Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Z IS FOR MOOSE (PICTURE BOOK)

by Kelly Bingham, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

Greenwillow-HarperCollins, 2012


A Book Review by

Violet the Telekinetic Puppy


I’m Violet and I am going to tell you about a funny picture book called Z IS FOR MOOSE.


If you know your ABCs you know that “Moose” does not start with the letter Z. If you don’t know your ABCs I will tell you that “Moose” starts with the letter M. Because this book is called Z IS FOR MOOSE you probably think that the author of this book does not know her ABCs. But if you think that you are wrong. The author of this book is just very funny and she wrote a funny picture book about a funny moose named Moose who is very happy to be in an alphabet book.


My name starts with the letter V and that is the twenty-second letter of the alphabet and that means if I were in an alphabet book I would be on the twenty-second page. Moose’s name starts with the letter M so he should be on the thirteenth page. But Moose is an eager beaver moose so he shows up on the fourth page and that is the page for the letter D and Duck gets mad. When Moose shows up on the E page Elephant gets mad.


Moose isn’t on the page with the letters F and G so you probably think you won’t see Moose again until the M page. But if you think that you are wrong. Moose shows up on lots and lots of pages before the M page because he is too excited to wait. I am not sure if Ice Cream gets mad at Moose because Ice Cream does not have a face but Zebra is in charge of the alphabet book and he gets mad at Moose for not waiting his turn.


On the M page something happens that is a surprise and that surprising thing makes Moose very mad and then very sad but it makes readers laugh because it is a funny surprise. I want to tell you what the funny surprise is but I won’t because if I did then you wouldn’t be surprised.


There is something I will tell you and that something is that Moose is on lots and lots of pages after the M page and that is good because I love Moose.


Do you know which page Moose isn’t on? The V page! But don’t worry because Moose is on lots and lots of other pages and that is good because you will love Moose.


Z IS FOR MOOSE is so funny and you will want to read it lots and lots of times and every time you read it you can look at the funny things happening in the pictures. My favorite funny picture is on the K page and on that page Moose is peeking out of a mama kangaroo’s pouch.


Moose causes lots and lots of trouble in this alphabet book. Moose wouldn’t cause so much trouble and make a duck and an elephant and a zebra and probably an ice cream mad if he could be in an alphabet book all by himself. Here is an alphabet book with just a moose in it:


A is for Antlered moose.

B is for Big moose.

C is for Cute moose.

D is for Dear moose.

E is for Eager moose.

F is for Funny moose.

G is for Good moose.

H is for Handsome moose.

I is for Itchy moose.


Do you know something? It is hard to write an alphabet book with just a moose in it. And an alphabet book with just a moose in it isn’t as funny as an alphabet book with an eager beaver moose like Moose who causes trouble.


Here is a list of who will like this book:


Readers who are learning their ABCs.


Readers who already know their ABCs.


Mice.


G is for Good-bye.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Three Minutes Dazzling Eddie Bernard

Normanday #17: “We already have a knife-throwing act”


You’ve got a talent unlike any other. You’re sure you could be a star if only Eddie Bernard would hire you to perform for Edward Bernie’s Traveling Show of Diverting Wonders. For three minutes, write to Mr. Bernard (the show’s manager) describing your unique ability and convincing him the show cannot go on without you.


Email what you wrote to woof at bright dot net by the end of the day March 4 (put “Norman Can Juggle 15 Electric Eels” in the subject line). I’ll post as many of my favorite entries as I want next Monday. Include your first name (or, even better, use a pen name) and age (unless you’re tortoise-old). If you’re a published writer, include a biography to be posted with your entry.


Here are the entries from last week when I asked you to write for three minutes about this photograph.



Schae D. Lane

The See


Pictures shot in black and white

Recall to those within their sight

The sounds and colors of vibrancy bear

Witness only to those present there


The lake of blue, the mist of white

Shown by early morning light


Far off cries of forlorn loon

Dogs barking at fading moon


Breezes soft and whisper light

through leaves of oak, strong and might


Waves lapping at the rocky shore

Seagulls squawking more and more


A proud little boy proves more brave

Than plunging in cold water, craves


The happy smiles of faces near

The love of family held so dear


Sound is mute and color lost

The only sense afford us cost

A scene frozen on tin or plate

Can tell us more that it relates


Imagination is all we need

Now tell me what you think you sea



Bigfoot

It’s Dock Boy!


Savior of snails! Champion of crustaceans! Defender of Davy Jone’s locker!


The heinous arch villain C. Gull has devised another birdbrained scheme. His legion of avian henchmen have gathered. Furiously and simultaneously flapping their wings, they intend to shift the Earth’s axis to alter the tides. If these feathery fiends succeed, doom is certain.


