0 N is for Nancy Tafuri

N is for Nancy Tafuri
Nancy Tafuri is best known for her "Have you seen my duckling" which is a 1985 Caldecott Honor.

Books that the Bubble Ink has read:
Have you seen my duckling?, Who's counting?, You are special, Little One.

Books read to the Bubbling:
Have you seen my duckling?, Who's counting?

Bubble Ink pick:
Have you seen my duckling?

Bubbling Pick:
Have you seen my duckling?

Some more that we think are great:
Good night, My Duckling.

We will review "Have you seen my duckling"


The Book:
Have you seen my Duckling is written and illustrated by Nancy Tafuri and is a 1986 Caldecott honor

Buy yours here on Flipkart.

The Bubble:
The story is told in illustrations than in the words. The first page has the text "Early one morning.." and shows how a duckling wanders away to catch a butterfly and his sibling ducklings calling out to him. Mamma duck goes around asking everyone "Have you seen my duckling". While the Mama duck asks everyone, seen in the illustration is the duckling hidden away so subtely but the mama duck unable to see it. There is a also a page in which the duckling is just behind the Mama - Brilliant that!

A mom-child theme book where the story is told by illustrations.

Bubble Ink Verdict:
We love this almost wordless book with a simple story line yet wonderful. We love picture books that double as a game of hide and seek. Our love for the book is the reciprocation of the bubbling's delight in the book on its first read and every subsequent read.
We love the first page that forms the basis for the entire story - the duckling wandering away to catch a butterfly and the other ducklings calling out to it.

This is one of those books that can very well be your child's first book and the most loved one. A must-have in every child's library.

For us, it is on the list of the Bubbling's favourites.

We borrowed ours from Hippocampus, Bangalore.
We give it 5-bubbles.

Bubbling's verdict:
It is undoubtedly a bubbling-full-five.
This is one of the books that she just didn't want to return back to Hippocampus. We brought it back the first time we went to return it. Bubbling is a lover of lift the flaps, pull tabs and she loves surprises. She delighted at finding the duckling on every page , even in the subtlest of the hiding places. She used to squeal in delight and we have read this one atleast 8 times back to back on the first read and one every other day for all the days it was with us.
Somehow, the bubbling thought that the duckling is hiding from the Mama and did not think that it got lost. Well, wordless books are wordless for this reason, it is left to the imagination of the reader.

0 M is for Maurice Sendak

Maurice Sendak : Caldecott medal for "Where the wild things are" and 7 times Caldecott honors - Is an author and an illustrator.

Books that the Bubble Ink has read:
Where the wild things are, Outside over there - Written by him
Little Bear, Little Bear's visit, What can you do with a shoe like this - Illustrated by him

Books read to the Bubbling:
Where the wild things are.

Bubble Ink pick:
Outside over there.

Bubbling Pick:
Little Bear.

Some more that we think are great:
Mr Rabbit and the Lovely Present.

We will review Where the wild things are

The Book:
"Where the wild things are" is written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak and is a 1964 Caldecott Medal Winner.

Buy yours here on Flipkart or Amazon - Great price.

The Bubble:
The book is about a mischievous boy named Max who was called "A wild thing" by his mother and on telling her back "I'll eat you  up" was sent to bed without supper.
In his bedroom , Max imagines up a world on his own with wild things and has the time of his life with them. He gets called the king by them, they do the wild rumpus and Max even gets to send them to bed without supper. Before long, Max starts feeling lonely and gives up being King of wild things and returns back home to find true love.

We love the illustrations showing the emotions of the wild things , the rumpus and Max in his wolf suit. 

Bubble Ink's verdict:
Love books like these which show the imagination of the little boy and the subtle and yet powerful way in which the mother's love is fed into the story. The mom who sends the child off to bed without supper keeps the food warm when he gets back from his dream world. Touching instance,that! We also love how in the dream, Max gets to send his wild things off to bed without supper. Children - they will be! 
The rumpus pages are great!
We bought ours at a book sale. 
We give it 5-bubbles

Bubbling's verdict:
Bubbling is not into monsters , so did not take to this one that well. However , she loved Max in the wolf suit and relates the monster pages to another favourite of her, The Gruffalo - she recollects the terms terrible teeth and terrible claws.
It is a bubbling-tantalizing-three.

0 Children's Book Week : Arts Tales with Arthi Anand - Favourites

Arthi Anand of Arts Tales shares the favourites in their household and the reading journey with her girls


Arthi Anand Navaneeth is a marketing professional with a fragrance MNC , mother of 2 girls and a writer.
Have You Seen This? and Ranganna are her picture books published by Tulika.  She also is the creator of Mister Muthu for Chandamama.

