May 7 – Lemonade Day

About the Holiday

Lemonade Day was established in 2007 in Houston, Texas by Lisa and Michael Holthouse to encourage kids to discover their inner entrepreneur and set up their own businesses. Lisa was inspired by her own experience of setting up a lemonade stand as a child to buy a pet turtle that her father refused to pay for. The main character in today’s book has similar motivations with an altruistic bent.

Caterina and the Lemonade Stand

By Erin Eitter Kono

Summertime has finally arrived, and Caterina is ready for fun. As she passes a store window, she is captivated by the shiny new scooter in the window. A quick check of her kitty bank, however, reminds her that “buying new things isn’t always so easy.” Caterina knows that money doesn’t grow on trees, but is also happily aware that lemons do. Caterina has a brainstorm: “a lemonade stand would be the perfect way to earn money for the scooter!”

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So Caterina, “a little brown bird with great big colorful thoughts,” puts her mind to the task. As she loves to do, she makes a list of what she’ll need—“lots of lemons, sweet sugar, icy-cold water, and of course…a super stand!” But Caterina looks around her. It seems that everyone has a lemonade stand, including her friends Patrick the bear, Paul Peacock, and even Dig Dig the hampster, her little brother Leo’s best friend.

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Caterina realizes that if she “is going to earn enough money to buy the scooter, her stand must stand out.” She begins to think creatively. To make her stand the most attractive and inviting, she decorates it with handmade crafts that are cozy and colorful, studs the lemons with cloves to make them aromatic, fills her booth with the music of Leo’s violin playing, and experiments with flavors.

Soon, she has a stand that is unique. A rainbow mobile fluttering with multicolored ribbons hangs next to a banner that reads: “Color your own lemonade.” Nearby sits a basketful of delicious fruit that thirsty customers can add to their glass to create an individual taste sensation. In no time, her stand has earned her “an entire bank full of coins. Just enough to buy a shiny new scooter…for Leo!”

Following the story, Caterina gives some good advice for ways to stand out that include being creative, planning well, working hard, and finding the best assistant.

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Erin Eitter Kono’s Caterina is a cutie of a role model for young readers who think differently or who want to stand out in other ways. She shows kids that by using their talents they too can reveal their own unique abilities and personalities. Adults and children will appreciate her loving relationship with her little brother, who is Caterina’s helpful assistant and the beneficiary of the money they earn. Caterina’s clever solution to her dilemma is hinted at throughout the cheery illustrations, and readers will enjoy watching Caterina’s lemonade stand come together with her handiwork.

For kids full of ideas, Caterina and the Lemonade Stand would make an adorable addition to their home home bookshelves.

Ages 3 – 5

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2014 | ISBN 978-0803739031

Learn more about Erin Eitter Kono and her books and view a portfolio of her illustration and design work on her website!

Spend more time with Caterina, Leo, and their friends on Caterina’s Corner!

Lemonade Day Activity

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Yummy Lemonade Stand Coloring Page

There’s nothing more refreshing than a glass of lemonade on a hot summer day! Enjoy coloring this printable Yummy Lemonade Stand Coloring Page—and drink a cold lemonade while you work.

Picture Book Review

May 6 – Join Hands Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Today’s holiday was instituted to foster better communication between the older and younger generations and to recognize the ways that all people, no matter what their age, can help each other. Many communities use this day to begin a dialogue between their elderly and their youth, getting young people involved in visiting care centers and older adults helping out at schools and other youth programs. Another great way to celebrate is for grandparents and grandkids to spend the day together!

Rainbow Stew

By Cathryn Falwell

Grandpa’s making pancakes for his three favorite kids—his granddaughter and two grandsons. The kids are excited to be visiting their grandpa where they can play outside all day long. On this particular day, however, rain spatters the windows, and the kids are disappointed: “Whimper, sigh, / cloudy sky, / is it too wet to play? / We don’t want to stay inside / because of rain today.” But their grandpa knows just what to do! “Let’s go and find some colors for my famous Rainbow Stew!” he suggests.

