Catching Up- A Little Bit of Me And New Books

Dear Readers,

I've been on sort of a sabbatical these few months to help take care of my wife, Anna, who had a total knee replacement surgery, my Mom who is sick and unable to walk and my Dad who is depressed because of my Mom's condition, and the fact that it is the dead of winter and he can't go out.

My wife is recovering nicely. My Mom and Dad, along with their 4 aides, Dora, Carmen, Concetta and Sister Tracey, and my brother, Vincent, and my aunt Susie, as well as my wife and I, all take part in getting my parents well.

It's not easy. We all wish that for Christmas, God blesses them with a miracle and gets them well.


I've also been taking a children's picture book writing course online with Gotham.
The instructors are great, and the course work is very intensive.

At the end of January, I am going to a writing convention for children's books at a famous hotel in Manhattan. I've gone three times in the past, and I will keep on going until my picture book is published. You meet a lot of other writers, and agents, editors and publishers there. You get a chance to read your story, and then you get critiqued by 10 writers and a publisher. This writing convention is very worthwhile, and you see other writers who are in the same boat as you. This is the beginning of my 13th year of writing.

I'd like to tell you about a special group of friends, who I taught with for over 20 years. We are all retired. My wife, Anna, and I are part of their Christmas ha-ha luncheon. Sabra and Jerry, Tony, Kathy, Connie, Georgine and my wife and me,
go to a different restaurant each month and have lunch, and we chat, chat, chat laugh and eat. What wonderful camraderie we have had all these years! We have known each other for more than 25 years. What a blessing! Sometimes, we go to each other's house for the holidays. We are family.

Last week, we went to my cousin, Madalene's, mother-in-law's(Ida) 90th birthday.
They had a Filipino guitarist who was adopted at birth by an Italian family, and he played and sang all Italian songs. It was wonderful. Everybody banged on the table, and sang the songs with him. It was held in Trattoria Lucia's Restaurant in
Queens. The food and service were exceptional. No one wanted to leave at the end.
And Ida, she didn't look a day over 60.


Now, you are wondering what picture books are good for your child to read.

Here's a list of them(next time I will summarize two books like I always did):

1. Loudmouth George and the Sixth-Grade Bully-Nancy Carlson
2. Rotten Ralph-Jack Gantos
3.Goggles-Ezra Jack Keats
4.Chester's Way-Kevin Henkes
5.Little Blue and Little Yellow-Leo Lionni
6.Who Took the Farmer's Hat?-Joan L. Nodset
7.David Gets In Trouble-David Shannon
8.Will I Have A Friend?-Miriam Cohen
9.Don't Let Auntie Mabel Bless the Table-Vanessa Brantley Newton
10.Subway-Anastasia Suen
11. Do You Want to be my Friend?-Eric Carle
12. My Mouth is a Volcano!-Julia Cook


Your children can write about Chanukkah, Christsmas, New Year. Other topics could be birthdays, anniversaries(we just celebrated our 26th), grandma and grandpa, celebrations, family and friends, and of course, they can read and write about what they read.

My wife, Anna, and I, want to wish all our family and friends and readers out there, A VERY MERRY AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS AND A HEALTHY AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.


Keep reading. Go to the library with your child. Read aloud. Have your child tell the story in his or her own words. Let him or her draw things from the story.


Sincerely,

Frank
(a.k.a. Ravenous Reader)

Picture Books Every Child Should Read And Know

Dear Readers,

Below is a listing of picture books your child should know and read:


Abuela- by Arthur Dorros

Blueberries for Sal- by Robert McCloskey

The Carrot Seed- by Ruth Krauss

A chair for my mother- by Vera B. Williams

Curious George- by H. A. Rey

Farmer Duck- by Martin Waddell

George and Martha- James Marshall

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie- by Laura J. Numeroff

Leo, the Late Bloomer- by Robert Kraus

Maisie Goes Swimming-by Lucy Cousins


Next time, I shall give you a list of more picture books children should know and read.

Parents and children, I extend my apologies to you for not writing sooner.

My parents have been ill, and the entire family is pitching in to help them.

God Bless.

Sincerely,
Ravenous Reader (a. k. a. Frankie)

THE LITTLE RED HEN

Dear Readers,

The LITTLE RED HEN by Jerry Pinkney, published in 2006, is one of my favorite children's picture books. A Dial Book for Young Readers, the Little Red Hen is hard-working. She plants seeds, cuts and threshes the wheat and finally bakes the bread. She asks the rat, goat, pig and dog to help her. "Not I," they say.

When the bread is out of the oven, warm and aromatic, and the animals want to eat it, she says "No." There is a lesson learned by the animals here, and the last page of the book displays a beautiful picture.

The illustrations are very large, and extremely colorful.

GET THE BOOK FOR YOUR CHILD. THEY WOULD ENJOY IT.

IT'S EASY READING.

Have you taken your little one to the library yet? Browse through the children's section with him/her. Let him/her pick out a book he/she is interested in.

Next week, I shall write about another picture book I recommend. Here's a line from the book:
"If I was an ostrich, I could run really fast." Can you guess what book this is?




