I'm Just No Good at Rhyming by Chris Harris

I'm Just No Good at Rhyming by Chris Harris is such a fun read! The poems are super silly and made me laugh out loud. Harris has a great way with words, and the illustrations by Lane Smith are hilarious and fit perfectly with the poems.

What I love is that it’s not just for kids—adults will get a kick out of it too! So many poems kicked off my imagination or made me want to send a snapshot of the page to friends. One of my favorites was "What Happened to Us Monsters? (The Mummy's Lament)" that follows Dracula, Wolf Man, Cyclops, the Blob, etc, as they age.

Speaking of age, this is one that I feel like will resonate with adults just as much as kids:

The Remarkable Age

Ah, what a remarkable age that you're in:

Right now you're the oldest that you've ever been—

And yet, you will never be this young again.

So dance, and be happy! Greet life with a grin!

You've the best of both worlds, youth and wisdom, within. 

This book is perfect for a quick, light-hearted read, whether you're reading to kids or just want something fun for yourself. If you're in the mood for some good laughs, definitely check it out! I read it in one sitting to wind down at the end of the day.

PS: This interview with the author is a good read, if you've read the book, want to read the book, or just like How I Met Your Mother.

It's a Book

Plot Summary
The monkey is reading a book when the jackass (no, really!) comes up and starts asking endless questions about what the monkey’s doing and what the book can do. The jackass seems to only have experience with electronics and technology - will he understand what a book can do, and will he be interested enough to read one?

Critical Analysis
This book is a book. A book about how books are just… books. There’s no power button, no need to charge it up, nothing to press or swipe or tweet. The jackass seems clueless about books, but the monkey very patiently explains what a book is and how it can entertain you. This is a great lesson for kids - both for those who need to know what a book is and how to enjoy it, as well as a lesson in patience for all kids. The monkey shows them how they can be kind and patient and help those around them become interested in new and different things.

Personal Response
Be still my somewhat-anti-technology heart! I’ve gone from being something of a computer nerd to not really wanting to be on the computer at all. I held out on getting a smartphone until just over a year ago, and now I try to not be on it all the time. I wrote an article about keeping kids from technology when they’re really young, and am trying to keep it that way. I want my son to love physical books (and thankfully, at 8 months, he already does!) and use his hands and imagination to play with things, instead of sitting on his butt playing games on a screen. This book is so matter-of-fact, with the sly character of the jackass making me smile. It’s simple and silly enough to appeal to kids, and there’s a smirk shared with the parents reading it.

Reviews & Awards
Booklist says “Although it is adults, not children, who will best appreciate the subject and satire here, the basic drama created by the characters’ arguments may help this find an audience among kids, especially tech-savvy ones.” USA Today’s “Pop Candy” blog sums it up best, saying “Although it is adults, not children, who will best appreciate the subject and satire here, the basic drama created by the characters’ arguments may help this find an audience among kids, especially tech-savvy ones.”

Connections & Activities
You can’t go wrong with Lane Smith! He has been writing and illustrating books since 1987 on a variety of subjects - fiction and nonfiction both! Check them out on his webpage, or better yet - go find them on your local library’s shelf!

Read it for yourself!
Smith, Lane. 2010. It’s a Book. New York: Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 9781596436060

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

Plot Summary
Forget everything you think you know about the three little pigs - this is the real story! Alexander T. Wolf (you can call him Al) is tired of everyone thinking he’s a big bad wolf just because he likes to eat cute animals. The truth is, he just needed to borrow a cup of sugar. And since he had a cold, he decided to just walk over to his neighbor’s house. It’s not his fault his sneezes demolish houses - who builds out of straw and sticks? Al went from merely borrowing a cup of sugar to being jailed for “huffing and puffing” - proof that reporters always skew the story!

Critical Analysis
This book isn’t actually by Jon Scieszka, it’s by Alexander Wolf. And because this is his story, told from his point of view, he’s an unreliable narrator. He’s been know throughout history as the bad guy of the story, and even with justice insisting everyone is innocent until proven guilty, you’ll find A. Wolf a little hard to believe. Even so, the way he tells the story is very humorous and very childlike - making up reason after reason for why he did this, and then that, and how it got skewed. I think that is what makes it so appealing to children: the perfect combination of silliness and familiarity, told on their level.
     With a story told from the bad guy’s point of view, you can’t expect bright colors and smooth drawings! Lane Smith’s art fits The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs perfectly. The colors are mostly dark - maroons and burnt oranges, browns and tans. Each picture looks grainy, but on closer inspection, the marks are a lot of texture added to each drawing, like bumps on bricks, needles of hay, woodgrain on the chalkboard frame. The desaturated colors work well with the few samples of newsprint on the covers and at the end of the book. The illustrations seem a little dark for such a humorous story, but they are effective at setting the mood of an unreliable narrator trying to get you to believe his side of the story.
     Publishers Weekly praises the illustrations specifically, saying, “Smith’s highly imaginative watercolors eschew realism, further updating the tale, though some may find their urbane stylization and intentionally static quality mystifyingly adult.” School Library Journal also comments on the overall dark and shadowy drawings, saying, “[…] the bespectacled wolf moves with a rather sinister tonelessness, and his juicy sneezes tear like thunderbolts through a dim, grainy world.”

