This series, about a slightly-diabolical genius whose science skills far outpace her social skills, has been making the boys HOWL with laughter. In a very happy coincidence, the poem generator above was part of tonight’s bedtime reading. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Author: Jim Benton
Illustrator: Jim Benton
Comments Off on Franny K. Stein: Mad Scientist series
Posted in Chapter Books
Tagged Animals, bedtime, Diverse Books, food, Franny K. Stein: Mad Scientist, Jim Benton, Machines, school, science, science fiction, series, toys, Valentine's Day
Old Man Fookwire has only one pleasure in life: painting birds. But some clever squirrels have invaded his beautiful birdfeeders. What happens next is not what you would expect.
This very funny book is a great read aloud. We first read it at a local library and ordered a copy as soon as we came home.
Author: Adam Rubin
Illustrator: Daniel Salmieri
Comments Off on Those Darn Squirrels!
Posted in Picture Books
Tagged Adam Rubin, Animals, Daniel Salmieri, food, Machines, mystery reader books, series, Those Darn Squirrels!
This variant on Jack and the Beanstalk is a pleasure to see and read. Although we found it after Jack and the Fire Dragon, it is the first tale in the series. My youngest loves it even more than Fire Dragon; my oldest loves them both “to infinity.”
Author: Gail E. Haley
Illustrator: Gail E. Haley
Comments Off on Jack and the Bean Tree
Posted in Picture Books
Tagged Animals, fairy tale, farm, food, Gail E. Haley, Jack and the Bean Tree, Jack and the Fire Dragon, out of print, series, USA
This collection of short stories and poems is one of my very favorite books. I loved it when I was a kid and now I love reading one or two of the stories to the boys each night before bed during the lead up to Christmas. The stories are absolutely charming and the pictures are beautiful and I wish this version (from 1969) wasn’t out of print (the version currently in print cut out a few of my favorite stories–I have no idea why). Don’t let the missing stories stop you from picking up a copy of the new edition, if you don’t have one already. This book is contains so much holiday joy; it really shouldn’t be missed.
Author: Kathryn Jackson
Illustrator: Richard Scarry
Comments Off on The Animals’ Merry Christmas
Posted in Chapter Books
Tagged Animals, bedtime, Christmas, food, I read this as a kid, out of print, Richard Scarry, The Animals' Merry Christmas, toys
Leaving cookies (chocolate chip!) and milk for Santa, plus carrots for his reindeer, is an old and happy tradition. Little did we know who else might be hitching a ride on the sleigh…
Suffice it to say that wombats still love carrots (and we still love wombats). So, this year, we will include some extra carrots on the plate.
Author: Jackie French
Illustrator: Bruce Whatley
Comments Off on Christmas Wombat
Posted in Picture Books
Tagged Animals, Australia, Bruce Whatley, Christmas, Christmas Wombat, Diary of a Wombat, food, Jackie French, series, tradition
Over the last thirty years, Dutch author Toon Tellegen has written over 300 stories about a group of anthropomorphized animals. This book is contains nine of these stories that all, in one way or another, relate to parties. The stories are whimsical, delicate, and quiet. The characters glory in lists, details, and internal discourses. The book itself is beautifully and thoughtfully produced (down to a bright ribbon bookmark). It is charming, bittersweet, and perfect for bedtime.
Author: Toon Tellegen
Illustrator: Jessica Ahlberg
Comments Off on The Squirrel’s Birthday and Other Parties
Posted in Chapter Books
Tagged Animals, bedtime, birthday, food, Jessica Ahlberg, series, The Squirrel's Birthday and Other Parties, Toon Tellegen, translated
Making an apple pie is really very easy.
First, get all the ingredients at the market.
Mix them well, bake, and serve.
Unless, of course,
the market is closed.
In that case, go home and pack a suitcase.
The pie-craving protagonist travels to Italy (for wheat), Frances (for a chicken that lays “elegant eggs”), Sri Lanka (for kurundu bark), England (for a cow to provide milk), Jamaica (for seawater and sugar cane), and Vermont (for apples). Once the traveling is through, all she will have to do is:
mill the wheat into flour,
grind the kurundu
bark into cinnamon,
evaporate the seawater
from the salt,
boil the sugar cane,
persuade the chicken
to lay an egg…
Well, you get the idea. This book is thoughtful, colorful, and quietly funny. Perhaps it was inspired by the famous Carl Sagan quote: “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” (My youngest swears by the apple pie recipe on the last page.)
Author: Marjorie Priceman
Illustrator: Marjorie Priceman
Comments Off on How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
Posted in Picture Books
Tagged A Reading Rainbow Selection, Animals, Carl Sagan, Diverse Books, England, food, France, How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, Italy, Jamacia, Machines, Marjorie Priceman, series, Sri Lanka, USA
Farmer Brown has some problems.
It was bad enough the cows had
found the old typewriter in the
barn, now they wanted electric
blankets! “No way,” said Farmer
Brown. “No electric blankets.”
So the cows went on strike.
They left a note on the barn door.
Sorry.
We’re closed.
No milk
today.
Soon the hens join the work stoppage. And what are those seemingly-neutral ducks up to?
If workers’ rights are civil rights, as the slogan goes, we have a mini theme going this week. (When the boys stage a sit-in protest of my menu choices, I’ll have only myself to blame.) This book is very funny and I can’t read it aloud without hearing (and slightly mimicking) the Scholastic video version narrated by Randy Travis.
Author: Doreen Cronin
Illustrator: Betsy Lewin
Comments Off on Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type
Posted in Picture Books
Tagged Animals, Betsy Lewin, Caldecott Honor, Civil Rights, Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type, Doreen Cronin, farm, food, Machines, Randy Travis, Scholastic video, series, spoonfuls of stories
This is a classic story with beautiful illustrations, but all those jokes about the grim Grimm Brothers exist for a reason. This retelling hews very close to the Grimm tale, which in turn was based on an even darker French version. You won’t want to read it with your kids before they’re ready (or, perhaps, before bed), but you also won’t want to miss reading this aloud:
“Grandmother! What big, hairy ears you have grown!” she said.
“The better to hear you with, my dear.”
“Oh, Grandmother! Your eyes are so shiny!”
“The better to see you with, my dear.”
“Your hands look so strange, Grandmother!”
“The better to catch you and hug you with, my dear.”
“Please, Grandmother, why do you have such big, sharp teeth?”
“Those are to eat you up with, my dear!”
Author: Trina Schart Hyman/The Grimm Brothers/Charles Perrault
Illustrator: Trina Schart Hyman
Comments Off on Little Red Riding Hood
Posted in Picture Books
Tagged Animals, Caldecott Honor, Charles Perrault, fairy tale, food, Grimm Brothers, Little Red Riding Hood, translated, Trina Schart Hyman
When Louis’ Scottish uncle sends him a tadpole as a birthday present (fresh from Loch Ness), it does not turn into a frog. It does, however, turn into a wonderful (if utterly impracticable) pet.
Note: This version of the book is out of print. In 2004, a new version was issued with a revised text and all new illustrations. The changes were not an improvement. Look for the version of the book that has the “tadpole” gazing up at Louis in profile, rather than a straight-on view of them both.
Author: Steven Kellogg
Illustrator: Steven Kellogg
Comments Off on The Mysterious Tadpole
Posted in Picture Books
Tagged Animals, food, out of print, pirates, school, Steven Kellogg, The Mysterious Tadpole