The Bard's Books

Julie Andrews is, in my opinion, one of the greatest female vocalists of all time. I have loved her since I was a little girl and unlike some of my other childhood favorites (Strawberry Shortcake, for example) I still enjoy watching and listening to her performances. I found her autobiography at audible.com and was immediately interested. When I realized the book is actually read by Dame Andrews, the decision to buy it was a no brainer. I wasn't disappointed. The book covers Andrews' life from infancy to 1962, when she was approached by Walt Disney to portray Mary Poppins. I know I would have enjoyed the book anyway, but hearing Julie tell her story made it even more special for me. One of my favorite things about the story is the way Julie deals with people in her life who didn't make decisions she respected, or who behaved inappropriately or were just plain mean. Andrews is never rude or disrespectful in return. In fact, she is so kind to those people in her book, and so ...

A few years ago I happened upon the Alana the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce. With a strong female heroine who overcomes prejudice to become the King's Champion and greatest knight in her realm, I was instantly drawn in. Since discovering that series, I've devoured all of Pierce's books set in Tortall including the Copper Isles, Protector of the Small and Wildmage series. I was very excited to learn that she was writing a new series based on the life of an ancestor of George Cooper ( Tortall's spymaster and husband to Alana the Lioness). I recently downloaded the unabridged audio book for the latest in this series, called Beka Cooper: Bloodhound, from audible.com and listened to it on my long commute into work. Once again, Tamora Pierce manages to pull me into Tortall and the cities of Corus and Port Caynn . Beka is a young dog (police officer) who works the roughest part of the capital city of Corus , Lower City. When a large number of false coin is discovere...

In the town of Itching Down, things are NOT going well for the villagers. They've had a unusually high number of wasps and the villagers are fed up with their buzzing and stinging. At a town meeting, they come up with a plan to rid the town of the horrid insects by an unusual means - creating a giant jam sandwich! This book was my absolute favorite as a child. It is rhyming (and not in a tedious, forced way) which makes it perfect for reading aloud. The illustrations by John Vernon Lord wonderfully detail the process by which the villagers go about solving their problems. And the story itself is just delightful, to kids of all ages. The educational benefit is clear - the story focuses on creative problem solving. In addition, readers get some idea of where the ingredients for a sandwich come from, as we watch the villagers build their sandwich from the wheat up. This blog wouldn't be complete without a link to purchase. At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Giant-Jam-Sandwich-Sandpi...

I just picked up this gem of a book from the World Trading Company in Austin. Its an adorable little children's book written by Boni Ashburn that's a fresh take on the traditional lullaby, "Hush, Little Baby". First off, its a book you can sing with, which gives it more points in my opinion. The illustrations by Kelly Murphy are adorable, and the book introduces new vocabulary to your little bibliophile (including the words entree, cuisine and musketeer). I plan on using it in my classroom with kindergarteners and some little dragon puppets. You can pick it up at Amazon here... http://www.amazon.com/Hush-Little-Dragon-Boni-Ashburn/dp/0810994917/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1