March

Dr. Seuss: "Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try."


I have it on good authority that Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems is a big hit with toddlers. This same pint-sized source also likes My New Baby by Rachel Fuller, What Baby Needs by Sears/Kelly, and Elmo. 

If you're fortunate to have a book-loving toddler in your life, good for you! Have fun browsing in the book store and don't get overwhelmed by all the choices. There are new books surely destined to become the next generation's classics, but the books we greatly loved are still on the shelves and ready to entertain. Don't hesitate to buy books written by a perennial treasure: Dr. Seuss. Remind yourself of the hilarity of my personal favorite - Green Eggs and Ham. You won't go wrong with Sandra Boynton's board books, also favored by my two-and-a-half year old book buddy. My favorite Boynton? Moo Baa La La La. His favorite? Any of the Little Pookie series. You can depend on Eric Carle or Bill Martin to bring big smiles to little faces. Start with The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Lois Ehlert's books are beautiful in both artwork and language. Check out Snowballs and Feathers for Lunch. Read again or for the first time: Robert McCloskey's Blueberries for Sal and Make Way for Ducklings; Corduroy by Don Freeman; Swimmy by Leo Lionni; The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein; Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon; The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and Where's Spot? by Eric Hill.

Newer books that are fun to read and sometimes prompt an awww include: Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney; The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywait; Click Clack Moo by Doreen Cronin; When the World Was Waiting For You by Gillian Shields; The Napping House by Audrey Wood & Don Wood; We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Helen Oxenbury & Michael Rosen; the Pigeon series by Mo Willems, and Nancy Tillman's Wherever You Are and On the Night You Were Born. 

Compilations of lullabies and rhymes are also perfect gift and read-aloud choices. Look for Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose by Scott Gustafson, The Real Mother Goose by Blanche Fisher Wright or Mary Englebreit's Mother Goose. Lullaby collections include Go In and Out of the Window by Dan Fox, and Lullabies: An Illustrated Songbook by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Don't overlook Mem Fox's Time for Bed. 

For an innovative way to introduce your toddler to great literature, look for the Baby Lit series by Jennifer Adams. Topics such as camping, colors and sounds are explored in books modeled after Moby Dick, Dracula and other classics. 

The vibrant artist Charley Harper (1922-2007) introduces toddlers to colors, numbers and the alphabet in eye-popping books.

Find a comfy chair and have fun reading with your own little book buddies. 




                                     March Days


1     - Peace Corps Day

1-7  - National Write a Letter of Appreciation Week

Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss!

2     - Dr. Seuss Day (1904-1991)
         Read Across America Day

3     - World Book Day

4     - National Grammar Day

5     - Sock Monkey Day

6-12- Celebrate Your Name Week
          National Words Matter Week
          Read an e-book Week

7      - Fun Facts About Names Day

7-13- Women of Aviation Week

11    - Middle Name Pride Day

13    - Daylight Savings Time ends...Spring ahead!

14    - Pi Day 3.141592...

15    - Ides of March

17    - St. Patrick's Day

18-20- Sherlock Holmes Weekend

20     - First Day of Spring 

20-26- World Folktales and Fables Week

21     - Poetry Day

27- 4/1-National Cleaning Week

30     - Pencil Day
         - Doctors Day

March is National Kite Month, National Craft Month, National Women's History Month, Small Press Month, National March Into Literacy Month and Sing With Your Child Month.

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Spring can be celebrated with a trip to the library or book store. Check out new books by these authors: Harlan Coben, Clive Cussler, J.A. Jance, James Grippando, James Patterson, Beverly Lewis, Jennifer Chiaverini, Tomie DePaola, Donna Leon, Danielle Steel, Stephen King, Jacqueline Winspear, Helen Simonson, Fern Michaels, Jeffrey Archer, Karen Kingsbury, Joanne Fluke, Jim Harrison, Randy Wayne White, Mary Kay Andrews, Anne Perry and Augusten Burroughs. Also, look for a Harry Potter coloring book!

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