0 How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow?

How BIG Could Your Pumpkin Grow?
by Wendell Minor
published by Penguin Kids

Autumn is officially here!  And though it's still really warm here in Texas, it's time to pull out some of those treasured Fall favorites! But don't forget to add a few new lovelies to your book collection!  You might want to have a peek at this one:

The Blurb

Every year, giant pumpkin contests take place at fairs across the country—the 2012 record-holder weighed over a ton! The latest craze is to carve the most enormous pumpkins into racing boats. But what’s next? Why not thinkreally big? Award-winning artist Wendell Minor does just that as he imagines larger-than-life pumpkins decorating some of America’s favorite places—as immense as the Capitol dome, Mount Rushmore, the Brooklyn Bridge, even the Grand Canyon! This celebration of famous landmarks and landscapes plays with concepts of size and scale and is full of fun facts.

Detail: How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow?

0 Three Bears in a Boat

Three Bears in a Boat
by David Soman
published by Dial Books for Young Readers


The Blurb
From the co-creator of the New York Times bestselling Ladybug Girl series comes a high seas adventure inspired by the classic picture books Little Bear and Where the Wild Things Are. 
 
Three bear siblings break their mother’s favorite blue seashell, and rather than tell her, they decide to set out in their sailboat to find her a new one. On their quest they encounter salty sailors, strange new islands, huge whales, and vast seas but no blue seashells. When a treacherous storm suddenly blows in, the three bears find themselves tossed about in their little boat, far from Mama. What will become of their search, and what will it take to bring them safely home?
 
This read aloud shares its best qualities with classic picture books: breath-taking illustrations, epic adventure, and a subtle message about taking responsibility for your actions.




I just saw that this little lovely is on the mock Caldecott list on Goodreads!  Speaking of, if you haven't hopped over and voted, you can do it HERE.

Detail: Three Bears in a Boat

0 The Most Magnificent Thing

The Most Magnificent Thing
by Ashley Spires
published by Kids Can Press

The Blurb

Award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Spires has created a charming picture book about an unnamed girl and her very best friend, who happens to be a dog. The girl has a wonderful idea. "She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. All she has to do is make it, and she makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!" But making her magnificent thing is anything but easy, and the girl tries and fails, repeatedly. Eventually, the girl gets really, really mad. She is so mad, in fact, that she quits. But after her dog convinces her to take a walk, she comes back to her project with renewed enthusiasm and manages to get it just right. For the early grades' exploration of character education, this funny book offers a perfect example of the rewards of perseverance and creativity. The girl's frustration and anger are vividly depicted in the detailed art, and the story offers good options for dealing honestly with these feelings, while at the same time reassuring children that it's okay to make mistakes. The clever use of verbs in groups of threes is both fun and functional, offering opportunities for wonderful vocabulary enrichment. The girl doesn't just "make" her magnificent thing -- she "tinkers and hammers and measures," she "smoothes and wrenches and fiddles," she "twists and tweaks and fastens." These precise action words are likely to fire up the imaginations of youngsters eager to create their own inventions and is a great tie-in to learning about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

My Two Cents

I have heard so much hype about this book.  Seriously.  So. Much.  Sometimes, that puts me off--I start thinking in terms of "opiate of the masses" and all that jazz.  Despite my crazy thoughts, I picked this book up and gave it a quick read, expecting to not be wowed.  But I totally liked it.  This little girl represents the lengths we will go to when something MUST work.  I don't want to give anything away, but I love her motivation for the "most magnificent thing" and I love how hard she works to make it happen!

About the Author

I knew I liked Ashley Spires when I read this:  "The artwork in this book was rendered digitally with lots of practice, two hissy fits and one all -out tantrum."  But when I read this little tidbit on her bio at Kids Can Press, I thought maybe we should be BFF's:  "Delighted that there was, in fact, a career that allowed her to remain in her pajamas, hang out with her cats and be productive at the same time, illustration is the perfect job for her." You can learn more about Ashley HERE. And you should probably go ahead and follow her on Twitter as well...I expect to see many more fun books coming from this talented author and illustrator!

