Marbles? YES. And Freedom Jane McKenzie is determined to be THE champion winner, a Marble Queen. She is determined to enter the marble competition at the Autumn Jubilee and show the neighborhood boys – especially those boys that tease and bully her – that she is the best marble player around. Better than any boy in town! But first Freedom Jane McKenzie has to convince her mother that not only is it okay for a girl to play marbles in the mud, it is okay for Freedom Jane to be the only girl to enter a marble contest. After all, there are NO RULES that girls cannot compete – except maybe her mother’s.
But one problem after another looms dark and difficult. Freedom’s mother is expecting a baby soon and needs help at home. Extra chore time means less marble-shooting practice time. Dad is troubled about money and bills and begins drinking too much. Freedom’s little brother is too often a pain in the neck.
In this middle grade novel, author Stephanie J. Blake brings us back to the time of jellybeans, hop scotch, jump rope and marbles. Also to the time when families struggled to make ends meet – a timely concern for many children – and when younger siblings sometimes needed a few important lessons, such as the delicate art of eating worms. Stephanie J. Blake has created a realistic, daring and delightful character -Freedom Jane is feisty, funny and fearless. Her strategies to cope with bullies and boys will make the reader laugh with recognition and nod with compassion. THE MARBLE QUEEN is fun, thoughtful and universal to the yearnings, fears and antics of young girls of any generation.
Stephanie J. Blake, a Colorado Book Award Finalist, has more to say at www.themarblequeen.com and www.stephaniejblake.com This book was published by Amazon Publishing, December, 2012.
Fourth Grade Superhero, Jo Schmo, speeds through the streets of San Francisco with her dog Raymond ready to take-on trouble at a moment’s notice. This time around, the nasty Dr. Dastardly, his accomplice Numb Skull, and a band of time-traveling pirates under the direction of their lemonade-loving leader, Pinkbeard are scheming to bring Jo down.
A prison break fueled by exploding macaroni and an (underwear) elastic slingshot are just two of the wacky adventures in store for readers. Lively action, off-beat illustrations, and Jo’s special crime-fighting tricks assure plenty of laughs in this fourth book in the Jo Schmo series.
Check out a ReaderKidZ review of the first book in the Jo Schmo series, Dinos Are Forever, HERE.
If winter weather still has you down, check out more silly samplings of funny books – warm smiles and giggles guaranteed!
For the youngest readers:
This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers (Philomel, 2012) The play of the words and pictures is fantastic. Wilfred finds a moose and decides it is his. “He began following Marcel, explaining the rules of how to be a good pet.” This doesn’t work like Wilfred expects. “He generally ignored Rule 7: going whichever way Wilfred wants to go” is paired with a picture of Wilfred pushing a stubborn Marcel from behind.
For the transitional readers:
The Big Bad Wolf Goes on Vacation by Delphine Perret (Sterling, 2012) When Louis, Grandpa, and Bernard stop for lunch on their way to the ocean, Bernard has to pretend to be a dog. (He doesn’t want people to know he’s the Big Bad Wolf.) Louis isn’t sure Bernard can pull off the dog act and suggests he stay in the car while Louis and Grandpa go into the restaurant. “I am wounded by your lack of trust,” Bernard says. Fans of Calvin & Hobbes will appreciate the sly humor.
For the older readers:
The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy with illustrations by Todd Harris (Walden Pond Press, 2012) All those “Prince Charming” guys from the fairy tales are not who you think they are, nor are the princesses. This refreshing deconstruction of some classic stories is full of adventure, mishap, and unexpected humor.
Dads get grumpy. Kids get ornery. Sometimes after hearing “No!” children stomp off to their rooms thinking that some OTHER Dad might be a much nicer Dad. APPLESAUCE, a picture book by Klaas Verplancke, is charming and touching, and delightfully honest about father-child relationships. Words and pictures are just plain fun. They engage both young and old, and help us all share smiles and chuckles about the ups and downs of being a kid beginning to understand that a father is sometimes thunder and, sometimes, sweet applesauce.
The child explains: My daddy has strong muscles, except in his belly. It’s as soft as a pillow. He blows away the hurt on my knee and catches my dreams when I’m sleeping…. BUT
Other times Daddy’s pillow gets tired, so tired that his ears can’t hear me anymore.”
