A trio of peaceful, gentle, moon-centered stories. Another that would have gone delightfully with this theme is Floyd Cooper's beautiful sepia-toned Max and the Tag-Along Moon, but it was just a smidge too long, and I wanted to try and include a nonfiction title as often as I could with these themed storytimes.
Footprints on the Moon
Mark Haddon, illustrated by Christian Birmingham
ISBN: 9780763644406
The author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time presents a lyrical (and hella long, but we skipped pages like mad) exploration of watching the original moon landing, and being comforted by knowing that regardless of the changes here on earth, the footprints on the moon will endure for centuries.
Moon Plane
Peter McCarty
ISBN: 0805079432
A small boy watches a plane fly at night and spins a fantasy about flying up to the moon.
Kitten's First Full Moon
Kevin Henkes
ISBN: 9780060588281
Kitten wanders around in a luminous night and has kitten-sized adventures chasing after the "little bowl of milk" that is the full moon, having a few accidents, but ending safely at home.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Monday, July 24, 2017
Tuesday Storytime: Fairy Tales - IN SPACE!
Yeah I know, super original. They're so cute I couldn't resist.
The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot
Margaret McNamara, illustrated by Mark Fearing
ISBN: 9780375866890
The three little pigs are a bit wider-ranging in this planet-hopping version that replaces the big bad wolf with a clanky cranky robot. Bork, Gork, and Nklxwycz (good luck with that one, I went with Nickle-zee-wits) each build their houses, and in turn the robot smashes them all to bits, until the last house defeats it and becomes home sweet home. Cool visuals and planetary references actually attempt to be factual, although that tidbit is most probably lost on the young audiences I have.
Best Frints in the Whole Universe
Antoinette Portis
ISBN: 9781626721364
Best frints on planet Boborp have sharp teef and really short tempers, so friendship is a perilous thing, especially when one frint shmackles the other frint's brand new spossip. (Trust me, by the time you get to that point, you'll get it with no trouble.) But a bit of taypo and some twire, and maybe a little bit of friendship (and a game of eye-ball) and things are as good as new (except for the poor spossip). Some very knowing winks towards the adults in this one.
Interstellar Cinderella
Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Meg Hunt
ISBN: 9781452125329
Down and dirty Cinderella is a spaceship mechanic in this version (strong shades of Kaylee Frye from Firefly here) and her family dumps her right before the big royal spaceship parade. A bit of help from a robot rat and a fairy god-robot (and her own know-how) has Cinderella fixing the Prince's ship in no time, and then he has to search for the girl of his dreams (he makes the evil step-sisters try to fix a broken ship!) and the whole fun romp ends with a lovely tongue-in-cheek commentary:
She landed right beside the Prince. / "That wrench is mine!" she cried.
She quickly fixed the ailing ship. / The prince said, "Be my bride!"
She thought this over carefully. / Her family watched in panic.
"I'm far too young for marriage / but I'll be your chief mechanic!"
The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot
Margaret McNamara, illustrated by Mark Fearing
ISBN: 9780375866890
The three little pigs are a bit wider-ranging in this planet-hopping version that replaces the big bad wolf with a clanky cranky robot. Bork, Gork, and Nklxwycz (good luck with that one, I went with Nickle-zee-wits) each build their houses, and in turn the robot smashes them all to bits, until the last house defeats it and becomes home sweet home. Cool visuals and planetary references actually attempt to be factual, although that tidbit is most probably lost on the young audiences I have.
Best Frints in the Whole Universe
Antoinette Portis
ISBN: 9781626721364
Best frints on planet Boborp have sharp teef and really short tempers, so friendship is a perilous thing, especially when one frint shmackles the other frint's brand new spossip. (Trust me, by the time you get to that point, you'll get it with no trouble.) But a bit of taypo and some twire, and maybe a little bit of friendship (and a game of eye-ball) and things are as good as new (except for the poor spossip). Some very knowing winks towards the adults in this one.
Interstellar Cinderella
Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Meg Hunt
ISBN: 9781452125329
Down and dirty Cinderella is a spaceship mechanic in this version (strong shades of Kaylee Frye from Firefly here) and her family dumps her right before the big royal spaceship parade. A bit of help from a robot rat and a fairy god-robot (and her own know-how) has Cinderella fixing the Prince's ship in no time, and then he has to search for the girl of his dreams (he makes the evil step-sisters try to fix a broken ship!) and the whole fun romp ends with a lovely tongue-in-cheek commentary:
She landed right beside the Prince. / "That wrench is mine!" she cried.
She quickly fixed the ailing ship. / The prince said, "Be my bride!"
She thought this over carefully. / Her family watched in panic.
"I'm far too young for marriage / but I'll be your chief mechanic!"
Friday, July 14, 2017
Tuesday Storytime: Summer Reading: Not Quite Space
Sometimes imagination can be better than facts, and outer space provides plenty of "scope for the imagination" as Ann of Green Gables would have said. These stories show the kinds of fun you can have when you blast off - even if you never really leave the ground.
No, No, Kitten!
Shelley Moore Thomas, illustrated by Lori Nichols
ISBN: 9781620916315
Kitten keeps getting into things, but she's not being naughty just to be bad - she's got BIG plans.
Planet Kindergarten
Sue Ganz-Schmitt, illustrated by Shane Prigmore
ISBN: 978145211893
Cute kid heads off to "planet kindergarten" for his first mission with his new crewmates. Very well-executed premise, just a couple of groaners or really stretched concepts.
Otter in Space
Sam Garton
ISBN: 9780062247766
I only recently discovered Otter and Otter Keeper, and oh my goodness am I in love. (Don't keep otters for pets tho, seriously - they'll destroy your house and be unhappy.) But in this fictional universe, Otter is a bored stay-at-home pet who manages to subvert his daily activities into environment-destroying fun every single time. In this installment, Otter has discovered space, and he's headed to the moon for a moon rock.
No, No, Kitten!
Shelley Moore Thomas, illustrated by Lori Nichols
ISBN: 9781620916315
Kitten keeps getting into things, but she's not being naughty just to be bad - she's got BIG plans.
Planet Kindergarten
Sue Ganz-Schmitt, illustrated by Shane Prigmore
ISBN: 978145211893
Cute kid heads off to "planet kindergarten" for his first mission with his new crewmates. Very well-executed premise, just a couple of groaners or really stretched concepts.
Otter in Space
Sam Garton
ISBN: 9780062247766
I only recently discovered Otter and Otter Keeper, and oh my goodness am I in love. (Don't keep otters for pets tho, seriously - they'll destroy your house and be unhappy.) But in this fictional universe, Otter is a bored stay-at-home pet who manages to subvert his daily activities into environment-destroying fun every single time. In this installment, Otter has discovered space, and he's headed to the moon for a moon rock.
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