Bb is for Books

Summertime is a good time to read . . . read . . . read.

So maybe you could doodle or write a list in your doodle book

of your Top Ten Favorite books.

. . . or maybe you could draw the cover or a character from

your favorite book . . .

. . . or maybe you could make a "bookworm" with a new circle

segment added each day you read 20-30 minutes. You can

earn a reading reward for every 5 segments (or 100 minutes)

that you read. You can also earn a bonus reading reward

if, by chance, you have read the book I gave you for Christmas!

If you are wondering what else to read this summer,

how about "A Book" by Mordigai Gerstein or

"Open Very Carefully: A Book with Bite"

by Nick Bromley.

Make another list in your doodle book of books to

look for at the library. Click the label on the side of

this blog  called "summer reading" or  check out

 this website for many more reading recommendations!

Happy doodle days dear book lovers!

Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas B

When Barnaby _ _ _ _ got a piece of Mr. Willowby's

Christmas tree he said, "Jolly, by golly! . . .

Let's trim it with _ _ _ _ _ and honey rings,

Some _ _ _ _ _ _ _, and tinsel, and popcorn on strings."

Pick any "b" you want from Eddy's book selection and

Seasons Readings!

Love, Grandma

Reading B's

On my bookshelf are many possibilities for letter "B" reading:

You could read a book about babies, bears, books about books

or "Blueberries for Sal"--
a classic picture book by Robert McCloskey.

 "Balloons Over Broadway" by Melissa Sweet

 is the true story of the puppeteer of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

 You could read board books by Sandra Boynton like

"The Belly Button Book" or you could read "Boxcar Children" mysteries.

Jan Brett is an author/illustrator of lots of books
and a website full of fun activites.

And last, but not least, all you Little Leaguers
might like baseball books!

However, my favorite letter "B" books are a series of old-fashioned

"Betsy-Tacy" books by Maud Hart Lovelace.

Best wishes for a busy summer of amazing reading!

Love, Grandma

 

Halloween Bb

Bb is for Batman Zach with his little
bat brother, Brody and . . .

Bb is for another bat brother, Luke.

Bb is also for "boo"  cups!

Happy "BOO" to you!
Love, Grandma

Bb Treat-of-the-Day

A banana is yummy to eat sliced on cereal . . .

sliced on a peanutbutter and jelly sandwich . . .

or cooked into banana nut bread . . .

Read this recipe to make yourself another tasty banana treat!

Peel three bananas and cut in half (or quarters) crosswise.
Insert a popsicle or lollipop stick into the cut end of each banana.
Place on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper
and freeze for a couple hours.

In a 2-cup glass measuring cup, melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips and
2 tablespoons shortening, stirring halfway through. Stir until smooth.
Dip bananas into chocolate using a spoon to completely coat them.
If you like,  immediately sprinkle each banana with sprinkles,
granola, chopped nuts, coconut, M&Ms or a a favorite kind of cereal
(such as rice krispies, cheerios or fruit loops).

 

Freeze bananas on baking sheet another 15-20 minutes
until chocolate is set. Enjoy then or wrap to serve later.

Happy Yummy Summer Reading!
Love, Grandma

Disneyland Bb

You might see bears like Winnie-the-Pooh
wandering around Critter Country in Disneyland.

Once upon a time on her first visit there,
Betsy met a very big bear named B _ _ _ _!

Merry 5 days before Christmas

I spy with my little eye
an itty bitty bit of Christmas
that starts with the letter B

B _ _ _

Hint: I made this little ornament for someone's
"beary" first Christmas.  Guess whose?

Hint #2: Happy one-month birthday
today Parker Evan Shaw! 

Bb is for Boo!

. . . is for broomsticks witches fly

. . . is for orgres, monsters and spooks that go by

. . . is for orange pumpkins so bright.

These are the signs of a Halloween night!

Happy Halloween to my favorite pirates, potato  heads, hobos,
super heroes, forest creatures, bumblebees and bats!

Love, Grandma

Bb is for Birthday Boys

Big B . . . little b . . .

What begins with Bb?

Two birthday boys born on the same day!

October 11 

Guess how old big boy Brody will be?

Guess seven of his favorite things . . .

What is his favorite book?
Diary of a Wimpy Kid

What is his favorite show?
Fairly Odd Parents

What is his favorite food?
Shells and Cheese

What is his favorite thing to do or subject in school?
Library

What is his favorite thing to do after school?

Eat snacks, play games with Zach,
and play with friends

What is one of his wishes?

"To be in love"

(his exact words--which puzzle/worry his Mom)

What does he want to be when he grows up?
Police Officer

Guess how old little boy Nash will be?

