As an SLP, I'm always looking at which books are valuable for speech and language therapy. Who Done It? happens to be great for working on receptive language and comprehension with many opportunities for answering "who" questions. Early reasoning and inferential skills are also targeted. Clever illustrations and unique format. Who Done It? was written and illustrated by Olivier Tallec.
With everyone fast asleep, Popov starts snoring and wakes up one of his dogmates, setting off a chain reaction. Now everyone’s up, and a good night’s sleep goes out the window! Can any parents relate? ;) Shhh! I’m Sleeping is by French author/illustrator Dorothée de Monfried.
Are We There Yet? is actually a book that Dan Santat wrote for his younger son so it’s a wonderfully personal work with many meaningful details, and is an epic experience for all readers. This is more than just a new take on the proverbial childhood query, "Are we there yet?!" There’s an interactive secret to the book that involves the reader in propelling the narrative forward in time (or backward?!). I'm in awe of Dan Santat's myriad details, the thought that went into laying out the page spreads and the way that his art and story came together to create something really magical (truly astounding). This is a book that is not just apt for the summer (the season of road trips), but for an entire childhood--to read, experience and be immersed in again and again. And I think this book just might inspire future illustrators out there. A winner on so many levels. Kudos to Dan Santat for this fine work.
And btw, listen to this terrific conversation with Dan Santat on All The Wonders. I’ve been meaning to listen to All The Wonders for so long, and only got around to it this week. It’s an amazing series! Listening to every episode from now on.
Nate turned five recently and we celebrated with a Totoro party. Here’s what we threw together:
—Totoro and catbus cupcakes by Candy Clay Cupcakes. Such beautiful and meticulous work—I was really blown away this time!
—Soot sprite truffles made with ganache and Sweet Estelle’s chocolate sprinkles and royal icing eyes. Inspired by the ones on Tinned Tomatoes (Thank you to Sweet Estelle for sending these for Nate's party!)
—Acorns made with mini Nilla wafers, Hershey's Kisses and chocolate chips
—Green tea-flavored Pocky
—Chocorooms and chocolate horns by Meiji
—Macarons from ‘Lette Macarons
—Felt garlands from The Land of Nod
—Felt leaves from Woolhearts on Etsy
Happy birthday to our little Nate!
Our newest bedtime read: The Ology by Marty Machowski. I love when theology is made accessible to children.