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The Ghost-Eye Tree-Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault September 2, 2007

All of us are very lucky that Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault first created The Ghost-Eye Tree as a reader’s theater piece. This makes it the perfect read-aloud for our Halloween or our “Why do kids love scary books so much?” needs. A mother, who, by the way, desperately needs to work on her think-ahead skills, sends her son and daughter to town to get a bucket of milk. (We must not be in Kansas anymore. Bucket of milk?) Halfway to Mr. Cowlander’s is the very frightening “ghost-eye tree…feared by all…the great and the small…” The by-play between the older sister and her brother is, well, very brother and sister-y: “Come on fraidy cat! Don’t hang back!” “I’m not hangin’ back, I’m getting my hat.” “Your dumb hat…” There are barely heard mutterings from the brother expressing his true fears just begging to be read softly and with trepidation. The illustrations by Ted Rand complete this atmospheric gift to us. “There’s nothing here, nothing to fear…” (Boo!)

The Ghost-Eye Tree
Written by Bill Martin,Jr./John Archambault
Illustrated by Ted Rand
Grades K-3

• The Ghost-Eye Tree at Amazon
• Bill Martin, Jr.

King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub-Audrey Wood September 1, 2007

King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub, and he won’t get out!” exclaims a harried page to the king’s nose-in-the-air court. Several attempts follow to extract the king from his watery repose and, my, how the mighty slip-up. (I could have said “fail”, but sometimes a little bathroom humor has an uncontrollable urge to leak out.) Unfortuately, these courtly efforts only succeed in tormenting everyone but the King who is enjoying it all immensely. And so, “Who knows what to do? Who knows what to do?” Thanks to the clever page who out-logics them all, we have lift-off, or lift-out, well, success. “Glub. Glub. Glub.” Don Wood, illustrator extraordinaire, has painted some wonderfully detailed and humorous pictures-so good, in fact, I could almost hear the Queen lamenting, “And to think I could have married Richard.” during the, um, two in a tub luncheon.

King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub
Written by Audrey Wood
Illustrated by Don Wood
Accelerated Reader RL 1.7

• King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub at Amazon
• Audrey’s Home Page
• Don Wood Biography