Book Review: Invisible Inkling

Review by Tintin, age 9

Invisible Inkling

Author/illustrator: Emily Jenkins/Harry Bliss

Publisher: Balzer + Bray (April 2011)

Hank Wolowitz lives in New York and owns an ice cream shop called The Big Round Pumpkin with his mom, dad, and his sister, Nadia. One day at the shop, Hank feels something under the sink. It feels furry. He finds out it is an animal called a bandapat, and it is invisible and can speak. The bandapat's name is Inkling. Inkling's three favorite foods are squash, pumpkin, and pizza. I liked that the book was silly. My favorite part was when Inkling jumped on Mrs. Cherry. I would recommend this book to children who have invisible friends.

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Johnny Boo (6) says, "My mother read this book to me twice because I liked it so much."

The Big Round Pumpkin is loosely based on Blue Marble, an ice cream shop in Brooklyn. Here are Tintin and Johnny Boo at the Blue Marble stand at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn:

Invisible Inkling, about a boy starting fourth grade without his best friend and dealing with a bully who takes his lunch, is the first book in the Invisible Inkling series. The second book, coming out July 24, is all about Halloween:

Play, Louis, Play! and Our New Book Club

Play, Louis, Play! The True Story of a Boy and His Horn
Author/illustrator: Muriel Harris Weinstein/Frank Morrison
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's (December 2011)
Categories: Biography; Chapter Book

This is the story of Louis Armstrong's childhood, as told by his first horn, which little Louis purchased from a New Orleans hock shop for $5. Not only did the boys enjoy the book, but they now want to learn how to play the trumpet and go to the Louis Armstrong House Museum in New York. And one of them spent two days looking up Louis Armstrong music on MOG.

The boys and I started a new book club, modeled after an idea at The First Grade Parade, and Play, Louis, Play! was our first book. We called our book club the Pop Bag Book Club because one boy wanted it to be called the Popcorn Book Club and the other wanted it to be called the Brown Bag Book Club. So we compromised.

Here are our popcorn bags, with the boys' thinking maps attached. On the thinking maps, we have characters, setting, main idea, and favorite part. I had Johnny Boo dictate to me. We talked about what they'd written down, and anything else about the book, New Orleans, jazz, and racial discrimination that came up.

Here's Tintin eating his popcorn and figuring out where New Orleans is and how far away it is from the Louis Armstrong House Museum in New York:

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:

Word of the Week/Pippi Longstocking

It's time for our Word of the Week feature here at LitLad. Here's how it works: Every week the boys and I read a book from which they pick their favorite-sounding unfamiliar word. They each write down the word and we try to use it in conversation as much as we can throughout the week. According to The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, "the only words children learn having heard them only once are the words you wish you had never said in front of them."

This week's word is ignorant, an adjective meaning "lacking knowledge, information or awareness in general or about something in particular."

And we're reading Pippi Longstocking, in which a policeman says to the school-eschewing Pippi, "Yes, but just think how embarrassing it will be for you to be so ignorant."

Pippi Longstocking

Author/illustrator: Astrid Lindgren/Nancy Seligsohn

Publisher: Scholastic

Source: Public library

Pippi is a free-spirited girl who lives by herself (unless you count her monkey, Mr. Nilsson, or the horse that she lifts over her porch whenever she wants to ride him). She gets herself into all sorts of interesting situations:playing tag with policemen, performing circus acts better than the actual circus performers, dancing with burglars, and rescuing children from a burning skyscraper. Her neighbors, Tommy and Annika, join Pippi on many of her adventures while hearing her probably not-always-true tales of her family and of people in the faraway lands she visited when aboard her father's ship.

Tintin's note: My favorite part is when she beat the strongest man in the world for $100.

Johnny Boo's note: It's so great and rockin'! I like it because I like when she says that man has big ears.

