May 13 – National Frog Jumping Day

About the Holiday

Once upon a time there was a writer named Samuel Clemens who published his first short story titled Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog. He later published the story under the title The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, which even later became The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. The title of this story wasn’t the only name change in Clemen’s life. He is best known as Mark Twain, one of the best known and most read American authors. The story of this fabled jumping frog and the California Calaveras County’s actual annual Frog Jumping Contest, begun in 1849, are the origins of today’s holiday. The present day frog-jumping record was set by Rosie the Ribeter, who in 1986 jumped 21 feet, 5 ¾ inches.

There’s Nothing to Do!

Written by Dev Petty | Illustrated by Mike Boldt

So… Frog has accepted that he’s a frog, and he knows it’s okay to get bigger, but now he can’t think of anything worth doing. His dad finds it hard to believe there’s nothing to do. He suggests swimming, but Frog says it’s “too wet”; playing, but none of the toys surrounding Frog inspire him, and even joining Pig in doing crafts, but Frog is so bored he has to rest up against Pig’s popsicle-stick Eiffel Tower.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-there's-nothing-to-do-too-wet

Image copyright Mike Boldt, 2017, text copyright Dev Petty, 2017. Courtesy of Penguin Random House.

What’s left? Cleaning his room. This choice gets Frog hopping to see if his “friends have any better ideas.” Rabbit’s idea of a good time alternates between jumping and staring. Cat shows Frog how to lick between his toes, and Owl advises napping all day. Perhaps Pig can come up with the perfect activity after all. Pig is happy to unfurl his “Fantastic List,” and he and Frog take a look.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-there's-nothing-to-do-pig's-list

Image copyright Mike Boldt, 2017, text copyright Dev Petty, 2017. Courtesy of Penguin Random House.

Frog’s not too keen on most of the to-dos and lies flat on his back in disgruntlement. Just then another frog comes by wondering what’s the matter. Frog complains that the whole day is almost over and he hasn’t done anything. Well, the frog says, when there’s nothing to do, do nothing. “Sometimes the best ideas come when you stop looking for them.” Then this amphibious guru shows Frog how to sit still, empty his mind, and wait.

Suddenly, the world glows with beauty and promise. Frog has never seen life in just this way. Later, when Dad asks Frog what he did all day, Frog is enthusiastic about the Nothing he did. In fact, he wants to do it all over again tomorrow. So what if there’s school the next day—Frog has a long To-Do List of his own now. What’s on it? Nothing!

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-there's-nothing-to-do-deep-breath

Image copyright Mike Boldt, 2017, text copyright Dev Petty, 2017. Courtesy of Penguin Random House.

Dev Petty’s Frog is any child’s sure (web)-footed guide to the big issues of growing up. This time he’s looking for help in overcoming his boredom, but he learns that what’s good for the goose (or the Pig, Rabbit, Cat, and Owl) isn’t necessarily good for the gander. When he discovers that inner voice that leads him to his own kind of fun, Frog finds that his lily pad is loaded with possibilities. As in I Don’t Want to Be a Frog and I Don’t Want to Be Big, Frog’s impish questions and opinions will have kids giggling and hoppy to come to the same realizations about life as Frog does.

Mike Boldt’s Frog is sly and endearing as he jumps from friend to friend and activity to activity in search of the perfect day. Kids will love laughing at Rabbit’s goofy stare, ewwing along with Frog at Cat’s bathing ritual, and cheer Pig’s enthusiasm and do-anything attitude. Frog’s glowing revelation lets readers discover their own vistas, and Dad’s proud and satisfied look at the end shows kids that dreaming up their own fun leads to a day well-spent.

There’s Nothing to Do! is a terrific addition to the series, and it’s witty banter will make it an often-asked-for read on any child’s bookshelf. A ribeting choice for home and classroom libraries.

Ages 3 – 7

Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2017 | ISBN 978-0399558030

Discover more about Dev Petty and her books and find fun activities on her website

To learn more about Mike Boldt, his books, and his art, visit his website.

