Moldilocks and the Three Scares -- Perfect Picture Book Friday

Our snowy Halloween has come to an end, my skeletons are cold and ready to hibernate until next year, but there's always time for a fun zombie story.

It is the Day of the Dead a time for remembrance and love so this book makes for a Perfect Picture Book today and well, any day.

Title: Moldilocks and the Three Scares: A Zombie Tale

Author: Lynne Marie

Illustrator: David Rodriguez Lorenzo

Publisher: Sterling Children's Books, 2019

Opening Page: IN A HUGE HAUNTED HOUSE -- with room enough for four, there lived three Scares: Papa Scare, Mama Scare, and Baby Scare. 

Themes: Adoption, Halloween, Zombies, Classic Remakes

This remix of the classic Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a a little creepy, a little gruesome, and full of heart.

Why I love this book: 

There are not many books out there that include adoption as a topic.  This one sets you up from the beginning that this family has room for one more. Something every adopted child wants to feel is that there is room for them and they are wanted.

I love Halloween and our local schools no longer celebrate the holiday. This book isn't a Halloween story, so it makes for a great book to read this time of year. You don't have to break any rules, but you get to have some spooky creepy fun.

Illustrations: 

One of the things that I love about the end papers is that there is the black space at the bottom right corner. At first glance it seems like there was an odd choice in layout, but when you know the story, you realize it's black because it is waiting to be filled.

Activities and Resources:

You could pair this book with Sterling, Best Dog Ever by Aidan Cassie to talk about adoption and  finding a home.

Or

You could pair this book with Zombies Don't Eat Veggies by Jorge and Megan Lacera and have a non-Halloween at Halloweenie storytime. You could even add in Zombies in Love by Kate DiPuccio for a Zombie Trifecta.

You can read more about her journey in making this book here.

Check out David's Website

He posted a sketch on Instagram that you can color.

Check out Lynne Marie's website.

Halloweensie Time!: Matilda's Treat

I love Halloween.  For me it's family, creativity, and scary, but not too scary times.

Susanna Hill has brought back many fun memories and pushed my creativity. Thank you for putting on this fun writing contest and thank you to all the people who have donated incredible prizes.

I met Matilda at Michael's and she came home to live, well not live, but hang out, at my house. While she looks like a bunch of bones, she lives on in this story.

Halloweensie Rules: Halloween Story, 100 words or less, must include the words, potion, trick, and cobweb, for ages 12 and under.

Matilda's Treat

Matilda died long ago.

Her skin is gone, but not her dream.

The full moon’s bright, and she has risen.

Time to mix her favorite potion.

The cauldron bubbles, steams, and boils.

She tosses in

Eye of newt and bat wing leather,

A vulture’s head and just one feather.

She stirs and stirs.

It’s almost ready.

One last touch, gently folded in;

shimmery, glistening spider webs.

Light and fluffy . . .

the perfect batch of cobweb candy.

Matilda waits for her guests.

Children come singing, “Trick-or-Treat.”

She raises her hand and makes her offer.

Would you try it?

Would you dare?

Give Me Back My Bones -- Perfect Picture Book Fridays!

Title: Give Me Back My Bones!
Author: Kim Norman
Illustrator: Bob Kolar
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2019

Themes: Bone Structure, Pirates, Poetry, Halloween, Skeletons

First Lines:
A stormy Night has passed here
and toppled every mast here.
The ocean, flowing fast here,
has scattered all my bones!

Why I love this book:

• A fun way to teach a child the names of the bones in our bodies.
• A Pirate story!
• Poetry
• Kim uses Anadiplosis (not a dinosaur) but the repetition of the last word in each of the lines of poetry. 
• In the first three lines of each page/poem, her meter matches and ends of the lines use the same word. Then as she is showing us which bone the skeleton is seeking, the meter and last word change. The first three lines skip along at a fast fun beat. The fourth line is shorter yet takes longer to say making the name of the bone sticky and memorable.
• Beautiful under water illustrations.
• I am always curious to figure out how illustrations are made. It was a challenge for this book. I was pretty sure it was digital art, but that was a guess and I wanted to be sure. I found a sentence on a Pinterest post that says his work is created with Adobe Illustrator. Bob Kolar has a way of making the images cartoony yet realistic. 

I guess what I mean by that is there is a playfulness to the illustrations and yet, you can tell there was research and an understanding of the subject. The fish are recognizable as real fish you could see in the ocean. The bones are simplified, yet you know what they are.

I love the way he uses texture to create depth and dimensionality.

The color scheme with the dark background and bright foreground is engaging.

Activities and Resources:

Don't wait until Talk Like A Pirate Day to share this book. It would be fun now around Halloween. If you are talking about the human body and want to teach the names of the skeletal bones, share the book. Share it in a poetry unit to teach the meter and anadiplosis style of poetry.

Make a skeleton:
This one is 3 dimensional
This one is more Halloweenie
One more with lots to cut out.

Pick up a guide to ocean fish and see if you can identify the fish and other creatures in the illustrations.

Check Out Bob Kolar's Website. You can follow him on Instagram too.
Check out Kim's Website. You can follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Be sure to check out more #PPBF posts at Susanna Hill's Blog. So many wonderful books. So little time.

