Tuesday Storytime (& LAST SRP): Monster Foods

Our last summer reading program - I feel like I've missed so much of the program this year because I've been assigned to other tasks away from the circulation desk, and also had to miss several program days.  It seems to have gone smoothly and everyone in my programs enjoyed themselves (and reported good things about the others).  Now for the long awaited recovery period until next spring!

Book Lists for Storytime and Summer Reading were identical this time around, so titles are in the order I gave them, and simply listed the once.

Monster Chefs

Brian and Liam Anderson

ISBN: 9781596438088

Monster Chefs have to find something new for the king to eat, but keep coming up empty-clawed.

Very cute, and the twist at the end is very nice (I very much appreciate the character design of the twist.)  The king of monsters is tired of eating eyeballs in ketchup, and demands his four chefs venture into the world to find something new to eat, or become dinner themselves.  Each finds an animal, who is clever enough to talk themselves out of being dinner, to the sadness of the chefs, except the last chef, who goes in a completely different direction (no pun intended) to get themselves out of the stew. 

Betty Goes Bananas

Steve Antony

ISBN: 9780553507614

Betty the baby gorilla has a bit of a temper problem, exacerbated when she encounters a recalcitrant banana.

I love the way that temper tantrums are presented here, with a quick escalation, and a just-as-quick calming - just the way kids themselves at that age operate.  Betty really wants to eat that banana, but things just keep going wrong!  It won't open, then it is open, but SHE wanted to open it, then it BREAKS!  Whatever will Betty do?  Throw a tantrum, of course.

LMNO Peas

Keith Baker

ISBN: 9781416991410

Lively peas in costume frolic thematically around giant pastel capital letters.

I normally don't read straight alphabet books in storytimes, and even number/counting concept books are difficult, because they're soooo limited as far as actual story arch.  It's just a straight recitation of things, with a common theme or a silly catch, or perhaps both (looking at you, chicka chicka boom boom) but not much substance.  LMNO Peas is not the best storytime read, but it's at least cute and has enough interesting vocabulary to get through a recitation.  These peas are alphabet peas, and they have professions and interests that span from A-Z.  The drawings are quite detailed, but the pages are large and well-filled, so they're visually interesting even to the kids in the back rows.  It helps that Baker has a great ear, so the reading (despite the vocabulary lessons) is smooth and the rhymes and cadence just flows right out.  Makes it so much easier when it rolls nicely out like that.