Patrick McDonnell

Fridays Featuring Flintridge – Boo!

Catherine Linka shares her picks for …

Books Featuring Monsters

This fall’s Halloween and monster-themed picture books are the funniest and most charming in years. Read one of these books aloud,and I think your kids will probably laugh as hard as I did.

In THE MONSTERS’ MONSTER ($16.99, Little, Brown Books For Young Readers, ages 3-6) by Patrick McDonnell, three horrible little monsters, Grouch, Grump and Gloom ‘n’ Doom create a huge Frankenstein-style monster to scare everyone. But Monster turns out to be the kindest, sweetest monster they never expected. A great book about friendship and gratitude.

Fans of MADELINE will laugh at FRANKENSTEIN: A Monstrous Parody ($14.99, Feiwel & Friends, ages 4 and up) by Rick Walton and Nathan Hale where “In a creepy old castle, all covered with spines, lived twelve ugly monsters in two crooked lines.”

In CREEPY CARROTS ($16.99, Simon & Schuster, ages 3 and up) by Aaron Reynolds, Jasper Rabbit steals carrots from Crackenhopper Field. Is it guilt or is it real when he starts hearing carrots creep after him? Kids will smile when they see that the carrots have the last laugh. NOTE:  Read the GRWR review of this book by clicking here.

SPIKE : THE MIXED-UP MONSTER ($16.99, Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, ages 4 and up), by Susan Hood with illustrations by Melissa Sweet, is great for smaller children who will cheer to see little SPIKE save the day. Bright colors, and lively art tell the story of Spike who wants to scare everyone around the pond, but they all think he’s adorable until a gila monster appears, and Spike gets his chance to be a monster.

Please visit the Flintridge Bookstore today to pick up your copy of these great books, buy gifts, enjoy their extensive selection of other great reads  and relax over a great cup of coffee.  Also visit the website at www.flintridgebooks.com to keep up-to-date with story times, author events and other exciting special events.

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Dare to Dream to Change the World

Me…Jane ($15.99, Little Brown Books, ages 1 and up) by author, illustrator and comic book artist, Patrick McDonnell, has won so many book awards that we simply cannot list them all. Most recently it was named a 2012 Caldecott Honor Book, and we at Good Reads with Ronna had to find out for ourselves just what all the buzz is about.

This story is about a curious ten-year-old girl named, Jane. Along with her favorite stuffed animal chimp, Jubilee, Jane explores the natural world outside her house, climbing trees, watching birds and reading books about what she discovers. She even hides in her granny’s chicken coup to watch a hen lay an egg. One day Jane takes a fancy to the animals of the African jungle after reading about them in Tarzan of the Apes. She is so touched by the book that she dreams of a life in Africa, living with and helping wild animals. One day her dream comes true, as she grows up to be Dr. Jane Goodall, world renowned for her studies of chimpanzees in Tanzania.

The story, written in simple prose, so beautifully and subtly depicts the innocence of a curious and highly intelligent child. The illustrations are really darling, with their muted tones, printed on matte-finished paper – perfectly fitting for the nature of this story. In the back of the book is a page with information about the accomplishments of Dr. Goodall and another page with an encouraging message from Jane herself. What I love about the book is that it inspires the youngest readers to embrace their passions and realize their own dreams of changing the world one day. (We certainly need more scientists to help save the planet!) There’s nothing better in life than finding your calling, and there’s no better example of a person who has done that than Jane Goodall.

– Reviewed by Debbie Glade

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