Books of the Week – November 6, 2010

Here are our favorites from the past week:

Tintin, age 7

Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist: Attack of the 50-Ft. Cupid
Author/illustrator: Jim Benton 
 
This is the second book in the Franny K. Stein series, one of Tintin's new favorites. Franny gets a new lab assistant (which is actually part Lab and part lots of other dog breeds), encounters a huge baby shooting huge arrows all over town, and attempts to skateboard a school bus to safety. While the first book in the series shows the reader how to make a monster flip book (something we still need to do), this one includes a Valentine poem generator with more than 600 combinations. Here's Tintin's latest, guaranteed to get the 2nd grade girl of his dreams: "Weasels are brown, I play the kazoo, Bigfoot is hairy, And so are you." Equally appealing to both boys and girls, this book (and the rest of the series) is a must-read for early-elementary children.

The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 4: Red Rackham's Treasure/The Seven Crystal Balls/Prisoners of the Sun
Author/illustrator: Hergé

Tintin already has Red Rackham's Treasure (which continues the adventures of The Secret of the Unicorn), but anytime he sees a Tintin book that he doesn't have he has to snatch it up. In this collection, we have lots of adventure: searching for treasure in the West Indies, investigating a mysterious mummy's curse after the return of seven explorers who fall ill, and traveling to Peru to save a friend kidnapped by the Incas. We've also got knife-throwing, spitting llamas, a hidden door, and plenty of slapstick humor. And to show you just how much my Tintin likes this series, here he is before leaving for Dress-Up-As-Your-Favorite-Character Day at school last week:

  














Johnny Boo, age 4

Dragon's Halloween
Author/illustrator: Dav Pilkey

A little late for Halloween, but when I saw it in Tintin's school library I didn't think Johnny Boo would mind, seeing as how he loves the other Dragon books he's read. In this one Dragon tries to make a scary jack-o'-lantern; comes up with a silly costume but, in one of the funniest parts of the book (according to Johnny Boo), ends up with the scariest costume at the party; and goes on a nighttime walk in the woods while he's ravenously hungry, and wonders what that spooky sound is. Next up: Dragon's Merry Christmas (but maybe before the actual holiday this time).

Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones; Skippyjon Jones, Lost in Spice; Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble
Author/illustrator: Judy Schachner

Whenever we get a Skippyjon Jones book out of the library, we have to get all the books we can find, and it's even better if they all come with CDs that work. This time we got one that worked, one that didn't, and one that was missing. That's all right, Johnny Boo loves the books by themselves, too. In this week's finds, Skippy fights off a dinosaur, travels to Mars (his favorite color is red), and goes back to ancient Egypt, all while playing in his bedroom closet. Johnny Boo loves reading these books by himself, but he also likes listening to me read while he sings the songs that are interspersed throughout.

We're linking this post up to What My Child Is Reading at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns and Kid Konnection at Booking Mama.