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Book Review: Hattie the Bad by Jane Devlin
Published by Dial Books for Young Readers, 2010
Here’s an interesting title, not the princessy-type of book I’d normally recommend for my daughter. Hattie used to be good until maybe she was dropped on her head. To her “being good meant you had to do ridiculous things like eating mushy food and going to bed when you weren’t even tired. And where was the fun in that?” Hattie started doing “exciting bad things,” and other children wanted to play with her. However, parents put a stop to that. Hattie missed the social life so she started doing good things again. In fact, she became so good that her friends didn’t want to play with her. Hattie was even invited to “The Best-Behaved Child Ever” competition. As the television cameras zoomed in on her, Hattie said something shocking. All the children cheered while parents gasped. In the end, Hattie regained her friends. Now she was Hattie the Bad with some good.
Children will love the colorful illustrations by Joe Berger. They will also laugh at Hattie’s naughtiness. This book is a debatable one in which you’ll want to make sure your child understands that being bad is not good. You don’t want them getting the wrong message and then imitating Hattie. I’ll definitely talk to my daughter about this one! This is a good example that even though it’s a picture book, parents still need to stay involved and check what their kids are reading!
Since we’re living in another country right now, the amount of English books at public libraries is pretty slim. I’ve checked online for some children’s reading materials, and I’ve written for some. Here are some free children’s online magazines (e-zines) and online stories your kids will enjoy. If you know of other free ones, let me know. Most educators advise that your child should read for at least 20 minutes every day.
Guardian Angel Kids e-zine http://www.guardian-angel-kids.com/default.htm
Highlights for Kids http://www.highlightskids.com/
Imagination Cafe http://www.imagination-cafe.com/
Magic Keys http://www.magickeys.com/books/
–online books
Smories http://www.smories.com/
–stories for kids, read by kids
Storyplace: The Children’s Digital Library http://www.storyplace.org/
Between the Lions: Stories http://pbskids.org/lions/stories/
Book Review: Eensy Weensy Spider Freaks Out by Troy Cummings, Published by Random House 2010
Here’s a fun rendition of a popular children’s rhyme.
“Out came the sun and dried up all the rain and the Eensy Weensy Spider freaked out, big-time!” Here’s another favorite line. “There’s no way I’m climbing back up that gutter!” she said. “If I had a neck, I could have broken it!”
Since Eensy Weensy Spider will only crawl on the ground, her story circulates all over the Web (Internet). Her friend Ladybug Polly visits and coaxes her to climb a small plant. Gaining confidence, she climbs a fire hydrant, a dog, a mailbox, a two-story house, a wrecking crane, a hotel, a radio tower, a rocket and blasts off to where she gets the best view of any bug.
Children will love the illustrations, the humor, and dialog bubbles. This will be a great book to read while learning nursery rhymes. Your child can even draw and write about something else the spider can climb.
Happy October!
Here are a few activities for you to do with young children that I wrote for education.com.
Pumpkin Math: Learn Shapes while Carving
http://www.education.com/activity/article/pumpkin-carving/
Mr. Shapes Scarecrow
http://www.education.com/activity/article/shape-scarecrow/
Sorting and Ordering Leaves
http://www.education.com/activity/article/leaf-order/