She is a children's book reviewer at Saffron Tree and a weekend storyteller. She blogs about her storytelling adventures at Art's Tales and  her FB page is https://www.facebook.com/artstales

P for Picture books

My earliest memory of narrating a story to Anushka, was The shepherd boy who cried wolf, when she was around one year old.
There on we added Goldilocks and soon The big pancake made it a trio.

We ( Navy, me and my mother) often improvised and made up stories with Anush as a character- to get over some fear or even to explain traffic rules.

Well, she did have some board books on Winnie the Pooh and words and numbers and a beautiful bath tub book of a little fish and a shark
But we largely stuck to the oral tradition and read aloud books only much later.

As an easy gradual step up, Karadi rhymes came into our home by the time she was two and Jalebi curls from Tulika entered our library.
Everyone in the family, including slightly long term visitors learnt the Karadi songs.
We bought every Tulika title we could find- Mountain who loved a bird, Brahma's Butterfly, Gajapati Kulapati are much thumbed copies.

We bought a few Tara and Katha books as well.

A visit from my aunt in the US saw Dr Suess enter our home in a big way- Anush was around 3 then.

I had never read Suess till then and frankly found it overrated to begin with.
But when Anush began to read One fish, Blue fish by herself I was a convert.

Eric Carle ( we began with The Very Hungry Caterpillar) , Julia Donaldson ( started with a Squash and a Squeeze), tales from multi cultural contexts ( began with Handa's Surprise), were loved and embraced thanks to Safrron Tree and a good friend Chox who was overseas then.

I began as an ST fan and ended up a contributor.
Around then, I became an active picture book hunter and Anush graduated to chapter books.
We got Anush picture books in Hindi and most importantly now we had Aditi to read to and she had us and her big sister to enjoy stories with.

We moved to Bangalore and discovered Pratham books- Too many bananas is still a favourite

So the love affair with picture books has turned into an enduring relationship............helping me along in my roles as mother, writer, storyteller and blogger.

0 L is for Leo Lionni

Leo Lionni is an author and illustrator who has won Caldecott honors - 4 times for his works, Alexander and the Wind up mouse, Swimmy, Inch by Inch and Frederick.

Books that the Bubble Ink has read:
Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse.

Books read to the Bubbling:
Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse.


Bubble Ink pick:
Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse.


Bubbling Pick:
- [A very recent read to her]

Some more that we think are great:
Inch by Inch, Frederick, A Color of his Own, Swimmy, It's Mine.

Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse

The Book:
Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse is written and illustrated by Leo Lionni and is a 1970 Caldecott Honor.

Buy yours here on Flipkart and his other works here.

The Bubble:
The book is a story of friendship between a real mouse and a toy mouse in a household. A real mouse who scoots around, escaping his threats like a broom chasing him, mouse traps and the flying saucers. The wind-up mouse Willy can only move if wound up but is very happy feeling safe and loved in the household. An endearing tale of friendship between these two mice is brought out beautifully in the book. Alexander wishes to be a wind-up mouse Willy, who is always loved and cuddled. He comes to know of a lizard who can transform anyone to anything they want. Does Alexander get his wish fulfilled? Does 

Only genius illustrators can make mice look adorable and only on picture books can you love them and appreciate a story of friendship between mice.

Bubble Ink's verdict:
Loved this book. A beautiful story of friendship. The mouse with wheels is cute overness - We can't believe we are saying that. But, it is picture book world, you see!
Anything from monsters and aliens to mice and lizards can be made to look cute. Yes, the book features a lizard too.

The book brings a smile on your face and also memories of the feelings "I wish I was like that" and the endearing things we ourselves have done for our friends.

We bought ours at a book sale for a throw-away price. Serendipity strikes the Caldecott Collector.
We give it 5 bubbles

Bubbling verdict:
A very recent read to the bubbling - so no verdict yet. But she loved the two mice and their friendship. Did not yet the entire essence of the story.

0 Children's Book Week @ Bubble Ink

For the love of Books, specifically Children's books, we celebrate Children's Book Week with a book or a voucher to take away and some fun stuff.

1. Book Exchange.
Very similar to our earlier Exchange party with the only change being that we don't want to do it internationally this time unless there is a very specific request.
Please use this form to register for the event with your wishlist and the books that you have to offer. As earlier, you can choose to offer an used book that your child has outgrown, your extra copy of a book or even buy a new book online and ship to your exchange partner. List on the form your preferences to help us work out the partners in an easy and smooth way.