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Image copyright Cathryn Falwell, courtesy of rainbowstewbook.com

Out to the garden they run in their raincoats and hats. “Splish, splash, / puddle dash, / We bounce right out the door. / We’re off to find some red and green, / some yellow, orange, and more. / Grandpa shows us how to move / Between each garden row. / Lifting up the drippy leaves, / we see what colors grow.” They collect green spinach, kale, and zucchini; yellow peppers, purple cabbage and eggplant, red radishes and tomatoes; brown potatoes; and orange carrots. After some muddy fun among the plants, the kids go inside, get dried off, and begin to prepare their colorful stew.

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Image copyright Catherine Falwell, courtesy of rainbowstewbook.com

“Peel, slice / chop and dice, / colors fill the pot. / Stir in herbs and water / and then wait till it gets hot.” While the pot simmers on the stove, Grandpa and the kids snuggle on the couch with favorite books, reading together until the stew has simmered to perfection. The family then sits down to a homemade, colorful, delicious lunch of Rainbow Stew.

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Image copyright Cathryn Falwell, courtesy of rainbowstewbook.com

Cathryn Falwell’s Rainbow Stew is a wonderful book to share with young children on many levels, offering opportunities for learning as well as playing. Introducing colors through familiar and delicious vegetables can get kids excited about gardening, cooking, even going to the grocery store. The rhyming verses each begin with an energetic couplet that kids will enjoy repeating or acting out. The bright colors of Grandpa’s house mirror the vividness of the garden vegetables, and young readers may enjoy matching the vegetables to items in the kitchen, living room, and more.

Children will identify with the disappointment of the three siblings when they learn it’s too wet to spend the day outside as well as their glee at squishing in the mud. The close bond between the kids and their grandfather as they cook and read together is a strong anchor for this story and promotes early literacy.

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Image copyright Cathryn Falwell, courtesy of rainbowstewbook.com

A recipe for Rainbow Stew follows the story. Reading Rainbow Stew, preparing the delicious dish, and doing the puzzle below makes for a fun rainy – or sunny – day!

Ages 4 – 7

Lee & Low Books, 2013 | ISBN 978-1600608476

Learn more about Cathryn Falwell and her books and art on her website!

To discover more about Rainbow Stew as well as activities to accompany the book, head over to rainbowstewbook.com!

Join Hands Day Activity

Give Me Your Hand Interchangeable Puzzle

In this printable Give Me Your Hand! Puzzle, everyone is welcomed with a handshake. Offering friendship to all, the interchangeable pieces can be mixed and matched as the animals become buddies with one another.

Supplies

Printable colored Give Me Your Hand! Puzzle
Printable color it yourself Give Me Your Hand! Puzzle Template
Colored pencils or crayons
Scissors
Heavy Stock paper (optional)
Poster board (optional)
Glue (optional)

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Directions

Print the puzzle: to make the puzzle sturdier: Print on heavy stock paper or glue the page to poster board
Color the pictures with colored pencils or crayons
Cut the pieces apart
Switch the pieces around to make many alternate pictures

Picture Book Review

May 5 – It’s Get Caught Reading Month

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Initiated in 1999 and sponsored by the Association of American Publishers, Get Caught Reading Month inspires people of all ages to discover or rediscover the joys of reading. No matter what types of books you like best—from fiction to nonfiction, mystery to humor, picture books to novels—there are stories on bookstore and library shelves that will enhance your life! This month take the opportunity to read a new book or an old favorite and get caught up in the magic!

The Old Lion and the Little Rabbit

By Keiko Kaichi

Once King of the Plains, Old Lion had given up his place in the herd to his sons and now lived a quiet life alone. One day while napping, he felt a tickle in his mane and smelled a tantalizing aroma nearby. Old Lion discovered a tiny baby rabbit sleeping peacefully in the soft fur of his mane. “‘Hey,’ Old Lion thought, ‘this little one won’t fill my belly. But if I let him eat enough, he’ll grow up to be big and delicious!’” So Old Lion gathered as much grass as he could and fed the baby rabbit well, all the while feeling hunger growing in his stomach.

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To pass the time between feedings, Old Lion told Little Rabbit about his younger days on the savanna. “Little Rabbit crinkled up his nose with joy when he listened to Old Lion’s stories.” When other animals saw Old Lion and Little Rabbit together, they couldn’t believe it. As Old Lion talked to Little Rabbit, he remembered his big family and the joy of having children around him. He wondered how they were doing. But he knew that he couldn’t go back once he had “lost the fight to be the leader of the herd. Sometimes his old scars still ached him, especially during the cold nights.”

