Fairy Tales by Leah Wilcox

These two books by Leah Wilcox take fairytales on a humorous spin.  They both have very catchy, rhyming text and hilarious storylines.  My two boys love them! 

In Falling for Rapunzel, the Prince misunderstands her cries and calls to her to throw down her hair so he can save her.  Rapunzel is a little hard at hearing (that or slightly dense) and throws down all sorts of items!

Waking Beauty is about a know it all Prince who, like Rapunzel in the previous book, is slightly dense). He stumbles upon Sleeping Beauty and her fairy godmothers and attempts to wake her.  However, he doesn't take the time to listen to the fairy godmothers and goes about waking her in his own way.  

Falling for Rapunzel

"Please, love, just your silky tresses!" 

She thought he asked for silky dresses. 

In lace and frills up to his head,  

the prince's cheeks were blushing red. 

"Rapunzel, do you have a rope?" 

Rapunzel dropped a cantaloupe. 

It burst in pieces on his head."  

Oh, bad catch!" Rapunzel said. 

Waking Beauty

"We see you finally made the trip,now give the girl a little lip. 

"Okay," he said. "If you insist."He drew his mouth up in a twist, 

and hollered "WAKE UP LAZYBONES!"Her snores drowned out the faries' groans. 

They shook their heads, "No, not like this, you have to wake her with a-" 

"Hey, I know!  He tapped his headand started jumping on the bed.

Transportation Collection

We recently discovered this collection of books by Patrica Hubbell at our library.  We checked out Trains and Airplanes and the boys (and I!) loved them so much that I ordered all 5 from Amazon last night.  I got them used for pennies and the total for shipping all 5 was $26 or something like that.  The books have very interesting and eclectic, mod-podgey illustrations and catchy, rhyming text.  The boys ask to read them over and over!

Trucks

Trains

Airplanes 

Cars 

Boats

And the Winner of "Run Turkey Run" is...

#5... Alison Levy! 

I used Random.org (I promise!)... I'm just at work on lunch and can't do a screenshot. 

Alison, email me with your address and I'll pop your book in the mail! 

The Mine-o-Saur

Mine-o-Saur by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

A group of dinosaurs are playing peacefully in the schoolyard when... oh no!  Here come's Mine-o-Saur!  

He snatched the jump rode and the ball.

He threw the cars against the wall.

And then he roard to one and all,

"MINE! MINE! MINE! 

Throughout the day, Mine-o-Saur continues on his "MINE MINE MINE" rampage.  Pretty soon, no one wants to play with him.  And Mine-o-Saur realizes how lonely it is without friends to play with. Will he be able to make up with the other dinosaurs again? 

Run, Turkey, Run! (Giveaway!)

Run, Turkey, Run! by Diane Mayr

(description from Amazon.com)

With Thanksgiving only one day away, can Turkey find a place to hide from the farmer who's looking for a plump bird for his family feast?
Maybe he can hide with the pigs . . . or the ducks . . . or the horses . . .
Uh-oh! Here comes the farmer!
Run, Turkey, run!

I found an extra copy of this book and would love to give it away to another family to read together this Thanksgiving.  

To enter, leave me a comment with your favorite holiday book! 

Entries must be in by Wednesday 9am.  

Winner will be chosen Wednesday evening via Random.org.

Doggone Dogs!

Doggone Dogs! by Karen Beaumont

As the morning sun peaks through the dark,

Doggone dogs begin to bark.

"No, dogs. Down, dogs. Sit, dogs. Hey!"

Doggone dogs do not obey!

10 unruly, adventurous dogs take their pajama clad owner on an exhausting chase through Central Bark, Dog Obedience School, being captured and then plotting their escape.  They ultimately end up back home on the couch, exhausted.  

Three dogs, two dogs, one dog. Done!

Bow-Wow-Wow. That was fun!

Doggone Dogs from one to ten...

Cannot wait to go again!

This book is adorable and hilarious.  The story is captivating and the rhymes are simple and quick.  The pictures, I think, are my favorite part of the story.  David Catrow was a perfect pair for Karen Beaumont in this hilarious dog book!

Sheep in Jeep

Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw

"Beep! Beep! Sheep in a jeep on a hill that's steep. . . . Sheep leap to push the jeep. . . ." 

A perfect rhyming book for beginner readers... five sheep pile in a jeep (of course!) and embark on a crazy journey resulting in a jeep in a heap... for sale... cheap!

First Dog

First Dog by J. Patrick Lewis

Once upon a time there was a dog that was looking for the perfect place to live....

Llama Llama Misses Mama

Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney

This was a perfect book to read before my son started preschool.  Little Llama is nervous about school and leaving his mama.  But it turns out he really does like school!

