BEEKLE by Dan Santat and SPARKY! by Jenny Offill

   

These are two fun pictures books I read this summer.

Beekle is an imaginary critter who waits and waits to be claimed by a child, but after waiting for a while, Beekle heads out to find his friend for himself.

When a girl wants a pet, a sloth fits all of Mom's requirements. Sparky is not a stereotypical "great pet," but he is just right all the same.

The illustrations for both of these books are what grabbed my attention. I love Dan Santat's work anyway, and Beekle is just darling. Sparky has been getting a lot of attention in book-related media - and for good reason. He is adorable!! Pick these up for the illustrations, stay for the sweet stories!

4 out of 5 stars for both books
AR reading level for Beekle is 2.3
AR reading level for Sparky is 3.0

KEL GILLIGAN'S DAREDEVIL STUNT SHOW by Michael Buckley

Kel Gilligan has no fear. He'll tackle broccoli, bath time and dressing himself before his biggest daredevil stunt ever - bed time!

Delightfully unexpected! I had seen some buzz about this book on Twitter. I love the author's and illustrator's work already and this collaboration was especially excellent. When my son saw who put this book together, he said, "Two great guys did this one!" This was tremendously funny! The bare-bottom picture alone will garner great laughs!

4 out of 5 stars
AR reading level of 2.0

ALA Week: CARNIVORES by Aaron Reynolds

One of the highlights of my summer was our trip to Chicago for vacation and for the American Library Association annual conference. Publishers graciously provided Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) of some of their upcoming books and I have been slowly working through my pile of these treasures. For the next couple weeks I'll be reviewing some of the books I picked up at ALA. If a book hasn't released yet, I'll post the release date in the review.  Enjoy!!

A quirky book about a shark, wolf and lion wrestling with their identity as carnivores. When their taste for meat keeps the other animals from liking them, they try vegetarianism and other ideas. Eventually they accept themselves for what they are - carnivores.

I received a regular copy of this, not an ARC, from ALA and the folks at Chronicle Books (www.chroniclekids.com). The illustrator is Dan Santat, one of my favorites. His illustrations draw me immediately to a book! This one was a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to sharing this with my students this fall.

4 out of 5 stars
No AR reading level at this time

PICTURE BOOK: The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz

The story of the Three Little Pigs with a twist. This time, the pigs decide to study martial arts in order to prepare themselves for the inevitable run in with the wolf. The first two pigs bail on their training early, while the third finishes her entire course of study. When the wolf comes huffing around, the first two pigs find themselves woefully unprepared. Thankfully, their sister saves the day.

This was delightful! The rhyme scheme is a lot of fun, and there are great lessons about perseverance and finishing what you start. I can not wait to read this to my students! They are going to love this one! I am working on a curriculum plan involving fractured fairy tales and this will go right to the top of my three pigs collection. Illustrations by Dan Santat are fantastic. In fact, they are what first drew me to this book.

5 out of 5 stars
AR level of 3.2

Recommended for: everyone!

PICTURE BOOKS: Fire! Fuego! Brave Bomberos by Susan Middleton Elya

A story in English and Spanish about a company of fire fighters. Includes a pronunciation guide and glossary for the Spanish words. This is a clever way to introduce young readers to Spanish, or to use with Spanish-speaking English Language Learners. I love the illustrations by Dan Santat.

3 out of 5 stars
No AR rating at the time of this writing.

BOOK FAIR PREVIEW: Dog in Charge by K. L. Going AND Ruby's New Home by Tony and Lauren Dungy

This year, Scholastic didn't give me a lot of new picture books to preview for my fair this year. Here are two I did receive:

Good Dog! Smart Dog! Very Best Dog! Dog's family runs to the store, leaving Dog in charge of the cats. But five curious cats can get into a lot of mischief! Poor Dog! What will his family do when they see the mess the cats have left?

For me, this book is eye catching first of all because of the great illustrations by Dan Santat, one of my new favorite illustrators. In reading this story, I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a search and find book or a counting book. It's not strong enough in either regard to be "sold" on either of those factors. But if the purpose of the book was just to give kids a fun pet story, it succeeds. I know my students will love Dog and his kitty friends.

3.5 out of 5 stars
AR level of 1.7

Recommended for: pet lovers!

Three kids learn to take care of a dog. More importantly, though, they learn to share a dog when their family gets a new puppy.

Cute story, realistic problem that comes with a good solution. Told simply and clearly for young readers.

3.5 out of 5 stars
AR level of 2.2

Recommended for: pet lovers, dog lovers

MONDAY: Sidekicks by Dan Santat

Summary

Graphic novel about an aging superhero and his pets who long to spend more time with him, so each one auditions to be his new sidekick.

Review

I know that summary is skimpy, but much more would give away too many of the goodies in this book. Everyone in my household has read it, and everyone loved it. Can't wait to see more stories about this group of animals friends.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Recommended for: Readers 8 and up, graphic novel fans, superhero fans, librarians looking to build their graphic novel collection, classroom teachers building a library.

Cautions: none