6-Year-Old Picks

Here 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 Franny K. Stein series
Author: Jim Benton

Balloon Toons: The Totally Awesome Epic Quest of the Brave Boy Knight
Author: Pranas T. Naujokaitis

Yellowbelly and Plum Go to School
Author: Nathan Hale

Toys Go Out, Toys Come Home, Toy Dance Party
Author/illustrator: Emily Jenkins/Paul Zelinsky

George Brown, Class Clown: Super Burp
Author/illustrator: Nancy Krulik/Aaron Blecha











And here's an example of the writing skills Johnny Boo's developed with the help of Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot Astro-Activity Book O' Fun:

Books of the Week: Twisted Journeys, The World of Quest, A Sick Day for Amos McGee, My Neighbor Totoro

Here are our favorites from the past week:

Tintin, age 8

Twisted Journeys 4: The Treasure of Mount Fate
Author/illustrator: Jeff Limke/Clint Hilinski
Publisher: Graphic Universe (August 2007)
Source: Public library

The Treasure of Mount Fate is a choose-your-own-adventure graphic novel. You, the reader, are a hero in training who seeks the treasure rumored to be hidden inside Mount Fate. While on your adventure, depending on which path you choose, you meet dragons, spiders, a wizard locked inside a room for 900 years, stone soldiers, flesh-eating ooze, a genie, skeleton warriors, a water sprite, goblins, hairy beasts, and a sea serpent. I think that might be all. Tintin's already found the treasure, but he still has several more adventures to go.

Tintin's note: It was great. I liked it because it was an adventure book.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

The World of Quest, Vol. 2
Author/illustrator: Jason T. Kruse
Publisher: Yen Press (December 2008)
Source: Public library

Prince Nestor and his bodyguard, Quest, are on their way to the wise and boring Rocks to find information on the Dagger of the Way. To get there they must travel through a dangerous forest (a warning sign at the entrance says, "Remember: Limbs are a privilege") and fight off the Snarls sent by the evil Lord Spite. Along the way, Nestor and Quest become separated and Nestor meets a griffin who makes him sign an agreement to pay before he'll help. The graphic novel ends on a cliffhanger.

Tintin's note: I liked when Quest got punched by a hand because it was silly.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Johnny Boo, age 5

A Sick Day for Amos McGee
Author/illustrator: Philip C. Stead/Erin E. Stead
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press (May 2010)
Source: Public library

Amos McGee works at a zoo and befriends some of the animals there. He plays chess with the elephant, sits with the shy penguin, and reads to the owl, who is afraid of the dark. When Amos has to stay home and tend to his cold, he gets a surprise visit from his animal friends. The elephant plays chess with him, the shy penguin sits with him and keeps his feet warm, the owl reads to him, and the rest do their part to take care of him. The award-winning illustrations include recurring details throughout – the red balloon that catches up with the penguin, Amos's teddy bear and bunny slippers, and the little mouse and bird – that Johnny Boo liked to point out.

Johnny Boo's note: It was great. I like when he said, "Hooray! My good friends are here!"

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound
  

My Neighbor Totoro, Vols. 1-4
Author/illustrator: Hayao Miyazaki
Publisher: Viz Media (November 2004–February 2005)
Source: Public library

Move over, Lucy Pevensie. Johnny Boo's new crush is 4-year-old Mei. Mei and her older sister, Satsuki, move to the country with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. They move into a house haunted by soot sprites and soon find the friendly and magical Totoro. The books, which read from right to left, consist of stills from the movie and minimal text. These books have been carried around and read every day this past week.

Johnny Boo's note: I like the Totoro books because they're good and awesome. I liked when the soot sprites were on Mei.