Now that Little Rabbit was growing bigger, he sometimes hopped far into the field, exploring just for fun. Then Old Lion worried that he might not come back, fearful that all his time and hard work would be wasted. He would call after Little Rabbit, reminding him to come back, and Little Rabbit always did.

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They spent their days watching the other animals, Little Rabbit perched on top of the lion’s head in order to see better. As time went by, Old Lion began to wish he could be satisfied with a diet of plants and wondered about the unfamiliar feeling in his heart. “Could it be that he was starting to care about this little creature who trusted him so blindly? Such a thing made no sense. Still, he had to admit that something warm stirred in him when he saw Little Rabbit each morning.”

One day as Little Rabbit played among the weeds while Old Lion rested, Hyena came calling. When he saw the little bunny, he immediately asked to share in the delicious meal as he often did. Old Lion was taken off guard and stammered that Little Rabbit was not nearly big enough to make a meal of. Hyena protested and pounced. Old Lion found his former quick reflexes and “with one gulp he snatched up Little Rabbit into his jaws.”

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With a bit of regret but admiration for his old friend, Hyena turned and skulked away. When they were alone, Old Lion opened his mouth wide and let Little Rabbit climb out. He saw that his tiny friend had suffered a cut on his paw and bandaged it carefully. Then he placed Little Rabbit on his head and began to walk in the direction of the wind. “He could no longer deny that he loved Little Rabbit.”

Old Lion walked and walked to the edge of the savanna, where bushes and tall grasses blossomed. He set Little Rabbit down gently and nudged him forward. “You’ll be safe” there, Old Lion told him. “You’ll find other rabbits there—maybe even your family.” Little Rabbit gazed at Old Lion sadly, but the lion reassured him that it was time to go home. Old Lion watched Little Rabbit bound away and “felt a tickle on his face as a tear ran down his cheek.” Then he turned and walked back to where his throne waited.

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Keiko Kaichi’s books masterfully tug at readers’ heartstrings with poignant stories populated with adorable characters that immediately inspire love and empathy. In Old Lion and Little Rabbit, the lion’s history is revealed naturally and at a pace that makes his transformation believable and all the more emotional. Just as do children within a family, Little Rabbit alters Old Lion’s life simply through trust and dependence. Children will respond to the growing love between Old Lion and Little Rabbit. They will also find the solution to the mystery established at the beginning both surprising and satisfying. Adult readers cannot be faulted for feeling a small lump in their throat when Old Lion unselfishly protects Little Rabbit from Hyena and then takes him to safety.

Kaichi’s acrylic and pencil drawings are both evocative of the golden savanna and filled with tender sentiments. Old Lion may once have been a fierce predator, but he is now a contemplative and caring elder statesman while Little Rabbit is a wee nubbin of cuteness. As he sits next to the much bigger lion, his tiny paw touching Old Lion’s arm, or collects a bouquet of weeds under Old Lion’s watchful gaze, Little Rabbit swells readers hearts.

Superb in every way, Old Lion and Little Rabbit would make a wonderful choice for home bookshelves as well as for public and school libraries.

Ages 3 – 7

minedition, 2017 | ISBN 978-9888341245

Get Caught Reading Month Activity

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Catch a Book! Maze

One boy has a whole stack of books to share with his friends! Can you help him through this printable Catch a Book! Maze? Here’s the Solution!

Picture Book Review

May 4 – Petite and Proud Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Life’s not about how tall you are but about how big your heart is! Today we celebrate people who are 5’4” and under—the petite! There are many advantages to being on the smaller side—it’s easier to fit into tight spaces; airline, train, and other transportation seats are more comfortable; and we can blend into the crowd more easily when we’re having a bad hair day. All-in-all being petite is pretty perfect!

The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade

Written by Justin Roberts | Illustrated by Christian Robinson

Sally McCabe was so small that she was mostly overlooked. “She was the smallest girl in the smallest grade.” The other kids heard her name called every morning along with theirs, and they passed her in the hall on the way to class, but no one knew that “Sally was paying super extra special attention” to what went on around her. For instance, she noticed the kite someone had lost in the tree and had counted twenty-seven keys on the janitor’s ring. She watched as the leaves turned “green to gold in the fall” and when “Tommy Torino was tripped in the hall.”