Klaas Verplancke lives in Belgium and is an award-winning, acclaimed artist and author of many children’s books. APPLESAUCE was published in 2010 but only translated and available in English this past year (Groundwood Books). An IBBY “best” selection and best of all – delightfully funny about a young boy and his father – learning that anger doesn’t last. Love and laughter bring us back together. Sometimes with the cozy smell of warm, sweet applesauce.
In Little Red Writing, Red is tasked by Ms. 2, her teacher, to write a story. In fact, all the students in pencil school are, but what should they write about? The birthday pencil wants to write a happy story, the basketball pencil wants to write about sports, and Red decides to write a story about bravery because red is the color of courage. Armed with an idea, she sets out on her story path to weave a tale that is exciting. In the middle of her story she encounters a growly sound (Wolf 3000 pencil sharpener) that she narrowly escapes from. But the next time they meet, he’s disguised himself as Principal Granny and eager to grind his sharp teeth on her. Even though Red is afraid, she knows it’s up to her to save the day or everyone’s life at pencil school will be shortened!
Joan Holub is the author and/or illustrator of over 130 books and she graciously agreed to spend a few minutes talking with us about her latest picture book.
Tell us how you came up with the idea to adapt the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood?
The ideas came quickly and in this order, bang, bang, bang, bang: 1. the play on words riding/writing; 2. making the Little Red Writing character a pencil; 3. the wolf would be the growliest, grindingest pencil sharpener ever; 4. Red’s journey would involve her writing her own story at the request of her teacher—a journey that would take her scribbling through her school.
What were the challenges in writing a fairy tale retelling?
Have you ever thought of a book idea and then been surprised that no one had thought of it before? That’s how I felt about this idea when it first hit me. Building on an existing fairy tale framework was easy. The challenge was trying to make my retelling fresh and original. It took over eight years from idea to publication—the longest of any book I’ve written.
There is a lot of humor in Little Red Writing, how did you go about achieving this? Any literary devices that worked especially well for you?
I used puns, but tried not to use them as a story crutch. I wanted the story I was writing to stand on its own. So if a child had never read the original fairy tale, they’d still get a kick out of Little Red Writing.
Do you find it easy or hard to write humor?
For me, humor can be easy to write if I know what my character wants, why she wants it, and what’s standing in her way. However, as Red says in the book, sometimes a story can get bogged down, hindered. A writer can get lost along the way. Red’s teacher advises her early on that a little wandering is okay, but that she should stick to her basic story path. I tried to take that advice myself. The challenge for me became editing down so there was a clear sequence of events that would pull a reader through to the end, and not me simply going, “Ha! Look how funny I can write!”
What was it like working with illustratorMelissa Sweet?Had you worked together before?
I hadn’t, but already had many of her books, including the Pinky and Rex series and A Splash of Red. Melissa is one of my dream illustrators, so I was thrilled when she signed on. She is mega-talented. And she’s sweet! (Speaking of puns.) We didn’t speak until after the book was finished. Until then, everything went through our Chronicle editor, who was also amazing and cared about the book every bit as much as we did. It felt like we were all three in it together, from beginning to The End!
Little Red Writing is a clever, comical story and a great teaching tool for educators on the subject of writing. Chronicle Books has also created a teacher’s guide. Click HERE to download the guide.
NO PIRATES ALLOWED! Said Library Lou author Rhonda Gowler Greene has written a clever picture book founded on comedic contrasts. And illustrator’s Brian Ajhar’s play with proportion and expression is simply delightful. The story is about bombastically boisterous Pirate Pete’s search for treasure, and petite and powerful Library Lou’s insistence that he make some changes before she’ll help him find it. Some of things she asks him do are simply hilarious!
Rhonda graciously agreed to kick off Humor month by granting us an interview. Let’s find out a bit about the charming lady behind the story, want to?
ReaderKidZ: What inspired you to write NO PIRATES ALLOWED! Said Library Lou ?
Rhonda: Two great picture books inspired the story— Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen (illustrated by Kevin Hawkes) and How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long (illustrated by David Shannon).A few years ago I saw them on The New York Times children’s bestseller list.I was already familiar with the books, but seeing them listed there together sparked an idea—Why not put a pirate in a library?A pirate is always looking for treasure.I thought the treasure could be books.I made Pirate Pete have to discover that for himself though, but with some help from witty Library Lou.
