Down Girl & Sit - The Series

Down Girl & Sit is a fun beginning chapter series that peeks into the minds of two mischievous dog friends as they wonder about life in the neighborhood and how to get their maters' attention. In the book I read, Bad to the Bone, the dog capers include knocking their humans off painting ladders, grabbing the hamburger man's dinner and saving the neighborhood from cats, Here Kitty Kitty, and squirrels. The exasperated humans drag Down Girl & Sit to obedience school, but it clear to our clever canines, humans can just NOT be trained!
This is a good mentor text for writers to study POV, anthropomorphism, and a clever plot line.  Ba-roo!

Skeleton Cat - in November

No need to be afraid of Skeleton Cat by Kristyn Crow, illustrated by Dan Krall! I confuse to being a book hoarder at times, and with Skeleton Cat, I admit to hoarding him since early October. this cute rhyming picture book with plenty of onomatopoeia is just plain fun to read aloud and has a super rhythm! Plus this phat cat is ready to literally rock-n-roll as he auditions for the band as, what else? A drummer.
Lines like "He went: Rattle, rattle. Clink, clink. Rattle, rattle clink. Tip tap. Clickety-clack, ka-plink, ka-plink, ka-plink. He rocked and he rollicked and he clunked around, and the kids in a playground heard the rattlin' sound..." will have youngin's dancing  & a tapping. Great writer's mentor text for rhyme and rhythm! Gotta dance on over to the library & finally turn him in!

Monsters and Dogs & Kittens, Oh, My!

Cover of Katie Loves the Kittens

My tail wags for these 2 books: The Monster Who Lost His Mean & Katie Loves the Kittens. I've shared these 2 books multiple times with my bookworm grandson Tobin. By multiple times, I mean so many times that I know the books by heart!
Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman, published in 2008 by Henry Holt, is a deceptively simple, light-hearted look at Katie, an irrepressible dog who loves Sara Ann's new kittens soooo much, it gets her in constant trouble. The kittens fly and scramble as Katie's tail wags so hard a kitten is caught in the onslaught. Pencil & watercolor drawings bring out Katie's personality- you feel for the poor dog as she learns to be patient & finally, just finally, Katie calms down enough that the kittens curl around her as she sleeps. My grandson & I love to repeat Katie's signature bark, "Aroooooo," which is similar to my Corgi's bark, Ba-roooo. this tale bears up after repeated readings. Fun for all.

I found The Monster Who Lost His Meanwhile browsing for a not-so-scary story for my 2.5 year old. This picture book is perfect for Halloween and beyond. Written by Tiffany Strelizt Haber, illustrated by Kirstie Edmunds, this 2012 book published by Henry Holt is a clever tale of a monster who no longer has his "M," so now he's an "Onster." Without being didactic, readers learn about bullying, not fitting in, and how to recreate yourself by turning a liability into an asset. Monster makes new friends, helps with chores and even gets a surprise party all without his "M" or his old friends. Curriculum connections for educators include alphabet recognition, word play, connotation vs. denotation (what is a monster w/out his name?) and creating acrostics. I give this book an "M" for Marvelous!