Rainy Day Book Club
Book Review – Princess Pigs & Leadfoot Hampsters (giveaway)
Editor’s Note: If you missed Karen Pantuso Swanson’s piece on buyer’s remorse and Barbie, check it out HERE. Now we have to fun pre-K reads and a double giveaway. Enjoy!
We do a whole lot of reading around here – nature stories, science stories, stories about different cultures, checking out stories about baby animals (that’s our big one this month). But, one thing I know we need to do a whole lot more of is to find more fun, silly stories to read.
A round of silliness is of serious importance around here. So, when Scholastic Canada recently sent me two fun new kids books hot off the presses, we knew we were in luck. Since we love to share too, we’re not keeping them for ourselves. So, keep reading to find out how to win a copy of these two sweet gems.
The first found us at just the right time as we are going through a big castle phase around here. So, when Princess Pigtoria and the Pea by Pamela Duncan Edwards, illustrated by Henry Cole, got cracked open, we definitely cracked up.
Pigtoria is bummed out because her palace is looking a bit dingy and she’s got no cash. So, she heads off to find her prince and discovers that he’s a bit of a pompous bovine. Not willing to settle for any old pig, she falls instead for the pizza guy and it turns out to be the best decision for everybody.
The alliteration and charming, familiar tale make this quaint story of strong womanhood one totally fun for the pre-K and early grade crowd as well as the moms who would roar “Yes! Dump the jerk!” inside. We loved it and M is now determined that no prince will make her sleep on a pea to prove anything.
For the car-loving crowd, our second fantastically fun read is Hot Rod Hamster by Cynthia Lord, illustrated by Derek Anderson. This fun story that’s all about a little rhythm takes a tiny hamster and his pals who are inspired to create him the ultimate race car.
Not everyone believes that the littlest guy in town can get the job done, but he is all about dreaming big. In the end – after a great tale that goes through each part of creating the super car – he takes the top prize, even though it’s way too giant for him to even get home.
Every time we read this book, we both thought about one little car lover who we know would go crazy for it and it made us both seriously smile.
I love the charm and sense of accomplishment that both of these books convey in a way that makes you smile from ear to ear. You can’t go wrong with either of them – depending on the taste of your crew.
We’ve got both books to give away today. So, jump in and comment on your favorite funny books or why you love to laugh with your kids and two random commenters will win.
Have a great day!
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Here at Our Big Earth we have a strict policy about how we handle book reviews. We only review books we've enjoyed and, while publishers do send us books free of charge we always give away that copy of the book when it is reviewed. If a book is not reviewed, it is returned to the publisher. When publishers specifically request that we not return un-reviewed books, we use them as giveaways at community events. If a book is reviewed, a publisher, author or advertiser has no editorial control over the review. They see the review for the first time when you do.
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Great reviews, Robin! I especially appreicate the introduction to Princess Pigtoria, as it is one I can add to my fairtales unit! I’m always looking for adaptations of familiar fairytales, as reading different versions of the same tale makes for great lessons in drawing comparisons and a great jumping off point for writing their own versions of a familar fairytale.
Other favourite funny fairytales are: The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (told from the Wolf’s perspective), The PaperBag Princess, The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fiarly Stupid Tales, Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut, and Cinder-Elly.
Of course, there is also anything by Roald Dahl, Robert Munsch, Judy Blume, or Beverly Cleary–those are classics. Plus, Amelia Bedilia series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Tacky the Penguin series (There’s a fun one about Tacky and the Winter Olympics for anyone still in the Olympic Spirit!), Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (and others in that series), Walter the Farting Dog, Bunnicula, Click-Clack-Moo: Cows That Type, and Dear Mrs. La Rue…
Just a ‘few’ of my faves.
I love picture books! The review of the Pigtoria story reminded me of The Paper Bag Princess. Michelle has come up with a great list of favourites! I’d like to add Dr. Seuss to the list of classics. Sandra Boynton is another author that makes me laugh. The first time I read “Dinosaur’s Binkit” I had tears in my eyes! William Steig writes some quirky, funny books-I especially like the play on words in “Pete’s a Pizza”. There’s also the Olivia books-that pig has a great imagination! Another book that I’ve recently discovered is “The Wolf’s Chicken Stew” by Keiko Kasza-I read that to my class a couple of weeks ago and the kids loved it. Amelia Bedelia was a huge favourite of mine when I was a kid and so was “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” (long before it was ever a movie!). The Junie B. Jones series is also a lot of fun! In one book its talks about how Junie B. can’t figure out what they’re talking about in The Star Spangled Banner when they sing “The Dawnzer Lee Light”. Another laugh out loud read-aloud moment! Thanks for these reviews, Robin!