There Was an Old Pirate Who Swallowed A Fish by Jennifer Ward

I have mentioned before that I am a big fan of the books like this that take a common story and alter the words with a new topic/subject.  I realize I may be alone in this thought but kids love these books!  It is familiar to them and they can look for the changes.  We HAD to have this book because of the topics - Pirates!  As you may have guessed from the title that this pirate did indeed swallow a fish....and a bird....and a map.....and a chest.....etc.   Sure to be a winner with the kids - especially those reluctant boy readers!

Check out the link for the video here!

Time Out For Monsters! byJean Reidy

A young boy is sitting on a stool....in the corner....in a very plain corner.  This corner is not new to him and after spending so much time here he has decided it needs a little color.  He needs a window in this corner....and from there the corner comes alive.  Neubecker's illustrations of vibrant, bright colors brings the corner to life.  Maybe a little TOO alive as far as mom is concerned.  After a few dinosaurs, flowers, a monster, etc. the boy has to return the corner to the plain corner.  Cute, short book which will have some kids gasping, in sheer horror that a child would do such a things, and other children nodding their heads, maybe possibly because they HAVE done such a thing.

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves

What Little Boys Are Made Of by Robert Neubecker

What are little boys made of?  Sticks and stones and puppy dog tails....and "moons and stars and rockets to mars."  Neubecker extends the well-known poem adding in the things that so many boys enjoy, imaginative play.  Simple texts and colorful illustrations makes this book a great book for young boys.  This book has been a great hit at our house.

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

Builder Bugs by David A. Carter

A new David Carter pop-up creation has arrived!  I love Carter's pop ups and this newest one with a popular topic for Adam is a big hit.  Kids will love studying and moving this interactive book.

Who builds the walls on Wednesday?
The Toolbox Bugs work hard all day.

If you have a little fan for BIG construction, this one will be a quick favorite.

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves

The Construction Crew by Lynn Meltzer

We read every truck book we can find at our house and this was a recent find on the new book shelf at the library!! Short text, mostly rhyming though some was forced.

Tons if dirt

And Lots of muck

What do we need?

Dump truck!

A great, simple introduction to the world of trucks for kids, and adults like me still learning all the names and functions!!

Text: 4 Buckeye leaves

Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves (Bright, colorful, kid friendly)

Endpages: 5 Buckeye leaves (We spent lots of time studying this page and discussing our favorite trucks!!)

Where's My T-R-U-C-K? by Karen Beaumonr

Tommy has lost his truck. Tommy is very upset about loosing his truck and searches high and low for his truck.
"And underneath the bed...And chair. Behind the curtain...OOPS! Not there! I CANNOT FIDN IT ANYWHERE!"
Karen Beaumont is back in a rhyming story about a boy that has lost his truck. As in most of Beaumont's books, the text is simple and rhyming. David Catrow in his usual style, shades of green and blue with silly characters, creates the illustrations for this book.

Text: 4 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves

Alphabeep: A Zipping, Zooming ABC by Debra Pearson

So this one is a little older (2003) but it was on the shelf next to the new books at one of the libraries I stopped at last night and I knew Adam would love it. He does! But what is there for a boy NOT to love....vehicles from A to Z! Each letter is shown as both upper and lower case, which I love, and has a vehicle of some sort to go with it. The sentence(s) that follow explain the "job" of that vehicle.
"Gg is for Garbage Truck that growls along the road. It's on the prowl for stinky trash to squish, crunch, gr-r-r-r-rind"
This is a great book for learning the letters as well as learning different vehicles on the road.

Text: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:4 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 5 Buckeye leaves - AWESOME!!! Some of my favorite of all time....upper and lower case letters, road signs, bright colors, etc

Pirate Boy by Eve Bunting

I am a day late...this would have been perfect for Talk Like A PIrate Day BUT.....

After finishing a book about a pirate, Danny asks his mom a series of questions which seems to test her on the extent of her love for him. From riding on the back of a dolphin to fighting sea monsters and a group of pirates, Danny's mother passes all his "tests" with flying colors...now for her next test, will she follow him to the moon? This books reminds me alot of the Runaway Bunny as the mother bunny was also being tested to what she would do to find her baby. The topic of pirates will appeal alot to kids right now, especially boys. (Thank you Disney and Jake and the Neverland Pirates - I can sing the song if you like...)

Text: 3 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 3 Buckeye Leaves

Pretend by Jennifer Plecas

"Pretend," Jimmy said to Dad, " that this couch is a big boat, and that we're floating in the ocean." Thus begins Dad and Jimmy's afternoon adventure which will take them face to face with sharks, to a deserted island, up a mountain, building a fort, and finally relaxing under the stars. A great example of imagination and creative story telling which will be enjoyed by both boys and girls.