Here are some children's stories I like to watch on T.V. I recommend them to your child.
Curious George, Dora the Explorer, My friend, Rabbit, Marvin, the Tap Dancing Horse, BJ,
Pecola. If you watch these with your child, you can ask questions about the stories. See if he is paying attention. Have your children draw the characters. Have them write about the program they just saw.

Have a good weekend. God bless.


Sincerely,

Ravenous Reader (a. k.a Frankie)

P.S.- You know reading is important. Introduce your child to books at an early age?

Classic Books for the Y.A. or High School Student

Dear Readers,

How are you? Today I'm concentrating on "Young Adult" or "High School Classics.

The following are excellent books to read, and they have endured time:

1. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde- by Robert Louis Stevenson.

2. The Red Badge of Courage-by Stephen Crane

3.The Time Machine=by H.G. Wells

4. The Lost World-by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

5. National Velvet-by Enid Bagnold

6. Emma-by Jane Austen

7. Treasure Island=Robert Louis Stevenson

8. Around the World in Eighty Days-by Jules Vern

9. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz-by L. Frank Baum

10. The Hound of the Baskervilles-by Arthur Conan Doyle

11. Gulliver's Travels-by Jonathan Swift

12. A Christmas Carol-by John Dickens

13. The Jungle Book- by Rudyard Kipling

14. Moby Dick-by Herman Melville

15. Frankenstein-by Mary Shelley

16. The Call of the Wild-by Jack London

17. Kidnapped-Robert Louis Stevenson

18- Alice in Wonderland- by Lewis Carol


These books are "worth reading."

Perhaps, after you read each book, you can write a summary of the story in "Your Journal."

This is a great writing experience. And all of these books are loaded with "Adventure."

Happy Reading. Keep at it. You'll enter a new world through these books.

Sincerely,

Frankie (a. k.a. Ravenous Reader)

Children's picture books to enjoy

Hi, readers,

HAPPY PALM SUNDAY AND HAPPY EASTER TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES.

There are many books on these 2 holidays for your children to read.

I promised you a list of children's picture books, and here they are:

KINDERGARTEN ROCKS- by Katie Davis (softcover)

SILLY SUZIE GOOSE-by Petr Horacek

BEST FRIENDS FOR FRANCES-by Russell Hoban

MR. BROWN CAN MOO! CAN YOU?- by Dr. Seuss

BABY BEAR'S BIG DREAM- by Jane Yolen

LILLY'S BIG DAY-by Kevin Henkes

THE LITTLE RED HEN-by Jerry Pinkney

FIRST DAY JITTERS-by Julie Danneberg

CLICK, CLACK, MOO COWS THAT TYPE- by Doreen Cronin

GREGORY, THE TERRIBLE EATER-by Mitchell Sharmat

I LOVE YOU ALL DAY LONG-by Francesca Rusackas

HAS YOUR CHILD READ ANY OF THESE, YET?

GO TO THE LIBRARY, A SPECIAL PLACE, WHERE YOU AND YOUR CHILD CAN READ AND MAKE MEMORIES.

HAPPY READING. GET LOST IN A BOOK.

GOD BLESS.

SINCERELY,

RAVENOUS READER (A. K. A. FRANKIE)

Take your children to the library and let them choose their own books.

Dear Readers,

Ihope your New Year's and Valentine's Day were wonderful.

I want to extend my apologies for not writing sooner.

Did you Guess what books I was going to review?

The first book was:

Title: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
Author: Laura Joffe Numeroff
Publisher: Laura Geringer
Date Published: 1985
Age Range: 4-8
Summary:

A young boy goes through a day with a cycle of requests a mouse would likely make if he gives the mouse a cookie. For example, "If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. When you give him the milk, he'll probably ask for a straw. When he's finished, he'll ask for a napkin and look in the mirror if he has a milk mustache. The ending is like the beginning. The mouse draws a picture, wants to hang it up on the refrigerator, and looking at the refrigerator, he'll ask for a glass of milk. And if he asks for a glass of milk, he will surely want a cookie with it.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is full of large, colorful illustrations. It is easy reading--not too many sentences on the page--and you can read it aloud to your child, or he can read it by himself.




The second book is:

Title: Are You My Mother?
Author: P.D. Eastman
Publisher: Beginner Books, Random House
Date Published:1957
Age Range: 4-7
Summary:

This is the story of a newborn baby bird who seeks his mother who is looking for food for him.The bird looks up, looks down the tree and finally jumps out of it's nest to the ground. The baby could not fly, so it walks in search of his Mom. The bird approaches a kitten, a hen, a dog, a cow, and shouts at a car, a boat and
an airplane.
How did the baby get back to its nest in the tree? Did the baby find its mother?
You'll have to read the book to find out.

This is an I CAN READ IT ALL BY MYSELF BEGINNER BOOK.

The illustrations are large and simple. There is repetition of words and phrases throughout the book.( ALMOST LIKE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS). The front cover of the book has a curious illustration.

Go to the library, get these books for your children, and let them READ.

Here's a suggestion: The library near you has Storytelling for children, usually in the afternoon. You can go with your child. I sat and listened to many of the Storytelling Hours, and they were very interesting.

Next time, dear Readers, I shall give you a listing of children's picture books that your children would also enjoy.

God bless.

Sincerely yours,
The Ravenous Reader (a. k. a. Frankie)