Check out: MomsLikeMe.com — the place where Grand Rapids area moms connect and share experiences about being both a mom and a woman! What can you find at http://grandrapids.momslikeme.com?

• Ask questions, offer advice and swap stories with other local moms.
• Plan fun activities with your children that are convenient to where you live. Our calendar shows you tons of events, which you can browse by date, location and type.
• Submit your family photos and enjoy pictures taken at local events.
• Hear about news, events and activities that enhance your full, active lifestyle as a mother and woman.

Treat yourself! Check out all that this site has to offer.

You should definitely check out Simms Taback’s Safari Animals which is a new giant fold-out book by Simms Taback. On each page you get a clue to help you guess what animal is under the flap. Your first clue: “I have a huge mane.” As you fold open the book you get additional clues: “I can roar.”  Kids will LOVE guessing what animal is on each page and they will love folding open the pages to reveal the colorful illustration of an animal.

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street
by Jeanne Birdsall

The four Penderwick sisters are faced with the prospect of their widowed father dating, and they plot a scheme to stop him. Enter the Save-Daddy Plan – a plot so brilliant, so bold, so funny, that only the Penderwick girls could have come up with it. It’s high jinks, big laughs, and loads of family warmth as the Penderwicks triumphantly return. This is the follow up to The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy.

Do you have trouble remembering what books you have already read? Are you looking for an easy and quick way to keep track of what you have read yourself? Books you have read to your family? Books your kids have read on their own?

Are you looking for some interesting book suggestions because you finally have some time to yourself to read a book of your own choosing?

Do you want to see what your friends are reading?

Check out: www.goodreads.com and set up your own profile.

Their Mission:
Goodreads’ mission is to improve the process of reading and learning throughout the world.

How They Do It:
Most book recommendation websites work by listing random people’s reviews. On Goodreads, when a person adds a book to the site, all their friends can see what they thought of it. It’s common sense. People are more likely to get excited about a book their friend recommends.

What Makes It Fun:
If you get some of your friends involved you can see what they are reading.
It is a great visual list of what you have read.
You can make your own book shelves and organize your books any way you like.

Warning: Your “To-Read” list may grow very long, but when has that ever been a bad thing?

Camp Lisa is the second CD of children’s music created by Lisa Loeb. Camp Lisa celebrates the tradition of summer camp with a mix of old favorites and original songs. Camp Lisa features collaborations with Steve Martin, Nina Gordon, and Jill Sobule.

I had the chance to see Lisa perform songs from Camp Lisa this past June. My favorite songs include: “Peanut Butter & Jelly,” “Best Friend,” and “Going Away.”

This CD is available to check out from your library.

A portion of the proceeds of this CD goes to support the Camp Lisa Foundation which sends kids to camp.

Kids Music by Lisa Loeb:
Camp Lisa by Lisa Loeb
Catch the Moon by Lisa Loeb & Elizabeth Mitchell

Dan Zanes records amazingly wonderful family music. His CDs are worth their weight in gold. My favorite CDs are House Party and Catch That Train. Did you know that Dan Zanes has also turned a few of his great children’s songs into picture books? Be sure to check out Jump Up by Dan Zanes as well as Hello, Hello by Dan Zanes. The illustrations are by Donald Saaf and they are a lot of fun to look at.

Mem Fox shares her Read Aloud Commandments in her book Reading Magic. Check out her suggestions for reading to young children below:

• Spend at least ten wildly happy minutes every single day reading aloud.
• Read at least three stories a day: it may be the same story three times. Children need to hear a thousand stories before they learn to read!
• Read aloud with animation. Listen to your own voice and don’t be dull, or flat, or boring. Hang loose and be loud, have fun and laugh a lot.
• Read with joy and enjoyment: real enjoyment for yourself and great joy for the listeners.
• Read the stories that the kids love over and over and over again and always read in the same “tune” for each book: i.e. with the same intonations on each page, each time.
• Let children hear lots of language by talking to them constantly; or sing any old song that you can remember; or say nursery rhymes in a bouncy way; or be noisy together doing clapping games.
• Look for rhyme, rhythm or repetition in books for young children, and make sure the books are short!
• Play games with the things that you and the child can see on the page, such as finding the letters that start the child’s name and yours, remembering that it’s never work, it’s always a fabulous game.
• Never ever teach reading, or get tense around books.
• Read aloud every day because you just love being with your child, not because it’s the right thing to do.

This is a MUST READ in the world of literacy and children. Mem Fox creates a wonderful balance of research, real-life examples and fun tidbits. Judith Horaek provides charming cartoons that illustrate the importance of reading aloud with children. The book is in an easy-to-read format that is sure to be inspirational. I highly recommend this book to parents, caregivers, educators, and anyone who is interested in being inspired about literacy and children.

What books should you read to your new baby? Are the choices overwhelming? Do you not have time to sift through all the choices? Are you looking for a gift for a new parent? Here are some classic choices available in the popular board book format:            

BOOKS FOR BABIES

1. BABY CAKES BY KARMA WILSON
2. BROWN BEAR BROWN BEAR WHAT DO YOU SEE BY BILL MARTIN JR
3. PEEK A BABY BY KAREN KATZ
4. BIG FAT HEN BY KEITH BAKER
5. I WENT WALKING BY SUE WILLIAMS
6. FISH EYES: A BOOK YOU CAN COUNT ON BY LOIS EHLERT
7. CLAP YOUR HANDS BY LORINDA CAULEY
8. BUSY TOES BY C.W. BOWIE
9. WHERE IS BABY’S BELLY BUTTON BY KAREN KATZ
10. HUG BY JEZ ALBOROUGH

I have to admit, I am hooked on Mother Goose Rocks. There are several volumes of Mother Goose Rocks to choose from and they are all excellent. The songs are parodies of popular pop songs with Mother Goose rhyme lyrics. Kids know this music is cool and they will be jamming in the car. Parents will happily humming along to these catchy tunes. They will also have fun trying to remember the names of the groups that sing the original songs. Mother Goose Rocks tunes are covered by groups and individuals with remarkably similar names. J My favorites include Rub A Dub Dub by The Nice Girls originally a popular tune by The Spice Girls which can be found on volume I and Baby Bumblebee by Gum 21 originally a song by Sum 21. These tunes had me laughing in my car and humming the tunes in my head throughout the day. This is the perfect for the parent who wants to play music for their child but doesn’t want any of the sing-songy folk music widely available. Check out their website: www.mothergooserocks.com