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     The March saying, “in like a lion, out like a lamb” makes us wonder what the month will bring after an already interesting winter here in Michigan. March is also designated as National Reading Month and March 2 is the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss, as well as Read Across America Day. We at BTBL enjoy Dr. Seuss books filled with silly words and rhymes and are saddened when we read about groups wishing to ban some of his books. We don’t agree with banning any books but instead to discuss concerns with your children before and after you read the book. You also have to take into account the historical context of any book and the world climate, the author’s background and what was taking place at the time it was written. You cannot alter history and we feel that challenged books make for an excellent learning opportunity.

     Regardless, whether you choose to include Dr. Seuss titles or not, we hope that you will fill the month with books. Use this month to:

• Read aloud to your child(ren) every day and hopefully it will become a habit if it isn’t already.
  
• Share a favorite book from your childhood.
• Extend a story with an activity to make it memorable (follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for additional ideas not found on our blog)
• Create or join a book club or just get together with other parents and children to read a book and do a craft. Turn it into a readers theatre.
• Encourage your child(ren) to read to a pet or to a favorite plush book buddy. Research has shown that reading to a pet or book buddy helps struggling readers gain confidence because they don’t feel so self-conscious or judged.
• Visit your local library to participate in the many activities offered during National Reading month.
• Visit a local bookstore to look at their displays and peruse new titles. Choose a store you haven’t been to before. Don’t forget about used bookstores too. You never know what books you'll find when browsing at a used bookstore or sale.

     March is a month filled with nods to literacy. In addition to March being National Reading Month, the 14th is Pi Day as well as Albert Einstein’s birthday, the Ides of March on the 15th, the 17th St. Patrick’s Day and author/illustrator Kate Greenaway's birthday, the 21st World Poetry Day and the 22nd illustrator Randolph Caldecott’s birthday. All of these occasions offer wonderful opportunities for reading and learning.

14th: Pi Day – Celebrate the never-ending number with Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander or grab a slice of pie and read a pie book with your little ones. Refer back to our blog Celebrate National Pie Day with a slice of pie and a storybook to see a list of books all about pie!

Albert Einstein’s Birthday – “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” – Albert Einstein.
There is no argument that Albert Einstein was intelligent. He along with many others recognize the value in reading fairy tales. Celebrate the day by reading your favorite fairy tale. If you don’t have a favorite, check out our Fables, Folktales & Fairy Tales list for some recommended titles. Also, learn about Einstein’s life by sharing a picture book biography such as On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne and/or I Am Albert Einstein by Brad Meltzer.

15th: Ides of March - The soothsayer’s warning to “beware the Ides of March” opens up an opportunity for you to learn about Julius Caesar and Shakespeare’s play as well. Consider reading the Who Was? series or History for Kids. Plays are fun to read aloud as, by nature, character reading is done with more feeling and inflection, which aids in fluency and comprehension. Try Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar for Kids by Brendan P. Kelso.

17th: St. Patrick’s Day – Celebrate the foremost patron saint of Ireland by going a little bit green. One of our favorite stories to read aloud in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day is The Night Before St. Patrick's Day by Natasha Wing. Check your local library or book store for St. Patrick’s Day displays and more book suggestions.

Kate Greenaway’s Birthday – The Kate Greenaway Medal, established in 1955, honors the legacy of the British author and illustrator it is named for and is awarded annually to a UK illustrator of children’s books. Paving the way for authors and illustrators such as Beatrix Potter, Greenaway is most famous for her children’s book illustrations of Victorian children wearing her version of late 18th century and Regency fashions.

20th: Vernal Equinox (First Day of Spring) - Celebrate the time of transition from blustery cold, gray days to warm sunshine filled ones. Spring is considered to be a time of rebirth with flowers pushing up through the earth and the new buds waiting to blossom on trees. Some of our favorite books to share at this time of year are Miss Maple’s Seeds by Eliza Wheeler, Flowers are Calling by Rita Gray, A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston and Who Likes Rain? by Wong Herbert Yee.

21st: World Poetry Day – “A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom” – Robert Frost               
A time to appreciate and support poets and poetry! One of our favorite picture book poems to read aloud is All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon. Share your favorite poems and discover new ones. Take a look at our Poetry & Nursery Rhymes list for anthology recommendations and read our previous blog From Words to Poetry to learn about the benefits of reading poetry.

 22nd: Randolph Caldecott’s Birthday – The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of British artist and illustrator Randolph Caldecott. Choose a Caldecott Medal winner from 1938 to present to share with your child. Look for the gold Caldecott medal on the cover of books when browsing at your local library or book store or take a look at this list of medal winners from the American Library Association. Interesting fact...Caldecott and Greenaway (mentioned above) were both born in March of 1846 and worked as illustrators during the Victorian era.

     Enjoy this month in celebration of reading but continue throughout the year to place reading at the forefront and instill in your children the value of books. Most of all, just bond with your children and read, read, READ! These times when they are young are all too precious and end all too soon, so cherish the reading aloud snuggles while they last.

Happy reading!

-Kate @ BTBL

     To bring the fairy tales to heart, take it a step further and jump on the fairy bandwagon and create your own fairy realm. The fairy garden movement evolved out of the fairy door phenomenon, those little doors that began springing up in random locations all around the country, igniting everyone's curiosity. What's behind the door? stirred the imagination and lead to complete fairy homes and then whole fairy communities.

