Finished Reading . . . #61: Extra Yarn (picture book)

Extra Yarn
Mac Barnett, author
Jon Klassen, illustrator

978-0061953385
Balzer + Bray
January 2012
40 pages
print
Age range: 4-8
 

romance
source: personal library



This looks like an ordinary box full of ordinary yarn.

But it turns out it isn't.

~*~*~

On a cold afternoon, in a cold little town,
where everywhere you looked was either the while of snow
or the black of soot from chimneys,
Annabelle found a box filled with yarn of every color.

And so begins Annabell's adventure. She knits herself a sweater and one for her dog. Then over and over for the people and animals in her town and she still has yarn left. So she started to knit sweaters for things that don't need sweaters. People heard about her and came to "visit from around the world". Everything was great until an archbishop came to buy the box.

I love the results of this! Just because you want something doesn't mean you'll get it. Stealing something that isn't yours isn't a good idea. Just because you're unhappy doesn't mean others will be too.

I use to trace the pictures of my children's favorite books and let them color them. The illustrations here are perfect for that. Let your child come up with some of their own sweater colors!

~*~*~

Challenges this counts towards:
150+
Read-a-Latte
Let Me Count the Ways
Monthly Mix-up Mania

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2013

Finished Reading . . . #59: Mr. Putter and Tabby Spin the Yarn (early reader)

Mr. Putter and Tabby Spin the Yarn
Cynthia Rylant
Arthur Howard, illustrator

978-0-15-206095-4
Sandpiper
October 2007
44 pages
paperback
Age range: 6-9

children's book, early reader, animals, friendship
source: Private Library

Grade: A+

Trying to be neighborly, Mr. Putter decides to serve tea to Mrs. Teaberry's knitting club but chaos ensues when Tabby the cat and Zeke the dog find the party irresistible.

~*~*~

This is number 15 in the series but once you read the first one you should be fine reading them in any order. In this book, Mr Putter is worried that he isn't as good a neighbor as Mrs. Teaberry, after all, all he does is eat the food she makes him.

All room full of knitters and a cat shouldn't mix but add to that a dog who likes hat decorations and the party has all the hallmarks of being a disaster. Those who knit or do other crafty stuff will cringe when they read about the sweater. And the ending illustration shows just how good of a neighbor Mr. Putter really is.

My son is 23 now but I got a smile and a "hey, is that a new one?" from him.

~*~*~

Challenges this counts towards:
150+
Read-a-Latte
Let Me Count the Ways

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2013

Finished Reading #12 . . . (picture book)

The Runaway Shopping Cart

Kathy Long
Illustrated by Susan Estelle Kwas
978-0525471875
32 pages
Ages 4 and Up
(preschool to 2nd grade)
Dutton Juvenile
February 2007

print
picture book
source: public library

When Kaleb goes grocery shopping with Mom, he always rides in the cart . . . but the ride is never this exciting! This time the cart—with Kaleb in it—rolls out of the parking lot and into the street, and he’s off licketysplit on a traffic-stopping adventure. Hilarious neighborhood characters chase after the runaway cart as it zips on by. Kaleb’s exhilarating trip leaps from every page in boldly colored illustrations rendered with a stylish sense of fun. The tale, a twist on the classic Golden Goose, ends happily with Kaleb’s cart rolling back into the parking lot, where it all began. Phew!

~*~*~

Cute, fun, quick. As a lover of picture books, I'd add this to my library (if it wasn't out of print) but I think I'm getting too old for these :-(   I kept thinking of the stupid mother, leaving her child in the cart with the grocery store worker while she went back in for ice cream!

That said...I wanted to be in the shopping cart! There was a nice rhythm to the chase and regardless of my thoughts on the the mother, the end was funny!




Challenges this works for:
A to Z (R)
Let Me Count the Ways
Library Books
Read-a-Latte
150+
Monthly Mix-up Mania

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2013

Thoughts on...How Many Cats?

This is the cutest book! A lone dog sits in the house and there are Zero cats but when his housemate comes home....along come the neighbors too!

I love the illustrations and the verse. One the great things is not only are you learning to count but do MATH too!

