PPBF: Who Needs Donuts?

Author/Illustrator: Mark Alan Stamaty
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, 1973
Age: 4+
Themes: obsession, donuts, love
Opening: Sam lived with his family in a nice house. He had a big yard and lots of friends.

Summary: (from my library’s catalog) Young Sam leaves home to satisfy his craving for donuts, finds a job with a donut collector, and discovers the answer to the question “Who needs donuts when you got love?”

I like this book because: It’s a classic gem of a quirky picture book, and apparently loved by many, as it was the search for copies that lead the publisher to renew true copyright and reprint the book nearly 30 years later. A book for a road trip, for sure, as there is so much to discover on every inch of every page! Crazy-silly story that against all odds is completely satisfying! Do look for it!

Resources/Activities: (assign small groups to) count the numbers of animals, cars, people, donuts, shoes, any technicals impossibilities, etc.; draw your own city scenes with  made up street signs; take this with you on a road trip

Just thought the label goes with the book, innit?

For more Perfect Picture Book Friday picks with teacher/parent resources, check out the list on Susanna Hill’s blog HERE

PPBF: Seamus’s Short Story

Author: Heather Hart-Sussman
Illustrator: Milan Pavlovic
Publisher: Groundwood, 2017
Age: 3-7
Themes: acceptance, height, resourcefulness
Opening: There is no doubt about it. Seamus is short. And from where Seamus is standing the world appears to be made for tall people.

Summary: (from my library catalog) Wishing he could be taller, Seamus tries everything he can think of, until one day he discovers his mother’s high-heeled shoes.

I like this book because: it teaches about the natural consequences of a problem leading to a solution, and invites kids to make their own mistakes, and all that with a good pinch of dry humor. I love the bright and edgy, loose and energetic illustrations which are easy to connect to and read on an emotional level.

Resources/Activities: talk about problems we might have in our own lives and brainstorm solutions together, accepting all ideas as valid, and discuss why mistakes and failure are an important part of our endeavors.

 

For more Perfect Picture Book Friday picks with teacher/parent resources, check out the list on Susanna Hill’s blog HERE.

PPBF: She Made a Monster

Author: Lynn Fulton
Illustrator: Felicita Saal
Publisher: Penguin/Random House, 2018
Age: 5-12
Themes: Mary Shelley, horror writing, Frankenstein
Opening: Two hundred years ago, on a wild, stormy night in a beautiful house on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, a young woman named Mary sat at her dressing table .

Summary: (from my library catalog) On a stormy night two hundred years ago, a young woman named Mary waited for inspiration. Her friend, the poet Lord Byron, had challenged her to write a scary story, but no ideas would come. Mary thought back through her life at the eerie things she had seen in her childhood and the losses she had suffered. But nothing was as scary as her own imagination. As she drifted off to sleep, she pictured something monstrous, a creature that was so frightening, people would run from it in terror. And when Mary awoke, she had her story. — adapted from cover flap.

I like this book because: it’s a delicately rendered, exciting telling of the creative impulse behind this world classic. So many layers and just eerie enough to entice readers to delve into the book themselves. (Sorry for the horrible glare in the photos – hope you seek out a copy to right my wrong!)

Resources/Activities: for the macabre-friendly: disassemble doll or action figure parts and reassemble, going your old toys new life – which can also be used for Halloween decorations.

For more Perfect Picture Book Friday picks with teacher/parent resources, check out the list on Susanna Hill’s blog HERE.

PPBF: Barfburger Baby, I Was Here First

Author: Paula Danziger
Illustrator: G. Brian Karas
Publisher: G.P.Putnam’s Sons, 2014
Age: 4-8
Themes: babies, brothers, jealousy
Opening: “Isn’t he the sweetest little baby brother?” Mom asks. She’s making silly faces at Daniel. Daniel has gunk all over his face. He looks like he spit up a space blob. “He’s just a Barfburger Baby,” I whisper to myself.

Summary: (from my library catalog) Five-year-old Jonathon is not pleased when neighbors and relatives come to visit and admire his new baby brother.

I like this book because: I was on the lookout for new baby/siblings books, as one of my Storytime gang is expecting a baby sister next year. This one would be a good choice if my little friend were just a year older, but it touched me, even if I have no recollection of my own little brother being born (and I was not there first!). It’s a poignant, funny and beautifully written story depicting the stark reality of navigating a new world where all the attention is no longer on you! And I am a HUGE fan of Karas’ work, which is what made me pick this book out in the first place. Just look what he can do with dots for eyes!

Resources/Activities: I asked my Storytime gang what kind of objects we could hand to a baby by drawing them out (they also loved watching me draw and guessing what the next object would be): a comb? A bottle? A teddy bear? An apple? A tree? We also talked about how our behavior has to change in the presence of a very new baby, and what we will be able to teach a baby.

For more Perfect Picture Book Friday picks with teacher/parent resources, check out the list on Susanna Hill’s blog HERE.