Only Dock Boy can save the world!


He corners C. Gull and wields his mighty fish—er, I mean, fists.


Right fist…a high tide hook! Left fist…a low tide jab!


C. Gull, battered and defeated, flaps a hasty retreat. His flighty henchmen flee, too. Dock Boy has saved the world, again. But there’s scant time to celebrate. Al Gal is planning an invasion in the Sea of Guillemot. And, no! Lamp Rey has already infiltrated Lake Ernie. They must be stopped! They will be stopped! By Dock Boy!

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Briar’s Journal (February 28 to March 13, 2012)

Dream Entry*

May 6, 2007


The Kitten Whisker Exchange is busy and the line is long. Three beagle puppies in line behind my friends and me are counting the kitten whiskers they’ve collected. Bigfoot passes the time darning a green and purple striped sock. Beverly and Norman are mocking each other. Morzant and Penny are playing Fifty-six Questions.


“Is it bigger than a whale box?” Morzant asks.


“Yes,” Penny says.


“Does it have rearview mirrors?”


“No,” Penny says.


“Can you play checkers with it?”


“Yes,” Penny says.


“Is it a giant blueberry waffle iron with four speed settings?”


“You got it!” Penny says.


In line ahead of us a duck is squawking because an earthworm has cut in front of him. While they’re arguing, I sneak in line in front of them.


Soon it’s my turn to exchange my kitten whiskers for new books.


“How many you got?” the man at the booth asks.


“Eighty-two,” I tell him.


He frowns as he takes my kitten whiskers. He separates one from the bunch. He holds it up to the light, turns it, bends it, and then sniffs it.


“What’re you trying to pull?” he says. He’s angry.


I don’t know what he means and say so.


“These are counterfeits,” he says. “Don’t come here again.”


He calls over a couple of huge walrus security guards who grab me and pull me away from the Kitten Whisker Exchange. I’m confused. I got my kitten whiskers directly from the source. I remember how I traded the three little kittens three pairs of warm mittens for the whiskers.


Soon I see the kittens coming down the street. They see me seeing them. They begin to run in the other direction. I chase after them. They run up a cheese-covered tree. At the bottom of the tree I find three kitten costumes. I look up. Three squirrels are waving their mittened paws at me and laughing.


When I return to the Kitten Whisker Exchange, my friends have all gone through the line and are waiting for me.


“Is it an elliptical galaxy with rainbow sprinkles?” Penny says.


“You got it!” Morzant says.




The books BIGFOOT got at

the Kitten Whisker Exchange:


FRIENDS WITH BOYS by Faith Erin Hicks

[YOUNG ADULT—GRAPHIC NOVEL]

First Second-Roaring Brook

February 28, 2012


CURVEBALL: THE YEAR I LOST MY GRIP

by Jordon Sonnenblick

[YOUNG ADULT]

Scholastic Press-Scholastic

March 1, 2012


FRESHMAN YEAR & OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS

by Meredith Zeitlin

[YOUNG ADULT]

Putnam-Penguin

March 1, 2012


ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL by Jesse Andrews

[YOUNG ADULT]

Amulet-Abrams

March 1, 2012



The books MORZANT got at

the Kitten Whisker Exchange:


GEORGIA IN HAWAII: WHEN GEORGIA O’KEEFFE

PAINTED WHAT SHE PLEASED

by Amy Novesky, illustrated by Yuyi Morales

[PICTURE BOOK—NON-FICTION]

Harcourt-Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

February 28, 2012


ZERO THE HERO by Joan Holub,

illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

[PICTURE BOOK]

Henry Holt

February 28, 2012


HOW MANY JELLY BEANS? by Andrea Menotti,

illustrated by Yancey Labat

[PICTURE BOOK]

Chronicle

February 29, 2012


WHAT’S LOOKING AT YOU KID? by J. Patrick Lewis,

illustrated by Renée Graef

[PICTURE BOOK]

Sleeping Bear Press-Thomson Gale

March 1, 2012


SIGN LANGUAGE ABC by Lora Heller

[PICTURE BOOK]

Sterling

March 6, 2012


UNBEELIEVEABLES: HONEYBEE POEMS

AND PAINTINGS by Douglas Florian

[PICTURE BOOK—POETRY]

Beach Lane-Simon & Schuster

March 6, 2012


BIRD TALK: WHAT BIRDS ARE SAYING

AND WHY by Lita Judge

[PICTURE BOOK—NON-FICTION]

