What We Are Reading at Our House - Kid Edition

Friends, I have been reading and enjoying books (and so has my voracious reader 9 year old) but have neglected to muster the energy to write. Since there's so much to cover I'm breaking it up into 3 parts: Kid Edition, Awards, and YA/Adult.

The 9 Year Old:

Discovered and loved Dan Gutman's Genius Files and N.E.R.D.S.
Finally received The Familiars books 2 & 3 from the library holds. He loves this series of animal magic. If you are unfamiliar, check it out. It has been optioned for a movie.

For his historical fiction project I brought home a selection of titles and while he leaned towards Avi's True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, he went with The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg.
For his required non-fiction reading he read and loved Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini by Sid Fleischman. For his poetry requirement he read Love That Dog. Three of my all-time faaaaavorites.













The 4 Year Old:
"Does it have Batman? Or Superman? Or Wonder Woman or Super Friends or The Flash or Green Lantern or Legos? Or Kipper? Because that is all I like to get these days. I know exactly where these books are kept in all three of my storytime libraries so I will just go and help myself."


Children's Books I Picked Out:
3 terrific early chapter book series!
Lulu series by Hilary McKay, Penny series by Kevin Henkes, Bink and Gollie #2 by DiCamillo, McGhee, & Fucile









Picture Books:
Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld.
Holy  moly, I love these two. AKR is back with another playful look at ordinary things. She is the master of quirk, pun, and double meaning. A must for classrooms! The 9 year old thought it was great.

Oliver by Birgitta Sif
I finally got this book in at my library and thought it was very charming. Oliver is an introvert. He's completely content to play make believe with his toys and shy of company. He accidently meets another child and realizes that playing with another child can be fun, too. Sharp readers will see that we have seen this new friend all along - on the street, in the library, at the pool. Very clever and very sweet. And Oliver wears glasses, another plus in my house. Both boys thought this was terrific.

What We're Reading at Our House

The 9 year old discovered Bruce Coville.  Okay, not on his own. I picked out My Teacher Is an Alien to add a little funny sci-fi to his reading. I also wanted to introduce him to another series. He loves reading series books.

He really liked those books and started the Alien Adventures series. I never read Coville myself but so many of my students and librarian friends loved him.

Additionally, I started him on Rick Riordan's 39 Clues. This is his first exposure to Riordan and he devoured the books. He completed the first series and moved on to the Cahill vs. Vespers series. Rick Riordan is golden. Thank goodness he is a publishing machine.

The Almost-4-Year-Old and I discovered Tucker the dog. He's by Leslie McGuirk who wrote one of my favorite books last year: If Rocks Could Sing. We love that the Tucker books are small - 6"x6". It just adds to the cuteness.

 As a family we all enjoyed Dragons Love Tacos.  See that cover below? That sums up taco night at our house. Mmm. Tacoooos. Unlike dragons, we love spicy salsa.

The only thing dragons love more than parties or tacos, is taco parties (taco parties are parties with lots of tacos).
If you want to have some dragons over for a taco party, you'll need buckets of tacos. Pantloads of tacos.

Recently I read Summer at Forsaken Lake by Michael D Beil. Not as much fun as his Red Blazer Girls, but still a good mystery. Speaking of RBG, the new one just came out.

I also finished the excellent and award winning No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. The combination fact and fiction worked really well for me. It was serendipitous timing to read this right after The Mighty Miss Malone. Two perspectives on overlapping time periods. Two fascinating characters.

Lastly, a quick mention of adult books. I finally read Gone Girl. Great writing and a great example of disliking every single character in a book. I had to cleanse my brain afterwards with Next Best Thing.

Happy Reading!

Chopsticks by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

The first time I read Amy Krouse Rosenthal was around 2006 when my boss read Little Pea as part of a storytime training exercise. It was love at first "pleh".

We first met Chopsticks in 2009's delightful Spoon. Little Spoon is feeling down and wishes he were more "exotic and cool" like Chopsticks.

That's Spoon up there in the corner of the book image. He says, "Not exactly a sequel to Spoon. More like a change in place setting." And that folks delivers a great introduction to what the book has in store for us.