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Image copyright Christian Robinson, text copyright Justin Roberts. Courtesy of G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

She saw wildflowers turn their face toward the sun and “was there when the stray cats who normally fought / conducted a meeting in the church parking lot.” On the playground she saw Kevin McKuen get shoved down the slide and knew of the “tears that he wanted to hide.” On Parent-Teacher day, too, she watched kids pulled down the hall by parents upset at what they had heard. But during all this, no one happened to see Sally watching or knew what that could mean.

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Image copyright Christian Robinson, text copyright Justin Roberts. Courtesy of G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

Sally understood that these slights, mean words, and cruel actions kept building and building without any stop, and she finally decided that something must change. So one day during lunch she stepped out of line, stuck her hand in the air, and announced very loud, “‘I’m tired of seeing this terrible stuff. / Stop hurting each other! This is enough!’”

Some kids just giggled and ignored what she’d said, but many others joined in with their hands in the air. “Like waves rolling in, one after another— / first Molly rose up, then Michael’s twin brother. / It was Tyrone and Terence, then Amanda and Paul, / who pushed out their chairs and stretched their arms tall.” And they all felt connected “like the janitor’s keys. Fastened together with a heavy steel ring / that held all the secrets to unlock everything.”

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Image copyright Christian Robinson, text copyright Justin Roberts. Courtesy of G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

After that day, things went back to normal—but with much welcomed kindness in small doses and places. Spaces were made for strangers to sit, doors held wide open, and many such “moments that get taken for granted—a wildflower appearing that no one had planted.” And so the world changed for this school and this town all because Sally was courageous and kind and paying attention.

Justin Roberts’ rhyming tribute to the empathy and bravery of one little girl who takes notice and makes a difference shows kids and adults that anyone can create change no matter who they are. Readers of all ages will recognize the hurts that Roberts chooses to include, good examples of the small and large acts that cause physical and emotional pain. The infectious rhythm and the inspirations of kindness—from the alley cats’ truce to wildflowers to keys (objects that at once have familiarity and deeper meanings)—give the book resonance far beyond the immediate reading.

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Image copyright Christian Robinson, text copyright Justin Roberts. Courtesy of G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

Christian Robinson’s bright, wide-lens drawings of Sally’s schoolroom, cafeteria, and playground give young readers the same view Sally has, allowing them to also find the examples of arguing, pushing, whispering, and other slights that she reacts to. An illustration of Sally and her classmates sitting at their desks shows exactly how small she is in comparison to the other children; the rest of the pages demonstrate just how big her heart is. Each page offers opportunities for kids and adults to discuss the problems of bullying and options for how they can make a difference.

The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade is a wonderful reminder of how important each person is in making the world a happier place and would make an excellent addition to home libraries.

Ages 3 – 7

G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2014 | ISBN 978-0399257438

Visit Christian Robinson’s website, where books and art are always fun!

Check out all the music, videos, activities, and other stuff by Justin Roberts on his website!

Petite and Proud Day

Kindness Cards

Being kind to someone can be as easy as slipping a friendly note into someone’s locker or backpack or leaving a card for a favorite teacher, bus driver, or librarian. If you notice someone who could use a pick-me-up, you could give them one of these cards too! Print out your Kindness Cards and start spreading some good cheer!

Picture Book Review

May 3 – Lumpy Rug Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

There are some holidays where even I think, “Oh, no – there will never be a Twitter hashtag for this one,” but lo and behold there is! #LumpyRugDay even came—from someone else who thought the holiday random—with a little montage of pics of actor Nathan Fillion, who only seems to get better looking as the years go by. But I digress…. Today we celebrate the rug, that cushy, plush, underfoot décor that keeps our tootsies warm and comfortable. But as they age rugs and carpets can develop lumps and bulges that compromise the safety and appearance of your home or office. Today—in addition to thinking about favorite celebrities—consider replacing any rugs that may be past their prime…time.

