Imaginary Friends and Secret Lives

The Little Bit Scary People by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Alexandra Boiger is a delightful story with one of the best messages I often try to remember. I’d like to think I’ve passed this message on to my kids but frankly I’m not so sure I have, so am glad we read this story.  A little girl describes various people in her life-a kid on the street, the bus driver, the cafeteria lady, and so on, by describing them and saying they are a bit scary. The pictures do show people someone might be intimidated by. But then… she imagines what they might be like at other times and sees that they are no so scary. For example, (and I don’t remember exactly so this could be a wrong example but you get the gist), the mean looking bus driver might go home at night to her four kids and cuddle on the couch with them.  The pierced and tough looking teenage boy looks scary, but in the mornings he lays in bed cuddling with his cat until his mom tells him to get up. And finally she is able to use the own example on people she actually knows something about (her own family) to reinforce it all.  I love this idea that people have lives beyond what we see and someone who looks scary or intimidating, but not be.  This is the kind of imagination I love (in fact, similar to the “people watching game” where you make up stories about strangers) and I highly recommend this book.

Imaginary friends sure get a good rap in picture books, stories, literature, movies, etc.  I was always a little disappointed that not only did I not have one, but neither did either of my children.  That said, they still make a good story.  We all enjoyed The Adventures of Beekle, the Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat, very much. The as-yet-unnamed Beekle lives on an island with other imaginary friends.  These creatures are fantastical and adorable.  They live there until a child imagines them and names them.  One by one the others are called up, until the blobby white creature with a crown is left there.  He decides to go find his child himself and it is a very satisfying and happy ending when they do.  Don’t miss the endpapers on either end of the book, which show each child with his or her complementary imaginary friend. It’s fun to see why the child dreamed up the creature.

 

Beyond Picture Books

Space Taxi: Archie Takes Flight by Wendy Mass. It’s Take Your Kids to Work Day and Archie is in for the surprise of his life. It turns out that his dad is not just a taxi driver, but a space taxi driver. He zips around the universe delivering aliens here and there.  Would you believe that I happened to receive this book on the actual Take Your Kids to Work Day? It looked short and funny and I handed it right over to my 3rd grader.  He read it in about a night, so it might be geared to a bit younger, but he said he liked it.  It’s the start of a series and Wendy Mass is a reliable writer, so we’ll probably check out the rest.

 

The third grader continues to read a broad range of easy to difficult books-happily listening to picture books, easily reading chapter books like Space Taxi, poring over information compendiums, reading the first four Harry Potter books, and any kinds of survival series. He’s somewhat interested (or I want him to be interested?) in mythology, but I’ve often had trouble finding any books that were entertaining/readable enough for him.  Well, we found a great selection at the bookstore and bought it outright.  The Ken Jennings’ Junior Genius Guides are really nice softcover guidebook type books. Greek Mythology tells all sorts of stories in Greek mythology in a casual, fun, readable way. Plus there are lots of cartoony doodles and pictures and charts. There are also ideas for things you can do, such as using a flashlight to make constellations. I bet any of these books would be great gifts for the junior geniuses in your life.

While at the bookstore we were choosing a book for a 1st grader’s birthday gift and I was so taken by the discovery of a series that I had to buy the first book for us: Lulu and the Duck in the Park.  It’s written by Hilary McKay, an author I have liked for a long time-British, funny, heartwarming. She doesn’t get enough attention I think (though perhaps now she does) and she’s reliably wonderful.  In particular, I thought it would be nice to have a chapter book geared more towards my kindergarten daughter (though the third grade boy did really enjoy listening to this-sometimes I think I could read my kids anything, that they just like hearing our voices.)

Lulu is a girl who is “famous for animals.” She loves animals of all sorts and fortunately has a family that supports that. One day her class is in the park they walk through on the way to swim class (this may have been the most fascinating part of the story for these American 2014 readers) when they witness dogs chasing and attacking all the nesting ducks there. Lulu rescues the egg from her favorite duck’s nest and brings it back to school. One problem–their teacher (“famous for her steely glare”) has vowed that if another animals is brought into class she will trade the class guinea pig for stick insects. So when the egg hatches, what is Lulu to do? I love the way McKay writes and we all thought this was a terrific story (with an adorable cover) and can’t wait to read about Lulu and whatever animals she rescues next.

(Coincidentally, I am presently reading McKay’s newest book for older readers called Binny for Short.)

Yes, That is Funny

That’s Not Funny! and Who’s in the Bathroom? (both by Jeanne Willis and Adrian Reynolds) feature one of the lowest forms of humor-the poop joke. But by golly, does that joke land with kids. And yes, they are funny.

That’s Not Funny!  tells the story of Hyena, who is witness to all kinds of mishaps that befall his friends. Slipping on a banana, smacking into a wall, coconuts landing on heads, etc. Every time something happens to one of the animals it causes another thing to happen. And each of these awful things makes Hyena laugh and laugh, and the poor victim cry out, “That’s not funny!” I’m sure we can all relate to being that person, and thus it makes it super hilarious when it all comes back to Hyena at the end when everything bad happens to him..and then something extra, too.

