J is for Junque Jewels

We made this Junque Jeweled J using:

Chipboard from a cereal box for letter base

Blue construction paper

Crafting jewels

Glue: stick and hot to adhere jewels

Jewel books we like:

We came across the book Moon Lake by Ivan Gantschev and Marianne Martens at the library one day. The illustrations in this book have sort of a 'folky' European, almost ethereal look which is perfect for this fable of a magic lake encrusted with jewels and other precious stones. My kids enjoyed this magical story about greed, kindness and integrity.

If your kids are into folklore type literature they might also like another book we have read called The Little Moon Princess by Yi Lee which is a legend about how all the stars in the sky came to be; a moon princess of course, who decided to throw her jewels into the firmament to light up the lonely night and provide comfort for the universe.

(more about Project A-B-C)

I is for (not so-Icky) Insects

We made our (not so-Icky) Insect using:

Chipboard from a cereal box for letter base

Green felt

Plastic Insects
Glue: while Elmer’s, hot glue to adhere insects

Insect books we like:

There certainly is not a shortage of insect books available so today I thought I’d just focus on one insect, the fly. Has anyone read Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth, illustrated by Stephen Gammell? The nasty little fly in the story takes the reader on a journey through the alphabet (and we are discussing the alphabet after all) as he meddels with nearly every object in the house. The artwork in this book is unique to a children’s picture book, the wild watercolor splatter on every page is almost sinister and perfectly mimics the menacing fly’s demeanor and deeds. You won’t feel bad for the fly when he gets swatted at the end. My kids like to smash the book closed before the last page and then open it back up to reveal the swatted fly (which is actually just a burst of colorful paint that covers the page). It’s a fun, even gross read that both my kids are into.

And since we are on the discussion of flies, There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly is a classic rhyme in book form that my kids adore. I realize this is hardly a book about insects but it does begin with a fly. We have checked out many versions of this story but their favorite is the one by Simms Talbek.

If you don't have this book make your own puppet version like we did HERE.

Lastly, since we’re on the topic, we recently checked out a book called Thelonius Monster’s Sky-high Fly Pie, a rhyming book by Judy Sierra with “delicious drawings”—as the cover of the book puts it—by comic book artist, Edward Koren. Thelonius the monster has a sweet tooth for flies and therefore decides to make a fly-pie to enjoy with all his monster friends. This book actually reminded me of The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly in some regards. The conclusion to this story however, does not result in death for the monsters or the flies. Expect a silly, fun book with harmonizing imagery.

(more about Project A-B-C)

H is for 'Hooray for Happy'

We made our Happy H using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Orange construction paper and scissors

Happy Face Stickers

Glue: Stick

A happy book we like is:

Hip, Hip, Hooray for Annie McRae written by Brad Wilcox and illustrated by Julie Olson. Yet again, it was the cover that drew us to this book (because, really, books should be designed/illustrated with the purpose of being judged) and it has truly become one of my favorite books to read to my kids. It’s such a great story for teaching kids how to be their own cheerleader and not base their well-being on the praise they get from others (a major goal of mine with my children). I honestly think all parents should read this to their children. Beyond having a worthy moral, my kids loved the illustrations and thought Annie’s cowgirl jargon was funny.

(More about Project A-B-C)

G is for Glitter and Gold

We made our Golden, Glittery G using:

Chipboard cut from a cereal box for letter base

Green construction paper

Gold craft glitter

Glue: stick, white Elmer’s for glitter

Glitter and Gold books we like:

I couldn’t think of a book all about glitter or one entirely dedicated to gold so I thought I’d offer two book recommendations; one with a little glitter and the other with a little gold. The first book is Alice the Fairy written and illustrated by David Shannon. This story is told in first person by young Alice, who is a fairy...or a wanna-be fairy anyway, she hasn't quite figured out how to make the piles of clothes on her floor dance onto hangers in her closet and things like that. The art work is typical to Shannon’s well known stories like No, David and David Gets in Trouble. Although this is a book about a fairy in training, my two boys adore it as all preschoolers, regardless of their gender, seem to have many of the same opinions on life.

Now for the gold…recently we read a pirate book called How I became a Pirate by Melinda Long but illustrated by David Shannon (which was initially why I chose this book). My kids ended up liking it and seemed to be able to relate well to the main character in this book as well. We have also read the sequel to this book which is called, Pirates Don't Change Diapers. My four year old liked how the two stories connected and said Pirates Don't Change Diapers was his favorite out of the two (I liked the first one best).

(More about Project A-B-C)

F is for Funky Feathers

We made this Funky F using:

Chipboard from a cereal box for the letter base

Yellow construction paper and scissors

Colored craft feathers

Glue: white Elmer’s

A Feather book we like is:

Feathers for Lunch by Louis Elhert which is a charming book about one unlucky little cat who makes many attempts at catching a wild bird for lunch but only comes close enough to snack on a feather or two. The unique artwork in the book is beautifully simple and most of the birds are accurate in size to the bird it was modeled after. At the end of the story the reader is presented with a “scientific” description of each bird. Both my two and four year old enjoyed this book.

Speaking of birds, another book we like is actually called Birds by Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek. This is another simple yet charming book that even very young children can likely stay attentive for as it talks about different colors and sizes of birds. The book becomes subtly poetic before the end.

(More about Project A-B-C)

E is for Expendable Eggshells

We made this Egg-shelled E using:

Chipboard cut from cereal box for letter base

Purple construction paper and scissors

Broken Eggshells

Glue: stick and white Elmer’s for eggshells

An Eggy book we like is:

Egg Drop by Mini Grey. This is a story about an egg that is fascinated with flying but since he doesn’t yet have wings the egg’s endeavor to do so leads to his fatality. Attempts are made to repair the egg but much like Humpty Dumpty, he is unable to be put together again. The poor egg shell has become expendable, there is a bright side however, as you will find out when you read this story. My two year old was crazy about this book and wanted it read over and over.


(More about Project A-B-C)

D is for Digging Dirt

We made this Dirty D using:

Cardboard from cereal box as letter base

White construction paper and scissors

Dirt from our backyard

Glue: white Elmer's

Dirt books we like:

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion

In this book the family dog, Harry, hates taking baths so he hides the scrub brush and runs away. When he finally returns home, he is so dirty his own family doesn’t recognize him causing him to reconsider bathtime. This book was originally published in 1956 and hasn’t lost any appeal as far as we can tell.

Meet Wild Boars by Meg Rosoff, illustrated by Sophie Blackall

I’d like to recommend this book with a warning. …It was the hard backed cover’s illustration of four adorably dirty boars that caused me to snatch this book up in the library. My warning to you is that this book is irreverently comical as the reader becomes privy to the dangers of being friendly with ill-mannered, dirty, (pooping) boars. The illustrations throughout the book certainly did not displease. Personally I thought the crudeness was minor as it was embellished for silliness and as an adult, I was easily able to distinguish between intolerance for disgusting/disturbing behavior in cartoon animals from intolerance for real people who may exhibit a similar yet less exaggerated form of “bad-behavior” but while I was reading this to my children, my concern was that they would be unable to discern the same way. I suppose even more than recommend this book; I’d like to get your opinion. Have you read this book? Do you think I am being dramatic? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Also does anyone remember the book Dirty Feet by Steven Kroll, illustrated by Toni Hormann? I don’t own a copy nor does my library carry one but I remember it being one of my favorites as a kid.

(More about Project A-B-C)