What do you think is one of his favorite things?

Making noise so he is noticed!
(and all the other things his Mom mentioned!)

Happy birthday cute boys!

Love, Grandma

Bb is for Black

Black is a kind of spooky color you see a lot in October.
But lots of ordinary things are black, too.


Black All Around
by Patricia Hubbell

Look high, look low, look everywhere

The wonderful color black is there

The letters that live on each page of a book,

The hole in the ground that's a ittle mole's nook.

The headlines in the daily news.
Patent leather party shoes.
Clarinets and piano keys.
The fuzzy stripes on bumblebees.

Can you find as many black things as I did?
Happy Black Day!
Love, Grandma

12. Picture of the day

Bb is for boats
We saw all kinds of boats on our European cruise . . .
tugboats, sailboats, yachts, barges, ferries and more!
Guess which pictures show a boat we rode?
Picture 3  is a boat called a "tender". About 20 of these hung on the side of
the ship shown in the corner of picture 6. One place we stopped had a
harbor too small for our huge ship, so it dropped anchor in the ocean
and lowered several tenders that we then boarded to ride into the
harbor at Falmouth, England.

Bb is for Bells

B is for bells that jingle and ring

In addition to coloring bells for your book or tree, you can make a jingle bell bracelet by threading jingle bells onto a pipe cleaner and then twisting it around your wrist. Don't forget to sing "Jingle Bells" while you're busy creating!

Merry December Day!

Love, Grandma

Bb is for Brody

Who is the boy behind this letter B poster?

Have you seen someone hiding behind the letter B poster before?

Could it be the same boy?

Could it be the boy who has one big brother and one little brother?

Could it be a boy who celebrated his 6th birthday in October?

Could it be a boy who is learning how to read in kindergarten?

Could it be a boy who loves pajamas so much he wears them as often as possible?

Could it be a boy who has already written his Christmas wish list?

Could it be a boy who mostly just wants more pajamas for Christmas?

Could you please tell me who you think this boy is as well as your favorite thing about him?

Happy "Oh Boy" day!

Love, Grandma

Bumpy Button "B"

Before you begin making the next body part for your Alpha-bug, how about making some banana pops for a little later. While that treat is freezing, find your summer sack and pull out the paper plate with an upper-case B on the front of it. Then pull out the little baggie with a lower-case b inside along with a lot of colorful buttons. Glue the bumpy buttons onto the upper-case B and hang your finished "B" body part next to your Alpha-bug's head and "A" body part.And before you tell your Mom that now you are bored, look at the Gyo Fujikawa's book "Oh, What a Busy Day!" for plenty of ideas of things to do.

Have a beautiful busy day!

Love, Grandma

Bb is for Babies

You may wonder if doing the alphabet backwards this year has confused me . . . but don't worry. I haven't gone bonkers throwing this "Bb" in out of nowhere. The day after the birth of a brand new baby boy--Owen Brady Pickett--seemed like a perfectly lovely day to talk about babies.

Besides that, it's also a big day because now I have ten grandchildren. That's every single finger and thumb on two hands if you're counting! It also seems like a good day for another guessing game.

Look at all the baby photos above and below and guess which one might be you . . . which one might be your mom . . . and who are the rest of the cutest babies in the world? Correct guesses are worth big bucks (I mean tickets) to the X-box Shop grand-opening in only one more week!

Happy Birthday baby Owen!
Love, Grandma

Bb is for Book Basket

To help me count the days until Christmas

I wrapped up 26 of my favorite Christmas picture books

from Aa to Zz and put them in a basket by our Christmas tree!

Grandpa or I (or you if you happen to be here ) will open one of these wrapped books each day and I will tell you about it so you can read it, too. Your family probably owns some of these books and you can find the others either at the library or at my house!

The first present (Aa) is a

pop-up book called "Christmas Alphabet" by Robert Sabuda

The next present (Bb) is "Bah! Humbug?"

It is the story of a big brother who thinks Santa is a big fat humbug and forces his little sister, who still believes in Santa, to help him set a trap to catch Santa on Christmas Eve. Read it to see what happens. (and remember to button on the letter "B")

Merry 26 Books until Christmas!

Love, Grandma

Bb is for Boy

Bb is for a boy who:

1. Starts every morning with a glass of "choc-kee" milk

2. Has one big brother and one little brother

3. Goes to preschool every Tuesday, Wednesday and

Thursday where the puppets are his favorite part
4. Loves to play Star Wars Legoes on the X-box

5. And turns five years old on October 11

Guess who?

