Monday, August 9, 2010

August 10th is Lazy Day

August 10th is Lazy Day!










































Lazy Jack
by Vivian French and illustrated by Russell Ayto

Lazy Jack was the laziest person. He would get out of bed in the afternoon, eat, drink, and then go back to bed again. His mother did not like that Jack was lazy, so she asks the builder to take Jack to work with him. So all day Jack carries things for the builder and then receives a coin at the end of the day. On the way home, though, Jack loses the coin and is too lazy to go look for it. His mother tells him to put the next one in his pocket. Jack’s mother then asks the farmer to take Jack to work with her. Jack spends the day feeding all of the animals, and when the farmer gives him some milk, he remembers what his mother said and puts the milk in his pockets. Of course, the milk spills out, and his mother tells him that he should have carried the milk on his head. Then she asks the dairyman to take Jack to work with him the next day. What will Jack get paid to work for the dairyman? Will he be able to get it home with no problems? Will Jack ever learn to carry his payment the right way and get it home safely?













































The Little Red Hen
by Paul Galdone

Once upon a time there was a cat, dog, mouse, and a little red hen. The cat, dog, and mouse like to sleep all day long, while the little red hen does all of the housework, the cooking, and working out in the garden. One day she finds some wheat while she was out in the garden. She asks if anyone wants to help her plant it, but the other animals are too lazy to get up and help. When the wheat is ready, the little red hen is the only one who will cut the wheat, take it to be ground into flour, and make it into a cake. Soon the cake is done, and the hen asks who will eat the cake. Will the other animals want to eat some of the cake the little red hen has made? Will the little red hen let them eat any of the cake after she had done all of the hard work? How will the other animals act towards the hen in the future?





















How Lazy Can You Get?
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and illustrated by Alan Daniel

Timothy, Amy, and Douglas John Megglethorp were good children when they were alone, but when they got together, weird things were known to happen. Timothy likes to be lazy and lie around. Amy does not like to be ordered around, and Douglas John does not want to grow up and lose his imagination. This is why their parents worry before they leave the children for one week during the summer. The children’s parents hire Miss Brasscoat to take care of the children, but the children soon find out that Miss Brasscoat certainly does not look at the world the way they do. She does not allow anyone to lie around, she always orders them around, and she always wants them to finish everything on their plate. The children know that this means that there will soon be trouble. She is also always asking them “How annoying, revolting, lazy, and ignorant can you get?” So the children decide to show her, every time she asks one of those questions. The children also feel sorry for Miss Brasscoat, because she never smiles. So Douglas John takes matters into his own hands in order to show Miss Brasscoat how easy it is to smile. Will Miss Brasscoat ever smile, look happy, or just enjoy the children’s company? Will the children be able to make it the rest of the week with Miss Brasscoat there?




















The Boy of the Three-Year Nap
by Dianne Snyder and illustrated by Allen Say

There was once a poor widow and her son who lived on the banks of the Nagara River. The widow sews kimonos for the ladies in town, and the work seems to never end. Her son, Taro, is very clever, but he is also very lazy. Taro only likes to eat and sleep, and so he is called “The Boy of the Three-Year Nap.” There is a rich merchant who builds a mansion near Taro and his mother’s house, and Taro likes to watch the merchant and his family. He likes the way that the family lives. Taro becomes even lazier as time goes on, and his mother gets on to him about going out and getting a job. Taro has a plan, though, and he asks his mother to sew him a black kimono and hat. The next evening Taro puts on the kimono and paints his face. At the town’s shrine, Taro appears to the merchant as the ujigami, and the merchant is told that his daughter must marry Taro or turn in to a clay pot. The merchant is scared for his daughter, and so he goes to Taro’s house the next day and tells Taro’s mother that they must be married. She has several reasons why they cannot marry, such as the house needs repair and that it is much too small for his daughter. The merchant does everything he can to make the marriage happen, and the house is fixed up and made bigger. Will that be enough for Taro’s mother to allow the marriage? Will she ask anything else of the merchant? Will Taro be happy with the way his plan works out?

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