Bedtime Reading

© Spike Lee, Tonya Lewis Lee, Kadir Nelson

Niedźwiedź cannot get enough of Please Baby Please by Spike Lee & Tonya Lewis Lee and illustrated by Kadir Nelson.  We read it many times every night and it is a repeat request during the day as well.   The story is a day in the life of a toddler and her mother from 3 am, Go back to bed baby please baby please, until bedtime, Kiss me goodnight Mama please Mama please. The illustrations are gorgeous Kadir Nelson interprets the text both faithfully and inventively in detailed watercolor.

Nathalie Lété

Le Joli Mémo de Nathalie Lété | Nathalie Lété Memory Game: Vilac, available at Rose and Radish

The author and illustrator of the much in demand board book Découvre les Animaux Sauvages (as well as freelance illustrator for the New York Times), Nathalie Lété, was commissioned by Vilac to design a memory game. Her illustrations are captivating, unusual, and thrillingly nostalgic.

Toy of the Moment

Montessori Infant Box with Tray: KidO Montessori From the Start: KidO

Just as Paula Polk Lillard and Lynn Lillard Jessen predicted in their book Montessori From the Start, this game is an engaging challenge beginning at 6 months. It is perfect for the child who is just beginning to sit up on his own.

Bedtime Reading

Bed Bed Bed: They Might Be Giants illustrated by Marcel Dzama

Niedźwiedź's new favourite bedtime read is Bed Bed Bed by They Might Be Giants & illustrated by the famed Marcel Dzama (Niedźwiedź's cousins are from Winnipeg like Marcel Dzama, so he's partial). The text is ridiculous, engaging, & thoughtful leading the reader straight to bed bed bed with a sequence of four short chapters. Included is a CD to sing along to, or in my case, to massacre while Niedźwiedź says, "NO, Mama, NO".

Bedtime Reading

Every few weeks I get stuck on a book, this week it is Leonardo the Terrible Monster (he couldn't scare anyone) by Mo Willems.  Mo also wrote another favorite of mine which is sill on heavy rotation, Pigeon Wants a Puppy.  The text is writen in simple colloquial speech and the illustrations are elegant & expressive, much like animation.