The Great Caper Caper by Josh Funk & Brendan Kearney

Why this book?

I was so excited to see the latest “Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast” book! This one is a fun mystery with a friendship theme. I love how the characters work together to solve their problem.

A plus for these books is that there's humor in this story for grown-ups as well as kids, so they can be enjoyed by all age levels. It's definitely one you can read more than one time to appreciate all the details and the humor!

My thoughts as a creator:

What a great example of a rhyming story with a strong plot and storyline! I’m also amazed at how the author-illustrator team manage to work in so many characters and create a satisfying ending. This one is a great book to study if you love to write word play or want to see how another author uses “made up” names for settings in a humorous picture book.

My thoughts as an educator:

This is a great story to read with children to promote a love of reading! The fun characters based on food are really appealing to kids. I also loved how the characters work together to solve their problems. The illustrations contain lots of details that children can spend time looking at when reading the book on their own.

Ages: 4 - 7

Grades: K - 3

Connections: problem-solving,  teamwork, rhyming, friendship

Activities:

Literacy & Dramatic Play: Try retelling the main events of the story. Children could draw the characters and attach to popsicle sticks to make puppets to retell the story events.

Literacy & Drawing: Talk about all the interesting places in the refrigerator! Encourage children to draw a map (or draw a map together) of some of the fun places. Bonus: Children could add to the map with their own imaginative names for places.

Literacy & Art: Look at the fun postcards from “Las Veggies” at the end of the book. Encourage children to design their own postcard from one of the characters in the story.

STEM: Create a challenge to build a tower using materials from around the classroom.

 

More info:

For a peek at an earlier adventure of Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast, check out my post on The Case of the Stinky Stench.

THE GREAT CAPER CAPER was recently selected as an Indie Kids' Next Pick.

This post is part of the The Great Caper Caper blog tour! Check out these other places to learn more about this story:

 

 

 

Description from the publisher:  

In the fifth adventure of the Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast series, our delectable rhyming friends find their home covered in darkness and embark on a Las Veggies heist—perfect for fans of The Food Group series.

When Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast awake one morning to near-darkness, they are aghast. Who would steal the fridge light? And what if the fridge is—gasp—dark all the time? Not to worry. Our trusty heroes are on the case. Will they be able to bring the fridge back to its bright self, or will they have to live in semi-darkness…forever?

The Great Caper Caper was written by Josh Funk, illustrated by Brendan Kearney and published by Union Square & Co.

ALL ARE WELCOME by Alexandra Penfold & Suzanne Kaufman

This lovely rhyming book is perfect for starting off the school year and to keep on hand in the classroom for students to explore. I think I will have to buy a copy for my classroom.

Summary from the publisher:

A warm, welcoming picture book that celebrates diversity and gives encouragement and support to all kids.

Follow a group of children through a day in their school, where everyone is welcomed with open arms. A school where kids in patkas, hijabs, and yarmulkes play side-by-side with friends in baseball caps. A school where students grow and learn from each other’s traditions and the whole community gathers to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

All Are Welcome lets young children know that no matter what, they have a place, they have a space, they are welcome in their school.

All Are Welcome was written by Alexandra Penfold and illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman. It was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2018.

Opening:     

Pencils sharpened in their case.

Bells are ringing, let’s make haste.

School’s beginning, dreams to chase.

All are welcome here.

My Thoughts as a Writer:

A lovely example of a rhyming story with a positive message for children. The repetition of the line "All are welcome here" is so effective. I can see myself using this throughout the year as a reminder, or even to post in the classroom. Brilliant word choice! I especially liked the way the illustrations show diversity & inclusion with different skin colors, clothing, and family groupings.

My Thoughts as an Educator:

This book upholds all the values that we see in a strong public education environment. There are opportunities for talking about individual differences, diversity, what it means to feel safe, how each child has their own unique story and how we can learn from each other. I plan to read this to my kindergarten students early in the year!

Ages: 4 - 7

Grades: K – 2

Themes: diversity, community, school

Activities:

Draw and Share: What is your special talent? What could you teach to others?

Discuss: What is your favorite page in the story? Why?

Make: Have students write the words "All Are Welcome Here" as a banner to put up in the classroom. 

Draw: Draw a picture of what you could do to make a new student feel welcome.

Create: Use yarn to create welcoming hearts for the fence at your school playground (see inside covers).

MIGHTY, MIGHTY CONSTRUCTION SITE by Sherri Dusky Rinker & Tom Lichtenheld for Perfect Picture Book Friday

A fun rhyming story loaded with construction vehicles!

