I Know a Shy Fellow Who Swallowed a Cello Ages 4-7

PREVIEW

He's shy, a wallflower. He's the man at the side of the room listening to a duet for cello and viola. Even now you wouldn't notice him. But our shy fellow suddenly has an urge to swallow a cello, which is precisely what he does. And he doesn't stop there. He follows it with a harp, a sax, and a fiddle. On and on he goes, trying to satisfy his voracious appetite for musical instruments. A strange diet, you say? It's the perfect diet for a strange fellow, a strange, shy fellow. Barbara S. Garriel's wacky take-off on the old woman who swallowed a fly is the perfect match for John O'Brien's fertile and funny imagination.

I know a shy fellow who swallowed a cello

By Barbara S. Garriel

Illustrated by Barbara S. Garriel

Edition: illustrated

Published by Boyds Mills Press, 2004

ISBN 1590780434, 9781590780435

32 pages

Surreal illustrations add disturbing and ...... enjoyable vigor to this adaptation of "I Know an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly." The shy fellow is listening to a string duet when, much to the consternation of the cellist, he swallows the cello ... more »—"perhaps he'll bellow." This strange gentleman, now shaped like the cello he has swallowed, follows up with the harp from an Irish dance troupe, the saxophone from a jazz band, a cowboy's fiddle, a marching band's cymbal, the flute from a revolutionary war piper, and a birthday party's kazoo. With each addition to his strange meal, the shy fellow becomes more and more strangely shaped. At last he swallows the bell off a passing cat's collar—one snack too many!—and the resulting explosion returns the instruments to the musicians in a delightfully vibrant musical blast. The dynamic line of the illustrations, full of swoops and squiggles, provides excellent accompaniment to this silly reworking of a familiar rhyme. (Picture book. 4, 5, 6, 7)

Kirkus Reviews Copyright (c) VNU Business Media, Inc.

2008 Read Aloud Award When Dinosaurs Came With Everything Ages 3-8

PREVIEW

Get a WHAT!?

Free WHAT!?

DINOSAURS?

Just when a little boy thinks he's going to die of boredom from running errands with his mom, the most remarkable, the most stupendous thing happens. He discovers that on this day, and this day only, stores everywhere are giving away a very special treat with any purchase. No, not the usual lollipop or sticker. Something bigger. Much, MUCH bigger. It's a dream come true, except...what exactly do you do with these Jurassic treats? And how do you convince Mom to let you keep them?

When Dinosaurs Came with Everything
By Elise Broach, David Small
Illustrated by David Small
Edition: illustrated
Published by Simon and Schuster, 2007
ISBN 0689869223, 9780689869228
40 pages

What if one day every merchant in town ...

... offered up, and indeed, insisted that shoppers take home a live dinosaur (free) with every purchase? That's what happens to a boy and his mother in this sweet, absurd story that unfolds very much ... more » like a dream—or a nightmare, depending on the reader's perspective on having a large dinosaur as a pet. In Small's comical, wonderfully expressive watercolor-and-ink drawings, it's easy to identify the mother's reaction to the bonus triceratops (free with a dozen doughnuts); stegosaurus (from the doctor instead of stickers); and pterosaur (from the barber instead of the usual balloon): unmitigated horror, inversely proportionate to her son's delight. The hulking beasts are irresistibly endearing, though, as they wait patiently, doglike, for their new owners outside all the town establishments and ultimately, once at home in the family's backyard, prove their worth as household laborers, cleaning gutters and rescuing far-flung Frisbees. In the end, the boy's friends bring their own newly acquired dinos over to his house for a poolside party—and he knows Mom has truly come around when she calls the baker for more doughnuts. (Picture book. 4, 5, 6, 7)

Kirkus Reviews Copyright (c) 9/25/2007 VNU Business Media, Inc.

PreS-Gr 1 Age 3, 4, 5, 6 — In a playful take on the ...