Find them: Amazon (1, 2, 3, 4), IndieBound (1, 2, 3, 4)

Books of the Week: Franny K. Stein, Holler Loudly, Baby Brains, Hide and Seek Mr. Croc

Here are our favorites from the past week (Tintin is in the middle of several chapter books – Hardy Boys, Harry Potter, Encyclopedia Brown, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, etc., etc., – but isn't far enough in any of them to consider it to be a favorite of the week):

Tintin, age 8

Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist: The Fran That Time Forgot
Author/illustrator: Jim Benton
Publisher: Scholastic (October 2005)
Source: Scholastic Book Club/home library

In the fourth installment of the Franny K. Stein series, Franny comes up with a science fair project that for once doesn't pose a threat to anyone. At least, not until Franny decides to use the Time Warp Dessert Plate on herself instead of on her cake. After Franny becomes the laughing stock of the school all because of her ridiculous middle name, she goes back in time to change it to something more befitting a mad scientist and to warn her baby self against those who laugh at her. As often happens when one interferes with time, however, things don't actually end up for the better, and Franny must figure out how to save the world from her future, now-evil self.

Tintin read this book in one sitting. Shortly after, he went to his room, closed the door, cleaned his room (mostly), turned it into a lab, and became a mad scientist. He stayed up until midnight and came up with 10 inventions. The next day he found a faithful lab assistant and came up with 10 more inventions, complete with diagrams. Fortunately, none of these inventions was as terrifying as Franny's remote control scissors or tornado in a jar.

Tintin's note: I like when she goes back in time because it's awesome.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

• Our review of Attack of the 50-Ft. Cupid
• More about Franny at Jim Benton's website
• Franny books, toys, and shirts at Benton Books, including this doorhanger that will be going on Tintin's wish list:

Johnny Boo, age 5

Holler Loudly
Author/illustrator: Cynthia Leitich Smith/Barry Gott
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (November 2010)
Source: Public library

Holler was named for his loud voice, a voice he has trouble controlling. He gets shushed and shunned constantly because of it. He finally decides to keep quiet and learns that he actually likes listening. When a tornado strikes, however, Holler proves to the townspeople that his hollering can actually come in handy sometimes. He learns that there are times for quiet and times for loud. Johnny Boo isn't quite as loud as Holler, but this is still a good lesson for him to learn. As I write this, the two of us are in his room while he sings (after annoying his book-reading brother in the living room).

Johnny Boo's note: I like when Holler screams, "SOOEY!" It's so LOUD!

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

More about Holler Loudly at Cynthia Leitich Smith's website, including some amazing teacher guides.

Baby Brains Superstar
Author/illustrator: Simon James
Publisher: Candlewick (September 2005)
Source: Public library 

Baby Brains Superstar is the second Baby Brains book, about an incredibly smart baby. In the first book Baby Brains starts reading the newspaper the day after he's brought home from the hospital and goes on to become a doctor and a space explorer while still an infant. In Superstar we find out that he's also a musical genius, and while he of course has mastered just about every instrument, like my own baby brains, he prefers the electric guitar. He becomes a famous musician and performs in front of a huge crowd, but he soon realizes that maybe he's not quite ready for the rock star lifestyle. This book, at least for Johnny Boo, is a "Read it again!" book.

Johnny Boo's note: I like it because there are so much brains in there [not really–Ed.]. I like when the baby calls for his mommy.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

More about Simon James

Hide and Seek Mr. Croc
Author/illustrator: Jo Lodge
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books (November 2007)
Source: Half Price Books/home library

Hide and Seek Mr. Croc is a book that opens up into a house, as you can see from the picture at left. Johnny Boo reads it occasionally, but mostly he uses his imagination to make up his own Mr. Croc stories. The book comes with a small Mr. Croc figure that can sit at a kitchen table, in a chair and in a bathtub, sleep on a bed, and hide in a closet. Johnny Boo will sit and play with this for a very long time, which makes this one of the best impulse purchases I've ever made.
 
Johnny Boo's note: It's playable. I like to play with it so much at night. I like when you get to hide Mr. Croc.

Find it: Amazon

Word of the Day/The Big Book of Magical Mix-Ups

It's day 5 of our Word of the Day feature here at LitLad. Here's how it works: The boys and I choose a different book every day and they pick a word from it for which they don't know the meaning. They each write the word at night and the next day we try to use it in conversation as much as we can.

