July 15, 2024 – Musician and children's entertainer Tom Pease has been delighting Cedar Rapids children for more than 30 years with energetic songs and interactive performances.
He'll be back on Monday, July 22, with performances at the Downtown Library from 10-11 am and 1-2 pm and at Ladd Library from 3:30-4:30 pm. All performances are first-come, first-serve; wrist bands will be handed out one hour prior to each performance.
Before he returns for this year's Summer Reading show, we asked him to share some of his favorite books for kids. He sent us the list below, along with a little bit about why he chose each title. Browse the books below, and then come to the library to sing and dance along with Tom in person!
"All the books I’ve chosen I love. All but one of these are books I read with my children and more recently with my grandchildren. The other wasn’t around when my sons were young, but if it had been, we would have reread it many times, just as I have with their kids," Tom said. "I love reading aloud. It’s one of my favorite things in the world. I love the feel of the language on my tongue and the sort of music it makes in the air. I love the memories the read-aloud creates forever and ever after. Big-time thanks to all the authors of the world!
"In looking at this list, I’ve noticed there are mostly common threads of kindness, tenderness, family and love throughout. Even after multiple reads, I’ve rarely made it through most these without choking up a bit. Yes, I’m a sap at heart. But one other common thing is that I can read these books aloud over and over and never tire of their stories."
"Wilford Gordon McDonald Partridge" by Mem Fox, illustrated by Julie Vivas
Never underestimate the simplicity and wisdom of a curious young child who seeks to comfort his favorite elderly neighbor. The raw tenderness of this story sneaks up on me every read.
"The Patchwork Quilt" by Valerie Flournoy, illustrated by Jerry Pickney
This intergenerational story of the making of a family quilt finds how simple scraps of cloth and the process of piecing them together can hold the essence of family love.
"The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey" by Susan Wojciechowski, illustrated by P.J. Lynch
A tale of a young boy and his mother helping a grown man find his way from the darkness of deep loss to the beginnings of healing by asking him to use his incredible woodcarving talents to not only duplicate the physical figures of a lost family Christmas creche, but to also find the emotional quality in each carved face.
"King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub" by Audrey Wood and illustrated by Don Wood
The pure fun of this story along with the lyrical rhythm of the Audrey Woods words and Don Woods colorful pages have made for more readings of this book than possibly any other I’ve read to both my children and their children. This imaginative book is just plain fun! “Oh, who knows what to do?”
(Wait, wait!! We must include Mo Willems!!):
"Can I Play Too?" by Mo Willems
The world would be a better place if Mo Willems books were issued to every child as they enter the world. Truth be told, this could be any one of Mo Willems' many Elephant and Piggie books. All are boldly simple and yet brilliantly crafted stories of every aspect of friendship we can imagine.
"Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
This is one of my favorite chapter books I read to my sons. In fact, when I read this tender story of adventure and family to my oldest son’s fifth grade class, every student and, yes, the teacher, too, went out and found their own copy of the book to read ahead, I suppose so they could savor the story and language twice over as they listened to my interpretation.
Note: Wilson Rawls also wrote "Where the Red Fern Grows," which is often-required reading in the sixth grade in my neck of the woods.
