Reading Club Challenge, Part Deux

Have you ever had one of those days where you keep spilling things, your shoe falls off, and you trip over your own shadow? I am. I'm actually having one of those lives. My inherent scatterbrained nature is coming out full-force early into this week...I need to quiet the monkey-mind once and for all. Speaking of monkeys! Later in the weekend Xander and I continued our quest to twenty books, and included in those twenty are the following three (we actually read many more, but Easy-Readers about the movie Cars, Wookies, and Cabooses aren't that fun to review on here...and those types of books were, as usual, read in abundance-plus, I try to review as many new-ish books that I can...)

Very Hairy Bear - Alice Schertle (ill. Matt Phelan)
Chrissy- "Adapted rhyme and alliteration sprinkle all over this charming work...the illustrations are chubby and new...especially the bear in a snowfall...I have a soft spot in my heart for grizzlies, having seen 9 of them in my short life..."
Xander-"Are bears nice?"
Chrissy- "As long as you don't bother them when they're getting food."
Xander-"Oh. Why are they hairy?"



(came up with some rather amusing results during my google image search for 'very hairy bear'!)


Tiger of Turkestan - Nonny Hogrogian
Chrissy- "Ah, this book is really lovely and inspiring...I wasn't sure you'd be ready to dig it yet, Xander...but here it is, and I think the dreamy (yet still cuddly enough for a tiger cub)illustrations by the Caldecott-winning Hogrogian are really beautiful. I was a bit confused in the geography...she mentions Mount Ararat, which I thought was in Turkey and seen in Iran and Armenia? I have no idea...more research is needed. Regardless, it's lovely and has an uplifting message...that children can appreciate too. Never underestimate their understanding of higher levels of consciousness."
Xander- "Is that tiger nice? Does he have a mom and dad? Is that the mom one?"
Chrissy- "That's the baby tiger when he grows up."
Xander - "Oh, when I grow up, I will be a tiger...or a fireman."



Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct -Mo Willems
Chrissy- "Ah...Mo Willems. Edwina is such a sweet dinosaur lady. I don't need to say too much about the illustrations, they're classic Mo Willems...perfectly awesome and kids and adults love his stuff..."
Xander- "Let's eat this boy's cookies. The dinosaur made some more. Let's eat them. (pretends to pick up cookies and milk from pages, gives me some, himself some, Edwina some, and even Reginald Von-Hoobie-Doobie some...) These cookies are TASTY!"



A book that inspires make-believe cookie-eating? Jackpot!!

What I've really been working on the past three days...

Is thus:

This summer, my library, along with probably your library, is conducting a Summer Library Club to promote...well, literacy. Reading. That kind of thing.
We read all the time to Xander, and he looks at books by himself on his own...so the program is a cakewalk for us. Pineapple-upside-down cake.
The procedure is...
Children who aren't reading yet just have to listen to 20 books and they get a prize pack that includes a free train ride on this train ...and free bowling, zoo tickets, the list goes on and on.
I got to thinking...how can I capitalize on this on my blog? What's in in for me?
So that brings us here. I'm going to (briefly!) review the twenty books, five at a time. I'll briefly state my opinion, and then present you with the words of the toughest literary critic of our day...this guy:



Fair warning, his honesty might shock you. Here are the first five on the roster.

My Friend Rabbit - Eric Rohman (Caldecott Winner)
Chrissy-"The pictures are rich and bold...like woodcuts on a letterpress. Like Yee Haw ... quirky and sweet. What do you think of it, Xander?"
Xander- "Fine."

Two Little Trains - Margaret Wise Brown (author of Goodnight Moon)
Chrissy- "It's kind of a mature story...I love the words but I admittedly miss the art of Clement Hurd paired with her prose...Xander?"
Xander - "Fine."

Timothy Goes to School - Rosemary Wells
Chrissy- "Rosemary Wells always cracks me up. Her characters are imperfect and honest. And sarcastic. Love sarcasm in children's books...she never patronizes a child's sense of humor. Did you like this one?"
Xander- (Shrugs)

Duck Soup - Jackie Urbanovic
Chrissy- (note: did not finish this one, actually only read two pages. Book was started very near bedtime...)"Let's read this one tomorrow, it's late. Get in bed. Find George (his stuffed monkey)...is that George or Georgie? (his other stuffed monkey--who is for some reason not as important to X as George) No, get in bed now! Quit picking! (nose)"
Xander- "Why did Jabba the Hut freeze Han Solo? Was he not nice?"

I Want a Pet - Lauren Child
Chrissy- "Lauren Child is just perfect, and I'm really feeling the Quentin Blake influence in this one..."
Xander- "What's in the egg? Is it the ...(dramatic pause) Little Einsteins? (hysterical laughter)..."
Chrissy- "We have one pet, the cat...what other pet would you like to have?"
Xander- "What's in that egg? Is it....Darth Vader?! (hysterical laughter)...
(Note: of all the five books, this one elicited the most conversation and the most interest. Xander loves to read...but where most books, even very good ones, might just get a "Fine" or "Let's read another one..." I Want a Pet let to about 10 minutes of related chit-chat. That is HUGE.)


Regular Siskel and Ebert of the Children's Room, we are...