Blog Tour: The Great Caper Caper (Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast Book #5) by Josh Funk, illustrated by Brendan Kearney

 

The Great Caper Caper:

Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast #5

written by Josh Funk, illustrated by Brendan Kearney

Union Square & Co., 2022, 40 pages

I'm always up for a fun blog tour and books by Josh Funk are always a lot of fun to read to kids, and, true to form, the latest story about the adventures of Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast does not disappoint. Their newest caper all begins one night when Lady Pancake is suddenly awakened from a deep sleep in the refrigerator by a loud scream. Sir Pancake has just discovered that the refrigerator light is missing. But who would have taken their light? 

Everything was dark, except for a glowing light in the distance, just past Pita Plateau. Following the glow, Lady French Toast and Sir Pancake find themselves at the entrance to Fabulous Las Veggies, but barred from entering by security and taken to the office of Count Caper, the richest, more powerful food (or so he says). Denying that she stole the light, Lady French Toast and Sir Pancake are told to leave and never come back. They may be sure that Count Caper is the culprit, but how can they get their light back?

Ummm...how to get back their light now that they can't go back to Fabulous Las Veggies? Perhaps Lady Pancake can come up with a solution with the help of Sir French Toast and a few good friends like Barron von Waffle, Miss Brie, and Tofu, Professor Biscotti, the Fruitcake, the Beets, and Inspector Croissant, and maybe even a few Animal Crackers. 

Told in rhyming couplets that never falter together with colorfully amusing illustrations, The Great Caper Caper is sure to please fans of Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast, and to win over anyone meeting this delightful couple for the first time. The story focuses on problem solving, the importance of friends helping each other, and a clear message that crime does not pay, even when it looks like it does. 

I can't wait to share this book with my young readers. We have read all the other Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast books and they always enjoy them. They're funny, the characters are so appealing, and the situations they find themselves in are always relatable. Plus my young readers all tell me they love pancakes and french toast.  

One thing I did notice - when did Lady Pancake find time to take the curlers out of her hair and style it before running off to fight the missing refrigerator light? She was totally coiffed. Needless to say, your kiddos will find lots to explore and talk about in this book its endearing characters and detailed illustrations. This is definitely a book that will be revisited over and over again in my reading class.

Be sure to visit these other stops on The Great Caper Caper Blog Tour:

Strange Planet: The Sneaking, Hiding, Vibrating Creature and Strange Planet Activity Book both written and illustrated by Nathan W. Pyle

Strange Planet: The Sneaking, Hiding, Vibrating Creature

written and illustrated by Nathan W. Pyle

Harper/HarperCollins, 2021, 36 pages, Ages 7+

For readers already familiar with Nathan Pyle's Instagram comic about the blue humanoidish Beings from another planet who have come to earth to observe life here, this new book with be a treat.

For those who are unfamiliar with his Strange Planet oeuvre, The Sneaking, Hiding, Vibrating Creature is a delightful, humorous introduction.

Using language that is about as literal as you can get, the story begins when Lifegiver wakes up Offspring and says that they will be doing creature observation, using their ink cylinder to document the sneaking vibrating creature's every movement as it prowl's around their home and to mimic it in order to learn what amazing things it can do.  

But observing the sneaking vibrating creature and mimicking it are two different things for these visitors to earth. When they finally find the creature hiding behind the starblock fabrics (drapes), and they try to do the same, they discover they are too visible. When the creature sneaks soundlessly across the foot fabric (rug), Lifegiver and Offspring learn that they are themselves quite noisy. And when the creature effortlessly climbs the Group-Soft-Seat (sofa) with its deathblades (claws), the two observers are unable to get off the ground. 

It's a busy day of observation, but the best part comes at the end - finally something sneaking vibrating creature does that Lifegiver and Offspring can mimic with absolute success - 

I laughed out loud each time I read Strange Planet. For one thing, the literal language the Beings from another planet use to describe ordinary, everyday objects is just so spot on and yet nothing that most people would actually say. The other thing that tickled my funny bone is just how right the cat's behavior is. Anyone who has ever owned a cat has observed the same cat behavior as our observing Beings document.

The text is simple and a nice introduction to the graphic format that is so popular with young readers. There is a glossary in the back in case young readers don't quite get Pyle's tongue-in-cheek descriptions what the Beings are naming, or really defining. The full page illustrations are done in Pyle's signature bright pink and blue pages, while the beings are a lighter shade of blue. Everything is outlined in thick black lines. 

Strange Planet Activity Book

written and illustrated by Nathan W. Pyle

Harper/HarperCollins, 2021, 128 pages, Ages 7+

As if Strange Planet: The Sneaking, Hiding, Vibrating Creature isn't fun enough for young readers, there is this wonderful companion activity book. Every bit as funny as the other book about the Beings who use such literal language, this is a book "...made for beings/ who like to sit and think." There are pages to fill-in, crossword puzzles and math problems to solve, mazes to get lost and found in, and drawing pages that ask readers to create "low-detail renderings" of various places (for example, their rest slab chamber) and things (how about an emergence-day cake). 

