Festivals Books

This is a wonderful Halloween holiday book and my 4 yr old daughter loves it. She even picked out her costume based on this book. The runaway pumpkin rolls though a farm and through a series of events becomes the jack-o-lantern for the holiday dinner table. I really like the family tone to the book as well.

This is a fun, rhythmic, rhyming story about a big pumpkin on the loose. "'Round and 'round across the ground makin' a thumpin' bumpin' sound came that thumpety, bumpety, thumpin' bumpin' round and roll-y RUNAWAY PUMPKIN!"

My two year olds like it for the rhythm and funny pictures. It's a good book to have them practice predicting what might happen next in the story.

I get a kick out of this tasty Halloween treat. The three Baxter children happen upon a huge pumpkin and the boy Baxters promptly try to remove the pumpkin from its perch.

The pumpkin rolls down a hill and right through town.

Round and 'round across the ground
Makin a thumpin' bumpin' sound
Came that thumpety bumpety thumpin' bumpin'
Round and Rolly Runaway Pumpkin

The pumpkin knocks over Momma Baxter and Grandpa Baxter. It is just about to mow down Poppa Baxter when Dad comes up with an idea to make a pumpkin bed and cleverly catches the pumpkin.

Throughout the story, each Baxter family member has designs on things they would like to do or make with a pumpkin (pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup). In the end, Grandma Baxter makes all of the family members favorite pumpkin recipe and the centerpiece contains the rest of the huge pumpkin, nicely carved into a jack-o-lantern.

I have an infant son that is now 11 months old and we read to him every day. This is the only book of his that I don't get tired of reading. It has a great flow, wonderful illustrations and he smiles every time we get to the tongue twister "chorus" of the book. I will definitely buy more of this author's books!

We purchased this book a couple of year ago in paperback. I drag it out every October and read it to my girls. It has been a much loved book, so much that we are replacing the well used paperback with a hardcover and ordered an additional one for our friends two little girls. We hope they enjoy this book as much as we have. We are looking forward to another "thumpin, bumpin" October.

I first stumbled onto McGuirk's Quirks on the internet (www.tuckerdog.com) and have since fallen in love with each Tucker offering. The joy comes each time I share Tucker with my Grandaughter.

I bought this book for my great nephew. After reading it I have decided to buy the entire set for both of us. What a wonderful book!!!

Another wonderful book in the series. I own them all. The children I purchase for read them over and over. They are captivated by Tucker's adventures and the colourful illustrations. A must have for any child or adult. Check out the entire series.

Another wonderful adventure in the Tucker series! My daughter was enraptured! Congrats on another book well done!

We love littl Tucker and his unique and wimsical personality.
Leslie McGuirk's books are written in a voice that young
children can truly connect with. Tucker's Spooky Halloween
is another delighful addition to our collection.

What a delightful work for the very young. A Mom Duck is searching for her one "lost" duckling and searches the pond, asking the other creatures "have you seen my duckling?" Of course the duckling is not actually lost, and if you and your child look close, the duckling can be found here and there, hidden (as little ducks should be) in various locations. The kids get quite a kick out of this one as it is interactive an they must search for the little "lost" duck. The art work in this one is great and quite appearling. The simple text is repetitive and fun for the child. This is simply a fun read for the small child and a fun read for the adult reader as they help the child find the duckling. Highly recommend.

My boys LOVE animals, especially ducks, so this is a big hit. If you like "Silly Little Goose" by the same author, this one's sure to be popular in your house.

At first I thought this book was going to bomb with my 13 month old. I thought the pictures were complicated and there was not much text. But I was wrong. She loves it. She has memorized where the lost duckling is on every page and she really can't get enough of it. So, surprisingly, I highly recommend this one!

I like Wheres my Duckling, it wass a great book.Children that are just learning to read will really enjo this book. They will be able to tell what is going on in the story by just looking at the pictures.The pictures in the story are very well illustrated. I would recommend this book to early childhood teachers.

This book is about a mother duck that cannot find one of her ducklings. She goes around asking the other denizens of the pond if they have seen it. The fun thing is that, if you look, you will find where the duckling is.

There are few words in this book, so be aware of the reading level (baby-preschool). However, the artwork is very well done, and the fun of having the little reader find the missing duckling on each page makes the whole thing worthwhile.