Bug in a Vacuum

By Mélanie Watt

A bug enjoying a lazy afternoon takes advantage of an open door and flies into a house. It’s cleaning day and the bug buzzes through the bathroom, through the kitchen (taking a quick hop and skip over the cooling apple pie), across a bedroom, and stops on top of the household globe. Meanwhile someone is vacuuming, unaware of or unconcerned with what lays in the powerful machine’s path.

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Image and text copyright Mélanie Watt. Courtesy of Tundra Books, penguinrandomhouse.ca.

The bug is “on top of the world when it happened. Its entire life changed with the switch of a button.” Suddenly it is sucked past the little bristles and into the dusty interior of the canister. Finding itself here amid the forgotten debris, the bug goes through many stages as it ponders its plight. Stage one is Denial. Surrounded by fluffy fuzz the bug thinks to itself, “This is amazing! Doesn’t get much cozier than this…” But then the quiet and dark makes the bug suspicious. Maybe it’s a surprise party! Or perhaps it’s a dream! The bug pinches itself to wake up, but all that does is hurt.

Stage 2 follows—Bargaining. The bug calls out “Excuse me, you’ve vacuumed the wrong bug!” It even offers a different day to be so inconvenienced: “Can I be vacuumed next Monday instead? Tonight’s bowling night with the dung beetles!” Finally, it promises to turn over a new wing and writes a contract of sorts: “Dear vacuum, IF you set me free, I promise to avoid my favorite hangouts: windowsills, picnics, porta-potties. A new Bug.” When there’s no response to this plea, the bug moves on to…

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Image and text copyright Mélanie Watt. Courtesy of Tundra Books, penguinrandomhouse.ca.

Stage 3—Anger. The bug throws a fit: “I WANT OUT NOW!!! NO MORE MR. NICE FLY!!!” It threatens, becomes paranoid, demands attention, and turns the dust bunnies into its own personal army. The sounds from inside the canister are frightening—but no one’s there to hear them.

Stage 4 strikes heavy with—Despair. When the dust, scraps of paper, broken pencil, tack, paperclip, playing card, broken Q-tips, and other waste settles, the bug takes stock. “My life’s a mess,” it realizes. “How will I ever pick up the pieces?” it wonders. It decides: “I’m at the end of my rope. My dreams are crushed. The odds are against me.” The poor bug goes on: “I’ll never see the sky again. I’ll never be extraordinary. I have no future.” At last, though, the bug is ready for…

Stage 5—Acceptance. The bug surrenders itself to its fate and learns to “appreciate what I have.” It goes so far as to say, “I don’t wish to change a thing. Everything will be okay.”

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Image and text copyright Mélanie Watt. Courtesy of Tundra Books, penguinrandomhouse.ca.

It is at this point that the bug feels itself on the move, gliding across the carpet, waiting at the curb, and traveling away at top speed as the vacuum cleaner sits atop the Bull Dog Waste Service truck. The trip takes it up a hill to the city dump, where the vacuum is unceremoniously dropped on a pile and the hose is dislodged. When the machine comes to a rest, the bug sees the most magnificent sight—a way out. The bug flies into the streaming sunlight and on to another adventure.

A sub-plot involving the family’s wiener dog who has lost his beloved stuffed toy to the overzealous vacuum adds suspense to the story, and his thoughts about retrieving his toy inject more comical elements while mirroring the bug’s contemplations.

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Image and text copyright Mélanie Watt. Courtesy of Tundra Books, penguinrandomhouse.ca.

Mélanie Watt, with tongue firmly in cheek, takes readers on an emotional roller coaster as an unsuspecting but very lucky bug finds itself engaged in the five stages of grief after it is sucked into a vacuum cleaner. Watt’s text and full-bleed, vintage-style illustrations go hand-in-hand (or wing-in-wing) to tell the bug’s and dog’s stories.

Each stage of the bug’s turmoil is introduced with an image of a product named for the psychological phase and labeled with humorous puns and platitudes. The dated décor, colors, and objects make Bug in a Vacuum visually stunning, and the bug hero is a cutie who readers will empathize with and cheer for. Eagle-eyed readers will also love finding all the items slurped up into the cleaning machine lying on the floor of each page. The first page defining Bug as “an insect” and “an unexpected glitch” and Vacuum as “a cleaning machine” and “a void left by a loss” hints at the fun and thoughtfulness to come.

