Teaching kids about nutrition is an important, if somewhat difficult, task. Young kids might understand the need to eat healthily, but don’t necessarily want to. To help parents and nutrition teachers with this endeavor, Loreen Leedy has written Jack & the Hungry Giant: Eat Right with MyPlate. At 32 pages, Jack & the Hungry Giant: Eat Right with MyPlate is long enough to present the necessary information and short enough to keep the attention of young readers.
Just like in the fairy tale, Jack climbs the beanstalk and meets a hungry giant. This giant is named Waldorf and he isn’t interested in eating Jack. Nope, he is, in fact, quite the kitchen connoisseur and is far more engaged in preparing a feast for his wife Zofia. Jack joins him in the kitchen, and together they transform vegetables, fruit, grains, protein, and dairy items into plates of delicious and healthy meals. During the process, Waldorf and Jack helpfully name the foods in each of these categories and explain the concept of the nutrition plate. (The plate replaced the food pyramid in 2011. More information on the food plate can be found at choosemyplate.gov.) They also show options for exercise, another important component of keeping healthy.
The artwork is bright and bold. Most of the book is illustrated with cartoonish style drawings. Peppered along the way are (what look like) scanned images of food items, such as brown rice, bran cereal, cottage cheese, and lettuce. Be sure to keep an eye on Waldorf and Zofia’s wily orange-striped tiger cat!
Jack & the Hungry Giant: Eat Right with MyPlate is a good start to eating right!
Super Schnoz and the Gates of Smell (Book 1)(Albert Whitman, $14.99, ages 8 -12) by Gary Urey with illustrations by Ethan Long is reviewed today by Ronna Mandel. The book is available in print both online and at local independent bookstores. Find the ebook at Open Road Media (www.openroadmedia.com). Please also read on for a Q&A with the author and the signed book giveaway details then remember to visit the next stop on the blog tour & book giveaway: Monday, September 23, 2013 www.carolwscorner.blogspot.com/ Gary Urey Interviews Ethan Long and Signed Book Giveaway.
Book Summary:
In this riotous romp around Denmark, New Hampshire (yes, something is rotten in this city), readers meet 11-year-old Andy Whiffler. With his exceptionally large nose, Whiffler will experience the trials and tribulations common to many just-moved-to-town tweens, only more so because his nose knows no boundaries.
Andy’s intelligence, wit and uncanny ability to sniff out trouble (in addition to a variety of vile stinky things such as a rotting pastrami sandwich, feet fungus and armpit odor) soon turns around the kids who so often tease him about his oversized honker. Now, as a member of a group who have dubbed themselves the Not-Right Brothers along with one female friend named Vivian, Andy embarks on unearthing what’s causing the horrendously horrible noxious fumes at James F. Durante Elementary.
Soon something seriously fishy is discovered. In fact it’s downright criminal and it may cause the school to close down leaving kids to lose their summer vacation. However, if all goes according to plan, The Not-Right Brothers, aided by a Mardi Gras masked, flying crime fighter known as Super Schnoz, will rid school of its evil element, foiling a dastardly plan to pollute cities across the planet. Can Super Schnoz close the Gates of Smell and help reopen James F. Durante Elementary? Don’t let only the nose know! Pick up a copy today at your local independent bookseller and find out what part some snot and cayenne pepper play in this mad dash to deliver Denmark from certain disaster.
GRWR: Please tell us how you decided that a boy with a humongous nose should be a super hero? Why not ears or big feet?
Gary Urey: Big noses are just funny! They can smell good things and bad things, expel mucous, wiggle, and you can pick it. If you ever got stranded on a desert island, your nose could provide hours of idle entertainment. Also, people are generally obsessed with their nose. Is it too big or too small? Why is it red? Should I get a nose job?
GRWR:I love being entertained and your book is pure entertainment. What does it take nowadays to entertain children with their oh so many distractions?
