5-Year-Old Books of the Week: Bumblebee Boy, Awesome Man, Happy Pig Day!, Hocus Pocus, Super-Dragon

We'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, and some pirates, dragons and lions, too. Bumblebee Boy's little brother tries to get in on the action, but a superhero like Bumblebee Boy doesn't need an assistant--or does he? Even without Ladybug Girl, Johnny Boo thinks this is a winner.

The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man
Author/illustrator: Michael Chabon/Jake Parker
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (September 2011)
Source: Public library

Awesome Man seems like your typical awesome superhero. He's super-strong and fights evil villains; he flies and shoots positronic rays out of his eyeballs. But what's he hiding? Maybe he's not so typical after all... Mixed reviews on Amazon, but Johnny Boo had me read it twice in a row, so that's all I care about.

Happy Pig Day!
Author/illustrator: Mo Willems
Publisher: Hyperion (October 2011)
Source: Public library

Another new Elephant & Piggie book! What's so great about Pig Day, and who are all those pigs? Gerald's feeling a little left out, until Piggie reveals a funny secret. Johnny Boo read this to himself and, as always, we took turns being Gerald and Piggie while we read together.

Hocus Pocus
Author/illustrator: Sylvie Desrosiers/Remy Simard
Publisher: Kids Can Press (August 2011)
Source: Public library

Hocus Pocus is a (nearly) wordless book about a rabbit and a dog who live with a magician, who is oblivious to the animals' Tom-and-Jerry-like relationship. When Hocus Pocus (the rabbit) spots a carrot on the counter, he must make his way to it without waking up Dog. Unfortunately for Hocus Pocus, Dog does wake up, and hilarity ensues.

Super-Dragon
Author/illustrator: Steven Kroll/Douglas Holgate
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Children's Books (February 2011)
Source: Public library

Drago's family is entering a flying contest, but Drago isn't allowed to enter because he doesn't know how to fly yet. He sits by as his family practices, but at night while everyone's asleep he takes flying lessons from a bird. At the contest two weeks later Drago surprises everyone with his Figure 8 skills and saves the day for his family.

A Kid's Review: Valentine the Porcupine Dances Funny

Review 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 you're you." My favorite part is when she got a laser that would give homeless people homes and when the blowfish said, "Will someone dance with me?" The pictures are awesome. My favorite picture is when Valentine is holding the blowfish up. I would recommend this book to silly people.

Buy it: Amazon


It took illustrator Jenny Lewis 10 months to cut out, glue and paint every element of every page. Below she demonstrates how Valentine came to be:

It'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:

Books of the Week: The Faraway Tree Stories, You Can Count on Monsters

Here are our favorites from last week:

Tintin (8) and Johnny Boo (5)

The Faraway Tree Stories
Author/illustrator: Enid Blyton/Jill Newton
Publisher: Egmont Books (July 2002)
Source: Public library

The Faraway Tree Stories comprises three books: The Enchanted Wood, The Magic Faraway Tree, and The Folk of the Faraway Tree, originally published in 1939, 1943, and 1946, respectively. Joe, Beth, and Frannie (the girls' names were changed from Bessie and Fannie in the version we have) move to the country and find the most amazing tree in the woods behind their house. The Enchanted Wood is full of talking animals, elves, and whispering trees, while the Faraway Tree is home to the Angry Pixie, Dame Washalot, Mr. Watzisname, Moon-Face, and a fairy named Silky. The children become especially friendly with Moon-Face, Silky, and the Saucepan Man, a funny man covered in saucepans and kettles who moves in with Watzisname. Every chance they get they climb to the top of the tree, past all kinds of fruits and nuts, up a ladder and through a hole in the clouds, until they reach a new land. They explore the Land of Take-What-You-Want, the Land of Secrets, the Land of Treats, and many others, and if they're not careful the three children and their friends might get stuck in one of these lands when it moves away from the Faraway Tree and a new land comes to stay. Sometimes the lands are full of fun, like the Land of Birthdays, and sometimes they're full of danger, like the Land of Tempers, but there's always an adventure to be had.

