Explorink

My Lucky Day-Keiko Kasza August 18, 2007

“This must be my lucky day!” shouts the fox when a delicious-looking piglet knocks on his door by “mistake”. (Oops.) Somehow this “misdirected” piglet wangles a bath, a scrumptious meal and a massage before the “lucky” fox collapses from exhaustion. In Keiko Kasza’s trickster tale My Lucky Day, the table is set (literally) for fun. The students are swept along with the piglet’s plight-not plan yet-until we find the clean, well-fed, relaxed hero checking out his address book for his next victim, er, visit.

My Lucky Day
Written and Illustrated by Keiko Kasza
Accelerated Reader RL 2.3

• My Lucky Day at Amazon

Miss Nelson is Missing-Harry Allard

Is everyone ready? Have you done your “My goodness, I had no idea how much you’ve grown this summer!” clothes shopping yet? Have you bought your offspring’s “I have to have this backpack-everybody’s got one!” school supplies? Are you dreading the first day? Let’s see, this group would include teachers, principals, students. Looking forward to it? This group? Parents, geeks, Walmart. And, now, this somehow brings us, albiet in a very convoluted roundabout way, to books about school, and there are many, many of those. Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard is a children’s book that needs mentioning, or, better, re-mentioning. It was written forever ago-1977-and is one of those books that never goes out of style or favor. In the beginning of the story we find the teacher, Miss Nelson, having a bit of trouble with her class: “They whispered and giggled. They squirmed and made faces. They were even rude during story time.” What to do! wonders their harried teacher. Enter Miss Viola Swamp-the substitute from…uh, uh, uh… Bakersfield filling in for the “ailing” Miss Nelson. The illustrations are by James Marshall and are (I love the “Sharks (very unpleasant)” sign.) thoroughly fun right down to the closet door (slightly ajar) at the end. Will children be frightened by the awful Miss Viola Swamp? Probaby no more than they should, but, even more to the point, haven’t we all had a scary Miss Viola Swamp in our lives? (Okay, sorry about the Bakersfield thing, but this is a family show, er, site, you know.)

Miss Nelson Is Missing
Written by Harry Allard
Illustrated by James Marshall
Accelerated Reader RL 2.7

• Miss Nelson Is Missing at Amazon
• Harry Allard Teacher Resource File

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly-Simms Taback August 17, 2007

What do you think the process was? Simms Taback sitting around and thinking, “I know, we’ll do these nifty, little cut-outs in the old lady’s stomach and cleverly put the swallowees in them.” Then, maybe, “And… and we’ll have these witty, wry comments scattered all over the pages.” Well anything’s possible, but whatever happened to bring about this book, it worked. And that makes me glad. A person can’t go wrong reading There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. The kids delight in the colorful, extremely colorful, illustrations and the familiar folk poem. The students help me with the “Perhaps she’ll die.” lament with tearful voices and many hesitant swipes at fake tears. Love it. What a great “Old Lady” version! Moral: Never swallow the mediocre.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
Written and Illustrated by Simms Taback

• There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly at Amazon

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear-Don and Audrey Wood August 15, 2007

I was going to do an extremely clever review (I’m still not sure that word applies in regard with what I write.) about Don and Audrey Wood”s The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear when I discovered everybody and their cousin, Ned, has already done one. They’ve covered it all: the pictures-super; the voice-clever; the tricky ending-tricky. What more could I possible add? Wait! I work in a library. I read cool books to students. So, here goes: The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear is an amazingly cool book to read to children. There.

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear
Written by Don and Audrey Wood
Illustrated by Don Wood
Accelerated Reader RL 1.5

• The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear at Amazon
• Audrey’s Home Page
• Don Wood Biography