Got nothing to do? Hop on over and watch this There’s Nothing to Do! book trailer!

National Frog Jumping Day Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-frog-dot-to-dot

Frog Dot-to-Dot Activity Sheet

Can you hop from number to number and help the frog appear in this printable Frog Dot-to-Dot Activity Sheet? Then give him a lily pad or other place to live and color it all in!

Picture Book Review

May 11 – It’s National Egg Month

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

What an amazing thing the egg is! This month we celebrate its role in feeding families the world over. From ancient times people have relied on the protein and other nutrients in this compact package to stay healthy at an affordable price or from their own farm. There are so many recipes that feature the delicate flavor of eggs. This month why not crack a few eggs and try a new taste sensation, and, of course, enjoy those old favorites as well!

Egg

By Kevin Henkes

As this sophisticated paneled picture book opens, four eggs await their fate. One is pink, one is yellow, one is blue, and one is green. On the next page three of the eggs begin their journey with a crack, crack, crack; but the last one? The green one? It remains a smooth egg. With a “surprise!” a pink baby bird hatches from the pink egg. The yellow egg breaks open and a yellow bird chirps “surprise.” When the blue egg breaks a blue baby bird pops free with one more “surprise!” But the last egg? The green one? It remains an intact egg.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-egg-kevin-henkes-eggs-cracking

The pink bird strides away from her former home with a quick “good-bye.” The yellow bird takes to the sky with a cheery “good-bye.” And the blue bird skips off with a joyful cheep “good-bye.” But the last egg? The green one? It still remains a silent egg. All alone now, the green egg waits. It waits and waits and waits through a full sixteen-day calendar.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-egg-kevin-henkes-birds-saying-goodbye

Finished with her walk, the pink bird is back to check on the green egg. She hails the yellow chick, who is also returning, and calls out to the blue bird, who runs in to see what’s up. They discuss this anomalous egg and come up with a plan. They lay their ears against the shell and “listen.” Then they begin tapping away. “Peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck.” This egg has one tough exterior! They peck and peck until, finally, they hear a “crack.”

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-egg-kevin-henkes-alligator

The egg splits to reveal an eye-popping “surprise!” The last egg? The green one? It doesn’t hold a green chick, but a green crocodile! The birds fly away from the dangerous snout. Now the baby croc is “alone” and “sad.” The little birds see how “lonely” the crocodile is and slowly, one-by-one they return. They fly closer and closer until they are all sitting atop the crocodile’s back.

The crocodile takes his new friends on a ride down to the water’s edge. He wades in and follows where the pink bird directs. Then these new friends sit quietly and watch the sun set. The orange sun sinks lower and lower toward the horizon, changing shape and beginning the journey all over again.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-egg-kevin-henkes-sunset-2

Kevin Henkes’ adorable read-aloud is as complex as the egg itself. On the surface it is a comforting and touching tale of friendship, but crack it open and the story takes on deeper meaning. Themes of patience, working together, diversity, acceptance, and even ideas of expectations and preconceived danger are waiting to be explored during repeat readings. The graphic-novel nature of the illustrations allow readers to form bonds with the four eggs as a ready-made group, increasing kids’ curiosity and interest in that fourth egg that just won’t hatch.

Pastel colors differentiate each bird as do simple gestures that little ones will recognize as personality traits. In the final pages, the lines separating the panels disappear as the four friends gather to watch the sun go down, and their life together begins.

Ages 3 – 8

Greenwillow Books, 2017 | ISBN 978-0062408723

You can meet Kevin Henkes, learn about his books, and discover resources, videos, and more on his website.

National Egg Month Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-egg-carton-chicken-double-chickens

Egg Carton Chickens and a Basket Full of Games

With twelve little chickens you can come up with lots of games to play! This fun craft and game activity is eggs-actly what you need to start hatching some real fun!