Chopsticks do everything together and according to Spoon, Fork, and Knife, no one can remember them being apart. One tragic day one of our stick friends breaks. He's quickly whisked away (by a whisk - so many fun visual and verbal puns in this book) to the medicine cabinet where a bottle of glue mends him and orders bed rest.  Mending stick tells his partner to venture off on his own while he recuperates and his partner embarks on a journey of single-stick self-discovery that includes pole vaulting and symphony conducting.  Are you smiling? Because this stuff is delightful.

I recommended this book to a friend who has twins. I think the message of being apart and being an individual makes a terrific and loving sibling story. 

While I've raved about the writing, I must give equal credit to Scott Magoon. Every object in the story is animated and completely charming. The 3 year old in my house was particularly interested in the q-tips. Amy and Scott make a great storytelling pair. Not unlike... Chopsticks! 

Finally, AKR does a bit of everything and all amazingly well. In addition to her many picture books she had (has?) a great blog that encouraged random acts of art and kindness, she publishes nonfiction including pregnancy and baby journals (also check out the remarkable An Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life) and then there's her hallmark art and community multiyear project called "The Beckoning of Lovely".  These days she's more active on Twitter.

Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton

Last year my youngest son and I loved Chris Haughton's Little Owl Lost. This year he is equally smitten with Oh No, George!

George is a tubby and loveable dog who really wants to be good for his owner Harry, but how can he when he loves to dig in the dirt and chase the cat?  What will George do? is the common refrain which begs kids to answer back. George is delightfully naughty and later repents, offering Harry his favorite toy as a peace offering. Harry takes George walking where he has a second chance to behave encountering more dirt and the cat. What will George do? Read along and have fun.

Also, there's a storytime waiting to happen if you can round up another dog-named-George-book.

Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham and illustrated by Paul O Zelinsky

Z is for Moose is a title that I keep running into. My Goodreads suggests it, Amazon suggests it, my kidlit blogs suggest it, and finally my children's librarian handed it to me knowing my son would like it.

It's a hilarious twist on alphabet books. Moose just wants to be in the stage production. He jumps ahead of line into D and is told by Zebra, the director, that he is on the wrong page. Anxious Moose sneaks into letters H-L ready for his big entrance for M... except M is for mouse. Oh no, poor Moose doesn't handle that well at all and Zebra's solution, way at the end of the alphabet, makes for a great story of friendship.

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen recently earned the 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Book Picture Book Award. Visually the book is such a treat. I sincerely adore Jon Klassen and both of my sons loved seeing Bear and Rabbit make an appearance in this story. Sneaky!

Annabelle finds a magic box of never-ending yarn. She in turn knits sweaters for every one and every thing in her small woodland town. But lo, an evil archduke desires the yarn and Annabelle refuses to sell it to him. He puts a curse on her.

Which doesn't work.

I love it! I love that he can do nothing to her. Curses aren't real. If you currently have The Giving Tree as your book about selflessness and citizenship, toss it and put this one it its place. Barnett and Klassen offer a much better book to ponder.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On: Things about Me

I first heard about Marcel when I caught a news interview with Jenny Slate, the SNL castmember who was fired in 2010 not long after dropping the f-bomb on live tv.  I immediately checked out the Marcel videos online to see what the fuss was about, and, well, then totally forgot about him.

I saw this book on display at my library and snatched it up. Sure, the videos were cute and odd, but how would that make for a children's book?

Both of my sons enjoyed this book.  The 8 year old gets the odd humor. He also likes reading the cursive.  The 3 year old likes pointing out what Marcel is doing even if he doesn't get why Marcel thinks playing is a soup ladle is fun.

Our favorite part? Going to bread. Both boys giggled over this and it became a nightly joke. "I'm going to bread! I'm in my breadroom going to bread!!" A bonus: The book may work as a before bed story because it ends with Marcel going to bed and asking the reader to close the book.  Another of Marcel's great qualities.

Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey by Mini Grey

A new Mini Grey book is a wonderful thing and a new Mini Grey Traction Man adventure is a cause for celebration with party hats and cake. You know how Traction Man loves any excuse to break out a new outfit. Patti wrote about the first two books and was my first heads up on this one.

Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey (Brought to you by Beach-Time Brenda™ and the Flavor of Raspberry Ripple), published by Knopf, arrived the same day as Every Cowgirl Loves a Rodeo. That was a good day.