Bug in a Vacuum would make a great gift and addition to home bookshelves—a welcome pick-me-up for those days when things don’t always go so well.

Ages 4 – 9

Tundra Books, 2015 | ISBN 978-1770496453

You can learn about the many, many books by Mélanie Watt on her website!

To find a fun Bug in a Vacuum activity guide by Tundra Books/Penguin Random House of Canada, click here!

Lumpy Rug Day Activity

Designer Carpet Coloring Page

Many rugs sport fancy, colorful designs to liven up a room. Take your favorite pencils, crayons, or markers and create a run you’d like to have in your room with this printable Designer Carpet Coloring Page!

May 2 – Baby Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Today we celebrate babies in all their cuteness, curiosity, and cuddliness. If you have a baby or young child, spend the day doing something special with them! The years go by so quickly—enjoy showing your little ones the world around them! Of course, kids love babies of all kinds—and as today’s book shows Moms of all kinds love their kids!

How Many Baby Animals

By Guido van Genechten

It’s springtime and the farm animals are about to welcome lots of little ones to their families! How many? Little readers are about to find out! Mama Sheep is happily waiting for her babies to be born, and with a turn of the page, kids discover “Baa, baa, baa! / Three little lambs playing / in the meadow! / She gives them each / a kiss on the head, oh!” Mama Cat smiles at the thought of her new kittens to come. Just lift the flap and see—she has five: “Max, Mary, Mo, Molly, and Mittens!”

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“Mama Chicken sits on her eggs / for more than a week. / Then the eggs begin to wobble / and start to speak!” Her new little peepers are keeping her busy—they’re such “brave little chicks!” What do they look like? Well, “they’re yellow and fluffy and there’s a freckle on number six.”

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Wow! Mama Pig’s belly nearly touches the ground! How many babies will she welcome? Just flip the flap to count eight little piglets snuggling close. Mama Mouse is preparing for her little brood with tasty cheese and nuts, but how much should she store away? Enough for “eleven wee mice! They love sleeping together. Isn’t that nice?” And Mama Fish is the last to give birth. She swims through the water and hides in the plants with her large, happy family of…thirty three?!

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Children who love animals and/or have pets will be enchanted with this unique counting book that also teaches a little bit about the nature of…nature. Sweet, smiling animal moms welcome their babies and cuddle up close, while Guido van Genechten’s funny rhymes lead readers to count increasing numbers of babies. The bold, vibrant pages allow kids to see each baby clearly, making counting easier. They also include one or two details about each animal’s farm habitat that can spur discussions of how and where each animal lives. The half-flap pages provide opportunities for interaction and fine-motor-skill practice, and the paper is heavy enough to stand up to much flipping back and forth.

Ages 2 and up

Clavis, 2017 | ISBN 978-1605373249

Baby Day Activity

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Baby’s Own Family Photo Book

Babies love seeing pictures of their family! Take the opportunity of Baby Day to put together a photo album for your baby or young child to look through. An album with pages of individual photographs makes it easier for babies to focus on one picture at a time, and close-up shots of family members smiling will make kids smile too. When you share the photo book with little ones, talk about the person in the picture and tell a family story. Doing this will help kids learn about their family and develop closer bonds!

Picture Book Review

May 1 – It’s Children’s Book Week

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Established in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Running from May 1 – 7 under the theme of One World, Many Stories, this year’s Children’s Book Week offers events nationwide at libraries, bookstores, schools, and other venues. Kids and young readers are also invited to vote in the Children’s and Teen’s Choice Book Awards. To find plenty of downloadable activities, bookmarks, and other fun stuff as well as to discover events in your area, visit Every Child a Reader!

Short Stories for Little Monsters

By Marie-Louise Gay

Open the cover of Short Stories for Little Monsters and you immediately enter the mind of a child with all of its imagination, dreams, fears, questions, and quirky philosophies. Nineteen two-page stories told in comics-style panels populated with rakish kids, pointy-nosed snails, talking trees, and lots and lots of color will have readers giggling from beginning to end.

