Stacey Loscalzo

Latest Posts

Nov 29

Just the Right Book

by Stacey

Yesterday, Katherine had a much-anticipated play date. She and her friend spent the entire school day (or so it seemed in the re-telling) planning exactly what they do during their time together. And then, the play date ended much earlier than expected. The friend’s grandfather came to pick her up earlier than planned and disappointment reigned. Really, all the girls did was eat a huge snack and talk about what they planned to play. And then it was over.

Katherine cried and cried, not able to sit with her sadness, she just kept crying. Caroline was doing her homework at the time so for some reason, I suggested homework as a distraction and for some reason, Katherine agreed. She remained tearful as she did her math and then she reached her for book. As she opened the book, I began to think to myself, as I do nearly every night, about how boring these early readers are. How there is often no story. No talking points. Nothing really to engage and then I was proven wrong.

Katherine read aloud about a rabbit that was mad and sad before she said, “Mom. This really is just the right book for me to be reading right now.”

I mean really. I couldn’t make this stuff up.

So thanks to a questionably written, primarily phonetic based, pretty dull story, Katherine made a connection with another sad soul and felt all better.

Just think of the implications if high quality literature was involved!

 

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Nov 28

Give Picture Books to Grown Ups

by Stacey

As the holiday season descends, I love giving the gift of children’s books to everyone on my list- grown ups most especially.

For many adults, it’s been an awfully long time since they sat down and read a picture book. Simply enjoying the beauty of illustration and the joy of story can be enough of a gift. But I also like to match a friend or relative’s loves with the books I choose.

Below are six of my favorites from this year’s amazing list of picture books.

For dog lovers…

Homer by Elisha Cooper (my review is here)

For knitters…

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett (my review is here)

For gardeners…

And Then It’s Spring by Julie Fogliani

For storytellers…

Bear Has a Story to Tell by Philip and Erin Stead (my review is here)

For jokesters…

This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen (my review is here)

For anyone who has ever been distracted by an electronic device…

hello! hello! by Matthew Cordell (my review is here)

 

 

 

 

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Nov 27

Jeff Mack

by Stacey

Every so often I come very late to the party. Jeff Mack has been writing and illustrating brilliant books for a little while now and I have just discovered him.

He has written a collection of genius easy readers that really do rival my love of Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie books. Forever now, I have felt like Elephant and Piggie have stood alone in the easy reader category. They have been singular in their ability to appeal to early readers and be readable by them.

Enter, Hippo and Rabbit.

And, Frog and Fly.

And, Good News, Bad News.

And enjoy…

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Nov 26

One Tree

by Stacey

 

 

Lately, I can’t stop focusing on how quickly the girls are growing.

Perhaps it’s Christmas approaching and all the reflection that brings. Perhaps it’s how much the girl’s lists have changed this year. Katherine wants toys she’s seen on tv commercials (terrible things I had not really let the girls watch before this year). Perhaps it’s Caroline’s list, full of clothes, accessories and books. No toys at all save for the one American Girl that bears her name.

In all this thinking, I have found comfort in watching the leaves and the sky. During this month, nothing seems to change faster than the world around us, not even my girls. I see the tree, pictured above and below, on my walking route each day and watching it has reminded me of how quickly life changes.

Some days, I’ve barely noticed it all.

Then there was the day that it’s red leaves against the blue sky were just arresting. I wondered how anyone walked the scene without taking a picture. And then there was yesterday, a skinnier tree against a backdrop of a grey, dull sky. How could one tree look so very different and still be the same?

And there was the comfort. One tree, one girl (or two), one Christmas. They can all look terribly different and still be, at their core, the same.

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Nov 21

Picky Eater? Try These Out of the Book Ideas

by Stacey

The plate you see above was Katherine’s during Thanksgiving dinner last year. She was at her most picky and literally ate only bread. And only the middle of that bread.

As I thought ahead to our meal this year with hopes of a broader menu for Katherine, I was reminded of a piece I wrote about using reading to help picky eaters. I haven’t tried many of these tricks in quite awhile. Seems like it might be a good time to practice what I preach.

My piece (and a food themed book list) follows:

Picky Eater? Try These Out of the Book Ideas

 If you have a picky eater, you’ve tried all the tricks. You’ve pureed spinach into your brownies.  You’ve topped your pancakes with blueberry and strawberry smiley faces. You’ve come up with cute names like Bobby Broccoli and Katie Cauliflower. And your picky eater is still picky.

When my girls were young, I read aloud all the time. I read during breakfast, while playing with blocks, over a snack and before naps. Perhaps because the girls weren’t yet great conversationalists, reading was way to start a conversation or to keep one going. While always fun, I also learned that reading could be helpful at times. Both of my girls would have rather played than sat still for a meal. When I read, though, the story held their attention and their place at the table.

Your answer to a more developed palate may just be found in the aisles of the library and not the grocery store. If your eldest eats only white foods and your youngest prefers only cheese, read on for some out of the box (or in this case, out of the book) ideas.

Read, then run: For young children, running and jumping may be more fun than chewing and swallowing. If you can capture a child’s attention as they sit at the table, they will eat more bites before the joy of movement takes them out of their seat. By placing a basket of books at the kitchen table and rotating the selection frequently, you will succeed in holding a child’s attention.