2. List your favourites.
We would to hear from you on the books that you have enjoyed at your home. Your personal favourites as a parent, your child's favourites over the growing years, your current wish list.
If you are a blogger, we would encourage you to write a blog post on your faourites, your reading journey with the child. Share with us the link to your blog.
Here are what we would like to know
1. Favourite characters from Children's Book. eg: Fern from Charlotte's Web
2. Favourite series e.g Spot.
3. Your child's favourites over the growing years.
4. Your personal favourite as a parent.
5. Your current wish list.
6. Your favourite quote or lines from any children's Book.

Most details on the form here.

Submit your favourites here, we will create a collage poster with these on post it on the Bubble Ink page for other parents to benefit from.

3. Celebrate Authors and Illustrators:
On any of the days this week, we would like to celebrate our favourite children's book authors and illustrators. For this, we would encourage you to pick an author or illustrator for a day and celebrate them. Read multiple books from the chosen author/illustrator, draw a similarity in their writing style or illustration style and try an artwork or a small piece of writing based on their style. 
Be inspired by others - Share the resources that you find on the internet.

E.g: Julia Donaldson - With an older child, you can try a small piece of 4 lines with her rhyming style.
Eric Carle - Try a craft with this collage style illustration
Dr Seuss - Try his classic red and blue illustrations.
It can be as simple as even a coloring page or a craft. 
We will post on the Bubble Ink page some inspiration from over the internet and you can post back what you did around the same on our page. We also encourage you to share the inspiration that you find.

4. Win a Book
We love giving away books and we love helping you tick-off your wishlist. If you participate in any one of the above 3 activities, you stand a chance for a lucky draw to win a book or a voucher. The value of the book or the voucher will be limited to Rs 200 INR. For international participants an equivalant 5$ amazon voucher or an Indian Shipping address or the option to take the INR voucher will be requested. Please bear with us for this limitation. If we are able to procure the book on your wish list, we will work out with the individual winner if an used book is ok and can get you that. The option to choose a book or a voucher lies with the winner.
The lucky draw will be done on 20th May 2014.

Now pass the word around and get going.

0 K is for Keats, Ezra Jack

K is for Erza Jack Keats
Caldecott Medal for 1963 for Snowy Day and Caldecott Honor for Goggles in 1970

Pic Courtesy: barnesandnoble.com

Books that the Bubble Ink has read:
The Snowy Day

Books read to the Bubbling:
The Snowy Day.

Bubble Ink pick:
The Snowy Day.

Bubbling Pick:
The Snowy Day.

Some more that we think are great:
Goggles

The Snowy Day - Review

The Book:
The Snowy Day is written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats and a 1963 Caldecott Medal winner.

Buy yours here on Amazon or Flipkart

The Bubble:
The story of a little boy who goes out into the snow with his snow suit on - Finding joy in making foot marks on snow, dragging feet to make trails , building snow castles, snow angels, played snow slides. Oh! the joy of simple things and the curiosity of taking a snow ball home! -Merely childhood pleasures those.

Bubble Ink's verdict:
A different Snow book without much of the pretty snowflakes and yet powerful illustrations. We love how the little boy puts a snow ball into his pocket and is upset at not finding it in his pocket and goes off to sleep. He dreams that the sun has melted all the snow but wakes up to still find snow everywhere. Dreamy!

We borrowed ours from Hippocampus Bangalore.
We give it 4 bubbles.

Bubbling's verdict:
Bubbling is usually warm-clothing hater - Post this book , despite summer, demanding her winter jackets. She loved the pages of snow trails!
It is a bubbling-tantalizing-three.

0 J is for Jon Klassen : This is not my Hat - Review

J is for Jon Klassen

Books that Bubble Ink has read :
I want my hat back, This is not my hat, Extra Yarn (Illustrated by him)

Pic Coutesy: slj.com

Books read to the Bubbling:
I want my hat back, This is not my hat, Extra Yarn

Bubble Ink pick:
Extra Yarn

Bubbling Pick:
This is not my hat

Some more that we think are great:
The Dark

We have already done Extra Yarn and love it , we will do the Bubbling pick and the Caldecott Medal "This is not my hat" today.


The Book:
This is not my hat is a book written and illustrated by Jon Klassen. 2013 Caldecott Medal and is a sequel to his I want my hat back.

Buy your copy here on Amazon. and on Flipkart .

The Bubble:
The book is narrated by the small fish who steals the hat from the big fish while he was sleeping. The small fish goes on to justify why he stole, how he stole it and how he thinks that even those who see him hide will not tell the big fish, how no one can find it behind the plants. The narration says that and the illustrations contradict it with exactly the opposite. Witty!

Does the big fish get the hat?

We love the illustrations with it being spread over both the pages for the big fish and only part of the page for the small fish, the facial expressions of the big fish portrayed so well!

