline

Olivia's Pick--14 December 2008

Maurice Sendak's whimsical illustrations + E.T.A. Hoffman's original "Nutcracker" legend = Olivia's favorite new book. This story is the mother of all Nutcrackers, the inspirational blueprint Tchaikovsky used to create his ballet monopoly on Christmas.

Sendak's illustrations illuminate this fanciful and slightly haunting tale in such a delightful way that, upon closing the book for the evening, Olivia will inevitably look at me and say "again!"

Plus, we've added the complete ballet recording to her musical repertoire, layering her experience of this holiday classic. Next year, she'll be ready to see the ballet live!

Olivia's Pick--23 November 2008

This past weekend, Olivia flew on an airplane, something she'd been looking forward to for weeks. She would fly around our living room, arms out, flapping her wings, saying "I'm flying like a plane!"

I'm not the best flyer, and I was afraid that, once faced with a real airplane, she might be nervous, too. I gave her the window seat, while I took the aisle, managing books, snacks, juice and my nerves. As we rumbled down the runway, I swallowed my anxiety, reading to her from a beautifully illustrated children's version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

We shot into the air and I concentrated, silently willing the plane to stay in airborne, trying not to vomit or lose consciousness. Next to me, buckled in tight, Olivia still managed to bounce happily in her seat. "I want to fly, Mama! Let's fly!" she shouted.

I couldn't help but laugh."We are flying sweetie, see?" I pointed out the window at the receding earth below as the plane turned at a nauseating angle.

"Oh. OK," she said, pressing her little nose to the window. "This is pretty fun."

I guess we'll have to do this more often. Maybe I'll even learn to enjoy it.

Olivia's Pick--9 November 2008

This week, Olivia's feeling a bit under the weather, so she's less into stuff and more into snuggles. But between sneezing and coughing, she's been enjoying books as much as ever. This week, she's discovering the magic of The Polar Express by the talented Chris Van Allsburg. This Caldecott winner tells the story of a nighttime journey to the North Pole and an exhilarating encounter with Santa. Van Allsburg's signature mysterious illustrations turn this book into a real adventure for the imagination.

Olivia's Pick--26 October 2008

A couple of weeks ago, Olivia and I picked up a copy of "The Wind in the Willows," by Kenneth Grahame. We began making our way through it slowly and I was impressed by her focused attention, considering there were only about five illustrations in the whole book.

Last week, she received a beautifully illustrated copy in the mail. (Thanks Grandpa!) It is now officially the only book she wants to read. We're 147 pages into this gorgeous tome, illustrated by Inga Moore. I have little doubt we'll finish it this week. At which point, she'll probably look up at me and say, "Read it again, Mama."

Olivia's Pick--7 September 2008

Olivia has found a new favorite book. A soft, sweet story by Karma Wilson, beautifully illustrated by Jane Chapman. We picked up the book, Bear Feels Scared, as a further study in the emotions which were brought on by her in depth experience of Peter and the Wolf. My goal was to deal with the emotion of fear, which she was experiencing and expressing through the Prokofiev classic.

This book, Bear Feels Scared, is simply wonderful in this capacity. With illustrations you feel like you could crawl into--which Olivia tries to do saying "I want to get in the book!"--this sweet story of a bear lost in an autumn storm, and his animal friends who form a search party to find him is, quite simply, heart warming.

The best part--the entire reason I chose this particular book, for this particular reason--is that, at the end, the search party locates Bear. They warm him with hugs and lead him home.

At the end, cuddled in a heap, warm and cozy with those he loves the most, Bear feels safe.

Olivia's Pick--24 August 2008

A few weeks ago, I told you about this awesome version of Prokofiev's classic, Peter and the Wolf, narrated by Sting. Honestly, it doesn't get much cooler. We've been listening a lot these days to Sir John Gielgud's version, which is dramatic and spectacular, even if it lacks the 80s rock factor.

Olivia has been having so much fun listening, that we decided to check out an illustrated book version, to enhance her experience. We found this lovely copy, with folktale style illustrations by Ian Beck.

The child is now obsessed.

Returning again and again to the page where "big, grey wolf" comes out of the forest, she will say "I'm scared," just as she does at the same point in the recorded symphony. But she can't get enough! She talks about Peter all day long, and tells me that she wants to go into the meadow with him to catch the wolf.

And so I must warn our poor, old Jack Russell terrier, lest Olivia decide to cast her in the role of "Wolf" in her first production of Prokofiev's childhood masterpiece.

Olivia's Pick--13 July 2008

So this week's pick is more of a perpetual pick. Olivia's been loving her copy Puff the Magic Dragon for quite some time and her interest hasn't yet abated. Yes, Puff comes in book form now, with the original lyrics and some lovely new illustrations by Eric Puybaret. There's also a CD included with a new recording of the song. I'm actually enjoying this as much as she is!

Olivia's Pick--8 June 2008

Olivia has officially added Impressionism to her ever-growing list of interests, thanks to the lovely book, "Degas and the Little Dancer," written and illustrated by Lawrence Anholt. A sweet story of a young Parisian girl with big dreams, this book manages to introduce Degas and his artwork in a completely natural way, through the story. Unlike so much of what's out there these days, this book doesn't promise to make your kid the next Leonardo Da Vinci. Rather, it is a story worth reading in its own right, with the added bonus of an introduction to one of history's more celebrated artists.

We can't wait to read more in Anholt's Artists Books for Children series.

Olivia's Pick--11 May 2008

Maybe because she's half French, and certainly because she's all kid, Olivia can't get enough this week of Bonjour Babar! This book has all six of the original Babar stories by Jean de Brunhoff. These stories are just as magical and unique as they were when I was a child, which means that I enjoy reading them to her, almost as much as she enjoys listening to them.