Tt is for Truck

As you have probably heard, Brandt and Betsy have a new silver truck. We went to visit them last week and Eddy was very excited to have us go on a bumpy ride with them. It was bumpy all right, but also fun watching Eddy get so excited. And getting ice cream on the way home wasn't bad either. I'm sure Eddy would love to go on a bumpy ride with you, too, sometime. For now you can check out this book about noisy, very bump-inducing trucks. And you don't even need to go to the library if you don't want to. During July this story is available at Barnes and Noble's online storytime.

Have a Ttttterrific Tuesday!
Love, Grandma

Ii is for Ice Cream

Happy National Ice Cream Month! Before July slips entirely away have an "ice cream for every meal day"! Start with a scoop of ice cream in hot chocolate for breakfast . . . have a homemade ice cream sandwich for lunch. . . then make ice cream in a bag for dinner! At bedtime read a "cool" story like "Wemberly's Ice-Cream Star" or any sweet treat board books by Kevin Henkes.

Have an Iiiiiiice creamy day!

Love, Grandma

Pp is for Peas

The best way to eat peas is fresh from the garden. Pick a pod . . . pop it open and count the little peas inside . . . then pluck them one by one into your mouth. We just pulled up our pea patch because they stopped growing now that it's so hot.

However, there are much cuter peas to peruse in the picture book "LMNO Peas" by Keith Baker. It is an alphabet book featuring "pea"ple doing all kinds of jobs like "acrobats, artists, and astronauts in space, builders, bathers and bikers in a race". I think it is such a creative book, I'm putting it on my Christmas wish list.

Have a Ppppleasant day!

Love, Grandma

P.S. . . . How many puzzle pieces have you glued in your Alpha-Book so far this summer? Count them up and tell me so I know how many mid-summer prizes to send your way!

Yy is for Yes

Have you ever dreamed of a day

when your Mom or Dad would say

"Yes" to everything you asked?

You can read about just such a

day in this book by Amy Krouse

Rosenthal. Maybe then they will

be inspired to allow you one

"Yes Day" a year, too.

Hope you have a Yyyyyyes day soon!

Love, Grandma

Nn is for No

Well, it's that hot boring time of summer when you might be hearing "no" alot if you are anywhere near as naughty as the David in this and other "David" books by David Shannon.

If you can't think of anything better to do today, why not make a mess--I mean, No Bake Cookies:
Put 3 cups sugar . . . 3 Tb. cocoa . . . 1/2 cup milk . . . and 1/2 cup butter in a pan. Bring to a boil for one minute. Remove the pan from heat. Stir in 3 cups oatmeal, 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/3 cup peanut butter. Drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper. Allow to cool to set, then eat a few.

Have a Nnnnice (not naughty) day!

Love, Grandma

Mm is for Midnight

Grandpa and I just got back from our vacation to Alaska where we learned it really is the "Land of the Midnight Sun". We didn't see night for two weeks. One evening while we were still on the ship, we saw a sunset around 10 p.m. But even after the sun was all the way down, it wasn't very dark--more like a gray blue sky. Later when we headed north to the middle of Alaska, the sun set around 12:30 a.m. and rose again at 3:30 a.m. It was very weird to go to bed with the sun shining brightly outside. The first souvenir picture book I bought on this trip is about a little girl who gets to stay up as late as she wants playing under the midnight sun!

Mm is also for many other things we saw in Alaska like Mt. McKinley (the tallest mountain in North America) . . . a lumberjack show . . . a totem pole village . . . glaciers galore . . . whales, dolphins and sea otters swimming in the ocean . . . dog sled dogs . . . and a gold mine where we "panned" for gold and Grandpa found $24 worth of gold! We also saw eagles, snowshoe hares, caribou (which are wild reindeer) and two moose right beside the road in Denali National Park. So the next picture book I purchased was an Alaskan tale called "The Cabin That Moose Built".

One of our favorite parts of this vacation was eating seafood, mostly salmon, every single day! I especially liked seafood mac 'n cheese. So the last picture book I bought was "The Salmon Princess" which is an Alaskan version of the story of Cinderella. I don't know if any of these books are available at your local library, but you know where you can come if you would like to look at them.

Have a Mmmmarvelous Monday!

Love, Grandma

Ff is for Fish

Don't be scared to read this book. It is a silly underwater makeover of the story of the three little pigs . . . only this book has seaweed houses and sandcastles and fish saying "Not by the skin of my finny fin fin".

You could feast on fish sticks for lunch or make this fish snack: Cut celery stalks into sections and spread the center with cream cheese that has been dyed blue with a drop of blue food coloring. Place goldfish crackers in the cream cheese "water"and let the fish "swim" downstream into your tummy!

Have a Ffffabulously fun day!

Love, Grandma

Aa is for America

Did you know you live in a great country called the United States of America . . . and this Sunday will be America's birthday! So sing Happy Birthday to the U.S.A. and look for other ways to celebrate the holiday in this cute picture book.

You could also wear red, white and blue on the Fourth of July . . . and make a fruit flag!

Have an Aaaaawsome holiday!

Love, Grandma

P.S. . . Guess what state that begins with the letter Aa I am in right now?

Ww is for Worm

If you are looking for more creepy creature reading this week, try a silly book called "Diary of a Worm". Doreen Cronin wrote this book and "Diary of a Spider" and "Diary of a Fly".

And if all that reading makes you as hungry as a caterpillar, try making some wiggle worms or creeping caterpillars for a snack!

Have a Wwwwonderful week!
Love, Grandma

Cc is for Caterpillar

My very most favorite bug book is "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. If you don't own this book, you must tell me so I can give you one someday.

After you read this book, why don't you create a caterpillar in Chapter Cc of your Alpha-Book . . . or draw a beautiful butterfly in Chapter Bb of your book . . . or find some other butterfly or caterpillar project to create from the Beautiful Butterflies and Cute Caterpillars gallery.

Have a Ccreative day,
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

Dd is for Daddy

Sing this song (to the tune of "B-I-N-G-O")

to your Daddy this Sunday:

There was a man who had a child

And Daddy was his name-o

D-A-D-D-Y

D-A-D-D-Y

D-A-D-D-Y

And Daddy was his name-o

Then ask him to read you this gift from me:

Perhaps you could wrap a gift for your Dad, too . . .

maybe some Pop-tarts or popsicles or popcorn.

Or maybe you could make him a card or coupon

and of course, give him a big hug and kiss, too.

Have a Dddddelightful Daddy's Day!

Love, Grandma