Kohler Bancroft Tub

In the course of a recent bathroom remodel (more on that to come!), we looked over oodles of tubs in search of one that a) looked appropriate for our "style", and b) had the proper balance of form vs. function. We picked a white Kohler Bancroft and it's been perfect for us. Aesthetically speaking, it looks great in the context of our room. What looks like almost a scroll shape on the product photo is actually a much more subtle rounded form that gives a great "weight" to the appearance from the side and a really nice vintage look.

The really key thing with this tub is that it has to do double-duty, with a functional area for kids to bathe in but also a sufficient amount of flat surface area for an adult to stand comfortably for a shower. It was surprising how many tubs we encountered when we went out looking that had narrow, sloping bottoms that would make anyone who was showering feel like they couldn't get a good footing. I stood in a number of them that had my ankles bent to an uncomfortable degree. Not so this one! Taking a shower is a pleasure. And if you ask our kids, I know they'll also say there's a huge amount of room down there for toys and comfortable sitting (and any adults who like to lay in the tub as well).

Umbrella Summer

We're constantly on the lookout these days for books that are good for our nightly read-aloud-to-the-kids sessions, generally taking place right before everyone is tucked in for bed. Our daughter is now six and our son is eleven, and for our nightly reading we tend to gravitate toward chapter books geared to kids closer to our son's age (with the expectation that our precocious daughter will be able grasp most everything our son can, which she generally does!).
Lisa Graff's Umbrella Summer proved to be a lucky find, with an engaging and entertaining story about a young girl whose older brother has died, and who now feels compelled to be extremely over protective of herself in everything she does as a result - extra pads when riding her bike, going through a box of band-aids every few days, avoiding "dangerous" play activities (like a friend's obstacle course), etc. But then she meets a kind older woman who's just moved in across the street, and things change when they discover they both have some important things in common. Despite the slightly girl-flavored cover, this book was great for our older son and our daughter as well.

Securifi Almond WiFi Router / Range Extender

We installed a Securifi Almond router and range extender on the main floor of our house a few months back and it's been working great thus far. Our main router is upstairs, tucked into the corner of our crowded office, and the Almond, operating as a range extender, has allowed us to propagate our signal further throughout the house. The nice thing is that it allows for the use of the same username and password that we use for the main router (and this is optional, as you can set whatever username/password you choose). Note that if you do choose that route, you will have two seemingly identical choices in your list of wifi connection points, though they'll have different MAC addresses, which is how I tell them apart, having noted those at some point during the process. Also, the setup really was just a few minutes, as noted in their promotional stuff, though that doesn't account for the additional time I spent playing around with it later just for my own edification.

Jamaica Louise James

Amy Hest's Jamaica Louise James has been a surprising success during the nightly storytime at our house. The story is told in a first-person style that's uncommon in books for younger children, but our now 5-year-old son got hooked into the plot right away and actually seems to like the novel twist on the narration. Jamaica is a spunky 8-year-old girl who relates the tale of her "grammy", who works nights in a token booth down in the 86th Street subway station. While her grandmother's subterranean world is peopled by interesting characters, many of whom she describes to Jamaica and her mom during their pre-work afternoons spent together, the subway surroundings themselves are dismal and uninspiring. Jamaica gets a new paint set from mom and grandmother for her birthday, and she hatches a plot to enliven the walls of the station with a series of paintings of the underground denizens she's heard about from her grandmother. She paints and paints, and one evening she and mom slip out to put the artwork all over the walls of the station. The change works a little bit of magic on everyone who passes through the station, not to mention "grammy" herself. As with most of our favorite books, the illustrations are key to keeping our eyes glued to the pages, and Sheila White Samton's pictures are perfectly suited to the simple but exuberant storyline that unfolds. We also liked that the book featured a somewhat uncommon family group in the persons of Jamaica, mom and grammy, all sharing the same Brooklyn apartment. That's "uncommon" as far as children's books go -- never mind that in the real world, many kids could identify.