... stickers and lollipops that bored kids sweep up at businesses as parents do errands, Broach imagines what would happen if a dinosaur were the giveaway of the day. A boy's increasing delight at the ... more » freebies he collects from the bakery, the doctor, and barber contrast with his mother's increasing panic and dismay as the lumbering beasts start to accumulate. When they acquire the fourth behemoth, Mom decides that the errands are done and whisks everyone home. Once there, she finds some unique ways to put the stegosaurus, triceratops, hadrosaur, and pterosaur to good use doing household chores. Small's sketchy, tongue-in-cheek watercolor-and-ink artwork perfectly captures the boy's exuberance, the dinosaurs' mass, and the hubbub that a city full of these reptiles would create. Dinosaur lovers will enjoy seeing their favorite creatures pictured and named, though the book's appeal won't just be for them. Both listeners and independent readers will appreciate the humor in the text, and the book will spark imaginations and discussions on what else might make great giveaways.—Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha Public Library, WI

School Library Journal vol. 53 iss. 9 p. 158 (c) 09/01/2007

Houndsley and Catina and the Birthday Surprise Ages 4-8

"Published in beginning-reader format, this gentle story will appeal to children’s compassion as well as their sense of humor." — BOOKLIST

Houndsley is sad. Not because it’s raining or because there are holes in his sweater, but because he doesn’t know when his birthday is. And now Catina is sad, too. But friends are good at cheering each other up, and Houndsley and Catina are the best of friends. So it won’t be long before they each discover, in a most surprising way, how a first-rate friend can brighten even the saddest days.

Houndsley and Catina and the Birthday Surprise: Candlewick Sparks

By James Howe

Illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay

Edition: illustrated, reprint

Published by Candlewick Press, 2007

ISBN 0763636401, 9780763636401

48 pages

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2 Ages 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 –The personable canine and feline friends continue their adventures in this early reader. Houndsley tells Catina that he is sad because he doesn't know his birth date. Worried that he has made her sad, too–she doesn't know when her birthday falls, either–he decides to surprise her with a cake. Catina is up to her own surprises, though, and arranges a birthday party for her pal. Gay's soft watercolor-and-pencil illustrations with collage details are fun and lighthearted, and scenes are filled with activity and assorted sweet-looking animals. The ratio between text and pictures will appeal to new readers.–Sandra Welzenbach, Villarreal Elementary School, San Antonio, TX
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
This sequel to Houndsley and Catina (2006) begins with Houndsley the dog feeling blue and his best friend, Catina the cat, wondering why. Walking in the rain with his pal, Houndsley admits that he is sad because he doesn't know when his birthday is. Catina confesses that she doesn't know her birth date either. Within days, each animal has found a way to cheer the other. Published in beginning-reader format, this gentle story will appeal to children's compassion as well as their sense of humor. Though the setting is a cold, sometimes-bleak autumn, Gay's pencil, watercolor, and collage artwork glows with warmth, style, and quiet pizzazz. An appealing book for independent readers in the early grades, the story will also make a good fall read-aloud for preschool classes. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

ABC Read Aloud Award Winner 2007 Alabama Moon Ages 9-14

Winner - 2007 E.B. White Read Aloud Award For Older Readers

Alabama Moon
by Watt Key
$16.00 Farrar, Straus & Giroux Ages 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 PREVIEW

I could trap my own food and make my own clothes. I could find my way by the stars and make fire in the rain. Pap said he even figured I could whip somebody three times my size. He wasn't worried about me.

For as long as ten-year-old Moon can remember, he has lived out in the forest in a shelter with his father. They keep to themselves, their only contact with other human beings an occasional trip to the nearest general store. When Moon's father dies, Moon follows his father's last instructions: to travel to Alaska to find others like themselves. But Moon is soon caught and entangled in a world he doesn't know or understand, apparent property of the government he has been avoiding all his life. As the spirited and resourceful Moon encounters constables, jails, institutions, lawyers, true friends, and true enemies, he adapts his wilderness survival skills and learns to survive in the outside world on his own terms.

From the Committee:
Described by one ABC bookseller as Hatchet meets Holes, the committee loved this coming of age novel for its freshness of voice, originality, and blend of humor and drama. Tested by several of the committee members on target audiences, the language and pacing of the book made it a great read-aloud that grabbed listeners' attention and didn't let go.