Gary Urey: Children are very easy to entertain if you have a laptop, a TV, and Netflix. Seriously, I think that children innately love books. We as adults just need to put the right book into a kid’s hands and they will gobble it up. A Newbery Medal winning book may very well be a beautifully told tale, but a kid who likes comic books, laughs at fart jokes, and makes goofy videos with his friends and then uploads them to YouTube probably won’t be interested in a story about a kid who lives in a small Kansas town during the depression. But that same fart joke-loving kid will eagerly read books like Captain Underpants, Super Schnoz, and The Day My Butt Went Psycho.
GRWR: You’ve said that you were nasally challenged as a child like Andy Whiffler. What kind of teasing did you endure and is that when your keen sense of humor was born?
Gary Urey: Yes, I was born into a family of large noses! Our family reunion looks like a nose convention. My maternal grandfather’s nose was so HUGE you could use it as a storm shelter. His honker actually affected the tides.
Somewhere in my childhood, I got an unfortunate nickname that left me wide open for teasing. Everybody referred to me by that name, even teachers and my own family. To this day, if I went back to my hometown they would call me by that name. So, to answer your question, when you go through childhood and adolescence with a humiliating nickname you develop a healthy sense of humor.
Illustrator Ethan Long
GRWR: Was this book originally conceived as an animated TV show because between Long’s artwork and the madcap adventures embarked upon, it seems to shout series?
Gary Urey: No, I didn’t consciously start writing Super Schnoz with an eye for an animated TV show—although that would be great! I grew up in a home without books so Saturday morning and after-school cartoons were my main source of entertainment. Shows like Hong Kong Phooey, Johnny Quest, Bugs Bunny, the Flintstones, Land of the Lost, Super Friends, and dozens of others were a major influence on me as a writer for children.
GRWR:There are snot and sickening smell type jokes up the kazoo in this book. How do you know when you’ve reached capacity with this type of humor in a kids’ book? For example – do you show it to some kids for their input?
Gary Urey: I let my eleven-year-old daughter and her friends read the manuscript. Half said it was gross, the other half didn’t, so I figured the avalanche of booger and snot jokes were okay. Also, my editor at Albert Whitman will let me know if I have gone too far.
GRWR:Did you decide to add all the name references to nose related things such as Principal Cyrano and James F. Durante Elementary School for the grown-ups who might read this to their children? I looked up the Russian city of Nizhnevartovsk you included in the story thinking it was going to be a translation of nose, but it wasn’t. Did you do that on purpose?
Gary Urey: Yes, I did add all the big nose references for the grown-ups. The Russian city of Nizhnevartovsk just popped into my head the day I was writing that chapter. I think I heard of the city from some documentary. Although, your idea of naming the city after the Russian word for nose is much funnier. (According to Google Translate, nose in Russian is hoc.)
GRWR:The whole idea of Andy being able to fly is so totally imaginative. Did you have to do some research to make his ability to lift off the ground thanks to inflated nostrils believable?
Gary Urey: I did a bit of research on how hot-air balloons work, just to make it bit more believable.
GRWR: Where did you draw your inspiration for the four other members of Andy’s Not-Right Brothers and girl partner-in-crime fighting?
Gary Urey: The Not-Right Brothers are composites of friends I had during elementary school. As for Vivian, all the great super hero teams like the Fantastic Four have a kick-butt girl in the gang. Vivian fit the bill perfectly!
GRWR:Is there a second book in the works?
Gary Urey: Yes. I just finished Super Schnoz II. He will battle snotty aliens who are intent on taking over the world!
GRWR:What writers inspired you as a child and who are those you still enjoy reading as an adult today?
Gary Urey: The book I remember most from childhood is How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell. I still love that book! The book that made me want to become a children’s writer was Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. It’s my favorite book ever, and it won the Newbery back in 1991. I also love every book by Gary Paulson, Avi, Cynthia Rylant, and Dav Pilkey. They’ve had a tremendous influence on me.
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
We’re excited to give away 2 autographed by the author (Gary Urey) copies of SUPER SCHNOZ AND THE GATES OF SMELL. Each of the winners will have their signed copy mailed to them by Albert Whitman & Company who are graciously providing the books.
