Perfect Picture Book Friday :-)

Waddle!: A Scanimation Picture Book

Written by Rufus Butler Seder

Workman Publishing Company; Brdbk edition (October 1, 2009)

 Rufus Butler Seder is the inventor of Lifetiles, glass-tiled murals that appear to come to life when the viewer walks by; he's installed them at the Smithsonian, Sea World, Union Station, and other museums, aquariums, train stations, and ocean liners around the world. He is also the founder of EyeThink, Inc., a company that develops and produces a line of toys and gifts using the technologies he's invented.

Suitable For:

Ages 2 and up

Theme/Topic: 

Color and movement

Opening:

Can you waddle like a penguin?

slip-slide-swoop!

Can you hop like a frog?

flip-flop-floop!

Synopsis:

It's Waddle! And it's in color. And boy, is it irresistible. In the same way that kids can't read Gallop! without wanting to gallop around the room, Waddle!, an animals-in-motion Scanimation book, will inspire prancing, hopping, stomping, and scampering. And did we mention color? Created by the optical genius behind the phenomenal #1 and #2 New York Times bestselling children's books, Gallop! and Swing!, Waddle! adds touches of color to the images and integrates it into the text. That prancing pig is pink, the leaping dolphin is blue, the slithering snake yellow. The Scanimation itself is also more lifelike, as the author continues to refine his patented Scanimation process, resulting in a more fluid, realistic motion. Nothing else compares. Waddle! teaches color and movement. Its language is a joy, the rhymes inspiring, the animals full of life. And one more thing: Waddle! has a surprise ending. Something else to grab the reader—literally.

Why I loved it:

The movement is beautiful. Irresistible really. The technology is awesome. The book is short enough for little attention spans. 

Resource:

I could not find any resources, but colors, self play, and animal movements are all taught in this delightful little book. Here's a link to info on scanimation though.

Check out Susanna Leonard Hill for many more wonderful picture books.

Happy weekend and Sunday is April Fools Day and the A to Z challenge begins! Gentlemen and women! Start your engines!  :-)

Perfect Picture Book Friday :-)

Flat Stanley 

Written by Jeff Brown illustrated by Scott Nash (Based loosely on the original, Flat Stanley published in 1964) This one has less text and more pictures.

HarperCollins (August 22, 2006) (This is the picture book edition)             

Suitable For:

Ages 4 and up

Theme/Topic: 

Studying America and the world.

Opening:

Breakfast was ready. 

"I will go wake the boys," Mrs. Lambchop said to her husband, George Lambchop. Just then their younger son, Arthur, called from the bedroom he shared with his brother, Stanley.

"Hey! Come and look! Hey!"

Mr. and Mrs. Lambchop were both very much in favor of politeness and careful speech. "Hay is for horses, Arthur, not people," Mr. Lambchop said as they entered the bedroom. "Try to remember that."

"Excuse me," Arthur said. "But look!"

Synopsis:

Stanley is an ordinary boy whose life changes in a very big way after being flattened by a bulletin board in his room during the night. He is now a half-inch thick! (Flat as a pancake!)

Why I loved it:

This is a great tool for studying America (one reviewer mentioned you could have the each of the kids send a Flat Stanley to their friends and relatives in other states, thereby learning about those states) as the reader travels with Stanley who travels in an envelope. It is so funny! (Plus, he saves the day when a gang of thieves begins stealing paintings from the Famous Museum of Art.) The illustrations popped right off the page.

Resource linkage:

Here's a great one that shows how one class sent out plain paper dolls that they call FLAT STANLEYS, to visit cities all over America and the World. Mrs. Wolfe's class is totally cool! There are Flat Stanley projects all over the world!

Go and visit my groundhog/horsy pal, Susanna Leonard Hill for more offerings!

Have a great weekend! xoxo

Perfect Picture Book Friday :-)

More    This is a new one! It's a fable!               

Written by: I. C. Springman

Illustrated by:  Brian Lies

Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (March 6, 2012)

 Suitable For: 

Ages 4 and up

Theme/Topic:

Less is more

Opening:

Nothing.

Something.

A few,

several,

I.C. Springman is a small-house person

in a McMansion-loving world.

She lives as simply as possible

with one husband, three dogs, and too many books somewhere

down south.

Synopsis:

 When is more, more than enough?

"Dramatic paintings add depth and foreboding to a lesson about excessive materialism."--Kirkus  

The magpie gets more and more and more.

Why I loved it:

Don't we ll have too much? What a lesson we learn in just a few words. And the artwork is magnificent! Beautifully textured and layered illustrations. It is 44 words, peeps!

Resource linkage:

There are teacher guides coming soon, but this could lead into a discussion of too much stuff for the kidlets and how we need to cut the excess. You could tie it in with the movie, The Lorax. Protecting natural resources, where it all comes from, etc.

Go check out more favorite picture books over at Susanna Leonard Hill's house.