Bubble Ink Verdict:
Simple story sprinkled with wit, some dry humor and with some awesome illustrations. This one is a great read. Let your little one just enjoy the illustration, your older one the wit and you enjoy all of it!

We borrowed ours from Hippocampus Bangalore then bought our own copy at the Flipkart 50% sale.
We give it 5 bubbles.

Bubbling verdict:
This is one of those books that I didn't expect the bubbling to like , but even if one doesn't get the dry humor in it, brilliant illustrations win hands down. She picks the book up saying the first line "This hat is not mine", Then I go "I took it from a" and she completes "Big, big fish" - She enacts the sleeping, waking up, looking for hat, where's my hat pages! We adapt the story a bit so she doesn't yet get the hit but relates more as a hat taken away and the big fish going to find it.

It is a bubbling-full-five

0 Picture Book Treasure Hunt #6

Check Previous Clues here

Clue #6:

Arundhati Venkatesh is a children's writer. Her picture book 'Junior Kumbhakarna' published by Tulika Books won the Parents and Kids Choice Award. Her chapter book 'Petu Pumpkin Tiffin Thief' is out from Duckbill Books this month.

Here are her clues for the sixth book in the Hunt.

This book is rather special. Two summers ago, the kid would be out all day, making the most of his holidays. In the evening, he would plonk himself with a book on the kitchen floor while I fixed dinner. It was always the same book. 

As parents are wont to do, I looked for ulterior motives. Was it because it was easy, unlike the chapter books he found intimidating back then? 

One evening, he'd left the book on the floor, and I picked it up. It was then that I realised where the appeal lay. I'd read the book before; this time I saw it from the perspective of a child enjoying his independence, but longing for the comfort of home and loved ones. A kid seeking excitement as well as reassurance. It was written the way a child would want to hear a story. 

Without further ado, here are the clues:

1. A generous dose of adventure, with tenderness in equal measure

2. The closing line and the final illustration are related to food!

3. The visuals alternate between black and white line drawings and full-color illustrations

4. Another picture book by the same author is a bedtime classic 

I'm sure you've guessed by now. How many clues did you need - 0, 1, 2, 3 or all 4?


Rules:
1. 1 point for guessing the book and 1 point for guessing the author on each blog.
2. Comment moderation is enabled on all blogs. So you will not be able to view your comment till the end of the contest, 15th May.
3. We would appreciate if you collect all the answers and make it as a single comment here.
4. Do not leave the comment on FB posts.
5. You can email the entire set of your answers to bubbleink.writes@gmail.com
6. The contest is open till 15th May for guessing.
7. This is not a classic treasure hunt but just a guessing game of Picture books in mom-child theme. i.e One clue doesn't lead to the other.
8. So, the points are not based on who guesses first. You guess it right anytime between today and 15th May you get the point for it.

0 Picture Book Treasure Hunt : #5

Check previous clues here.

Clue #5:

Dr. Tanu Shree Singh is a parent to two preteen boys, a lecturer in Psychology, and has a keen interest in the area of Positive Psychology. Most of her theories of bringing up children, however, have been violently challenged and reshaped by her two sons. She is surrounded by three clueless men (one by virtue of wedlock and two by virtue of womb), has five dogs with distinct non-canine personalities, and has an ever growing bookshelf to hide behind.


Her clues for the fifth book in hunt are here in her blog.

http://tanushreesingh.wordpress.com/2014/05/11/a-bookish-treasure-hunt-for-mums/

Rules:
1. 1 point for guessing the book and 1 point for guessing the author on each blog.
2. Comment moderation is enabled on all blogs. So you will not be able to view your comment till the end of the contest, 15th May.
3. We would appreciate if you collect all the answers and make it as a single comment here.
4. Do not leave the comment on FB posts.
5. You can email the entire set of your answers to bubbleink.writes@gmail.com
6. The contest is open till 15th May for guessing.
7. This is not a classic treasure hunt but just a guessing game of Picture books in mom-child theme. i.e One clue doesn't lead to the other.
8. So, the points are not based on who guesses first. You guess it right anytime between today and 15th May you get the point for it.

0 Picture Book Treasure Hunt #4

Check Clues #1 and #2 and #3 here.

Clue #4:
#Picture Book Treasure Hunt Clue #4

Cuddles And Reads , in her own words

I am a Mom, a IT Junkie, a Jack of all Trades : I blog here about picture books and the kids events that I enjoy in Bangalore.

Here are her clues for the fourth book in the Hunt.

Oh look at them...all sad and grumpy
whining and crying..

It's dark , scary and lonely ... and doesn't feel fine
a day without mommy ain't funny

oh here she is ...
let's flap our wings , dance and prance !

