Author Spotlight: Monica Wellington

We have enjoyed many of Monica Wellington's books, so I couldn't limit myself to posting just one. It all started with Mr. Cookie Baker, then moved on to Pizza at Sally's, Crepes by Suzette, Riki's Birdhouse, Apple Farmer Annie, Truck Driver Tom, Zinnia's Flower Garden, and Squeaking of Art.

I think our favorites of these are probably Zinnia's Flower Garden and Crepes by Suzette.

Wellington's books have bright, cheerful illustrations and are entertainingly educational. These are the kinds of books that beg you to dig into the subject matter: after reading Zinnia's Flower Garden, we planted zinnias, sunflowers, and sweet peas in our garden; Pizza at Sally's included a pizza recipe that we made together one Friday evening; we made crepes with Nutella after reading Crepes by Suzette; Squeaking of Art, a book about a group of mice visiting an art museum, inspired and informed a trip to our local art museum. (No, we did not drive a truck after reading Truck Driver Tom!)

If your child has a shorter attention span, you can simply read the main storyline. For older children or those who can focus longer, there are all sorts of extra blurbs in the margins with added information, plus several of the books have recipes, craft ideas, and so on at the end.