Because it's been a couple of weeks since we've posted our favorite titles, here's a short list of what we've been enjoying lately:

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's Review: Hot Hands and the Weirdo Winter

Review by Johnny Boo, age 5

Hot Hands and the Weirdo Winter
Author/illustrator: Derrick Brown/Matthew Carver
Publisher: Write Fuzzy (January 2010)
Source: The publisher

Hot Hands freaks everyone out because her gloves are made out of metal and her hands are fire. A little boy went to school and he fell in love with Margo. The boy made a snowman for Margo because when she builds one the snowman always burns out. I like this book because it's so awesome and great and rockin'. It teaches me that you should be a friend. My favorite part is when the boy met Margo. The art was so great that I freaked out. I would recommend this book to kids who have hot hands.

LitLass's note: Ralph is the new kid at school. Until he meets Margo, or Hot Hands as everyone calls her, he doesn't have any friends. Margo's hands are made out of fire and she's shunned by her classmates because of it. Ralph doesn't care that Margo is different. In fact, he thinks being weird is good (he'd like Johnny Boo). He finds lots of good things about Margo, and about her hot hands. He says to her, "I would never be afraid of the dark if I could carry around the sun!" Together Ralph and Margo learn what it means to be a true friend.

At the end of Hot Hands is a picture of Margo with a blank face. As soon as we finished reading the book the first time, Johnny Boo ran to the office with it and made two copies. Here are his drawings:

Ralph and Margo make a caramel popcorn snowman together. Tintin (8) made our popcorn, Johnny Boo helped make the caramel, and Tintin and I made the snowmen (our recipe). Johnny Boo would have helped with a snowman, but he was nursing his own hot hands after touching the stovetop. He was much better after having his snowman.

Thanks to Write Fuzzy for the book! We'll have a review of another Write Fuzzy book, also by Derrick Brown, up soon.

Find Hot Hands and the Weirdo Winter: Amazon, Write Fuzzy

Word of the Week/Ramona the Brave

It's time for our Word of the Week feature here at LitLad. Here's how it works: Every Sunday the boys and I read a book from which they pick their favorite-sounding unfamiliar word. They each write the word that night and we try to use it in conversation as much as we can throughout the week. According to The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, "the only words children learn having heard them only once are the words you wish you had never said in front of them."

This week's word is spunky, an adjective meaning "lively, determined, and brave."

And we're reading Ramona the Brave, in which it says: She was determined that today would be different. She would make it different. She was her father's spunky gal, wasn't she?

Ramona the Brave
Author/illustrator: Beverly Cleary/Tracy Dockray
Publisher: HarperCollins (March 1975)
Source: Public library

Ramona is now in first grade, and although she can still be a pest at times, she's trying hard to grow up. She learns to read more grown-up words; she gets her own room (with imaginary monsters); and she becomes the bravest girl in the first grade, all while getting into the usual amount of trouble.

Tintin's note: My favorite part was when Ramona threw her shoe at the dog. I thought the dog might think it was stinky.

Johnny Boo's note: I liked when Ramona freaked out when she saw the dog.

And Tintin, from another room: He always says "freaked out." Don't believe him!

Johnny Boo, later: I liked when Ramona said, "Guts!"

Johnny Boo's drawing of the two Quimby sisters, with cut-off arms:

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Books of the Week: Magic Tree House, The Scrambled States of America, Jumanji, Zathura

Here are our favorites from the past week:

Tintin, age 8


Magic Tree House #29: Christmas in Camelot
Author/illustrator: Mary Pope Osborne/Sal Murdocca
Publisher: Random House (October 2001)
Source: Public library

In this Magic Tree House fantasy adventure, Jack and Annie go on a quest to save Camelot from being forgotten forever. They must solve the rhymes of the Christmas knight; rescue Lancelot, Percival, and Galahad from the Otherworld; and bring back the Water of Memory and Imagination. Of course, there are a couple of obstacles standing in their way, but Jack and Annie are experienced adventurers. Christmas in Camelot doesn't have a whole lot to do with Christmas, so it's a good read for Magic Tree House fans any time of the year.

Tintin's note: I like Christmas in Camelot because I like how they go on the adventure and see four dragons.

