Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark

I'm not gonna lie...I LOVE the Pout-Pout Fish regardless of what adventure he is on.

Whenever my kids are grumpy and I want to make them laugh (or scream at me more) I ask them if they are being a Pout-Pout Fish.  If they insist that they aren't but are still pouting then I simply start to smooch, smooch, smooch them into giggles.  Lots of fun and a great torture tactic! 

Deborah Diesen has gone and done it again with this new Pout-Pout book!  I am usually wary of sequels but I was hooked by the time I reached the last page!  If you have a little one that's afraid of the dark then this is a must have.  I wish the Pout-Pout Fish would be the next Berenstain Bears series.  Little life lessons are just so much more fun through fish eyes!  (That's saying a lot 'cause I kinda HATE fish usually.)

Dan Hanna did these adorable illustrations.  My favorite page is with all the fish advertising fun things in their mouth (you'll know which page I'm referring to when you read it).  Dan Hanna's page has some fun activities and other fun Pout-Pout stuff so go check it out.

Speaking of things you HAVE to check out, I found this incredible YouTube video of the first Pout-Pout Fish book.  Whether you have or haven't read it you will enjoy this video, and I dare say your kids will make you play it, replay it, put it on repeat, until you never wanna see it or hear it again.

Blub, Bluuub, Bluuuuuub!

Zombie in Love

The ghosts of Halloween would haunt me for sure if I failed to share this awesome book with you during the season of all spookiness.  I was openly laughing in Barnes and Noble today as I was reading this.  All the little kids that walked by were laughing at the crazy laughing lady (ME!).

So this is totally unheard of for me to post a book that I haven't tried out on my kids first.  I have come to peace with this fact and I think you should too.  Here is why, how many STUPID books do we sit through because our kids are allowed to pick out whatever they want at their local or school libraries?  So if we randomly read a children's book for no other reason than it is fun for us, than I say it is our priveledge, nay RIGHT, to do so!

(Climbing off my soap box) I think this book should be to Halloween what Twas the Night Before Christmas is to Christmas.  Okay maybe that is going a little overboard but it is awesome!  I dare you not to crack a smile when you read his singles ad in the newspaper!

Kelly Dipucchio is an incredible author!  She also writes one of my other favorite books, Alfred Zector Book Collector, which if it is not on here already, it will be soon.  Scott Campbell does an excellent job with the illustrations!  He makes zombies comical and only a little gross instead of the true terrors that they are.

Since Halloween is more about the treats than the tricks I'm adding a little treat from the book below.  Enjoy! 

Spooky Hour

A few weeks ago my mother-in-law sent the kids a Halloween gift.  There was a Halloween activity book for each kid and then this fun book!  We of course read it that night and have been reading it every night since.  My youngest who is four has the funnest time with it.  He is just learning to count so he always tries say the number that comes next before I turn the page.  There is page after page of creepy, fun, halloween monsters.

Tony Mitton is a fantastic author and has so many books I decided to quit counting. Guy Parker-Rees is an excellent illustrator!  He is also the illustrator of one of my other favorite books, Giraffes Can't Dance.

So make story time a spooky time tonight!

The Foggy Foggy Forest

Some days I wish I could relax enough that I could enjoy my kids again.  For example, stop worrying about how well they ate dinner or whether dinner covered all of the eighty nutritional food groups, whether they got their homework done or if they did, was it even done right, whether they got a bath or if they smell and look clean enough that maybe I could put it off until tomorrow?  All the while, I'm begging them to quit fighting, quit touching each other, quit touching my stuff, and screaming for them to stop screaming! I start to feel as if I am walking through a foggy foggy mine field of parental DON'Ts!

Well if you every catch yourself feeling this same way, then DO grab this book.  You'll be reminded that laughter is the best medicine, and your kids, no matter how malnourished, are miniature comedians.  I can't tell you how comical it was listening to my kids guess what was on the next page.  I LOVED reading and rereading this book.  Even once you know what awaits you it is fun to have contests to see who can come up with the funniest or craziest idea!

Nick Sharratt, you are a genius!  This is one of my favorite books and it doesn't necessarily have to be a Halloween book but it is definitely fitting for this time of year!  So get comfy with your kids and trust me, by the end of this book you will feel love and admiration for your little goblins flowing back into your heart.

Frankie Stein Starts School

I would like to start off my favorite month of the year with this book!

I love witches, vampires, ghosts, and goblins.  I love Halloween!  My kids ask me every day, "How many more days until Halloween?"  I think it is more for the dressing up than the candy...I think.

Speaking of thinking, I think returning this library book was one of the hardest things I've had to do in awhile.  I loved reading it and my kids loved fighting over it. Kevan Atteberry's illustrations are so much fun!  Lola M. Schaefer did an excellent job writing this book!  Frankie Stein may scare his class mates and teachers but I think he is adorable. 

Think spooky and I will be back next week with another ghoulish gem for ya!

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.