Book Review - LITTLE BLUE TRUCK

Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

Ages: Newborn-6

My mom got this book for the Little Librarian Dude's 2nd birthday. She gave it to him early and we only read it a few times before packing it up to move across the country. That was over a month ago. This week, I unpacked it and he was soooo excited! "My blue truck book!" "Read it please, Mama!" How could I resist. Especially when the book is as cute as this one!

The little blue truck is a friendly little guy, greeting all the barnyard animals with a "Beep! Beep!" as he passes. But, then it begins to rain and a big, grumpy dump truck comes tearing down the road claiming he is too important to greet the animals. When the dump truck gets stuck in the mud, the animals refust to help him, but along comes Little Blue. When he can't get the dump truck out of the mud on his own, the animals come to his rescue and the dump truck learns "a lot depends on a helping hand from a few good friends."

I have so much to say about this adorable little book, but I'll try to contain my comments. The book is filled with a symphony of animal and truck sounds. The text is happy and bouncy (kind of like the truck) and rhyme-y (so not a word). And Jill McElmurry's illustrations, oh my heck, so cute. They look like something out of the 50's, painted, kinda folksy. Love them! Both the Little Librarian Dude and Little Lady Librarian commented on the cute animals (the LLD loves the frog, the LLL prefers the pig). What I love most, of course, is the message. It's simple enough that I can discuss it with the LLD -- why it's important to be nice. The LLL and I talked a little more about serving others and the way it makes us and those around us feel. Who knew a little board book could spark such deep discussion?! What's even better is that the message is delivered by animals, a truck and a dump truck -- only the LLD's favorite things!

Read this book! It's adorable. Go. Right now. Get it. It's a great one to add to your book collection when your little ones are wee little newborns because, I promise, it will still be on their bookshelves when they're toddlers and preschoolers. I love it when you find a book that you love and, more importantly, that your kids love so much they sleep with it. I only wish I had discovered it sooner!

Friday Fave - PICKLE-CHIFFON PIE

Pickle-Chiffon Pie written and illustrated by Jolly Roger Bradfield
Ages: 3-8 (but I'd say even older kids will enjoy this)

The king of a faraway land loves pickle-chiffon pie which his wife, the queen, lovingly makes for him each day. But here's the problem, the king never gets to enjoy the entire pickle-chiffon pie because he always has guests a dinner -- dozens of princes all trying to woo his daughter, the lovely and kind princess. So, to solve his problem, the kind chooses three of the princes and sends them into the forest for three days with a mission -- find "the most unusual, the most marvelous, the MOST WONDERFUL THING' and bring it back to the king."  The prince who wins the test will marry the princess. The three very different princes take off on their quests into the forest, which is full of Gazoos, Dimdoozles, witches, ogres, mice who paint and other magical (and talented) creatures. But, the gift that ultimately wins the princess, may surprise you.

Oh how we love this book! A friend gave it to the Little Lady Librarian for her third birthday, I think we read it 50 times that week, and atleast once a week since. Even though she can practically recite the entire book by memory she still loves it, and it's one that I don't mind reading to her over... and over... and over. Now, the Little Librarian Dude is getting to the age where he too can enjoy this story. It's full of whimsical creatures and funny words (like Gazoo and Snozzle) and the illustrations are just fabulous! They're colorful and cartoonish -- everything you could ask for in a children's book. What's very best about this fairytale though is it's reach. Sure, it's about a princess and marriage, but it's not so lovey dovey, ooey gooey that a little boy won't enjoy it. There are princes and ogres, which are appealing to boys, yet there's no blood-shed or violence (which is appealing to mom). It's a story that stretches the imagination, while teaching a valuable lesson about kindness and love.

I can honestly say that this is absolutely on my list of TOP 5 FAVORITE CHILDRENS BOOKS. It may even be in the top three. I promise once you read this book to your little librarian they'll beg you to read it again, and again... and maybe even once more.

The LLL has asked on several occasions to make pickle-chiffon pie. To be honest, I'm not sure I'd be willing to try it. So, I found this one. It's a No Bake Lemon-Lime Chiffon Pie. No pickles, but it is green. Should do the trick. I think we'll make it this week after reading the book.