Find it: Amazon

Johnny Boo, age 5


The Scrambled States of America; The Scrambled States of America Talent Show
Author/illustrator: Laurie Keller
Publisher: Henry Holt (October 1998; August 2008)
Source: Home library; public library

It all begins when Kansas complains to Nebraska about how boring it is to stay in one place all the time. Nebraska agrees and they get some of their neighbors to help plan a party for all 50 states. The states soon decide to switch places with one another for a little while to see what it's like living somewhere else. Other than Nevada and Mississippi, who fall in love, the states realize they were better off before. In Talent Show, the states get together once again, but this time they wisely go home after some much needed laughter.

Johnny Boo's note: I liked it because there was a lot of freaking out in it.

Find them: Amazon (Scrambled States; Scrambled States Talent Show)

Tintin & Johnny Boo


Jumanji
Author/illustrator: Chris Van Allsburg
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (April 1981)
Source: Public library

When two bored children find a board game in the park across the street, they have no idea just how un-boring their lives are about to become. Peter and Judy take turns rolling the dice, but with just about every move comes yet another scary situation. They finally finish the game and realize it's not so bad to be bored once in a while.

Johnny Boo's note: It was a great jungle adventure and I liked it so much that I freaked out.

Find it: Amazon



Zathura
Author/illustrator: Chris Van Allsburg
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (October 2002)
Source: Public library

In this followup to Jumanji, Peter and Judy's neighbors find the board game after Peter and Judy drop it back off at the park. Brothers Walter and Danny are fighting but then see the game and bring it home. Instead of playing Jumanji, they find a space-themed board game hiding underneath. As in Jumanji, Zathura comes to life, and the boys face danger with every move. They stop their bickering and learn to work together, but will a black hole tear them apart forever?

Tintin's note: I liked when they were in the spaceship and the robot came alive and they were scared. I liked when the boy was in the black hole.

Find it: Amazon

Books of the Week: The Dragon of Doom; Mother & Son Tales; My Father's Dragon; Pearl and Wagner

Here are our favorites from last week:

Tintin, age 8

The Dragon of Doom (Moongobble and Me)
Author/illustrator: Bruce Coville/Katherine Coville
Publisher: Aladdin (January 2005)
Source: Public library

In part 1 of a trilogy, Young Edward gets a job helping Moongobble the Magician, who happens to need a lot of help, seeing as how all of his spells keep turning things into cheese. When Moongobble fails to prove he is good enough to join the Society of Magicians, the head of the society gives him one more chance: Moongobble must face the Dragon of Doom and bring back the Golden Acorns of Alcoona. Edward, of course, insists on coming along, but can he help the magician before being turned into cheese?

Tintin's note: My favorite part was when they found out that the Dragon of Doom was little.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

The Barefoot Book of Mother and Son Tales
Author/illustrator: Josephine Evetts-Secker/Helen Cann
Publisher: Barefoot Books (February 1999)
Source: Public library

Ten tales of mothers and sons from around the world are retold in this book. Each tale tells of the bond between mother and son. There are giantesses and ogres, a goddess and a genie. And boys named Snot-Nose and Cinderello. At the end of the book is a notes section, which covers such topics as the mother-son bond, the mother and luck, separation, and recurring symbols. Tintin has enjoyed listening to me read these tales to him, but he's also brought the book up to his room to read by himself.

Tintin's note: My favorite story was "Snot-Nose" because he kept doing funny things with the ogres.

Find it: Amazon

Johnny Boo, age 5

Three Tales of My Father's Dragon
Author/illustrator: Ruth Stiles Gannett/Ruth Chrisman Gannett
Publisher: Random House (1998)
Source: Home library

Originally published between 1948 and 1951, these three tales--My Father's Dragon, Elmer and the Dragon, and The Dragons of Blueland--tell the story of Elmer Elevator and his new friend, Boris the flying dragon. Elmer has always wanted to fly. When a stray cat tells him of a flying dragon in a faraway land, Elmer sets off to find the dragon, save him from his captors, and fly off with him. Elmer goes through a lot to save the poor dragon, but once he finally does the adventure is not yet over. They face a terrible storm and are forced to land on Feather Island, where the king is dying of the island disease, and they must save Boris's family, who are trapped in a cave. I read this with Tintin a couple of years ago, and it became one of his favorite books. Now Johnny Boo has fallen in love with it, as I knew he would.