Home is where mom is !
Guess the book and author !


Rules:
1. 1 point for guessing the book and 1 point for guessing the author on each blog.
2. Comment moderation is enabled on all blogs. So you will not be able to view your comment till the end of the contest, 15th May.
3. We would appreciate if you collect all the answers and make it as a single comment here.
4. Do not leave the comment on FB posts.
5. You can email the entire set of your answers to bubbleink.writes@gmail.com
6. The contest is open till 15th May for guessing.
7. This is not a classic treasure hunt but just a guessing game of Picture books in mom-child theme. i.e One clue doesn't lead to the other.
8. So, the points are not based on who guesses first. You guess it right anytime between today and 15th May you get the point for it.

0 Picture Book Treasure Hunt #3

Check Clues #1 and #2 here.

Clues #3:
#Picture Book Treasure Hunt Clue #3

Rashmi Marathe - Mom, A language teacher, lover of picture books and a story teller under the name of "Reading Rabbits" in Nagpur.
She blogs here at http://parentingmantras.blogspot.in/

Here are her clues for the third book in the Hunt.


A mother warns her children to be careful as she is going away to look for some food. What do the children do, how do they react when danger prevails and finally what is their reaction on seeing their mother forms the story.

A simple story with very few words and self-comprehensive illustrations can be introduced to children as young as 2 year olds. The story is inspired by our 'King of the jungle'. Yes, you guessed it right - Lion, especially Asiatic Lion found in the Vit forests of Gujarat, India. Needless to say that, thus this book has been penned by an Indian.

The author is a multi-faceted personality. Being an educationist, entrepreneur, social worker, she has many children's books to het credit. She is very passionate about wildlife too.

Guess the book and the author.

Rules:
1. 1 point for guessing the book and 1 point for guessing the author on each blog.
2. Comment moderation is enabled on all blogs. So you will not be able to view your comment till the end of the contest, 15th May.
3. We would appreciate if you collect all the answers and make it as a single comment here.
4. Do not leave the comment on FB posts.
5. You can email the entire set of your answers to bubbleink.writes@gmail.com
6. The contest is open till 15th May for guessing.
7. This is not a classic treasure hunt but just a guessing game of Picture books in mom-child theme. i.e One clue doesn't lead to the other.
8. So, the points are not based on who guesses first. You guess it right anytime between today and 15th May you get the point for it.

0 Picture Book Treasure Hunt: Clue #2

Check Clue #1 here.

Treasure Hunt Clue #2:

Rules:
1. 1 point for guessing the book and 1 point for guessing the author on each blog.
2. Comment moderation is enabled on all blogs. So you will not be able to view your comment till the end of the contest, 15th May.
3. We would appreciate if you collect all the answers and make it as a single comment here.
4. You can also leave the individual comments on the blogger's blogs.
5. Do not leave the comment on FB posts.
6. You can email the entire set of your answers to bubbleink.writes@gmail.com
7. The contest is open till 15th May for guessing.
8. This is not a classic treasure hunt but just a guessing game of Picture books in mom-child theme. i.e One clue doesn't lead to the other.
9. So, the points are not based on who guesses first. You guess it right anytime between today and 15th May you get the point for it.

Arthi Anand Navaneeth, in her own words about herself.

Arthi Anand Navaneeth is a marketing professional with a fragrance MNC , mother of 2 girls and a writer.
Have You Seen This? and Ranganna are her picture books published by Tulika.  She also is the creator of Mister Muthu for Chandamama.

She is a children's book reviewer at Saffron Tree and a weekend storyteller. She blogs about her storytelling adventures at Art's Tales and  her FB page is  https://www.facebook.com/artstales

Here is the Second clue on Arthi's blog here.

0 Picture Book Treasure Hunt : #1

We are celebrating Mom's Day @ the Bubble Ink and picture books with mom-child as the theme.

Today, We will have 6 bloggers who are picture book enthusiasts, book bloggers and Children's books authors blog about their favourite mom-child theme book. You can hop on to their blogs or if posted on Bubble Ink blog to read the clues.

Rules:
1. 1 point for guessing the book and 1 point for guessing the author on each blog.
2. Comment moderation is enabled on all blogs. So you will not be able to view your comment till the end of the contest, 15th May.
3. We would appreciate if you collect all the answers and make it as a single comment here.
4. You can also leave the individual comments on the blogger's blogs.
5. Do not leave the comment on FB posts.
6. You can email the entire set of your answers to bubbleink.writes@gmail.com
7. The contest is open till 15th May for guessing.
8. This is not a classic treasure hunt but just a guessing game of Picture books in mom-child theme. i.e One clue doesn't lead to the other.
9. So, the points are not based on who guesses first. You guess it right anytime between today and 15th May you get the point for it.