Book Review - THOMAS-SAURUS REX

Thomas-Saurus Rex by Rev. W. Audry
Ages 4-8

The Little Librarian Dude, like most two-year-olds, loves Thomas the Tank Engine. Actually, to be more specific, he much prefers the obscure Thomas characters. Sure, he likes to play with Thomas and Percy, but he'd rather play with a Bertie, Ben, Alfie or Fergus over the main characters. He's funny like that.  He found Thomas-saurus Rex at the library and we just had to get it! It includes "Thomas trains" (as he calls them) and dinosaurs. Perfect!

Stepney, one of the oldest engines on the island of Sodor, is taking museum cars to the Museum of Natural History. Some of the younger trains mock this responsibility calling it "just a lot of old nonsense." On the way to the museum Stepney breaks down and Thomas is asked to help him. But Thomas, always worried about what others will think, doesn't want to be seen pushing dinosaur bones and an old treasure chest. He's not only concerned about the backlash from the other engines, but from the children too. But when he arrives, he's surprised by the greeting he receives and learns that old doesn't always mean boring.

As with all the Thomas books, this one has a good little message. But, also as with all Thomas books, it's very wordy and did NOT keep the LLD's attention. He made it through about the fourth page before getting up to play with his monsters trucks. I kept reading for a few minutes before asking if he just wanted to come look at the pictures with me. That was more his cup of tea (or cocoa). Maybe we'll just stick to Thomas toys for now.

Book Review - CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett

Ages: 4-8

I can remember sitting with my first grade class, mesmerized by this book as our librarian read it to us (back in the days when elementary school kids when to library once a week). It brought a smile to my face as I read it to my kids, seeing that same mesmerized look on their faces. After we finished I couldn't help but check the copyright date -- 1978. That's the same year my husband was born. That's pretty impressive, but not surprising that more than 30 years later, this book is still relevant (and even a movie).

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is a modern tall tale about the town of Chewandswallow. It's like any other town, except rather than getting meals from a grocery store, the residents wait for their food to fall from the sky. Three times a day, they enjoy things like pancake and syrup rains, falling hot dogs and soda, hamburger winds, a Jell-O sunrise. Life in the tiny town was delicious until the weather turns bad and the food gets out of control -- becoming bigger and erratic. Eventually, the food grows so large it forces the people out of Chewandswallow.

If nothing else, this silliness of this book will keep your little librarian intrigued. The idea of food falling from the sky had The Little Lady Librarian giggling with glee. The story is so simply told, yet so full of detail and imagination. The illustrations by Ron Barrett switch from black and white to vibrant colors. Each page is full of teeny, humorous, sometimes ironic details -- like a bird eating an egg, a sanitation truck made of a giant fork, spoon, plate and tupperware-type bowl, or a tomato tornado (especially hilarious to the LLL).

The Little Librarian Dude didn't sit through the entire book. He made it about halfway before moving on to his monster trucks, but occasionally stopped back in to check out the pictures and ask questions, much to the chagrin of his sister who was in no made to wait for him to get all his answers before moving on to the next page.

This is definitely a classic and a must-read for every child. I would just suggest waiting until they're atleast pre-school age for them to really enjoy it.

When we read memorable books such as this, I always love to think up little activities we can do to go along with the book. It always makes it more fun! Here's a few ideas:

-Make extra LARGE food: pancakes, cookies
-Make peanut butter sandwich sailboats
-Keep a weather chart or weather jars
      *Weather chart --- make a weeklong calendar and have your little one draw a picture representing the   weather for each day (sun, cloud, rain, etc.)
      *Weather jars --- using clear cups or canning jars, mark each to represent a type of weather (sunny, rainy, thunderstorms). Then, using little pom poms, buttons or pennies, have your little librarian keep track of the weather over a week or month by dropping a pom pom into each type of weather as it occurs. At the end of the week/month, see which type of weather you experienced most frequently.

Friday Fave -- FIREBEARS THE RESCUE TEAM

In honor of The Little Librarian Dude' 2nd birthday today, our very first Friday Fave will feature his very favorite book: Firebears the Rescue Team by Rhonda Gowler Greene.

Before I begin, can I just say that I am schocked that the Little Dude is already two?! Really, where did the time go? Two is a full-fledged toddler, he's not a baby anymore. When I see him run and jump and talk and annoy his sister I am just in awe of how quickly he got to that point. I guess all moms feel that way. I think I'm having a harder time with the whole "growing up" thing this time around. With The Little Lady Librarian (my first) I was just always so excited for her to get to the next phase -- rolling, crawling, talking, walking. But with my little guy, it's just different. Maybe because I've been through it before. Don't get me wrong, I love, love, love the excitement that each stage brings. Every day is an adventure with the Little Dude, it just seems like he wasn't a baby very long.

Firebears the Rescue Team by Rhonda Gowler Greene

Ages: Infant-Early Elem. School

Alright, now that I have that out of my system, on to the book. I got "Firebears" about a year ago at a Scholastic Book Sale. The first week we had this book the LLD and I read it together ATLEAST 20 times (not to mention he read it a handful of times with Daddy). After that, it was his go-to bedtime book. Now we read it about once a week, but he always has it nearby. And I don't even THINK of traveling without it!

The firebears are relaxing around Fire Station Number Eight when the alarm rings. They thrown on their fire gear and they're off, racing through town "sirens wailing up and down." From saving a cat in a tree, to putting out a store-fire, to rescuing a mother and her baby from a house fire, the firebears are always "Racing, rushing to the scene. Fire bears the rescue team!" After a busy day of hero work, the firebears return to Fire Station Number Eight.

The little dude loves any and all things with wheels and an engine, but especially firetrucks. His eyes light up when he sees the engine speed through town, carrying the brave firebears! I love how involved he gets in the book, adding his own siren sound effects, shouting "HOORAY!" when the firebears rescue the puppy and telling them "night night" at the very end. The story is rhythmic and holds his attention to the very last word. As for the illustrations, I read they're "rendered oils on illustration board," I'm not an artist and definitely don't claim to know much about various illustration methods, but here's what I do know: they're darn cute! The animals in the book have very exxaggerated noses and teeny little eyes. Each page is full of fun little details, yet still clean and simple enough to not overwhelm the LLD.

This is a must read for all Little Librarian Dudes!! For my age recommendation, I suggested Infant-Kindergarten. I really think the rhythm of the story and colorful pictures make it a wonderful book to read with to even the littlest librarians, yet the story is still age-appropriate for a kindergartener learning to read on his own, or even a 2nd grader taking a field trip to a fire station.

Book Review - BURGER BOY

The Little Lady Librarian is a big kid. At least that's what she tells me. She's four now and four makes her big. And four-year-olds certainly don't need naps or quiet time. So, while the Little Librarian Dude (who will be two tomorrow, and definitely not a big kid) naps, the LLL and I attack our new stack of library books.

First up, Burger Boy by Alan Durant.
Ages: Pre-K - 2nd Grade

I'll be honest, I didn't have high hopes for this book. I'll admit, I judged it by it's cover. But, I was pleasantly surprised. It's actually really cute. Burger Boy is the cautionary tale of Benny who will only eat burgers. His mom warns, "If you don't watch out, you'll turn into a burger one day." And he does. The book follows him as he has a run-in with a pack of dogs, a herd of cows, a hungry group of boys and a greedy burger shop owner. His mother saves him by stuffing him full of veggies, which help him morph back into a boy. But as a result, veggies become the only foods Benny will eat. Again, his mother warns him and, well, you can guess what happens next.

This book is simple and sweet. It moves fast and had the LLL giggling at the end. I don't have picky eaters, but I know them and I really think this could be a great book for those kids who will only eat chicken nuggest, or green beans, or rice... okay, okay, I'm talking about my best friend's son (and the LLL's future husband... haha). But you know kids like that, you may even have kids like that. The story could very well help those picky kids understand, in a humorous way, just why it's so important to eat a balanced diet. Heck, it could be a good tool to help introduce balanced eating to any child. Just an idea.