From School Library Journal
Grade 6-8, Ages 12, 13, 14–Moon, 10, has spent most of his life in a camouflaged shelter in the forest with his father, a Vietnam veteran who distrusts people and the government. Pap has educated him in both academics and survival skills. His life suddenly changes when the land is sold to a lawyer and his father dies. The lawyer discovers him and, believing what he is doing is best for the child, turns him over to Mr. Gene from the local boys home. When Moon escapes, Mr. Gene alerts the constable, an emotionally unstable bully who becomes obsessed with capturing him. Once at the home, though, Moon makes his first real friends and learns what friendship is all about. Much of the story revolves around multiple chases, captures, and escapes. The ending might be a bit too perfect, but it is a happy one for Moon. The book is well written with a flowing style, plenty of dialogue, and lots of action. The characters are well drawn and three-dimensional, except for the constable–but then, maybe thats all there is to him. Even those who knew him as a child have nothing good to say about him. The language is in keeping with the characters personalities and the situations. Although Moon is only 10, older readers will also enjoy the book and will better understand the adults perspectives.–Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* This excellent novel of survival and adventure begins with the death of young Moon's father, an antigovernment radical who has been living off the land in rural Alabama with Moon for years. Moon has never known any truth but his dad's, and so he tries to continue his father's lifestyle. Unfortunately, Moon quickly finds himself in the claws of civilization, as personified by a sadistic cop. After a brief stint in jail (a lifetime of hunting and gathering leaves Moon hilariously pleased with the prison food), Moon again lights out for the territories, only to be recaptured and end up in reform school. Of course, no reform school is gonna keep Moon in check. Key's first novel is populated with memorable characters--such as Moon's reform-school buddy's dad, whose life is devoted to drinking and shooting machine guns--and studded with utterly authentic details about rural Alabama and survivalism. Stylistically, the book is perfectly paced, and Moon's narration is thoroughly believable. A terrific choice for reluctant readers and also for fans of Gary Paulsen's Brian novels. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

My Teacher's in Detention

My Teacher's In Detention contains 50 hilarious poems about school that cover everything from homework and tests to detention and gross-out school lunches. The book contains poems by well-known poets, including Bruce Lansky, Jack Prelutsky, Kenn Nesbitt, and more great "giggle poets." Editor and contributor Bruce Lansky is one of North America's three bestselling authors of children's poetry books. His kid-tested, giggle-filled children's poetry books have sold over 2.5 million copies. This book follows on the success of Lansky's other school poetry anthologies, No More Homework! No More Tests!, and If Kids Ruled the School, which have sold over 500,000 copies in all editions and are among the best selling children's poetry books at retail.

About the Author

Bruce Lansky has been crowned the "King of Giggle Poetry" by his elementary school admirers. As editor of the successful poetry anthologies, Rolling in the Aisles, If Kids Ruled the School, A Bad Case of the Giggles, Kids Pick the Funniest Poems, No More Homework! No More Tests! and Miles of Smiles, he learned what makes children laugh by testing poems on panels of elementary and middle-school kids. He used this feedback to create books of his own original poetry, If Pigs Could Fly...and Other Deep Thoughts, and My Dog Ate My Homework.

http://www.poetry4kids.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=135

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? Ages 5-8

Award-winning artists, using hilarious illustrations, present their own verison of the classic joke, from Mo Willems's chicken who confesses his motives to a police officer, to Marle Frazee's chicken who is searching for a luxury "coop."

Subjects

Chickens/ Caricatures and cartoons/ Juvenile literature, American wit and humor, Pictorial/ Juvenile literature, Chickens/ Cartoons and comics

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

By Jon Agee

Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

Published by Dial Books for Young Readers, 2006

ISBN 0803730942, 9780803730946

40 pages

Fourteen artists, nearly all of them ...... household names, offer answers to the classic title question. The punch lines are as varied as the visuals, with chickens fleeing threats such as dinosaurs (Jon Agee); "mutated zombie chickens ... more » from Mars" (Harry Bliss); running toward a more glamorous henhouse (Marla Frazee), or an enticing tangle of mysterious creatures and shapes (Mary GrandPr). Some are crossing because the light changed (Lynn Munsinger, David Shannon), a baseball went through a window (Chris Sheban) or a tasty treat beckons (Judy Schachner, Jerry Pinkney, David Catrow). Chris Raschka closes with a sphinx looking up at the viewer, murmuring, "You tell me," and all of the contributors' chickens march across a final spread with jokey answers to another query: "Why did the artist cross the road?" Evidently offered not to support a charity but just for fun (plus a little promotion), this gallery of clever pullet surprises will draw crows of delight. (Picture book. 5, 6, 7, 8, adult) Kirkus Reviews Copyright (c) VNU Business Media, Inc