Johnny Boo's note: I thought My Father's Dragon was great and awesome because I like when his father rescued the dragon because it was a good part and the people who saw the dragon freaked out.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Pearl and Wagner: Two Good Friends
Author/illustrator: Kate McMullan/R.W. Alley
Publisher: Dial (September 2003); Grosset & Dunlap (September 2011)
Source: Public library

Pearl and Wagner are best friends. In each of this book's three chapters, they prove what good friends they really are, whether they are losing together at the science fair or making up with each other after one hurts the other's feelings. Not only is this a good book about friendship, it's also one that boosts Johnny Boo's confidence in reading.

Johnny Boo's note: I like when Pearl said, "Do you like my new green boots, Wagner?" It was great and awesome.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

8-Year-Old Boy's Review: The Diamond Tree & Margaret the Medusa

Reviews by Tintin, age 8

The Diamond Tree
Author: Michael Matson
Publisher: Untreed Reads Publishing (July 2010)
Source: The publisher

The Diamond Tree is about a prince [Prince Dall] who goes on a quest to find the diamond tree to break the spell and turn it back into a princess. Her tears turn into diamonds. He goes to a castle and the angry prince likes riddles, so he gave a riddle to him. And then he solves it and then the Prince of Rage said, "Don't say the name!" And then he ran and then he fell. I like the adventure that [Prince Dall] went on. My favorite part was when the Prince of Rage fell into the moat. My favorite character was the Prince of Rage because he was silly. I would recommend this book to people who like going on scary adventures.

LitLass's note: Prince Dall is the youngest of four brothers. When it comes time to prove himself and win honor, the prince finds out there's nothing left to accomplish. His three older brothers have already defeated the two-headed dragon, the giant, and the evil wizard. Dall soon receives some information from an old woman, however, that convinces him there might just be one more exciting quest left for him. The Diamond Tree has the perfect amount of adventure for an 8-year-old boy and makes for a great read-aloud.

Find it: Amazon (Kindle), The Untreed Reads Store (PDF, EPUB, Palm Reader)

Margaret the Medusa
Author/illustrator: Sunny C. Griffith/L. Aerin Collett
Publisher: Untreed Reads Publishing (February 2011)
Source: The publisher

Margaret the Medusa is about a medusa named Margaret who looks ugly and can't find any friends. I like when Margaret says to the boy, "I can't turn you into stone!" and the boy says, "I'm already in stone. I'm a gargoyle!" And then Margaret and the gargoyle became friends. I like how they made friends. I would recommend this book to people who like ancient monsters.

LitLass's note: Margaret just wants to fit in at school and have friends, but no one likes her. No matter how much she tries to be like everyone else, she's still a medusa, with snakes for hair and eyes that'll turn people into stone if she removes her glasses. Her classmates are scared of her, except for one boy who shows Margaret that it's okay to be herself. Tintin likes anything having to do with Greek mythology, so this one was a winner.

Find it: Amazon (Kindle), The Untreed Reads Store (PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Microsoft Reader)

Thank you to Untreed Reads Publishing for providing these books for review!

Books of the Week: Disney's Storybook Collection; The Companions; Fortunately, Unfortunately; Ricky Vargas: The Funniest Kid in the World

Here are our favorites from last week:

Tintin, age 8 & Johnny Boo, age 5

Disney's Storybook Collection
Editor/designer: Nancy Parent/Todd Taliaferro
Publisher: Disney Enterprises, Inc. (1998)
Source: Public library

Disney's Storybook Collection includes 23 Disney stories, starting with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and ending with "Three Little Pigs." With colorful illustrations and gilded pages (a plus for Johnny Boo), the collection makes for a great read-aloud, although both boys insisted on reading it themselves.