Fall Frenzy Writing Contest

I have to start by saying I love these writing contests. They help me stay creative, help me focus on best word choices to make a complete story in a limited number of words, and I get to read loads of stories written by many writers.

Having said that, this time, I had a hard time getting started. I have been participating in Inktober and my creative brain was drawing focused. I almost gave up. I figured I would promote the contest and read other people's stories and be satisfied. But that didn't feeling right. It felt like giving up on a tiny bit of my writing dream.

I sat down looked at the images again (I had limited my choices to two photos)

Image 11

I really thought the story would come from the crows. We have three crows who hang out in our Cottonwood tree from fall to spring and I have been waiting for their story to emerge. I must continue wait. Sitting on my table by the window was a little acorn that I had picked up one day while walking the dogs. The story didn't come from here, though a couple lines appeared:

"I told him not to eat the acorn. Who eats anything that glows?"

"You know if you hadn't said anything, he probably wouldn't have eaten it."

"So it's my fault he turned into a . . .?"


Then, I drew this:

Still not a story.

Image 6

But Acorn Man came to mind and then the Spider Man song from the sixties started playing in my head and this is what came out: Dun, dun, dunnnnnnnn!

Superhero Halloween

By Sarah Tobias, 159 words

“Aidan, Halloween is coming. Do you want to make a costume?”

“Oh, Yeah!”

“What would you like to be this year?”

“Acorn Man!”

“Tell me about this Acorn Man.”

Aidan began to sing:

“Acorn Man, Acorn Man! Enchanted by Squirrel Man.

Wears an Acorn hat and leaf.

Gathering acorns, he’s no thief.

Oh Yeah! He’s the Acorn Man.

Acorn Man, Acorn Man, Plants the seeds as fast as he can.

He’s strong as a tree

and floats like a leaf.

Make Way! For flying Acorn Man.

Acorn Man, Acorn Man! Nurtures seeds with a plan.

He cleans the air that we breathe

with his forest of Oak trees.

Oh Yeah! He’s the Acorn Man.”

“Well, all right then. Let’s get started making your costume.”

They planned and they drew.

They cut and they sewed.

By Halloween, the costume was ready.

Aidan wore his pouch filled with acorns and, 

for every treat he received . . .

he planted an Oak tree seed.

Be sure to check out more stories on the official entry page.
There are poems and stories; humorous and scary, sweet and dreary. They all show how creative people can be when they spend time and allow themselves to play, be inspired, and put pen to paper.

If you want to try your hand at writing a story, check out Susanna Hill's Halloweensie Contest. Get your butt in a chair and start writing. Your creative brain will thank you.

Zombies Don't Eat Veggies! -- Perfect Picture Book Friday

Title: Zombies Don't Eat Veggies!
Created by: Megan Lacera and Jorge Lacera
Publisher: Children's Book Press an imprint of Lee & Low Books Inc, 2019

First lines: Mo was a zombie with a deep, dark craving. It was dreadful. Devious. Absolutely  despicable. Mo loved to eat vegetables.

The love and joy of having his vegetables is so sweet.

Why I love this book:
1. The end pages. The front end pages are framed images of Dad being a very successful zombie. The back pages show Mo being Mo.
2. Recipes. Combining delicious vegetable dishes with creepy zombies terms. Zombie finger foods. Ha Ha H.
3. The zombie food is disgusting and sure to incite groans and gags from any audience. Dori-toes (For dipping), Arm-panadas.

Once again pure joy for their favorite foods.

4. Such a cute/gross lovable family, each family member with different skin tones.
5. Turning the tables on eating vegetables. The kid has to convince the parents that they are good.
6. They have mixed in some Spanish words here and there to give it a little extra cultural flavor.
7. Wonderful illustrations.  Look at the color combinations, the grossness, the humor.

And finally, It's a story about being accepted for your differences.

Activities and Resources:

Practice your Spanish.

Make one or more of the recipes at the end of the book.

Learn more about the author illustrator team and listen to their podcast interview with Matthew Winner.

Have conversations about the things you like and don't like. Find ways to make each other feel more comfortable about your differences.

Draw your own Zombie Head. How would you make your zombie portrait?

Be sure to check out Susanna Hill's Blog where you can look for reviews by book, title, and by themes. And you can check out her weekly #PPBF post along with links to many more wonderful posts here.

Dancing With the Night

Dancing with the Night

By Sarah Tobias, 100 words

Trick-or-treating has ended for another year.

I shiver. More than the chill in the air.

There is more to this night.

From my window, I see a red glow from the cauldron fire.

Silhouettes dancing in the woods.

Throwing my cape over my nightgown, I sneak out and join them.

Song fills the air:

The moon, the stars, the night.

We leave the earth behind.

Oh wayyyyy, Oh wayyyy. Ohhhh aaaa.

Frenzied dancing.

Brooms come alive and lift us toward the moon.

Howlllling A woooooo!

I wake as dawn is breaking.

I shiver, wondering how I am back in bed.

Happy almost Halloween.

To find and read more Halloweensie stories, follow this link to Susanna Hill's Blog.

So proud to be able to say, this story won an Honorable Mention for "Best Description/Mood Piece" Here's a link to all the winners!