The Night Pirates

This summer my son had a Pirate Birthday Bash.  It was big and "piratey" and we read A LOT of pirate books all month to become pirate sauvy enough for the big day.  The Night Pirates was one of the many awesome books that helped us get our "ARRRGH!" on.

I have to say the thing I loved best about this book was that the pirates were girls, cute girls, SMART girls that out-smarted the adult men pirates.  Coolest twist on a pirate story ever!

I pretty much had it memorized after two short weeks due to my kids non stop requests for it.  I actually grounded my kids from this book for a day because they were acting so poorly.  What do you want from me, this book was the only thing that would serve as a good punishment for all of them.  I swore I would never ground my kids from something that was "good" for them but being a parent is all about doing those things you swore you'd never do (i.e. I will never say, "You're the oldest and you should've known better".  I say it EVERY day.)

Enough about me...let's talk about Peter Harris and Deborah Allwright.  Check them both out via the links.  They have many other books that look like a load of fun as well. 

Little Rabbit and the Meanest Mother on Earth

It's nice to know that Little Rabbits have mean moms too!  I was beginning to think my kids were the only ones cursed with a mean mom.  "Mom, you're SOOOOOO mean!" is their battle cry.

I can only aspire to be as cool as Mother Rabbit someday.  I wish I could pull off her tricks!  Little Rabbit is cursed with a mom mean enough to be a circus act, but man can she clear a messy room faster than most moms.

Kate and Sarah Klise (who I'm sure are NOT mean) are the masterminds behind this fun and clever story.  The pictures are entertaining and the story line is quite inventive with a little twist at the end.  So if you are looking to prove that you are not the only mean mom alive, grab this book!  Your kids may appreciate you and their toys more by the end.

The Monster Princess

Who doesn't love a good princess story that doesn't involve prince charming or a fairy godmother?!  ME!  (I love a children's book that reminds me of what is really important in life.)  Sometimes after the unmagical life I've lived, I find it hard to read stories to my daughter of girls that twitch their noses and life takes a turn for the best.  Come on, I just want what every realist wants, a story that is entertaining, filled with woodland creatures, princesses, castles, royal balls, and honest to goodness life lessons.

This book was quite refreshing and I was totally enchanted with the illustrations by Alexandra Boiger.  D.J. MacHale, the author, is amazing!  You won't want to miss the Monster Princess activities on the website either.  Just in case any of you will be vacationing in Southern California (Oceanside to be exact) around October 2nd...drop by Barnes and Noble to see the author. 

Hmmm, do you think my husband would approve a trip to California for my birthday (Oct. 4th)?  I mean technically, since I share my birthday with my three year old son who also loved this book, I could say it is what Josh asked for!  Run and check out this book while I go check out Travelocity!

Dragon Stew

It has been awhile since I've....laughed this hard, loved a book THIS much, or updated my blog.  The first time I read this book I was laughing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Upon finishing it I asked my kids, "So what did you think?"  My middle child answered, "Ugh! Mom, you don't laugh like that 'cause it's not funny!  It's really long and you were laughing in my ear."  Can you imagine my disappointment?  A book I wanted to read over and over and over wasn't my kids' favorite!

Fast forward two weeks later, my previously mentioned son, using his own free will, picked this story for bedtime.  I was trying to hurry through because I had gotten a late start on bedtimes.  My son stops me and turns the page back, "Mom, you forgot to say the 'OKAY!' part!" as he points to a small word bubble.  He can't read, so I am pretty sure he has just memorized the book and that's how he knows I missed that spot.

Steve Smallman and Lee Wildish did a fantastic job with not only an amazingly fun rhyming story but incredibly fun pictures to go along with it!  The flow of rhyming in this book is just outstanding, I marvel at it every time I read it.  I love the illustrations of the vikings and the proper dragon!  I think one of my new school year goals will be to memorize this book so that whenever I'm in a bad mood (like tonight after helping kids with two hours of homework) I can recite it to myself and be all chipper, cheery again.