Picture books for everyone

Today's multi-age picture book is the perfect example of what I had in mind when I first came up with this feature.

If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur by Linda Bailey and Colin Jack

Firstly, dinosaur books are pretty much always a win. Plus, this book is very quirky and has absolutely fantastic illustrations. There's tons to look at on each page. Apart from the sheer entertainment factor, this is a great book for encouraging creative thinking. I read this to my 4s and 5s storytime and we all had a grand time speculating about uses for various dinosaurs. I imagine this would go even better with older children. It would also make a great starting point for a creative writing assignment for homeschoolers.

WWW Wednesdays

What are you currently reading?
Somebody on This Bus is Going to be Famous by J.B. Cheaney
The nine middle schoolers on Mrs. B's bus route are all very different. They have different concerns and different goals. The mysterious bus stop on their route draws them together. Why do they always stop there when no one gets on? The mystery will change lives and at the end of it, someone is going to be famous.
The first couple of chapters set up these characters nicely, giving just enough information about each kid to make their story compelling. The description on Amazon promises mystery, self-discovery and comedy so this should be a good one.

What did you recently finish reading?
Rocky and Bullwinkle: volume 1  by Mark Evanier
Four stories of Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Bullwinkle the Moose butting heads with villains Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale. As in the classic cartoons, each story is broken up with a brief adventure starring Dudley Do-right.  
I've been a Bullwinkle fan since the first time I saw the show on LaserDisc, so I was pretty excited to read this new graphic novel. The stories maintain the sensibility of the show while also using modern references to better appeal to a younger audience. An absolute riot.
 
What do you think you will read next?
The Opposite of Love by Sarah Lynn Scheerger
A tale of two "disappointments" who find each other and then are torn apart by circumstance. Teen romance is not typically my favorite but I'm trying to stretch my reading life a little bit more out of my comfort zone. 

also

Rust by Royden Lepp
I've wanted to read this graphic novel about a young man trying to keep his farm going after war and the mysterious kid he finds in the barn since I first spied it at a conference last year. At last I've gotten my hands on a copy. Hopefully it lives up to my anticipation.

Book review - Sisters

Title: Sisters
Author: Raina Telgemeir
Genre: Graphic novel/memoir
Similar books: Amelia Rules series by Jimmy Gownley
                     to dance by Siena Cherson Siegel
Rating: 

Telgemeier really gets it

Summary: While on a road trip with her mom, brother, and sister, Raina reflects on her relationship with her sister and why they don't get along very well. The situation isn't helped by outside influences: a missing pet snake, older cousins, parental tensions, and a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. Will Raina and Amara figure out what it really means to be sisters?
My opinion: Telegemeier really understands what it is like to have a sister, someone you both love and despise. Anyone with a sister will agree, while our details may be different the general attitudes are the same and she relates them really well. The illustrations are awesome, clearly understood and entertaining. Apart from the sister situation, anyone who's ever gone on a family road trip will relate to this book. This makes a nice companion to her first book, Smile (a perennial favorite at my library), but one need not read that one to understand this one.
More Information: Sisters releases August 26th.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Hippos and dishes

With all the prep I've been doing for the Monster Tea Party, I didn't have time to work on any big crafts this week. I did manage to get two small projects done though.

Hippo magnets

I was given this kit a year or two ago and it's been just sitting in a drawer since then, waiting for me to get around to painting them. I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. They now grace my refrigerator.

Sculpey dishes

This was an experiment. I wanted some shallow dishes that I could attach magnets to the bottoms of in order to make magnetic pin holders. They didn't turn out quite as well as I'd hoped. The foil I used to create the domed shape left depressions in the clay. I was also playing with using rubber stamps to make a pattern in the dish. On the plus side, the magnet does hold pins through the clay so I'll be trying this one again.

 

Music and Monsters

This week marked the end of our kid's summer reading program. So, Wednesday was our End of Summer Reading party, hosted this year by Judy Pancoast. This was the first time we had a presenter for the party and it went pretty well. The kids enjoyed singing and dancing with Judy. As is our custom for the party, each kid went home with two free books.

Today was our Monster Tea Party. Each kid got a monster hat to wear. Then, after hearing a story (Don't Play With Your Food), we made some monster tea. This involved scooping baking soda into cups filled with vinegar, food coloring, and (in one case) dish soap. We also added gummy worm pieces that had been soaking in baking soda water. Mostly, I just let the kids experiment freely. This actually lead to a brief discussion with one child about what causes baking soda and vinegar to foam (yay for impromptu science lessons). Once all the baking soda was gone and they'd had enough of mixing the cups of foam each kid got a small stuffed monster to take home. These were made out of t-shirt sleeves and a little fiber-fill.

 

 

Book review - The Book of Bad Things

Title: The Book of Bad Things
Author: Dan Poblocki
Genre: Horror
Similar books: The Seer of Shadows by Avi
                     Frenzy by Robert Lettrick
Rating:

Pretty darn creepy

Summary: Cassidy is excited to spend her last summer in Whitechapel, even if things did end badly last year. When she gets off the bus, though, she can tell immediately that something is wrong. Her friends are not there to pick her up. And they they get home, she learns that the neighborhood hermit has died, revealing that she was secretly a hoarder. People from all over the neighborhood are picking through her trashing, hunting for treasures. And now those people are starting to die.
My opinion: Poblocki writes the perfect level of eerie. Every moment in Whitechapel has an underlying sense of unease. Once you add in zombies, haunted belongings, and grizzly murder it becomes terrifying. What makes this book more than just a creep-fest is Cassidy's fears and her book. I loved the way she relied on her notebook, using it as a sort of touchstone. Her friendships with the neighborhood kids happened a little bit easily but that is only a minor complaint. This is a great read for when you want a scare.
More information: The Book of Bad Things releases August 26th.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Books on Screen

The Borrowers/The Secret World of Arrietty

As a kid, I adored the Borrowers and their world. I loved imagining how they might use various items. The Borrowers has been made into 4 separate movies, but The Secret World of Arrietty is the one that has captured the most attention. Produced by Studio Ghibli (which brought us My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, and the like) Arrietty captures both the adventurous spirit of the original novel as well as the sensibility of anime. While this movie is a far cry from what I pictured, its a lovely tale that adds new elements to the story, specifically Shawn and his heart condition providing a parallel to the Borrowers' struggles and teaching a gentle lesson about change and fear. It's a beautiful movie with even more beautiful music. Talk about a fantastic soundtrack. While this may be different from the movies we are used to as an American audience, it's truly lovely and worth a watch.