Catch-up Post 4: Children's Fiction

I Am in a Book by Mo Willems

• Another glorious addition to my favourite series of readers, the Elephant & Piggie books.  In this metafictional story, Elephant and Piggie realize that they have a reader, and consequently have the power to make someone else say whatever silly words they want.  Their only fear is what will happen when the book ends... But don't worry.  They have a solution that everyone should be happy with: "Will you please read us again?"

Lulu and the Brontosaurus by Judith Viorst

• Lulu hates to hear the word, "No."  She screams and screams until her parents give her whatever they want, but when she asks for a brontosaurus for her birthday they will not budge.  She sets out to get one for herself, only to learn that the brontosaurus has other ideas.

Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee

• Three short episodes about two friends, featuring imagination, colourful socks, and a golfish.  Good for new readers.  

The Elephant and Piggie books, by Mo Willems

I'm on the hunt for stories that can be adapted into puppet plays.  They're fun to tell at storytimes or class visits.  Mo Willem's Elephant and Piggie books have potential.  They're short, funny, entirely told with dialogue and actions, and usually feature two speakers.

So far, "Pigs Make Me Sneeze!" looks most promising; it's ready-made for audience participation.  I'm halfway through reading/rereading the rest to see which others feel ripe for retelling.

Books in this Series (So Far):
Today I Will Fly!*
My Friend is Sad *
There is a Bird on Your Head!*
I Am Invited to a Party!*
I Love My New Toy! *
I Will Surprise My Friend!*
Are You Ready To Play Outside?*
Watch Me Throw The Ball!*
Elephants Cannot Dance!*
Pigs Make Me Sneeze!*
I am Going!*
Can I Play Too?*

* Titles I've read

Amelia Bedelia, by Peggy Parish

Amelia Bedelia makes fun of the arbitrariness of the English language, and how silly it would be if we interpreted everything we were told literally.  Amelia Bedelia is constantly doing the wrong thing, believing she's doing what she was instructed.  I imagine this is particularly amusing to young children who are still learning homonyms and confusing grammatical rules.  Amelia Bedelia herself is well-meaning but daffy, and readers can take outraged joy in knowing better than she does but being unable to correct her.

There are 12 original Amelia Bedelia stories by Peggy Parish, with another 15 to date written by her nephew Herman Parish.

Poppleton series, by Cynthia Rylant

Poppleton the pig moves out to a small town where he meets some good friends with whom he has some good friendly adventures.  Each book includes three chapter length stories.  They're reminiscent of Frog and Toad, but not quite so slapstick silly, and include a larger cast of characters.

The stories are generally charming, but Poppleton and his friends don't particularly captivate me, so apart from a couple stand out stories I'm unmoved.  However, I suspect an army of young readers may disagree with me on that score.  I would happily recommend these to new readers who are somewhat less jaded than I.

Titles
Poppleton*
Poppleton and Friends*
Poppleton Everyday*
Poppleton Forever
Poppleton in Spring*
Poppleton in Fall
Poppleton Has Fun*
Poppleton in Winter

* Titles I have read

Frances the Badger series, by Russell Hoban

Russell Hoban's Frances stories are written at approximately the same reading level as Frog and Toad, but while Frog and Toad titles include a handful of short episodes, each Frances story takes up a whole book.

Frances stories are a little didactic, each involving a particular childhood problem such as going to bed, learning to accept a new sibling, or celebrating other people's birthdays without sulking that it isn't your own.  My favourite story is Bread and Jam for Frances which is the least moralistic of the bunch. 

Frances herself is charismatic and true-to-life.  She invents silly songs throughout the day, which I quite adore.  They define her character, and remind me of my own daily childhood compositions, or the way my three year old nephew revels in wordplay.  She acts intermittently stubborn, jealous, selfish, mopey, confused, happy, and loving just like any other preschooler or kindergarten aged child.

Titles:
Bread and Jam for Frances
A Baby Sister for Frances
Bedtime for Frances
A Birthday for Frances
Best Friends for Frances
A Bargain for Frances

Frog and Toad series, by Arnold Lobel

Readers/First Chapter books are very popular in my library.  This month I decided to read/reread some of the classics of the genre, the better to recommend them to our young readers.

I was also looking for stories that I could adapt for my storytimes, telling them with puppets or the felt board.  Frog and Toad stories are made for this.  They are short, memorable, funny, and touching.  I love the gentleness of these tales.  Life is very calm and problems are never too big that a good friend can't help overcome them. 

Titles:
Frog and Toad are Friends
Frog and Toad Together
Frog and Toad All Year
Days with Frog and Toad