For those children of the 70’s and 80’s you might best remember Judith Viorst from her fantastic book, “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” This was a staple of my reading life as a child – and I repeatedly checked this book out from my school library – just adoring the fact that a child could actually admit that stinky things happen sometimes. Viorst has a knack for creating tales that are refreshingly honest and appealing to children and her book “Lulu and the Brontosaurus” is no exception. Lulu is awfully awful. For lack of a better term, she’s a brat. And used to getting exactly what she wants. But when what she wants is a Brontosaurus, her parents have to draw the line. So Lulu revolts with a hearty “foo on you” and skips town armed with pickle sandwiches (yum!). Ironically, guess who she finds in the forest? Yep – a Brontosaurus…who wants HER as a pet. You can’t resist this adorable story, complete with illustrations by the inimitable Lane Smith. So grab a pickle sandwich and settle right in with this delightful chapter book.
Author Archives
Friday: The Pencil
I grew up on Crockett Johnson’s “Harold and the Purple Crayon.” And I continue to love the idea of a little boy creating a new world with just a blank wall and a little imagination. And while no book will ever come close to winning my heart over Harold, I do believe he has some stiff competition in Allan Ahlberg’s “The Pencil.” The story begins with a pencil…”a lonely little pencil, and nothing else.” But soon, this little pencil is creating worlds and people and animals and all is well until those people and animals start to have a few demands of their own. And even when the pencil draws himself an eraser to get rid of a few items, his eraser takes on a rather unseemly life of its own. What’s a pencil to do? Grab this book and find out…before you get erased.
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Monday: Long Tail Kitty
In my opinion, every bookshelf should have a long tail kitty, or at least a copy of Lark Pien’s lovely book by the same name. “Long Tail Kitty” is fantastic – I cannot get enough of this fabulous little book. Not only are the illustrations right up my alley (Pien is a long-time graphic-novelist and her drawings are simple and poignant and utterly adorable) , but the small chapter format is great for little readers. Long Tail Kitty meets aliens, talks to a crabby bee and ultimately steals your heart.
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Friday: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Disclaimer: I am 36 years old and the stories in the book still scare me. Hence, this book recommendation is for older aged children or at least children who are braver than I. This was THE book for slumber parties growing up. I vividly remember sitting at my friend Damara’s house, with flashlights on and spooky music in the background, and her mother, all dressed up as a witch, reading “High Beams” from the story collection, “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.” Do you remember high beams? The urban myth of the woman driving home and the car behind her keeps putting on its high beams? I shudder now just thinking of it. This story continues to force me to look in the backseat of my car when I get in. And who could forget “May I Carry Your Basket?” and “The Big Toe.” Ack! This is the penultimate scary story collection and I dare you to read it and not feel that little chill up your spine.
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Thursday: Boogie Bones
Boogie Bones is a skeleton who loves to dance, but who afraid to strut his stuff in front of people. So, he grabs some clothes and enters himself in the town dance contest. But what happens when he boogies right out of his outfit? Little readers will have to check out Elizabeth Loredo’s hilarious book to find out…A great story with adorable illustrations.
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Wednesday: Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt
Nate the Great is at it again – this time with a truly spooky Halloween mystery. Little Hex, the cat, has disappeared and only super sleuth Nate the Great can get to the bottom of this mystery. With a compelling tale and great little boy humor, Marjorie Weinman Sharmat’s book is a favorite for Halloween. A great chapter book for early readers with plenty of jokes and silliness to keep your little book worms engaged.
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Tuesday: Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet
Growing up, we used to sing “Trick or treat, smell my feet, dance around the toilet seat” and the image of boogie-ing around the potty was always a show-stopper for me. And now, thank Heavens, we have Lisa Desimini’s “Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet” to entertain us just as hilariously. This is the tale of twin witches, Delia and Ophelia, who take it upon themselves (as all true witches do) to ruin Halloween for the sweet neighborhood kids. So, they concoct a spell using, you guessed it, stinky socks. All does not run smoothly for these identical hags, and your kids will adore the result. I do…almost as much as lambada-ing around the john.
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Monday: The Hallo-wiener
I apologize in advance for recommending a book that has within its title a word that will invariably cause incessant repetition on the part of your children. Or perhaps that’s just my children. Nevertheless, “The Hallo-Wiener”, by Dav Pilkey (of “Captain Underpants” fame) certainly belongs on any list of great Halloween books. Oscar is a dachshund who is “half-a-dog tall and one-and-a-half dogs long” and is regularly teased by the other dogs. But nothing causes more ridicule than his mother’s decision to dress him for Halloween with a bun complete with mustard. Poor little Oscar – what shall he do? Come to the rescue, of course, as the little readers will find. A tale of inner strength and the best sausage puns you’ve read…
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Friday: Food Play
‘For my wonderful family, who ate most of the contents of this book.” Thus is inscribed Saxton Freemann and Joost Elffers’ fantastic book, “Food Play” – a photography book that has kept my family in stitches since we bought it a year ago at the SFMOMA. Halloween book? Not really…but because there are many pumpkins and gourds in it, I’m going to include it. Basically, what we’re looking at here is a photo book of fruits and vegetables, made into characters. We have onion people, radish dogs bowling, strawberries kissing and chef made of mushrooms. Green onion families wait for a zucchini train and kiwis become barbershop quartets in this wonderfully wry and stunning book. No words are necessary – and my sons love to create captions for each of the photographs. Don’t miss this book. It’s witty and creative and quirky and cute and all the best that photography books have to offer for children and parents alike.
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Thursday: The Best Halloween Ever
Hooray for the Herdmans! Barbara Robinson’s “The Best Halloween Ever” may, in fact, be the funniest book on the market. The author of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”, among others, has a lightening-quick wit and a tenderness towards her characters that is unparalleled. Reading this out loud to my boys is an act in self-control since her lines are so funny and so heartwarming you want to laugh and cry at the same time. I adore adore adore this book and can’t recommend it highly enough. Somehow the horrible Herdmans always save the day – and we, as the reader, end up rooting for them despite our better judgment. Don’t miss the audio recording of this book, read by Elaine Stritch. Hers is the only voice i could imagine for this. Sheer perfection.
My Mama's Goodnight 