Lee Bennett Hopkins passed away earlier this year, but he left behind a massive body of work, both his own poems and ones of other poets collected for anthologies. Here we have a fine example, with a front cover that offers a glimpse of what we can expect inside. Then there's the playful back. For … Continue reading A Bunch of Punctuation – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
Ok, I'll admit that I'm getting a jump on Halloween, but there I was minding my own business, checking my holds out at the library—when what to my wondering eyes should appear? THIS! Who can resist that title? Who can resist the smell of—well, I won't go there. I brought the book home, opened it … Continue reading I Love You More Than the Smell of Swamp Gas – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
Want a sure-fire read aloud—perhaps a sure-fire sing aloud? Look no further. What would happen if consonants suddenly thought they ruled the alphabet, and told those poor little vowels they weren't important? The Letter B gets on his high horse and informs the first vowel, A: There are 5 vowels in your group but 21 … Continue reading Can U Save the Day? – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
I never thought I'd be smitten by a counting book. And I'm still not smitten by a counting book, because FOUR OTTERS TOBOGGAN is so much more than that. It's an ode to nature, a prayer, a salute, a love letter, a bedtime lullaby—all in the guise of a counting book. First the love letter … Continue reading Four Otters Toboggan – Perfect Picture Book Friday
What comes to mind when you read this title? If you're a child, well, it's obvious, right? Ew! But if you're a poet like Michael Odom, it's secret code, a play on words, for ekphrastic. Odom explains that ekphrastic is "a very big, very cool word that will impress a teacher and probably … Continue reading Ick! Fran’s Tick!
Over in the Facebook alternate universe, I was saying how much I love sheep. I grew up on a farm with sheep, and although I don't like sheep bucks because one nearly killed my father, I do love the ewes and their lambs. We raised suffolks: So is it any wonder that I'm drawn to: … Continue reading Little Red Riding Sheep – Perfect Picture Book Friday
So you're looking for a couple of books from a brilliant author/illustrator? Ones that will make kids say "ewwww" page after page, all while laughing uproariously? Ones that kids will want to read again and again and again because each little twist is ingenious? Tedd Arnold's will do the trick: For the most part, his … Continue reading Parts and Even More Parts – Perfect Picture Book Friday
It's time once again to feature a book, for Susanna Leonard Hill's Perfect Picture Book Friday, that rocks my picture book world. To my friends who are not picture book lovers, please be patient with me. I promise I'll post something else soon—something to do with Burger King Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (BK PTSD), an … Continue reading Dirty Gert – Perfect Picture Book Friday
You said you’d: Like to know my name. Like to see more of me, all of me. Love me forever. Stop hitting me if I stopped eyeing other men. Like to have kids. Need time to think—or did you say drink? with your buddies. Like me to wear something new. Be sweet if I wasn’t … Continue reading Domestic Tranquility
In response to the 100 Word Challenge for Grown-ups: Today, I wonder who's not eating while I binge on berries, nectarines, and peaches. Summer lovelies. Women raped in fields nicknamed field de calzon by foremen. Never tell. Mothers, fathers, children all evicted while picking fruits I savor with delight. Working twelve-hour days for paltry pay, … Continue reading Dark Fruit
