Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman

Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman. Francesca Simon. Illustrated by Tony Ross. 2010. Sourcebooks. 112 pages.

Are you familiar with Horrid Henry? Have you read any of his previous adventures? Do you love or hate this little troublemaker? In Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman, readers are treated to four stories: Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman, Horrid Henry's Rainy Day, Moody Margaret's Makeover, and Horrid Henry's Author Visit. While the star of these stories is Horrid Henry, Perfect Peter and Moody Margaret get their fair share of attention as well!

Of the four stories in this Horrid Henry collection, my favorite is Horrid Henry's Author Visit. I just LOVED this one! One of Horrid Henry's favorite authors is coming to his school--his class. One of Horrid Henry's least favorite authors is coming to his brother's class. Can you guess where Horrid Henry ends up?! Why this one worked so well for me was the humor.

Milksop Miles is the author visiting Perfect Peter. He's the author of "The Happy Nappy." Here is how Horrid Henry describes it:

The Happy Nappy! Only the dumbest book ever. All those giant diapers with names like Rappy Nappy and Zappy Nappy and Tappy Nappy dancing and prancing around. And then the truly horrible Gappy Nappy, who was always wailing, "I'm leaking!" Horrid Henry shuddered. He was amazed that Milksop Miles dared to show his face after writing such a boring book. (70-1)

Turns out there's also a Happy Nappy song!

I enjoyed each of the stories in this Horrid Henry book. Here are the others in the series that I've read and reviewed:

Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon. 2009. Sourcebooks. 90 pages.
Horrid Henry Tricks the Tooth Fairy by Francesca Simon. 2009. Sourcebooks. 90 pages.
Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine by Francesca Simon. 2009. Sourcebooks. 88 pages.
Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb by Francesca Simon. 2009. Sourcebooks. 78 pages.
Horrid Henry's Christmas. Francesca Simon. 2006/2009. Sourcebooks. 112 pages.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

More Bears

More Bears! Kenn Nesbitt. Illustrated by Troy Cummings. 2010. November 2010. Sourcebooks. 32 pages.


Once upon a time there was a story.
This story was a lovely story with absolutely no bears in it--
not a single bear anywhere. Then one day...
MORE BEARS!!
What? Who said that? The author of the story looked around the room, wondering where those voices had come from. Were those the voices of children shouting? Then he went back to writing.
As I was saying, this story had absolutely no bears at all. The author was very certain about this.
MORE BEARS!!
The author tried very, very hard to ignore the children who thought that the story ought to have...
MORE BEARS!!

I liked this one. I did. I thought it was funny. A bit quirky--perhaps--but good fun, in my opinion, very playful. I think it would make a good read aloud.

The author begins KNOWING that his story has NO BEARS in it. Yet the voices persist. Children begging for a story with MORE BEARS. How many bears will he add to his story with "no bears?" How many bears are enough bears to satisfy his audience? Who is in charge of the story anyway?

I liked the repetition--the repetitive demands for MORE BEARS. I liked the simplicity of the concept yet the detail in the bears he adds to the story. For example, there's "Bobcat Sam, the bear who rode a pony, and Admiral Haversham, the English dancing bear, and Excellent Steve, the bear who just wanted to surf." 

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Baby Baby Baby!

Baby Baby Baby! by Marilyn Janovitz. 2010. October 2010. Sourcebooks. 24 pages.

Bitsy bouncy baby
On a bumpity lap
Mommy's little baby likes to
clap
clap
clap!

Teeny tiny feet
Tippy toes prance
Daddy's little baby likes to
dance
dance
dance!

Baby Baby Baby! reminded me of Bouncy Baby by Begin Smart. (If you click through to my review, you'll see how VERY similar the opening pages are. Down to the clap, clap, clap and dance, dance, dance.) These two were so similar that it's almost impossible not to compare them. At first.

What makes Baby Baby Baby different is that everyone has a chance to claim this little one! Mommy. Daddy. Grandpa. Grandma. And even the puppy and the kitty! (For example, puppy's little baby likes to crawl, crawl, crawl. And Kitty's little baby likes to chase, chase, chase.)

It's also longer than Bouncy Baby. This baby does more--more than just clapping, dancing, eating, splashing, waving. Grandpa has a chance to make the baby giggle. Grandma helps out at bath time. And there's a sweet bedtime scene with plenty of hugs and kisses.

It's not quite as rhythmic as Bouncy Baby. But I liked it well enough.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Dear Teacher

Dear Teacher. Amy Husband. 2010. July 2010. Sourcebooks. 24 pages.

Michael is a little boy who does NOT want to go to school. The book opens with a letter--well, in all honesty, the whole book is composed of letters. This opening letter is a welcome letter from the principal at his school. A letter introducing him to his new teacher, Miss Brooks. Most of the book is then his letters to Miss Brooks. What does he write about? What could he possibly have to say? Well, he's concocting a story--a very elaborate, detailed story--quite the adventure story at that. This story, he is sure, will explain why he couldn't possibly come to school. He'll definitely, definitely be missing the first day of school. Why the nation depends on him, doesn't it?!

Dear Teacher is silly and imaginative. I liked it. Here is Michael's first letter:

Dear Teacher,

I might be a bit late for the first day of school. The weirdest thing happened today. The head of the secret service turned up! They need me for a special secret mission to find a missing explorer. I did mention the math test, but he just said that the future of the country depends on me. I couldn't say no. Sorry Miss Brooks.

From Michael

P.S. Bruno's coming with me he makes a great bloodhound.
P.P.S. The stuff I've told you is Top Secret, so please eat this letter.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers