Urgency Emergency!

Miss Nancy at The Storybook Shoppe recently recommended this one to us!  Here's a fantastic take on an old classic, it's a practically ancient story with a modern twist.  In Urgency Emergency, Choking Wolf, by Dosh Archer, a wolf is rushed to the emergency room because he has something stuck in his throat.  A little girl in a red coat cannot find her grandma.  What could have happened to both?

In this hysterically funny, completely age appropriate medical drama with Nurse Percy, readers find out exactly what happened to both Grandma and Wolf.  The illustrations are whimsical and cartoon like, which convey the sense of comedy.  

My 4-year old daughter did not immediately recognize this was a version of the tale of Little Red Riding Hood, but when I prodded her, it was like a light bulb went off and a smile ran across her face.  Almost like a sequel to your favorite novel or TV show, this story offers more to a favorite tale.  Older kids and young readers will get it instantly and love reading this tale! 

We instantly picked up another in the series: Urgency Emergency, Itsy Bitsy Spider to find out what happened there. Would you believe it? The spider has been rushed to the hospital because the rain washed him out.  Good thing the sun comes out and dries up all the rain and Itsy Bitsy gets to climb up that spout again.  OUTSTANDING!

You can get Urgency Emergency by Dosh Archer shipped directly to your door. Buy it now with PayPal and support The Storybook Shoppe, Bluffton, South Carolina's first children's bookstore.  Save 10%!

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Amy's Three Best Things

Miss Nancy at The Storybook Shoppe always amazes me.  You'll notice if you go into her shop that it never looks the same from day to day.  She's constantly receiving shipments of new books, almost all of which she has personally read the reviews on, ordered herself, and then reads thoroughly. She recently recommended this new one: Amy's Three Best Things by Phillipa Pearce, wonderfully illustrated by Helen Craig. 

A young girl Amy who has never spent the night away from her home, tells her mother she wants to spend three nights at her Grandmother's home.  

Her mother agrees and Amy goes, but not without three of her best things from home to comfort her when she's homesick.  Each night when she feels  lonely, she unpacks one of the things she's brought, which brings her on a magical journey.  She feels safe and comforted and has a wonderful time with her Grandma. 

What we liked most about this book is it's combination of reality and fantasy -- not usually intermixed easily. It's very real that a child would feel homesick.  Exploring a fantasy world of riding on a horse to visit home is magical.  My 4 year old daughter, Molly, was able to make sense of the reality and the fantasy simply because how it was written.  It also follows a pattern, which Molly picked up on.  And at the end Molly said: "was she dreaming with her three best things?"  BINGO! 

This book is a wonderful way to encourage conversation.  It can breach subjects about spending the night away from home, or what's real and what's fantasy.  Distinguishing the two when you are between the ages of 3 and 6 isn't always easy. (Molly is convinced that Princess Aurora is real.) 

Children will love the illustrations, they are done in a realistic and unique way, that reminds me of an etching (lots of hash marks!) The colors are soft and soothing and set the tone perfectly for the story.  We highly recommend this new book.  You can have it shipped directly to your door, just check out with PayPal below. 

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Sarah Garland Toddler Books

Years ago when my daughter was about 18 months, Miss Nancy at The Storybook Shoppe recommended Going to Playschool by Sarah Garland.  It was instantly a favorite at home.  The simple words and beautifully illustrated story were easily digested for an 18 month old.   She could relate to the story line quite easily.  A young boy and girl and their mother attend "playschool" where they paint, play dress up, pour sand, and do preschool activities together.

We loved the book so much that we got others in the series by Sarah Garland.   We put them all away when Molly was about two and half, she needed longer and more complicated stories, but my 20 month old son, Connor, found them recently.  He's truly hooked on them all and I am reminded of how wonderful they are. He calls the books "baby" (he looks for the little boy in red on every page whom he refers to as "baby"), pulls it down from the shelf and brings it over for me to read.  

Each story is extremely simple.  In Going Shopping, the family of three goes to the grocery store.  They load up the dog and drive down the street, go into the store, shop, and come home.  That's it.  But it's perfectly illustrated and simple, which is why I think Connor loves it.  Easy to understand and about every day familiar tasks that he can relate to -- all of these books are winners.  It's vocabulary that a toddler knows, and can easily repeat. 

We have several stories in the store!  If you'd like to order online here, check out using PayPal below. In the notes section, tell us which title you'd like and we will ship it to you.  They are 10% OFF and just $8.95 each. 

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The Heart and The Bottle

I'm not here to talk about God.  This is not the place. But I can tell you with out much hesitation or apology that I believe everything happens for a reason.  Like the other day, when I was browsing through The Storybook Shoppe's shelves and selected this one, The Heart and the Bottle, by Oliver Jeffers.  Jeffers is the illustrator of the now very famous, chart-topping, The Day The Crayons Quit, written by Drew Daywalt.  Because I am practically obsessed with Jeffers illustrations and work, I picked the book up and without even reading it, bought it and brought it home.  

The same day of this book purchase would have been my biological father's 60th birthday and three days short of the 20th anniversary his death. 

Would you know that this book was all about a little girl loosing a father figure in her life and how for years, she bottled it up inside, only to learn it was very hard to break her heart out?  Everything happens for a reason.  Though it's a children's book, I felt like the book was speaking to me on that day...

Once upon a time, there was a girl much like any other.  Her head was filled with all the curiosities in the world. 

Until one day she was alone...

And she decided to put her heart in a bottle, where it couldn't break, and it couldn't be touched, and it was safe there. Only then she wasn't full of all the curiosities in the world.  How will she come to realize she needs that heart? How will she break it out of that bottle? 

This story isn't really about me.  When my father passed away, I didn't put my heart in a bottle.  I was surrounded by friends and family who wouldn't let me.  I never lost a curiosity for the world, a passion for learning and art, and I didn't have trouble loving anyone.  I miss him often but feel lucky that his death hasn't plagued my life with sadness. 

Unfortunately, I know other people who aren't so lucky.  There are many children that become introverted with such tragedy and loss, their lives forever marred from the loss of a parent.   This book could help bridge a gap. 

If you or your children are experiencing loss, and you need a book to help foster conversation and encourage sharing, I highly recommend this book.  I still can't believe I selected The Heart and the Bottle on this anniversary of my father's death, I can only smile a little and think to myself -- everything happens for a reason. 

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