Are you taller now than you were last year? Do you think you’ll be taller next year? How can we find out how much taller you’ll be next year? Familiar characters and stories return in new editions. Well suited to a 3-D adventure, The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig: Pop-up Edition by Eugene Trivizas, illus. by Helen Oxenbury, Continue reading » Let the wild rumpus continue, Max seems to say, in Sendak's illustrations of Krauss's 1948 text—the hero's first appearance since the 1964 Caldecott Medal– winning Continue reading » A baby boy is showered with love during a family party. ""In this exuberant picture book.... Vibrant gouache paintings capture all the warmth of this close-knit group,"" said PW in a starred review. Continue reading » Share the universal experience of growing up and discover the rhythms of the seasons in this wonderfully timeless story.

The Growing Story: A timeless - AbeBooks 9780007254514: The Growing Story: A timeless - AbeBooks

ISBN 0-689-81528-X. PW's starred review applauded the ""laugh-out-loud results"" of this talented team's clever interpretation, calling it ""among the wittiest fractured fairy tales around."" Ages Continue reading » Lighthearted poems by such contributors as Rose Fyleman, Vachel Lindsay and the ubiquitous Anon. are illustrated in Oxenbury's signature sunny artwork. Ages 3-7. Continue reading » In this sassy creation myth that tweaks the first chapter of Genesis, Big Momma "roll[s] up her sleeves" and gets down to business ("Wasn't easy, either, with that little baby Continue reading »One by one a host of animals offer ingredients when a child decides to bake a birthday cake. PW called the story ""perfectly paced"" and said that the ""understated"" watercolors ""shine with the Continue reading »

The Growing Story” Storybook Guide Based on Ruth Krauss’s “The Growing Story”

If Zwerger's Alice (reviewed above) is deliciously cryptic, Oxenbury's (Tom and Pippo books) brims with the fun and frights of a visit to an amusement park. In perhaps her most ambitious work to Continue reading » What happens in the winter that is different from the summer? How do you know when the summer is over? How do you know when winter starts? A father and his four children--a toddler, a preschool boy and two older girls--go on the traditional bear hunt based on the old camp chant: ``We're going to catch a big one. / What a beautiful day! Continue reading » Good book for the end of the day or in conjunction with seasons and growth of plants and animals etc.

A little boy worries throughout the summer that he's not getting bigger, but at the end of the season he tries on his winter clothes and realizes that he has grown Growing’ is always a useful topic for children in the Foundation Stage because it can be firmly rooted in the children and their various experiences. Some of these experiences (such as losing teeth - although not common at this age, I have known it to happen, and they may have older siblings) might trouble them, so this topic can provide reassurance. It can also facilitate a development of understanding that change occurs through life and in the wider world, to whatever degree is appropriate for the children in your charge. The cover is a spoiler, so don't show it to your kids (at least of the original version, available on OpenLibrary.org). Controlled vocabulary, rhythm, patterns, and illustrations that tell more than the text... this is a wonderful little book by a poet who interviewed and respected children. I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss, illus. by Mary Blair, first published in 1951, features another solitary child in imaginary play, but the tone here is sillier. A rhyming text boasts that the girl can do Continue reading »

Favourite books: The Growing Story – FREE Primary KS1 Favourite books: The Growing Story – FREE Primary KS1

In this Caldecott Honor book, the animals awaken to the sweet green scents of spring and joyfully celebrate the arrival of the new season. Ages 3-7. Continue reading » The child worries that he has not grown bigger, but when the cool weather comes again and he retrieves his stored winter clothes he is filled with delight and surprise. A baby boy is showered with love from his relatives as the clan gathers for a celebration in this exuberant picture book. The baby waits at the window with Mom, not ``doing anything... nothing Continue reading » I think the way this story is written using lots of repetition and constantly relating to the seasons and nature changing shows the reader that the little boy is growing as everything is changing however, you feel a sense of sympathy in case he isn’t! Recommended for a present (especially if you haven't seen the child for a long time and can make a relevant haven't you grown??! comment) or to borrow from a library.

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I also liked that it was realised from what seemed like both the eye level and the psychological perspective of the child: thus no humans other than Mother appear in the story.