Flash Point-Roaring Brook

March 13, 2012


GOING APE! by Eduardo Bustos,

illustrated by Lucho Rodriguez

[PICTURE BOOK—NON-FICTION]

Tundra

March 13, 2012


MISS MINGO WEATHERS THE STORM by Jamie Harper

[PICTURE BOOK]

Candlewick

March 13, 2012


SEABABY: A LITTLE OTTER RETURNS HOME

by Ellen Levine, illustrated by Jon Van Zyle

[PICTURE BOOK—NON-FICTION]

Walker

March 13, 2012


STEP GENTLY OUT by Helen Frost,

photographs by Rick Lieder

[PICTURE BOOK—POETRY]

Candlewick

March 13, 2012



The books PENNY got at

the Kitten Whisker Exchange:


A BEAUTIFUL EVIL by Kelly Keaton

[YOUNG ADULT—SEQUEL TO DARKNESS BECOMES HER]

Simon Pulse-Simon & Schuster

February 21, 2012


DOUBLE by Jenny Valentine

[YOUND ADULT]

Hyperion-Disney

February 21, 2012


RIPPER by Stefan Petrucha

[YOUNG ADULT]

Philomel-Penguin

March 1, 2012


KATANA by Cole Gibsen

[YOUNG ADULT—FIRST IN THE SERIES]

Flux-Llewellyn

March 8, 2012


CROSS MY HEART by Sasha Gould

[YOUNG ADULT]

Delacorte-Random House

March 13, 2012


THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED by April Henry

[YOUNG ADULT]

Henry Holt

March 13, 2012


STARTERS by Lissa Price

[YOUNG ADULT]

Delacorte-Random House

March 13, 2012



The books THE DUCK got at

the Kitten Whisker Exchange:


GOBLIN SECRETS by William Alexander

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Margaret K. McElderry-Simon & Schuster

March 6, 2012


THE GRAVE ROBBER’S APPRENTICE by Allan Stratton

[MIDDLE GRADE]

HarperCollins

March 6, 2012


EYE OF THE SWORD by Karyn Henley

[YOUNG ADULT—SECOND IN THE

ANGELAEON CIRCLE TRILOGY]

WaterBrook Multnomah-Random House

March 13, 2012



The books NORMAN got at

the Kitten Whisker Exchange:


EYE OF THE STORM by Kate Messner

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Walker

February 28, 2012


EXPLORER: THE MYSTERY BOXES by Kazu Kibuishi

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Abrams

March 1, 2012


SPY SCHOOL by Stuart Gibbs

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Simon & Schuster

March 6, 2012


CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG FLIES AGAIN

by Frank Cottrell Boyce, with illustrations by Joe Berger

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Candlewick

March 13, 2012


DANGEROUS WATERS: AN ADVENTURE ON

THE TITANIC by Gregory Mone

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Roaring Brook

March 13, 2012


FORGIVE ME, I MEANT TO DO IT:

FALSE APOLOGY POEMS by Gail Carson Levine,

illustrated by Matthew Cordell

[POETRY]

HarperCollins

March 13, 2012


MAN OVERBOARD! by Curtis Parkinson

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Tundra

March 13, 2012


OLIVIA BEAN, TRIVIA QUEEN by Donna Gephart

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Delacorte-Random House

March 13, 2012



The books BEVERLY got at

the Kitten Whisker Exchange:


IF ONLY by Carole Geithner

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Scholastic Press-Scholastic

March 1, 2012


THE MOON OVER HIGH STREET by Natalie Babbitt

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Michael di Capua-Scholastic

March 1, 2012


ONE DOG AND HIS BOY by Eva Ibbotson

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Scholastic Press-Scholastic

March 1, 2012


PLUNKED by Michael Northrop

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Scholastic Press-Scholastic

March 1, 2012


BALLYWHINNEY GIRL by Eve Bunting,

illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully

[PICTURE BOOK]

Clarion-Houghton Mifflin

March 6, 2012


MORE by I.C. Springman, illustrated by Brian Lies

[PICTURE BOOK]

Houghton Mifflin

March 6, 2012


PIECES OF US by Margie Gelbwasser

[YOUNG ADULT]

Flux-Llewellyn

March 8, 2012


A BUS CALLED HEAVEN by Bob Graham

[PICTURE BOOK]

Candlewick

March 13, 2012


TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY by Kevin C. Pyle

[YOUNG ADULT]

Henry Holt

March 13, 2012



The books OLIVER got at

the Kitten Whisker Exchange:


ARTHUR’S DREAM BOAT by Polly Dunbar

[PICTURE BOOK]

Candlewick

February 28, 2012


ANIMAL MASQUERADE by Marianne Dubuc

[PICTURE BOOK]

