Category Archives: Munchkin Mondays

Munchkin Monday: Book Review – My House is Falling Apart!

My House Is Falling Apart is a debut picture book by author Rachel Schade, illustrations by Barbara Laney. It’s a fun, rhyming book from the perspective of a little kid whose house has all kinds of things out of sorts. My kids took to it quickly, despite my initial hesitance. My first, hyper-critical adult impression was that the events of the story don’t match the title – I guess I expected everything to be “falling apart” in a literal sense, but that’s not what happens. Instead, all sorts of odd things are going on, sort of like a Dr. Seuss Wacky Wednesday idea. We learn all the things wrong with the house – from “holes in the floor” to “laughing hyenas in my trees!”

HOWEVER, my kids really enjoyed it–my daughter laughed to me as she brushed her teeth about “those laughing hyenas just being so silly up there in the trees,” so I lightened up and saw the book for what it is: a silly, fun picture book for little kids, with engaging illustrations.

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads and 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon, which = “I liked it.” Despite my initial tepid response, it is so much better than so many nonsense picture books out there, and I’d love to have a paperback copy of the book to add to our collection!

**Many thanks to Rachel Schade for providing me a free copy of the book in exchange for this review. It was a pleasure!

Munchkin Monday: Ranger Rick, Jr.

A very, very good friend gave my kids a gift subscription earlier this year to Ranger Rick, Jr. magazine. They–and I–LOVE it. So, thank you, G 🙂

Ranger Rick, Jr. is published by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). According to the NWF website, Ranger Rick, Jr. won the 2015 Parent’s Choice Award, and it’s easy to see why. The magazine is designed for ages 4-7, but even my 2 year old gets excited when it comes in the mail; she’s taken to walking around with the magazine, saying, “Me’s!” very protectively.

This month, I learned a lot about macaws:

Ranger Rick, Jr.

The magazine is full of animal facts, games, and stories.; “Bonnie and Chester” and “Ricky and Friends” are my four-year-old’s go-to pages every month–before we go back and read the whole thing cover-to-cover, of course. It also has a standard layout that repeats each month, which is great for this age group.

I’d also like to make a plug for the magazine’s website, which I don’t use nearly enough. The site has some of the magazine content, but also has tons of good “Family Fun,” as they call it. It has a handy search tool where you can search by age, activity type, and season, which is awesome. Last month we did this outdoor scavenger hunt (so fun! except the printer was broken so I had to hand write the list after showing the kids the pictures), and I do intend to pick out some more for us to do soon!

What do you think of Ranger Rick, Jr.? Do you get any nature magazines for your kids or have any to recommend (or NOT recommend)? Let’s share resources!

Introducing: Munchkin Mondays

This is the first of what I’m hoping (but not promising) will be a weekly series dedicated to kids’ books, periodicals, what-have-you. Right now I’m envisioning most of the material coming from our own books — if you’ve been to my house, you know we have quite the library! The name comes from my kids, because I call them “munchkins” all the time. Read, and imagine you are eating yummy Dunkin’ Donuts munchkins while you ponder the genius that is my kids’ books analysis!

Without further ado…

This week, in honor of Halloween, I’m writing about Halloween books for kids. Just a few minutes ago I went through my kids’ shelves and pulled all the books we have for Halloween. It turns out I’ve only read three of them (ack!). I do plan to read the rest with them this week; I’m actually hoping to pull together our holiday books in advance of each holiday and read them together. Maybe this will help me stick to that plan!

SO – here’s our Halloween collection, with some commentary from little old me! The book titles all link to where you can purchase the same version I have on Amazon, if you’re interested. OR borrow from Kristin’s Library for free 🙂

Halloween-specific books:

A Halloween Scare in New Jersey – This is a sort of silly but fun (if you are familiar with NJ) one. The kids don’t get it, but they like it.

The Five Little Pumpkins – The kids know this one by heart. We have a lot of “wooooooooo went the wind!” yelling in the backseat of the car.

Franklin’s Halloween – Haven’t read it, so no comment. Sorry!

Froggy’s Halloween – Ditto.

Ten Timid Ghosts – Ditto.

Which Witch is Which? – This book is a little hard to actually read out lout (part of the point, I’m sure). It’s an interactive one, though, so it’s fun. My preschooler had a great time with, but I think younger toddlers wouldn’t understand.

Halloween-related books (these just sort of fit the theme):

Crankenstein – Haven’t read it yet.

The Berenstain Bears and the Ghost of the Forest – Ditto.

So, I thought this would be fun. Let me know what you think, and if you have any Halloween favorites I should check out.