Tintin's note: I like Disney's Storybook Collection because it has lots of good adventures and it's cartoony.

The Companions
Author/illustrator: Lygia Bojunga-Nunes
Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux (November 1989)
Source: Public library

Three animals meet and become fast friends. One has been abandoned and the other two have run away. The rabbit is afraid of being alone again and can hardly believe his luck when he finally finds others who want to be around him. But the animals' fun doesn't last long--the dog is found and brought back to her owner and the bear is caught and brought back to the zoo, where he falls in love with a selfish zebra. The Companions is a touching story of friendship that shows just how much these three friends will risk to stay together.

Tintin's note: I like how they became friends, and it shows a lot of friendship.


Johnny Boo, age 5

Fortunately, Unfortunately
Author/illustrator: Michael Foreman
Publisher: Andersen Press (January 2011)
Source: Public library

A monkey named Milo is asked by his mother to take an umbrella back to his grandmother. Unfortunately, several things go wrong along the way to Granny's house, such as when it begins to rain and when Milo falls off a cliff, gets swallowed by a whale, lands in a lost world atop a volcano, etc. But fortunately a lot of good things happen to Milo, too, and he finally ends up at Granny's house. The umbrella's a little beat up, but at least he gets to eat cake and enjoy it with some friends he made on his adventure. Johnny Boo had me read this over and over again. Fortunately, it was so good that I didn't mind.

Johnny Boo's note: I think the whole book was good and marvelous.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Ricky Vargas: The Funniest Kid in the World
Author/illustrator: Alan Katz/Stacy Curtis
Publisher: Scholastic (June 2011)
Source: Scholastic book fair/home library

Ricky Vargas is a funny kid. Funny enough to make kids snort milk out of their noses, even when they're not drinking milk. Ricky is funny at the spelling bee, during class picture time, and when he creates a new language, but he quickly learns that it's not always good to be funny. With three short stories and illustrations that take up much of each page, Ricky Vargas is perfect for readers who aren't quite ready for (or are sometimes intimidated by) longer chapter books.

Johnny Boo's note: I liked it so much that I laughed.

Word of the Week/Lester Fizz, Bubble-Gum Artist

It's time for our Word of the Week feature here at LitLad. Here's how it works: Every Sunday the boys and I read a book from which they pick their favorite-sounding unfamiliar word. They each write the word that night and we try to use it in conversation as much as we can throughout the week. According to The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, "the only words children learn having heard them only once are the words you wish you had never said in front of them."

This week's word is flabbergasted, an adjective meaning "shocked; surprised."

And we're reading Lester Fizz, Bubble-Gum Artist, in which Lester's family is flabbergasted when he wins a blue ribbon for his bubble-gum art.

Lester Fizz, Bubble-Gum Artist
Author/illustrator: Ruth Spiro/Thor Wickstrom
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (August 2008)
Source: Public library

Lester's family is full of artists: Winslow and Cornell, Vincent and Claude, and on and on. Lester's artwork pales in comparison to that of his talented cousins, aunts, and uncles. He wants to be an artist, too, but the only thing he's good at is blowing bubbles. When Uncle Edgar gives Lester some advice, Lester listens, and all of a sudden he realizes that he can turn his bubble-blowing into an art form. Lester practices his newfound art, but when his tooth falls out during his rendition of Rodin's The Thinker, his bubble bursts and his confidence goes with it. After a visit and some reassurance from the tooth fairy (Edgar Degas in a tutu), Lester is ready to face his family and impress them with his bubble-gum art.

Tintin's note: I liked how he blew all the bubbles. They were like artists' paintings.

Johnny Boo's note: It was good and I freaked out.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Books of the Week: Chicken Butt!, Chicken Butt's Back!, Kindergarten Rocks!