The first story—When I Close My Eyes—gives a glimpse of the antics to come as a little girl walking with her older brother asks him to “guess what I see when I close my eyes?” Her brother just wants to move on faster and tells her she can’t see anything with her eyes shut. Finally given the “Ok! Ok! Sigh,” the little girl closes her eyes and with a wide grin reveals a bear thinking about a fish, pink polka dot and plaid elephants, kites, eyes, balloons, a stopwatch tree, and flowers to swing from. Her brother’s reaction? “That’s impossible.” Perhaps he’s just too old….

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In The Incredible Invisible Boy, a pillowcase encased boy joins a soccer game in progress, moving from position to position while exclaiming “I have superpowers!…I can become invisible!” But the other kids never take notice as they pass the ball over his head, scramble to kick it first, move the ball up field, and finally run off the page, leaving the covered figure to sigh, “The incredible invisible boy strikes again.”

Kids aren’t the only ones who have weird dreams. In Snail Nightmares, thee little shelled guys suffer night terrors too. One dreams of slithering too fast to stop at the end of the panel without hitting its head, another conjurs the embarrassments of losing its pants, and the third has its tail stretched waaaay out by a tricky bird.

Nobody Nose catches a girl tightrope waking on the clothesline, only to be told by a passing boy, “You’re going to fall. You’ll break your nose into a thousand pieces.” He wanders off but not before he instills a deep doubt in her mind: “I wonder what you’ll look like without a nose…or with a new nose?” She then imagines herself gazing in the mirror at her noseless face and trying on a series of fake noses, including a carrot, a pig snout, and an elephant trunk. She finally resorts to covering her head with a cardboard box. The little boy peeks around the last panel to say he likes the carrot nose the best because it goes with her shoes. And indeed it does.

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Remember when you could find dangerous adventure anywhere? The two girls in Monster! run shrieking from “a monster from outer space” who drools “poisonous slime,” sports “enormous fangs…and sharp pointy horns,” and is set on devouring the girls alive. As the two cower in safety behind a thick tree trunk, the object of this horror slides by with a sly nod to “snail power.”

Other stories introduce lowly worms that “rule the world,” a zombie mom who can see through walls and ceilings, the “secret life of snails,” mispronounced words, artistic renderings, and faces ungainly stuck in place during a bad wind. And as these stories wind down, readers will want to follow the bunny down its rabbit hole to uncover not only The Secret Life of Rabbits, but another world of whimsy, eccentricities, and fantasy that enhances life no matter how old you are.

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Both kids and adults will love Marie-Louise Gay’s funny tribute to childhood. Her vivid pencil-and-watercolor drawings perfectly expose the moments of a day that bring joy, triumph, and, yes, maybe even a touch of consternation to life. Short Stories for Little Monsters would make a delightful gift and a book that would be opened again and again for home libraries.

Ages 5 – 8

Groundwood Books, 2017 | ISBN 978-1554988969

Discover more about Marie-Louise Gay, her books, her art, and her TV show as well as printable materials on her website!

Children’s Book Week Activity

Books to Love, Books to Read Book Bag

This is the perfect week to fill up a bag with books you’d like to read! Here’s an easy craft for making your own unique bag!

Supplies

Printable Templates: Books to Read Template | Books to Love Template
Small cloth bag, available from craft or sewing stores—Recyclable Idea: I used the bag that sheet sets now come in
Cloth trim or strong ribbon, available from craft or sewing stores—Recyclable Idea: I used the cloth handles from shopping bags provided from some clothing stores
Scraps of different colored and patterned cloth. Or use quilting squares, available at craft and sewing stores
Pen or pencil for tracing letters onto cloth
Scissors
Small sharp scissors (or cuticle scissors) for cutting out the center of the letters
Fabric glue
Thread (optional)
Needle (optional)

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Directions

Print the sayings and cut out the letters
Trace letters onto different kinds of cloth
Cut out cloth letters
Iron cloth bag if necessary
Attach words “Books to Read” to one side of bag with fabric glue
Attach words “Books to Love” to other side of bag with fabric glue
Cut cloth trim or ribbon to desired length to create handles
Glue (or sew) handles onto the inside edge of bag

Picture Book Review

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Yummy Lemonade Stand Coloring Page

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Designer Carpet Coloring Page

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How Many Baby Animals

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Baby’s Own Family Photo Book

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About the Holiday

Short Stories for Little Monsters

By Marie-Louise Gay

Children’s Book Week Activity

Books to Love, Books to Read Book Bag

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