Divya Purandar, in her own words about herself.

I may be a lawyer by profession, but given a choice, a bibliophile that I am, I'd prefer to read away all day!:-)) One of the principal joys of motherhood is reading to my little one and with a view to cherish those precious moments, I started blogging on Onestoryaday as I am reliving childhood, in so many ways!:-)

Here is the first clue on Divya's blog here.

Do leave the comment here on Bubble Ink or Divya's own blog.

0 I is for Ian Falconer : Olivia Review

Ian Falconer
Winner of Caldecott Honor for Olivia is an author and illustrator.

Books that Bubble Ink has read :
Olivia, Olivia and the Missing Toy

Books read to the Bubbling:
Olivia, Olivia and the Missing Toy

Bubble Ink pick:
Olivia and the Missing Toy

Bubbling Pick:
Olivia and the Missing Toy

Some more that we think are great:
The entire Olivia Series : Olivia forms a Band and Olivia saves the circus

We have already done Olivia and the Missing Toy , we will do the Caldecott Honor Olivia today.


The Book:
Olivia is written and illustrated by Ian Falconer - A Caldecott Honor for the year 2001.

Buy Olivia , the Caldecott Honor here

Check the rest of the series here.
The Bubble:
It is about this piglet named Olivia who wears everyone out with her naughtiness, wears herself out with her adventours attitude , the try-it-all attitude girl, a dreamer, a book-lover, a firm sister , a smart and super confident toddler - all in all - a lovable piglet.
The book narrates a day in Olivia's life introduces her family, her cat, her dog and her her talents, tantrums, trials, adventures and her favourite things to do.

Many a thing with Olivia is something that any parent and toddler can relate to. The book brings out most of the significant traits of a toddler . The younger sibling copying the older sibling and how it angers the older sibling when the younger ones run after them; the want-to-try everythign attitude in them and the fanciful dressup phase, the grasp everything and master it all trait - where Olivia when taught to build sand castles now builds a sand tower; the naptime tantrums, the "i-can-do-it-all" phase where Olivia tries to replicate a painting seen in a museum, the bed-time story demands.

The illustrations, all red and white are super cute and well detailed too which compliments the smarty piglet.


Bubble Ink's verdict:
We love this smart, dreamy piglet - We relate many of the scenes in the book to some of bubbling's toddler phases! And of course, the wearing us out bit. 

We love the last pages, 
"Only five books tonight, Mommy", she says.
"No, Olivia, just one"
"How about four?"
"Two"
"Three"
"Oh,all right, three.
But that's it"

The mother after reading her books says
"You know ,you really wear me out,
But I love you anyway."
And Olivia gives her a kiss back and says,
"I love you anyway too." 

Atleast one book in the Olivia series is a must read. 
We bought ours at the Flipkart 50% off sale.
We give it 5-bubbles.

Bubbling's verdict:
Bubbling picture reads most pages and loves the skipping Olivia page.
After the Olivia and the missing toy which is a bubbling-full-five. This one is a bubbling-fab-four.

0 H is for Henkes, Kevin: A Good Day review.

H is for Henkes, Kevin

Kevin Henkes
Winner of Caldecott Medal for Kitten's Full Moon and Caldecott honor for Owen.

Books that Bubble Ink has read :
A good day, Wemberly Worried, Kitten's Full Moon, Chrysanthemum.

Books read to the Bubbling:
A Good Day

Bubble Ink pick:
Wemberly Worried

Bubbling Pick:
A Good Day

Some more that we think are great:
Kitten's Full Moon, My Garden, Owen, Lily's Plastic Purse.

We will review A Good Day.

The Book:
A Good Day is written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes.

The Bubble:
The book is about the incidents that happens on a bad day which starts with the bird loses a feather, a dog caught in a fence, a fox can't find his mother and a squirrel losing its nut. Then, suddenly the day starts turning into a good one, with the squirrel finding a bigger nut, the dog unleashed, the fox finding his mother, the little bird just forgetting its loss and as a feather on the cap, a little girl finds that lost feather and goes home in glee.

Buy A Good Day here:

Some more Picks here :

Bubble Ink's verdict:
One of those picture books which don't preach even in a single line but drives home the message in such an effective way. The book holds lessons of perseverance, hope, to stop and breathe and the problem will just resolve itself, to let go and to derive happiness from even the littlest thing in life.

What can turn a bad day to a good day? Just wait ! Let things go or Let things be! And see again. We will either find the brightest idea to fix the problems or the problem has just vanished itself. Then, the bad day turns into a Good Day

A refreshing read for anyone of any age
We give it 4-Bubbles.
We borrowed our copy from Hippopotamus Bangalore.