Twelve fine cats in three lines of four
flaunt and flounce across the floor.

and the illustration shows three groups of four cats dancing! And as the cats are dashing out the door, one waves to the dog!

Too Cute! My copy used to be a library book and some one drew in it :(



Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my own enjoyment based on a blogger recommendation. edit: Dang, wish I could remember where! from Puss Reboots The opinions expressed in this post are mine and may differ from yours. Book information courtesy of several online sites and the book itself.


How Many Cats?
by Lauren Thompson
Illustrated by Robin Eley

Hyperion Books for Children
April 2009
ISBN: 9781423108016
hardcover (approx 8.5x11)
3+
32 pages


Product Description:

A quiet afternoon for one quickly becomes a party for twenty. As new kitties join the fun, Lauren Thompson's clever verse helps young readers count from one to twenty and back again, introducing them to early math skills along the way.

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2011

Thoughts on...Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Did you read the title in a singing voice? I did. I read the whole book with a song in my head, remembering clapping and singing with the kids.

I also remember Polar Bear, Polar Bear but did not know about Panda Bear and Baby Bear!

What do we love about these books? I'm sure that educators could tell you, in big words, about the rhythm of the words and the bright colors stimulating the visual and auditory centers of the developing brain. Me? I just think they're fun. That my kids loved them just makes it better for me. Actually, me liking them makes it better for them because I didn't groan when they wanted it read for the the umpteenth time.

I know Eric Carle has illustrated many books (A Very Hungry Caterpillar) but I don't remember Have You Seen My Cat and think I'll find a copy. Bill Martin Jr also wrote Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and while I know I loved the book that's all I remember of it! Well, something about a coconut tree ;-)

I would like to find out more about Eric Carle and Bill Martin Jr, I'm sure it would make for fascinating reading.




Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
by Bill Martin Jr/Eric Carle

25th Anniversary edition
hardcover
Picture Book, ages 2-4
32 pages
source: personal library

Product Description:

With more than two million copies sold, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? has opened up a world of learning to a generation of children. For this edition, created for the twenty-fifth anniversay in 1992, Bill Martin, Jr., restored his text to its original wording. And Eric Carle created all new pictures--based on the originals, but clearer, brighter, and truer to the colors they represent.

I'm guessing the publisher thinks everyone knows what the book is like. They may be right but I still needed something to tell you that wasn't someone else's review!

Each animal is asked what it sees, thus developing a rhyme, starting with the title animal. Brown bear, brown bear, What do you see? I see a red bird looking at me and on the next page is a red bird and we ask what he sees. The ending changes to people, in this edition it is a teacher and her class. The illustrations make it fun for the very young while the older ones will soon be "reading" it all on their own.

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2011

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Borrowed from the library (Support Your Local Library) because of a ning group book club read.


Island of the Blue Dolphins
Scott O'Dell

The most recently published edition:
Publisher: Thorndike Press
Illustrated by: Ted Lewin
Release Date: February 2, 2005
format: hardcover, large print
pages: 183
genre: Children's Literature


Based on a true story of an Indian girl living on an island off the California coast. This book won the John Newbery medal in 1961.

A ship comes to the island to hunt Sea otters and when the village men try to enforce the deal that had been made, they're killed. Now the village women must take up the slack which doesn't sit well with the remaining men. The headman goes off in a canoe to find help.

Time goes by and a new ship arrives but not to hunt. It is there to take the villagers to safety. All are gathered with the best of their possessions and loaded up. All except one little boy who had run back to the village (against his sister's permission) to retrieve his spear. Fearful that he would not survive alone, his twelve-year-old sister & only remaining relative, jumps ship. Her basket of prized possessions is too heavy so she leaves it at the bottom of the ocean and swims to shore.

Eighteen years later another ship arrives at the island.


My Thoughts
So much of what I want to tell you would ruin the story if you haven't read it. The story is one of respect, love, survival, courage and plain old good luck. I was fearful at times, laughed at others and cried. The story is simply told & beautiful illustrated. I'm sure it could be read, a chapter at a time, to a small child.

I only read it because of book club but I'm glad I did.


amazon.com's sales rank as of 8-23: #31,620 in Books

#4 in Books > Large Print > Children's Books
#6 in Books > Large Print > Literature & Fiction
#77 in Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Classics