The Most Perfect Spot

Diane Goode's pictorial style is unique in that it draws on imagery and fashions from the early part of the last century (i.e. 1910-20), but it's presented in a way that seems fresh and inviting. The Most Perfect Spot is a charming tale in which a little boy invites his mother out for a picnic lunch and a day in the park, only to have his plans upset by a string of dramatic incidents - a flock of ducks takes off at the moment Jack and his mom are getting into a boat for a row out into the lake, causing them both to plunge into the water, a group of dogs runs through the area, upsetting everything, the rain comes pouring down just as they settle down for lunch, etc. There's a nice sideline involving a little stray puppy who follows them home too. The park in the story is a big old-fashioned one (like Central Park) with a majestic gateway arch and lots of big trees, and the street where Jack and his mother live in a small upstairs apartment is a pleasing urban landscape with walk-up flats, shops, and lots of human activity. The pictures and amusing storyline make this book a joy to read. In Goode's Tiger Trouble, Jack returns, this time with a friendly pet tiger (!) named Lily that lives with him in his apartment. When a fusty, fussy older man named Mr. Mud buys the building in which Jack resides, said new owner's first demand is that Jack get rid of the tiger because Mr. Mud "hates cats". But when tiger Lily catches a burglar trying to burgle Mr. Mud's apartment, the old man has a change of heart - as does his like-minded dog, Fifi, who previously supported Mr. Mud in his cat-hating ways. Once again, the great illustrations and simple, quirky storyline had us hooked. We'll be looking out for more of Diane Goode's work in the future!

The Three Little Rigs

The Three Little Rigs is a modern, and somewhat faithful, take on the classic tale of the Three Little Pigs. Penned and illustrated by David Gordon, it substitutes three little trucks for the porcine characters of the original story. The basic plot is the same as in the original, but instead of the wolf, there's a "big, bad wrecking ball", and instead of houses of straw, sticks, and bricks, there are "garages" made of wood, stone and steel. Kids who like trucks and all manner of machinery will dig the industrial settings, and many will delight in figuring out the various correspondences between the original tale and this updated version (even down to the one-letter difference in the title, which was noted by our four-year-old, who has a recent obsession with all the letters of the alphabet). All in all, this is an imaginative rendering of the age-old story, and we've been interspersing it with readings of the classic version now and then too.

Library Lion

Michelle Knudsen's Library Lion has been a kid favorite around here, not least because the very thought of a lion strolling through a big, busy library is audacious and exciting, but also because the illustrations by Kevin Hawkes are more than adequate to the task of bringing the story to life. The subtle humor here and there is a nice touch for kids and grown-ups alike, too. The story revolves around a lion who arrives unexpectedly one day in the library and makes himself at home. He becomes a much-loved fixture, but disappears when a misunderstanding and a not-too-friendly clerk make him feel unwelcome. The librarian character is great - drawing somewhat on the old-fashioned stereotypical image, but then again not. (You'll have to read the story to understand!) The moral of the story, that rules are important but "sometimes it's OK to break them", resonates well. And ultimately, a happy ending ensues.

The Big Brown Box

The Big Brown Box is the first of three books we've read by Marisabina Russo, a prolific writer/illustrator who has a knack for presenting simple, engaging stories that are designed to teach a worthwhile lesson of some sort. In this book, a boy named Sam tries to exclude his baby brother from his playtime inside a big discarded box. One thing leads to another, and by the end little brother Ben has joined in the fun too. In Mama Talks Too Much, a little girl's patience is tried as, enroute to the store, she and her mother keep running into neighborhood acquaintances who engage them in conversation. By the end, Celeste finds her own reason to dilly-dally and realizes the virtue of patience on everyone's part. In Under the Table, a girl spends hours with her toys in her favorite spot under the dining room table, and one day gets carried away drawing with her crayons on the underside, a place only she can see until the fateful day when her parents decide to move some furniture. She learns the obvious lesson when her mom and dad confront her, but it's handled in an understanding way that kids will appreciate. Our son was especially intrigued by the little girl's deviance in coloring on the table, knowing as almost any child would that it's a no-no, but he also liked the parents' considerate response to the situation. The author's seeming goal of encouraging dialogue and understanding between kids and parents was achieved, and for that this book was appreciated in our household.

