the giant jam sandwich

The Giant Jam Sandwich is one of my favorite stories of all time.  When I was working as an SLP, I used it to teach kids how to retell the important elements of a story.  The residents of Itching Down have a huge annoying problem on their hands—four million wasps invading their town.  Bap the Baker devises a plan to trap the wasps in the most enormous strawberry jam sandwich ever made in history.  My favorite part is when the townspeople bake the bread using fifty cookers in an old cavernous brick mill.  A hilarious story of sweet ingenuity by John Vernon Lord and Janet Burroway.

the pet project: cute and cuddly vicious verses

A typical request—a girl asks her parents for a pet but as they are scientists, she doesn’t receive a typical, straightforward answer.  Thus, she sets out on a careful and methodical search for the perfect pet.  “What is the best pet for me?  Once my query was revealed, I prepped to study in the field.  I tucked a notebook under my arm.  Desired destination: farm.”  Her fields of study take her to the farm, zoo, and then to the woods behind her home.  Her final destination is Pets “R” Us—but what exactly does she end up with?  Clever and entertaining rhyming verses by Lisa Wheeler and illustrations by Zachariah Ohora in The Pet Project: Cute and Cuddly Vicious Verses.

the little prince

“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.”

Catching up on reading The Little Prince for @thereadingninja’s #readitbeforeyouseeit challenge!  Anyone planning to see the film version of The Little Prince in theaters?

the pancake king

Henry Edgewood lives an ordinary life until he discovers a hidden talent—making pancakes.  Buckwheat, blueberry, cornmeal, onion and even blini.  After that, Henry’s life will never be the same.  A cautionary tale, with a side of apple butter and maple syrup.

The Pancake King was written by Phyllis LaFarge, illustrated by Seymour Chwast, and was originally published in 1971 and recently re-released by Princeton Architectural Press.

when green becomes tomatoes

Ending the first week of spring with the winsome When Green Becomes Tomatoes by Julie Fogliano and Julie Morstad—poetry for different days of the seasons, starting and ending with March 20th, the vernal equinox (also the first day of spring).  This beautiful collection of poetry allows children to see and feel the nuances of each passing season.