Traction Man, Scrubbing Brush, and family head out for a holiday at the ocean. Traction Man dons his new scuba suit to discover creatures of the rockpool, executes operation picnic, and spends quality time with Grandma's exuberant dog.

But alas, all is not calm in these seas. Soon our hero and his pet find themselves lost and in the strange company of Dollies, who turn out to be more tenacious than their sparkly pink appearance. It's a wonderful play on the image of ditzy Barbie lookalikes. Girls to the rescue!

The hilarious front end papers poke great fun at the dolls with quotes like "may disintegrate if wet" and "unrealistic vital statistics".  The manufacturer's description of the Dollies superficial potential versus what the girl and boy use them for is a great twist, the message being that what something looks like is not all it can be when you use your imagination. Like... Scrubbing Brush!

The back end papers include another comic strip that mimics the one from Traction Man Meets Turbo Dog. Reading all three books together will provide quite an activity for a child who can pick up on all of the inside jokes that Grey uses throughout the books. (For instance, they pack Hoopos snacks "ingeniously made of Potato! wear them or eat them!" for the beach which were used as medals in the first book.)

Brilliant and hilarious wonderfulness. A great addition to summer reading.

Every Cowgirl Loves a Rodeo and Jammy Dance by Rebecca Janni

I'm here with a belated double post today. Not only is a cousin of mine a children's book author, an author whose books can be purchased at Scholastic Book Fairs and Target, but she already released two books this year! Brava, Rebecca Janni!

First came Jammy Dance, published by FSG and illustrated by Tracy Dockray, which arrived on Valentine's Day. Jammy Dance began as a song Becky would sing to her kids at night to get them ready for bed. While the jumping and dancing don't exactly lend to sleepiness for my 3 year old, we do like reading it at night. The children at the end of the book snuggle together in bed and I love that image of sibling love.

The end of May brought the third book about our favorite cowgirl Nellie Sue. In Every Cowgirl Loves a Rodeo, published by Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin, spunky Nellie Sue takes Beauty to the county fair. She and Beauty enter a bike rodeo which, true to Nellie Sue style, results in wranglin' critters, a rescue, and a badge of honor. Nellie Sue's friend Anna returns and we meet a new boy, AJ, who is Nellie's competition in the rodeo. So lasso a youngster or two and give this one a read.

Today is the last day of school for the 3rd grader. Here's to a great summer and to lounging around reading!

Bringing Baby Home

When I found out my husband and I were expecting our second child, my first thoughts went to how to prepare my 4 year old about the baby. Dude gets a lot (a lot!) of attention and we knew this was going to be a huge, life-changing event for him.

My son, being the observant guy he is noticed right away my stomach was growing and helpfully told me I was getting a stomach like Grandpa (Meaning it was really big. Ha! Honesty!). We read a lot of books on siblings and new babies, but the following are three of my favorites.

What's Inside Your Tummy, Mommy? by Abby Cocovini
An excellent book that is perfect for pre-schoolers so that they get a basic understanding of how a baby grows, what it is doing in there, and how it finally is born. My son was fascinated by it and I could tell it blew his mind that he had been like that once too.

One Special Day by Lola M. Schaefer. ill by Jessica Meserve
I picked this one up on a whim a couple of days before my due date. I couldn't have made a better choice. It begins by showing a boy with his grandmother waving goodbye to his parents who are driving off in a car. Then it chronicles all the various things this boy is. He is brave, he is wild, he is tall, he is funny, noisy, etc. But when his parents finally bring the baby home, for the first time ever he is a brother. It was sweet and timely and my son loved it because it was exactly what was going on in his life. The illustrations are beautiful and bright and the animals are completely endearing. The endpapers are also fabulous. The front shows the boy on his own, the back with his sibling having all sorts of fun together. I can't recommend this one enough.

Edwin Speaks Up by April Stevens. ill by Sophie Blackall
We've been reading this one post-baby. My son loves how Edwin is sort of speaking sort of doing baby-talk. He loves to point out exactly what Edwin is trying to tell his mother. And those ferrets! Does Sophie Blackall illustrate anything that isn't spectacular? I loved the soft colors, the retro feel, the ding-dang adorable ferrets (that I think are completely nasty in real life).

There are, of course, tons of books that deal with the emotions a new siblings bring, but these truly stood above of all the others.

