tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27860836462709038842024-02-17T02:48:21.215-06:00LitLadThe literary leanings of two brothers.LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.comBlogger131125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-86018776506308001582013-07-21T13:48:00.000-05:002013-07-21T13:48:01.248-05:00New Blogs!So, we're back after a year, but some of us decided to make our own review blogs. It went like this:
Boy 1: Why can't I have my own blog? (goes off to create his own blog)
Boy 2, later: He has his own blog. Why can't I have my own blog? (goes off to create his own blog)
Check out Storvidoodles, where you'll find reviews of Tales From Lovecraft Middle School and Wreck-It Ralph, and Coreviews, LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-77808753252579333762013-07-09T08:56:00.000-05:002013-07-09T08:56:06.700-05:00Zombiekins
We're back after almost a year!
Review by Tintin, age 10
Zombiekins
Author/illustrator: Kevin Bolger/Aaron BlechaPublisher: Razorbill (6/2010)
Zombiekins Website
Zombiekins is an awesome horror story written by Kevin Bolger about a boy who goes to a witch's house and gets a toy called Zombiekins. One night Zombiekins comes alive. The next day, he starts biting the kids at school LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-53788299649596872312012-09-07T13:07:00.001-05:002012-09-07T13:07:29.733-05:00Zita the Spacegirl & The Incredible Rockhead
Review by Tintin, age 9
Legends of Zita the Spacegirl
Author/illustrator: Ben Hatke
Publisher: First Second (9/2012)
Genre: Graphic Novel
Legends of Zita the Spacegirl is about a girl who saves the planet Lumponia from star hearts. A robot who is pretending to be the spacegirl is messing things up. I like it because it is an adventurous story. My favorite part was when they used a giant to LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-61102798838509476012012-07-16T19:44:00.000-05:002012-07-16T19:44:29.853-05:00Book Review: Invisible Inkling
Review by Tintin, age 9
Invisible Inkling
Author/illustrator: Emily Jenkins/Harry Bliss
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (April 2011)
Hank Wolowitz lives in New York and owns an ice cream shop called The Big Round Pumpkin with his mom, dad, and his sister, Nadia. One day at the shop, Hank feels something under the sink. It feels furry. He finds out it is an animal called a bandapat, and it is LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-41899766447402701672012-06-23T15:46:00.000-05:002012-06-23T15:46:53.908-05:00Books of the Week: Sarah Noble, Explorer, Giggler Treatment, Lunch Lady, My Weird School, Tiny TitansHere are our favorites from the past week:
Tintin, age 9
The Courage of Sarah Noble
Author: Alice Dalgliesh
Genre: Fiction
Explorer: The Mystery Boxes
Editor: Kazu Kibuishi
Genre: Graphic Novel
The Giggler Treatment
Author: Roddy Doyle
Genre: Fiction
Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes
Author: Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Genre: Graphic Novel
Johnny Boo, age 6
My Weird LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-21197106728076918382012-06-14T13:33:00.000-05:002012-06-14T13:33:57.104-05:00Books of the Week: James and the Giant Peach; Sarah, Plain and Tall; Mameshiba; Tiny TitansHere are our favorite books this week:
Tintin, age 9
James and the Giant Peach
Author/illustrator: Roald Dahl/Quentin Blake
Genre: Fiction
After losing his parents in a rhino accident, James must live with his two evil aunts--until a giant peach with talking insects suddenly appears and takes James far, far away. Tintin said this is one of his favorite Roald Dahl books, and even though it's LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-24768397016606317352012-05-10T08:13:00.000-05:002012-05-10T08:13:57.652-05:006-Year-Old PicksHere are some of Johnny Boo's favorites from March and April:
Ricky Ricotta, Captain Underpants, The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby
Author: Dav Pilkey
Mr. Men, including...
Mr. Men: Favourite Stories and whatever other Mr. Men and Little Miss books Johnny Boo found at the library (there are about 49 in all)
Author: Roger Hargreaves
And there are new Mr. Men graphic novels!
The LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-61931131785173424232012-03-30T13:36:00.000-05:002012-03-30T13:36:22.490-05:00Kids' Snack Menu, With 70+ Snack Ideas
I got tired of hearing things like "Mom, what should I eat?" and "There's nothing to eat!" (after I'd listed several possibilities). So I made the boys their own snack menu, to look through whenever they're hungry. I printed it out, laminated it, punched a few holes in it, and put it all together with pipe cleaners, which allows me to add more pages whenever I want.
