Preschool Health and Safety Matters edited by Jody Martin will be your go-to-guide for expertise on health, safety, and nutrition,  of young children.

This book answers your questions on everything from emergency preparedness and food safety to transportation and playground maintenance.   The chapter on child abuse and neglect, one of the most sensitive subjects when caring for children, answers many questions and provides a number of pertinent resources.

The appendix is packed with posters, forms, and checklists you can use on a daily basis.   Early childhood educators are charged with keeping kids safe, promoting their well-being, and teaching them lifelong healthy   habits––a huge responsibility.  In a perfect world, this book would sit on the shelf of every program for young children.

It’s published by Gryphon House: www.gryphonhouse.com

The little tune, “This is The Way We Pick Up Our Toys” was sung hundreds of times at Little Folks Discovery Center when it was time to send the toys, art supplies, and  musical instruments back to their proper homes.   My grandson sings, What does it take? Team Work over and over and over until the last block is in it’s place and the last crayon is nestled in the cardboard box.  Singing does seem to be a great way to make pick up time go a little smoother.

Here are some other ideas:

Choose a color and ask children to pick up everything that is yellow or red or green.

How about setting a timer and seeing how many things can be picked up before the timer goes off?

Sprinkle all the kids with magic dust that turns them into swirling pick-up machines.

Ask children to pick up all of the things with wheels or all of the things that stack.

In your best robot voice say, “Please-pick-up-the-puzzle-pieces.  Now-pick-up-the-books-and-place-them-on-the-book-shelf.”

Let parking attendants park cars and trucks.

Making pickup time into a game makes the transition easier for kids and teachers!

We just gave away a fabulous pop-up book , There Was An Old Woman Who Swallowed A Fly illustrated by Marina Le Ray in our December Holiday Contest!

The pop-up pictures are hilarious from the first picture of grandma on a motor bike swallowing a fly to swallowing a cow while riding on a hay wagon on back of a tractor.  Then, of course, come the X-rays  and the operation.  In the end, the old woman decides to eat only fruits and veggies!

Get this book, it will delight parents, teachers, baby sitters, and older siblings who read it to the little ones.

If you haven’t had a chance to read our review of The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister, please take a moment to look it over.  All of us working with children wan to see them have truckloads of time for play.  This book captures the dilemma parents and kids find themselves in with our over-scheduled lives.  I am thrilled to see it’s popularity spread–it’s getting rave reviews!

And speaking of busy.  The author of this amazing book, Linda Lodding must be reeling from the busy schedule she finds herself in as she promotes the book around the country.  And she took the time to write me and thank me for our review. You can learn more about her and the marvelous illustrator Suzanne Beaky.

Find out more about the book at news@FlashlightPress.com and download all kinds of fun pages to go along with the book. You can also watch a quick trailer about Ernestine.

I definitely see this book being given away in one of our upcoming contests.  Stay tuned.

You can read more

Oh the memories conjured up when I just think of Where the Sidewalk Ends or A Light in the Attic by Shell Silverstein. This newest collections of poems and drawings will not disappoint, will make you laugh, and compel children to say, “Read it again, please!”

I have lots of favorites from this latest book such as, Housebroken,  Forth Place, and Yesees and Noees.  But my very, very favorite is an homage to the title, Every Thing On It.  Such a simple idea––a hot dog with everything on it from a bee in a bonnet to a porch swing––only Silverstein could think of such an outlandish idea.  And if you need a little something extra to read about for Halloween, check out The One Who Invented Trick or Treat.

Shel Silverstein, he’s made millions of children (and adults) laugh.  He was a one-of-a-kind!

You Are the Best Medicine is written by Julie Aigner Clark, founder of the Baby Einstein company.  It is her story of cancer and comfort, and a more loving mom would be impossible to find.  In her wisdom she compares each phase of her illness and treatment to a happy memory with her child–her bald head to her baby’s bald head,  her feeling sick to her child feeling sick and how popsicles helped.

The language is soothing and lyrical.  When she’s tired and sleepy, “I will remember your still, soft face sleeping as you curled like a roly-poly bug in your clean white crib breathing in and out, in and out, quiet as the moon.” Or when her bald head starts to grow hair again,  ”I will remember how the fuzzy parts grew silky on the top, sticking straight up like little feathers…”

The illustrations by Jana Christy are just as impressive and speak love on every page.

If any children or parents in your program are facing similar challenges, get this book published by Balzer + Bray an Inprint of HarperCollinsPublishers..

There is something new under the sun! This brand new book by Aysha Schurman includes recipes such as:  Sesame Orange Coleslaw, Dijon Apricot Chicken Salad, Creamy Bluc Cheese Potato Salad, and Minty Blueberry Melon Salad.  And there are 3oo more tempting recipes to help you and your family eat more of the good stuff!   So if you’re stuck in a salad rut, add this book to your cookbook collection and move beyond the mixed baby greens.  An added bonus–each recipe comes with a complete nutritional analysis to help you make healthy choices.

Autism is a very big issue.  According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, autism affects 1 in every 110 American Children, and 1 in every 70 boys.

Children on the autism spectrum often have a difficult time communicating their feelings and emotions.  Photographs and visual aids help.   This book comes with a pointing hand that makes this an interactive book for kids. Children can point to the child who is sad, happy, itchy, or hungry.  They can point to pictures of food from raisins to rice cakes.  They can point to pictures of things that make noise from airplanes to lawnmowers.  They can point to puzzles and teddy bears.

At Pages, Inc,  we just gave this book away in a contest. I know child care programs will love this book and kids will too!

There’s a great new book that is perfect for celebrating earth day every day of the Year!  The title is E Is For Environment by Ian James Corlett.  It’s a guide that makes nurturing the earth an adventure!  The family activities can easily be adapted to classrooms and become a part of a being green curriculum.

Some chapter titles:  Litterless Lunch, Stuffed Stuff and More Stuff, Banana Boy, Bottled Up

This book goes beyond simple ideas such as turning off the lights  and picking up litter. It includes teaching about  buying “fair trade” and  the joys of  planting a garden.

And  adorable children, Elliot and Lucy walk us through every page.  This book is worth your time and money.

The title of this book by Barney Saltzberg could have been,  “Mistakes are OK,” or “Hooray for Mistakes,” or maybe, “Hmm, Now What Do I Do?”  The unexpected often happens, and learning to be flexible is an essential life skill.  Kids can be particularly sensitive when something goes wrong––this book teaches about making lemonade from lemons in a fun, entertaining way.

“Beautiful Oops” is an interactive book.  Kids can lift flaps, poke fingers into holes, pull out an accordion “telescope,”  and examine an alligator’s mouth.  There are overlays and pop-ups all demonstrating the ability to turn a mistake––a smudge, smear, drip, tear and other such mishaps into something creative and beautiful.  Exceptional in every way!