Supplies

Cardboard egg carton
White craft paint
Markers: red, yellow, black for the face; any colors you’d like for wings and eggs
Paint brush
Scissors
Glue
Construction or craft paper in white and a color of your choice

Directions

Cut the notched flap off the egg carton and set aside
Cut the top off the egg carton
Cut apart all the egg cups and trim slightly so they sit flat
Paint the egg cups with the white paint, let dry
Add the face, comb and wings to the chicken with the markers. Make six chickens with one color wings and six chickens with another color wings.
From the egg carton flap cut thirteen small egg-shaped playing pieces
With the markers, decorate twelve of the eggs in pairs—each egg in the pair with the same design
Color one egg yellow and add a beak, eyes, and wings to make it a chick

Games to Play

Tic-Tac-Toe (2 players)

On a 8 ½” x 11” piece of paper draw a regular tic-tac-toe board or make it fancy – like the picket fence-inspired board in the picture
To make the fence-inspired board on a colored background, cut 2 9-inch-long x 3/4-inch wide strips of white paper, cutting a pointed tip at one or both ends. Cut 2 white 8-inch x 3/4-inch strips of paper with a pointed tip at one or both ends. Glue the strips to the background.
Each player chooses a set of chickens with the same colored wings
Play the game as you usually do

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-egg-carton-chicken-tic-tac-toe

Find the Matching Eggs (2 or more players)

Have one player hide one egg under each chicken
Shuffle the eggs around and form them into three lines of 4 chickens each
Another player lifts one chicken at a time to find matching eggs. If the eggs don’t match, put both chickens back and start again

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-egg-carton-chicken-matching

Where’s the Chick?

Use as many chickens and eggs as you want (fewer for younger children, more for older)
One player hides the chick under one of the chickens and eggs under the others.
Another player has three chances to find the chick

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-egg-carton-chicken-where's-the-chick

You can also design your own games for your adorable chickens to play! With more chickens you can even make a checkers set or replicate another of your favorite board games!

Picture Book Review

May 2 – It’s Children’s Book Week

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy program in the United States. The history of the holiday goes back to 1913, when Franklin K. Matthiews, the librarian of the Boy Scouts of America, toured the country to promote a higher standard in children’s books and proposed a Children’s Book Week. The week is celebrated by authors, illustrators, publishers, booksellers, librarians, and schools with special readings, events, and materials to get kids excited about reading. To learn more and find free, downloadable bookmarks and graphic novel, visit Every Child a Reader.

Disney-Hyperion sent me a copy of the Itchy Book to check out. All opinions are my own. I’m also thrilled to be partnering with Disney-Hyperion in a giveaway of a fantastic prize pack of books and other swag. See details below.

The Itchy Book!

By LeUyen Pham | Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! Series from Mo Willems

Piggie has a question for Elephant: “Do you like books that make you feel things?” Indeed, Elephant does! And Piggie has just the book to give Elephant the feels all over. It’s called The Itchy Book!, and it opens like this:

Dino-Mo, a thoughtful, bespectacled pachycephalosaurus, comes strolling by and notices a sign that reads Dinosaurs Do Not Scratch. “Who knew?” says a tortoise snoozing next to the rock. Dino-Mo is contemplating this new bit of knowledge when a young triceratops comes by whistling a tune. Suddenly, she stops and bends down to scratch her bandaged knee, but before she can get her claws moving, the pachycephalosaurus rushes forwards to stop her.

He shows the triceratops the sign. “But I am ITCHY!” Triceratops tells him. There’s only one thing to do. “Dinosaurs are TOUGH! We do not scratch!” Dino-Mo instructs. The triceratops is doing her best not to think about it when a pterodactyl flies by chased by a bee. The bee catches up to her, and now she has a terrible itch. After a dire warning, Pterodactyl keeps her wings up and toughs it out.

Pterodactyl is ready to do battle against Brontosaurus’s back itch, though and zips up on top to help out. Triceratops thinks this looks like fun and is making the leap when Dino-Mo shouts, “HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!!” He reminds them all of the sign, and, duly dejected, the three dinos quit their itchfest. But someone else is coming! It’s T-Rex with a scratchy, scratchy tag. He even promises not to eat anyone if they’ll just help with the incredible itching that he can’t reach.