Kids Can Press

March 1, 2012


BLUE SKY by Audrey Wood

[PICTURE BOOK]

Blue Sky Press-Scholastic

March 1, 2012


PETER AND THE SEAL by Rick de Haas

[PICTURE BOOK]

NorthSouth

March 1, 2012


SWEET DREAMS by Rose A. Lewis,

illustrated by Jen Corace

[PICTURE BOOK]

Abrams

March 1, 2012


WHERE’S MY MOMMY? by Carol Roth,

illustrated by Sean Julian

[PICTURE BOOK]

NorthSouth

March 1, 2012


NO GO SLEEP! by Kate Feiffer,

illustrated by Jules Feiffer

[PICTURE BOOK]

Paula Wiseman-Simon & Schuster

March 6, 2012


THE CLOUD SPINNER by Michael Catchpool,

illustrated by Alison Jay

[PICTURE BOOK]

Knopf-Random House

March 13, 2012


KALI’S SONG by Jeanette Winter

[PICTURE BOOK]

Schwartz & Wade-Random House

March 13, 2012


LITTLE LAMB, HAVE YOU ANY WOOL?

by Isabel Minhos Martins, illustrated by Yara Kono

[PICTURE BOOK]

Owlkids

March 13, 2012



The books LENNY got at

the Kitten Whisker Exchange:


THE PIRATES NEXT DOOR by Jonny Duddle

[PICTURE BOOK]

Templar-Candlewick

February 28, 2012


BEEP AND BAH by James Burks

[PICTURE BOOK]

Carolrhoda-Lerner

March 1, 2012


MISS ANNIE #1: FREEDOM! by Frank Le Gall,

illustrated by Flore Balthazar

[GRAPHIC NOVEL]

Graphic Universe-Lerner

March 1, 2012


MISS ANNIE #2: ROOFTOP CAT by Frank Le Gall,

illustrated by Flore Balthazar

[GRAPHIC NOVEL]

Graphic Universe-Lerner

March 1, 2012


ZIP IT! by Jane Lindaman, illustrated by Nancy Carlson

[PICTURE BOOK]

Carolrhoda-Lerner

March 1, 2012


MAMMOTH AND ME by Algy Craig Hall

[PICTURE BOOK]

Boxer Books

March 6, 2012


ME WANT PET! by Tammi Sauer,

illustrated by Bob Shea

[PICTURE BOOK]

Paula Wiseman-Simon & Schuster

March 6, 2012


BUGS GALORE by Peter Stein,

illustrated by Bob Staake

[PICTURE BOOK]

Candlewick

March 13, 2012


LET’S HAVE A TREE PARTY! by David Martin,

illustrated by John Manders

[PICTURE BOOK]

Candlewick

March 13, 2012



The books VIOLET got at

the Kitten Whisker Exchange:


PENNY AND HER SONG by Kevin Henkes

[EARLY READER]

Greenwillow-HarperCollins

February 28, 2012


Z IS FOR MOOSE by Kelly Bingham,

illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

[PICTURE BOOK]

Greenwillow-HarperCollins

February 28, 2012


HUFF & PUFF: CAN YOU BLOW DOWN THE

HOUSES OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS?

by Claudia Rueda

[PICTURE BOOK]

Abrams Appleseed-Abrams

March 1, 2012


SILLY GOOSE’S BIG STORY by Keiko Kasza

[PICTURE BOOK]

Putnam-Penguin

March 1, 2012


SPLIT! SPLAT! by Amy Gibson,

illustrated by Steve Bjorkman

[PICTURE BOOK]

Scholastic Press-Scholastic

March 1, 2012


VIRGINIA WOLF by Kyo Maclear,

illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

[PICTURE BOOK]

Kids Can Press

March 1, 2012


ITSY-BITSY BABY MOUSE by Michelle Meadows,

illustrated by Matthew Cordell

[PICTURE BOOK]

Simon & Schuster

March 6, 2012


DIXIE AND THE CLASS TREAT by Grace Gilman,

illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers

[EARLY READER—THIRD IN SERIES]

HarperCollins

March 13, 2012


OH NO, GEORGE! by Chris Haughton

[PICTURE BOOK]

Candlewick

March 13, 2012


THE SMILEY BOOK OF COLORS by Ruth Kaiser

[PICTURE BOOK]

Golden Books-Random House

March 13, 2012






* The dream entries from Briar’s journal contain premonitions of books that will be published in the future. Briar’s dream self foresees the books’ summaries and knows which will likely appeal to each of her friends. Briar always wakes up before she can see whether her friends will enjoy the books.