Text: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 3 Buckeye leaves

Otto The Boy Who Loved Cars

Otto (and yes, it took me a minute for it to sink it) loves CARS!! He lives cars. He sleeps cars, in his car shaped bed of course! But one day Otto's love for cars goes a little too far. Otto wakes up and is feeling a little strange. He soon realizes he has turned into a....CAR!!! After a day "as a car" Otto starts to wonder if maybe he is too obsessed with cars. A very cute book which car loving kids will especially find appealing. We have one big car loving boy at our house that loves it!


Text: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves

Eliot Jones, Midnight Superhero by Anne Cottringer

We love this book....and are on the hunt to find a copy as the library will soon be showing up to take this copy back!! Eliot Jones is a quiet boy....he reads, he feeds his goldfish, he watches the neighbor wash the car....BUT......AT NIGHT HE IS A SUPERHERO!!! Eliot leads a group of escaped lions back to the zoo, saves a ship from crashing into rocks, recovers stolen royal jewels, etc. No wonder he is so quiet during the day!! We are TOTALLY into the superhero idea at our house and I am avoiding some of the other, better known superheros. This is a great book because it fulfills the need for SUPERHERO-NESS while still being appropriate and more importantly NON VIOLENT for preschoolers! And and I love this book!

Text: 5 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye Leaves
Endpages: 5 Buckeye Leaves

Clink "manufactured" by Kelly DiPucchio and Matthew Myers

"Clink was a state-of-the-art robot with the dazzling ability to make toast and play music at the same time..." Everyone would want their own Clink....years ago. Now Clink sits on the shelf of the store. Noone wanted a rusty old robot. They wanted a snazzier, newer robot that could do homework and make chocolate chip cookies or a robot with retractable arms or fancy attachments. Clink watched as one by one, his friends went home. Then one day a young boy came in the store, like he had many times before, but this time he wanted a to buy a robot. He selected Clink, despite the store owner's disapproval, and took him home because according to the boy, Clink was "perfect". A great story for boys who love robots, as mine does. Hidden in the story about Clink, is a great story for all kids about seeing the good in others and giving others a chance.

text: 4 Buckeye leaves
illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 5 Buckeye leaves

When A Dragon Moves In by Jodi Moore

"If you build a perfect sandcastle, a dragon will move in."
And so begins this hilarious new book by first time writer Jodi Moore. The boy enjoys the company of his new pal. He tries to tell his family but they don't want to hear him. The fun ends when the dragon starts getting the boy in trouble.....

Text:
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves (Pay close attention to the details in the facial expressions of the characters.)
Text: 5 Buckeye leaves (Great length for even young children....the 3 year old loves it here!
Endpages: 5 Buckeye Leaves - (These are AWESOME!! The front shows the boy and his family arriving at the beach. He is running across with all the necessary beach toy items. The back endpages shows numerous sand castles complete with a dragon that has moved in!)

Check out this website for a CAKE (YUMMM) made:
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2036816

Cars Galore by Peter Stein

Black car, green car,
nice car, mean car.
Near car, far car,
Whoa! Bizarre car!

And so a new adventure in fun and rhyme begins. There was no doubt when I saw this book at the library, we would need to take it home!! All kinds of cars, all shapes, all sizes, all colors and described in this rhyming, fun text will make any child laugh. Every time you read it, and yes, we have read it QUITE a few times already, you see something new in the illustrations. Soon to be a library favorite, it already is a favorite at our house!!

Story: 5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves (Great endpages too!)

Vroom! Vroom!!

So when you have an almost 3 year old boy....anything with WHEELS rules!!! And really to find books that are not covered in PINK, princess crowns, and glitter are rare anymore!! Two of Adams favorite books right now are Hot Rod Hamster and Mini Racer. We bought Hot Rod some time ago but the Mini Racer book just came out and he loves to examine the pictures very, very closely after we read it. Both books contain FUN language that could be used for a variety of ages, for a variety of purposes.



Hot Rod Hamster by Cynthia Lord
Hamster needs a car, one that will "burn rubber"! Of course a racing hamster is at a disadvantage but Hot Rod is prepared for the big race. Fun, colorful illustrations compliment the fun words in the book.
Story: 5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves



Mini Racer by Kristy Dempsey
Turn to end pages, and right away you are emerged in to the "wheeled" fun. Dog, seal, rabbit, mouse, gorilla, etc are all competing in the big race and each has a specially designed car. Zooming, screeching, swerving, sliding, fun for the twelve little racers and the reader.

Story: 5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves (and the 3 year old loves them too!! He will sit and study them!)