I have loved Kevin Henkes books, especially his Lilly books, since well before I had a young daughter. I was excited to buy her this boxed set as her first introduction to Henkes.

I was a bit disappointed that they seem to lack the wit that the rest of the Lilly series has. I missed comments such as, "You mean that bump is a baby? I thought you were just getting fat!" It's just sugary-sweet treats, and perhaps an attempt to teach educational concepts.

My 3 and half year-old loves this collection -- one book is never enough, all five have to be read in one sitting, preferably twice! Luckily the stories are not wordy, but charming and whimsical and some even have a little lesson, though delivered so as to barely notice. The illustrations are superb as always.

This is a great set for anyone teaching the Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Primary Grades!

As mentioned in other reviews; this set of books is nicely smallish (5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches), and beautifully drawn, and the 5 stories are lovely. What no one has yet bothered to mention is the answer to "What do you get?" in this smallish, prettily drawn and nicely written set?

You get 5 small, hard cover books in a nice, slick board box;
Lilly's Chocolate Heart, Owen's Marshmellow Chick, Wemberly's Ice-Cream Star, Julius's Candy Corn and Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick.

Each short story involves a 'treat'; an Easter Marshmellow Chick, some Halloween Candy Corn, a Forth of July ice cream, etc, that barely mention the holiday to which they owe their existance. For example, although Owen does get an "Easter basket", there is no mention of Christmas in Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick and no mention of why a red, white and blue star-shaped ice-cream would be Wemberly's special treat "on a hot day".

All of which is fine with me, I thoroughly enjoy reading these with my 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 year old kids, even our 18 month old seems to enjoy these stories, but I feel if we were not a Christmas-and-Easter-celebrating household, this set would have been a bit of a bummer. So, consider yourself warned. :)

first, these are great little stories. kevin henkes is a fabulous author. my only issue is that i would have liked to have known ahead of time that all the stories were about sugary sweets and the characters hording their sweets in some way. it's turned out to be fine - my daughter still loves the stories. i just would have liked a heads' up.

The illustrations are cute and it captures the theme well!

Definitely a great gift!

So many types of love!-Identified and perfectly illustrated. This adorable book explores the many aspects of love. Many, I'd never thought of. A lot of these you've probably experienced and didn't know quite how to describe it. The illustrations are so fitting, but really, what else would we expect from Sandra Boynton?

This book is great for ANY age! Lots of humor that adults can appreciate, but still cute for kids too. Really great gift idea for valentines day, anniversary, wedding or, just because.

This was the third book by Boyton that I bought. I wish I could buy them all!
'Consider Love' is a romantic and funny book and I thouroughly reccomend it.

"Consider Love", is another delightfully charming book created by the talented Sandra Boynton. I have been buying her books to read to my daughter for years and I always find myself chuckling at the adorable illustrations and nice message tucked into her jaunty rhythmic style of writing. The best thing to do when first reading one of her books is to read it through once, then go back and look at each little character drawn, to capture their little expressions and mannerisms. My daughter is now nine years old and we both love "Consider Love". It is a colorful, fun,and interesting look at the many different forms that love may take. I highly recommend it to anyone who has little ones near by!

Consider Love by Sandra Boynton is 178 words in length. My review of this book will probably contain more words than the book it is reviewing. The first two sentences were 26 words already so I was already 1/7th of the way to equalling Boynton when this sentence began, but I digress.

This review is beginning to sound like a child's book report. By the way, including this sentence I am up to 75 words. 75 was actually the 74th word.

Sandra Boynton's book, Consider Love is an instant classic - Just add 178 words.

This review is very silly. So is Consider Love. So, according to many, is love (Pauk McCartney not withstanding). Boynton's signature style, humor, art and pathos make this volume a must have for collectors of 178 word books.

Just a note for those counting words right now, that my count of 178 words is for the main text alone. It does not include the back cover (front cover for that matter), title pages, library of congress info, dedication page nor does it include the inscription on the statue pictured on page 4 or the placard under tha painting on page 5.

My review is now officially longer than the book. I would say that even though I think this a fine review, that the book is even better and I recommend it highly to dentists who chew gum, to architects who get their project blueprints mixed up with their kid's posters, to Sandra Boynton herself, or to anyone who ever walked up a hill and actually came down a hill.

squirt,jessi,becca,and aunt Ceclia are all involved in a car crash. Squirt gets hurt and jessi predicts it will be the worst Kwanzaa and Christmas ever. Buy the book if your into drama and love towards your family.