The giveaway begins today, Sunday, September 22, 2013 and runs through Sunday, October 6th ’til midnight. Each of the winners of (1) one copy of SUPER SCHNOZ AND THE GATES OF SMELL by Gary Urey with illustrations by Ethan Long will be selected via Random.org and notified on Monday, October 7th. Send your name and address to Good Reads With Ronna by clicking here. Be sure to write SCHNOZ/Albert Whitman Giveaway in the subject. For an extra entry, please LIKE our Facebook page by clicking here. Also remember to send us your name and contact info in an emailtoRonna.L.Mandel@gmail.comby midnight Sunday, October 6, 2013 and you’ll be entered to win.
Please click here for a link to our contests page if you need more info. Good luck!
“I work in the magic industry. I think you’ll agree it’s a pretty glamorous: a life of spells, potions, and whispered enchantments…if only. No, magic these days is simply useful…” –Jennifer Strange
The second in the Last of the Dragonslayer series finds us once again at Kazam, an employment agency/living quarters for wizards. Our hero, Jennifer, is once again back home at Kazam, filling in for the mysteriously missing Great Zambini. Her job is to find employment for the strange, but strangely loveable group of wizards under her care. At sixteen, she’s more than competent at dealing with wizards in the fictional setting of the “Ununited Kingdom” who need work, but are not all that well acquainted with a watch. She finds them jobs, but not in “Big Magic” as it was called in the good old days. Although in the last book there was a surge of magic, since then magic or “crackle” as it is referred to in the book is again in short supply. A real energy crisis is taking place, and wizards have been reduced to using magic for very prosaic reasons. Finding jobs for wizards in pizza delivery, bridge building, finding lost things, and so on are what fill Jennifer’s day. Then there is always the official government paper work to fill out after each use of magic. Practical Jennifer and her replacement-in-training, Tiger, are back at Kazam after a particular incident that involved a Dragon, a Quarkbeast, and really, you should read the first book, The Last of the Dragonslayers for more on that adventure! It was a great read!
While life at Kazam is seeming a bit humdrum, suddenly a mysterious woman appears with an offer of a great deal of money in return for a favor. She’s looking for a ring, and not just any ring, but one that doesn’t want to be found. Full of negative magic, the ring resists those who would pursue it, but Lady Mawgon, one of the better and scarier wizards at Kazam, insists on finding it. Kazam is in needs of funds, and no one at Kazam can argue with that.
Coming to bookstores this October is a really terrific retelling of a most beloved fairy tale, Cinderella, this time starring none other than the perfectly plump and pleasing pachyderm known as Cinderelephant (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, $16.99, ages 4-8) written and illustrated by Emma Dodd.
Parents, it’s likely that by the time you read this to your child, he or she will have already heard this classic or watched the Disney version. That’s definitely a plus because it will allow you more time to spend pointing out all the humorous touches Dodd’s included in the colorful and cheerful illustrations. And if your youngsters are new to the tale, they’re still in for a tremendous treat.
You know the plot and to Dodd’s credit, her economy of words keeps the story fun and flowing for those of us for whom the tale is not new. Cinderelephant is bossed around by the Warty Sisters, two unattractive Wart Hogs who are “horrible, mean, and smelly,” plus they clearly lack table manners.
When an invitation to Prince Trunky’s ball arrives, young readers get their first clue as to what this Prince might look like considering the king is called King Saggy and the queen is Queen Wrinkly. Calling her “Cinder-irrelavant,” the Warty Sisters slough off Cinderelephant’s hope of also attending the ball.
I love how Dodd features a Furry Godmouse who’ll save the day and get the gigantic gray gal to the Prince’s party. She even manages those appropriately placed superlatives and the occasional big but (you’ll see what I mean) joke with both her text and artwork.
Parents and kids will be entertained by the humor, whimsical illustrations and happy ending (pun intended) because, let’s face it, we all know one pink size 20+ shoe can only belong to one palatially-sized pachyderm!
“WARNING: The head lice in this book will make you ITCHY!”