You'll be glad ya did. 

Have a safe and lovely weekend, y'all. xoxo

Head Over To Dear Editor, Dear Peeps!

And you can win a FULL MANUSCRIPT EDIT. Get on now! Dear Editor.com

Good luck! :-)

Perfect Picture Book Friday :-)

This week I'm doing a shout out to a NC writer. (Since I live here.) Uh, yeah.

Three Hens and a Peacock A 2012 Children's Choice Book Award Finalist. Yay!

Written by LESTER L. LAMINACK illustrated by Henry Cole    

Peachtree Publishers (March 1, 2011) 

Suitable For:                                    

Ages 5 and up

 

Theme/Topic: 

Wanting what others have, everyone has a job to do and every job is important.

 

 

Opening:

Things were quiet on the Tuckers' farm.

The cows chewed their cud.

The hens clucked and pecked

and laid their eggs.

The old hound stretched out on the porch, watching and listening.

Once in a while someone would stop to buy tomatoes or corn,

perhaps a quart of milk.

Nothing unusual happens there.

Until...

that peacock showed up.

Synopsis: (From Amazon)

Nothing unusual ever happened on the Tuckers farm. Until the day that peacock showed up...

When a glamorous visitor lands unexpectedly in their midst and begins attracting customers, three hardworking hens protest:

How come we do all the hard work and he gets all the attention?

To keep the peace, the wise old hound dog suggests a swap. The hens and the peacock soon find out that others jobs aren t always as easy as they seem.

What will happen when three gussied-up hens spend the day prancing and parading at passing cars? And will that peacock ever figure out how to lay an egg?

Why I loved it:

This book is absolutely charming. It will inspire thoughtful discussions because it teaches that every single job is important. Kids can have fun and learn important lessons while reading this book. The illustrations are funny and facial expressions in the animals hilarious. But it is for ages five and up. You simply MUST read this book! You must, I say!

Resource linkage:

Great peacock folded fan and links to other resources: Brimful Curiosities

Head over to my pal Susanna Leonard Hill's house to see more favorite picture books that I know you will love to read. 

 

Happy weekend! *waving*

 

 

I'm Doin' a Blog Interview!

 *bangs head on desk* This saved as a draft. Second time this has happened. *kicks blogger*

It's over at Nutschell's place. Uh, could ya hop over so I'll have someone to read it? I mean. How bad would that be? No one comes to my interview!

Nutschell's house. Yep. Her name is Nutschell.

Thanks and MWAH! xoxo

It's Revision Week

It's revision week over at Dear Editor. Great advice from some really cool peeps.Get on over y'all! :-) xoxo

Perfect Picture Book Friday :-)

I wanted to say goodbye to Jan Berenstain. Thank you for all the wonderful stories about your bears!

Monsters Eat Whiny Children

Written and illustrated by Bruce Eric Kaplan

Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (August 31, 2010)    

Suitable For:     

Ages 4 and up

 

 

Theme/Topic: 

Teaching children not to whine               

Opening:

Once there were two perfectly delightful children

who were going through a terrible phase, which

is to say they whined all day and night

"I want to go outside," whined Henry.

"Outside! Outside!" whined Eve.

"Where's my phone? whined Henry.

"No grilled cheese! whined Eve.

And so on.

Synopsis 

From School Library Journal 

For those who like their picture books with a little edge and offbeat humor, this is a surefire hit. Henry and Eve are "going through a TERRIBLE phase"; they whine constantly and are eventually stolen by a monster and taken to his lair. To be fair, their kindly father did warn them. Luckily, the monster and his wife whine and argue even more than the children, and cannot agree on what to make: whiny-child salad, burgers, or vindaloo? On the advice of a deliciously cantankerous aunt, the monsters finally agree on simple whiny-child cucumber sandwiches on fluffy white bread. In the meantime, however, the clever children escape, having learned an important lesson about whining–mostly. The recipe for cucumber sandwiches, minus the whiny children, is included. Kaplan's minimalist cartoon illustrations bring to mind Quentin Blake's work and complement the humorous, quirky text with its askew frames, thick black lines, and color accents. The book makes a great read-aloud. Opportunities for whiny monster voices abound, and readers are guaranteed a laugh when the monster's wife insists she cannot eat whiny-child cake because her bottom is too big.

 

Why I loved it:

The neon green cover is eye-catching, the silliest title and the book is dedicated to the two whiny characters in the book. It is laugh out loud fun while teaching kids just how ridiculous their whining sounds. Can anyone say refreshing? 

Resource:

I tried, but could not find any resources on this book. SO. How about teaching what Gila monsters and Sea monsters really eat? That could be fun to learn and tie in nicely with the story.

For more picture books click over to visit the awesome, wonderfully fantastic author pal, Susanna Leonard Hill.

 

Happy birthday Dr. Seuss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

Have a lovely weekend everyone! xoxo