Animal Crackers Fly the Coop, by Kevin O’Malley, is a retelling of the classic fairy tale “The Bremen Town Musicians” by the Brothers Grimm. This is a witty tale of four animals–a hen, a dog, a cat, and a cow. These animals are unlike your average animals–they are comedians, with one goal: to do what they love, and make people laugh. All runaways from their respective farms, each has a story of not being able to fit in. The group meets up along their journey, and eventually encounter three robbers. After a scene of much mooing, barking, meowing, and bawking, the four finally open their own comedy club, “Cow-Dog Kit-Hen.” The pictures are a delight, and the jokes are cheesy–perfect for any 6 year old comedian. “What do you call cheese that isn’t yours? Nacho Cheese.” See this book listed in our catalog
Recycling Things to Make and Do
If you are teaching your child about the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle), here’s a book you can use to introduce the concept. Recycling Things to Make and Do, published by Usbourne books, offers a plethora of activities, both fun and useful, that will entertain your child’s creative muse for hours. From robots to flowers;,castles to puppets, children will learn to fashion useful and decorative objects out of items such as recycled papers, buttons, and string. Colorful examples and illustrations will guide the crafter step by step, until their masterpiece is complete! See this book listed in our catalog
Let’s Say Hi to Friends Who Fly
Let’s Say Hi to Friends Who Fly! is the latest book from the new series featuring Cat the Cat by Mo Willems. If you attend a story time at one of the St. Mary’s County Library branches, I can almost guarantee, that at one time or another, you’ve heard a story written by Mo Willems. He is a favorite among the children’s librarians in our county! So when his new series was announced, I knew we needed to feature it on our kid’s book blog! This very simple book is great for kids just beginning to enjoy picture books. The illustrations are broadly drawn, the text is bold, and white space is used nicely, so as not to distract the reader. In the book, Cat the Cat decides to find out which of her friends can fly. As each Bee the Bee, Duck the Duck, and Bat the Bat, demonstrate how they fly, parents and children can buzz, flap, and flutter just like the characters in the book! And be ready for Rhino the Rhino’s flying surprise at the end! See this book listed in our catalog
The Quiet Book
The Quiet Book written by Deborah Underwood, and illustrated by Renata Liwska, is a very cute book about the many different times you need or want to be quiet. From being quiet so you don’t scare a bird away, to being quiet (really trying to be invisible) to avoid a shot at the doctor’s office. There is even a time to be quiet during story time! The book will make parents chuckle as you remember what is was like to be a kid. It will also remind children about places and times where it is good to be quiet. See this book listed in our catalog
Tops and Bottoms
Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens is a modern folktale, with a hilarious twist on the value of hard work, and a warning against laziness. This tale is about two very different characters: Bear, who is rich and owns a lot of land but is lazy, and Hare, who is clever but starving. Hare comes up with a plan to feed is hungry family–he hops down to Bear’s house and wakes him up. Hare tells Bear that they can be business partners. If Bear will let Hare use his land to plant and harvest crops, they can split the profit right down the middle. Hare lets Bear pick if he wants the top half of the profits, or the bottom half, and Bear picks the top half. So while Bear sleeps, Hare and his family plant, water, and weed until finally they harvest carrots and radishes. True to his word Hare gives Bear all the tops, and he takes all the bottoms. Bear is angry, and demands that the next season he gets the bottoms! So while Bear sleeps, Hare and his family plant, water, and weed until finally they harvest lettuce, broccoli, and celery. True to his word Hare gives Bear all the bottoms, and he takes all the tops. Bear is even angrier, and demands that next season he get both the tops and the bottoms! So while Bear sleeps, Hare and his family plant, water, and weed until finally they harvest corn. True to his word Hare gives Bear all the tops and the bottoms, and he takes the middle. Bear is so angry that he says that he will plant and harvest his own crops from now on, meanwhile Hare is able to buy some land, and become neighbors with Bear, although they never become business partners again! See this book listed in our catalog
I’m the Best Artist in the Ocean
The exuberant giant squid from I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean is back in I’m the Best Artist in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry! This time, he’s excited to show us what a great artist he is. In fact, he’s The Best Artist In The Ocean! He can draw all kinds of things: fish, crabs, manta rays, sharks… and he’s making his masterpiece! But not everyone is happy about Giant Squid’s art project–he’s splashing ink and paint all over the place. Not to fear–art is still art, even if it’s messy. Just wait until you see Giant Squid’s gigantic “Mess-terpeice!” Better get the crayons ready! After reading this book, your little ones will be inspired to create masterpieces of their very own. See this book listed in our catalog