It's the Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa time, (AGAIN,) for the BSC and Jessi decides to educate the BSC's sitting charges about Kwanzaa by putting on a play based on the old African legend Malindy Meets the Devil, (or something like that.) But then tragedy strikes. While Jessi is riding in the car with her Aunt, younger sister Becca and her baby brother Sqwirt, they get involved in a car crash, resulting in young Sqwirts head injury. Jessi starts to think that her Holidays are ruined, but are they?

In Happy Holidays Jessi, Jessi wants to have the kids in the neighborhood celebrate Kwanzaa. But then when Jessi, her sister, Aunt Cecelia, and Squirt get in a car accident, Squirt gets hurt. Will the Kwanzaa celebration happen? Or is it history?

Jessi is filled with holiday excitement. She loves Christmas, and she can't wait for Kwanzaa, when her whole family- including out-of-town relatives-will celebrate together.
But then a terrible accident occurs. Squirt hurst his head in a car crash and is rushed to the hospital.
Everyone is relieved to find out that Squirt will be okay. But meanwhile, the stress of the accident has taken it's toll on the family.
If holidays are supposed to be being together, then why is Jessi's family being pulled far apart?

I really liked this installment. Jessi, the narrator describes Kwanzaa, the African holiday and the history and traditions about Kwanzaa.

Jessi's redoubtable Aunt Cecilia is just as overly punitive as ever, until her father intervenes and reminds her that as long as she is living in HIS house, she will have to abide by HIS rules and not try to enforce her own. He defends his children and reminds his sister yet again that Jessi and her 8-year-old sister are still children and to cut them some slack. Chastened, the girls' aunt vows to do an about face and once again takes them Christmas shopping. Instead of chewing them out for being hungry or clowing around, the aunt bites her tongue. The only thing I had trouble with was her allowing the girls' baby brother to ride outside of his car seat when he becomes restless and fussy.

Unfortunately, they are involved in an accident and Squirt (John, Jr.) has to be hospitalized. Distraught over the baby's injuries, the parents chew the aunt out for her sheer irresponsibility (why would any ADULT allow a baby to ride in a car without being properly harnessed)? The Kwanzaa gatherings with other members of Jessi's family are strained and everybody is up in arms over the harm done to poor Squirt.

The subplot is excellent. Ann Martin has a real gift for creating dialog and scenes. The other members of the BSC plan a Kwanzaa skit and the BSCers and charges alike all get into the spirit of Kwanzaa and actually learn a few things. I laughed at the hilarious story of Malindy's Soul, the story the group put on. It was a delightful farce and really quite well woven into the story.

Fortunately, Squirt recovers and everybody has a wonderful holiday. Instead of Santa, everybody follows the Kwanzaa celebration. This book is really good.

Byrd Baylor's book "I'm in charge of Celebrations" is the best "any age" book I've ever known. Everyone I know has started keeping a celebration book modeled after hers! What an absolutely marvelous journey! And Parnell's illustrations are magnificent!!!

This is a memmorable book for a child

I use this book in the beginning of each school year with my fifth grade students. It always leads to great discussions about what is important to them and leads into interesting writer's notebook entries. The book is a great tool for inferencing, noticing details, and celebrating the little events in our lives that make us who we are. A good book to use when teaching about differences that make each of us unique and how we all have our own set of priorities.

One of the best picture books ever. I'm one who believes picture books are not just for children and this one proves it! It reflects a wonderful attitude that there's always something out there to celebrate. A most uplifting book. Byrd Baylor is really tuned into nature and Peter Parnell turns those words into unforgetable images.

I stumbled upon this book recently and, as an avid reader of children's literature, believe it is one of the most amazing books I have seen -- for readers of all ages. It is lyrical, humorous and quiet. The illustrations are spare--and that's all that's needed. Life in the desert is depicted beautifully. I felt like the book was speaking me, calling me to a more mindful way of life. I plan to buy it as gifts for all my friends this year, no matter their age.

I love this book. I use to read this book to my children when they were little. Now my children have children, and I wanted them to also enjoy this fun book. To me, this represents all my childhood memories of Halloween. I love the illustrations! I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Halloween.

