D.E.A.R. 2013

Today is children’s author Beverly Cleary’s birthday, and it is also D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read) Day! I used to love her work, especially Dear Mr. Henshaw. According to the D.E.A.R. website, “It is a national month-long celebration of reading designed to remind folks of all ages to make reading a priority activity in their lives. Beverly Cleary first wrote about D.E.A.R. in Ramona Quimby, Age 8.” I did write about this last year in this post, but here is the link for D.E.A.R.’s favorite book list. Out of their list, I would personally recommend:

• Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman

• In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak (one of my favorite kid’s books)
• “More, More, More,” Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams
• Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

• Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale by Carmen Deedy (illustration above)
• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
• Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
• From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (who wouldn’t want to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art?!)
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Sabriel by Garth Nix
• The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer (esp awesome for boys for ages 9+)
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

• The Redwall series by Brian Jacques (another great boy series for ages 9+)

In honor of Beverly Cleary, DEAR day, and children’s literature, I would like to share this cool Jack Prelutsky poem I found on Pinterest yesterday. For those who have no clue who he is, Jack Prelutsky has been writing children’s poetry for over 30 years. I will admit I’ve not read much of it, but I liked this one because I have a love for cephalopods (octopus & jellyfish) and it was really cute and used really descriptive language.