=====================================
Book Source = Library Copies

Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit by Il Sung Na

When I saw this book in the spring/Easter display at my library I was immediately drawn to it. Ah, of course it is Il Sung Na! I absolutely adore A Book of Sleep. I love the layered illustrations and the whimsy.

Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons follows in similar style to A Book of Sleep. The animals in the forest are getting ready for winter. We have geese flying away from the cold and bears hibernating. But he also includes a couple unusual animals: turtles swimming to warmer water and alligators (or crocodiles) still in the water. My favorite are the squirrels, mainly due to the fact that my 3 year old calls them "swirls". The narrator on this journey is our dear white rabbit... who, as we move through winter into spring, changes color.

I think this would make a fine storytime book about the seasons. Be sure to brush up on why the rabbit (or hare) changes colors.

Absolutely charming. Extremely beautiful. Unquestionably talented.

Also, this book is called Brrrr...A Book of Winter in the UK where all his books are first published. A Book of Sleep is titled Zzzzz..A Book of Sleep. I think this is funny.


Coming soon: Hide and Seek (June)

Traction Man is Here! by Mini Grey

It has been Traction Man city in our household lately. I have to read both the original Traction Man is Here! and the sequel Traction Man Meets Turbodog on a daily basis to my almost 4 year old. He. Is. Obsessed.

He loves the adventures that Traction Man gets into. And I love the subtle encouragement he gets to use his imagination when playing with his own toys. Need a villain? Have pillows handy? Voila! You’ve got some evil pillows that can take your toys captive! Have to wash the dishes? Surely that dishcloth has nefarious intentions! Even your toes can get involved!

The best part is that I often overhear him talking to himself about an all-in-one knitted green romper suit with matching bonnet. Then I hear him giggle. He immediately recognized that Traction Man was not impressed with his present. I think he finds the embarrassment that Traction Man feels wearing such an ignoble outfit quite hilarious.

He also enjoys the sequel quite a bit – especially the bin-things that I like to make sound like Gollum (All those esses! They were made for that voice.).

I am pretty darned thrilled that in May there will be a third entry into the series, Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey.

In my online searches I did come across a few fun finds. There is an awesome printable paper doll that the UK Random House has on their website. I think it is amusing how they are called "Activity sheets" when they are so obviously paper dress up dolls. Heh.

========================

Book Source = Library Copies

Picture Book Comparison

My 3 year old son received Bark, George by Jules Feiffer (1999) and I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen (2011) for Christmas.

Their similarities didn't occur to me until I read them back to back. So far my son has demanded me to do so on subsequent readings.

Bark, George was a staple storytime activity. We were lucky to have a fantastic children's librarian who turned a stuffed dog into a puppet that swallowed tiny stuffed animals (cat, duck, pig, cow). It was just amazing.

Poor George is a puppy that can't bark: he can meow, quack, oink, and moo. Mother takes him to the vet who reaches down into George's mouth to pull out each animal. It's outrageous and I love to see this surprise on the faces of my kids. But there's one more surprise. In the end, George is asked to bark one more time... and he says "hello". WHA?

(pause) Then my son gasped, "He ate a person!?"
Me: "He's probably just saying "hello" to all those people on the street. He's being polite."
Him: "He ate a person."

I Want My Hat Back is distinguished as one of the most talked about picture books of 2011. Bear is looking for his hat. He asks all the animals if they have seen it, but they have not. When a deer asks the bear to describe the hat he realizes that he has seen his hat on the head of one of the previous animals. Bear confronts this animal, there's an intense staring contest between the two, and then we see bear sitting on the clump of grass that formerly held the thief animal. It's an intense scene. As an adult do you interject with a note on the laws of nature? Or do you let the story play itself out to the reader? My son giggles that "bear squished him with his butt!" even though two pages later bear mentions eating the offender. I think one of the best aspects of this type of picture book is that the reader brings his or her own information to the story. My son likes it now as it is. When he gets the joke later on, I hope he enjoys it all over again in a new way.

Also, the first time I read I Want My Hat Back, my 8 year old was there, too. I wondered if he would spoil the surprise of the animal with the hat, but he missed it himself. He had the same reaction bear had when it was figured out. He, of course, finds it totally hysterical that bear eats the thief. "I can't believe he ATE him! Ahaha hahahaa ha!"