Today's word is stubborn, an adjective meaning "refusing to change one's ideas or listen to others' ideas," as in "Johnny Boo was too stubborn to let Tintin choose the word of the day."

And we're reading The Big Book of Magical Mix-Ups, in which one of the many possible combinations of spells is "Squeeze the blood out of a stone, hide the remote control, make a unicorn sneeze and pat a bald man on the head. This will turn a stubborn babysitter into an exploding doughnut."

The Big Book of Magical Mix-Ups
Author/illustrator: Hilary Robinson/Nick Sharratt
Publisher: Scholastic (March 2010)
Source: Half Price Books/home library

This colorful spell book with split pages lets children turn mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, grandparents, babysitters, teachers and friends into food, animals, articles of clothing and more. There are lots of hilarious (and preposterous) combinations for kids to enjoy.

Some books to go along with The Big Book of Magical Mix-Ups, most of which link to Amazon UK (you can also find them through the link to Half Price Books above): The Big Book of Crazy Mix-Ups, Ketchup on Your Cornflakes?, Mixed Up Fairy Tales, A Cheese and Tomato Spider.

An activity to go along with this book: Make your own mix-up book (something we'll try later today if the boys aren't being stubborn about it).

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

Books of the Week – January 8, 2011

Here are our favorites from the past week:

Tintin, age 7

Babymouse #13: Cupcake Tycoon
Author/illustrator: Jennifer L. Holm/Matthew Holm

The latest installment in the Babymouse series, Cupcake Tycoon is, according to Tintin, the best one yet. Babymouse accidentally destroys the school library and participates in a cupcake fundraiser to help replace the damaged books. Unfortunately for Babymouse, it's a little rough going at first, what with her nemesis coming up with better plans and outselling her. Along the way, however, Babymouse uses her imagination to press on and even realizes that the grand prize maybe isn't the most important part of this whole fundraising thing. Once again, we loved Babymouse's daydreams, plus, cupcakes! And, at the very end of the book, we find out that coming in May are Babymouse #14: Mad Scientist and a new Holm graphic novel series about an amoeba named Squish. Tintin can't wait!

The Adventures of Daniel Boom AKA Loud Boy
Author/illustrator: D.J. Steinberg/Brian Smith

This week Tintin read Sound Off! and Game On! (numbers 1 and 3 in a series of 4), more than once each. Daniel Boom is a boy who lacks an inside voice and learns to use this to his (and the world's) advantage. Loud Boy and four others – his sister Chatterbox, Destructo Kid, Fidget, and Tantrum Girl – soon find that the things for which they usually get in trouble are their biggest strengths. They try to conquer the evil "Old Fogey," who can't stand noisy children and of course is in search of world domination. Johnny Boo picked these out for Tintin and, when Tintin got home from school, these were the library books he went to first (keep in mind, we usually have 50 out at a time).


Johnny Boo, age 5

Astroblast! Code Blue
Author/illustrator: Bob Kolar

Radar the monkey issues an emergency warning and must get his animal crew back to the snack shop before the surprise emergency occurs. Along the way, the reader (if he's in the mood for interacting instead of just listening to the story) must help the crew get back by matching, finding differences, and navigating through mazes. Johnny Boo loves the cute animals and the surprise ending.

I Can Read! The Chronicles of Narnia
Author: Jennifer Frantz

We've got a bit of a Narnia obsession here (and a little crush on the youngest Pevensie, Lucy). Johnny Boo has little Lego people that stand in as the four children and a wardrobe we made from a box. Occasionally he turns the rest of us into Pevensies (he's Lucy, Tintin is Edmund, Daddy is Peter, and I'm Susan). He's read all of the books in this I Can Read! collection and got the newest ones, adaptations of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, for his birthday this week. We saw The Voyage of the Dawn Treader a couple of weeks ago, so it's fresh in his mind, again. These books are based more on the movies than on the books by C.S. Lewis, and are full of photos from the movies. There are words in these that you wouldn't think a preschooler would know how to read, but I think since he's so into Narnia, the books have helped him master them. Also, it's cute to see him read these while his big brother reads the originals.