     Fairy gardens are the embodiment of imagination, creativity and magic. I dare you to look at one of these miniature worlds and not smile. They immediately spark wonder and delight in all those who come upon them and this is especially true of children. The beauty of creating a fairy garden with children is that the possibilities are truly endless. They can be indoors or out, feature real plants or fake, be created with purchased, found or natural materials in a container, flower bed, out in the yard, around a tree stump, anywhere at all. They can even be based on a fairy tale you have read with your child.

     The best fairy gardens for children are those that children themselves have a hand in creating and that feature manipulatives they can rearrange and move about as they wish. Think of it as a sort of doll house. Playing in a fairy garden allows a child to exercise their own creativity and engage in pretend, imaginative play that will aid in the development of small motor skills, coordination and focus. Additionally, manipulating small figurines and objects in a fairy garden will boost their oral storytelling skills as they invent stories and scenarios while they play, taking their cue from tales you have already read together.

The following is a list of things to consider before starting your own fairy garden:

• Location, location, location. Where are you going to put your fairy garden? Is it going to be indoors or out? We highly recommend making it outside to encourage outdoor play and including natural elements in some way.
  
• Is bigger better? How big is your fairy garden going to be? Do you have the space to make it large enough to accommodate more than one dwelling? If not, no worries! A fairy garden can be created in a container, a pot or even an old wagon. Think like a fairy and be creative!
  
• To purchase or create…that is the question. Most craft and garden stores have fairy garden sections these days overflowing with adorable little houses, pint-sized furniture, a variety of tiny accouterments and yes, even fairies themselves to populate your fairy garden. Consider if want to purchase these elements or perhaps try your hand at creating your own. There are numerous ideas on the web for DIY fairy garden elements and many of them are rather simple. Additionally, not everything for your garden has to be specifically purchased or handmade. You can take items you already have around your house and re-purpose them for your fairy garden. Think of the fairies as Borrowers…they use items that humans have left lying around, “lost things,” as they would say in Tinker Bell’s Pixie Hollow. Our own fairy garden is actually a combination of all of these things, making it a unique, one-of-a-kind space to capture my daughter’s imagination.

     Fairy gardens should be a continuous work-in-progress. Kids need to be able to flex their creative muscles and make their imaginings come to life. Also, fairies enjoy getting new things just as much as people do!  Our fairy garden is no exception and first came about on a whim after removing a large bush that was next to our deck. The space left behind was the perfect blank slate for us to transform into a magical place for fairies to gather! We are trying to use more natural materials to create our own dwellings and furniture for the fairies, but when you're at Michaels and your 2 year old catches sight of all of those beautiful fairy figurines and houses...well, how can you say no and just walk on by? Therefore, as stated earlier, our garden is a mix of a little bit of everything: found/re-purposed, homemade, natural and purchased items. My daughter is always an active participant in the process and uses the garden for make believe play.

Consider some of the following titles to bring fairies to life and make it a memorable summer for you and your child:

My collection of fairy encyclopedias and art books started when I was young and has continued to grow as my daughter's own love of fairies has blossomed. You would be surprised what amazing books you can find at a used book sale, so keep your eyes open for a glimpse of gossamer wings when browsing!

Do you have a fairy garden of your own? Share a photo with us in the comments!

Happy reading and creating!

​     The magic descends upon us on February 26th for Tell a Fairy Tale Day! This is one day that brings attention to the wonder and benefits of fairy tales. By reading a fairy tale to your child you will share the positive influence that these tales bring, not only to a child’s own life, but on their view of the world at large. Instinctively, we all know that a child needs to be exposed to the contrast of good and evil to send the message that good can and does prevail over evil. The best and easiest way for parents and educators to teach children these concepts is by reading fairy tales aloud. Unfortunately, many people feel a need to protect young children from the harshness of reality by sharing watered down versions of classic fairy tales, but theories argue that it is the very savageness of original fairy tales that will make a positive contribution to a child’s development. Children know that evil exists. What they need to be shown is that evil can be conquered (the wicked stepmother, the dragon, the witch etc.) and good can prevail. Eighteenth century German poet, philosopher and playwright Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller remarked that “deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told to me in my childhood than in any truth that is taught in life.” And Mem Fox remarks in her book, Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever, “If we sanitize everything children read, how much more shocking and confusing will the real world be when they finally have to face it?” In other words, fairy tales should open the door for deep discussions between you and your child and allow your child to dream and take risks within the safety of the story environment. 

​     Child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim explains a child’s need for magic in his book The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales: “The fairy tale proceeds in a manner which conforms to the way a child thinks and experiences the world; this is why the fairy tale is so convincing to him. He can gain much better solace from a fairy tale than he can from an effort to comfort him based on adult reasoning and viewpoints. A child trusts what the fairy story tells, because its world view accords with his own.” 

​     Fairy tales are timeless stories with staying power, evident in the fact that they are told and retold time and time again over centuries. Fairy tales teach morals and values while enhancing the imagination and creativity that already exists naturally in children. So don’t just read a fairy tale on February 26th but include them as a read aloud option often to bring to life the magic of imaginative, faraway places where light triumphs over dark.

For further information on the benefits of reading fairy tales, check out 10 Reasons Why Kids Need to Read Non-Disney Fairy Tales from Brightly.

Also, take a look at our Fables, Folktales & Fairy Tales book list for some great titles to share.

Happy reading!