Under a Mushroom by Anita Lobel

This is a wacky little book that only the 1970s could have produced. 

Mushrooms, fairy folk, wildflowers. Yep, that's the 1970s. 

This is about a family of trolls with their cozy little house under a mushroom. 

Mrs. Troll loves the "pleasant, peaceful way" they live, but Mr. Troll thought it was a bit tame. 

One night as it begins to pour down rain, travellers ask them if they can shelter under the mushroom from the rain. Mr. Troll is thrilled! 

As more and more creatures seek shelter under the mushroom, finally Mr. Troll has a little excitement!

Unfortunately the poor mushroom could not contain that many creatures having a wild party and disaster struck.

Now no one had shelter from the rain. 

When the rain cleared, a whole new crop of mushrooms appeared, giving the Troll family their choice of new homes. 

Mrs. Troll breathes a sigh of relief and starts cozy-ing up their new home. 

Mr. Troll, wanting to ensure their life does not descend into quietness again, invites all their guests to make their home in the new mushroom development. So life is never boring or quiet again. 

But poor Mrs. Troll--she liked their quiet and peaceful life before. But too bad for her. 

As I said, it is a weird little book. Why couldn't poor Mrs. Troll have a nice, quiet life? Sigh. Life is just a vale of sorrows for women. 

I wish there was a sequel where Mrs. Troll got to have things quiet again. 

Lawrence in the Fall by Matthew Farina & Illus by Doug Salati

Happy fall!

This is a sweet little book about a young fox and his father exploring the woods and noticing things.

I had fun gathering leaves for this picture. And I liked this little leaf with the rebellious green patch. 

Why are anthropomorphisized (clearly not a real word) foxes so charming? 

A badger teacher! 

Students had to bring in their collections, but Lawrence, had no collection to bring in. Isn't he adorably worried here? 

His father reassured him that he knew just where to find a collection for Lawrence. 

In the morning, they set off into the woods. 

"There is no better place to find what you need than the woods," Papa explained. 

I am not quite sure if he is being specific or general here, but I believe this in a general way. The woods are always good for what you need. 

Spiders eat their collection of flies. Not what Lawrence was hoping for. 

After looking for several collectibles and not finding one just right, a storm starts. 

In all the running and pell-melling, Lawrence gets separated from his dad. 

He calls and calls for his dad, but the only response is a leaf falling on his head. 

Eventually he finds his dad. 

And he shows his dad how trees drop leaves to him when he calls. 

With a new collection of leaves, they head home to their hobbit hole. That door in the hillside--so cute!

Everyone loves Lawrence's collection. 

So he takes his classmates exploring and they collect their own leaves!

The end papers are leaf identification pages. 

I love this book. Mostly because I just love nature, but also the springboard it gives little ones to go out and collect leaves. I plan on reading this book and then taking my students out to the woods to make their own collection of leaves. I might pair it with Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert and have them make little leaf men from the leaves they collect. For older students, I might pair it with field guides and have students identify some of the leaves they bring in. 

More excuses to get kids outside? Yes please! 

The Moon is Going to Addy's House by Ida Pearle

The amazing Ida Pearle has another adorable book!

The simplicity of the plot, a little girl observing the moon following from a playdate to her house, allows readers to really sink into the illustrations. With a full, overblown moon hanging around, it is pretty easy to fall into them. 

Time to go home!

Meeting daddy. I love the enthusiasm!

Those braids!!

Watching the moon.

Hair blowing in the wind.

Oh my goodness! So much to love here.

After her bath, Ida goes out to bathe in moonlight.

The lighting was a little off, so just know that Ida makes it look way better than this! 

The Cabin Key by Gloria Rand & Illus by Ted Rand

Gloria and Ted Rand are an amazing husband/wife team. However, I think they sometimes write books for adults more than children. As a somewhat nerdy/serious kid, I loved them then and I love them now, but they are not books that are going to get kids worked up. They are quiet and generally somewhat nostalgic. And they tend to be wordy. 

This story is no different. Using memories of the Rand family cabin, the story follows a little girl and her experiences at the cabin through her childhood. 

Great story, but you need to know your audience. Are they thoughtful? Can they sit quietly for several paragraphs before another page turn/picture? 

It was a very snowy day when I was taking picture, which seemed  fitting. 

I even had a snowy pinecone. 

Ted Rand does such brilliant landscape/nature scenes. 

The little girl is entrusted with unlocking the door, which is a huge honor. 

Aren't these pictures great? 

Carrying in the wood

Love, love, love this picture! 

The joys of enamelware.

Listening to stories and watching the flames.

Coziness. Doesn't that blanket look realistic?! 

Also, the next picture (that I didn't get a picture of) shows the little mice scurrying around, so not cozy and no sleep for me. 

The family cabin is all very well and good, but mice ruin all the warm fuzzys. My husband's family has a family cabin in the Rocky Mountains. One time we took my cousin and his wife for a weekend and didn't bring quite enough bedding, so we gave them the sleeping bags and ended up using the sheets/blankets that were already on the bed. It was dark when we went to sleep and I just thought there was sand in the sheets, but.... in the morning, I saw it wasn't sand. It was mouse dirt. 

I still love the cabin, but I don't plan on forgetting sleeping bags ever again. 

Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty & Illus by David Roberts

Somehow, I had never really read any of these books. I heard all the great things about them, but I somehow never saw one in the library or bookstore to pick it up and look at it. 

They are fun little STEM related books!

In rhyming text and adorable illustrations, we learn the store of little Ada Marie, who "said not a word till the day she turned three."

I am not always a fan of rhyming text, but this text works. 

Her first word was "Why?" 

I love the brother and his tattling, pointing finger. 

Once she started asking, she didn't stop. 

Her family tried hard, but it was difficult to keep up with her questions.

Even at school Ada was always questioning and wondering.

I love this illustration!! 

Then she moved on to smell experiments

But her family had to put their foot down about something. 

She was sent to time out. 

Doesn't her mother have the grooviest fashion sense? 

When they came out to see if Ada had reconsidered her behavior, they found their hall covered in her musings, diagrams, and questions. 

I love that they support Ada in her endeavors.