Llama Llama Mad at Mama

Llama Llama Mad at Mama

Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney

This is one of our favorite books in our house... anything in the Llama Llama series!  

Yucky music, great big feet.

Ladies smelling way too sweet.
Look at knees and stand in line.
Llama Llama starts to whine.

Little Llama doesn't like to shop and ends up throwing a tantrum in the store.  Mama Llama calms him down and is able to make shopping fun for her and Little Llama.

Happy Halloween, Stinky Face

Happy Halloween, StinkyFace  by Lisa McCourt

StinkyFace is back with a boatload of questions... What if Mrs. Petry gets so scared by the costumed boy and his friends that she spills the candy? What if a friend's butterfly costume turns her into a real butterfly and she flies up to the sky? As always, Mama lovingly addresses each and every one of her child's concerns.

Snowmen All Year

Snowmen All Year by Caralyn Buehner

An addition to Snowmen at Christmas and Snowmen at Night, the narrator dreams of all the things they'd do with their snowmen if only he could stay throughout the year.  

I Need My Monster

I Need My Monster! by Amanda Noll

Ethan is a little boy who can’t fall asleep without the ragged breathing and claw-scratching of his favorite monster, Gabe. But Gabe has left a note that he’s gone fishing, so Ethan knocks on his floor to summon a series of substitute ghoulies. This book is adorable and takes a spin on those creepy monsters that live under beds...

Christmas books...

Last year I posted a few of my favorite Christmas books. While those are still high on the list, I thought I'd add some more this year....

The Stable Where Jesus Was Born
by Rhonda Gowler Greene

The Three Bears' Christmas
by Kathy Duval

Santa's Stuck
by Rhonda Gowler Greene

Pumpkin Hill

Pumpkin Hill by Elizabeth Spurr

Unknown to the farmer and his wife, who can't agree on what to plant on their hill, a field of pumpkins has erupted from one single forgotten pumpkin. Soon, the hillside is rolling with pumpkins and they overtake the town!

If You're Happy and You Know It

If You're Happy and You Know It by Jane Cabrera

We all know the children's song... sing along with this bright and fun illustrated book. Great song, and even better illustrations. I'm going to have to add some of my own photographs of the pages in this book. I love to look at the pictures as we read. Yes, I said *I*. ; )

Digger Man

Digger Man by Andrea Zimmerman

Porter loves anything having to do with loaders, bulldozers and dumptrucks so this book was a definite hit. What I love even more about it is how closely it relates to Porter and Hudson (our youngest).

Digger Man is about a little boy who loves diggers. He talks about how he's going to buy a digger and have special digger man boots and he talks about all the things he's going to scoop and dig and work on with his digger. His little brother, though, is too little to help out. But, his mom and dad can bring him to watch and maybe he'll give him a ride in his digger.

Great storyline, cute illustrations and an easy read for short attention toddlers.

The Neat Line: Scribbling through Mother Goose

The Neat Line: Scribbling through Mother Goose by Pamela Duncan Edwards

I picked this book up at the library hoping for an updated way to read Mother Goose Rhymes. I was pleasantly surprised. The book starts out talking about this baby scribble who practiced and practices and became a Neat Line. Then he decided to hop into his first book. He goes through a few Mother Goose Rhymes and his new-found skill of being a Neat Line helps the characters get out of their troubles.

Favorite Easter Books

Five Little Bunnies Hopping on a Hill by Steve Metzger

This book is a cute rhyming spin off of "Five Little Monkeys". A cute, quick read. I wasn't able to find it for sale on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, but I think you can find it on eBay possibly.

What is Easter? by Michelle Medlock Adams

I always like books that explain the real reason for holidays (rather than just for candy or presents etc...). This book is a board book and is perfect for little ones. The author does a wonderful job of explaining what Easter is about- and still keeps it simple enough for little ones.

The Night Before Easter by Natasha Wing

This book is a spin off of a traditional Christmas story by Clement C. Moore. I love the rhyming text and the cute story. Its not long and too wordy- its just right!

Easter Bunny's on His Way! by Brian James

Sing along to the tune of "She'll be Coming 'Round the Mountain" in this fun book about traditional Easter activities such as coloring eggs, hunting for eggs and eating lots of candy!

Gallop

Gallop by Rufus Butler Seder

Porter just received this book for his birthday and it is very, very cool. Through a six-phase animation process, the animals give the illusion of movement. The rhyming text is full of simple questions and fun, nonsense replies: Can you gallop like a horse? giddyup-a-loo! Can you strut like a rooster? cock-a-doodle-doo!