Putting The “Boo!” Back In PictureBOOk

In honor of Halloween, I’m offering a few of my favorite picturebook reads that make for some faBOOlous reading throughout the year.

Frankenstein Makes A Sandwich by Adam Rex

2^nd grade to 4^th grade

I remember the first time I picked up this picturebook, I was working at Borders. Almost right away, I started laughing out-load. The poems throughout this book go about describing a particular episode in a famous monster’s life. From Frankenstein, with his rude, food throwing neighbors to the Phantom of the Opera, who can’t get “It’s a Small World” out of his head. Rex’s illustrations only add to the comedy of it all.

Companion: Frankenstein Takes the Cake

Bats At The Beach by Brian Lies

Preschool to 1^st grade

The illustrations in this book, present some very furry and friendly (dare, I say cute?) looking bats. This was another treasure I discovered while working at Borders. I thought this book was such a great read aloud choice, especially with its simple and not overly done rhyming, that I picked it right away for Tiny Tots Storytime at the store. The book is about a night at the beach for bats, with all the typical activities the reader might experience on a trip to the beach, so it is a relatable story—hmmm, sounds like a good book for writer’s workshop.

Companion: Bats At The Library and Bats At The Ballgame

The Monster At The End Of This Book (Starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover)

by Jon Stone

Preschool

I really do wish this book was more popular—Grover makes a lovable and adorable protagonist. The great part about this book is that it’s interactive. Grover is trying to avoid the monster he’s heard about at the end of the book and asks the reader not to turn the page. But, who could resist the temptation to find out what is at the end of this book? So, while giggles will ensue from the reader, Grover becomes increasingly distressed and even tries to barricade the next page by building brick walls and the like. Who is the monster at the end of the book? Well, I only see Grover…

Companion: Another Monster At The End Of This Book

Lies, B. (2006). Bats at the beach. Boston, MA.: Houghton Mifflin.

Rex, A. (2006). Frankenstein makes a sandwich. Orlando, FL.: Harcourt.

Stone, J. (2004). The Monster at the end of this book. New York, NY: Golden Books.

Which One Is The Real Ghost?

Recommended for ages K to 2^nd

Unique ghost story just in time for Halloween…

It should come as no surprise to people who know me that Jon Muth’s character, Stillwater, is one of my favorites…hint: on the cover, he’s the one who is black and white. Stillwater, aside from being a panda, is very wise and has managed to take siblings, Michael, Addy, and Karl through some wonderful Zen stories (Zen Shorts and Zen Ties). Muth’s most recent contribution is Zen Ghosts. Right away, several of my favorite things are combined into one story—picturebook with an enlightened purpose, pandas, and Halloween/ghost stories.

This time around—the excitement for siblings Michael, Addy, and Karl is all in the decision of what they get to be for Halloween. The youngest sibling, Karl has decided to be a monster, reminiscent of Godzilla—in the illustrations, his monster mask displays the same emotions that Karl feels or is acting out (quite delightful, actually). And even though Karl declares that Michael has to decide on one thing to be, Michael ends up being an “Owl-Pirate.”

Stillwater invites the siblings to his house to hear a ghost story after they are done trick-or-treating. The storyteller they meet, mysteriously enough, is another panda that resembles Stillwater. This panda tells them the Zen story called “Senjo and Her Soul Are Separated.” It is an old Chinese ghost story, called a “koan” or a story where you have to answer the question for yourself. The story would make a great discussion of how one acts different with different people.

At the end, the only panda left in the room is the storyteller (Stillwater) and where the other panda was, there is now only a mask. This is one picturebook that not only offers a wonderful story, but beautiful illustrations as well.

Muth, J. J. (2010). Zen ghosts. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Rick Riordan Visits STL

Recommended for ages 9 to 12

On Thursday, Riordan stopped in St. Louis while on tour for his new Percy Jackson spin-off series, The Heroes of Olympus. The first book in the series, The Lost Hero, came out this past Tuesday, the 12^th. The book already topped bookseller and library lists as a reserve weeks before it was due to hit shelves. The Riordan event for the St. Louis County Library was sold out—in fact, the event had to be held at a local school’s gymnasium to accommodate the massive crowd. It was incredible to see all the readers, especially the boys, ages 9 to 12 show up because they LOVE Rick Riordan’s books (notice, I use the plural)!

Ridley Pearson, a local St. Louis author, who co-wrote Peter and the Starcatchers series with Dave Barry (LOVE this series!), was on hand to introduce Riordan. I’ll admit to a starry-eyed fangirl moment when I was standing listening to both of them talk while waiting for the event to start. Pearson was awesome--he came in, walked over to the Borders table and signed all the copies of his books we had brought—even taking personalization requests while customers waited in line to purchase books.

Riordan was ushered in with huge applause—a writing rock star was in the building. Riordan explained that the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians series stemmed from his son’s interest in a unit at school on Greek myths. The protagonist’s Percy’s dyslexia and ADHD is based off Riordan’s son. Riordan decided to continue his series after Percy’s journey through Camp Half-Blood because he still has so many stories to write. The Heroes of Olympus will be a five book series that revolves around three young demi-gods—Jason, Leo, and Piper. Percy is referenced in the first book and Annabeth plays a special role as a side character.

The actual event itself started at 7 and there were still people in line getting books signed till a little after 10:30! This event was a big time commitment for parent(s), but you could tell the majority of them felt it was absolutely worth it—they were there to support their child’s reading habits. Thank you Riordan and parents—we need all the readers by choice we can get in this world.

Riordan, R. (2005-2009). Percy Jackson and the olympians series. New York, NY: Disney Hyperion.

Riordan, R. (2010). The Lost hero. New York, NY: Disney Hyperion.