At a recent book festival in metro Atlanta, I had the pleasure of discovering Miss Rhonda's Readers , a local company that creates phonetically-correct books for little bookworms . What's interesting about them, other than the fact that …
The first day of kindergarten is tough enough, but imagine little Yoon's horror when a bunch of kids try to get her to stand in line with the boys because of her short hair. So starts the tale of Something for School , by Hyun Young Lee,…
While I may not always feel smartre enough for Sartre, The Woollyhoodwinks vs. the Dark Patch is one for this existentialist. With a mix of cute handmade sock-puppet-looking things (the aforementioned Woollyhoodwinks ) and whimsical sent…
I have yet to figure out why for most lullaby books, the illustrations seem to be an afterthought. I suppose the justification is that if the words are effective enough, the kids eyes will be shut? Or something. Not so Clare Beaton's Mrs…
I know I'm not the only woman out there who's glad that the myth that girls aren't good at math has been soundly debunked. No way do I want my girls to believe that what's between their legs should determine what goes in their heads, but…
Not all of us can afford to hang real pieces of art in our toddlers' rooms, or spend hours strolling with them through museums gazing at the works of masters. Fortunately, for less than $15, we can all afford to share this little gem fro…
Having grown up in Iowa on a farm, I'm probably at a slight advantage for identifying poisonous plants and snakes. But for the rest of us, or just kids who love all things creepy and crawly and generally nasty, there's Don't Touch That! …
When I left home , my mother sent my own baby book along with me. She had taken great pains to record minute details for me, including our family tree and every newborn gift I received, but it was her personal commentary - the notes scra…
Brothers and sisters? They fight. Sometimes a lot. Sometimes even when they're grown-ups. (ahem) So when you find a book that makes you want to not fight, you better cuddle up and read it out loud to those darling children of yours. One …
Ever wonder what a butterfly is worth on the black market? According to Alastair Reid, author of A Balloon for a Blunderbuss , quite a bit. Especially if you trade it for a bigger thing and then a bigger thing and then an army. Or any is…
The Way Back Home , written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, is the most randomly appealing book I've read. For one thing, the main character discovers an airplane in his closet on the second page. For another, he gets stuck on the moo…
Self-obsessed much? Despite my best efforts, my daughter is. Thanks to our video camera, she's been watching movies of herself for years. And oh, they are her favorites. Now, thanks to Frecklebox 's personalized Nature Namebook, she can …
We realize that a good book, be it for your own weary eyes or your kid's, can be pretty hard to come by these days. So, lucky for you, we've rounded up all our past and present book picks into one CMP Book Club and put them all our shop …
Despite my husband and my efforts to foist sidewalk chalk and softball bats on my daughter, she prefers the sparkly, the frilly, and the delicate. I've often changed the words to fairy tales while reading them to her because they seem so…
I'm fascinated by tales from other parts of the world, and being from Iowa, equally fascinated by all deer not on the grill of my car. Tenzin's Deer by Barbara Soros is lyrically written and illustrations from Danuta Mayer keep little sq…
I am such a crazy Mo Willems stalker-fan that when I heard I missed meeting him at Toy Fair this year by about 30 seconds I nearly cried. His collection of children's books are this generation's Dr. Seuss or Curious George. Willems' newe…
My nephew was hospitalized at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia when he was around two and I am forever grateful to the amazing staff who helped cure him -- and to all of the special facilities that help children. I guess that's wh…
When the airport gift shop coloring book choices "for girls" range from princesses to uh, princesses (and maybe the occasional princess) I'm reminded of how easily 21st century gender stereotypes are reinforced pretty much everywhere we …