the first rule of little brothers

A lovely book about siblings, and the “first rule of little brothers” is not what you would expect.  I bought this for Avery, since she has a little brother to think about.  We try not to put too much pressure on her as “the oldest” who has to “set an example” in doing the right thing, etc., for her younger brother—rather, we tell both of them that they need to set an example for each other in making good decisions, and that they need to love each other and take care of each other.  Of course, they still quarrel a lot but for most part, they are best buds.

Any other ways that you all talk to your kids about how to maintain good relationships and solve conflicts with each other?  And, any other good books about siblings out there?

The First Rule of Little Brothers is by Jill Davis and Sarah McMenemy.

the sign on rosie's door

Maurice Sendak's books—they are the stuff of childhood.  There are few who capture the heart of childhood as intuitively as he did.  In The Sign on Rosie's Door, he delves into the pretend world of children with its energy, noisiness, stomping around, imagining, game-inventing and traversing worlds.  Their animated gestures, candid expressions and wide-eyed sensibilities are expressed so deftly in his illustrations.  Let them play, he is saying.  Let them play.

This is what childhood used to be like, before this era of myriad lessons, activities, electronic devices, workbooks and scheduled play dates.

Hope everyone is seeing more free time in their days with the arrival of summer, including unstructured time for play!

a trip to the bottom of the world

Mouse is a reluctant traveler taking a trip to the bottom of the world.  A simple narrative for early readers and bold, modern and stylized illustrations by Frank Viva.  Edited by one of my favorites in the publishing world, Françoise Mouly.

“‘A Trip to the Bottom of the World’ is based on Frank’s experiences aboard a Russian research vessel during a trip to the Antarctic Peninsula.  On this once-in-a-lifetime adventure, while crossing the Drake Passage (the roughest waters in the world), he became sick—over and over and over again.  But it was worth it.  Once in Antarctica, he saw penguins and whales—and swam in the thermal waters of a submerged volcano.”

finding wild

Such an apt book for the first day of summer.  Where to find wild?

“Wild keeps many secrets, waiting to be discovered—

like its candy: honey from bees and sap from trees,

swift-meting snowflake and juice-bursting blackberries.”

I would love to know where everyone goes to find wild in their neck of the woods.  If you’re ever in San Francisco and you find your way to Mount Sutro, take this book with you. ;)

Finding Wild was written by Megan Wagner Lloyd and illustrated by Abigail Halpin.