Breaking News: Bear Alert

Breaking News: Bear Alert by David Biedrzycki was a nominee for the 16-17 South Carolina Picture Book Award.

Breaking News: Bear Alert brings to mind the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

While two bears are having a good time in the city (and the media and townspeople are freaking out), burglars are at large in the background. Little do they know that bears and burglars are about to collide while the world watches!

The most entertaining aspect of this book is picking out the many bear-related (and often hilarious) details in the illustrations. Readers who enjoy word (and picture) play will definitely enjoy this book. They’ll delight in picking out all of the “beary” fun on each page, including a sometimes difficult-to-find bear print.

Older readers may like this charming book more that little ones. There’s just so much to see, and so much that may go over the heads of the youngest readers. Some examples include: on-camera interviews with G. Adams, Teddy Bahr, Chris Robbin, Mrs. Locks, and Stan and Jan B.; locations like Baloo Balloons, Smokey’s BBQ, Pooh Street, and Teddy’s Diner; food and costumes that bring to mind favored childhood stories; and so much more!

Here Comes the Easter Cat

Here Comes the Easter Cat, written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Claudia Rueda, was a nominee for the 2016-17 South Carolina Picture Book Award.

Cat thinks it’s time to give the Easter Bunny a bit of competition. While the Easter Bunny is hopping around delivering eggs, Cat will hop on his motorcycle and give boys and girls some chocolate. He’s not prepared, though, for just how tiring all his preparation is. Cat is ready for a nap.

Imagine Cat’s surprise when he learns that the Easter Bunny doesn’t get naps. He has to do all that work with no rest? Well, that simply will not do. When the exhausted Easter Bunny comes by to deliver eggs to Cat, Cat takes it upon himself to help his tired new friend.

Will Cat give up his plans for Easter domination? Or does he now have even loftier ambitions? Find out when you read Here Comes the Easter Cat!

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I’ll be reading this book aloud to my K5 students this week ahead of our Spring break/Easter holiday. I hope they find it as charming as I do, and I hope it tells them a little about being kind, problem-solving, and, yes, having lofty ambitions.

Here Comes the Easter Cat may lead young (and older) readers to explore even more “substitutes” for holiday or other famous figures. What if, instead of Cupid on Valentine’s Day, we had a porcupine or something? The possibilities are as endless as the imagination.

If you’d like to promote this book to your young readers, feel free to use the book trailer below:

The Monkey Goes Bananas

The Monkey Goes Bananas, written by the creative team known as C.P. Bloom and illustrated by Peter Raymundo, is a nominee for the 2016-17 South Carolina Picture Book Award.

The Monkey Goes Bananas, a nearly wordless picture book, is sure to engage the youngest readers and encourage them to use their imaginations. How will the monkey get to the bananas he seeks? What could stop him along the way? What will happen next? Little ones will delight in answering these questions and trying to predict what happens with this monkey.

Aside from the fun and energy kids will encounter in this book, they may also learn a few lessons along the way. The monkey is committed to getting some bananas, and he works hard to achieve his goal. He uses the resources around him to get what he wants, and he doesn’t allow any hardships, like a hungry shark in the water, get in his way. Does it all turn out okay in the end? Not exactly, and that is true to life. Sometimes, no matter how hard one works or might want something, circumstances get in the way. The Monkey Goes Bananas, in a very real way, presents this difficult lesson in a way that is accessible to even the youngest of readers.

Additionally, this book may serve to introduce young readers to story-boarding and comic book formatting. The illustrations resemble cartoons, and children could have a great deal of fun creating their own thought bubbles to go with the action in each picture.

Ol’ Mama Squirrel

Ol’ Mama Squirrel by David Ezra Stein was a nominee for the 15-16 South Carolina Picture Book Award.

Ol’ Mama Squirrel is a charming book about the protective nature of a mother. Ol’ Mama Squirrel is an expert at scolding, and she gives a firm “Chook chook chook!” to anyone or anything that comes near her babies and their home. She shames cats, owls, dogs, kites, airplanes, and even people, but she may have met her match when a grizzly bear enters the picture.

Ol’ Mama Squirrel tries and tries to get that grizzly bear to leave her babies alone, but he seems determined to make her whole family his next meal. So what’s a mom to do? Well, this particular squirrel does the only thing she can…she calls for reinforcements.

Ol’ Mama Squirrel is sure to be a hit as a read-aloud, especially if it’s used in a setting with parents and children. Many readers, young and old, will see characteristics of their own mothers in that of Ol’ Mama Squirrel. (I know I did.) This would also be an excellent gift for moms from their little ones.

Charlie Bumpers vs. the Teacher of the Year

Charlie Bumpers vs. the Teacher of the Year, written by Bill Harley and illustrated by Adam Gustavson, is a nominee for the 2015-16 South Carolina Children’s Book Award.

Charlie Bumpers should be excited about going into the fourth grade. He would be…if his teacher were anyone but Mrs. Burke. Charlie has history with Mrs. Burke, so he’s sure that she’s going to make his life absolutely miserable. And he doesn’t care that she’s the Teacher of the Year. Charlie didn’t vote for her.

At first, it seems that Charlie may be right about his new teacher. Mrs. Burke really does appear to have it in for Charlie Bumpers. It doesn’t help that Charlie always finds himself in the middle of trouble. (He doesn’t mean to get into these messes, really! They just kind of happen.)

Charlie hopes that his entire fourth grade year won’t be horrible, but how can he get things on the right track when Mrs. Burke is always waiting on him to mess up? Can he turn things around? Is Mrs. Burke really all that bad? Find out how Charlie comes to terms with Mrs. Burke when you read Charlie Bumpers vs. the Teacher of the Year!

I think this book would be an excellent read-aloud for upper elementary classrooms, especially fourth grade. It’s both funny and relatable, and I think kids will really enjoy it. Also, it’s the first book in a new series, and many students are always game for a cool new series (especially young readers who either really like or are a little tired of Diary of a Wimpy Kid).

Warning: Do Not Open This Book!

Warning: Do Not Open This Book!, narrated by Adam Lehrhaupt and illustrated by Matthew Forsythe, is a nominee for the 2015-16 South Carolina Picture Book Award.

Warning: Do Not Open This Book! is a great interactive picture book perfect for fans of Mo Willems’ We Are in a Book! and B.J. Novak’s The Book With No Pictures. It invites the reader to really be a part of the story and figure out a way to keep messy monkeys, noisy toucans, and scary alligators from tearing the book to pieces. The solution? A banana trap, of course.

Readers young and old are sure to find something to enjoy in Warning: Do Not Open This Book! It is an engaging book that tears down the fourth wall between author/illustrator and reader. The reader is just as important to a successful telling of this story as those who penned it.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul

In The Long Haul, the latest and greatest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book by Jeff Kinney, Greg Heffley is about to take part in that most dreaded of family activities–the road trip. Greg’s Mom thinks this will be the greatest summer activity in the world, and she’s billing it as a vacation and learning experience all rolled into one. Well, it’s definitely a learning experience, but I doubt dear old Mom had these lessons in mind…

From rundown hotels to lost wallets and cell phones to destructive pigs to unfortunate car mishaps, the Heffley family goes through loads of mayhem and madness on this most epic of road trips. Everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong on this horrible vacation.

Crammed in the back of the family van, Greg tells readers all about his vacation misadventures, and readers young and old will find it all too easy to sympathize with Greg’s plight. (Who hasn’t endured a heinous family road trip?!)

Will Greg and his family make it out of this with their sanity intact? Can anything go right for them during this trip? What more could they possibly endure?

Join Greg Heffley on yet another wild ride when you read Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul!

Wiener Wolf

Wiener Wolf by Jeff Crosby, a nominee for the 13-14 South Carolina Picture Book Award, is a charming book that will resonate with both kids and adults.

Wiener Dog is bored with his hoe-hum life with Granny…until he sees some wolves on the TV. He decides to then become a Wiener Wolf! He ditches his sweater, his toys, and his cushy life with Granny and roams the woods with his wolfie pals, drinking from a stream and playing with wolf pups. It doesn’t take long, though, for Wiener Wolf to decide that maybe his old life wasn’t so bad after all. (Chasing “dinner” through the forest will do that to you!) So, Wiener Wolf once again becomes Wiener Dog, but there may just be a way for this dog to enjoy his life with Granny and still find a place among friends. Learn how he does it when you read Wiener Wolf by Jeff Crosby!

The illustrations in this book are simply adorable, and I know my students will be captivated by them. The story is short and lends itself well to read-alouds with young students. Wiener Wolf could also lead to discussions on how domesticated animals behave as opposed to their wilder counterparts.

One Cool Friend

One Cool Friend is a nominee for the 2013-2014 South Carolina Picture Book Award.

One Cool Friend, written by Toni Buzzeo and illustrated by David Small, is sure to be a hit in any library. Readers young and old will be charmed by Elliot, a very proper young man (who I imagine with a British accent).

Elliot visits the aquarium with his colorful father, and he passes right by the attractions with large crowds. He stops, though, when he reaches the penguin exhibit. He is enchanted by these creatures who appear to be as proper as he is. Elliot decides he wants a penguin for his very own. When he asks his father if he can have one, dear old dad says, “Sure!” thinking that Elliot means to buy a stuffed penguin from the gift shop. If only…

Hilarity ensues when Elliot brings a real penguin home and learns what it takes to keep a pet penguin happy. Can he keep his penguin a secret from his dad, though? Every reader will be eager to see what happens, and they may be in for a few surprises!

Who Could That Be at This Hour?

I recently read Lemony Snicket’s latest book,Who Could That Be at This Hour?, the first volume in the new All the Wrong Questions series.  The writing is kind of standard Lemony Snicket fare–it feels like the author is talking directly to the reader, and there’s quite a bit of sarcasm and understated humor involved. The main character’s voice–in this case, Lemony Snicket himself–is very distinctive and engaging.  The story itself also captivates the reader.  At its core, it is a mystery, but I must admit that nothing is really solved in this book.  In fact, so much remains hidden at the end, that the reader absolutely MUST read the next book, or he/she will remain in a state of confusion for the foreseeable future.

Who Could That Be at This Hour? follows a young Lemony Snicket and his mentor, S. Theodora Markson (we don’t know what the S stands for), as they attempt to solve a mystery in a nearly abandoned town, Stain’d-by-the-Sea (which is not “by the sea”).  It is unclear just what Lemony is supposed to learn from Ms. Markson, but it is abundantly clear that he knows much more–about everything–than his mentor.  He figures out pretty quickly that all is not what it seems to be when it comes to this mystery, but he can’t put his finger on what’s going on or what he can do to solve this case.  Maybe he’s asking the wrong questions…

Lemony Snicket’s own past is also a prevalent mystery in this book.  Where are his parents?  Why is he an apprentice to Theodora?  Who–or what–did he leave behind when he ventured on his current quest?  What is his end-game?

In any case, this book is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, and readers will spend the entire book wondering what in the world is going on.  Who is the true owner of the object–a rather unimpressive Bombinating Beast statue–that Lemony and Theodora are trying to recover?  Who really hired them in the first place?  Well, that may be kind of complicated, and, even though some questions may be answered in this book, they’re probably the wrong ones.  Readers will have to stay tuned to learn more about Theodora, Stain’d-by-the-Sea, the Bombinating Beast, and what’s really going on with young Lemony Snicket.