Skippyjon Jones Lost in Spice, by Judy Schachner, author & illustrator
Kyle and Owen have got to be two of the most wild-crazy-rambunctious-off-the-wall boys you'll ever meet. Seriously... they are a match for Skippyjon himself! We've had the original Skippyjon Jones book for awhile now, and K & O love it (so does Margie, because she loves the bi-lingual nature of the text and the fun plays-on-words). But just last week, from the "Candy Witch," K & O received Skippyjon Jones Lost in Spice. The CD that was included quickly became one of their most beloved possessions. Tonight, before bed, less than one week after this book hit our house, Kyle and Owen -- in unison -- "read" me (i.e., they aren't actually reading it, they have it memorized) the ENTIRE BOOK. All 30 pages, every word of every page! I was literally in utter shock to witness this! If you know this book, you know how unbelievable this is. This book is definitely their #1 fav right now.
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What I Be, by Michael Franti, illustrations by Ben Hodson
All five of us love Michael Franti, and all five of us love this book-CD-set!
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The Composer Is Dead, Written by Lemony Snicket,
Music by Nathaniel Stookey, Illustrations by Carson Ellis
Never forget: Kyle, Owen, and Meera's Papi has a doctorate in music composition. This book is a little over the bambinos' heads right now, but looking at the book and listening to the CD with Papi makes it totally lovable. Any classical music lover (and children thereof!) will deeply appreciate this book. If you read it you'll understand why.
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Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat, edited by Nikki Giovanni
What can I say? This is just awesome. I wish every household could have a copy.
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Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, Illustrated by Peter Malone
A classic. This version has incredible illustrations. I remember Braydon and I talking, long before we ever had children of our own, about wanting to make sure our kids would know well this "musical fairy tale in which each character is played by a different instrument of the orchestra"... and now they do! K & O have been listening to this/reading this for years already. And now Meera is just as mesmerized by it as her brothers are.
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Note, for the record: I have absolutely no affiliation whatsoever with any of the producers of any of these books. Nobody is giving me anything to write this.
7 comments:
hi heather, thanks for the recommendations. such happy children u have! best wishes to u all.
My kids loved "Mozart's Magic Fantasy" and "Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery" on CD. No books to accompany, but the stories and music were favorites.
Erin
The original Skippyjon book is a huge fave with our 4 year old, so we'll definitely look into these recommendations!
What great timing! I live in Italy and am about to go to the U.S. for a visit and have been compiling a TO BUY list of children's books for my son. These are on the list now, too! Thank you.
Great recommendations! Thanks so much. I just downloaded three of the Skippyjon Jones series from iTunes. Can you believe they were only $.95! For as many times as these will "save the day" during long car trips, it's a total bargain!
Funny to see Michael Franti on here - I just discovered him and my son is loving his new album. I didn't realize he had a kids book too! Have your boys seen the video for Say Hey? It's a favourite over here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoaTl7IcFs8&feature=player_embedded
May I just tell you that your Skippy Jon Jones book is the hit of this house...that CD is played almost EVERY night at bedtime...NO KIDDING!!!! Your goddaughter absolutely LOVES it!!!
Thanks so much for always brightening our lives. We love you very much.
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