In my bag: Knuffle Bunny

Anyone who has ever had a beloved childhood toy or "lovie" will thoroughly enjoy the Knuffle Bunny trilogy from Mo Willems.  These are three books that I think every kid should know!

The first book, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, deals with the trauma that comes when Trixie loses her precious Knuffle Bunny and the lengths her parents go to in order to find him.

Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity  takes place during school show-and-tell when Trixie meets a Sonja, a girl with her own Knuffle Bunny.  It also allows Willems the opportunity to highlight one of the biggest debates surrounding the Knuffle Bunny books.  How do you pronounce "Knuffle?" 

The final and most poignant installment, Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion (Knuffle Bunny Series) finds Knuffle Bunny being lost once again, this time on a trip to Holland.  After dreaming about all the love Knuffle Bunny could give to others, an older and wiser Trixie decides to pass on her favorite toy to someone who needs it more than she does.

All three books are cleverly illustrated.  The backgrounds of the illustrations are created by black and white photos of locations in New York City, while the characters are color cartoon images drawn by the author. 

Mo Willems is able to do so much with simple story lines and illustrations.  He captures the humor, distress, and sweetness of a situation familiar to so many.  I guarantee that these books will become like your very own Knuffle Bunny.  

In my bag: "Chick" lit

I didn't go to the library with any particular books in mind.  As is fairly typical for me, I browsed the shelves and picked books that looked interesting.  Perhaps serendipitously, I ended up with these two books, starring some cute "chicks."

New Socks by Bob Shea is a simple book about a young chick who is very excited about his new socks.  Shea perfectly captures the innocent excitement that children often have over simple items (anyone who has ever seen a child choose a box over a fancy toy can relate!)  The text is big and bold, which would be great for an early reader, and the illustrations are vivid, usually keeping to a basic color palette of orange, yellow and turquoise.  It's just a fun little book.

One of my all-time favorite read-alouds is Tippy-Toe Chick, Go! by George Shannon.  While on their way to the garden for their favorite treat-"sweet itty-bitty beans and potato bugs," the chick family is stopped by a large and ferocious dog.  While Big Chick and Medium Chick try, and fail, to convince the dog to let them pass, Little Chick uses her size, speed and courage to trick the dog and save the day.  As a read-aloud, this book provides lots of opportunities for choral reading through the repetition of the phrase "tippy-toe, tippy-toe."  The reader can also practice his "read-aloud" voice by giving unique inflection to the voices of the Chick family and the dog. Most important of all, Little Chick shows readers that even if you are small, you can do big things.

In my bag: Fractured Fairy Tales and Fables

We won't discuss how long this particular group of books has been in my book bag, though it is safe to say that the public library is going to be asking for some collateral before they let me borrow any more books, and that I could start a new feature in US Magazine called "Former librarians: They're just like US!"  They check out books from the library!  They neglect to return them on time! They owe sizable fines!

Anyway . . . one of my favorite picture book genres is the "fractured fairy tale and fable" variety.  Authors take well-known stories like Cinderella, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk and change the characters, setting, or both, resulting in some humorous twists on old favorites.

I got requests from teachers all the time for these types of stories, both because they are always a hit with kids, and because they make wonderful models for student writing and a great vehicle for learning similarities and differences.  Younger kids will enjoy the basic plot of the story while older students (yes, even middle school age) will appreciate the more sophisticated elements of parody and imitation.

So if you're at a loss for what to check out from the library, consider grabbing some traditional fairy tales and fables and their fractured counterparts.  Here's just a few to get you started!



Tortuga in Trouble by Ann Whitford Paul is a twist on the story of Little Red Riding Hood.  Tortuga, on his way to see his abuela, is tricked by Coyote, who wants Tortuga's basket full of ensalada, tamales and flan.  Fortunately, Tortuga's friends, Conejo, Culebra and Iguana are nearby to help rescue him and save dinner from Coyote's large dientes.  What I love about this book is the way the author weaves Spanish words throughout the story so that non-Spanish speakers understand their meaning.  While there is a glossary at the beginning of the book, the context clues within the story reveal the definitions of the Spanish words.  Besides being a "fractured fable" this book is great for English and Spanish speakers alike and would provide common ground for a diverse classroom.  Tortuga's buddies provide comic relief and the element of repetition that is important in books for students just learning to read.  The predictability will have readers chanting along with Culebra and Conejo as they bid "adios" to the ensalada, tamales and flan every few pages.  Illustrations by Ethan Long are bright and eye-catching.





Falling For Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox reveals what happens when Rapunzel misunderstands the prince's request for her to "let down her hair."  A variety of things get thrown out of Rapunzel's window in lieu of her braided tresses: her underwear, pancake batter, and her blue-ribbon swine, to name a few.  With each increasingly ridiculous misunderstanding, readers will laugh harder and harder, right up to the final unexpected ending.  The rhyming stanzas allow an extra level of participation as readers try to predict just exactly what Rapunzel will throw down to the prince. This book, along with Waking Beauty, Wilcox's take on Sleeping Beauty, are always HUGE kid pleasers.


If you've ever questioned why Goldilocks wasn't sharp enough to realize that walking into an abandoned house in the middle of the woods was not a good idea, then Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs: As Retold by Mo Willems is a must-read.  Mama and Papa Dinosaur, along with some other dinosaur who was visiting from Norway, set some not-so-subtle traps in hopes that a clueless little girl will wander along in time for dinner.  Bonus factor:  If your kids have read Willems' pigeon books, they might just find a favorite bus driving blue buddy among the illustrations.


Sisters Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel team up to deliver a "punny" take on The Little Red Hen.  The Little Red Pen is a humorous story about the importance of teamwork when faced with an impossible task.  While attempting to grade papers all on her own, the little red pen falls asleep and rolls into the "pit of no return" (the trash).  The stapler, push pin, highlighter and scissors must find away to grade the papers and rescue their friend before the students arrive.  This will be a favorite of any teacher who has had the curse fortune of grading 120+ writing samples or more during a given grading period.  This book will also provide students with an opportunity to explore the idea of writing from the point of view of an inanimate object.

There are gazillions more fractured fairy tales and fables to explore.  Hop on over to your local bookstore or public library and see for yourself!