Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch read by Hector Elizondo

Playful Planets children's book series.

A review of the ten best books for teaching children manners, beginning with books aimed at preschoolers, ending with those for ages 7 and up.

What is the best message a kid can understand? “The I Like Me Dance” by Tim Friedlander spells it out clearly… to like yourself! Just right for preschools, daycare centers and kindergartens everywhere, this book with accompanying CD is going to be a fun chance for kids to dance!

Listen to the steel drum band! “Island Potty Party” is perfect for those little ones who want to be like the big kids. Tim Friedlander sings to an island beat so kids can learn the invaluable lessons of potty time. An exciting new twist in toilet training, “Island Potty Party” is going to be a big hit.

Perfect for preschool! The Playdate Kids address another real life situation… this time it involves the not so picturesque moments of needing to use a tissue. Yes, “Booger Boogie” by Tena Fanning is sure to be a hit with the youngest of readers.

Experts agree that parents who put pressure on potty training often sabotage their efforts by alienating the child, and that this delay can keep them dealing with diapers longer. Trust “The Playdate Kids” to take a delicate situation and balance the important how-to of toilet training with a motivating island beat that will have children begging for an “Island Potty Party” of their own! The accompanying CD and sheet music help prepare kids for the bathroom without battles, and succeed in unifying parents and child into a team that will tackle the toilet together. Every child has to be potty trained, but “The Playdate Kids” use their signature high-energy, enthusiastic musical sing-alongs to turn potty peril into toilet triumph!

School is nearly out, and parents everywhere are beginning to wonder what the heck to do with the summer looming before them. Here’s an idea – Start a kids’ book club.

What was it like to grow up during the Great Depression? Today’s children will enjoy finding out by reading the journal of Rose, a girl who experienced this bleak time in America.

The Norfolk Broads are the setting for five of Arthur Ransome’s children’s books, written in the 1930s and 1940s, which still delight children of all ages today. In fact, its not uncommon to meet three generations, grandparents, parents and children – all Ransome fans drawn to a vacation in Norfolk.

Children’s books make great gifts, and if you choose the book club you give them that gift every month.

Reading should always be an integral part of growing up. It should always start in the home and encouraged even until the children are already grown up. It is only in this way that they learn the value of reading which they can carry on until their twilight years and then pass on to their own children and grandchildren.

International Compost Awareness Week (early May) is a perfect time to read Pee Wee’s Great Adventure (ISBN# 0969788339) to groups of children during the various events celebrating the week. This book is the second installment in the series of three children’s books based on the character Pee Wee Worman – who teaches us about vermiculture, or composting with worms. Published by Recycling Resource Service, this book has taken even greater environmental steps during the production phases than the first book of the series (Pee Wee And the Magical Compost Heap).

Pee Wee’s Family In a Nutshell (ISBN# 0969788320) is the third installment in the series of children’s books written by Larraine Roulston. The series is based on the character Pee Wee Worman – who teaches readers about vermiculture, or composting with worms. Larraine shares a powerful quote from Charles Darwin on the inside cover followed by a statement on the next page where the author makes it clear that she sees compost as “more then a fertilizer, more than a soil conditioner – it is a symbol of continuing life”.