Our 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 Tom Angleberger's Origami Yoda:

For each book they read the children had to fill out a log describing a memorable moment from the book. Here's Tintin's collection:

Amazing Faces 9/26/11

I like "Which Way to Dreamland" because dreams are special and sometimes come true. My favorite was: How in the world do dreams get in your head? and: Do they hide with dust bunnies under the bed?

Wild Times at the Bed and Biscuit 9/26/11

I liked when Ernest and the other animals saved Sir Walter in the woods. Sir Walter was lost in the woods because he was helping the foxes dig a hole, but they got away.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda 10/8/11

I liked when they made a bet that if Tommy dances with Sara, Dwight wins, and if she doesn't then Harvey wins.

Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse 1/9/12

This book is about poems and fairy tales that are reversed. My favorite fairy tale is "Bears in the News." This book is reversed because it helps children like to read poems and fairy tales.

The Buddy Files: The Case of the Lost Boy 1/23/12

I liked when Connor ran away and Buddy tried to help his mom find him.

Imogene's Last Stand 1/23/12

I liked when Imogene said, "Heck no, I won't go!" and wouldn't leave the museum.






You can find a list of the 2011-2012 Bluebonnet Award nominees at the Texas Library Association website.

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

Summer Reading Is Not Killing Him

In the last few days, Tintin has read more than 50 books, most of them picture books. His requirement for the library summer reading program for the whole summer is 50 books. Today, the first day of summer, he started and finished Summer Reading Is Killing Me (The Time Warp Trio). He's in the middle of Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger. He just came downstairs, at 10:30 p.m., to tell me he's completed the first row of the picture below (although he's only read two adventures in the Dungeons & Dragons book) and has now started Staged Fright (Ruby Gloom). Below are all of the books he's going to read, in order, this summer (not including library books he doesn't have yet). He laid this out earlier tonight:

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.