Both boys are still obsessed with Maurice Sendak's Nutshell Library books (see our review), and with the Carole King album that goes with them. Here are our other favorites from the past week:

Tintin, age 8, and Johnny Boo, age 5

Chicken Butt!; Chicken Butt's Back!
Author/illustrator: Erica S. Perl/Henry Cole
Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers (April 2009; April 2011)
Source: Public library

These books are about one of the boys' favorite topics: butts (with a few other body parts and some underwear thrown in). In Chicken Butt!, a boy tells chicken jokes (starting with the classic "You know what? What? Chicken butt!") to get his dad's attention, pestering him until he practically loses his mind. In Chicken Butt's Back!, the same boy tries again at the grocery store with his mother, who is by now familiar with his jokes and is already annoyed with chicken butts. Fortunately for the boy, he finds a new way to trick his mom into listening to his jokes, and all sorts of animal butts are mentioned. Fortunately for me, my boys were happy enough to read the jokes in the books and not repeat them too often.

Tintin's note: I liked when his mom got confused about all the butts.

Find them: Amazon (Chicken Butt!, Chicken Butt's Back!), IndieBound (Chicken Butt!, Chicken Butt's Back!)

Johnny Boo, age 5

Kindergarten Rocks!
Author/illustrator: Katie Davis
Publisher: Scholastic (2011)
Source: Home library/gift from preschool teachers

Dexter is about to enter kindergarten, but his stuffed dog, Rufus, is a bit scared and nervous (of course, Dexter is completely calm). Rufus and Dexter are lucky, though, because Dexter's big sister, Jessie, has already been to kindergarten and tells them that kindergarten rocks. Whenever Dexter brings up something that Rufus is nervous about, Jessie is there to reassure them. Johnny Boo took this out of the library, and shortly after he received it from his teachers. He was so excited, he read it on the way home from school and a few other times that day. And the day after. And the day after that. He was so excited, he had to go to the library just to find more books by Katie Davis, and we ended up bringing home Who Hops? and Who Hoots?, which he read in the car on the way home. Also, this Kindergarten Rocks! video didn't hurt.

Johnny Boo's note: It was good and useful and great and fantastic.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Books of the Week: I Saw Esau, Mercy Watson, I Broke My Trunk, The Nutshell Library

Here are our favorites from the past week:

Tintin, age 8

I Saw Esau: The Schoolchild's Pocket Book
Editors/illustrator: Iona & Peter Opie/Maurice Sendak
Publisher: Candlewick Press (October 1992); first in 1947 by Williams and Northgate as I Saw Esau: Traditional Rhymes of Youth
Source: Public library

I Saw Esau is a collection of 174 rhymes chanted by generations of children. As Iona Opie says in her introduction, these rhymes "pack a punch" and are "a feast of laughter." Ranging from insults and teasing to counting-out and game rhymes, the book is a great resource for bullies everywhere, and a humorous read for everyone else. Sendak's illustrations add to the fun. And, for the adult interested in folklore or etymology, the notes section explains the origins and variations of many of the book's rhymes.

Tintin's note: I liked it because it has different levels of rhymes and it's silly.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Mercy Watson Books 1-6
Author/illustrator: Kate DiCamillo/Chris Van Dusen
Publisher: Candlewick Press (2005-2009)
Source: Public library

Thought of as a porcine wonder to some, Mercy Watson is a pig who likes toast with a great deal of butter on it. Her love of buttered toast sometimes gets her into trouble, as it does when she consumes a great amount of other people's buttered popcorn at the drive-in in Something Wonky This Way Comes, and it sometimes helps her solve problems, as it does when she wakes up to find toast to eat but instead captures a thief stealing her precious toaster and other kitchen appliances in Mercy Watson Fights Crime. The Mercy Watson series is a hit with both boys, and it was the obsession of the week for Johnny Boo last week. They're easy reads for 2nd grader Tintin, but they're so hilarious to him that he doesn't care.

Tintin's note: I think it should be a movie.

Find them: Amazon


Johnny Boo, age 5

I Broke My Trunk!
Author/illustrator: Mo Willems
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children (February 2011)
Source: Public library

Gerald the elephant has broken his trunk. He can't wait to tell Piggie how it happened, but it's such a long, crazy story and Piggie gets a little frustrated waiting for the end of it. When Piggie finally hears what happened, she gets as excited to tell others as Gerald was to tell her and ends up with an equally crazy story of her own. Johnny Boo loves reading the part of Gerald while I read Piggie's lines, and we both think the illustrations are especially funny.

