Ckicks and Salsa

Chicks and Salsa.
by: Aaron Reynolds
Illustrated by: Paulette Bogan
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
Language: English
ISBN 13: 978-1599900995
Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 9.4 inches, paperback, full-color interior ink
Price: (without shipping) $6.95 USD as of the date of this posting
Where to buy: amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com)

I love Mexican food.

This is a just plain fun book. Barnyard friends, led by a rooster who has a thing for his local Food Network, learn to love some down home food from south of the border.

The illustrations are wonderfully colorful and fun and the writing is a delight. By the end of the story you've got chickens eating salsa, pigs eating nachos and ducks eating guacamole.

A great fun book.

Message:
[Parents] Make it fun and kids will probably try anything.
[Kids] Try new food, you might like it.

The Stinky Cheese Man and other fairly stupid tales.

The Stinky Cheese Man and other fairly stupid tales.
by: Jon Scieszka
Illustrated by: Lane Smith
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Viking/Penguin
Language: English
ISBN: 9780670844876
Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9 inches, hardcover, full-color interior ink
Price: (without shipping) $17.99 USD as of the date of this posting
Where to buy: amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com)

This books is nuts.

It breaks traditions, rips classic tales to shreds, has colorful yet somehow slightly disturbing illustrations and yet I can not recommend it enough.

Scieszka and Lane created a book, back in 1992, that is a wonder of modern art and unconformity. The book is disjointed, jumps around and has blank pages. It is also one of the books that my 12 year old daughter remembers from her early years. The text is clever, witty and highly creative.

The illustrations are AMAZING. There is a Dali/Picasso-esque quality to the pictures that is well worth the price of admission.

Message:
[Parents] Art is something best served witty.
[Kids] Look what this guy draws, there is no "wrong" in art.

Content: 5/5
Illustrations: 5/5
Concept: 5/5
Quality: 5/5
Price: 5/5

Good Boy Fergus

Good Boy Fergus
by: David Shannon
Illustrated by: The Author
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Blue Sky Press
Language: English
ISBN: 0439490278
Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.7 inches, hardcover, full-color interior ink
Price: (without shipping) $15.99 USD as of the date of this posting
Where to buy: amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com)

I love David Shannon's work from "No David" to this one. His art is delightful and the stories are charming and fun for young readers.

Fergus is a dog and like most dogs, responds to the words that dogs respond to. Words like cat, out, ride and walk to name a few.

The story is like a small documentary into the life of a dog from a dog centric viewpoint. The text gives you a disjointed, jumpy feeling which, again, follows the way a dog lives.

There is no deep message here. Just good clean fun.

Message:
[Parents] Hmmmm, maybe this is how kids think too.
[Kids] Dogs are fun.

Content: 5/5
Illustrations: 5/5
Concept: 5/5
Quality: 5/5
Price: 5/5

Chowder

Chowder
by: Peter Brown
Illustrated by: The Author
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Language: English
ISBN: 0316011800
Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 inches, hardcover, full-color interior ink
Price: (without shipping) $15.99 USD as of the date of this posting
Where to buy: amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com)

Here's one I saw at the book fair but purchased at the local non-chain bookstore.

Chowder is a bulldog who marches to his own drummer (who is obviously distant). To say that he is different is an understatement. His owners love him the way he is but he yearns for something more.

Mr. Brown has crafted a delightful story that will have dog owners everywhere shutting down the computer when they leave the house for work. This is a book where it is ok to be different and that difference is applauded.

The illustrations are beautiful. Soft, colorful and with unique angles and perspectives not usually seen in children's books. There is a picture of Chowder leaping from the car at the store which becomes, at first, like a Where is Waldo.

A great book and one that has been added to my personal collection.

Message:
[Parents] If it's ok for a dog to play kick-ball with a pig then it's fine for your kid to play with whoever they want to.
[Kids] People who look different can be fun too.

Content: 5/5
Illustrations: 5/5
Concept: 5/5
Quality: 5/5
Price: 5/5