Personal Response
I loved this book as a child, and was thrilled to discover it’s just as funny now! I read it to my son - he’s only three months old, but so far all the fairy tales I’ve read to him have been fractured fairy tales! As an added bonus, we got to meet Jon Scieszka August 20, 2014 - he’s just as witty in person as in writing.
     I think it’s fun to read fractured fairy tales and compare them with the originals. This book is especially fun because the wolf seems sympathetic, wanting to bake a cake for his granny! It’s interesting to see who kids side with, since most know the other story of the three little pigs, and are now faced with looking at it from the bad guy’s point of view.

Reviews & Awards
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs is #35 on School Library Journal’s list “Top 100 Picture Books” of all time. In 2008, Scieszka was the first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a position created to bring awareness to the importance of reading at a young age. He is also the founder of “Guys Read,” a nonprofit literacy organization. His book The Stinky Cheese Man won a Caldecott Honor medal. Lane Smith was the illustrator for that book, and has worked with Scieszka on The Time Warp Trio novels. Smith has collaborated with many other authors and won countless awards for his work, including the recent Caldecott honor Grandpa Green.

Connections & Activities
The scope of activities for this book seem endless, because it’s so inviting for children. They can make up their own fractured fairy tales. They can discuss whether they believe the wolf or not, and explain their reasonings why. They can (and should!) read The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, also by Scieszka and Smith, and discuss the fractured fairy tales told there. As an extended study, students can read more books by the author and illustrator separately, and compare and contrast their works.

Read it for yourself!
Scieszka, Jon. 1989. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. Ill. by Lane Smith. New York: Puffin
     Books. ISBN 9780140544510

Grandpa Green

Plot Summary
Grandpa Green tells the story of a man from birth to old age. It is told from the point of view of a young boy as he walks through his great-grandfather’s garden. More of the story is told through illustration than words, so it’s crucial to pay attention to every page, because there’s another layer to the story hidden there!

Critical Analysis
Lane Smith’s illustrations are absolutely breathtaking. Though the book has words, flipping through the pages feels as memorable as flipping through a photo album. Each page is packed with meaningful illustrations that go well beyond the scope of the words themselves. The illustrations look simple, because they consist of line drawings with very few colors, and the green areas are more heavily sponged. All of the colors are very muted; even the greens are strong rather than vibrant.
     This type of illustration works perfectly with the subject matter. The words are very matter-of-fact, telling the story with no adjectives or adverbs. Even the text is a dark green, as if Smith didn’t want the font to take away from the illustrations. This is a great choice because the illustrations tell so much more. They should be studied as long as possible before turning the page.

Personal Response
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got this book. The cover looked almost monochromatic, so it didn’t really grab my attention. Also, I hate to say it, but sometimes I overlook award winners because I figure they must be stuffy if a panel liked them. (That opinion, I must say, has gone out the window after reading for this class!) I knew Lane Smith from his work with Jon Scieszka, but those projects were much sillier. In comparison, this book looked boring.
     Once I opened the book, I appreciated the contrast of the heavily painted topiaries next to the delicate line drawings. On my first reading, I read the text quickly, scanned the pictures, and finished thinking, “Huh, that’s it?” I read it several more times for class, loving it more each time. I spent several minutes on each page, and I think it’s crucial to do so because there are some little jokes hidden there, and it’s easier to understand the story. On the page about the world war, for example, it is incredibly important to take in the illustration piece by piece. As a whole, it looks beautiful, but once you look at every element, you appreciate it so much more. So then you go back to the first page to see it all again.
     It’s a good thing the illustrations are gorgeous, because this book seems very sad to me overall. The boy learning about his great-grandfather’s life reminded me of my own grandfather, who also fought in a world war and became very forgetful in old age due to Alzheimer’s. The fold-out pages near the end are bittersweet, with the final image giving closure to the story.

Reviews & Awards
Grandpa Green is a Caldecott Honor book, and once you see the illustrations, you’ll understand why! It was also one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Children’s Picture Books for 2011, and one of School Library Journal’s Best Picture Books of 2011.
     The New Yorker said it perfectly: ”The author’s illustrations, a blend of line drawings and sponge painting, have a classic feel, and make clever use of the topiary theme, rewarding close examination and repeated reading.”

Connections & Activities
- This book reminded me of The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. I think it would be fun to have a program where both books are read, and listeners can compare and contrast them.
- Reading this book (or perhaps rereading it) can be made into a scavenger hunt. Children are given a list of items to find in the book and write down the page number where they find the picture. Items can range from some of Grandpa Green’s lost belongings to more general things cut into the topiaries.
- This book might inspire children to learn more about their grandparents’ or great-grandparents’ lives. They could conduct interviews to start a family history, and further that research at the library. Or, if they have no living grandparents, they can pick an aspect of the book to research, such as a world war.

Read it for yourself!
Smith, Lane. 2011. Grandpa Green. New York: Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 9781596436077