Give your audience a really interesting storytime and pair this with Wolves by (the amazing) Emily Gravett. Heh. "Alternate vegetarian ending." Yes, we own that book as well.

Below is the Westin Woods/Scholastic video of Bark, George (not one of their best) and the book trailer for I Want My Hat Back.

Big Little Brother by Kevin Kling and illustrated by Chris Monroe

I am a sucker for books with children in glasses and books about brothers. This one has both although the glasses are not relevant to the story. The older brother just happens to wear them, as does the author.


But on to brothers. This book came out in November (published by Borealis Books an imprint of Minnesota Historical Society Press) and I first heard about it in my local paper. I'd link to that but darn if I cannot find it. It next had a spot in the NYT Book Review. I just had to have it.

The story is based on the author's relationship with his little brother who is indeed bigger. Check out how adorable they are in this Minnesota Public Radio video. They look just like their book counterparts!

The book opens with the older brother admitting to us that "It's my own fault. I wanted a little brother." We know where this is going, right?  As fun as the story is, what with the little brother carrying around a donut all day and the bully who threatens Thanksgiving dinner in the playschool kitchen, a deeply sentimental thread emerges when the older brother achieves the realization that his little brother is a-okay. The pages where he sings to his little brother who is having nighttime fears is striking. Yes, much of that credit does also go to Chris Monroe's art, but still, it made me sniffle a bit over my boys.

So here's to brotherly love and a great picture book from a debut children's author.  Of course this made my Best of 2011. Also, if you're not familiar with Chris Monroe, get thee to a library and check out her books! Her latest Chico Bon Bon adventure also came out this fall which I'm sure continues on with excellence, but alas my library has not received it yet.

Anton Can Do Magic by Ole Könnecke

We celebrated my son's 3rd birthday this week and he received this book for his birthday. I put it on a wish list as soon as I read Jules of 7-Imp's review over at Kirkus and hoped someone would pick it out. (Thanks, Astrid!) I adored the previous book Anthony and the Girls when it came out in 2006 and I constantly put it on display at my library so it would get noticed.

The cover is fantastic. There's Anton twirling his magic wand at a slightly perplexed bird while he holds up his "real" magic hat. How can you resist?

Anton tries working his magic (wiggling his fingers thus causing his hat to fall over his eyes) to make things disappear - with some funny success that kids will enjoy. Did the bird disappear or did it just fly away? And does he have the power to make it reappear? What's a real magician to do?

The simple text relies on the images to tell the other part of the story. Check this one out!

What We're Reading at Our House - 3

I'm reading more than I have in ages, but nothing really to blog about yet. Patti and I both read Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Little, Brown 9/11) and will chat about it later...ONE HECK OF A CHAT.

So here's what we are reading at our house.

Almost-8-year-old:
Still on his Geronimo Stilton kick and added Thea Stilton to the mix. I also introduced him to Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce and he's a big fan. Also, before Big Nate Strikes Again (#2) came through on his library holds, he was reading Ramona and Beezus. I'll have to hide the 3rd Big Nate from him until he finishes that one. Girl books rarely make it into his hands.

Picture books:
Purple Little Bird by Greg Foley (Blazer+Bray, 2011)
Greg Foley's Bear books are some of my favorites. I saw this one on the shelf and did a happy dance. Purple Little Bird looks for a new place to live. Colors, animals, and gentle sweetness.

That's How! by Christoph Niemann (Greenwillow, 2011)
Fun for both my boys. I love its over-the-top silliness and imagination.

Let's Count Goats! by Mem Fox and illustrated by Jan Thomas (Beach Lane Books/S&S, 2010)
Saw this just hanging out on the library shelf and grabbed it immediately. Mem Fox AND Jan Thomas?! Yeah, it's hilarious. It is reminiscent of one of the greatest picture books of all time - Where is the Green Sheep? also by Fox.

If Rocks Could Sing : a discovered alphabet by Leslie McGuirk (Random House Kids, 2011)
We all love this one. Fascinating, whimsical, and funny. As if collecting rocks wasn't fun for my boys as is, now we can try and find some that look like letters. Thanks to Bookends Book Blog and Book Moot for the tip.