In Who’s in the Bathroom? two children wait on a long line for a public bathroom.  While they wait (with increasing urgency) they wonder about who could be in there and why they are taking so long. Could it be “an elephant having a poo?” or maybe “a waddling penguin too frozen to piddle?” (complete with picture of a frozen stream of said piddle) or maybe a “hippo’s fat bottom got wedged in and stuck” Many, many animals with many possible scenarios, all very funny and tied in to what kind of animal it is. When the door finally opens it’s a very funny and cute payoff. This would actually be a great book for 2 and 3 year olds.

Architects and Engineers

Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer, by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts, feature some pretty clever kids. And while I’ve read many a picture book about talented artists, singers, fashion designers, etc., I don’t know that I know many others that tout architecture and engineering, so these are pretty cool.
Since he was a wee babe Iggy Peck has loved building and constructing fantastic structures. Unfortunately, when he gets to school his teacher puts a ban on architecture.  The hilarious and improbable backstory is that she had an architecture related trauma as a youngster herself.   But on a class trip the group finds themselves relying on Iggy Peck’s architecture smarts to save the day, as well as curing his teacher of her fears.

 

Rosie Revere is one of Iggy’s classmates and she simply loves to invent all kinds of gadgets and gizmos. That is, until someone laughs at one of her more preposterous ones. It takes a visit from her great great aunt Rosie (who is clearly Rosie the Riveter) to remind Rose that failure is a part of trying and the process of getting better.
Roberts’ illustrations for both books are delightful, with preposterous hairdos, graphic lines, and neat details.

Rabbits and Enchanted Frogs

We’ve just discovered an author we’re finding exceptionally clever-Emily Gravett.  (Who is by no means new, and has quite an extensive catalog, so we’ll be looking for more.)This week we checked out both Spells and The Rabbit Problem.  They are both picture books with an element of reader interaction/page manipulation/lots of jokes to find.

Spells begins with a frog finding a book of spells and attempting to do one that will turn him into a handsome prince.  Each page has a rhyming type of spell, but the final phrase may not make much sense or rhyme, depending on which part of the page you turn. Remember those toys and books where the page is divided in three and you can make kooky animals by turning the top (head), middle, and bottom (legs) to different parts? That’s the basic concept here.  There are lots of lovely clever details and a twist of an ending when the frog finally gets what he wants.

 

The Rabbit Problem has page manipulations too, with three dimensional elements.  An empty field with a fence around it (Fibonacci’s Fence, ha ha) has but one lonely rabbit in it. When another rabbit joins her she is happy. The rest of the book looks like a calendar with each month showing a changing tally of the rabbit population and some kind of crisis (carrot shortage, carrot abundance, heat wave, etc.) I loved the details, such as  cookbook during the month of carrot abundance. You could actually turn the pages of it and read the hilarious “recipes.” Very clever with so much to look at!

Not Your Average Bears

We like all sorts of Goldilocks variations, and Leigh Hodgkinson’s Goldilocks and Just One Bear is an especially delightful twist on the classic.  The bear suddenly finds himself in an overwhelming city, dazed and confused and lost.  He seeks refuge in the penthouse of Snooty Towers and enters a vacant and lovely apartment.  In a familiar turn events he tries out food, seating, and finally a bed. The human mom, dad, and little girl arrive home to find the disarray, which seems somewhat familiar to the mom. The startling twist made us laugh and also provided a charming and sweet ending.

 

When I saw the title and cover of The Winter Visitors by Karel Hayes, I immediately thought, “It’s like the Fourteen Bears in Winter!” And while it’s not exactly, there is a similarity in one aspect.  As the book opens you see a family packing up their summer cabin-sheets cover furniture, belongings are packed, things are tidied, and a boy’s red cap blows out into the lake.  As they drive away you see a bear family watching their departure. And then, the bears move in.  All through the fall and early winter you see them enjoying the cabin and all it has to offer. There are fun connections to the human family, such as going fishing and catching the red cap.  Eventually they begin their winter nap, snug in the cabin, and when spring arrives they clean up and move out just in time for the return of the people. There are lots of fun details and parallels to look for in this, as well as being an enjoyable take on the familiar concept of “what happens when we’re not there.”

A Sweet Life

A pair of sweet books for today! What’s sweeter than a delicious cupcake? Not much. Cupcake by Charise Mericle Harper does one of my favorite things and personifies food (like in Arnie the Talking Doughnut or Stop That Pickle!) A vanilla cupcake with creamy white vanilla frosting is very happy on a plate with other cupcakes, all of which are very colorful and festive. She begins to feel a bit plain, especially when they are all chosen and she is left behind. Along comes a candle who is also feeling plain and mopey, especially when compared to all the other fancy candles that are around.  He suggests that Cupcake would feel better if she just had something decorative on top of her. He comes up with all kinds of crazy ideas (pancakes, a squirrel) and of course it’s very clear that the best decoration of all that would solve both their problems would be for the candle to be atop her. Simple and enjoyable, and it reminded me of Spoon and Chopstick.