Summary from the publisher:

All of our favorite trucks are back on the construction site—this time with a focus on team-building, friendship, and working together to make a big task seem small! Down in the big construction site, the crew faces their biggest job yet, and will need the help of new construction friends to get it done. Working as a team, there's nothing they can't do!

Mighty, Mighty, Construction Site was written by Sherri Dusky Rinker and illustrated by Tom Litchenheld. It was published in 2017 by Chronicle Books.

Opening:

Down in the big construction site,

five trucks wake to the morning light.

It’s time to S-T-R-E-T-C-H, roll out of bed,

and gear up for the day ahead!

My thoughts as a writer:

This story is a great one to study if you’re working on a rhyming text. The rhyme and rhythm keeps the story moving and there is a story that doesn’t bend to fit the rhyme scheme. I really liked the action-filled and detailed illustrations!

My thoughts as a teacher:

A great story for a read aloud with younger kids. It would be fun to pair this up with Susanna Leonard Hill’s THE ROAD THAT TRUCKS BUILT (see my review here). Students could compare and contrast the events and vehicles working in the two stories.

Ages: 2 - 6

Grades: Toddler  – Grade 1

Themes: construction vehicles, building, teamwork

Activities:

Discuss: What is your favorite construction vehicle in the story? What is it’s job?

Encourage students to design their own buildings using classroom materials. Draw a plan for your building. How many blocks will you need? Try to build it—or have a friend build it. How tall is your building? How could you measure it?

Learning from Picture Books – HOORAY FOR BIRDS by Lucy Cousins

This book shows the world from a different point of view – a bird’s eye view!

Summary from the publisher:

Birds of all feathers flock together in a fun, rhyme-filled offering by the creator of Maisy. From the rooster’s “cock-a-doodle-doo” at dawn to the owl’s nighttime “tuwit, tuwoo,” the cheeps and tweets of many bright and beautiful avian friends will have children eager to join in as honorary fledglings. This day in the life of birds will hold the attention of even the smallest bird-watchers, whether at storytime or just before settling into their cozy nests to sleep.

Hooray for Birds was written and illustrated by Lucy Cousins. It was published in 2017 by Candlewick Press.

Opening:

Can you imagine…

just for one day…

you’re a busy bird?

Yes, a bird!

Hooray!

My Thoughts as a Writer:

I really enjoyed the fun rhyming text and big, bright illustrations. It’s a good example of rhyme done well and it encourages children to engage with the story.

My Thoughts as a Teacher:

My students would enjoy this book, because of the catchy rhyme and big colourful illustrations. The bird actions are fun and this would be a great book for encouraging dramatic play. It would also be nice to include with non-fiction books about birds at a science area.

Ages: 3 - 7

Grades: PreK - 2

Themes: birds, creative movement, rhyming

Activities:

Read through the story and act it out as you go along!

Create your own drawing or painting of a bird in the style of Lucy Cousin’s art with a dark outline. Cut out each bird and display them together.

Photograph each student performing a bird action, perhaps with handmade bird accessory or prop, and make a class book. 

NOTE: This title has been nominated for the Cybils Award, and I am a first round panelist. There are many nominations and six other judges. My opinions should not be construed as a sign of inclusion or exclusion on the final short list.

Learning from Picture Books – THE ROAD THAT TRUCKS BUILT by Susanna Leonard Hill & Erica Sirotich

This is a really fun rhyming story from young children! I won this book in the summer in an online contest sponsored by Vivian Kirkfield (check out her blog for great reviews of picture books). I could hardly wait for school to start to introduce it to my class!

Summary from the publisher:

Join the ride as a team of adorable vehicles work together to build a new road in this fresh, cement-mixing spin on the classic nursery rhyme, “The House That Jack Built.”

Bulldozers, scrapers, graders, and more are hard at work making sure that every car, truck, and motorcycle can get where they’re going fast!

The Road That Trucks Built was written by Susanna Leonard Hill and illustrated by Erica Sirotich. It was published in 2017 by Little Simon.

Opening:

This is the traffic that’s moving too slow.

Cars and buses have nowhere to go.

What is the answer?

I’m guessing you know.

The trucks need to build a new road!

My Thoughts as a Writer:

This is a nice example of how to create a rhyming story. The problem of the story is clear from the beginning. The fun, bouncy rhymes keep our attention through the story – as do the big, bright illustrations of different trucks. Most of the lines in the story flow easily during a read aloud. The choice to use the format of “The House That Jack Built” works well.

My Thoughts as a Teacher:

This is a really fun rhyming story for young children! The idea that every truck has its part to play in the construction can be used to help explain the concept of teamwork. The labeled diagrams at the back are good examples of how to label as well as providing information about the parts of trucks.

