Favorite Children's Books: The Missing Tarts

We love books! And we love the library. We've gone almost every week without fail since Curious George was a tiny tot. It has been a big part of our life and our kid's lives. I'm going to step up on my soap box for a minute - it is SOOO important to read to your kids! Turn off the cell phones, turn off the TV, shut off the computers and read together. I love children's books! They are so fun to read and it is time well spent. I'd like to occasionally review a children's book on this blog to give you some new ideas of books you can check out at the library or buy for your kids.

Before I get into my book review for the day I just want to let you know that I got my onion and basil seed starts planted! I'm so excited. I put them in containers and stuck them next to the heater (yes, at ground level -- very bold of me, right? but I don't have a toddler anymore so hopefully I'll be okay). Now grow, seeds grow!

For my first children's book review I've chosen a book that we checked out at the library this week: "The Missing Tarts" by B. G. Hennessy. I was excited when I found this book because we've been talking a lot about the queen of hearts this week as you might know if you've been following my blog. I love nursery rhymes - they are so wonderful to recite with kids and this book combines several nursery rhymes. 

In the story, the queen of hearts made some tarts and the knave of hearts stole them clean away just like the nursery rhyme. But now the queen's tarts are missing and they look every where for them: With Jack and Jill, Old King Cole, Jack Sprat, Little Jack Horner, Little Bo Peep, Little Boy Blue, the Man in the Moon, Old Mother Hubbard and even the little old woman who lives in the shoe. They finally find them and it's not what you expect. The knave of hearts didn't steal the tarts for himself - he gave them all away!

This book is perfect to read for children of all ages, but especially little, little children with short attention spans. There are only a few words on each page and the pictures are delightful with lots of bright colors. 

One thing I feel strongly about is that books we read to our kids should teach good values - kindness, patience, love, honesty, work, etc. That's what I love about this book - the knave wasn't actually stealing, he was sharing with others and what a wonderful way to teach our kids to share. I hope you enjoy reading this book with your kids as much as we did! Have a wonderful, restful weekend!