Bubbling's verdict:
Bubbling picture reads this book almost fully and she does make a sad face all through the bad day pages and smiling with glee at the happy pages.

It is a bubbling-tantalizing-three.

0 G is for Gravett, Emily : Again Review

G is for Gravett, Emily

Emily Gravett
An author , an illustrator, an artist, a book binder, Winner of Kate Greenway medal twice for Wolves and Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears - Much loved at The Bubble Ink.

Books that Bubble Ink has read :
Again, Dogs, Orange Pear Apple Bear, Matilda's Cat, Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears, Blue Chameleon and Cave Baby.

Books read to the Bubbling:
All the above except Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears

Bubble Ink pick:
Again.

Bubbling Pick:
Cave Baby [Written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Emily Gravett]

Some more that we think are great:
Monkey and Me, The Odd Egg, Wolves and Wolves don't bite.

Since we already did Cave Baby, we will review Again.

The Book:
Again is written and illustrated by Emily Gravett

Available at a great price on Amazon.in here . Also check on  Flipkart here. 
Some More Emily Gravett - Genuis Gravett and at Great prices there.


The Bubble:
The book is a story of a baby dragon who gets a book to his mother requesting her to read him to sleep. The mother reads a story of Cedric, a red dragon who doesn't ever want to sleep , kidnaps princesses to make himself dinner , torments trolls and wants to do all of this AGAIN and AGAIN. Every time the story ends, the baby dragon in our story, demands it to be read "Again". The mother reads the book - this time, tweaking the story to trick the little one, saying Cedric should be sleeping at night. But, "Mom Proposes, Child Disposes" - "Again" says the baby dragon. She re-reads it, shortening it some more and eventually falls asleep herself. This angers the baby dragon that he eventually burns a hole in the book! 

The illustrations which show the expressions of the mommy and baby dragon are mind blowing. The book within this book is also illustrated very intelligently to depict what is happening in that story and in view of how the baby dragon visualizes it.

Bubble Ink's verdict:
There is so much to love about the book. The attention to detail in the illustrations, the intelligent way of incorporating a book within a book, the imagination that has gone into designing the book, the hidden messages in the illustrations to gel with the story , the furious little dragon blowing a hole in the book - reasons aplenty to love the book.

The inner story that is being read by the mother-dragon to the baby-dragon gets tweaked, shortened at every subsequent read by the drained out mom to trick the little dragon to doze off. Haven't we all done that ourselves to our book-loving children? Shortened the story, tweaked the story to convey it is bedtime and witnessed the rage of our little ones!

If you have got a book loving toddler , the one who demands a book to read again and again at bedtime, "Again" would definitely be that book.

We bought ours at the LightRoom Bookstore in Bangalore.
We give it 5-bubbles.

Bubbling's verdict:
The bubbling is a bit young to understand and appreciate the book in its entirety. But while we read the book, we adapt it to her level. So the actual story we read as is and the inner story is  usually modified / adapted to convey the message but we don't read that story aloud. 
But she gets the actual story well and she giggles says "Amma, Again!" and "Oh-Fire - Book gone!" - She loves the book no doubt, but not giving a bubbling rating on this one. 
We will come back a while later to have the bubbling read it completely.

0 F is for Fleming, Denise - In the Small Small Pond

F is for Fleming, Denise

Denise Fleming
Winner of the Caldecott Medal for In the Small Small Pond is an author and illustrator.

Pic Courtesy: Google Images

Books that Bubble Ink has read :
In the Small Small Pond

Books read to the Bubbling:
In the Small Small Pond

Bubble Ink pick:
In the Small Small Pond

Bubbling Pick:
In the Small Small Pond

Some more that we think are great:
In the Tall Tall Grass

We will review In the Small Small Pond.

The Book:
In the Small Small pond is written and illustrated by Denise Fleming

Buy here on Flipkart:
The Bubble:
A book that is excellent in illustrations and in rhyme. The book introduces on each spread animals, the actions or the things that they are upto on the pond with just 4 words to describe them.

All pond animals are introduced one on each page with action words to describe them or by naming them. Tadpoles, Geese, Raccoons, Muskrats, Crabs, Fishes, Herons, dragonflies and all of that appear in the book.

