Girl Power!

There are a lot of princess books on the market right now. Not knocking some of these princess books, but not all girls are into pink frills and fanciness, yet are still girly-girls. (I'm one of these girls myself, if grown up, so I identify).The "Do Princesses...?" book series by Carmela LaVigna Coyle and illustrated by Mike and Carl Gordon is perfect for those girls who love princesses but also enjoy getting dirty and having adventures!

Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?
by Carmela LaVigna Coyle

Do Princesses Scrape Their Knees?
by Carmela LaVigna Coyle

Do Princesses Really Kiss Frogs?
by Carmela LaVigna Coyle

Reading series books with characters that are familiar and that your child identifies with is a great way to promote the pre-reading skill of print motivation and encouraging the love of reading.

Life Lessons

When I was little my mom was pretty sneaky. I didn't really realize it at the time, at least not as much as I do now, but she would use books to teach us values and common sense. One of her favorite series to use was the now classic Berenstain Bears. When my baby brother was going to be born, we read Berenstain Bears, when she wanted to teach us about stranger danger, we read Berenstain Bears, when we were afraid of the dark, Berenstain Bears . . . they are still in publication and, in my opinion, as useful as ever when it comes to disseminating important information to children. They are entertaining and explain important topics in ways that kids understand. What follows is a list of some of my favorite titles, though there are many more:

• The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers
• The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners
• The Bird, The Bees and the Berenstain Bears
• The Berenstain Bears Think of Those in Need
• The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Dream
• The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies
• The Berenstain Bears Count Their Blessings
• The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food

Check out their home at PBS Kids!