Great poems for Halloween. Fun to read aloud with one child or a group of children. I used it in my classroom for many years. I bought this copy to donate to the library at my church.

my mom enjoys telling this story:

when i was about four, she checked "it's halloween" out at our local small-town library and brought it home. i made her read it every night, memorizing every word, and if she tried to skip a page, i'd call her on it.

when it came time to return the book, she couldn't find it and had to pay for a new copy for the library. some time later, she was cleaning my room and discovered where i'd stashed my copy under my bed.

greatest halloween book, and among the greatest children's books in general, ever.

I still have the copy my mother gave to me in 1978!! It is my favorite children's book, and it should be a part of every home library. The illustrations are great, and the little poems are so catchy.

It is the best Halloween book ever. It has just the right amount of creepiness to get kids really excited about Halloween. A fun book with simple rhyme schemes and memorable illustrations, it will keep kids interested. I'm 27 and I still love it.

I needed this for Christmas around the world at my school. The book is excellent and the children really enjoyed the story.

Another great addition to my collection. Tomie's illustrations complete this wonderful book.

Such an endearing story! This book contains beautiful illustrations. It is a Christmastime favorite.

If you are looking for the true story of the legend of the poinsettia, this is not it!!! The only thing that is the same about the legend from Mexico and this story is the fact that the poinsettias were made red on christmas eve because a little girl brought baby jesus a weed for his birthday because she was so poor. the names, plot, and special saying that the little girl's brother said in the legend is not in this book, which takes away the impact of the story. the drawings although are beautiful and the story is nice if you don't know the real legend.

I love legends. I always have. I am particularly fond of legends that attempt to explain things such as why the robin has a red breast, or why it snows on Christmas, or why the donkey says "hee haw," and other things like that. That is one of the reasons I was drawn to this little book by Tomie dePaola, The Legend of the Poinsettia.

Lucinda is a young girl who lives with her parents and younger siblings in Mexico. The colorful illustrations have that southeastern feel to it. Lucinda's community is preparing for Christmas by preparing gifts for the Christ child on Christmas Eve. I loved that the focus of gift giving was for Christ as opposed to the hustle and bustle and commercialism that is so common in American households. The gifts were labors of love too and involved special crafts, skills or homegrown gifts. Lucind and her mama have been asked to weave the special blanket for Baby Jesus as the one they have used for years is very old and worn.

When Lucinda's mama becomes ill, Lucinda is unable to finish the blanket by herself and the more she tries, the more tangled the yarn in the loom becomes. Lucinda is disheartened and worried about her mother, as well as saddened that her family has no gift to give the Christ child. Suddenly an old woman appears and suggests Lucinda pick some simple native weeds and bring them to Christ. In humility, Lucinda does that, and as you can guess, these become the beautiful poinsettia plants, the flor de la Nochelbuena, that we associate with Christmas today!

The reference and picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe was a nice touch for Catholic children who are familiar with story, and it was nice to see the shrine to our lady as part of Lucinda's everyday life. My children identified with Lucinda's fears for her mother, and also her fear of being different from the rest of the community. They also felt it was very brave of her to come forward with such a simple gift in the face of much splendor. After reading the story, my kids also became more aware of the poinsettias at church and other places and we even bought our own!

Overall I think this is a very nice book to read during the Advent season in preparation for Christmas, and a nice way for the family to focus on what is most important during this beautiful holiday.

What a awesome book my 3 year old and 5 year old were enraptured in the story! The artwork is superb the words just rolled off my tounge a great book to act out too :)

This is a good book for all ages. It's scarey and funny for kids.

This book is hilarious. The author does a great job in making this book funny for kids. You might think that it's going to be scary but t's cute. I read this book to my little brother and he loved it! My new favorite author is Barbara Park.

This story is about a boy.The bogeyman was under the boy bed whild he was reading a animal book . the bogeyman came , and The boy was scare.the bogeyman start to talk to the boy about something . The bogeyman tell story to the boy, and tell bogeyman told the boy to not leave his sock siting there because he going to chock . So the bogeyman went to the sister room.

We have gotten this book at lesst 10 times over the past year at
our local library. I finally decided we had to own it.
The story is hysterical and really eases "boogeyman" type fears in
young children. We love to read it with our own "boogeyman" voice
(A heavy new york accent!). This is a stroy both parents
and kids will love. Barbara Park is the author and she is
also the author of the similarly hysterical Junie B. Jones series.
Highly recommended!