“You tell him,” says Triceratops, and Dino-Mo does. They all acknowledge that “It is tough to be tough.” Only Dino-Mo is itch free, but in a show of solidarity, he asks the other dinos to make him itchy. Triceratops tickles him with a feather. Pterodactyl throws cut grass on him, and Brontosaurus adds an ant. Everyone else is getting itchy just watching all of this, but Dino-Mo doesn’t flinch. Even a wool sweater brings no response.

With a bit of a crazed look in his eyes, Dino-Mo recites the mantra “Dinosaurs…Do…Not…SCRATCH!” as the other dinos shower him with itch-inducing things until they’re all just a bundle of itchiness. They’re hanging tough, though. They’re proud. They’re doing what the sign says. Then the tortoise, refreshed from his nap, gets up and wanders away leaving the whole sign exposed. It seems there’s a little more to this dinosaur scratching business than originally thought. Have an itch to find out what? You’ll have to read along with Elephant and Piggie!

LeUyen Pham rocks the prehistoric landscape with her hilarious early reader that will have all ages of kids—and adults too—giggling, laughing, and groaning in sympathy for these dinos with Gigantosaurus-sized itches. As anyone knows, just thinking about scratching makes the problem worse. Throw in a rule about not scratching, and you have Pham’s recipe for a perfectly frantic and giddy story that kids will love to read again and again.

Pham’s expressive dinosaurs—who really want to obey the law etched in stone—are endearing as they tough it out and encourage their friends to do the same. Bold colors, a great dynamic among the dinosaurs, and the cartoon-inspired format will engage kids. Repeated words and phrases as well as speech bubbles color-coded to each dinosaur will guide early readers.

The Itchy Book!, Book 5 of the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading series, is a must for early and emerging readers or for any fan of the Elephant & Piggie books, It’s also a terrific read-together for younger kids. Adding The Itchy Book! to home bookshelves and classrooms will make them richer—and funnier!

Ages 6 – 8 , younger children will enjoy having The Itchy Book! read to them.

Disney-Hyperion, 2018 | ISBN 978-1368005647

Discover more about LeUyen Pham, her books, and her art on her very cool website.

Learn more about Mo Willems and his books, find fun activities, and much “Mo” on his website.

To Learn More about The Itchy Book! visit the book’s Official Site.

Children’s Book Week Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-dino-diorama-craft-1

Dino Diorama

Ever get an itch to visit the land of the dinosaurs? With this fun Dino Diorama craft you can make a mini version for your own room.

Supplies

1-pound plastic deli container or glass jar
Three or four small plastic dinosaur toys
Dirt or sand to create a ½-inch ground layer in the bottom of the container
Small rocks or pebbles
Plastic leaves or plants, available from craft or fish tank supply sections of pet stores
Or use succulents in place of plastic plants to make a terrarium diorama
Goo-B-Gone for removing label-glue residue from the deli container (optional)

Directions

Wash the deli container and carefully remove the label
Use Goo-B-Gone to remove any residual glue (optional)
Spread the dirt in the bottom of the container
Place the rocks, plants, and dinosaurs into the container
Put the lid on the container
Or plant the succulents and decorate around them with the rocks and dinosaurs
If using succulents, leave the container open

Picture Book Review

April 30 – It’s National Humor Month

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

On this last day of National Humor Month (also known as April), take some time to enjoy a laugh with a friend or family member or even a pet. It’s a perfect day to share some laugh-out-loud funny stories like the one in today’s book.

The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse

Written by Mac Barnett | Illustrated by Jon Klassen

Early one morning a mouse came face to face with a wolf, “and he was quickly gobbled up.” The mouse was very elegant in his speech and proclaimed, “‘Oh woe!’… ‘Oh me! Here I am, caught in the belly of the beast. I fear this is the end.’” Imagine his surprise when he heard a not-so-elegant voice tell him to “‘Be quiet!’” because the mouse was disturbing his sleep. The mouse demanded to know who was there.