Submitted by Amanda from Lexington Park!
The Lion’s Share: A Tale of Halving Cake and Eating It Too by Matthew McElligott. Lion is having a birthday party and invites all his friends from the jungle; everyone from an elephant to an ant is invited. They all eat dinner and then comes time for the cake. The elephant starts off and takes half of the cake and then the hippo takes half of what is left as do all the other guests, creating a interesting division lesson until it gets down to the ant who gets a piece that is too small to half only to discover the lion has not gotten any cake yet! To make up for “eating all the cake” as the other animals accuse, the ant offers to make the lion a new cake the next day. No animal wants to be outdone by the ant so in turn each animal doubles the offer before until the elephant is promising to make two hundred and fifty-six cakes, creating a multiplication lesson for the reader. This book provides a great way for kids to experience multiplication and division along with great pictures and a few plays on words.
Food
Jethro Byrd Fairy Child
Submitted by Allana from Leonardtown!
Jethro Byrd Fairy Child by Bob Graham. Annabelle insisted on the existence of fairies and spent many hours scouting her yard for evidence. One Saturday, a tiny ice cream truck crash lands in the yard, and sure enough a family of fairies emerges. The first one she meets is Jethro Byrd, a boy the size of her finger. Soon after she meets his mother Lily, father Offin, baby sister Cecily, and Grandma. They’re on their way to the Fairy Traveler’s Picnic when they crash land in the garden. Annabelle invites them to tea, and although her Mom and Dad only pretend to see the tiny family, they play along. Everyone has a lovely time!
The Mystery of Eatum Hall
Submitted by Amanda from Lexington Park!
The Mystery of Eatum Hall by John Kelly and Cathy Tincknell is an intriguing and funny mystery for kids. The rich vocabulary and stunning pictures cook up a filling tale for readers to devour. This mystery starts when Glenda (goose) and Horace (pig) Pork-Fowler receive an invitation to Eatum Hall by its new owner, Dr. Hunter, for a weekend of free gourmet food. When they arrive for their weekend at Eatum Hall they find a letter from their host inviting them to stay even though he is away on business. While Glenda and Horace enjoy their weekend of food and fun the reader can infer that Dr. Hunter is fattening them up to be made into pie. Finally, Glenda and Horace decide to leave early after having broken the bandstand, and thus foil Dr. Hunter’s plan to make them into pie. This story has a healthy vocabulary filled with words like “fiend,” “automated,” and “culinary.” It is truly told through the pictures. Each page is filled with illustrations to help the reader infer Dr. Hunter’s malicious plan. The illustrations provide a mysterious and chilling mood for the reader from the very beginning. The pictures are complementary to the story and make it a joy to read.
The Gruffalo
Submitted by Jill from Leonardtown!
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. When Mouse goes walking in the Deep Dark Woods, he runs into Fox, Owl, and Snake… and they all want to eat him! Clever Mouse scares them off by warning them about the terrible Grufflalo, a monster who has “terrible tusks, and terrible claws, and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws.” When they hear that a Gruffalo’s favorite foods are “roasted fox,” “owl ice cream,” and “scrambled snake,” the predators scamper away. Mouse laughs at their foolishness: “Silly old snake! Doesn’t he know? There’s no such thing as a Gruffalo!”…Or is there? How will Mouse save himself when a Gruffalo really does appear, complete with purple spikes, a warty nose , and an appetite for mouse on bread?
Duck Soup
Submitted by Carol from Charlotte Hall!
Duck Soup written and illustrated by Jackie Urbanovic. This is a very entertaining story about Duck, who loves to cook, mainly soups. He cooks for his friends and does not always make the most appetizing meals, such as cracker barrel cheese and marshmallow soup, and fish soup with curry and pickled lemon. One day he decides he wants to create his very own soup with his very own special recipe. He wants to be a great chef. His friends arrive and they can’t find Duck. They look in the kitchen and they see the soup Duck is preparing and there is a feather floating on top. OH NO!!!! Did Duck fall in? His friends panic and are determined to find out. They rush and get out the strainer. Join the fun as Dakota, Brody and Bebe try to rescue Duck. Will they succeed or will Duck become Duck Soup?
Once I Ate a Pie
Once I Ate A Pie by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest, and illustrated by Katy Schneider, is perfect for anyone who has wondered what their beloved canine companion would have to say if they could talk. I am curious, when I see my dog sleep for about 20 of the 24 hours in a day, what reason she has to be so exhausted. Well MacLachlan and Charest give the accounts of 13 dogs, told in their own words. There’s Mr. Beefy, who steals tubs of butter off the dinner table, Darla, who does not like other dogs, Wupsi, who is told how cute she is so often it might as well be her name, Louis who BARKS at everything, and my personal favorite Lucy, who sleeps on a pillow in between her owners (just like my dog).