Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas

Fancy Nancy:  Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O'Connor, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser

Nancy loves Christmas time, because everything is fancy this time of year!  From choosing a tree, to decorating the house and cookies, to caroling at Mrs. DeVine's, Nancy's joy is contagious.  But an impatient little girl gets a little too exuberant and -- uh-oh -- will her Christmas tree be ruined?  Grandpa comes to the rescue and teaches Nancy to improvise ("that's a fancy word for using whatever's around to make something").  As Nancy joyfully declares:  "There's no such thing as too much tinsel!" 

If you've never read Fancy Nancy before, you are in for a treat, especially if you have a little girl in your life to share it with!  Nancy doesn't like anything plain -- everything must have lace, or be frilly or sparkly.  Unfortunately, the rest of her family is not like that and it can be so frustrating!  She also likes to use big words -- including some in French -- because they sound fancier.  In her Christmas book, you'll find words like "aroma", "heirloom" and "compromise" used, which will indubitably make it into your fancy little girl's vocabulary!  

This is the newest Fancy Nancy book -- it just came out this fall.  Keep your eyes peeled for an Easter book available next month!  Au revoir!  That's French for "good-bye"!
 
Learn More:

• Splendiferous Christmas Kit:  Event Guide and Activity Suggestions --  invitations, gift tags, tree decoration crafts, color pages -- everything you need for a Fancy Nancy Christmas party!  

• Decorate a Christmas tree and print it or turn it into an ecard to send to a friend!  From the Fun & Games page, click on Christmas Tree Decorating.
  

• Fancy Nancy website at HarperCollins Children's:  Fun and games (including paper dolls and printable activity packages for each book), make and send eCards, and meet the creators of the books.   In the adult section, you can also find party kits and activities to do while reading with your child.
  

• The author's website:  Jane O'Connor  Another book I love by this author is The Snow Globe Family, about a little family who lives inside a snow globe! 

• The illustrator's website:  Robin Preiss Glasser and an interesting interview with her as well!
  

Fancy Nancy Books:

• Fancy Nancy
• Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy
• Fancy Nancy:  Bonjour, Butterfly!
• Fancy Nancy's Favorite Fancy Words:  From Accessories to Zany
• Fancy Nancy:  Explorer Extraordinaire!
• I Can Read Books:  Fancy Nancy at the Museum and Fancy Nancy and the Boy from Paris (there are many more!)
  

• There are quite a few sticker / activity books available.  I'm not as familiar with these as my daughter isn't a fan of stickers... but there are a whole bunch available on Amazon.  Click on the Amazon link on the right side and search for "Fancy Nancy".  Books, toys, stickers, games, oh my!
  

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey

I'm not a big meat eater, but I'm not a vegetarian either.  I'm just picky... I don't like my meat to resemble the animal it came from.  This is a dilemma* for me every year at Thanksgiving.  Give me ground turkey!  I don't want to see the whole bird on the table!  Ack!

Anyways, there is a point to this.  In 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving, children go on a school fieldtrip to a turkey farm.  Because this is written to mimic Clement Moore's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, the children rode on a school bus "While visions of drumsticks / Danced in their brains."  Note it's DRUMSTICKS they're envisioning... not what animal they come from!  At the farm, children simply adore the turkeys, who are called by name by Farmer Mack Nuggett, who has a big white beard like a certain jolly fellow we all know.  After much frolicking, "Then sombody spotted / An ax by the door, / And she asked Farmer Nuggett / What it was for."  Then Farmer Nuggett with a gleam in his eye responds, "These feathery beasts / Will be chopped up and roasted / For Thanksgiving feasts."  The children and turkeys react with shocked looks on their faces and begin "a chorus of cries".  The farmer and the teacher discuss how to handle this, and upon their return find the children all mysteriously calmer -- and fatter!  They've stuffed the turkeys under their clothes, then waddle onto the bus -- and of course, the teacher and farmer are clueless.  The turkeys come to Thanksgiving dinner with the children... as guests, while their families feasts on veggies instead.  Gotta love it!

Dav Pilkey wrote and illustrated this book, and he is so much more than the Captain Underpants series, for which he's probably most famous for.  His artwork is full of energy and life and frequently has traces of masterpieces in it.  For example, in this book the teacher and the farmer strike an "American Gothic" pose, and he almost always draws his nighttime skies with traces of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" in them. 

Besides references to art masterpieces, he frequently sneaks in other familiar faces as well.  The turkeys are named Ollie, Stanley, Larry, Moe, Wally, Beaver, Shemp and Groucho.  I had to explain to my daughter who Wally is -- not WALL-E but about "Leave it to Beaver".  There are several other references to "Turkey in the Straw", "Over the River and Through the Woods", and a visual reference to the nursery rhyme "Jack and Jill" while the teacher "fetched some water". 

