Help Me, Mr. Mutt! Expert Answers for Dogs with People Problems

Stevens, J. & Stevens, S.  (2008).  Help Me, Mr. Mutt! Expert Answers for Dogs with People

        Problems. New York NY:  Harcourt, Inc.

This is a very cute book about how dogs need help when dealing with humans.  I love the way “Mr. Mutt” gives advice.  I swear my dogs must write and get responses from this dog, once a week.  There is always something.

Math Curse

Smith, L. & Scieszka, J. (1995).  Math Curse.  New York, NY:  Viking.

What a great way to show that math is everywhere.  This poor kid has a crazy math day where everything is math to him.  When he finally breaks the “curse” given to him by his math teacher, he realizes that the science teacher will do the same. 

Verdi

Cannon, J. (1997).  Verdi.  New York, NY:  Harcourt Brace & Company.

Verdi was a baby python who is wondering why there was a rush to grow up and turn green.  Oh, I love the way “Verdi” sounds like Verde (green in Spanish).    Verdi is trying not to turn green but of course, it starts to happen.  He tries to fight it and ends up getting hurt.  He turns big and green, but he is okay with it.  When two yellow snakes go to him he plays with the snakes because he was happy with who he was.  I loved the facts at the end of the book about snakes.

Cook-A-Doodle-Doo

Crummel, S. & Stevens, J. (1999).  Cook-A-Doodle-Doo.  Orlando, FL:  Harcourt Brace & Company.

I loved the reference to the Little Red Hen.  She was the rooster’s great grandma.  Well the rooster is tired of eating corn and decides to look for grandma’s recipe book.  Not surprising, the dog, cat, and duck don’t want to help, but he does get some help from a turtle, iguana, and a pot bellied pig.  Surprisingly enough, there were many recipes and they made a strawberry short cake.  Pig ate it after it was dropped to the ground, so they made more and shared it with everyone.  I loved the little helpful facts about cooking that were given on each page.

The Golden Mare, The Firebird, and the Magic Ring

Sanderson, R. (2001).  The Golden Mare, The Firebird, and the Magic Ring. New York, NY:  Little, 

           Brown and company.

This was a cute fairy tale.  Alexi, the hunter finds adventure with a magical horse, and a jelous Tsar.  With the help of the horse, he captures the firebird, and brings the Tsar a fine maiden to marry.  She tricks him and maries Alexi turning the Tsar into a baby.  They raise the baby as their own, the firebird is released as is the horse, who always helped him as he became the new Tsar.

Sparrow Girl

Pennypacker, S. (2009).  Sparrow Girl.  New York, NY:  Disney-Hyperion Books.

                This is a nice story about a young girl named Ming-Li and how she saved the sparrows and in the end, the farms.  The town’s people spend three days scaring the sparrows to death.  The little girl fells bad for the sparrows and saves 7.  The farmers meet and all say that their crops are going to be gone because of bugs and insects.  Ming-Li tells them that the birds were never the enemy because they ate these insects.  She shows them the seven birds, and she is now called sparrow girl and is considered a farmer by her father.   I liked how they connected the things together, they are all connected to each other, and everything has its purpose.

The Hinky Pinky

McDonald, M. (2008).  The Hinky Pinky:  An Old Tale.  New York, NY:  Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

                This was a cute story.  Anabel was a seamstress who’s only wish was to make a dress for a princess.  When her opportunity came up, there was a hinky pinky (a little bug person, no bigger than a flea) who would not let her sleep.  Her sewing got uglier as she lost sleep.  She finally made the perfect bed for the hinky pinky, slept well and made the prettiest dress for the princess.  Her dress was worn to the fanciest ball of the year.  I liked how the author would through in some stuff like the more common fairy tales, “ But surely princesses had angelic hair and golden voices and tiny feet.  And names that ended in ‘ella’.”