It’s back to school time, which also means it’s back to daily homework. With the homework come the questions about grammar, math, and spelling. I know I look at my son’s homework sometimes and think, “I used to know that.” It’s somewhere back in my brain but I just can’t seem to pull it out.
Now there’s a set of homework help books from Reader’s Digest just for parents. There are 3 different books available to give parents  a little memory nudge when they’re trying to help their children with homework.

The three books help you cover the bases. The titles include: I …read more

After what feels like forever, my new book, Harry Potter: The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon, was released in the U.S. today following a successful release in June in the U.K.
If you’re a Harry Potter fan or business person, you might enjoy giving this book a read.  It focuses on the marketing and branding of Harry Potter and how a children’s fantasy book took the world by storm.  It also discusses the possibility of another book or brand following in the Harry Potter footsteps.
You can read an interview that Mary Emma Allen from b5media’s HomeBizNotes blog conducted with …read more

My 8 year old son is reading Racso and the Rats of NIMH and he says it’s the best book he has ever read. You have no idea how good it is to hear him say that because it’s pretty hard to get him to read most of the times.
His teacher gives them time every day to sit down with a book and read. She also challenges them to go beyond the reading level they think they can understand. He has really started to love books and thatmakes me one happy momma.
This book is the sequel to Mrs. Frisby …read more

Have you heard of the book The Rainbow Fish? I have and we own a copy. I’ve read it to my children many times.
Kelly over at One Book Two Book, was browsing at Amazon looking at the reviews of this book and you have to go read what she found. This book has sparked a lot of controversy. Are you curious yet? I know I was.
Head on over and read her post: Rainbow Fish Makes a Comeback at Our House. The comments blew me away!

Phil Lerman, of Dadditude, graciously agreed to do a guest post for Play Library. This book is one that I think every dad should have. I am buying a few myself for Christmas presents. You’re going to love his wit, sense of humor and his overall look at being a dad. I know you’re going to enjoy his guest post and his book.
You can pick up a copy or read an excerpt from Dadditude at Phil Lerman’s website, dadditude.com Thanks Phil!
Hi there! I’m Phil Lerman, author of a new book called “Dadditude.” I was delighted to be do a …read more

My daughter has been reading Double Fudge by Judy Blume. I have not heard her laugh so hard while reading a book in a long time. She is just eating it up and finished the book in not time. She just couldn’t put it down. I love to see my kids read and I love it even better when I don’t have to tell them to read. That makes me one proud parent!
This book is geared towards kids 8 to 12. Here’s a description of the book from Amazon:
Fans of Superfudge and Fudge-a-Mania will welcome the return of seventh-grader Peter …read more

We recently picked up a copy of Pattern Bugs by Trudy Harris, illustrated by Anne Canevari Green, from the library. The illustrations are colorful and lively. Each bug that’s introduced demonstrates a new or different pattern through the words of its rhyme, and each rhyme allows for a turn-of-the-page pause to give the child a chance to complete the last bit of the pattern themselves. The colored blocks around the pages match the pattern of the bugs’ rhymes as well.
Very cute book. Too bad real bugs don’t seem nearly as cute and appealing as …read more

The theme for our library’s summer reading program this year is pirates, and so all of the books from this week’s storytime had some type of water or sea theme. My favorite of the bunch was The Water Hole by Graeme Base.
I’d never read one of Base’s books, and when I mentioned to one of the other moms how much I liked The Water Hole and commented on how amazing the illustrations are, she started raving about Base’s book, Animalia. I’m not sure how I missed experiencing this author’s work until now, but I’m looking forward …read more

There aren’t many stories read at the library’s storytime that get me to say, “No way!” Okay, so I didn’t actually say it out loud, but I was thinking it! That happened at the very beginning of the book Yard Sale!, written and illustrated by Mitra Modarressi. The line, specifically, was, “One Saturday a hand-written notice appeared around town: YARD SALE! it read. TODAY ONLY! MR. FLOTSAM’S PLACE, 99 CROOKED HILL ROAD. No one could remember a yard sale in Spudville before. ”
Apparently, Spudville is not, I repeat, NOT in Ohio. I don’t …read more

I’ve never been good at falling right to sleep. I was going to say that I’ve never been a good sleeper, but that would be entirely untrue. Once I’m asleep, I think I could sleep for days. The falling asleep, however, has never come easy for me. My sister and Bald Man (both of whom I’ve shared rooms with, though not at the same time) are both usually the fall right to sleep types, and it drove me nuts. Lights out, 2 seconds later they’re asleep, and I’m often lying there for hours wishing the …read more