Sadie the Airmail Pilot

Without a doubt, this is one of the most engaging books we've come across. Sadie the Airmail Pilot, by Kellie Strom, is a thrilling adventure that has Sadie departing from a fantastical, futuristic city and flying through wondrous landscapes to reach to an isolated weather station high atop a mountain on a craggy ledge to deliver the mail. The illustrations are splendid and full of imaginative detail, and while futuristic, they also hearken back to those wildly improbable "imagine the future" images that appeared in newspapers and books at the beginning of the 20th century, with trolley tracks hovering 20 stories above the street, giant dirigibles, and the like. There's also an abundance of flora and fauna covering the topography that Sadie flies through. She runs into trouble on her journey through the snowy mountains, and the thrilling rescue and triumphant return to home base round out the story. Our little boy was absolutely glued to this story, but it's also a great book for little girls who can benefit from the knowledge that girls can do anything too!

The Great Gracie Chase: Stop That Dog!

The Great Gracie Chase: Stop That Dog! is one of our favorite books, owing to a good basic story by Cynthia Rylant and some especially exhilarating illustrations by Mark Teague. It revolves around a pooch named Gracie who cherishes her quiet home life, only to have it disturbed by a bevy of house painters who arrive unexpectedly one morning. She's put out of the house so they can work, and she rebels by taking half the town (including the painters) on a mad chase through the streets.

Look Both Ways: A Cautionary Tale

Diane Z. Shore's Look Both Ways tells an engaging story about a little squirrel who learns to "look both ways" before crossing the street. The book provides a great opportunity to think about this all-important lesson, and in fact our little boy was a bit obsessed with the concept for days after our first readings of the book, bringing it up every time we crossed the street or even when he saw others making their way across as we took our walks in the neighborhood. Weaving an important theme into an inviting story gives kids and parents the best of both worlds - entertainment and education. Filbert, the squirrel in question, has one too many close calls while racing across the street, and learns his valuable lesson with the help of his mother and grandmother. Parents will be grateful for the lesson, and kids will almost certainly like the well-presented story. I'm a big fan of nice illustrations too, and this book doesn't lack for them. A highly recommended choice!

Mickey Moonbeam

Mike Brownlow's Mickey Moonbeam is a great read for little kids who have a thing for rockets, space, planets and the like. The four-year-old in our household had me reading it night after night for quite awhile, even as I eyed the other books in our stack. The full-page illustrations are colorful and very evocative of the space-y theme. In this story, Mickey, a little boy who lives on the moon with his parents, has to rescue his penpal Quiggle after Quiggle's space scooter crashes on a nearby asteroid. There's plenty of action in the plot to keep kids glued to the pages.

Angus and the Cat

Originally published in the 1930s and recently reissued, Marjorie Flack's Angus and the Cat is a great story about a cute and curious scottie dog named Angus who is outwitted by a sly cat that comes to live in the house. The illustrations (nice color and crisp black & white) are wonderful, and the jaunty text will keep almost any child - toddler, preschooler, whatever - engaged. Don't think for a minute that the 1930s-era story might somehow be outdated, because it absolutely isn't. It's written in a timeless style with a unique sense of humor that both children and adults will find appealing. What's more, there are others we've read in the series that are equally good - Angus Lost, in which the insatiably curious scottie sneaks out of the house through an open door and has an unexpected adventure that has him later appreciating the true benefits of home, and Angus and the Ducks, in which he finally gets to find out what lurks on the other side of the massive hedge that borders his yard, only to find himself scurrying once again back to the safety and security of the little spot under the couch at home. All three have been reissued in inexpensive paperback editions with the original artwork, so you can't go wrong.