Saturday, June 6, 2015

180 Books and $12 in overdue fines

A little more than 6 months, and just like that… Emma has learned to be gentle with library books. She actually sits on my lap again while I read to her without trying to grab and rip every page out. Of course, this could just be due to the fact that she slept horribly at night this week. She might just be too tired to exert the effort needed to eat the library books. But I’m going to stick with the first theory. J

In other news, I now owe the library about $12 in overdue fines. I’m not quite sure how that happened. Haha! Oh well. All that means is that we’ve read 180 books for the price of buying one book. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.   

Our Weekly Favorite:

Title: No Dogs Allowed!  
Author: Linda Ashman
Illustrator: Kristin Sorra  

Summary:

“Welcome to Alberto's restaurant…unless you're a dog, a cat, a bunny, or ANYTHING with fur, feathers, or scales!
The entertainment escalates in this nearly wordless picture book as more and more people arrive with a surprising selection of pets.  Alberto turns them all away--only to see the crowd discover a friendlier alternative in the festive street. Will Alberto find a way to win them back?
Charming, classic art, with graphic novel-like panels, make this a fresh and funny story that will amuse even the youngest readers.”

Why We Loved it:      
  • The pictures told this almost wordless story- and they were phenomenal. They were so full of detail, and the character’s expressions were so spot-on, that you didn’t need words to understand exactly what was happening.
  • I thought the ending was clever.
  • This book teaches a good lesson about business marketing being kind and accepting others.

Other Books We Read This Week:



Title: The Sun is my Favorite Star
Author/Illustrator: Frank Asch
I thought this book was boring. 


Title: Samantha on a Roll
Author: Linda Ashman
Illustrator: Christine Davenier
Very cute story. Only the girl disobeyed her mother, and everything turned out fine- her mom never even found out. Not exactly the message I want to send to my daughter, haha!


Title: Rain!
Author: Linda Ashman
Illustrator: Christian Robinson
Very few words- the pictures really tell most of the story. Very well done. 


Title: The Fort that Jack Built
Author: Boni Ashburn
Illustrator: Brett Helquist
I love the premise. I didn't think that all of the rhymes were as smooth as they could have been. 


Title: Moongame
Author/Illustrator: Frank Asch
This book was ok, but I wouldn't read it again. 


Title: The Earth and I
Author/Illustrator: Fank Asch
This book was a little too. . . earthy. . . for me. 


Title: Popcorn
Author/Illustrator: Frank Asch
This is a classic "the house is full of popcorn and we have to eat our way out" story. Very fun.  


Title: I Had a Favorite Dress
Author: Boni Ashburn
Illustrator: Julia Denos
Super girly and cute. 


Title: Mr. Maxwell’s Mouse  
Author: Frank Asch
Illustrator: Devon Asch
I'm so torn about this book. It was very well done, a good read, and the illustrations were absolutely phenomenal. However, I was also extremely disturbed by the storyline of the cat carrying on a long conversation with the mouse he was about to eat. I kind of don't like to think about it even now!  


Title: Over at the Castle
Author: Boni Ashburn
Illustrator: Kelly Murphy
The rhymes in this book were very good! 

All images are courtesy of amazon.com. Clicking on each image will redirect you to the amazon webpage where you can purchase the book.