There are more than 70 LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-13308279814769353712012-03-11T22:39:00.000-05:002012-03-11T22:39:36.565-05:009-Year-Old Boy: Series BooksHere's what Tintin's been reading lately:
Attack of the Volcano Monkeys (Ordinary Basil)
Author: Wiley Miller
Publisher: The Blue Sky Press (February 2008)
Category: Chapter Book (2nd in series)
In this second Ordinary Basil book, Basil and his friend Louise travel (via pteranodon) to a planet of intelligent monkeys and try to overthrow the king.
Wonkenstein (The Creature From My Closet)
LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-40521565719488528582012-03-07T12:26:00.000-06:002012-03-07T12:26:10.442-06:00Celebrating Dr. Seuss's Birthday in the Bathtub
Dr. Seuss's birthday was March 2. To celebrate, we took our books to the bathtub and had a reading party. Instead of eating cake, as the cat does in The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, the boys had popcorn while I read to them.
Of course, putting two growing boys in one bathtub at the same time doesn't always make for a peaceful experience. Tintin was much more relaxed the next day when he LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-74960929702831887982012-02-29T09:10:00.000-06:002012-02-29T09:10:51.947-06:00Phineas and Ferb and A Platypus' WorldSome of us have a small obsession with Phineas and Ferb. At the most recent Scholastic book fair, each boy got a Phineas and Ferb book, as well as a Phineas and Ferb poster to share. Tintin also recently asked for a book on platypuses because he correctly assumed Perry the Platypus was not your average platypus and he wanted to see what they were really like. A couple of reviews:
The Phineas andLitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-41565041718163792012-02-25T17:49:00.000-06:002012-02-25T17:49:48.317-06:00A-Z Reading Marathon Challenge
Last weekend we had nothing to do, so Tintin suggested we have a reading marathon. I decided to make it into a challenge. Each boy had to complete 26 tasks, one for each letter of the alphabet. We picked random letters from our Bananagrams game, but one boy wanted to do some tasks (especially P) more than once, so he peeked a little.
Here's what they had to do:
A. Read 1 chapter to Mom.
B.LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-24523740403480021412012-02-24T08:10:00.003-06:002021-09-27T06:24:15.103-05:00Sight Words in KindergartenThis year I've been helping some of Johnny Boo's kindergarten classmates with letters and sight words. I've also become addicted to Pinterest, much to my husband's chagrin (Chagrinterest?). Following are a couple of sight word games copied from or inspired by pins I've made:
Sight Word Parking Lot (based on a bigger parking lot game at Juggling With Kids)
Print Parking Lot game here.
I LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-47175027696243372922012-02-21T08:22:00.000-06:002012-02-21T08:22:05.400-06:00The Sea of Lost Books, and Our Reading Response Journal
The Sea of Lost Books (Return to the Library of Doom)
Author/illustrator: Michael Dahl/Bradford Kendall
Publisher: Stone Arch Books (August 2010)
Category: Chapter Book
Tintin has a journal in which he writes down the names of the books he's just finished. In the same journal there's a section for him to write book reviews in the form of a letter to me. When he's done I write a letter back LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-77257631879087216412012-02-14T09:08:00.000-06:002012-02-14T09:08:33.345-06:00It's Valentine's Day (Jack Prelutsky)
It's Valentine's Day
Author/illustrator: Jack Prelutsky/Yossi Abolafia
Publisher: Mulberry (1996)
Category: Poetry
It's Valentine's Day is a collection of 14 Valentine's poems from the nation's first children's poet laureate (and the boys' favorite poet not named Shel Silverstein). Check out Prelutsky's website for a few of his other poems and for poetry-writing activities for children.
We LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-69424873830385089062012-02-06T12:45:00.000-06:002012-02-06T12:45:05.065-06:00Play, Louis, Play! and Our New Book Club
Play, Louis, Play! The True Story of a Boy and His Horn
Author/illustrator: Muriel Harris Weinstein/Frank Morrison
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's (December 2011)
Categories: Biography; Chapter Book
This is the story of Louis Armstrong's childhood, as told by his first horn, which little Louis purchased from a New Orleans hock shop for $5. Not only did the boys enjoy the book, but they LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-87488131704077238352012-01-28T22:27:00.000-06:002012-01-28T22:27:25.797-06:00Our 2011-2012 Bluebonnet Award Choice Is...Last week Tintin and everyone else who read at least five Texas Bluebonnet books attended a special breakfast in the school library and voted on their favorite Bluebonnet book. Students all across Texas participated in the voting at their own schools. The author of the book receiving the most votes will be declared the winner of the 2011-2012 Texas Bluebonnet Award. Here's Tintin voting for LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-65984715530597293132012-01-23T22:34:00.000-06:002012-01-23T22:34:34.182-06:00Books for the 9-Year-OldTintin is 9 today!