Bing Bang Boing by D Florian Ages 6-12

Thirty-five Pages of Preview

Bing Bang Boing: Poems and Drawings

By Douglas Florian

Illustrated by Douglas Florian

Edition: illustrated

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1994

ISBN 0152337709, 9780152337704

144 pages
Meet Genny Glubber, who’s fat like blubber, and Mr. Giles, who has seven smiles. And Little-Naughty-Nasty Ned, who glued his brother to a bed. Come along and join the fun--this book has a poem for everyone! “From the sunlit yellow of its jacket to the humorous tone of its verse, this should prove a popular choice for poetry shelves.”--Booklist

Bing Bang Boing

By D. Florian

Published by Tandem Library, 1996

ISBN 0785778276, 9780785778271

An illustrated collection of more than 150 nonsense verses. Recommended by the AES Advisory Committee.

Ages 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Laugh-eteria Ages 6-12

Thirty-eight Page Preview

Laugh-Eteria

By Douglas Florian

Illustrated by Douglas Florian

Edition: illustrated

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1999

ISBN 0152020845, 9780152020842

160 pages Ages 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Karate Kids
One was a black belt. One was a brown. One had a loose belt; His pants fell down.
Silly, irreverent, and always clever, these poems showcase Douglas Florian’s talent for turning plain old language into outrageously entertaining verse. Page after page of witty wordplay and droll black-and-white drawings are guaranteed to knock the socks off devoted poetry fans and newcomers alike.

Florian's seventh collection of verse is ...

... also his most uneven; though the flair for clever rhyme that consistently lights up his other books, beginning with Monster Motel (1993), occasionally shows itself--""Hello, my name is Dracula/My ... more » clothing is all blackula./I drive a Cadillacula./I am a maniacula""--too many of the entries are routine limericks, putdowns, character portraits, rhymed lists that fall flat on the ear, or quick quips: ""It's hard to be anonymous/When you're a hippopotamus."" Florian's language and simple, thick-lined cartoons illustrations are equally ingenuous, and he sticks to tried-and-true subjects, from dinosaurs to school lunch, but the well of inspiration seems dry; revisit his hilarious Bing Bang Boing (1994) instead.

Kirkus Reviews Copyright (c) VNU Business Media, Inc.

A Bad Case of Stripes Storyline Online AudioBook

A Bad Case Of Stripes

By David Shannon

http://www.storylineonline.net/
Illustrated by David Shannon

Published by Demco Media, 2004

ISBN 0606305815, 9780606305815 Ages 6, 7, 8, 9
Read and Acted by Sean Astin

In order to ensure her popularity, Camilla Cream always does what is expected, until the day arrives when she no longer recognizes herself.
RearWriteThink Lesson Plan
After she refuses to eat her lima beans, Camilla finds herself covered with stripes. The stripes change into stars, polka dots, and other patterns. Camilla overcomes her "illness" when she learns to be herself. INDIVIDUALITY, POPULARITY

Read All about It!: Great Read-aloud Stories, Poems, and Newspaper Pieces for Preteens and Teens

Read All about It!: Great Read-aloud Stories, Poems, and Newspaper Pieces for Preteens and Teens

By Jim Trelease

Contributor Jim Trelease

Edition: illustrated

Published by Penguin Books, 1993

ISBN 0140146555, 9780140146554

489 pages

From "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" to "Maniac Magee," sci-fi to op-ed, "Casey at the Bat" to a moving true story about the reunion of two Hololcaust survivors, this wonderfully diverse collection of excerpts from newspapers, magazines, and books has been created by Jim Trelease especially to turn young people on to the many pleasures of reading. Here are thought-provoking columns from Mike Royko and Pete Hamill; excerpts from classics like "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Rikki-tikki-tavi"; autobiographical sketches by Maya Angelou, Moss Hart, and others, highlighting the imoportance of reading in their lives; and much more. With selections representing many different cultures, genres, writing styles, and interests, "Read All About It!" is a wonderful introduction to the riches of literature and to a lifetime of reading.