I love books. (Duh.) So whenever there is a holiday or birthday, I always make sure books are part of the gift for my kids, cousins, and friends. My youngest, JD, turned five this month. Along with some Star Wars toys, I gave him two awesome picture books: A New Job For Dilly (written by Rena Jones, illustrated by Lisa Oakman) and Billy Twitters and his Blue Whale Problem (written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Adam Rex). See the lil guy above with his new books!JD is a preschooler, so I love the ABC concept of A New Job For Dilly. As Dilly looked for each job, JD would say "Awwww" if a job didn't work out. And when Dilly did find a job, JD cheered for him! If your child interacts with you during the book like that, you know he is interested and having fun.
JD did this as well with Billy Twitters. When Billy received a blue whale in the mail (from a Fed Up delivery man who suspiciously looks like illustrator Adam Rex), JD exclaimed, " A blue whale! In the mail?!!" He loved the pure ludicrousness (yes, this is a word, I just looked it up) that this little boy would actually have a blue whale and giggled throughout the story. He also loved the illustrations. Even on the inside of the book cover, he studied each illustration and asked me a million questions about them.
So do I recommend these books? Absofreakinglutely! And better yet, all these authors are bloggers. Click on the author's names in this paragraph to go to their blogs. Adam Rex shares his early work as a child (with hilarious commentary) and gives sneak peeks on his blog. If you haven't read his Frankenstein picture books, you are missing out. The True Meaning of Smekday was a fun read, too. Rex and Barnett also have a new book titled Guess Again! that I will be purchasing soon. Also, Adam, Mac, Jon Scieszka, and David Shannon and are in the middle of a book tour. See the tour info on their Guys With Books blog here!
Rena's next book is The Marshmallow Man (coming out in December). Rena also is a talented nature photographer, see her recent pics of Yellowstone here.
So I have two tunes for today.
Here's "Why Don't You Get a Job" by the Offspring. There are expletives in this song, so Dilly, Billy, nor other little ones should listen. But I like the Offspring. It seems like their singing is borderline yelling, yet it entertains me.
and indie rocker's Modest Mouse's "Whale Song" is my second tune for the day. Great bass on this one.
So do I recommend these books? Absofreakinglutely! And better yet, all these authors are bloggers. Click on the author's names in this paragraph to go to their blogs. Adam Rex shares his early work as a child (with hilarious commentary) and gives sneak peeks on his blog. If you haven't read his Frankenstein picture books, you are missing out. The True Meaning of Smekday was a fun read, too. Rex and Barnett also have a new book titled Guess Again! that I will be purchasing soon. Also, Adam, Mac, Jon Scieszka, and David Shannon and are in the middle of a book tour. See the tour info on their Guys With Books blog here!
Rena's next book is The Marshmallow Man (coming out in December). Rena also is a talented nature photographer, see her recent pics of Yellowstone here.
So I have two tunes for today.
Here's "Why Don't You Get a Job" by the Offspring. There are expletives in this song, so Dilly, Billy, nor other little ones should listen. But I like the Offspring. It seems like their singing is borderline yelling, yet it entertains me.
and indie rocker's Modest Mouse's "Whale Song" is my second tune for the day. Great bass on this one.
