Oliver and His Alligator
By Pail Schmid
Hyperion/Disney. $15.99 (Ages: 3-5)
Oliver is a little worried about his first day of school so he decides to stop by the swamp and pick up an alligator. Now, in case things “get rough” Oliver has a friend who can deal with the situation.
Right away things do get rough! A lady meets Oliver at the door of the school and asks his name. Poor Oliver suddenly cannot remember his name so he responds, “Munch, munch!” which is code for “Eat her!” and the alligator does!
As the day progresses every time the little boy is unable to respond to a question, he says, “Munch, munch!” Soon his alligator is very, very full and the schoolroom is very, very empty! Then Oliver hears noises coming from inside his alligator. “What’s this?” There is laughing and talking. School has started without Oliver.
Now what is the little boy going to do? “Munch, munch!” he said.
Young children will love this very silly story and if you have a youngster a little wary of his or her first day of school, share this book ahead of time. Once you’ve done that, send the child off with his favorite stuffed animal and the magic words – “Munch, munch!”
You’re Wearing THAT to School?
By Lynn Plourde; Illustrated by Sue Cornelison
Hyperion/Disney. $16.99 (Ages: 4-8)
Penelope is doing her happy hippo dance because tomorrow is her first day of school. When she tells her best friend, Tiny, that she plans to wear her sparkle rainbow outfit, he responds, “You’re going to wear THAT?”
But then it gets even better. When Tiny sees the huge picnic lunch Penelope plans to take to school, he exclaims, “You’re going to eat THAT?”
After he convinces her to dress less flamboyantly and settle for just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Tiny thinks his friend is ready for the first day of school. But when he sees what Penelope plans to take with her for show-and-tell, Tiny shouts out, “You’re going to bring THAT?”
Of course, Penelope decides to ignore her friend’s advice and wears what she wants, packs a huge lunch and takes her favorite stuffed toy with her to share with her new classmates.
Tiny is worried that his friend will have a terrible first day but, as you’ll see, that’s not quite what really happens.
You’ll find some “Tips for a Hippo Happy First Day of School” at the end of this humorous story. Share these ideas with your child after you’ve read this story and that first day in the classroom should be a smashing success.
Peck, Peck, Peck
By Lucy Cousins
Candlewick Press. $15.99 (Ages: 2-5)
When the little woodpecker featured in this picture book is told by his father it is time he start pecking a tree, he embraces the task wholeheartedly. What’s more, the little bird has a real knack for pecking holes in things.
Although his parent was thinking primarily of trees, the ambitious little birds tackles other wooden objects like a fence, door, tennis racket, and even some clothing. Suddenly nothing is safe in the woodpecker family’s household and holes are appearing in the most surprising places.
As you page through this book you’ll have no problem finding the things that caught the woodpecker’s attention; they all have little holes in them. By the time you reach the back of the book, you’ll find one page with over fifty holes. Someone has been very, very busy!
Lucy Cousins’ sense of humor shines forth in this cute picture book about a bird that followed his father’s advice a little too well. Young children love silly stories and “Peck, Peck, Peck” is guaranteed to elicit a few giggles.
Mesmerizing Math
By Jonathan Litton; Illustrated by Thomas Flintham
Templar/Candlewick. $18.99 (Ages: 7-10)
Here’s a pop-up, interactive book for older youngsters that unlocks some of the mysteries of math. Featuring spinners, flaps, and even a wrecking ball, this clever volume will fully engage the young reader.
Statistics, numbers, measurement, probability, geometry, sequences and series are just some of the ways math impacts our daily lives. In “nifty numbers,” Litton explores square numbers, fractions, percentages and prime numbers while the “shaping up” section illustrates how useful geometry can be.
In each section of the book, you’ll find questions and challenging exercises that will allow you to test your math skills. Do you know what tessellation is? Ever hear of Fibonacci numbers or Pascal’s triangle? Not to worry! Once you’ve read this book a few times you’ll have a basic grasp of these concepts.
The pages of this book contain a lot of information and fun material but you’ll have to look closely so you don’t miss any of the interactive parts because sometimes they blend right in. It might be a good idea to run your fingers across each page to make sure you don’t miss anything.
Too Much Glue
By Jason Lefebvrel; Illustrated by Zac Retz
Flash Light Press. $16.95 (Ages: 4-8)
Matty loves glue. Matty loves lots of glue. There has never been a bottle of glue that Matty couldn’t empty in just minutes.
So when his art teacher keeps telling him, “Matty, too much glue!” the little boy just smiles.
Then one day during art class Matty gets a little carried away. Well, actually he gets a lot carried away. Not only does he empty a couple of big bottles of the sticky stuff on a table but he also belly flops into the gooey mess himself.
Oh dear, what will he do? Actually, he isn’t going to do anything because now it is up to Matty’s classmates to figure out how to get their friend out of this sticky predicament. After a number of “creative” attempts to extricate Matty there’s an impressive, colorful “work of art” on the table and, unfortunately, Matty is at the center of it.
With his teacher frantically hyperventilating into a paper bag and the school nurse and principal at a loss of what to do, it is going to be up to Matty’s dad to figure out how to handle this sticky situation.
Zac Retz’s digital art brings this humorous story to life while Jason Lefebve’s zany text explains what’s happing. This wonderful picture book will have the reader in stitches as Matty helplessly wallows in the gloppy gloop, clingy, sticky mess he has created.
And don’t worry. Matty’s dad, an accomplished glue guy himself, knows just what to do to salvage the situation and turn a disaster into a lesson on creativity!