Other books we've enjoyed (or are still enjoying) this week:

Picture books

Toy Story: Ride 'em, Cowboy!, by Kate McMullan and Lorelay Bove
I'm Bad!, by Kate and Jim McMullan
It's Hard to Be Five, by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell
The Fantastic Mr. Wani, by Kanako Usui
Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!, by Dr. Seuss
Thesaurus Rex, by Laya Steinberg and Debbie Harter
Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse, by Judy Schachner
The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story, by Lemony Snicket and Lisa Brown

Graphic novels

Ed's Terrestrials, by Scott Christian Sava and Diego Jourdan
The World of Quest, by Jason T. Kruse
Little Mouse Gets Ready, by Jeff Smith

Chapter books

Ivy and Bean (books 1 & 2), by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall
Sir Seth Thistlethwaite and the Soothsayer's Shoes, by Richard Thake and Vince Chui
How to Train Your Dragon Book 1, by Cressida Cowell

Chapter book/graphic novel

Pirates of Underwhere, by Bruce Hale and Shane Hillman

To see what other kids have been reading this week, go to Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns.

Green Books Campaign: Erik's Enigma (Ranger in Danger)

From Eco-Libris:

This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 200 bloggers take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 books printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using eco-friendly paper, we hope to raise the awareness of book buyers and encourage everyone to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books. 

The campaign is organized for the second time by Eco-Libris, a green company working to make reading more sustainable. We invite you to join the discussion on "green" books and support books printed in an eco-friendly manner! A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on the Eco-Libris website.

Review by Tintin, age 7

Ranger in Danger: Erik's Enigma
Authors/illustrator: Sean Willmore and Alison Reynolds/Andrew Hopgood
Publisher: Five Mile Press
Printed on 100% recycled paper.

Erik's Enigma is about two rangers who go on different adventures in Scandinavia. This book is a Decide Your Destiny book. That means you get to pick different adventures. Ranger in Danger goes to Scandinavia because he is going to help Rigmor, another ranger, find a Viking named Erik. They think he is doing bad things to the environment. I like this book because I got to choose my own pages and find different endings. My favorite part was when Ranger in Danger's tongue stuck to the ice. I would recommend this book to kids who like to read about rangers and kids who like to save animals.

LitLass's notes: Tintin loves this kind of book and wants to collect them all. Here are the rest of the books in the Ranger in Danger series:

• Diablo's Doom (set in Africa)
• Hernando's Labyrinth (set in South America)
• King Cobra's Curse (set in India)
• Rapscallion's Revenge (set in Australia)
• Takama's Tyranny (set in the Pacific)

And some cool facts we learned from Erik's Enigma:

1. Your tongue will stick to ice if you lick it.
2. A musk ox will attack you if you take a picture of it.
3. About 100 people can fit inside a blue whale's mouth.

A couple of activities to go along with the book:

Since this is a Decide Your Destiny book, we turned a walk at our local nature preserve into our own Decide Your Destiny adventure. Our mini rangers chose which paths to take, but they faced many dangers: sharp cacti, red (blood-stained?) leaves, poisonous berries, protruding limbs threatening to trip them, secret messages scrawled on the wood railings leading to the "Dragon Tower." Fortunately, we made it back safely, but who knows what could have happened if we had chosen a different trail.

Safe and sound back at home, we made Viking helmets. According to Erik's Enigma, Vikings didn't wear horned helmets in battle; the horns were popularized in the 19th century to attract operagoers. So here are the boys, sporting their hornless Viking helmets (which might also double as stay-put yarmulkes come Passover).

To make them, I put an old t-shirt around their heads and duct-taped around their foreheads. I then cut off the extra t-shirt material that was below their foreheads and we duct-taped the rest. They added some gold duct tape for decoration.

Now that you've gotten through this review, please go to the Eco-Libris website to find reviews from the 199 other bloggers participating in the Green Books campaign today. Of course, feel free to comment here first.