Thursday, December 26, 2013

Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett

Co-authors Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett and have come up with a marvelously subversive take on the classic children's picture book with Battle Bunny, a fluffy tale about how all of Birthday Bunny's friends forgot his special day (but not really) nail-biting thriller about Battle Bunny's seemingly unstoppable Evil Plan.

With this book you're really two stories for the price of one:

There's the boring traditional story with a predictably happy and saccharine ending. The book is even designed to look like an old-fashioned children's book — the kind in vogue 50 years ago — complete with faded, worn edges on the cover and a personal note from "Gran Gran" to the book's owner, Alex, on the inside.

And then there's the story that every kid (and the kid in all of us) will appreciate, the one penned by Alex, who decided to take it upon himself to add his own edits to the story, including adjustments to illustrator Matthew Myers' pictures. The scene in which Birthday Bunny eats his favorite breakfast of carrot juice and a bowl of Carrot Crispies becomes Battle Bunny chowing down on brain juice and a bowl of greasy guts. Alex's scribbles morph Birthday Bunny from an adorable, wide-eyed ball of fur to a piratical villain complete with helmet, eye patch, a scar on the ear, walkie talkie and utility belt.

Sciezka and Barnett send up just about every Golden Book trope in the rewritten story to hilarious effect: They throw in gross details (refer back to the mention of brain juice), weapons (ranging from hacksaws to megatron bombs), questionable values (Battle Bunny sits on a throne that reads, "Power is good, power is mine") and violence (of the silly, cartoonish variety). Battle Bunny's taking no prisoners as he wreaks havok throughout the forest. Who will save the wild land creatures from his nefarious plan? You'll have to read it to find out.

Given the format of the book, this story could be a bit of a challenge to use as a read-aloud. In addition, there's also the possibility that younger kids might misunderstand the drawings and take it upon themselves to doodle over other books. But those caveats aside, Battle Bunny is a fantastic story that will appeal to younger kids for its ingenious way of taking a staid story and turning into a clever heart-pounder.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Books about How Things are Made and How They Work

Ever wonder how things are made or how they work? Well, if you have, here are some fascinating books that might be useful to you!

J 600 COOL
Cool stuff and how it works by: Chris Woodford
          













J 600 WOODFORD
Cool stuff 2.0 and how it works by: Chris Woodford


    











J 640 ERNST
How things work in the house by: Lisa Cambpell Ernst

        












J 670 SLAVIN
Transformed : how everyday things are made by: Bill Slavin         


Monday, December 16, 2013

Books about Winter

Looking for some books about winter? Texas City doesn’t experience the typical cold and snowy weather that is typical of the winter season in other parts of the world, but we sure can read books about it!

E BUTLER (in the board book section)
Snow Friends by: M. Christina Butle















E FERNANDES
Kitten’s Winter by: Eugenie Fernandes















E HILL (in the board book section)
Spot's snowy day by: Eric Hill














E KEATS
The Snowy Day by: Ezra Jack Keats













ER RYLANT
Annie and Snowball and the wintry freeze : the eighth book of their adventures by: Cynthia Rylant


Monday, December 9, 2013

Books about Counting

Are you teaching your child how to count? Here’s some great books to help:

E BAKER
1-2-3 peas by: Keith Baker


 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E BARUZZI
Count by: Agnese Baruzzi


 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E BRUNHOFF
Babar's counting book by: Laurent de Brunhoff

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E LITWIN
Pete the cat and his four groovy buttons by: Eric Litwin


 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E MURRAY
One two that's my shoe! By: Alison Murray