Sample lines:

Wiggle Jiggle, Tadpoles wriggle

Splitter splatter, minnows scatter

Click Clack, Claws crack

Dabble Dip, Tails Flip

Bubble Ink's verdict:
We love the illustrations and the intelligence in being able to convey the text in excellent rhyme and amazing brevity.
Our interpretation of the plot in the book is of a frog who is trying to go to sleep but is going around the pond being disturbed by all the action like minnows splattering, crabs clacking, paws flashing. The frog is even shown as dozing off in one of the spreads. But slowly towards the end, after all the action in the pond, the frog settles down as it starts snowing, "Cold Night, Sleep Tight"

For the youngest book lover, the illustrations and the spotting the frog appeal.
For beginning readers, the rhyming text, learning some new animals in the pond work well.
For older readers, the large font aid in reading and a great start to a good vocabulary.
Ours was a borrowed read.
We give it 4-bubbles.

Bubbling's verdict:
She loves books where we name each animal and the spotting the frog from this book. She starts the book with Frog jumping over the boy.
It is a bubbling-tantalizing-three (A very recent read for us)

0 Mom's Day Week @ Bubble Ink : Contest

A mother's day contest at the Bubble Ink
Join the event here to get more updates.

We will run a 5-day long contest on the Bubble Ink FB page and on the blog. Each day activity will gain you a point and the winner will be the one who has accrued the maximum points.

#1: On all 5 days [From May 9, Friday to May 13, Tuesday] you have got to read one book with your child and post on the Facebook page on what you read. Just reading for the day gains you 1 point ( even if you more than 1 book). A maximum of 5 points from this activity if you read on all 5 days.

#2: Mom-Baby Theme Book Reads : On any day if you read a book on the Mom-Baby theme, you get 1 additional bonus point for the day in which that book was read. Only a maximum of 2 points from this activity. Eg: Even if you read Mom-Baby books on all 5 days, only a maximum of 2 bonus points can be accrued.

#3: On Saturday May 10, 2014: Post a single pic having all the mom-baby theme books in your collection. Maximum of 1 point if you post this pic. Even if you post multiple pictures only 1 point can be accrued. You could also list the books in a comment on FB post or the blog post for the day.

#4: On Sunday, May 11, 2014 : Play Virtual Treasure Hunt: We have on-board 5 blogger : picture book lovers and even a children's book writer who will blog about one Mom-Baby book each without revealing the name of the book or the author. The blog post will hold the clues for you to identify the book and its author , both of which should be left as a comment on the blog. This blog will either be a guest post on the Bubble Ink Blog or in the blogger's own blog. You will be intimated on where it is on the day. 1 point for guessing the book and 1 point for guessing the author. Maximum of 2 points on each blog post and 5 such posts leaves you with a maximum of 10 points for this activity. 

P.S: The book bloggers themselves can be participants but they will start with an opening balance for 2 points since they can't guess their own book and for being generous and agreeing to do the blog post. Bubble Ink will ensure that bloggers themselves don't get to know each other's books. 

#5: On Monday, May 12, 2014: Mom Baby Picture books quiz: A quiz having 5 questions on Mom-Baby picture books will be held and 1 point for each right answer. Maximum of 5 points on this quiz. The quiz will be hosted on Google Forms and the link will be published on the blog and FB page on the day of the Quiz.

#6: On Tuesday, May 13, 2014 : Make a wish for a Mom-Baby Picture Book. If you are the winner, we will try to get you that book or give you a 200Rs Flipkart voucher. While you make that wish, don't forget to read to your baby on this day.

Points Table

Reads:5 points
Bonus Reads: 2 points
Picture: 1 point
Treasure Hunt: 10 points 
Quiz : 5 points

A maximum of 23 points can be accrued throughout May 9 to May 13.

Rules:
1. Children who are being read to or children who read on their own can participate. Mothers can help the older children make the contest entries in the form of comments etc.
2. The contest will remain open till May 15 to accomodate the completion of the activities other than the reading activity. ie. The Quiz will open on 12 May but will remain open for answers till May 15, so will the BookPhotos Contest and the Treasure Hunt.
3. The one with maximum points will be the winner. In case of a tie, the one with maximum Treasure Hunt points and Quiz points put together will be the tie breaker. Even if that doesn't break the tie, Bubble Ink will do a lucky draw to pick one winner.
4. Winner will get the book wished for. If unable to procure it , an optional Flipkart voucher of Rs.200 will be sent to the winner. Winners residing out of India will be given a Amazon voucher of worth 5USD  if applicable in their country of residence, or will be asked for an Indian Address to courier the book.

4. Detailed instruction for the day-to-day activities on where to post will be communicated on a daily basis on the Blog and the Facebook page.
5. Bubble Ink's decision of the winners is final. The decision to dispatch a book or the voucher will be worked out with the contest winner.
6. The points table will be published on a regular basis till the end of the contest.

P/S: This post will be edited in case of any change in rules.
Email bubbleink.writes@gmail.com or leave a comment here in case of any questions.