news from the book nook: squirrel friends

Random observation of the day: did you know squirrels take dust baths? I thought dust baths were mostly reserved for elephants and chinchillas, but I just witnessed our little bushy-tailed neighbor enjoying a bath in the flowerbed. Naturally, I wondered if he remembered to dust behind his ears. Then I thought wouldn't that make a lovely story for a picture book...which brings me to this inspired blog post. You have the squirrel to thank for it.

Fall storytimes were always some of my favorites: farms, leaves, pumpkins, apples, and squirrels. Everybody loves a good squirrel story. Maybe it's because so many of us can relate to their squeaky, loud antics. Or perhaps it's because they often seem to purposely place themselves in the middle of traffic and then dart out of the way at the last second (remember that commercial where the car swerves and the squirrels fist bump afterwards). Maybe it's the twitchy, bushy tail or the way they sniff out last year's buried nuts. Whatever it is - there's some lovely squirrel picture books out there!

Personally, my favorite story is from my own childhood - we had a "pet" squirrel who lived in the grove of trees down the road. He'd take nuts from our hands, sit on our shoulders, and follow us to our houses every evening. Amazingly, he didn't have rabies, but he might have had some mites... He was our friendly squirrel friend named Paul. One day I'll write his story, but until then here's some of my favorite squirrel friend books:

news from the book nook: new favorites

There's nothing quite like the satisfaction of a well-written children's book. I admit I judge heavily when it comes to picture books. When you've spent years of your life surrounded by piles of books, you know when an author is trying to hard or when a book just misses greatness. In my humble opinion, children must be able to relate to the book's events and characters. If relatability (spell check tells me that's not a word...I disagree) is absent, then it's not a children's book. End of story. Of course, engaging plots, gorgeous illustrations, funny dialog should also be present.  Here's a few newbies that meet my criteria - check them out and let me know what you think! [Note: book links are affiliated links. Full disclosure here.]

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
The story begins with a collection of letters left on Duncan's desk. Letters from his box of crayons. A funny, imaginative read complimented by simple, yet hilarious pictures of Duncan's crayons. The perfect book to ignite children's imaginations about what their crayons would tell them if they came alive. A wonderful springboard for early grade writing topics and letter writing activities (I've already dreamed up a handful of lessons...proof that my teacher brain is still alive and well!)

Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos, illustrated by Joy Ang
What happens when a baby is born with a mustache? More importantly, will that mustache be a good 'stache or an evil 'stache? Simple, silly, and filled with word puns. Great gift for those trendy mustache baby showers!

The Dark by Lemony Snickett, illustrated by Jon Klassen (Side note: if you haven't read Klassen's I Want My Hat Back, please RUN to the nearest library and check it out!)

If you read any of Lemony Snickett's books, then you'll know what I mean when I say this book is written in "true Lemony Snickett style." Quirky and a little dark (hehehe), but nothing over the top scary. And in the end, "the dark" was just trying to be a helpful friend to Laszlo.

Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Tom Litchenheld
Another new favorite for teachers! A lovely picture book with a fun spin on grammar from the view of the punctuation. Read this book. Read it! Will you read it? (oh the joys of grammar... :)

Take advantage of these ridiculous hot days - curl up with a book in the AC. Happy reading!