My books:
All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin (Macmillan 9/11)
We love GZ here at Oops. When I went to TLA I beelined for Macmillan only to be told they were out of ARCs but they would send me one. I declined thinking how much better it would be to wait for its release. Nice thought. When Patti went to ALA in June she snagged one for me. I'm not finished with it yet.

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai (Viking, 2011)
Well looky here. An adult book. My cousin pointed this one out to me. It's about a children's librarian! I'm 1/2 way and so far I'm not sure what I think. Have any of you read it?

What we're reading in our house

Inspired by Joanna, here is what we're reading in our house:


I Saw a Bullfrog by Ellen Stern.

My little dude LOVES the pictures and the fact that it is so incredibly silly. And that he can see what these things really look like in the back. I love the way it is fun to read out loud. The first few animals are the best though.



The Teeny-Tiny Woman by Paul Galdone

With voices this thing is magic. Even if you have to say teeny-tiny like a million times. My son gets so grossed out about the woman taking the bone to make soup. And you know what? Me too! She's in a freakin' graveyard! I love how he noticed the cabinet had eyes the first time around.


Beware of the Frog by William Bee

I love William Bee. And the Train Goes...is brilliant. It is maybe my favorite train book. Those sounds are so fun! Whatever killed in storytime the one time I read it. But Beware of the Frog is a little darker. Fun, but dark! I wasn't sure how it was going to go over, but since my son's favorite pastime is to hit things with sticks, I was fairly confident it would go over well. It did. Especially the smelly thing. He was a little confused when sweet old Mrs. Collywobble turned into a frog and was (in my mind, understandably) pissed about it. But it was a hit regardless.

=================================
Book Source = Library Copies

What We're Reading at Our House - 2

Today is the first day of summer vacation for my 2nd grader-now-3rd grader. Here's what we checked out at the library last week. (Part 1) What are you reading? Any suggestions for us?

Picture books:

• Where's Walrus? by Stephen Savage (Scholastic, 2011)
  2.5 year old really liked this and it later wooed 7 year old who initially turned his nose up at the wordless book where "it's soooo easy to find the walrus that you don't even have to try." But there is a story and he got it and liked it. Surprise! I love picture books. [see video!]
• Not Me! by Nicola Killen (Egmont, 2010)
  Little one enjoyed it, but didn't get that each child's name rhymed with his naughtiness (Paul painted the wall)
• Race You To Bed! by Bob Shea (Katherine Tegen Books, 2010)
  We love Bob Shea and yet I own none of his books. Hm. This one was enjoyed by both Little and Big Kid. The lamp is a carrot! I mean really. Shea is just too good.
• Simms Taback's City Animals (Blue Apple, 2009)
  Taback's Where is My Baby was both boys' #1 favorite board book. This one is "A Giant Fold-Out Book" that I never saw before our librarian used the jungle version for storytime. It's super cute as you fold out parts of the page to reveal which animal it is. The last one is a mouse, but I totally thought rat. Kind of gross if you think about it. 
• Blue Goose by Nancy Tafuri (S&S, 2008)
  Tafuri was a go-to author for my storytimes. I was not as familiar with this one as her others (my branch didn't own a copy) but she seriously is one of the best.
• Three By the Sea by Mini Gray (Knopf, 2010)
  LOVE Mini Gray at this house. This one was not quite so loved by Big kid, but there's so much to look at in her illustrations. Mouse's kitchen cookbooks are hilarious. 
• 2 Thomas the Tank books because we cannot leave the library with out something Thomas. I do think it's cute that he'll go up to the librarians (we have a children's and a teen librarian) and tell them he wants either Thomas books or Thomas movies. Then he goes back later and shows them what he picked out. They play along very nicely. (And he is stinkin' cute so he's hard to resist.)

Chapter Books & Comics

• Geronimo Stilton
  7 year old loves loves loves these. I like the inclusion of different fonts and colors used to help with word comprehension.
• Pirates of the Caribbean Jack Sparrow : The Pirate Chase by Rob Kidd (Disney)
  Big kid saw the new Pirates movie a couple weeks ago and he picked this book out but I don't think he's read it. All of a sudden it's not what he wants.
• Tin Tin, Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck Adventures, Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures -
  annnd this may be why he's reluctant to read the Pirates book. Too many comics!
• Stone Rabbit: Superhero Stampede by Erik Craddock (Random House, 2010)
  Big kid loves this series.
• Bone, volume 3 by Jeff Smith
  He started reading Bone last year but never got past #1. I think he's a little young, but he really seems to be taking to it now.

