"This Is a Moose" -Richard T. Morris

This Is a Moose is a very serious book about film-making... Nah, it's a great book about trying to make a film about moose in his natural habitat. Great fun as everything gets in the way. Also prompted a moose themed storytime!

For some reason, I just love books that break the 4th wall.

Read Also:

Ernest, the Moose who Doesn't Fit by Catherine Rayner.

Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham has a moose trying to get more screen time than just for the letter M.

Oliver Jefferies This Moose Belongs to Me.

"The Book With No Pictures" -B. J. Novak

After I saw Saving Mr. Banks, I've kinda kept an eye on B. J. Novak (he plays the Sherman brother with the cane). He wrote One More Thing, an adult book. But then he came out with this picture book...had to read it.

There are really no pictures in the whole book. The text is colorful and crazy at times but it requires imagination for it to be funny.

Read Also:

The characters in We Are In a Book by Mo Willems get the reader to say things.

Chester's Masterpiece by Melanie Watt; Chester takes over to write the book.

"Ninja Red Riding Hood" -Corey Rosen Schwartz

This came in as a new book to the library and my mind was blown... Ninjas! Spin on a fairy tale! Ninjas!! I knew I had to do a ninja themed storytime. So I did.

The wolf is having trouble finding food so he takes up martial arts. When he becomes a master, he goes on the prowl. Ninja Red is going walking and while this book has all the elements of the original tale, it's a little different.

 

So this book was amazing! It's told in limericks throughout and is so fun. All the books listed below were used in my storytimes. I also crocheted 5 ninjas for the rhyme "5 Little Ninjas."

 

And here they are! (my favorite is eco-friendly ninja.)

 

Read Also:

Wink: the ninja who wanted to be noticed and Wink: the ninja who wanted to nap by J. C. Phillips

Ninja by Arree Chung

Nighttime Ninja by Barbara DaCosta

R is for Robot: a noisy alphabet" -Adam Watkins

Such a fun book, full of sound effects for each letter! A must read aloud, that's for sure.

Read Also:

Achoo Bang Crash: the noisy alphabet by Ross MacDonald has more and different sound effects.

AlphaOops!: the day Z went first by Alethea Kontis puts a reverse spin on the alphabet.

Z is for Moose by Kelly L. Bingham really catches you off-guard!

"Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?" -Carmela Lavigna Coyle

"NO!" was the resounding reply when I read this book to the kids. I saw it while vacationing in Yellowstone. It's a darling list of how princesses have bad hair days, ride bikes, get muddy, fold their own clothes, and lots of other regular day things.

And a sequel! Do Princesses Really Kiss Frogs?

Read Also:

Jane Yolen's Not All Princesses Wear Pink.

Gail Carson Levine does a whole set of chapter books but one is The Princess Test.

Spells by Emily Gravett.

"New York is English, Chattanooga is Creek" -Chris Raschka

New York is hosting a party and invites a bunch of his friends from around the US. Will San Francisco be too sensitive? Will Chicago be too fierce?

This was a really interesting book about where some cities in America got their names. For instance, Chicago is an Algonquian word meaning "stinking onions' or "onion place." Classy. Anyway, each character carries the traits of their name in whichever language it came from. And they all have a party.

Read Also:

An adult book, How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein is a fascinating read.

Albert Jack's Pop Goes the Weasel: the secret meanings of nursery rhymes.

"Beauty and the Squat Bears" -Emile Bravo

Who doesn't like a good spoof! Here's a doozy. Snow White ends up at the house of the seven squat bears. She needs a prince to fix everything so a bear goes looking for one. Snags Cinderella's prince, runs across Beauty's Beast, loses both of them to a fairy godmother, and that's just one of the storylines!

 



Turns out Emile Bravo does a whole set of stories about the squat bears.

Read Also:
Jon Sciezka's The True Story of the Three Little Pigs as told by the Big Bad Wolf.

Cory Rosen Schwartz's Ninja Red Riding Hood and The Three Ninja Pigs.

Ever saw the musical, Into the Woods? Yeah, kinda like that.

"Leo the Late Bloomer" -Robert Kraus

On recommendation...

Leo is a tiger who can't do everything all the other kids can do. Is there something wrong with him? As we find out, he's only a later bloomer. And when he does bloom, as with many children, he surpasses expectations.

Cute book. Gives perspective to children who feel or have been told they're late bloomers.Read Also:

Read Also:

Lucy's Picture by Nicola Moon is a sweet story about a girl who makes a picture for her grandfather. It keeps you in suspense until you see the reason she does it.

Bethanie Deeney Murguia writes a couple books Snippet: the early riser and Buglette: the messy sleeper who learn as they grow, though a little behind their species and families in development.

"The Misadventures of Salem Hyde: Big Birthday Bash" -Frank Cammuso

I really like Frank Cammuso's artwork so when I saw Salem Hyde go by, had to have a look!
Salem is a young witch who can't seem to get her magic under control. Her non-magic parents(?) hire a companion to keep her out of trouble. Whammy, the cat companion, has quite a literary streak to him, some odd ideas of living, and dependable when Salem needs him most.

The most interesting part for me was which classics Cammuso incorporates into the story. Book #1 used Moby Dick, Book #2 used The Gift of the Magi. Book #3 is recently published; can't wait to see what he chose!!

Read Also:

Frank Cammuso also wrote a spoof of King Arthur in his "Knights of the Lunch Table" series.

Sandra Boynton's Amazing Cows: udder absurdity for children.

Jeffrey Brown's Darth Vader and Son.

"U.S. Presidents: the oval office all-stars!" -Dan Green

It's my 2nd NoBloPoMo and I'm ashamed to say I'm not nearly as ready for it as I was last year. I was coordinated, I had it planned out, timed down to the last book! I was even able to post December 1st. Ah well, this year will feature a lot more picture books, but then, I'm reading a heck of a lot more picture books!

Goal: to post non-picture books on the weekends and picture books throughout the week. So here goes...

This book caught my eye because the artwork was so darn cute!! Turns out there's a whole set ranging from history to science to math to music. http://www.basherbooks.com/usa/aboutbooks.html

U.S. Presidents: the oval office all-stars! has each president, using very informal language, talk about himself. The pictures are designed to illustrate not just the man but his presidency and life. There are fun facts and direct quotes.

It was a fun, light read about the presidents. Not so good as a research book but definitely makes parts of history fun! I want to read Mythology and States and Capitals by Basher.

Read Also:

The "A is for ___: a ___ alphabet" series (I've read C is for Cowboy: a Wyoming alphabet by Eugene Gagliano) is a good series, not so much for the research, but for the relaxed, fun tone of the books while still talking about history.

"The Wing Wing Brothers" series by Ethan Long is a graphic novel look at math and is very funny!