The Faraway Tree Stories has now become both boys' "favorite book ever." I 've been reading it to them during breakfast and snack time, and every time I'd come to the end of a chapter and read the next chapter title, I'd hear, "Do it! Do it!" It's the perfect read-aloud for children, from preschool to middle grade, and I'm pretty sure my boys would have me start it all over again if someone else hadn't already put a hold on it at the library.

Tintin's note: It was a good adventure. The Faraway Tree Stories is the best story adventure.

Johnny Boo's note: It's my favorite book ever.

Find it: Amazon

You Can Count on Monsters: The First 100 Numbers and Their Characters
Author/illustrator: Richard Evan Schwartz
Publisher: A K Peters, Ltd. (January 2010)
Source: Public library

The goal of You Can Count on Monsters is to teach children about prime numbers and factoring, and to give them a fun and creative way to learn multiplication. Tintin has already mastered many multiplication facts, thanks in part to an excellent video game adventure called Timez Attack, and Johnny Boo is nowhere near learning about multiplication (he has threatened to quit school after 1st grade so he won't have to learn it), but this is a great book for both of them. Tintin can still learn a lot from this book (once he stops focusing solely on the illustrations), and until he becomes more interested in math, Johnny Boo at least has a unique art book to look through. They absolutely love the monsters, each of which represents a different prime number. The prime number monsters combine to form a new scene with composite numbers. There is also a monster for the number 1, but it's "a bit disappointed because it doesn't get to interact with any of the other monsters."

Tintin's note: The monsters were totally silly and awesome.

Johnny Boo's note: It was a totally silly book.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Books of the Week: The Stories Julian Tells, Tales from the Odyssey, Ladybug Girl, Scaredy Squirrel

Here are our favorites from the past week:

Tintin, age 8

The Stories Julian Tells
Author/illustrator: Ann Cameron/Ann Strugnell
Publisher: Turtleback (January 1989)
Source: Public library

Julian's just a regular boy who has a knack for telling stories, some of which are not always true. He convinces his younger brother, Huey, that cats will jump out of their seed catalog and help them with their garden, and he talks himself into believing that eating the leaves from his fig tree will make him grow taller. Sometimes Julian's mischief gets him into trouble, like the time his father brings him downstairs for a whipping after he and his brother eat their mother's lemon pudding. To Julian's relief, his dad's idea of a whipping is much different from his own. I took this book out to read to Johnny Boo at bedtime, but Tintin grabbed it as soon as we were done and is now on More Stories Julian Tells.

Tintin's note: I liked when Julian's father tried to pull out his tooth by tying it to a string and then to a doorknob and then yanking it.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Tales from the Odyssey, Part One
Author: Mary Pope Osborne
Publisher: Hyperion (May 2010)
Source: Scholastic book fair/home library

The first part of Tales from the Odyssey comprises three books: The One-Eyed Giant, The Land of the Dead, and Sirens and Sea Monsters. There are three more books in Part Two. As you might guess, both parts are a retelling of Odysseus's great journey, first told by Greek poet Homer. Osborne does a fantastic job making this tale accessible to young readers. It's an exciting adventure with giants, gods, witches, and sirens, and even though it's pretty long (250+ pages), the larger font makes it easy to read.

Tintin's note: It was a good book. It was a very good adventure. All the adventures in it were so wonderful. I feel free to read the next one.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Johnny Boo, age 5

Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad
Author/illustrator: David Soman & Jacky Davis
Publisher: Dial (March 2011)
Source: Public library

Ladybug Girl has invited her friends over for a Bug Squad play date. Besides Ladybug Girl, there's Bumblebee Boy, Butterfly Girl, and Dragonfly Girl, each with his or her own superpowers. They of course play Bug Squad but then make some art at Ladybug Girl's picnic table and eat cupcakes together. For Ladybug Girl, it starts out as the perfect play date, but trouble starts when things don't go exactly the way she imagined them. Luckily, she learns an important lesson about saying sorry and the day is saved.

