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.

8-Year-Old Boy Books of the Week: Alvin Ho, Just Disgusting, The Storyteller's Secrets

Here are Tintin's favorites from the past week:

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters
Author/illustrator:Lenore Look/LeUyen Pham
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade (June 2009)
Source: Elementary school library

In Alvin Ho's second book (see our review of the first one), Alvin's dad is convinced Alvin will come to like camping and hiking. But Alvin is scared of almost everything and is worried he won't come back alive. He gets help from his brother, who uses their dad's credit card to buy survival gear, and from his uncle, who teaches him how to trap (Alvin actually does a good job with his first trap, but his victim isn't too impressed). As with the first Alvin Ho book, there's a glossary of the things he's afraid of as well as some of his favorite things. Tintin is looking forward to reading the third Alvin Ho book, Allergic to Birthday Parties, Science Projects, and Other Man-Made Catastrophes.

Tintin's note: I like when he's scared of bears because it's funny. The bears look just like the one in the Greek myths graphic novel [Amazing Greek Myths of Wonder and Blunders].

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Just Disgusting
Author/illustrator: Andy Griffiths
Publisher: Scholastic (February 2005)
Source: Public library

Just Disgusting is just that: disgusting. The first chapter is a list of 101 disgusting things, the first of which is brussels sprouts (and then it's all downhill from there). The rest of the chapters are short stories, all disgusting, of course, and all having to do with young Andy. There's a choose-your-own adventure story about making a cake, a comic about two brown blobs in a bathtub, a play whose cast consists of nothing but dead flies, and more. This book is so disgusting that it's perfect for boys 8 years old and up. And now I'm getting requests for more of Andy Griffiths' Just books (including Just Annoying, Just Joking, and Just Stupid).

Tintin's note: They have a lot of disgusting things in the book. I like when the two brown blobs are getting closer to the rubber ducky and the kid.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

The Storyteller's Secrets
Author/illustrator: Tony Mitton/Peter Bailey
Publisher: David Fickling Books (June 2010)
Source: Public library

Twins Toby and Tess share their lunch with an old stranger one day, and to thank them he tells them a story in rhyme. He comes back several more times to tell them his stories and each time he gives them a little treasure to remind them of the tales he's told. He begins with "The Woodcutter's Daughter" and goes on to tell them "St. Brigid's Cloak," "The Seal Hunter," "The Pedlar of Swaffham," and "Tam Lin." The book ends with "The Map of Marvels," in which the storyteller gives Toby and Tess a mysterious map, reveals a secret, and then disappears. I've started reading a book to the boys during breakfast each morning, and this was one of them. I read a story each morning until we were done, and Tintin always wanted "just one more story."

Tintin's note: I like all the treasures that Teller gave Toby and Tess. I like when Tam Lin turned into all those freaky animals.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Books of the Week – January 22, 2011

Here are our favorites from the past week:

Tintin, age 7

Sir Seth Thistlethwaite and the Soothsayer's Shoes
Author/illustrator: Richard Thake/Vince Chui
Publisher: Owlkids Books (September 2010)
Source: ARC from giveaway at Journey of a Bookseller

Sir Seth and Sir Ollie are really just plain old Seth and Ollie, 10-year-old kids with big imaginations. With tinfoil armor, a broom for a sword, and his trusty steed (or a golden retriever in the real world), Sir Seth and his friend travel to High Dudgeon to retrieve the magical soothsayer's shoes and bring right and honor to the kingdom. Along the way, they meet a helpful sloth, fire-breathing bats, bog runners, a jolly ghost-king and, finally, a selfish prince. Tintin loved the story and the rhyming and tongue-twistery text. This is a great book for independent reading and read-aloud enjoyment.

Tintin's note: I like Sir Seth because it has adventures.

  
Johnny Boo, age 5

You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fables to Read Together
Author/illustrator: Mary Ann Hoberman/Michael Emberley
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company (November 2010)
Source: ALA Midwinter 2011

Full of short stories with morals, this book is part of a collection that helps young readers gain more confidence. Each fable is divided into color-coded verses between two and eight lines (but usually two or four), so that parent and child (or, as in our case, brother and brother as well) can take turns reading. The other books in this collection end their stories with "You read to me, I'll read to you," but this one instead ends each fable with its moral. Although Johnny Boo is a fine, upstanding young man who would never hurt anyone other than his brother and of course doesn't need lessons on how to act properly, he really enjoys this book. In fact, he's obsessed with it and with the others in the collection that we already own. He would have looked in the library for the two that we don't own, but in his excitement over finding Ivy and Bean books on the shelving cart, he forgot. Next time. He reads this book all by himself, with me, and with his brother (who also likes these books). He even brings it in the car with him. When we read it together, he loves being able to pick which color he gets to read. Although Johnny Boo is a good reader and loves books, he still sometimes gets overwhelmed by the length of chapter books and will only read a little bit at a time. I've found that being able to take turns really helps Johnny Boo with the transition to chapter books.

Johnny Boo's note: I like this book because it has different fables to read together. I like all of the fables and stuff because they're great.