Then draw or glue his picture in

Chapter Bb of your Alpha-Book.

Happy Birthday Brody!

Love, Grandma

Bb is for Bugs

It seems like there are more bugs around in the summertime. I once found two fun books abouts bugs at the library.
Cute bugs are featured in the illustrated insect album called "Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!" by Bab Barner. "Ugh! A Bug" by Mary Bono shows that not all bugs are bad.

Find some books about bugs to read this summer . . . or watch "A Bugs' Life" . . . or make some binoculars.

Cover two toilet paper tubes with paper or paint. Staple them together side by side. Attach a string so you can wear them around your neck, then use them on your next bug hunt.

Have a Bbbbeautiful day!

Love, Grandma

Bb is for more Books

"Oh, What A Busy Day" may have been the first picture book we owned, but not the last. It was so cute, I started collecting more picture books . . . first for our family, then for my little preschool . . . and now for my grandboys (and myself). Here are a few favorite ABC books:

Aa is for A to Z Picture Book by Gyo Fujikawa
Bb is for Alpha Bugs . . . a pop-up alphabet by Carter
Cc is for The Care Bears' Book of ABC's by Peggy Kahn
Dd is for ABC Disney . . . an alphabet pop-up by Sabuda




Ee is for Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert
Ff is for Alphabite! A funny feast from A to Z by Charles Reasoner
and Fancy Nancy's Favorite Fancy Words by Jane O'Connor


Gg is for the girl gardeners in Alizon's Zinnia by Lobel
Hh is for The Hullabaloo ABC by Beverly Cleary
Ii is for It beings with an A by Stephanie Calmenson
and an "I Spy" kind of book called Alphabet Book by DK Publishing


Jj is for the jack-in-the-box cover of Alphabatics by Suse MacDonald
Kk is for kisses in Little Angels' Alphabet of Love by Anglund
Ll is for Lucy & Tom's a.b.c. by Hughes


Mm is for Mary Engelbreit's A Merry Little Christmas
and On Market Street by Arnold and Anita Lobel
and The Monster Book of ABC Sounds by Alan Snow

Nn is for the nails used in Albert's Alphabet by Leslie Tryon
and Alphabet Under Construction by Denise Fleming
Oo is for Oscar-the-Grouch's Alphabet of Trash


Pp is for Shiver Me Letters: a Pirate ABC by June Sobel
and 26 Princesses by Dave Horowitz
and In a Pumpkin Shell: a Mother Goose abc by Joan Walsh Anglund
Qq is for quilts featured in Eight Hands Round: A Patchwork Alphabetby Ann Whitford Paul
Rr is for Read Anything Good Lately? Susan Allen and Jane Lindaman


Ss is for Miss Spider's ABC by David Kirk
Tt is for Toot & Puddles ABC by Holly Hobbie
Uu is for ABC's of Uniforms and Outfits by Barbara William
Vv is for vacation books like
Journey Around Washginton, D.C. from A to Z by Martha Day Zschock
and M is for Mount Rushmore: A South Dakota Alphabet by Anderson







Ww is for Who's in the Box, Bobby? by Pat Paris
Xx is for the missing "x" in Alphabet Mystery by Wood

Yy is for A You're Adorable . . . a song illustrated by Martha Alexander
Zz is for Alphabeep: a Zipping, Zooming ABC by Debora Pearson

What is your favorite book(s)?

Make a little list in your alpha-book . . . and tell me, too!

You just might be the winner of the first fabulous prize

awarded on this blog!

Happy booking! Love, Grandma

Bb is for Books

Last week Grandpa and I visited Jack who loves to play

with someone new (or old?) He would bring out a bin full of cars and ask us to race with him. He would bring out a bin of superhero figures and ask us to play "superhero". He would come out wearing a helmet, carrying two plastic swords and ask us to fight. Sometimes he would invite us to his room to read books. "Finally, something I know how to do," I thought. Alas I learned there is a "Jack way" of reading books, too. First I read a page, then Jack "read" a page, back and forth. He obviously knew the stories pretty well, but "read" them far better than the way they were written!

If you ever get the chance, you must read a book with Jack. In the meantime, read a book with your Mom or Dad . . . maybe Gyo Fujikawa's "Oh, What a Busy Day!" Once upon a time when Emily and Shelly were little girls, they loved this book so much we read it constantly, and we had to stop on every page for them to choose which cute character they wanted to "be". So, whether you read books Jack's way or your Mom's way . . .

Happy reading!

Love, Grandma

P.S. Find the Bb's to glue in chapter B of your alpha-book, too!