Submitted by Tess from Lexington Park!
Answering the call for more quality literature about the plight of kitchen utensils are Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Scott Magoon with Spoon. Meet Spoon, an average spoon, with a large spoon family (including Aunt Silver). He’s got a nice spoon life, but he’s a little insecure about his identity. All his friends seem so much more useful! Knife can cut and spread! Fork seems to go everywhere, from salads, to spaghetti, to cake. And Chopsticks are just so exotic. If only Spoon knew how jealous his friends are of him though! They don’t get to measure things, dive headfirst into bowls of ice cream, stir relaxing cups of tea, or snuggle with the other spoons in the drawer.
Humour
A Penguin Story
Submitted by Tess from Lexington Park!
In A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis we meet Edna, who is tired of the lack of diversity in the palette of her Arctic home. Everything is either white (like the snow and ice), black (like the night or the feathers of her friends), or blue (like the ocean and the fish that swim in it). There must be more to life than things which are white, black, or blue! So Edna goes in search of a different color, and boy does she find it: orange! As in the orange of scientists and their jumpsuits, tents, and equipment! Edna realizes the world is much bigger than the small glacier she inhabits, and wonders what other colors could be out there.
Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct
Submitted by Catherine from Lexington Park!
Have you ever been completely convinced you were right about something? You just knew it was true, but no one else seemed to care. This is what happens to poor Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie in Mo Willems’s Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct. Despite his protests, no one in his town will accept the fact that the beloved dinosaur Edwina is extinct. Finally, after explaining, protesting, and YELLING, Edwina listens to him – she is indeed extinct. But Edwina decides she doesn’t care. She’s too busy making friends and baking chocolate chip cookies to worry about being extinct. Will Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie worry about being right, or will he decide that being friends with a chocolate chip cookie baking dinosaur is even better than knowing everything?
The Napping House
Submitted by Catherine from Lexington Park!
Anyone who loves Good Night Moon, will want to check out The Napping House by Audrey Wood, and illustrated by Don Wood. This book, about a house where everyone from Granny down to the mouse sleeps in the same bed on a rainy afternoon, will have kids smiling as they look for the little animals on each page, and laughing as the “wakeful flea” sends the napping house into an uproar. The exaggerated drawings capture the silly feel of the book. And the colors – either soft or bright, show the feelings of the characters perfectly. This simple story with wonderful illustrations will be a favorite for parents and kids to read together.
A Book
Submitted by Catherine from Lexington Park!
What happens in a book when the pages are closed? In A Book by Mordicai Gerstein, we meet a little girl who lives in a book. Everyone in her family knows their story, but she has yet to figure out what her story is. She travels through each page, meeting famous story book characters who try to convince the little girl that her story is a mystery, historical fiction, a fairy tale and many other genres. But at the end, the little girl decides for herself what her story will be. The illustrations are a unique take on the story. The reader observes the story from overhead, watching what is happening down below. This will be a great story for kids and parents to read together, with lots of bright fun pictures for kids, and funny reminders of childhood books for parents.
Leonardo the Terrible Monster
Submitted by Tess from Lexington Park!
Your pal Mo Willems presents Leonardo the Terrible Monster, a fantastic tale of a truly terrible monster. However, Leonardo isn’t terrible in the traditional sense–he doesn’t strike terror into anyone actually. He’s more terrible in the way it might mean “lousy.” He’s pretty ashamed of himself, for the fact he isn’t big, or weird, or scary. He’s doesn’t have 1,642 teeth. He’s actually kind of cute. But Leo has a plan: “He would find the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world… and scare the tuna salad out of him!” After thorough research, Leonardo pinpoints his victim–a little boy named Sam, seemingly always on the verge of tears. But he’s not scared of Leonardo either! Perhaps Leonardo might be a terrible monster, but he could be a wonderful friend to Sam.