My second graders loved this winking Goldilocks tale with a twist. There are no bears here, just three innocent dinosaurs who go for a walk (they are definitely not hiding in the woods nearby), leaving their door open and their chocolate pudding out, with absolutely no thought that a hapless little girl might wander in and provide them with a chocolate filled snack when they return.
Willems has a lot of fun here with the original story: hot, cold or just right, Goldilocks eats all of the pudding (it is chocolate pudding, after all.) And the chairs? The first and second ones are too tall. The third one...still too tall.
Will Goldilocks get out before the dinosaurs return from their...er...walk? Or will she be a chocolate pudding-filled bonbon for the hungry dinosaurs when they return?
As a bonus, the endpapers are covered with (presumably) rejected ideas for Goldilocks stories. Goldilocks and the Three Plumbers? Goldilocks and the Three Wall Street Types? If anyone could make it work, it would be Willems.
Showing posts with label kidlit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kidlit. Show all posts
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Kid's choice: That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown
by Cressida Cowell
Emily Brown and her stuffed rabbit Stanley are in the midst of a series of adventures when she receives some unexpected visitors: first the Queen's footman, then the army, then the navy. And they all have one (courteously worded) demand: that Emily Brown hand over that Bunnywunny, which the Queen has decided is the finest toy she has ever seen. Emily Brown politely declines. Then not so politely declines. Despite offers of a gold bear, talking dolls, rocking chairs, and more, Emily Brown refuses to hand over her stuffed friend (his name is not Bunnywunny!), even if the Queen is the poshest person in the kingdom.
But the Queen must have that rabbit...and so Emily Brown must take matters into her own hands.
This ode to the power of toys and imagination is a pleasure to read to children, but the illustrations are probably the real star here. Emily's and Stanley's color-saturated adventures captivate young readers, and the second to last spread actually drew gasps of wonder from one group of first graders when I read it to them.
Children will reach for their own toys when Emily takes pity on the silly Queen and tells her how to have a stuffed friend as nice as Stanley.
But the Queen must have that rabbit...and so Emily Brown must take matters into her own hands.
This ode to the power of toys and imagination is a pleasure to read to children, but the illustrations are probably the real star here. Emily's and Stanley's color-saturated adventures captivate young readers, and the second to last spread actually drew gasps of wonder from one group of first graders when I read it to them.
Children will reach for their own toys when Emily takes pity on the silly Queen and tells her how to have a stuffed friend as nice as Stanley.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
World within world within world...
"Hazel wished she had something in her hands to throw. She looked away and sat down.
"She opened up the new library book she'd brought for the bus ride and willed her thoughts to disappear in the pages. The girl in it was reading A Wrinkle in Time. She was best friends with a boy who lived in the apartment below. And then one day the boy stopped talking to her. Hazel closed the book."
Breadcrumbs
by Anna Ursu
p. 131
Hazel, the main character of Breadcrumbs, reading Newbery winner When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, in which Miranda, like Hazel, loves A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Cute.
"She opened up the new library book she'd brought for the bus ride and willed her thoughts to disappear in the pages. The girl in it was reading A Wrinkle in Time. She was best friends with a boy who lived in the apartment below. And then one day the boy stopped talking to her. Hazel closed the book."
Breadcrumbs
by Anna Ursu
p. 131
Hazel, the main character of Breadcrumbs, reading Newbery winner When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, in which Miranda, like Hazel, loves A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Cute.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Book note
Boom!
by Mark Haddon (who also wrote The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time)
Children's book.
After Jim's big sister tells him he's being sent to the "special" school because of his poor school habits, he and his friend Charlie put a walkie-talkie in the teacher's lounge to see if it's true. (Although Charlie seems to have his own motivations.)
At first, they are bored, but suddenly they hear two of their teachers speaking a different language that they can't identify. When they investigate further, strange things begin to happen. Could their teachers possibly be aliens?
This is a fun tale -- outrageous and often silly, with kids who act like kids.
Note: There is an alien who calls itself Britney; I wonder if this is a nod to J.Lo in Adam Rex's The True Meaning of Smekday, or if great minds just think alike?
by Mark Haddon (who also wrote The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time)
Children's book.
After Jim's big sister tells him he's being sent to the "special" school because of his poor school habits, he and his friend Charlie put a walkie-talkie in the teacher's lounge to see if it's true. (Although Charlie seems to have his own motivations.)
At first, they are bored, but suddenly they hear two of their teachers speaking a different language that they can't identify. When they investigate further, strange things begin to happen. Could their teachers possibly be aliens?
This is a fun tale -- outrageous and often silly, with kids who act like kids.
Note: There is an alien who calls itself Britney; I wonder if this is a nod to J.Lo in Adam Rex's The True Meaning of Smekday, or if great minds just think alike?
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