In the Night KItchen

When you think of Maurice Sendak the first book that comes to mind would be Where The Wild Things Are, but Sendak wrote other great stories as well, one being In the Night Kitchen. You can instantly relate the illustrations to Where the Wild Things are and put it together that these are the same writers. This story follows a boy named Mickey's imagination on a night when sounds are coming from the kitchen downstairs. The oddness of the story makes you question the writer, but then again it i a fantastic and imagination filled tale which you can tell parallels the quirkiness of Where the Wild Things Are.

The Dot

Peter H. Reynolds lovely story about a young girl in art class whose frustration finally takes over and instead of giving up on her art creation she just slams down a dot on her paper. Her teacher has the utmost faith in the child, Vashti, and frames Vashti's dot. The next day when Vashti sees her artwork framed, she thinks, "I can make a better dot then that!" She then lets her imagination take over and creates many different dots in many different colors in many different ways. In the end her artwork hangs in a studio and a little boy is literally looking up to Vashti as an artists and wishes that "he can do that". Vashti then asks the boy to draw her a line, which he does, and she then frames it, paying it forward and planting the artist seed that was planted in her in him.

Mmmm.....Chocolate Moose for Dinner

If you remember the classic television show "The Munsters" then you know who Fred Gwyne is. Herman Munster wrote A Chocolate Moose for Dinner and did a fantastic job of taking us into the child's mind. The story literally takes what children may hear and puts it into to the child's imagery. A man "held up a bank" shows a man holding......well.... A BANK! The puns and picture make for a delightful story that takes me back to my youth when this was one of my favorite stories. It even delves into government issues, poking fun at the "arms race" and "gorilla war fare". The pictures are wonderfully thought out and very entertaining.

Ghost Town at Sundown

This story is part of a great series where Jack and Annie are sent on crazy adventures to help free their friend Morgan from a spell. This adventure caught my eye because i am a huge fan of spaghetti westerns. this children's tale isn't right on with that type of western theme, but the wild west definitely makes it's appearance. With names like rattlesnake Flats, Dusty, Slim and Shorty this adventure takes Annie and Jack through a ghost town in search of the answer to Morgans riddle. This series of books is great for an adventurous reader!! I remember playing cowboys and indians with my friends on the playground with fake guns and lassos. I had always thought it would have been so cool to carry around a gun and ride a horse. nowadays I am glad I have a clean bed and toothpaste, oh the children's imagination!!

The Wierd Thing's in Nanna's house

Did you ever get the feeling that when you went to Grandma and Grandpa (or as I called the m Nonnie and Papa) house that you were stepping back in time and seeing things that you had no idea of what they were or why someone would even have them? I would. I remember my Nonnie having tons of little trinkets and carvings of animals all around her house and wondering to myself "Where in the world did she get this?" This story brings me back to those days. From the elaborate toilet paper doll cover to the plastic fruit in bowls I can completely relate to The Wierd Things in Nanna's House. The one that really sticks out to me is the doll which covers toilet paper. i laugh to myself even today about it because now my mom, who is Nonnie to my niece and nephew's has one on the back of her toilet. it's not the exact same but it looks eerily similar.

What Time is it Mr. Crocodile?

This great children's story chronicles the day in the life of Mr. Croc. As the author Judy Sierra rhymes her way threw a wacky day (no rhyme intended) we follow Mr. Croc on a wacky adventure. this book takes me back to my childhood days, but not because mom or dad used to read it to me. It takes me back in time due to the name. At my school in Des Moines in P.E. class, we would play a game called "What time is it Mr Fox?" This game would consist of us kids screaming out "WHAT TIME IS IT MR. FOX!!!" The person who was it would then give us a time "2 o'clock!" We would then take 2 steps closer. As the tension mounted and we would get closer and closer to Mr Fox the nervousness would start to set in as we aited for the dreadful answer to our "What time is it Mr. Fox!!!!" question........"LUNCHTIME!!!!" the person who was it would then whirl around and chase us back to the other end of the gym, gobbling us up as he hurried across. If you were gobbled you became part of the Fox's pack. The good ole day's of being a kid!!

For Everyone to Share

For Everyone to Share is a wonderful story following a cute mouse as he explores the world outside his mousehole. The visuals in this book are very adorable. You are instantly drawn to the cuddly cuteness of Little Mouse. His curious intrigue drew me into the story and his honest questioning of the world can really relate to the curious exploration that children feel and experience. The authors Gillian Lobel and Daniel Howath did a great job of capturing the sights ad sounds that are nature.