Andy's Storytime

Today I read The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Friends by Stan and Jan Berenstain.

From Amazon

Come for a visit in Bear Country with this classic First Time Book® from Stan and Jan Berenstain. A new cub, Lizzie, has moved to town and Sister can’t wait to become her friend. But when bossiness enters the mix, Sister and Lizzie’s new friendship might be in trouble.

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Today I read Don't Eat Bees (Life Lessons from Chip the Dog). Written by Dev Petty and Illustrated by Mike Boldt.

From Amazon

Are you a dog in need of advice? Fear not: Chip the dog is ON IT in this super-silly guide to living your best canine life. Chip is seven; he knows things. Like what to eat (important papers, the fancy bird the humans cooked for the fancy dinner, Grandpa’s teeth), and what not to eat (bees). He won’t get those mixed up, will he?
 
Pet lovers will see their own goofy fur-friends in Chip's earnest yet ridiculous antics, and readers who love funny animal stories will find their next favorite book buddy with Chip the dog, who's patiently waiting to eat your homework and slobber on your clothes.

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Today I read The Hiccupotamus by Aaron Zenz.

From Amazon

“There was a hippopotamus who hiccupped quite-a-lotamus. And every time he got’emus…he’d fall upon his bottomus!” Calamity ensues when an elephant, a centipede, and a rhinoceros try finding a cure for Hippo’s colossal case of hiccups. Author-illustrator Aaron Zenz’s creativity shines through in his colored-pencil artwork in this off-the-wall read-aloud. HIC! HIC! HIC!

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Today I read Love Monster by Rachel Bright.

From Amazon

Love Monster is a slightly hairy monster trying to fit in with the cuddly residents of Cutesville. But as it turns out, it's hard to fit in with the cute and the fluffy when you're a googly-eyed monster. And so, Love Monster sets out to find someone who will love him just the way he is. His journey is not easy—he looks high, low, and even middle-ish. But as he soon finds out, in the blink of a googly eye, love can find you when you least expect it.

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Today I read The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. Illustrated by Axel Scheffler.

From Amazon

A mouse is taking a stroll through the deep, dark wood when along comes a hungry fox, then an owl, and then a snake. The mouse is good enough to eat but smart enough to know this, so he invents . . . the gruffalo! As Mouse explains, the gruffalo is a creature with terrible claws, and terrible tusks in its terrible jaws, and knobbly knees and turned-out toes, and a poisonous wart at the end of its nose. But Mouse has no worry to show. After all, there’s no such thing as a gruffalo...

About the Author

Julia Donaldson is the internationally bestselling author of many popular books for children. Her Smarties Prize-winning modern classic, The Gruffalo, has sold more than 13.5 million copies worldwide, and the Halloween favorite Room on the Broom is a perennial best seller. In addition to children's books, she has written many children's plays and songs and runs regular storytelling workshops. She was the Waterstones Children's Laureate from 2011-2013.

Axel Scheffler is an award-winning, internationally-acclaimed illustrator of some of the most well-loved children’s books, including Julia Donaldson’s best-selling modern classic The Gruffalo, which has sold millions of copies worldwide. He lives in London.

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In The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition, one of Santa's very own Scout Elves tells the tradition of how he comes to visit children and delivers nightly reports to Santa throughout the Christmas season. It’s how Santa crafts his Nice List! Each morning the Scout Elf lands in a new spot in your home, creating a delightful game of Christmas hide-and-seek.

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InThere Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, the animals are hungry too, and they start eating the old lady's clothes! This is a hilarious rhyming twist on the well-loved tale. 

Artist Kali Stileman's fun illustrations bring the rhyme to life in this unique book, which has die-cut holes and felt teeth on every page, so children can put their hands through the mouths to mimic feeding the creatures.

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InThe Wump World by Bill Peet, the Pollutians invade the Wump World and turn the green meadows into a concrete jungle.

In both his career as an author and illustrator of children’s books and in his work as sketch artist and continuity illustrator, Bill Peet created a menagerie of memorable characters. At Walt Disney, where Bill Peet worked for 27 years, he was a key participant in the production of classic films such as Fantasia, Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and 101 Dalmatians for which he was not only an artist, but the screenwriter as well.

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Today I read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff.

Amazon.com Review

Who would ever suspect that a tiny little mouse could wear out an energetic young boy? Well, if you're going to go around giving an exuberantly bossy rodent a cookie, you'd best be prepared to do one or two more favors for it before your day is through. For example, he'll certainly need a glass of milk to wash down that cookie, won't he? And you can't expect him to drink the milk without a straw, can you? By the time our hero is finished granting all the mouse's very urgent requests--and cleaning up after him--it's no wonder his head is becoming a bit heavy. Laura Joffe Numeroff's tale of warped logic is a sure-fire winner in the giggle-generator category. But concerned parents can rest assured, there's even a little education thrown in for good measure: underneath the folly rest valuable lessons about cause and effect. Felicia Bond's hilarious pictures are full of subtle, fun details. (Great read aloud, ages 4 to 8)

Review

“A light confection as suited for use in preschool story hours for beginning readers.” — SLJ.

“The rhythmic text and circular logic of the award-winning If You Give series makes this a favorite for kids and grown-ups alike.” — Brightly

From the Back Cover

If a hungry little traveler shows up at your house, you might want to give him a cookie. If you give him a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. He'll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache, and then he'll ask for a pair of scissors to give himself a trim....

The consequences of giving a cookie to this energetic mouse run the young host ragged, but young readers will come away smiling at the antics that tumble like dominoes through the pages of this delightful picture book.

About the Author

Laura Numeroff is the author of many books for young readers in addition to the If You Give... series, including The Chicken Sisters and Laura Numeroff's 10-Step Guide to Living with Your Monster. She lives in Los Angeles, CA where she loves to ride horses, read biographies, and play with her pets. A portion of her royalties will be donated to First Book, a national nonprofit organization that promotes children’s literacy.

Felicia Bond is both writer and illustrator of Tumble Bumble, The Day It Rained Hearts, the Poinsettia books, and many others. She painted the art for numerous other award-winning books, including those in the much loved If You Give . . . series and the contemporary classic Big Red Barn. She lived for many years in New York and currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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Today I read Dangerous Dan by Jef Mallett.

From Amazon

Dangerous Dan is an inventive daydreamer who finds adventure and fun wherever he goes. His notebook is like a flying carpet, and his backyard turns into a jungle. Dan's imagination allows him to do anything--except, perhaps, behave! Exceptional illustrations enhance this delightful fantasy.

About the Author

While in high school, Jef Mallett produced a daily comic for the Pioneer in Big Rapids, MI. He later worked as a cartoonist, and as an art director and an editorial cartoonist for a chain of eight midsize dailies. He has written and illustrated the children's book Dangerous Dan, and has also served as an illustrator for other authors, including best-seller Mitch Albom. Jef is also a contributing editor for Inside Triathalon magazine. He lives in Lansing, MI.

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