Alpha Bravo Charlie

If this is a common scene on your living room floor (don't ask me what the astronaut thinks he's doing on a battlefield),



this book might belong on your coffee table:

Chris L. Demarest's Alpha Bravo Charlie has been popular in my house for several years now. Actually, a number of Demarest's books have been read thin to and by my boys including his tremendous alphabet book, Firefighters A to Z. Alpha Bravo Charlie presents a different alphabet, the International Communications Alphabet, used in the military, law enforcement, and civil aviation to clarify communication. Each page presents one letter, its corresponding US Navy signal flag, a sentence using that letter, and a colorful, energetic accompanying photograph. For example, the F page tells us that F is for foxtrot and shows foot soldiers wearing bulletproof flak jackets. Yes, my boys have loved all the pictures of soldiers and fighter jets, submarines and paratroopers, but they love that the ICA can be used like a code as well. I treasure notes from my son Aaron where he signed his name as "Alpha Alpha Romeo Oscar November." Moreover, the book is a great teaching tool about the need for clear communication. It has inspired us to talk about why they see police on television shows call in license plate numbers using ICA. We imagine the consequences if an air traffic control tower confused an "m" for "n." That is a nice segue for a math lesson on military time and how its purpose, removing ambiguity, is similar. Although this book will definitely appeal most to the kid whose pockets are filled with toy army men, it has some great educational uses for all kids. If only it could teach those first kids to take the army men out of their pants pockets before tossing those pants in the laundry!

A Table for One at La Plata De Nada, Por Favor

A few weeks ago I was lamenting the fact that I rarely get to use all the Spanish I learned in college. Sure, I bought those Spanish language valentine conversation hearts, but I was eating them too fast too appreciate all the "Guapo"s and "Besa Me''s. Fortunately, my kids are on the last day of a four day weekend and we went to see The Pink Panther 2 starring Steve Martin. Amidst all of the slapstick humor which made me fear my sons would choke from laughing so hard while eating popcorn, there was a little Spanish. The characters dine at a Spanish restaurant in Rome named La Plata de Nada, the plate of nothing. Hooray, I put my tuition to work. That little gag reminded me of one of the many great details in Steve Martin's L.A. Story where Martin's character books a room for himself and Sarah Jessica Parker's spokesmodel in training character at El Pollo del Mar (ie The Chicken of the Sea). While pale in comparison to the Peter Sellers originals, The Pink Panther 2 was the perfect way to get the kids out of the house and to brag that I'm using my Spanish. And, lest you think I only "read" Steve Martin's movies, my bookclub has read two of his books in recent years, Shopgirl and Born Standing Up, both of which I recommend.

An Award Winning Bedtime Book

Are you searching for a magical picture book to read at bedtime? One that is both mystical and familiar? Comforting and enthralling? With gorgeous illustrations and lovely poetry? The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson and illustrated by Beth Krommes is that book. It just won the 2009 Caldecott Medal and the hearts of the children in my house. It is a cumulative poem like The House That Jack Built and yet so different. It begins, "Here is the key to the house. In the house burns a light. In that light rests a bed." The black and white scratchboard illustrations, enhanced with touches of yellow watercolor perfectly complement the words of the book, creating the feeling of nighttime warmed by both familiar and fanciful things. Obviously The House in the Night is not only a bedtime book, but it is fairly begs to be read in a darkened room snuggled under cozy blankets.

A Little Love Poem for the Day

In 1977 my grandmother gave me a copy of Edward Lear's The Owl and The Pussy-Cat illustrated by Barbara Cooney. To my mind, it is the sweetest literary romance of all time. Romeo and Juliet have got nothing on these two. Jan Brett has a gorgeously illustrated version with a Caribbean setting. Back to my grandparents, the best Valentine's gift I ever received, the one that proved the giver really knew me, came from grandfather. One year while I was in college, he put a shiny red bow on a box of Entemann's Pecan Danish Ring. Bliss! Clearly, that's long gone. In fact, it was probably polished off within the first twenty minutes I was alone with it in my dorm room. So, I'll share the poem with you instead.

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sand to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are!
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing
O let us be married! too long we have tarried;
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

"Dear pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?" Said the Pig, "I will."
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

Happy Heart Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love,

A Hybrid Post by a Hybrid Blogger

I don't know about you, but I think of The Book Bench as a hybrid blog. I don't just say that in hopes that Leonardo DiCaprio will accidentally land here via Google. No, I see this hobby of mine as a cross between a mommy blog and a book blog. If you are looking for other (better?) mommy blogs, you certainly don't need my help. You can't take a step on the Internet without tripping over a few. Although, I'd be happy to tell you some of my favorites if you ask. However, if you are looking for some good book blogs, more specifically blogs about books for children and young adults, may I recommend you visit KidLitosphere Central, the brand new and nicely organized site for The Society of Bloggers in Children's and Young Adult Literature. It's a great resource. If, on the other hand (wait, maybe we're up to a third hand), you just come to The Book Bench to enjoy my dry wit, keen observations, and the stained carpet in my profile picture, well, um, sorry.

The title of this post touts it as a hybrid post, so let me switch gears here and talk about shopping. I had to go to the mall yesterday in my role as third grade class mom. My assignment was to purchase some items at The Limited Too for a PTA fundraiser. Are you familiar with The Limited Too? They sell thirty dollar less than beautiful tshirts to preteen girls. My grandmother would have looked at the price tags and said, "Jesse James used a gun." Because it's highway robbery or at least mall way robbery! Anyway, after I completed that errand, I wandered over to Old Navy where I belong. And, oh my gosh, they had Charley Harper board books on sale for 25%off!

I love Charley Harper's quirky, midcentury feel illustrations. Don't you just love that cardinal above? I once read that Harper compared his bird artistry to Audobon's by saying Audobon counted every feather on every wing of a bird whereas he just counted the wings. Last year Old Navy began selling some baby and toddler clothing with Harper's illustrations on them as well as an ABC board book and a 1,2,3 board book. While Christmas shopping back in December, my youngest son and I sat down on the store floor and read them both. We easily agreed that the minnows in the number book were our favorite. Lo and behold, they are marked down, and since I have several friends expecting babies, I stocked up on a few.

Tween Girls and "The Period Talk"- Gotcha Covered!

Here comes a cliche: I sure wish this book had been around when I was a tween. Of course the word "tween" wasn't around when I was a tween. In preparation for my period, the filmstrip I watched in school mostly featured an illustration of a uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries that seen from a distance (the back of the classroom) looked a lot like a longhorn steer to me. The pamphlets I was given were overly scientific and did not answer the questions my girlfriends and I had about what it was really going to be like. Gotcha Covered! Everything You Need to Know About Your Period by Lisa McGuinness and Chris Boral is a great resource for today's tweens and their parents. It is written for a nine to twelve year old reader. While talking respectfully to girls, the authors still have a casual tone. Couple that with matter of fact information about what to expect and how to handle embarrassing situations, and you'll end up with a prepared girl not a scared or confused one. The book is short, only 34 pages which is ideal. I think it will inform without overwhelming. It even provides a few laughs, such as in these section titles. "A New Kind of Shopping Spree" and "Did My Jeans Shrink a Size?" That last one is about bloating, and is, in fact, a question I ask myself monthly, decades after I was a tween. While I'm not necessarily looking forward to having this talk with my own daughter someday, Gotcha Covered! will make it easier.