12 Kids' Books Illustrated by Marla Frazee

Clementine Series

Marla Frazee provides the lively pictures of curly-haired, spunky Clementine, the beloved chapter book heroine whose adventures are written by Sara Pennypacker. Throughout the series, Clementine deals with the difficulties of growing up, including sibling rivalry with her unnamed brother, conflicts with her neat and organized friend, Margaret, and learning to behave herself in school. There are six Clementine titles in all, with a seventh and final book, Completely Clementine, due out in March.  

1. Clementine
2. The Talented Clementine 
3. Clementine's Letter
4. Clementine, Friend of the Week
5. Clementine and the Family Meeting
6. Clementine and the Spring Trip 

Picture Books

Though Frazee has written some of her own picture books, there are some she has illustrated that were written by other well-known authors. 

• All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon
  This celebration of the interconnectedness of people and nature is one of my top ten picture books of all time as well as a 2010 Caldecott Honor Book. 
• The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman
  Mrs. Peters is the mother of seven very picky eaters. Day in and day out, she caters to their specific preferences until one day the kids decide to give something back. 
• Harriet, You’ll Drive Me Wild! by Mem Fox
  When Harriet misbehaves, her mom does her best not to get angry, but some days are harder than others in this sweet book about handling strong emotions. 
• Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers
  A rhyming text celebrates the joys of being a baby. Frazee provides a diverse cast of busy little babies in her signature illustration style. 
• Stars by Mary Lyn Ray
  In poetic text, the author marvels at the beauty of the stars, both as scientific entities and as possible wish-granters. This is a great read-aloud for early elementary audiences in particular.

Early Literacy in Everyday Places: The Grocery Store

Trips to the grocery store can seem boring to kids, but sometimes giving them something to do makes the experience more interesting and therefore easier on parents.Here are a few fun ways to practice early literacy skills on your next trip to the supermarket. 

• Have your child cross off your shopping list as you collect items.
  If you have a handwritten shopping list, or even a digital list on your phone, allow your child to read you the items and cross them off as you add them to your shopping cart. This gives them the opportunity to see the words for foods and other household items in print and to see how close you are to being finished at the same time. 
• Point out signs and labels for familiar foods.
  As you shop for the staples of your child's diet, point out the names of these items on the packaging and store signage. Kids will be invested in these words because the foods are well known to them, and they might even recognize the words when you unload the groceries at home. 
• Let child help match coupons to items.
  Have your child help you find the correct coupons to go with some of your items. Show them how the words and pictures on the coupons are clues to which item they belong to.
• Talk about the way the items for sale are categorized on the shelves.
  Help your child learn to categorize his world by discussing the way items are sorted and arranged in the grocery store. Why are milk and cheese often close to one another? Why are sugar, flour, and cake mix all together? Where might you find paper towels? This activity promotes language skills, as well as science and math background knowledge. 

Flannel Friday: There's a Little Wheel a-Turnin' in my Heart (Valentine's Day Extravaganza)

There's a Little Wheel a-Turnin' in my Heart has been a favorite story time song of mine for years, so it's surprising that it never occurred to me to turn it into a flannel board. Inspired by the original verses on Nancy's Stewart's website, I have finally done just that, and added a couple extra verses of my own. It suits the Valentine theme, but I think it's also usable all year round.

There’s a little wheel a turnin’ in my heart

There’s a little wheel a turning’ in my heart

In my heart, in my heart 

There’s a little wheel a turnin’ in my heart

There's a little bee a-buzzing in my heart...

There's a little bird a-singing in my heart...

There's a little bunny hopping in my heart...

There's a little cow a-mooing in my heart...

There's a little frog a-leaping in my heart...

There's a little owl a-hooting in my heart...

Flannel Friday is a weekly round-up of ideas for using flannel boards and other props at story time. This week's host is Lisa.

13 Kids' Books Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

Paul O. Zelinsky is a one-time Caldecott medalist and three-time Caldecott honor winner. He has been illustrating children's books since 1978, and according to his website bio, he was first inspired to follow this career path by a class he took at Yale which was co-taught by Maurice Sendak. This is a list of selected works for which he has provided the artwork.

Toys Series

This trilogy by Emily Jenkins (also known to YA readers as E. Lockhart) is a set of beautifully written stories about the inner lives of sentient stuffed animals. These books have wide appeal - they work as family read-alouds, chapter books for beginners, and comfort reads for older kids as well as adults. The are listed here in order of publication, but Toys Come Home is a prequel.

• Toys Go Out
• Toy Dance Party
• Toys Come Home 

Novels by Beverly Cleary

I know Paul Zelinsky best as the artist who drew Leigh Botts in Dear Mr. Henshaw. In fact, he is the illustrator of three Beverly Cleary books: 

• Dear Mr. Henshaw
  In letters to his favorite author, eleven-year-old Leigh Botts reveals his feelings about his father's frequent travel, bullies in school, and many other occurrences from his daily life.
• Strider
  In this sequel to Dear Mr. Henshaw, Leigh is now fourteen and in love with running, a red-haired girl named Geneva, and a dog named Strider. 
• Ralph S. Mouse
  This is the third book in the series about an adventurous mouse who rides a motorcycle. It follows The Mouse and the Motorcycle and Runaway Ralph.

Picture Books

• Swamp Angel by Anne Isaacs
  A tall tale about a very large woman who lassos tornadoes and drinks lakes dry. There is a second picture book about the same character entitled Dust Devil.
• Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham
  As the animals present the alphabet letter by letter, Moose finds it difficult to wait his turn. A companion book, Circle Square Moose uses a similar concept to teach shapes.
• Doodler Doodling by Rita Golden Gelman
  This tongue twister of a story shows what can happen with a blank page, a pencil, and a ton of imagination.

Other Titles

• The Random House Book of Humor, selected by Pamela Pollack
  A collection of excerpts from funny favorite children's novels.
• Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones
  In this, Diana Wynne Jones's last book, explores what happens to a young orphan who finds herself in foster care in a house of dark magic.