ReaderKidZ: You’ve authored a number of picture books. Did the experience of crafting this one differ from the others in any way?
Rhonda: Yes, writing this book was somewhat different than writing my others.Most of my other books are concept books, or books with patterns, and don’t really have a main plot.But NO PIRATES ALLOWED! has plot.I created actual characters I named—Pirate Pete, Library Lou, and Igor the parrot.I made Pete and Lou strong, but stubborn characters and that, of course, led to conflict.By the end of the book, Pete has changed (he’s cleaned up, is nicer, an
d has become an avid reader), and a change is exactly what you need by the end in a book with plot.This book also includes much more dialogue than most of my other books.Too, it’s my longest picture book, just under 1000 words.It’s geared more toward K-2nd graders, whereas some of my other books are for even younger children.In the story, I felt like for it to be believable that Pete learns how to read, I couldn’t just have it happen within a day or two.I needed to have a span of time, which led to the somewhat longer word count.
ReaderKidZ: There are a number of hilarious moments in this story, such as when Pirate Pete is forced to take a bath and wear clean underwear. Pete’s squawking sidekick, Igor the Parrot, adds a great deal to the comedic element, as well. Please tell us how you’re able to pull off writing humor in such a delightful way.
Rhonda: I think word choice is crucial in setting the mood of a story.Since I was making this a humorous story, I tried to use words that would bring a smile to the reader’s face.For instance, just hearing or reading the word “underwear” brings lots of giggles from children.Also, pirate talk is fun for people of any age, so I tried to weave in as much of that as I could.Actually, the first thing I did when I got the idea for the story was start looking up pirate words and phrases.I wanted the story to be light, whimsical, and funny.So words like “stink bug,” “underwear,” “P.U.,” and “Blimey!” worked well.Too, I added some onomatopoeia with Igor’s loud SQUAWK!ing.And I used a light rhyming meter that adds to the whimsical mood of the story.
ReaderKidZ: Illustrator Brian Ajhar’s use of proportion and expression complimented the text in a lively way. How important is the illustrator’s interpretation of the story to the overall reading experience?
Rhonda: A picture book relies so very much on the illustrations.The illustrator’s interpretation is extremely important and makes a huge impact on the reading experience.Editors try to match the perfect illustrator to a particular manuscript text.Professionally, Brain Ajhar actually teaches classes in character development.He was an excellent choice for my text.He really made the characters in my story—Pirate Pete, Library Lou, and Igor—come alive.I love his use of exaggerated proportion in the book, with Pirate Pete looming large over tiny-but-mighty Library Lou.And Pete’s facial expressions throughout the book match the text so well.We see the change coming over Pete.Brian’s art just adds so much humor to the book.
ReaderKidZ: Library Lou is a feisty, dynamic character. Is there a little bit of her in you?
Rhonda: Interesting question.I’d say, yes, a little bit.I doubt if I’m as brave as she is.For instance, I don’t think I’d have the nerve to tell someone to change his or her underwear!But, I do think I would do all I could in helping someone (even a rough-tough pirate) discover—that books are treasures.
NO PIRATES ALLOWED! Said Library Lou written by Rhonda Gowler Greene (illustrated by Brian Ajhar) is a charming tale of battling wills, pirate’s booty, and the love of the written word. In it, ax-wielding, foul-smelling Big Pirate Pete shatters the serenity of Seabreezy Library in search of treasure. The X-marked spot on his map led him to the quiet, studious place where Library Lou reigns supreme. Though Pete tries to intimidate her, Lou holds firm, insisting that he comply with her directives to quiet down, clean up, and follow the rules. When he does, Pete discovers that true treasure lies in books and he – surprisingly – develops a passion for reading.
This lively story will not only entertain kids from K-2, it blends into the Core Curriculum State Standards perfectly. So much so, that on her website, Rhonda is offering a pdf. downloadable Reader’s Theatre script and a Discussion and Activity Guide – both are aligned with the Core Standards and ready for some great swash-buckling fun!
Arrr, matey!
Mission Statement
To provide teachers, librarians, and parents with the resources and inspiration to foster a love of reading in kids, K-5.
