It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date, and adapted by Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts with a children’s/YA focus. The Sunday Post is hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. These weekly roundups are a great way to discover new blogs and bloggers, share some of the titles you’ve been enjoying, and add to your ever-growing to-read list.
Can you believe it’s June already?! Where has the year gone?
On Saturday we had another edition of the Diverse Kid Lit linkup, and I had an amazing group of picture book posts to share, including my reviews of Mixed Me!, Shark Lady, Families!, and Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns. So many great titles, so little time!
Here’s another pro tip for you today – funny picture books are even funnier when your audience understands what they’re all about.
I’ve talked about my love of Jan Thomas on the blog before, so I felt pretty confident about sharing A Birthday for Cow! with my preschoolers last week. It’s Cow’s birthday, and her friends Duck, Pig and Mouse are preparing the best birthday cake ever. But wacky old Duck keeps wanting to ruin everything by putting a turnip in the cake!! It’s a play on Thomas’ other hit picture book Is That Wise, Pig?, with a zany character wanting to add an unusual ingredient to a dish, which should in theory equal guaranteed audience amusement.
Well, that probably would’ve been the case…if my preschoolers had any idea what a turnip was.
I read the first few pages out loud, and was rewarded with ….silence. Confused silence.
It hadn’t even occurred to me that the kids might not know what a turnip is! A quick conversation about the identity of turnips and the inappropriateness of their inclusion in birthday cakes helped put things back on track, but learn from my mistake, and make sure your audience actually understands the vocabulary in your picture books for maximum impact and enjoyment! 😉
I love me a singable picture book, and I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More is an old favourite of mine. A young creative free spirit decides to paint on the floor, and the ceiling and the window and the curtains and the door. His mother hides his paint on the top shelf of closet, presumably out of reach, but that’s not about to stop this Picasso from unleashing his inner artist! This is such a fun picture book to sing with a bit of a country twang, and the kids find the colourful illustrations just hilarious. We also had a very meaningful conversation about proper painting procedures, enthusiastically supported by the preschool teachers!
A little joey is excited to explore the world, and there’s so much to see! But everything’s just a bit too exciting at times, and even a bit scary! Bees, birds, rabbits, oh my! Thankfully there’s always the comforting safety of mummy’s pouch to return to, and being a little brave even leads the little joey to the discovery of a new friend. This is a sweet, gently reassuring story that’s perfect for little ones who are learning to build their independence.
Have a great week, friends!
These all sound fun and adorable. I probably didn’t know what a turnip was at that age either. It definitely wasn’t a food I ate at that age (and still don’t!).
No, me neither! 😉
All three sound wonderful for young readers, Jane. I understand about the turnip, but it is funny, too. I imagine you wished you’d brought one in. I’ll have to ask the granddaughters if they know what they are.
I am not a fan of turnips. It was one of those evil vegetables the German side of my family brought out, mashed, at dinner events. I hated them then and am still not a fan, although I will eat them raw.
The best thing about working with children is how much they teach us. I added I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More to my VPL list.
It’s so true – I find that working with kids really keeps my mind fresh and my spirit filled. They always keep me on my toes!! 🙂
I now I have “I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More, No More” in my head! 🙂
🙂 🙂 🙂
Such cute looking picture books! I’ve ordered all three from my library, so hopefully I’ll be enjoying them soon! Thanks for your great suggestions!
Hurray! I’m so glad to be able to share some of my favourite picture books, I hope you enjoy them too.
These look like delightful picture books. Loved the story about the turnips – I guess these kids have yet to make chicken soup!
Pouch sounds like a great book to pair with Scaredy Squirrel
I’ve never read Jan Thomas books but A Birthday for Cow looks adorable. I definitely need to check that out!
Now that you mention it, I wonder why the publishers didn’t realize preschoolers aren’t likely to know what a turnip is! Why not broccoli or something else more common? It still sounds like a fun book, though! And you can teach preschoolers some vocab!
I cannot wait to read Shark Lady! I am a huge fan of Keating and her Blobfish book, so I know I’ll love her newest 🙂
Happy reading this week!
I can’t believe June is already here. It couldn’t come soon enough and, unfortunately, I’m already panicked it’ll be over before I know it. What a year it’s been so far. Thank goodness for books!