And guess what? It’s true. BUGS IN MY HAIR! (The Blue Sky Press/Scholastic, $17.99, ages 4 and up), by local Burbank-based, award-winning author and illustrator, David Shannon, is a perfect picture book year round, but especially for back-to-school time when so many things are new. Especially head lice.
Thank you, David Shannon, for taking the “shame” and “humiliation” out of head lice. In fact, with Bugs in My Hair!, Shannon has actually succeeded in making the experience seem almost, well … fun! Okay, maybe fun is stretching it. Itchy is more accurate because simply saying lice and nits causes an instant uncomfortable, uncontrollable urge to scratch and squirm
Bugs in my Hair!gives kids who have had a case of head lice an opportunity to claim membership in the “been there, done that” club that many young readers may unwittingly join one day. I can see them shouting out their personal experiences as the school librarian reads the story to a class of second graders. “I had so many head lice my mom had to call up the Census Bureau.”
The artwork makes this book stand out among head lice stories. It’s hilarious, imaginative and genuinely complements every single line. I’m particularly partial to the page featuring BUGZILLA conquering the world. This ’50s movie style illustration is so clever and exaggerated that both kids and parents will crack up. The popcorn chomping louse lounging on the sofa with a remote in one claw, a drink in another is brilliant. On the other end of the sofa, relaxing with the latest issue of Parasite magazine, is a cigar smoking louse squishing the main character, a red-headed youth who wants nothing more than these nuisances to go bye-bye. “It was like they took over our whole life!”
PECK, PECK, PECK (Candlewick Press, $15.99, ages 2-5 ) by Lucy Cousins, best known for her super popular and successful Maisy series, has written and illustrated an adorable picture you should get, get, get! My 12-year-old son picked it up (it’s hard not to be attracted to the bright yellow cover with actual die-cut holes) and, after reading it, announced, “Very cute! Kids’ll love this.”
This 32-page hardcover book, with its bold graphics and signature bright Cousins’ colors, is so much fun and it’s easy to see how much time was devoted to getting the locations of the holes on every page just right so as not to ruin the next page. The rhyme is simple and catchy that little kids will certainly want to chime in. To start, the little red-headed woodpecker says,
“Today my daddy
Said to me,
“‘It’s time you learned
to peck a tree.'”
And so the pecking begins … first a tree, (with kudos from Dad for a hole superbly pecked) … then onto a fence, a big blue door then into the house for more pecking galore. The humor is not lost when the little woodpecker practices his newfound skills on an armchair, a teddy bear, and a book called Jane Eyre!! The variety of items that receive holes is hysterical. Nothing seems to have escaped the bird’s beak.
Besides all the rhymes, children will thoroughly enjoy the tons of holes everywhere that they can poke while having one last silly fest before settling down for bed. Even the story’s little birdie is beat and decides to return to his nest. Thank goodness that when Daddy plants some goodnight kisses on his little bird’s head, only lots of love and pride, but no holes, accompany them!
Long before I was a parent I got a taste of Roald Dahl’s humor in the early ’70s via the popular film Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. Then, in London some thirty years later, I heard The Magic Finger audio book. Now that I’ve read an actual book and seen Quentin Blake’s spot-on illustrations for Matilda (Puffin, $6.99, ages 7 and up), I am eager to see the acclaimed Broadway musical. It seems that Dahl’s work is brilliantly entertaining in any form presented.
Roald Dahl, also known for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and Fantastic Mr. Fox, had a wonderful and wild imagination with a wit to match. And though celebrating its 25th anniversary, the book remains as popular with readers today as it was when first published.
Matilda put a smile on my face and introduced me to one of the most OTT characters I’ve seen in print in a long time. If the name Miss Trunchbull doesn’t conjure up images of a walking, talking mega-sized Medieval torture machine (AKA the Headmistress), I don’t know what will!! Matilda is a child prodigy. Yet, unlike the children whose parents gush over their real or perceived little Einsteins, Matilda’s parents do absolutely NOTHING to nurture their four-year-old daughter. In fact, they barely treat her with indifference being so caught up in their own lunacy.