Ages: 3 - 7

Grades: preK - 1

Themes: trucks, construction, teamwork

Activities:

Provide pictures of the different trucks in the story to use when telling the story.

Create a road building centre with props for children to explore during play.

With Lego or other snap-together blocks, encourage children to build different kinds of trucks and talk about the parts they need for their jobs.

Learning from Picture Books – PIRASAURS!

Another fun book about pirates! And who doesn't love dinosaurs? I really enjoyed reading this one -- it begs to be read aloud.

Summary from the Publisher:

Meet the Pirasaurs, a ragtag team of seasoned pirate dinosaurs looking for adventure and treasure! There's fearsome Captain Rex, golden-toothed Velocimate, one-eyed Bronto Beard, and more fearsome, buccaneering beasts....as well as one new recruit who may be small, but who's eager to prove he can learn the ropes and find his place on the team.

But when a trap is set upon the Pirasaurs while looking for buried treasure, it's up to the littlest recruit to show the team that there's more to a Pirasaur than meets the eye patch!

Pirasaurs! written by Josh Funk and illustrated by Michael Slack, was published in 2016 by Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic.

Opening:

“We're Pirasaurs! We're Pirasaurs!

We rule the open seas!

We'll cannon-blast you to the past!

We do just what we please!”

My Thoughts as a Writer:

The rhymes in this story are clever and keep the rhythm going, so it’s a great example to study if you’re writing a rhyming picture book. I love the concept of pirate dinosaurs, which I bet is very appealing to young readers. There are some really fun characters in this story, like “Bronto Beard” and “Triceracook”. The big, cartoony illustration style really brings out their personalities. 

My Thoughts as a Teacher:

This is a fun read for the classroom. There’s lots of wordplay and language to engage students. I also like the message about cooperation instead of fighting! In my kindergarten classroom, I’d leave this book at a centre with some toy dinosaurs and perhaps some blocks for building a pirate ship.

Ages: 3 - 7

Grades: K - 2

Themes: dinosaurs, pirates, cooperation

Activities:

Draw your own pirate dinosaur character. What would you name it?

Make a treasure map on thick paper. Cut it into pieces and see if a partner can put it back together.

What words rhyme in this story? See if you can hear them as your teacher reads aloud.

Talk about some ways to cooperate in your classroom “pirate ship”.

Learning from Picture Books – TRAINBOTS

Robots and trains in the same book? What a cool idea! This one reminded me a bit of the classic story The Little Engine That Could by Wally Piper, but with a very modern approach.

Summary from the publisher:

Trainbots are getting ready to make and deliver toybots for kids to play with, but it looks like the Badbots are sneaking and scheming to sabotage the delivery in this moving, grooving picture book!

Trainbots boarding, how rewarding!

Trainbots zooming,

unassuming...

Badbots peeking, sneaking, scheming,

hopping, dropping—Badbots teeming!

These Trainbots are getting ready to make and deliver toybots for kids to play with! They’re drawing, sawing, and building to get the toybots ready to send, but it looks like the Badbots are sneaking and scheming to sabotage the delivery! Luckily, the Trainbots draft and craft and engineer and rockateer to outsmart the misbehaving Badbots. And once the toybots are delivered, the kids become their FRIEND-bots 'til-the-end bots!

Trainbots was written by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Shane McG. The publisher is Little Bee Books. I received a Fold & Gathered review copy from the author, but the finished book will be available very soon!  The release date is June 7, 2016.

Opening:

“Trainbots drawing, sawing, building. Hammer; clamor, lots of gilding.”

My thoughts as a writer:

If you write in rhyme or love reading picture books in rhyme, this is good one to study! I loved how Miranda Paul managed to work in scientific terminology without messing with the rhythm and rhyme: “Trainbots drafting, engineering…clever crafting, racketeering!”

The illustrations remind me of animated films – bright and dynamic, with fun expressions on the character faces.

My Thoughts as a Teacher:

The idea of putting robots, trains and superheroes together is perfect for helping to capture the interest of young students. I especially liked how blueprints and plans were included in the story, because I’m always encouraging students to draw plans while building in my kindergarten classroom.

Ages: 4 – 8

Grades: preschool - 3

Themes: individuality, perseverance, pirates, adventure

Activities:

Build your own trainbot using materials such as cardboard boxes, wooden sticks, graph paper, buttons, googly eyes, etc. Paint and decorate!

Make up a character card for one of the trainbots: draw a picture, and list your character’s superpowers, special skills and name.

What is your favorite page in the story? Explain or write about why you picked this page.

Check out Writer's Rumpus for more about this book and an interview with author Miranda Paul.