Detail: The Most Magnificent Thing

0 Telephone

Telephone
by Mac Barnett
illustrated by Jen Corace
published by Chronicle

Um, so y'all know I love Mac Barnett, right?!  So I think I might love him even more now after this adorable new picture book that plays off of the old game of telephone!  Such a fun concept...and fabulous illustrations!

The Blurb

It's time to fly home for dinner! In this witty picture book from award-winning and bestselling author Mac Barnett, a mother bird gives the bird next to her a message for little Peter. But passing messages on a telephone line isn't as simple as it sounds. Each subsequent bird understands Mama's message according to its own very particular hobbies. Will Peter ever get home for dinner? This uproarious interpretation of a favorite children's game will get everyone giggling and is sure to lead to countless rereads.

Detail: Telephone

0 Weeds Find a Way

Weeds Find a Way
by Cindy Jenson-Elliott
illustrated by Carolyn Fisher
published by Beach Lane Books

The Blurb

Weeds are wonderful! Persistent, exuberant…these plants have personalities, and this nonfiction picture book puts them on colorful display!

From bright yellow dandelions popping through cracks in sidewalks to purple loosestrife growing rampant along roadways, weeds offer unexpected splashes of color and life to the least likely of places. With lovely language and a sly sense of humor, this beautiful picture book celebrates the tenacious temperaments of these pesky plants and is sure to have little ones chanting, “Way to go, weeds!”

My Two Cents

This book is perfect!  I am so in love with the way the author used personification and metaphor.  The result is a fantastic, poetic picture book.  The illustrations are just as lovely...my favorite pages are those with little feet surrounded by tenacious weeds.  I didn't think I could have such emotion about a book about weeds!!  But there is something to be learned from the tenacity and determination of weeds.

You are definitely going to want to read this beauty!
 

Detail: Weeds Find a Way

0 Bluebonnet Book Club #3

Rebel McKenzie
by Candice Ransom
published by Disney-Hyperion

The Blurb

Rebel McKenzie wants to spend her summer attending the Ice Age Kids' Dig and Safari, a camp where kids discover prehistoric bones, right alongside real paleontologists. 

But digs cost money, and Rebel is broker than four o'clock. When she finds out her annoying neighbor Bambi Lovering won five hundred dollars by playing a ukulele behind her head in a beauty contest, Rebel decides to win the Frog Level Volunteer Fire Department's beauty pageant. Rebel may not be a typical pageant contestant, but how hard can it be? Rebel's dramatic reading about life is the Pleistocene era is sure to blow away the competition.

It turns out that winning a beauty pageant is harder than it looks. By the end of the summer, Rebel has learned a thing or two about her true calling that will surprise everyone--most of all, herself.

My Two Cents

I loved meeting with my daughter and all of her (almost) fourth grade friends, as usual.  I must say I was completely surprised by the mixed reviews they had of this book.  I thought it was well written, with good structure and pacing, and so, so funny!  I love the southern charm and setting, as well.

I had one little girl ecstatically talking about it with me.  She said she laughed through the whole thing.  I had several who liked it, though not as passionately as her!  But I just couldn't believe how many in the group claimed to not liking it at all!  Some admitted that they chose not to finish because they just couldn't get into it.  Some of the moms explained that they thought some of the jokes were a bit over their child's head.

That might explain it, but I'm not sure.  It just goes to show that no two people read the same book.  We all bring our experiences and thoughts to each book and read through our own lens.  I think you should read this book, the themes of family and friendship run deep and it is a joy watching Rebel discover who she really is.

Discussion Question for Rebel McKenzie

1. What was your favorite part of the book?  Why?

2. Was there a part of Rebel McKenzie that made you laugh out loud?  What was it?

3. Who did you think would win the beauty pageant?  Why?

4. What do you think happened to Miss Odenia?  What clues from the book led you to that?

5. What do you think made Rebel change from a "fake friend" to a real one?

Book Trailer

For more about the talented Candice Ransom, check out this excellent post from one of my absolute fave bloggers (and a fab author to boot!),  Cynthia Leitich Smith!

Detail: Bluebonnet Book Club #3