Submitted by Ms. Melissa!
Mr. Duck is cranky. He doesn’t like it when someone interrupts his routine. Sound familiar? If it does, then you should give Mr. Duck Means Business by Tammi Sauer a try. When reading this book, children will gain a sense of why Mr. Duck is grumpy, and they’ll learn what it means to compromise. It takes some time, but Mr. Duck finally realizes it’s okay to want things his way, but that it’s also important to share experiences with others. The reality is “sometimes life calls for a little noise…especially with friends.” The illustrations by Jeff Mack are entertaining and will surely incite a giggle or two. See this book listed in our catalog
On the Farm
Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse and Every Cowgirl Needs Dancing Boots
Submitted by Ms. Janis!
In Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse, by Rebecca Janni, it is Nellie Sue’s birthday, and all she wants is a horse. Before her birthday party she has to finish her chores, including filling her dog Ginger’s “trough” (his water bowl), harvesting the hay (rake the yard), and rounding up the cattle (gather the neighborhood kids for her party). She drops plenty of horsey hints to her parents along the way. After lunch, there is still no horse, but there are johnnycakes—birthday cupcakes—with a herd of her friends. Finally, Nellie Sue gets her present, but it has handlebars, and “wheels where hoofs should be.” She is disappointed, and has to trade her cowboy hat for a helmet, but discovers that her new “horse” is perfect for riding the trails! The colorful, animated illustrations, filled with amusing details, set Nellie Sue’s cowgirl-imagined world in familiar, contemporary settings, all touched with plenty of pink. See this book listed in our catalog
In Every Cowgirl Needs Dancing Boots, by Rebecca Janni, Nellie Sue is back, with a new pair of dancing boots. Nellie knows that dancing would be more fun with friends, but the new girls in the neighborhood are ballerinas. Nellie decides to throw a Barnyard Bash, and invite the whole neighborhood. With her big imagination, Nellie transforms the garage into the perfect place for a hoedown. She makes refrestments, and waits for her guests to arrive. Will Nellie Sue have anyone to dance with? This book also has great illustrations, and is a good story about a little cowgirl. See this book listed in our catalog
The Loopy Coop Hens
Submitted by Ms. Jill!
I love chickens. I like to hear them cluck, and watch them strut around and peck. And I love books about chickens, so I have always adored the silly Minerva Louise books by Janet Morgan Stoeke. Now Stoeke has written a NEW book about silly chickens: The Loopy Coop Hens! Midge, Pip, and Dot are hens who live on Loopy Coop Farm. They want to fly, but they don’t know how! The hens adore their rooster, Rooster Sam. He is tall, and handsome, and crows “cock-a-doodle-doo!” every morning from the top of the barn roof. But Rooster Sam will not tell the hens how he flies up to the roof. Midge, Pip, and Dot decide that they will spy on Rooster Sam one morning, to learn his secret, so that they can fly too. And they do learn Rooster Sam’s secret, but it’s not at all what they expected! Will the hens ever learn to fly? Your little chicks will love this funny story, with its easy-to-read words and simple story line. Stoeke’s colorful drawings perfectly capture the plump hens’ personalities, and their priceless expressions as they pursue their quest to fly. See this book listed in our catalog (and for more chicken silliness from Janet Morgan Stoeke, check out her Minerva Louise series)
Monkey Truck, Tiny Little Fly, and Chicken Chicken Duck
Submitted by Ms. Melissa!
Enjoy these books about animal noises:
It’s Monkey Truck to the rescue! Oo! Eee! Ooo! Aaah! This helpful, banana gas burning monkey is who the Jungle King calls when the underbrush is in trouble. Are the hippos stuck? Are the snakes tied in a knot? Have no fear, Monkey Truck is near! The vivid and cartoon like illustrations add to the comedy of this tale. Delightful and fast, Monkey Truck by Michael Slack will be a treat for those little boys on the go. See this book listed in our catalog
Crush! Squash! Snatch! “I’m going to catch that fly,” or so think the Elephant, Hippo, and Tiger. But no… the tiny little fly is too smart, and it’s those big, clumsy mammals who end up in a lot of muddy muck. Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen, with illustrations by Kevin Waldron, has larger than life images that compliment this teasing tale of a fly who knows how to get by. See this book listed in our catalog
Maa! Baa! Snuffle! Cluck! Quack! Name those animals, and match that sound! That’s the point of this animal round. Bright, realistically drawn animals pile in a stack–Quack! Introduce your children to animal sounds with the book Chicken, Chicken, Duck by Nadia Krilanovich. This could be read over and over and over… in many different and fun ways! See this book listed in our catalog
Everything but the Horse
From Hollie Hobbie, author and illustrator of the Toot and Puddle series, comes Everything but the Horse: A Childhood Memory, a wonderful picture book, derived from a very special childhood memory! I love the beginning: how the reader is introduced to this little girl’s world. The description in each page’s words and drawings endears you to the main character, and involves you in her desperate longing for a horse of her own. She watches with admiration and yearning as the other girls who live nearby ride their “tall and glossy” horses past her house. Some of the antics she performs to make it feel like she really does have a horse of her own are amusing. Will she ever have her own horse? One day, a birthday surprise awaits her in the barn… See this book listed in our catalog
A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea
Submitted by Ms. Tess!
“Like most children, you have probably thought to yourself at one time or another, I bet a pig parade would be a lot of fun.” Lucky for us, we have Michael Ian Black and Kevin Hawkes to teach us exactly why A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea. For one thing, pigs don’t like to march. They prefer to snuffle, which is like walking, but with your nose. And they down right refuse to wear majorette uniforms (even though absolutely everybody looks sharp in a majorette uniform). And if you give them band instruments, do you think they’d play a spirited marching song? They wouldn’t. Because pigs only listen to sad, sad country music. These are just some of the many reasons A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea. I suggest you check this book out today, and educate yourself, before you try organizing hundreds of pigs to march down the finest boulevard of your home town… See this book listed in our catalog