This is a great Thanksgiving book.  Although it deals with the subject of vegetarianism, Dav says:  "I don't consider this book to be a story about vegetarianism... to me, it's just a silly story about love and friendship. If this book has any 'message', it is perhaps that following your heart is often more important than following the rules."  Find out more about this book at Dav's website, and print a picture to color as well! 

I love Dav Pilkey... you'll be seeing more about him later!

Learn More:

• Dav Pilkey's Extra Crunchy Website-O-Fun!  Pilkey's personal website has information on all of his books, including fun facts and special notes.  There's also coloring pages, games, puzzles and more.  I have loved this website for years!!!

• Dav Pilkey's page at Scholastic Books:  Games and other fun stuff for Captain Underpants, Ricky Ricotta and information about his other books.

• 'Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore.  My family's favorite version is illustrated by Mary Engelbreit.  We like this one too with the Coca-Cola Santa.

• Thanksgiving books for toddlers/preschoolers:  I used to read these during my storytime.  Actually, sing these.  You sing all three of these books!  Over the River (A Turkey's Tale) by Derek Anderson;  One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims by BG Hennessy;  I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson.
  

• National Geographic for Kids:  First Thanksgiving:   This is a great magazine -- I give it to my nieces.  There's history along with re-created photos, activities and games.  Can't go wrong here!

• Thanksgiving Activities for Kids and Teachers:  Thanksgiving is a harvest festival, and these have been held all over the world for thousands of years.  Learn about other country's traditions, read the 1676 First Thanksgiving Proclamation and that of George Washington in 1789 and Abe Lincoln in 1863.  Find Native American resources, historic American Thanksgiving dinner menus, symbols of Thanksgiving and more!!
  

• Thanksgiving Printables for Kids:   puzzles, mazes, coloring pages and more!
  

• Thanksgiving Jokes and Riddles:  What happened when the turkey got into a fight?  He got the stuffing knocked out of him!  Bada-boom!
  

• More on American Gothic and Starry Night.
  

• Who were Ollie & Stanley (better known as Laurel & Hardy), Larry, Moe & Shemp (aka the Three Stooges), Wally & Beaver and Groucho? 

• Some of my other favorite Dav Pilkey books include:  The Hallo-wiener, Dogzilla, Kat Kong, Dog Breath, and God Bless the Gargoyles.
  

*So is spelling the word "dilemma".  I was taught "dilemna" but apparently it is with an "mma".  There is a big discussion on this "spelling dilemna" online.  It just looks wrong to me spelling it "mma".  Ack!

Confessions of Georgia Nicolson

I am a married mother, and I absolutely love the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson young adult series of books by Louise Rennison.  Think Bridget Jones's Diary for teens.  These are laugh-out loud hilarious books -- I kid you not.  Vair, vair amusante.  There are ten books in the series now, and the first is by far my favorite:  Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging.  It came out in 1999 and is a Michael L. Printz Honor Book (for excellence in young adult literature), and was also voted number 127 in the BBC's Big Read poll to find England's favorite book.

What do I love about these books written for young adults, aside from their hilariousosity?  I am, after all, obviously not their intended audience.  I don't know how to say this without sounding like a prude, but they are refreshingly... clean.  The only swearing is done in foreign languages (merde, shiesshause, etc) -- they get much more creative with expressions that you'll probably need to read the glossary to fully understand.  (They speak British in these books!)  Only the losers smoke (Mark the Big Gob, who gets the duffing he deserves by Dave the Laugh and the bullying Bummer Twins, who get expelled from school for shoplifting).  No one drinks except the adults, and there is no sex -- but lots of snogging.  These are books that I would totally recommend to another parent for their child without having to worry about it coming back to bite me in the bum.  (Although believe it or not, some parents have actually tried to have these books banned!  There's a link below.)

A short summary of the series?  Georgia and her gang of Ace Friends navigate hell (known as school), parents (muttis and vatis), and boys (oo-er).  The Sex God, the Luuuurve God and Dave the Laugh all battle for Georgia's attention.  Who will she choose?  I haven't read the tenth (and final) book yet to find out!  It's been released in the last month or so and I've just picked it up from the library (Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?).  I'm re-reading the entire series first (these are really short books - I whizz through them in a day or so), and then it's farewell Georgia!  Or is it Ciao?!  Or "I'm away laughing on a fast camel!"

Titles in the Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison:  

1. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
2. On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God
3. Knocked Out by my Nunga-Nungas
4. Away Laughing on a Fast Camel
5. Dancing in my Nuddy-Pants
6. Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers
7. Startled by His Furry Shorts
8. Love is a Many Trousered Thing
9. Stop in the Name of Pants
10. Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?
    

Learn More:  (Blimey!  I don't know how much you can learn from these books except some British slang!)

• Confessions of Georgia Nicolson website.  Choose between the American, Australian or UK versions.  The American version has the Snogging Scale (which is frequently referenced throughout all of the books and handy to have!) and e-cards, but is otherwise inferior to the other sites.  They all have a glossary of slang used in the books.  V. helpful!  

