Pups in the Snow

Things are starting to thaw out a bit now, but we’re still pretty much iced in. A good day for sitting by the fire with some good books.

We pulled out a couple of good ones.

Puppies in the Snow is by James Young. It was published in 2003 by Scholastic, Inc.

This is a cute counting book with pups playing in the snow and other critters watching. It begins with “ONE lonely puppy in the snow, so far from home, so far to go!” A crow sees him as she flies by, and in an old tree stump you can see a puppy nose sticking out. Then there are TWO friendly puppies and an owl and her babies watching. Each page gives you a glimpse of a new puppy being added and a mom and babies of some other animal. In the end TEN puppies make it home to their mom for dinner and a nice warm bed. It’s a pretty fun book with happy, smiley pups romping in the snow.

Mice on Ice is by Rebecca and Ed Emberley. This is an I Like to Read book published in 2012 by Holiday House. This father/daughter writing team does the craziest books!! Illustrations are BOLD and Bright and Kookie. This book is kind of Dr Seussish. Very simple text – “Mice walk on snow. Mice skate on ice.” But the illustrations just make you smile and giggle. The mice skate all over the ice making designs with their skating. And they make a CAT! A Cat with a Hat! And the cat with the hat skates with the mice on the ice! Pretty cool!

I could not find any information on Mr James Young. 😦

But Rebecca Emberley has a great website HERE.

And her Dad, Ed Emberley is the Master and Commander of children’s books and fingerprints. His website is HERE.

For more about I Like to Read books visit Holiday House HERE.

And here are some little pups having a fun time in the snow –

I hope you’re having a JOYous day wherever you are and whatever the weather

Rhythm

Bok! Bok! Chickens on the Loose!

We have chickens at our house. Chickens are strange creatures. I can never quite figure out if they are really bright or really not so bright. Whichever it is they are very loud and talkative! If they lay an egg, they want EVERYBODY to know about it. If they find a good feast of bugs or whatever, they want EVERYBODY to know about it. If they are just milling around, scratching around, they talk to themselves — a lot of mumbling. They even talk in their sleep! Fascinating!

Now those chickens talk a lot, but I haven’t ever seen them read a book. But I have a couple of good chicken books for you. Both of them are old stories told in kind of a new way. One book features a really stupid, foolish chick and the other book features a really smart, wise hen. The 1st one is Chicken Little. This version of Chicken Little is by Rebecca and Ed Emberley. It was published by Roaring Brook Press in 2009.

As you can see, the illustrations are big and bright and bold. And a bit Crazy!

In the beginning, Chicken Little is bonked on the head by an acorn. We get the sounds in Big, Bold words BONK! EEP! “Oh my goodness, oh my gracious!” he exclaimed. “The sky is falling!… I must run for my life!” And he does — He runs into Henny Penny and knocks her off her feet – BONK! AWK! And so it goes. Running into all the other barnyard birds until they run into Foxy Loxy who invites them into the big dark cave (his mouth!!) to rest. And in they go! And then in a big fold out spread he SNEEZES them out!

It’s a silly, fun romp and everybody comes out fine in the end!

This is a fun, fun, crazy book. The kids loved it! (There were some words that were a little tough for them) But I loved hearing them make the sounds and laugh!

You definitely need to check this one out!

The 2nd book is The Little Red Hen. This version is by Jerry Pinkney. It was published by Dial Books for Young Readers in 2006. This is a very different story. The illustrations are soft and realistic. The hen in question is wise and clever.

This is the story of a hen who finds some interesting seeds and asks the other animals what they are. The dog tells her that they are wheat seeds and if she plants them they will grow into wheat for baking bread. She asks for their help and they all decline. Through the whole process of growing and harvesting and milling and baking, no one wants to help. But when it comes time to eat it, they all want to join in! And the wise hen tells them too bad! Yay for her!! This is a quieter read, but a pleasant one. I really like the illustrations.

You should check this one out as well!

Ed Emberley has a great website with lots of fun activities!

Here is a video interview with Jerry Pinkney.
And a link to his website.

And to end this romp through the chicken yard here are the Muppets Classical Chickens!