Johnny Boo's note: It was good and useful. My favorite part is when Elephant and Piggie broke their trunk and snout and the squirrel said, "What happened to your snout?" and Piggie said, "It's a long, crazy story."

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

The Nutshell Library (Alligators All Around: An Alphabet; Chicken Soup With Rice: A Book of Months; One Was Johnny: A Counting Book; Pierre: A Cautionary Tale
Author/illustrator: Maurice Sendak
Publisher: Harper & Row (1962)
Source: Public library

In these four small books, Sendak teaches the alphabet, the months of the year, counting, and the importance of caring. They are amazing books on their own but even better accompanied by Carole King's Really Rosie CD, which includes the four Nutshell Library books in song. Get them all--after a couple of weeks of reading the books and listening to the songs, we haven't tired of them. And check out our Word of the Week post on Chicken Soup With Rice.

Johnny Boo's note: They were good writing. I like it because there was lots of freakin' out.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Word of the Week/Squirrelly Gray

It's time for our Word of the Week feature here at LitLad. Here's how it works: Every Sunday the boys and I read a book from which they pick their favorite-sounding unfamiliar word. They each write the word that night and we try to use it in conversation as much as we can throughout the week. According to The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, "the only words children learn having heard them only once are the words you wish you had never said in front of them."

This week's word is succulent, a verb meaning "juicy; moist and tasty."

And we're reading Squirrelly Gray, in which Hungry Fox says to Squirrelly Gray, "Are you in need of assistance, my succulent young fellow?" 

Squirrelly Gray
Author/illustrator: James Kochalka
Publisher: Random House Children's Books (August 2007)
Source: Public library

Squirrelly Gray lives in a boring, colorless world where his only entertainment is the static on his TV. He's so bored that he thinks wiggling his teeth is fun. When those teeth fall out, he hides them under his pillow and tries to go to sleep. But then he hears someone calling for help and finds the Tooth Fairy stuck in a spider web. Squirrelly rescues her, and in return she gives him a magic acorn. With no teeth to crack open the acorn, Squirrelly tries to think of a way to find out what makes this acorn so magical, but can he figure out just what to do before Hungry Fox eats him? Bonus: This book is by the author/illustrator of Johnny Boo, one of our favorite graphic novel series! 


Tintin's note: My favorite part is when the hungry fox cracked the magic acorn and there was a rainbow.

Johnny Boo's note: I liked it because it was great and awesome, and I liked it because there was freakin' out.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Chicken Soup With Rice: A Book of Months

It's time for our Word of the Week feature here at LitLad. Here's how it works: Every Sunday the boys and I read a book from which they pick their favorite-sounding unfamiliar word. They each write the word that night and we try to use it in conversation as much as we can throughout the week. According to The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, "the only words children learn having heard them only once are the words you wish you had never said in front of them."

This week's word is concocting, a verb meaning "preparing by mixing ingredients."

And we're reading Chicken Soup With Rice, in which it says, "In May I truly think it best to be a robin lightly dressed concocting soup inside my nest."

Chicken Soup With Rice: A Book of Months
Author/illustrator: Maurice Sendak
Publisher: HarperCollins (1962)
Source: Public library

In Chicken Soup With Rice, each month gets its own poem about chicken soup with rice and a picture to go with it. The little boy in the book imagines how he'll eat or serve chicken soup with rice for each month of the year: He eats it while sliding on ice in December and swimming under water in July; in June he pours chicken soup over his roses to pep them up; and he imagines himself as a whale spouting hot soup in November. All we need now is the song by Carole King to go along with the book.

Tintin's note: My favorite part is when the boy was eating chicken soup with rice with a snowman who was eating cake.

Johnny Boo's note: It was good and I liked it so much that I freaked out. I recommend this book to people who like freak-out stuff. 


Find it: Amazon, IndieBound