Review: Finding Winnie: the True Story of The World’s Most Famous Bear

“Winnie the Pooh” and the “House at Pooh Corner” were often requested when I was growing up and it has been such a pleasure to be able to share them with my children.  With Finding Winnie, we get the story behind the story and my children were delighted to learn that Winnie-the-Pooh started out as a real bear.  Echoing the format of Winnie...

Review: Madeline-Paris with children

“In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.”  Who doesn’t remember the opening lines of this childhood favorite?  Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans was first published in 1939 and four of the six original stories are set in Paris.  They are perfect for creating a tour and an introduction to some...

Review:Mirette on the High Wire-Paris with children

“One evening a tall sad-faced stranger arrived.  He told Madame Gâteau he was Bellini, a retired high-wire walker.”  Imagine if you were a child living in a boarding house and someone arrived introducing themselves as “a retired high-wire walker.” They would seem like the most interesting person in the world! The next day, as Mirette is doing...

Make Way for Ducklings

 Whether climbing to the top of a building or going on a balloon ride, the view is always better from up in the sky and you get to avoid the traffic!  Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were looking for a place to live, “but every time Mr. Mallard saw what looked like a nice place, Mrs. Mallard said it was no good.”  After a long and fruitless search, the ducks decide...

Time of Wonder

 Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey was first published in 1957 and won the Caldecott Medal in 1958.  Told from the perspective of  a family living on an island in Penobscot Bay, it describes what a summer would be like with foggy mornings, boats going by, days on the beach, seals and porpoises and even an unexpected hurricane. While the specific cruise schooners...