Tintin/Johnny Boo

Ivy and Bean Books 1-5
Author/illustrator: Annie Barrows/Sophie Blackall
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Source: Public library

Ivy and Bean are two 2nd grade friends who come up with some very interesting plans, like using magic to make Bean's sister dance forever and setting a world record by seeing how many straws Bean can fit in her mouth. We've written about Ivy and Bean before, and we've had books 1 and 2 out for a while (actually, we brought them back and then had to get them back out a short time later). This last time, however, we just had to get books 3, 4 and 5 out as well. Johnny Boo was the first brother to take a liking to this series. At first he would read a few sentences at a time and then he'd just want me to read the books to him. But something happened this week. Maybe it had a little to do with the You Read to Me book or maybe it was because he got to pick out a bunch of free bookmarks from the library and I explained to him that he could stop whenever he wanted, put the bookmark in, and not have to feel as though he had to read the whole book at once, but he read the first chapter of book 3 on the way home from the library and read some more at the grocery store. He's only on chapter 3 right now, but he's also on chapter 3 of book 4. He likes to go back and forth. And finally, after having seen the Ivy and Bean books lying around for the past several weeks, Tintin started, and finished, book 1 yesterday and is now on book 2.

Tintin's note: I like Ivy and Bean because it has magic and a ghost.
Johnny Boo's note: I like Ivy and Bean because there's different pages to read and different chapters.

Proof that they both like Ivy and Bean:

Disclosure: We are an Amazon affiliate, which means that if you click on most of the links in this post and purchase anything, we will earn a small commission through our relationship with Amazon.

Books of the Week – October 16, 2010

Here are our favorites from the past week:

Tintin, age 7

Usborne Greek Myths for Young Children
Author/illustrator: Heather Amery/Linda Edwards

Usborne Greek Myths for Young Children is the perfect book for kids who've just gotten into mythology and are eager to learn more. Full of gods and goddesses, heroes and monsters, this was a book Tintin couldn't put down (not even for a trip to the grocery store). We're putting this one on Tintin's wish list – I have a feeling he and his brother will be going back to it often.

Little Bear, You're a Star
Author/illustrator: Jean Marzollo

Little Bear, You're a Star is a simplified retelling of the Greek myth of Callisto and her son, Arcas, and how they became the constellations Ursa Major and Minor. This is a great book for young children, even before they're ready for the Usborne book, which doesn't include this myth. As Marzollo explains, children should be encouraged to read more detailed versions of this myth as they grow older. For children Tintin's age and younger, however, this is a cute introduction that includes a chorus of birds at the bottom of each page who offer a running commentary about what's going on.

Johnny Boo, age 4

George and Martha: The Complete Stories of Two Best Friends
Author/illustrator: James Marshall

In this book are 35 stories of lovable hippo friends George and Martha, as well as a foreword by Maurice Sendak and appreciations by Marc Brown, Jack Gantos, Susan Meddaugh, Nicole Rubel, Coleen Salley, Jon Scieszka and David Wiesner. Johnny Boo (and Tintin too) loves reading about the humorous situations George and Martha get themselves into (like when George finally can't take any more of  the pea soup Martha keeps serving to him and pours it into his shoes rather than telling his best friend how much he dislikes it). Johnny Boo has gotten out all of the George and Martha books he could find at the public library and was overjoyed when I found this one at his brother's elementary school library. Needless to say, this one is already on the wish list.

Pearl and Wagner: Three Secrets
Author/illustrator: Kate McMullan/R.W. Alley 

In another easy-to-read book about best friends, Pearl the rabbit and Wagner the mouse visit an ice cream factory and an amusement park. While there they learn valuable lessons about sharing secrets and feelings with a close friend. After reading this book, Johnny Boo is looking forward to finding the other books in the series: Pearl and Wagner: Two Good Friends; Pearl and Wagner: One Funny Day; and Pearl and Wagner: Four Eyes.

We're linking this up with What My Child Is Reading at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns, Kid Konnection at Booking Mama, and Kids' Picks at 5 Minutes for Books.

Books of the Week – September 25, 2010

Here are our favorites from the past week:

Tashi
Author/illustrator: Anna Fienberg and Barbara Fienberg/Kim Gamble
Tashi website: Allen & Unwin – Tashi Books

The Tashi series is about a boy with a new friend from a faraway land. In each book Tashi tells the boy, or the boy tells his parents, about Tashi's many adventures with magical creatures (giants, dragons, a genie, etc). We got the first book from the library after reading a wonderful review of the series at books4yourkids.com, but yesterday Johnny Boo made me go back to get the rest. We had to go to another city's library to get them and are still missing about seven of them (but if any grandparents are reading this, The Big Big Big Book of Tashi and The 2nd Big Big Book of Tashi are on Johnny Boo's Amazon wish list, although these books would make an awesome present for both boys, in case you were wondering what to get them, and also I would like some dark chocolate). And because Johnny Boo likes to line up his series books in order (sometimes he likes to get the same book from the library that he already has at home to match up), here is a picture from yesterday after our return from the library:

 My Weird School #3: Mrs. Roopy Is Loopy
Author/illustrator: Dan Gutman/Jim Paillot

The children in My Weird School meet the new librarian. Or is it George Washington? Or maybe it's Neil Armstrong? Whoever it is, can she/he instill a love of reading in A.J. and his classmates? Luckily, Tintin and Johnny Boo don't need any help in that department. They are both obsessed with this series and can't wait to get their hands on number 4. Some proof of this obsession, with help from the Catalog Card Generator:

Go Away, Big Green Monster!
Author/illustrator: Ed Emberley

Will the big green monster go away? And if so, will he go away all at once or gradually over a period of, say, eight pages? Apparently, this book (also known in our house as !Monster Green Big, Away Go) is hilarious when read backwards. Several nights in a row. And on our list of things to do: a Go Away, Big Green Monster! flannel board activity.


We're linking this up at What My Child Is Reading, Feed Me Books Friday and Kid Konnection.