Johnny Boo's note: Ladybug Girl is about a girl named Lulu and she had a ladybug costume. It was great and freakin' and awesome and rockin'. I liked when Bingo got wings.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party
Author/illustrator: Mélanie Watt
Publisher: Kids Can Press (February 2011)
Source: Public library

It's time for Scaredy's birthday party, but he's too scared to let anyone else come. He finally invites one thoughtful friend, but then that friend brings a bunch of other friends. Scaredy goes into panic mode and fears the worst. When he realizes he's still alive after fainting from all of the excitement, Scaredy deems his birthday party a success and starts planning for next year.

Johnny Boo's note: Scaredy Squirrel reminds me of Cat in the Hat because it has animals in it. I liked the confetti part at the end.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

We also reread some old favorites: Ladybug Girl, Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy, the Daniel Boom AKA Loud Boy series, Sardine in Outer Space, and The Clouds Above.

5-Year-Old Boy Books of the Week: Adopt a Glurb, Baby Brains and RoboMom, Children Make Terrible Pets

Here are Johnny Boo's favorites from the past week (we'll write about another favorite, Bink and Gollie, for our Word of the Week feature in a couple of days):

Balloon Toons: Adopt a Glurb
Author/illustrator: Elise Gravel
Publisher: Blue Apple Books (August 2010)
Source: Public library

After reading Balloon Toons: Rick & Rack and the Great Outdoors (see our review), we were eager to read Adopt a Glurb, a book about a most unusual pet. The book is chock full of everything one needs to know about this cute little monster, with both good points and bad. For instance, three glurbs will make your bed for you, but yell at them and you might wake up with plucked eyebrows. And they stink, even when they're clean. And, like a certain someone I know, they like to unroll toilet paper. But, did I mention they're cute? They even fit in your pocket. They need a lot of attention, though, and act silly if you don't cuddle with them enough. Plus, their hunger rivals that of an 8-year-old boy's. But they're cute.

Johnny Boo's note: It was good. Glurbs stink a lot. I like their freakiness.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Baby Brains and RoboMom
Author/illustrator: Simon James
Publisher: Candlewick (March 2008)
Source: Public library

Johnny Boo insisted on getting this book after having fallen in love with the first two Baby Brains books (see our review). The smartest baby in the whole world is back, but instead of becoming a doctor or a rock star, he's focusing on making life easier for his tired-out mom and dad. He designs RoboMom, who is a huge help – at first. She does the dishes and fixes the car but then soon takes over some responsibilities that Baby Brains would rather his parents do, like changing his diapers and putting him to bed. When RoboMom starts acting a little strange (she serves nuts and bolts in engine oil for breakfast and hangs Baby Brains out to dry with the laundry), Baby Brains realizes it's time to go back to the drawing board, especially after a rather explosive ending for the malfunctioning robot.

Johnny Boo's note: I like when RoboMom exploded. I like when he says, "I want my Mommy!"

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Children Make Terrible Pets
Author/illustrator: Peter Brown
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (September 2010)
Source: Public library

Lucy is a bear. One day she finds a child spying on her. Lucy really wants a pet, so she takes the child home with her and asks her mother to let her keep "Squeaker" for a pet. Lucy's mother tells her that children make terrible pets, but Lucy doesn't believe her. Squeaker is just so cute that he can't possibly do anything wrong. It turns out, though, that Lucy's mother is right – Squeaker's behavior is really terrible, plus he's hard to potty train. When Lucy finds Squeaker after he's suddenly disappeared, she finally realizes that he's not the right pet for her and tells her mother that she was right, children do make terrible pets. Her mother's reply: They really are the worst.

Johnny Boo's note: It was terrific. I liked when Lucy was being watched by that squeaky person.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound