Leonardo the Terrible Monster

Just in case Jack does not look sufficiently enthused, I have to emphasize to you that this is quite possibly the best loved book that has been in our house for a long time. So good, in fact, that we had to pay a fine at the library because we held onto it way too long! I ended up buying it (the kids were happy to open that package!) and we've read our own copy several times already.

Leonardo the Terrible Monster is about Leonardo, who is, admittedly, a terrible monster. He doesn't seem to be able to scare anybody. This leads him to try to find "the most scaredy-cat kid in the world". There's a great page in here showing Leonardo doing "research" - posters on his wall, balled up pieces of paper overflowing the trash, a cup of coffee. His "research" leads him to Sam, who he does, in fact, scare! Well, it turns out that Sam has some other reasons for crying (a huge list, actually). It's at this point that Leonardo decides that he'd much rather be a good friend than a scary monster (although he reserves the right to scare Sam on occasion).

What I love about this book: The illustrations are huge (the book is large too), which makes it an easy book to read to two kids. There aren't a ton of words on each page, which makes it easier to hold Colin's attention. It has a great message (friendship and empathy) but is funny and appealing at the same time.

What Jack loves about this book: His hands-down favorite line in the book is when Leonardo wants to find the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world and "scare the tuna salad out of him". Cracks him up every time!

What Colin loves about this book: He loves the different expressions that Leonardo makes & he loves the part at the end when Sam chases after Leonardo. He also just loves talking about who is who and what they are doing.

Did I mention this book is written and illustrated by Mo Willems (Knuffle Bunny anyone?)? Enough said.

Run to the library to check this book out or buy it here.  Well worth the $9.99.

P.S. Totally unrelated, but this is the first photo I've published on the blog that I took in manual mode on my camera.  Trying to break my dependence on the auto functions!  Not the best photo, but it's a start.

Slacking...and a great website

I have to admit that I've been slacking on this blog.  The kids and I still visit the library almost every week, lugging home a huge pile of books.  We read them like crazy and I have great visions of posting the reviews here, especially when the kids really fall in love with a book.  In fact, we currently have seven books just itching to be reviewed...

In the meantime, I wanted to share a great website I found.  It's called Jacketflap.com (click here).  It's a website that "is a comprehensive resource for information on the children's book industry".  I've found it to be a great resource to keep up-to-date on newly published children's books as well as not-so-newly published books.  You can search their database by title or even your child's age range.  The site also has it's own blog reader, so you have access to over 700 blogs...all about books!  Some are writers' blogs, agents' blogs, publishers' blogs, etc. all about the children's book industry.

Let me know if you check out the site & send me a friend request!

The Treasure Bath by Dan Andreasen

This is a wordless picture book that depicts the story of a young boy who discovers treasure "under the sea" in his bath.  The pictures start out showing the boy getting messy helping his Mom bake a cake.  Of course this leads to a reluctant bath time until the boy discovers a whole under the sea adventure, including a treasure map, sea creatures and eventually a treasure chest (full of soap!).

I was reluctant to bring home this book just because I'm not too hot on making up stories.  However, both my kids like this book a lot.  Colin loves the fish and loves the part where the octopus and other sea creatures are washing the little boy.  Jack loves to tell stories anyway, so this book gave him a chance to make up a great story to go along with the pictures.  I have to say that my favorite part is when the little boy is all dressed in his button up pajamas with his hair combed over just so.  I mean, what is cuter than a little boy in button up pajamas?

The book jacket indicates that the intended audience is ages 4-8.  I think that age range is a bit high, but this is definitely a good book for the pre-school crowd.

I can't say that I love it enough to buy it (here), but definitely check it out at the library.

Library Haul January 22nd

The haul is a little lighter than normal as you can see. That's my fault. I took Jack along with me to the library but my main purpose for going was to pick up a couple of cookbooks. Well, I spent so much time looking at cookbooks/craft books (and making sure Jack was happy & occupied) that we didn't leave a ton of time to find kids' books. Luckily, Jack was very efficient in his choices (i.e., the grab & run method) so we did end up with a few new books to read.

I Took the Moon for a Walk by Carolyn Curtis and Alison Jay

"I took the Moon for a walk last night.  It followed behind like a still summer kite, though there wasn't a string or a tail in sight when I took the Moon for a walk."

This is how the adventure starts for a young boy telling the tale of his moonlit walk the night before.  The boy and the Moon walk together through the neighborhood visiting the dogs, swinging together and crossing a bridge (had a great discussion about reflections with Jack on this page).

The sing-songiness (spell check tells me that this is not a word) of the writing makes this an excellent bedtime book.

Colin loves this book - he says "moon" at every page and giggles at the Moon's red shoes.  =)

Jack also loves this book but his favorite part is the last couple of pages after the story ends where the author has illustrations of the different phases of the moon (Jack loves being quizzed on waxing versus waning) as well as animals and flowers that are nocturnal.

Oh, the illustrations!  They are beyond beautiful.  I read on the book jacket that Alison Jay uses alkyd oil paint on paper with a crackling varnish, which gives her illustrations an antique, nostalgic quality.  The illustrations are truly unique and add so much to the character of the story.  I plan to seek out other books with her illustrations for sure.

I should mention that according to Amazon (here), this book is aimed at ages 4-8, but it easily held the attention of my 4 year old and almost 3 year old.  =)

This book gets a definite thumbs up from us!