Read Up: Two at random

Ready for a couple of more fun reads?  Here are two of my picks-- one fiction, one non-fiction.

“Eat!” Cried Little Pig

Jonathan London & Delphine Durand

The first time I read Little Pig’s hungry tale aloud at a library, the small children were laughing hysterically.  Part of this was surely the squeal-y voice I gave the character, and my wild gesticulation—but the words and images make this kind of telling easy for any reader, I think.  Little Pig’s first word was “EAT!” And “he ate off his plate, and he ate ON his plate”—and there was food everywhere!”   Funny pictures and an increasing mess make this a very attractive book; more straight-laced grownups will appreciate that everyone cleans up nicely in the end.

Life-Size Aquarium

Teruyuki Komiya

A big draw of this book is its huge—yes, life-sized—photographs of aquatic animals including penguins, sea otters, and dolphins (no, the entire animals do NOT always fit on the page; some of them, like the Humphead Wrasse, need a four-page spread)!  The book is great for sitting together with a child or two on the couch, because the margins are absolutely filled with facts that children will find fascinating (for instance, did you know that the dugong—a manatee relative—poops about two pounds a day?  And that each of those is shaped like a sausage?  Make any face you want, but you know children will find that fascinating).  Huge, beautiful images, & lots of learning along the way, make this a fun read-together.  Also check out Life-Size Zoo.