Hungry for knowledge to feed her growing mind, Matilda makes her way to the local library. There the librarian, Mrs. Phelps helps the youngster find books she’d like. Eventually Matilda takes home books to travel the world from the comfort of her bedroom while avoiding the dishonesty and rudeness of her family. A second-hand car dealer, Matilda’s father, Mr. Wormwood, boasts of tricking his customers and profiting from his deviousness. Readers will thoroughly love all the practical jokes Matilda plays on her dad as a way of getting back at him for his misdeeds. Blake’s pen and ink artwork perfectly captures all the hijinks in the book, especially those occurring at Crunchem Hall Primary School, and enhance what is already a rollicking good read.
Fortunately for Matilda, school takes her away from her unpleasant parents and there she finds compassion from her teacher, aptly named Miss Honey. Miss Honey is in awe of Matilda’s genius and provides the young girl with the attention and nurturing she’s missed at home. Unfortunately Miss Honey is so very poor and suffering due to the unfortunate loss of income and housing at the hands of a cruel aunt who just happens to be Miss Trunchbull. Now that Matilda has an ally in Miss Honey, she’s emboldened to fight back at the horrendous Headmistress and by doing so discovers a magical power that will help her achieve her goal. The pleasure kids get from Matilda’s success is why this book continues to be in demand. A happy ending that assures the Trunchbull’s comeuppance, restores Miss Honey’s inheritance and Matilda’s future well-being.
I realize that, having had children attend primary school in London, I am partial to Dahl’s language and exaggerated style but there is simply no denying his gift for great storytelling. The book is certain to engage even the most reluctant of readers with its funny characters, crazy plot and satisfying finish.
MYSTERIES ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY (Puffin Books, $5.99, ages 8 and up) by Betty G. Birney contains everything a young reader would want: humor, conflict, animals, action, assorted students and teachers, good advice, and great plotting all packed into an enjoyable paperback.
After reading this early chapter book I can easily understand why the Humphrey series is featured on 24 state lists. Humphrey, the classroom pet (along with Og the Frog) stars in nine different books, each with straightforward themes such as SURPRISES ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY, ADVENTURE ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY and FRIENDSHIP ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY. They also contain the same tight writing, wit and wisdom readers will expect from Birney after reading the first in the series, THE WORLD ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY.
I love a good mystery and with this story I got more than one upon visiting Room 26 at Longfellow School. First there’s the Sherlock Holmes story, “The Adventure of the Red-Headed League,” teacher Mrs. Brisbane is reading the class. Then there’s the classwork where the students are tasked with discovering the mysterious word’s meaning; piewhacked is the first one they must figure out. Piewhacked? But when principal Mr. Morales announces to Room 26 that a substitute is going to take care of the class, the biggest mystery begins to unfold.
Mr. Edonopulous (AKA Mr. E), the substitute, is a puzzle to the kids in Room 26. He’s nice and friendly, but he’s always turning every lesson into some kind of game, he doesn’t assign homework (which has both its up and down sides), and he keeps getting chastised by the co-chairperson of the School Safety Committee (AKA whistle-clutching Mrs. Wright, the PE instructor) for not following the rules. What gives here? Then there’s Thomas and Joey, classmates who should be friends except Thomas’s constant exaggerating and lying has put a wedge between the boys. Humphrey wonders how he can solve this social dilemma. Woven throughout Humphrey’s detective work runs the longest thread and that’s the one causing him the most anxiety – the longer Mr. E remains means the longer Mrs. Brisbane stays away. Did something happen to her? Did she take a new job? Are clues adding up to a ballet career for Mrs. B? Will they ever find out the ending of the Sherlock Holmes story?
There are so many different and interesting story elements at work to hold readers’ attention and make them eager to read on. Plus kids will care about Humphrey because he’s such a compassionate rodent. Humphrey’s Detectionary at the end of each chapter often serves as his observations and commentary on humans, i.e. “It’s a mystery to me why humans enjoy a very frightening holiday like Halloween!”
Solve your kids’ summer reading quandry with MYSTERIES ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY and find fun Humphrey activities and teachers’ guides at www.penguin.com/humphrey. What more clues do you need?