This Plus That: Life’s Little Equations by Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a lovely book that shows the special equations that make up life. For example, laughter + keeping secrets + sharing=best friend.  Cupcake up above could use this lesson: anything + sprinkles=better.  And my husband read this page three times loudly: chores ÷ everyone=family. Charming illustrations by Jen Corace show cheerful rosy cheeked children acting out the lesson. A sweet book.

 

 

 

Reading Together

I’ve been aware of You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrated by Michael Emberley, for a long time, but somehow never read it with my son.  My daughter’s learning to read experience seems to be very different than his and she seeks out the chance to read to me more than he did.  You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You has been perfect.

Each double page spread is one story.  The words in one color are for the grownup to read, while the child reads the other sentences.  Rhyming makes the pace move along and help with figuring out words.  The vocabulary is just right for a beginning reader-some words are a challenge but you’re right there to help out.   And with each story being just two pages long the beginning reader doesn’t get too worn out and has the satisfaction of a complete story. Read as many at a time as you want! We’re really enjoying sharing these stories together and they definitely help with reading aloud confidence.  We’ve also got out You Read To Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Scary Stories to Read Together.  There are several other titles (fairy tales, fables, and more) that we’ll have to get from the library.  If you have a new reader in the house I definitely recommend these books for reading together. It’s cozy, the stories are fun, it’s a way to read together, and it helps your new reader.

Punished with Puns

Numbed! and Punished!, both by David Lubar, are funny books with a clever slant.  My husband brought them home for our 3rd grader, who quickly read them and liked them, and I zipped through Punished! to see what it was all about. Both are short chapter books, very easy to read, and each with a hefty dose of math or English.

In Punished! you meet Logan and Benedict, best friends and the latter is always getting in trouble.  At the library they are racing around in the restricted basement when Logan smashes into an old man, who then decrees that Logan must be punished and blows old book dust on him.  Soon Logan is constantly speaking in puns, making everyone around him groan.  He returns to the library and the old man gives him three challenges to complete before the spell can be lifted. The challenges involve learning what oxymorons, palindromes, and anagrams are and finding examples of them.  While the examples are not particularly advanced (palindromes like mom and dad) I think they are just right for an introduction.

 

In Numbed! the kids run into trouble at the math museum after they insult a robot who zaps them, making them unable to do even the simplest math.  Again, they have challenges that test their wits, show clever ways to use math, and get their knowledge restored. Both books abound with details that tie-in to the subject, such as Dr. Thagoras at the math museum, and Wordsmith at the library.  I think these would be good for kids who like the Time Warp Trio.

Listen up!

We’ve been on an audiobook kick again.  I really find these can be challenging to just find while browsing at the library.  At any given time so many our checked out that it’s hard to find one on the shelves that is just right for all of us that we haven’t listened to before. That said, we picked up all of these from browsing a couple weeks ago.

Judy Moody: Around the World in 8 1/2 Days by Megan McDonald.  In this Judy Moody installment Judy is initially put out when a new girl in school also has a rhyming name-Amy Namy.  But soon the two are so tight that Judy is overlooking her other friends.  Meanwhile, inspired by Nelly Bly, the class is doing presentations on different countries as they “go around the world.”  Funny and light, nothing ground breaking, but a good listen for younger readers.

 

 

The Talented Clementine by Sara Pennypacker Sometimes when we were listening to this I thought we were still listening to Judy Moody as Clementine is about the same age (3rd grade), and a similar type of girl.  We were all fascinated because the plot of this book was basically the same plot as that of a picture book we had recently read! Clementine’s class is putting on a talent show but Clementine believes she has no talent to offer.  Clementine’s indecisiveness cracked us up because it reminded us of a certain family member of our own and was hilariously portrayed by the narrator. We all liked this and have checked out the third Clementine book.

 

 

Sarah, Plain and Tall/Skylark/Caleb’s Story by Patricia MacLachlan.  Sarah Plain and Tall was the winner of the Newbery Award and is a beautifully written historical story.  It’s fairly short and I thought that it might be fine for the 3rd grader.  The premise of the story is that two children and their father live on a prairie. He advertises for a wife and Sarah, in Maine, responds. They write letters back and forth and then she comes for a visit and they get to know each other. It’s a gentle story, but not without deep emotions, including sadness and homesickness. Glenn Close is the much lauded narrator of the books and she is good, though I found the volume of the voices to vary so much between them (Caleb is a shouter) that we were always adjusting the volume.  This is packaged along with the two follow up books (1 disc each) so we kept going with Skylark and Caleb’s Story.  In the first there is a terrible drought and the children and Sarah return to Maine, and in the second a mysterious man brings anger and strife to their farm with his reveal of family secrets.  Although we really liked the first book listening to all three at once was a bit much for us.  Very sad and depressing and my son requested could our next audio book be something “like what Dad and I like, something fun.”  And with that, we are currently listening to Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, narrated by Eric Idle.