• Which Georgia Nicolson Character Are You?  Take this quiz to find out!  

•  The Tart's Wardrobe:  A YA Literature Salon interviewed an English person to explain the difference between shorts, pants, and knickers. 

• They made a movie out of this, but thankfully it has not been released in America yet (although you can watch it on YouTube).  I am just one of those people who am continually disappointed by the movie adaptation of my favorite books, and this looks to be no different.   

• What does the clown car that Georgia's dad and Uncle Eddie drive look like?  It's a Reliant Robin. 

• Even though I love these books because they are refreshingly "clean", they've made it onto the Banned Books lists.  In fact, Louise Rennison was one of the most challenged/banned authors in 2003.  To find out more about Banned Books, check out the American Library Association's page for Banned Book Week, and the Kids' Right to Read Project has some cool stuff as well, including a First Amendment guide for young adults.  Well, whaddya know -- an educational link!!
  

Sesame Street Turns 40!!

Happy Birthday Sesame Street!  Believe it or not, this long-running TV show first aired on November 10, 1969.  It's amazing how much it has changed since it's first season... and how much it remains the same.  The set changed from a dirty street to the clean, sunny one we're all familiar with now once they learned that more than just inner-city kids were watching the show.  Oscar the Grouch is no longer orange as he was in the first season -- but he's worn the same eyebrows for 40 years now!  Blecchh!  I'm sure Oscar would love that!

Before I had kids, I never understood Elmo.  I couldn't stand him at all -- and neither did Kevin Clash when he first started puppeteering with Elmo.  What happened to Grover?  Cookie Monster?  Who is this furry red monster taking over the show?  And then... I started watching Sesame Street with my daughter Rowan when she was six months old or so.  Omigawd.  She LOVED Elmo.  She would smile and laugh and kick her feet!  I then began to love Elmo because my daughter did.  She gradually moved on.  Cookie Monster became her favorite, then Grover.  She still watches Sesame Street everyday.  Now my baby Molly is seven months old and in love with Elmo too.

Sesame Street is now broken into six mini-shows and various video clips.  Bert and Ernie are done in stop-action clay now, and Abby Cadabby goes to Flying Fairy School.  (Abby has yet to grow on me.)  Of course, there's still the big skit at the beginning.  They've got a gazillion celebrity guests and an archive of all of the characters -- with videos to go with!  Find out more at Sesame Street:  On Air.  Susan and Bob have been with the show since it's premiere, as has Caroll Spinney (Oscar and Big Bird).  Wow!!

And who can forget that Christmas special ("Christmas Eve on Sesame Street") from the late '70s that had the whole gang ice skating?  Then Oscar gets Big Bird all upset because he doesn't know how Santa gets down those skinny chimneys, and he freezes while sitting on the roof waiting for Santa to come so he can ask him!!

Did you know Mo Willems (Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus) wrote, illustrated and directed for Sesame Street in the '90s?  That Pixar's Bud Luckey created animated sketches like "Ladybug's Picnic" and "The Alligator King"?  Did you know the Pointer Sisters sang the "Pinball Number Count" song?  Keith Haring contributed to the show as well?  

I am a HUGE Sesame Street fan.  It's perfect that I have two children under five to give me a legitimate excuse to watch it.

Sesame Street Books:

• The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone and Michael Smollin --  Who didn't love this book as a kid?!
• Imagination Song by Joe Raposo --  The illustrations for this classic song are wonderful.  I used to play the song along with the book when I did storytime for toddlers/preschoolers.
• 1, 2, 3 by Elmo -- My daughter loved this counting board book
• Elmo's Big Lift and Look Book by Anna Ross and Joe Matthieu -- This lift-the-flap book covers counting, colors, shapes and more.  My daughter spent HOURS playing with this book every day as a toddler!
• Eat Your Colors (A Puzzle Book) by Sarah Albee and Joe Matthieu -- Help the Sesame Street gang build healthy meals, while learning what different color foods do for your body.
• Sesame Street Unpaved:  Scripts, Stories, Secrets and Songs by David Borgenicht -- This Young Adult book was written for the 30th anniversary of the show and has tons of interesting info in it!
  

Some of my favorite clips:

• Preschool Musical:  a spoof of High School Musical
• Rubber Duckie:  Ernie serenades in the bath tub!
• C is for Cookie
• Fuzzy and Blue:  Grover, Henry and Cookie Monster do their thing
• How about Grover and that blue man in the restaurant?!
  
• There are so many great clips!  Find your favorites here!
  

Official Sesame Street Websites:

• Sesame Street:  40 Years and Still Counting:  Vote for your favorites, watch vintage videos, read behind the scenes stories.
• Sesame Street -- from this site you can play games, download free podcasts, watch videos, get teacher/parent guides, print out pictures to color and more!