friday's five

Oh boy, what a Friday it's been. Due to a doctor's appointment that had me out of the house for a while in the morning, a day-long FIOS installation that had our internet off for much of the afternoon, followed by a late afternoon filled with re-opened head wounds, an irate call to the bus lot, two calls to police and one visit from our friendly, local EMTs, I'm a little late to the Friday picture book love session this week. Better late than never, right?

(And for the record, JAM is okay, although he's out of commission for yet another baseball game, which had him bummed. Dude wants to wear a hat , play baseball and ride his bike again!! And yes, there will be more drama, I'm sure, once we get to communicate some more with the county bus folks. Fun, fun.)

Without further ado, here's five of the books we've enjoyed this week:

1. Say Hello to Zorro! by Carter Goodrich -- Have you seen this cute new book? While we're not a dog family ourselves, Red and Pudge have been enjoying this cute tale of a content dog, Mister Bud, whose life is turned upside down when a new canine family member is introduced. Zorro and Mister Bud have some initial territory issues, but in the end, they find that life is more fun with a friend. I love the illustrations, and Zorro's grumpy expression just cracks me up. If you happen to be in a dog-owning family, this is a picture book for you and yours!

2. Dog and Bear by Laura Vaccaro Seeger -- In the vein of Frog and Toad and George and Martha, these two characters are loyal friends, who have the occasional misunderstanding but always end up happy with each other. This, and the two follow-up picture books that we also have from the library right now, features three short stories of friendship. A stuffed bear and a weiner dog- delightful characters who make these simple tales perfect for young readers, with both laughs and tender moments.

3. I'm Not by Pam Smallcomb and illustrated by Robert Weinstock -- You ever feel like your friend is all things that you're not? Fashionable, mysterious, confident? Well, that's how one of these dinosaur/alligator/unidentifiable animal characters feels, and it's clear that her pal Evelyn is pretty cool. It's even cooler when Evelyn affirms her talents and how they complement each other. Hands down best line: "If Evelyn was a car, she would get a speeding ticket." I love this quirky little book, and I imagine that when the kids (especially Red) are in school in the fall, we may look back to this book for its messages about friendship.

4. Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox and illustrated by Lydia Monks -- Oh, what silliness! Poor Rapunzel seems to be having trouble hearing, so when the Prince comes to rescue her (mistakenly, since he thinks she's crying, when she's just whining about her hair), she keeps hearing him incorrectly, and the things she throws down instead of her hair get crazier and crazier. I'm a fan of Lydia Monks' illustration style that incorporates bits of collage into cartoonish picture backgrounds. The ending is fun and refreshing compared to the slew of other "princess" stories kids are more familiar with.

5. Mary Ann by Betsy James -- Okay, this one is a little... odd. It's got a message about friendship and how it hurts when a friend moves, and that's nice and something with which kids can often relate. It's also got this side story about praying mantises, that's really quite accurate and informative. But the ending? Well, it freaked hubby the hell out, and I can't say that I was left feeling terribly comfortable, considering the fact that we're waiting on our own praying mantis egg case to hatch. The author's note at the end includes even more information, making it a cool fiction / nonfiction hybrid for our praying mantis book basket.


Hoping late really is better than never,