Leave them hanging: Snack and meal times are great opportunities to introduce chapter books to young listeners. Right when you get to a juicy part, stop reading. Promise that you will read again at the next snack or meal. Children will be so excited to hear about the solution to their favorite character’s problems, they may not notice that they are trying a new vegetable or an often rejected side dish.

Learn about a culture: Fill your basket with books about one culture. And then, present foods from that culture as you read. How about books set in Italy as you introduce a new meatball recipe? Or a book with a Korean main character as you enjoy home made Bi Bim Bop? As children are surrounded by different words, colorful landscapes and interesting traditions through books, a new food may be just the perfect partner.

Choose a recipe: Placing cooking magazines in your basket is another way to encourage creative eating and reading at the same time. Not all reading must be done in books. For many children, the joy of looking through a magazine will engage them in a way that books don’t.  While you sit and eat a meal with your child, flip through the pages of a magazine, commenting on delicious recipes. Give your child a chance to look with you or if they are old enough, to leaf through their own magazine. When they find a yummy looking recipe, mark the page and plan to create the recipe with or for your child.

Write a Cumulative Story: Keep a blank book in your basket or even a few sheets of blank paper stapled together. Each time you sit down for a meal or a snack, ask your child to dictate part of a story. Add on and on until the story feels complete. Over the course of a week, you’ll be amazed to see creativity grow. And with this creativity comes more focused time at the table. With this time, more and more new foods can be introduced as your picky eater turns into a more adventurous eater and writer.

Food Themed Book List

Little Pea- Amy Krouse Rosenthal

LMNOP- Keith Baker

The Incredible Book Eating Boy- Oliver Jeffers

Dragons Love Tacos- Adam Rubin

Orange Pear Apple Bear- Emily Gravett

The Duckling Gets a Cookie- Mo Willems

Clever Jack Takes the Cake- Candace Fleming

Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie- Julie Sternberg

Rah! Rah! Radishes: A Vegetable Chant- April Pulley Sayre

Bee Bim Bop- Linda Sue Park

Yummy Yukcy- Leslie Patricelli

ABC Apple Pie- Alison Murray

How Many Jelly Bean- Alison Menotti

Lemons Are Not Read- Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Creepy Carrots- Aaron Reynolds

 

 

 

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Nov 19

hello! hello!

by Stacey

Do you see that blue book? The one that is standing tall on top of the piles on my desk?

The book is Matthew Cordell’s (of Another Brother fame) latest, hello! hello!.

This charming book, about a family that takes the time to look up from their myriad of electronic devices, is sitting there for a reason.

This book is there to remind me to look up at the girls when they walk in to the room. Whatever I am doing on my computer, on my iPhone, on my Kindle can wait. They can not.

As we move in to this crazy time of too much- too much to do, too much to eat, too much to watch- I want to remember the message in this important book. Your children will love hello! hello! because the story is sweet and the illustrations are divine. You will love it for its reminder.

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Nov 13

First Grade Joy

by Stacey

Katherine woke up this morning happy. She was happy because she remembered that today would be her first day of spelling homework.

I thought that maybe the day at school would damper her joy but she ran out of school beaming.

And she was not the only one. A friend’s little boy came up to her at pick up with a gigantic smile on his face. He too is a younger sibling, happier than happy that he would be doing big, important work like his older brother.

As soon as ballet and hip hop were complete and dinner eaten, Katherine cleared her spot at the table and sat down earnestly to begin her work.

I can only cross my fingers and hope that one day, Katherine will come out of a school building overjoyed by her algebra or biology or U.S. History homework. I can dream, right?

 

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Nov 12

Liar and Spy

by Stacey

Frequent blog readers will know that I often get nervous about books with tons of hype. I worry that I am reading them too late and will not like them because I have heard too many great things about them. I know, big problems I have…

I have been reading about Liar and Spy for ages. Rebecca Stead is the amazing author who wrote the Newbery Medal in 2010 for When You Reach Me. It is not a surprise, therefore, that her next book would receive tons of hype.

And yet again, I don’t know why I was so worried. Liar and Spy deserves all the hype it has received. Stead delivered again. She tells the story of seventh grader Georges who moves from his larger house into a small apartment in NYC after his father looses his job. Stead’s writing is so masterful that while reading it is easy to slip into Georges’ skin and feel all the angst and excitement of middle school.

Perhaps the next time I read a book with tons of hype, I will remember Liar and Spy and not get quite so worried…

 

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Nov 09

Finding Poems

by Stacey

Last week, my friend Lindsey posted the following quote on her blog.

I’ll tell you a secret: poems hide.
In the bottoms of our shoes, they are sleeping.
They are the shadows drifting across our ceilings the moment before we wake up.
What we have to do is live in a way that lets us find them.

– Naomi Shihab Nye

“What we have to do is live in a way that lets us find them.”

I haven’t been able to get this line out of my head during this crazy, crazy week. And somehow, during power outages and snow storms, school cancellations and delayed openings, nine days with my in-laws and stir crazy pets, I was able to keep my eyes out for the poems. To live in a way that let me find just a few…

Here they are.

An early evening sky

An amazing free spirit

And power workers here from the south, who all afternoon yesterday took breaks from their work to take pictures of their first snow fall.

May you all live this next week in a way that helps you to find your poems.

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