Showing posts with label favorite author. Show all posts
Showing posts with label favorite author. Show all posts

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Favorite Author: Rosemary Wells


Rosemary Wells writes a funny series of books that focus on the characters Max and his big sister Ruby.
Isadora has recently been reading the Max and Ruby series by Rosemary Wells. Max, the main character, is always getting into trouble of one kind or another, and his big sister Ruby is always there to try to patch up his mess (although Max usually ends up figuring out things for himself). While the stories are very appealing to Isadora, I also enjoy reading them because the situations are quite funny and memorable. For example, one of our favorites is Bunny Mail where Max tries to write a letter to Santa to tell him he wants a red sandspitter motorcycle. Max can't write yet, so he tries his best to communicate to Santa through a letter what he wants (by putting a tire track, sand, and red paint on the letter). Through many missteps, Max finally gets his beloved motorcycle. This short description really doesn't do it any justice, but I think it conveys the general gist of the plot. Here are our favorites: Bunny Mail, Bunny Cakes, Ruby's Beauty Shop, Max's Dragon Shirt, Bunny Money, and Max Cleans Up. Click here to get to an Amazon list of her books.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Favorite Author: Jan Brett

Author Jan Brett writes a collection of books that will likely all become favorite reads for both you and your child.
Have you ever read books by Jan Brett? The pages are richly illustrated and they have borders that preview events to come or tell another story that is occurring at the same time. Isadora and I just read Gingerbread Baby, a take on the classic Gingerbread Boy story. It coincided wonderfully with the two of us making gingerbread cookies (that looked nothing like the amazing creations that Jan Brett drew in her book).
The best thing about Jan Brett: her website. If you go to www.janbrett.com you have access to coloring pages, mask printouts, nameplates...you name it! It is an almost dizzying array of activities, all linked to her books and have the same beautiful animal characters.
Isadora's favorites are the masks that you can print out. We printed out the color masks of The Mitten characters and then she got to play with them. While the teacher in me hoped that she would be acting out scenes from the book, she actually had a great time using them for other imaginative scenarios she dreamed up and later took her favorite character mask (the bunny) for long rides in her baby doll stroller. I can't wait to try some of the other activities on Brett's site. Here is the site:

www.janbrett.com