ETC

• Museum of Accidents by Rachel Zucker (Wave Books, 2009)
  I forget how I learned about Rachel Zucker who writes, for lack of a better term, 21st century mama poetry. I'm making an effort to read more contemporary poetry and she has a style (both subject and format) that I like very much.
• When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago
  It's hard for me to not like a coming of age memoir. Prep for our trip to Puerto Rico. I also got some Rosario Ferré and Judith Ortiz Cofer is on hold.
• Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
  Haven't started this yet but will this week. 

Every Cowgirl Needs Dancing Boots by Becky Janni

Hi, Friends! Picture book time! I know you are busy with summer so I want to send a reminder that a wonderful book comes out tomorrow (June 9) so you can schedule some time to go get it.

Every Cowgirl Needs Dancing Boots is the sequel to 2010's super fun Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse by Rebecca Janni and illustrated by Lynne Avril.

Nellie Sue's charming cowgirl dialect would make this an entertaining read aloud.  Plus, think of the dress up and thematic opportunities!  First Nellie Sue faced the challenge of taming her horse and now she tries her hand at being a good friend. Grab your lil' partner and enjoy!

Another reminder: the author is my husband's cousin. But still, these are seriously fun books.

What We're Reading at Our House

We have loads of books checked out from the library so I thought I'd post what we have acquired.

• What to Read When by Pam Allyn (Penguin Group 2009)
  I think this is a lovely basic reference book that makes you think about introducing different topics and types of books at different ages. She does really like Jamie Lee Curtis. Thanks to this article from The Horn Book.
• Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell (Little, Brown 2011)
  Really as lovely as all the zillion glowing reviews.
• Wanted the Perfect Pet by Fiona Roberton (G.P. Putnam's Sons 2009)
  from the library's "May is Pet Month" display
• Red Wagon by Renata Liwska (Philomel Books 2011)
  I wanted to like this one more. Very cute.
• Chicken, Chicken, DUCK! by Nadia Krilanovich (Tricycle Press 2011)
  Reminds me of my storytime favorite Tanka Tanka Skunk by Steve Webb. Not quite as infectious, but still fun.
• Arm in Arm by Remy Charlip (Tricycle Press 1997)
  Picture book artist retro lesson
• Clementine and the Family Meeting by Sara Pennypacker (Disney Hyperion 2011)
  ARC from TLA. My 2nd grader loooves Clementine. Still no name for Broccoli - but it's coming!
• Calendar Mysteries : January Joker by Ron Roy (Random House 2009)
  Said 2nd grader was introduced to A-Z Mysteries by his teacher a couple months ago. He can't get enough. Checks out a few a week from school. Calendar Mysteries are a spin-off.
• The Purple Smurfs by Peyo (Papercutz 2010)
• Pinky & Stinky by James Kochalka (Top Shelf 2008)
• The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson
  Eva Ibbotson passed away this past October. I never read her books. I started this one, but am wondering if I should finish it or read with with my 2nd grader.
• Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour #6 by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni Press 2010)
  I have blogged about Scott Pilgrim. I heart him. Lots. But I never read #6. It was published at a bad time for me. I also refused to see the movie because I didn't read it yet. Fast forward to now. We're getting HBO for free these days (we tried to cancel our cable and they offered us this) and the movie is playing almost every day. So I saw it. Before I read it! And you know what? I kind of didn't like it. Then I watched it again. And again with my husband. And again by myself in the middle of the night. And I love it. LOTS! And so I got off my duff to read #6. I then shocked Michelle by saying I liked the movie ending. SHAME! But really, that's how it is.
• Mathilda and the Orange Balloon by Randall de Seve, illustrated by Jen Corace (Blazer+Bray 2010)
  This is a signed copy gift from our friend Lloyd. Thanks, Lloyd!
• As far as the 2 year old, he can't get enough Eric Carle/Bill Martin Brown Bear/Polar Bear/Panda Bear. He's really into surprises. Any suggestions?

So what are you reading this week?