My Favorite Banned or Challenged Books

It's Banned Books Week.

As a mother, an author, and a former educator, I believe that no one should have the right to tell my child what he should or shouldn't read besides me. And so, in honor of Banned Books Week, here are a few of my favorite banned or challenged books.

SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson

ANIMALIA by Graeme Base

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
by Maurice Sendak

THE GIVER by Lois Lowry

JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH
by Roald Dahl

THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
by C.S. Lewis

WHERE'S WALDO by Martin Handford

A WRINKLE IN TIME
by Madeleine L'Engle

How to Read to Toddlers (and get them to listen)

I read to my kids a lot when they were tiny. They grew up hearing lots of stories, from BEAR SNORES ON to THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING.

We were readers.

It was easy with my girls. They never got to the point where they would squirm away from me when I was reading to them.

Not so with my boy. When he was two, he was always going, going, going. Suddenly, he didn't have time for snuggly reading time nonsense!

So one day, I forced the issue. I grabbed our copy of THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK and made him sit with me as I read it (he tried to squirm away at first, but I simply said no and kept reading).

I read with emotion. I did all the voices! And by the time I got the the end of the book, my little guy insisted that I read it again. And again.

It was a breakthrough!

Every child is different. But every child deserves (needs!) to be read to, whether they seem to be interested or not. So here are a few ideas on how to read to your toddler, even when they don't seem to be interested.

Match books to their personality.

One of the reasons THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK worked for my son was because it is full of action and humor, and the interactive nature of the book kept his attention.

Be animated!

If you sound bored when you're reading, why should your child be excited? Make faces, do the actions, roar the terrible roars along with the wild things! It will make reading to your child that much more fun and memorable.

Read to a captive audience.

When your child is playing quietly with a set of blocks or dolls, pick up a book and read to them as they play. They may continue playing and seem to ignore you. Or they may decide to come and curl up on your lap. Either way, the story will be working its magic! This is perfect for those sick days too (haha, sneaky!).

Make it part of the bedtime routine.

This is a classic, of course. Sometimes kids will want you to read to them just so they can stall sleepy-time. There's nothing wrong with that! It allows for more bonding time between you and your kiddo!

Let your child choose their own books.

Sometimes my son wanted me to read a book about Scooby Doo or Spongebob. They were not my first choices for quality literature. But if they kept my son interested in reading with me, then what could it hurt? A child will be more receptive to hearing a story they chose themselves.

Read while on the road.

Road trips are a challenge with toddlers! These days it's easy for a lot of people to pop in a DVD. But take advantage of the times when your kids are calm and read a favorite picture book or two. When my girls were tiny, this was a good way to distract them if they started getting fidgety on the way to Grandma's house.

Make a trip the library an event, not just an errand.

Help them associate books and reading with fun. Pair the outing with a picnic at the park, a visit to a playground, or a stop to get an ice cream cone or slushy.

Choose interactive stories.

Lift the flaps. Finger puppets. Touch and feel books. These are all great ways to engage the senses and get your tot interested in books!


The most important thing to remember when reading with your toddler is to make it a fun, special time with your child. Even if your kiddo loses interest in a book half way through and scrambles out of your lap, you are still making connections. And if you keep it up, you'll continue to make those connections throughout your child's life!

Do you have any ideas on reading to toddlers?

9 Picture Books about Tree Houses

Who doesn't love tree houses? As a kid, I always dreamed about having a tree house. As an adult, I still dream about having a tree house! But since I can't have a tree house of my own right now, I read and write about them instead.

Everyone knows about THE MAGIC TREE HOUSE series of chapter books. But what about picture books? In my search for picture books about tree houses, I couldn't find many. But I did manage to find these nine stories, which just might inspire dreams of life up in the trees!

1. THE TREE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT by Bonnie Verburg

The tree house in this book is beyond impressive. Just a glance at the illustrations by Mark Teague would have anyone searching for the perfect tree house tree!

2. THE BERENSTAIN BEARS' HOME SWEET TREE by Stan and Jan Berenstain

This book captured my attention and my imagination as a child. I loved the idea of living in a tree, and I pored over the pages, imagining myself living in the cozy rooms of the bears' house.

3. WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Rebecca J. Gomez

I couldn't leave my own book off of this list! In this book, a group of friends is making their dream of having a tree house into a reality by building it themselves. The last minute emergency alterations to their plan make this house twice as much fun!

4. AUDREY'S TREE HOUSE by Jenny Hughes

Audrey thinks she's too big to live at home, so her dad builds her a tree house high up in a tree. This is a story about little girl trying to grow up, but realizing she's not quite ready to be out on her own. The illustrations of the tree house, complete with a staircase that spirals up the tree, is sure to capture the imagination.

5. IN THE TREEHOUSE by Andrew Larsen

A story about two brothers, who are growing up too fast, spending a summer night in a tree house during a black-out.

6. EDGAR AND THE TREE HOUSE OF USHER by Jennifer Adams

Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's story, "The Fall of the House of Usher," this is  a story about a tree house, sibling relationships, sharing, and making the best of a bad situation.

7. TREE HOUSE IN A STORM by Rachelle Burk

Their favorite place to play is in the tree house, but what happens when the tree house, and the tree it's built in, are destroyed by a hurricane? A story of tragedy and learning to rebuild.

8. THE TREE HOUSE by Marjie Tolman and Ronald Tolman

A wordless picture book in which various animals discover a tree house at the top of a tree rising out of the water. The wordless pages will encourage "readers" to imagine their own story.

9. FROGGY BUILDS A TREE HOUSE by Jonathan London

Fans of the Froggy books will enjoy this story about Froggy, with help from his dad, building a tree house.


Are there picture books missing from this list? If you know of a picture book that features a tree house, I'd love to hear about it!

7 Warning Signs that Your Picture Book is Forgettable

As an author, I want my books to entertain my audience. Because I write picture books, that means I need to write stories that will entertain young children and have them begging for them every night at bed time. But there is another audience to consider: the adults who read to those young children.

I don't want my readers--children or adults--to lose interest in a book after they've read it once. And I'm guessing that, if you are an author of picture books, you feel the same way. To that end, here are 7 warning signs that your picture book may end up forgotten at the bottom of a pile of more memorable stories.

1. You get tired of reading it yourself.

Writing is rewriting, and that means rereading. And rereading. If you can't make it through a few readings of your story in the course of a writing day, what makes you think a child will excitedly shout, "Read it again!" after hearing it the first time?

2. It is 1000 words long.

Short is good, especially for picture books aimed at pre-schoolers. The longer a story is, the longer it takes to read, and the less likely a parent will want to read it again. Also, consider your audience's attention span. Is a three-year-old likely to stay interested from beginning to end? A good rule I like to remember is this: the shorter your audience, the shorter your story should be.

3. Your book has no new or interesting language.

One thing that WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? has gotten praise for is its stunning vocabulary. Kids enjoy hearing new and interesting words. Not only that, but hearing language is how they learn it! Of course, you should consider your audience and don't overwhelm them, but also, never talk down to them. Just because a kid might not know the meaning of a word doesn't mean you shouldn't use it.

4. The text has boring, forced or predictable rhymes.

Day/play. Sun/fun. Go/slow. Snooze fest!

Predictable rhymes aren't always bad. Look at THE CAT IN THE HAT! But when you are writing a picture book, and not an easy reader, you have much more flexibility in the words that you use. Have fun and aim to use surprising rhymes. But don't force them! A rhyme should always make sense in the context of the line. A good rule to remember is that if you wouldn't use a word if you were writing in prose, it's probably not the best word to use as a rhyme. Keep at it until you get it right!

5. Or it has clunky, unnatural meter.

No one likes reading a rhyming story that makes them stumble and go back and reread a line to correct the rhythm. It takes all the fun out of reading a rhyming story! So only use words and phrases that naturally fit the meter of your story.

6. Your test audience didn't even crack a smile when you read it to them.

Children (and adults) want to be amused. If not amused, then moved in some way. They want to feel something. So if your test audience isn't reacting the way you expected, back to revisions!

*Hint: referencing someone's rear end is a sure way to bring out some laughter. More on that in this previous blog post.

7. The most important person doesn't love your story. That's you.

If you don't love the story you've worked so hard to write and polish, why should anyone else?


Do any of these 7 warning signs apply to your stories?