Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken

This is no ordinary chicken adventure (chickens crossing the road don't count) this is a chicken's adventures on the high seas, the high wire, and victim of high crimes.  There are four chapters and we read one a night and my kids couldn't wait until the next night so they could hear more about Louise!

Kate DiCamillo is the well known author of the Tale of Desperaux and many others.  She even has a new book coming out this fall.  These chapters are short and action packed!  Everything you need to survive and even enjoy a children's book.

Harry Bliss is an extremely talented artist and these pictures are outstanding!  I love the colors and the details.  My kids are pointing at so many things that they love on each page I have a hard time reading around their little fingers.

Join Louise on her adventures and you too will have the deep and dreamless sleep of a true adventurer!

Super Duck

This was my recent favorite from our pile of books that we brought home from the library.  I know you've all heard about the Duck books and it is all good!  This one is as fun to read as the rest.  Plus my two year old has developed a bad habit of dancing and jumping around the room while I read bedtime stories lately and this one he ACTUALLY SAT THROUGH!  (Sorry for the caps lock but it was an exciting moment for me!)

Jez Alborough has a kagillion books out there and you can find a list of them on his website.  I love the illustrations and the stories are short and they rhyme...I really can't think of a single reason you won't like these books.

I'm going to put on my Super Duck cape and try to unpack atleast three more boxes before I go to bed!  Goodnight and enjoy!

Robot Zot

I apologize for my lack of posts lately.  We were moving and between finding my laptop, getting internet hooked up again, and my lack of energy I haven't been keeping up on this like I should.  I didn't forget about y'all and I want to prove it by telling you about one of the funniest books I've read in awhile! 

My boys have been fighting over this one every night! 

Ryan: "I want Robot Zot-Wham Bot!"

Josh: "No Wham Bot My Bot!!"

Ryan: "No MY Bot!"

Josh: "MY BOT!"

Mom: "No fighting or NO ZOT!"

Jon Scieszka has a great sense of humor that shows through his writing.  David Shannon does his usual fantastic job of illustrating with this book.  Check out the link for some video interviews with him.

I can't say too much about this cute little robot without ruining the story for you.  I will say that I love the spunk and determination that Zot has. I'm glad he is not loose in my house(although I don't know if it would make a difference right now)  but it still makes for a really funny story!

Go grab your own copy of Zot and enjoy! 

SUPERDOG The Heart of a Hero

Reading this book makes me believe that even I could be a superhero.  I LOVE reading this book to my kids.  It is one of those books that makes you feel a little warm and gooey inside and believe for just a fraction of a second that everything in the world is right with a dog like Dexter out there.

Dex is an ordinary, if not a little less than ordinary, weiner dog that aspires to being able to help himself and others.  There are a ton of great lessons in this book like, patience, kindness, doing good to others even if they do bad to you, and friendship.

This awesome story was written by Caralyn Buehner.  The pictures were done by her husband, Mark Buehner, and they are so much fun to look at. 

If you are looking for a perfect bedtime story for your superhero addicts or just one that teaches great values then this is the one for you!

After all this talk about superdogs and rescue I'm off to do some rescuing of my own.  I think I'll start by rescuing some ice cream from the freezer!

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed

Why read this book?  Well, in the words of one wise little mole rat, "WHY NOT?"

This is the funnest, cutest book ever!  I've always like Mo Willems books but I have to say that I think this may be one of my favorites.  I'm a fan of the cartoon Kim Possible which has a naked mole rat in it.  I've always wondered if there really is such a thing as a naked mole rat.  I saw this book a few months ago and have recently gotten around to reading it.  I decided I needed to find out if naked mole rats really existed.  I did a search on the internet...(sorry I am fighting back a shudder of revulsion)...they do exist and let me give you some truley wonderful advice: NEVER TRY TO FIND THE REAL THING!

Mo Willems does such a great job of creating smart, cute, loveable mole rats that you would be doing yourself a great disservice to try to find the real thing.  His mole rats have a huge dilemna on their hands.  One of their own decides to start wearing clothes.  When they tell him that NAKED mole rats don't wear clothes he asks, "Why not?".  This is a quick and enjoyable bedtime story that your kids are bound to ask for over and over and you will most likely be more than happy to comply! 

To find out more about Mo Willems watch this video.

DISCLAIMER:I know that after all of the mention of how repulsive naked mole rats are in real life you are bound to want to see for yourself.  In any case Mattie Wadsworth and Madness by Mattie are in no way responsible for any permanent damage that viewing a real nake mole rat causes to you. 

THOSE DARN SQUIRRELS!

So first I would like to apologize for being MIA the last week and a half.  A series of unexpected events occurred and then I found myself at a Family Reunion in Jackson, WY for a week.  It was an odd sensation having fifty percent of my body sunburned and watching it snow the next day.  Glad to be back and I have a ton of books I can't wait to tell you about!

Those Darn Squirrels is a comical story about an old man who loves birds and goes to great measure to keep the squirrels from stealing the bird's food.  Finally, the squirrels, aka:  furry little geniuses, decide that they need to get on Old Man Fookwire's good side.  They try a couple techniques before they succeed.  It is an extremely enjoyable story and my kids love looking at the pictures.

Adam Rubin incorporates his great sense of humor into writing a book that not only gets my kids laughing but keeps me laughing as well.  I think it is amazing that even after you know the outcome (NO I'm not going to tell you what it is!)  you still want to read this book over and over!

Daniel Salmieri just adds to the humor of the story with these hilarious illustrations.  I was trying to figure out which picture was my favorite and I can't pick just ONE!  There are several that make me giggle.

I guarantee that you'll enjoy every second of it, no matter how many times you read it!