Here are the books he received for his birthday:
The Merriam-Webster and Garfield Dictionary
Publisher: Merriam-Webster (January 1999)
Category: Reference; Graphic Novel
Scholastic Student Thesaurus
Author: John K. Bollard
Publisher: Scholastic (May 2007)
Category: Reference
Scrabble Sticker Word Puzzles
Author/illustrator: Patrick Blindauer/Bob Shea
LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-50678642992708900012012-01-10T00:19:00.000-06:002012-01-10T00:20:33.070-06:00Now We Are Six (and Other Books for the Six-Year-Old)
Johnny Boo turned six last week!
And now that he's six, we're reading Now We Are Six:
Now We Are Six
Author/illustrator: A.A. Milne/Ernest H. Shepard
First published: 1927
Category: Poetry
Here are some other recent favorites:
Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles Into Comics
Author/illustratror: James Sturm; Andrew Arnold; Alexis LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-50792567886612275002012-01-02T14:14:00.000-06:002012-01-03T12:50:25.107-06:008-Year-Old Boy Review: Spiderwick Chronicles
Review by Tintin, age 8
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Author/illustrator: Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (September 2004)
Source: Home library/public library/school library
The Spiderwick Chronicles are about a boy named Jared, a girl named Mallory, and another boy named Simon. Jared found a book in which creepy, terrifying, and LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-49802908830928781672011-11-13T07:58:00.001-06:002011-11-13T12:31:55.689-06:005-Year-Old Books of the Week: Bumblebee Boy, Awesome Man, Happy Pig Day!, Hocus Pocus, Super-DragonWe're back to blogging after a little break! Here are Johnny Boo's favorite books this week (Tintin is in the middle of reading Vordak the Incomprehensible again).
The Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy
Author/illustrator: Jacky Davis/David Soman
Publisher: Dial (October 2011)
Source: Public library
Don't expect to see Ladybug Girl in this book--this time it's all about Bumblebee Boy. Oh, LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-82990546978920778372011-09-19T13:00:00.000-05:002011-09-19T13:00:49.700-05:00Books of the Week: Joey Fly, Private Eye; Sardine in Outer Space; Patrick (Toon Books); Wonder WomanHere are our favorites from last week:
Tintin, age 8
Joey Fly, Private Eye in Big Hairy Drama
Author/illustrator: Aaron Reynolds/Neil Numberman
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. (November 2010)
Source: Public library
In this second Joey Fly graphic novel, Joey and his assistant, Sammy, are called upon to solve the disappearance of Greta Divawing, the star of the Scarab Beetle Theater. Joey LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-35825732035230172652011-08-12T16:46:00.002-05:002011-08-12T16:46:52.293-05:00A Kid's Review: Valentine the Porcupine Dances FunnyReview by Johnny Boo, age 5
Valentine the Porcupine Dances Funny
Author/illustrator: Derrick Brown/Jenny Lewis
Publisher: Write Fuzzy
Source: The publisher
Valentine the Porcupine is about a radio with a porcupine who says, "Will someone dance with me?" Her momma says, "Strange is cool," and Valentine says, "I believe you, Momma." And then her momma says, "I love you because LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-37851307159522583182011-08-02T23:08:00.003-05:002011-08-02T23:19:23.525-05:00It's a Boy-Tested Book Bonanza!Check out our new page, It's a Boy-Tested Book Bonanza!, for a list of books my boys love. Come back often to see what we've added!
And now, in honor of Ice Cream Sandwich Day:
LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786083646270903884.post-25099530769078893862011-07-30T13:44:00.001-05:002011-07-30T13:46:33.580-05:00Comic-Con: Johnny Boo, G-Man, SpongeBob, VIZ Kids Sampler, Okie Dokie Donuts, Pirate Penguin Vs. Ninja ChickenWe went to San Diego Comic-Con last weekend!
While there we met James Kochalka, author and illustrator of Johnny Boo. Here he is showing us Dragon Puncher:
Our own Johnny Boo picked just that moment to become shy and overwhelmed, so he hid on the floor while Tintin got the goods--autographed drawings by the Kochalka family and books made by Eli and Oliver LitLasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07003838612296045046noreply@blogger.com1