Eloise Wilkin - Prayers for Children and My Little Golden Book About God

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of these pages absolutely make me tear up, especially from My Little Golden Book About God - written by Jane Werner Watson and illustrated by Eloise Wilkin.  What a beautiful way to talk about God to small children.  And some of the illustrations seem to show the children and God communicating with each other through nature - it's amazing.  And the way that the author explains how we can also feel God's love through our family and friends and our memories of them- awesome.

Does anyone watch the show Parenthood?  It is so, so good.  I cry almost every week when I watch it.  But it's not a depressing show - just very poignant, with lots of humour in it too though.  Anyway, the theme song over the opening credits is Bob Dylan's "Forever Young".  Since this post is about prayers for our children and about teaching them about God, I thought you might like to read over the lyrics and listen to the song here over this YouTube clip.  Love it!  I couldn't get the clip to embed into the post so you'll have to click on the link.  I dedicate this song to my daughters - hopefully one day they will read this blog - kind of cool to think that it is like a digital scrapbook that they can enjoy when they are older!

"Forever Young"- Bob Dylan

May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

Parenthood - Forever Young by Bob Dylan

Linking to Kid Lit Blog Hop

I Was Kissed by a Seal at the Zoo - Helen Palmer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Was Kissed by a Seal at the Zoo is a book by Helen Palmer, the first wife of Dr. Seuss.  This adorable book of photographs shows children at the San Diego Zoo and their adventures with the animals there.  It's neat to see a children's book with pictures of real children, and in black and white, too.  Helen Palmer also wrote the books In a Boogle House, A Fish Out of Water, and Do You Know What I'm Going to do Next Saturday?

I've included a pic of my daughter at the zoo here as well.  She fits right in with those penguins!  :)

Linking to The Children's Bookshelf

My Prayers - Whitman Tell-a-Tale

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love these cute pics from Whitman Tell-a-Tale's "My Prayers" - especially the Sunday outfits and the beautiful little white church.  I still remember when my older daughter was 3 and she prayed - "God, please help me not to be scared of the vacuum cleaner".  Hahaha!  Another funny story is when we were attending a church that met in a movie theatre - every time we drove by a theatre she would say - "Look, there's church!" At that age she didn't know that building was usually for movies, or what a typical classic church building looked like!

Linking to Cozy Book Hop

My Book About Me- Dr. Seuss/Roy McKie

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this book!!  I had forgotten that I had it when I was young.  I wish I still had it!  Then I saw it was being re-published and available on Amazon and I ordered it last year for my daughter when she was in Senior Kindergarten.  She has worked on it a little here and there so some of the pages are filled in and some are not- i.e. the types of pages where you have to count all the forks in the house - not done yet!!  'My Book About Me' is written by Dr. Seuss and illustrated by Roy McKie - I love these fun illustrations.  Such a great do-it-yourself book for every kid to have.

Linking to Kid Lit Blog Hop

Some Seuss for Your Sunday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My 50th blog post!! Some more Dr. Seuss library books to go through with you today.  McElligott's Pool is a lesser-known Seuss book about all the unique and unheard of fish that might lurk below in the neighbour's pond- it's fun to look at all the illustrations of all of these ideas from Seuss's imagination.  On Beyond Zebra explores the letters that might exist after Z - much more fanciful and flamboyant letters than our plain and prosaic ABC's.  In Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose, the main character allows more and more creatures to perch on his horns- what starts as Thidwick performing a simple kindness begins to become a situation where his fellow creatures are taking advantage of him- until he finally sheds his old horns and begins to grow new ones.

Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories includes, besides the title story, The Big Brag and Gertrude McFuzz.    Yertle the Turtle, published in 1958, had the word 'burp' in it, which had never been in a children's book before.  The publishers were concerned about whether they could put it in the book or not- scandalous!!  Pictured is a page from the Gertrude McFuzz story - she is a bird who tries to keep up with the Joneses, or rather, with the other birds, by trying to be the most fastidious and fancy bird of them all - to her own ridiculous downfall.

If I Ran the Circus is another fun imaginary tale about what kinds of fabulous sights there would be at the Circus McGurkus, with the aid of the neighbourly Sneelock.  In Scrambled Eggs Super the main character is collecting eggs from the most far-out and fantastical birds that you have never heard of.  And it's just so fun, when reading this one, to say 'Scrambled Eggs super-dee-dooper-dee-booper!  And last, we have Bartholemew and the Oobleck.  It's not as creepy as The 500 Hats of Bartholemew Cubbins- it's a little more light-hearted, with the mysterious substance of oobleck taking over the kingdom, thanks to the king's stubborn pride.

Linking to The Children's Bookshelf

Retro TV and Toys for The Very Young- Monchichi

I was so excited last year to see that Monchichi are back!  I was at Chapters and I immediately bought one to give to my baby daughter for Christmas.  Then at Easter I saw one at Shopper's Drug Mart and nabbed that one.  And now just the other day I bought a mini-Christmas ornament one, at Chapters again. (see photo below.) I remember I had a mini-Monchichi when I was a kid.  These Japanese stuffed toy monkeys were first released in 1974.  Check out this clip from YouTube of Monchichis, produced by Hanna-Barbera, and also this Monchichis commercial.  I love the 80's!!!

A Seuss-tastic Saturday

 

 

 

 

First up is "Please Try to Remember the First of Octember".  I read this one aloud to the kids at my daughter's Dr. Seuss birthday party since it was in October/"Octember" - they seemed to like it.  Sometimes this book is published under the name Dr. Seuss, and sometimes under his pseudonym, Theo LeSieg.  The story imagines all the wonderful things that would happen and all the wonderful things that you would get on this miraculous day - if such a day existed.

I really like Gerald McBoing Boing- it first appeared on a children's record and then became a book and a cartoon.  Gerald can only speak in sound effects and is a social outcast until NBC Radio discovers him.  Gerald McBoing Boing was a tv series back in 1956-57 as well as in 2005-07.  Check out the old and new clips that I've included here.

I don't know if The Sleep Book actually made my kids sleepy, but it was fun to read.  Every couple of pages there is a new strange and silly creature to read about. Do you have a go-to book that you read to your kids often at night?  I love Dr. Seuss's rhymes and nonsense words that trip off the tongue.  Did you know that 'And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street' was rejected by many publishers before it was finally published in 1937?  It is about a boy who imagines a wild and creative story to tell his father about his walk home.

Linking to The Children's Bookshelf and Cozy Book Hop