There are also lots of old favorites, like matching games and word searches, and all of it is done in the language of observing Beings from another planet and with all the humor that we have come to associate with Nathan Pyle's Strange Planet comic.  

When I was a kid, I loved activity books and I always made sure my Kiddo had plenty of them. They are fun, great remedies for the "I'm bored" lament, and kids always come away with stronger observation and problem solving skills. Strange Planet Activity Book provides all that plus a heavy dose of some pretty good tongue-in-cheek humor.

You may think it is a little soon to think about holiday gifts for kids, but Hanukkah begins on November 29th this year and Hallmark is already running Christmas movies. Strange Planet: The Sneaking, Hiding, Vibrating Creature and Strange Planet Activity Book would certainly make fun gifts for your youngsters this year.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:    

Nathan Pyle launched his webcomic S trange Planet in February 2019 and in just one short year, Strange Planet had grown from a single cartoon to a bestseller, and the first book, Strange Planet , was the most-preordered graphic novel of all time. It was #1 on the New York Times, Toronto Globe and Mail, and Washington Post bestseller lists and was a top 5 Denver Post bestseller.

The Strange Planet family continues to grow, gaining thousands of followers per day, and is incredibly engaged, with each new post garnering hundreds of thousands of likes and comments. As of June 2021, @nathanwpylestrangeplanet ’s lovable comics have reached over 6.1 million fans!

Just this month, Apple TV+ announced a 10-episode, straight-to-series order for an animated series based on the Strange Planet comics. With Amalia Levari ( Over The Garden Wall ) to serve as showrunner, Dan Harmon ( Rick and Morty, Community ) as co-creator alongside Pyle, and animation house ShadowMachine ( BoJack Horseman, Final Space ) attached to the project, Strange Planet is sure to get the TV treatment, bringing Pyle’s profound and heartfelt comics to our home screens.

Along with his Strange Planet series, Nathan W. Pyle is the author of the illustrated books, NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette and  99 Stories I Could Tell . He is a former staff writer and illustrator for BuzzFeed. He is based in New York City but travels the country speaking about creativity and storytelling. 

Thank you to Julia at Wunderkind PR for sending me copies to review. 

Connect with Nathan!  Website , Instagram , Twitter , Online Shop

Virtual Blog Tour: Short & Sweet (Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast Book 4) by Josh Funk

Short & Sweet (Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast Book #4)

by Josh Funk, illustrated by Brendon Kearney

 Sterling Children's Books, 2020, 40 pages

Hi and welcome to my stop on the Short & Sweet Virtual Blog Tour. Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast are back with a brand new adventure and my young readers couldn't be happier. After All, they are all fans of the first three books about this sweet duo. Their latest adventure begins as they are preparing for a tea party with Baron von Waffle. As they finish though, Lady Pancake feels achy and Sir French Toast looks pale. Are they going stale?

Luckily, Baron von Waffle has just what they need - a visit to Professor Biscotti's lab for a little despoiling. The three friends go off down Artichoke Road to Professor Biscotti's lab, where they are strapped into her despoiling machine:  

But when things don't go as planned, and Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast are turned into children, the two of them take one look at Baron von Waffle, whom they now think is a giant scary monster Waffle wanting to eat them and take off, running for their lives. 

Can Baron von Waffle and Professor Biscotti figure out how to get Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast back to the lab so they can be changed back into themselves?

This book is, exactly as the title says, short and sweet. And told in a rhyme scheme that works all the way to the end, paired with a fun vocabulary and some very clever puns. I read this to my young readers, who are, as I've said, big fans of Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast. And Short & Sweet has already become an instant new favorite. One of my kiddos did comment on Baron von Waffle telling his friends they looked gruesome and hideous and what a mean thing that was to say to them. So it's no wonder Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast thought he was a big scary monster after they had been turned into children. Another kiddo thought it was cool that they ended up in the library reading books at one point and enraptured by stories (but what does enraptured mean? they asked). And that is one of the things I liked about this book. There were vocabulary words to learn that were not usual to children's picture books.

Brendan Kearney's humorous illustrations are the perfect compliment to the story, done in a palette of warm colors, often slightly reminiscent of maple syrup. In fact, I was sure I smelled maple syrup each time I read this story. Which, by the way, is a perfect read aloud.

All in all, Short & Sweet is another successful addition to the Lady Pancake/Sir French Toast body of work and is sure to be a hit with all young readers.

Don't forget to read and reread the earlier adventures of Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast and all their friends:

Be sure to visit all the other stops on the Long & Savory 5-week Virtual Tour for Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast's latest adventures:

This book is recommended for readers age 4+

This book was gratefully received from the author, Josh Funk

Two Very Punny Whodunits by Tara Lazar, illustrated by Ross MacDonald

Teaching kids about puns hasn't always been the easiest lesson I've had to teach. Explaining that a pun is simply a joke that uses the different meanings of a word or phrase in humorous ways isn't always sufficient, even when I've begin the lesson with the old joke: Why is 6 afraid of 7? Because 7 ate 9." However, Tara Lazar has taken that dusty old joke and turned my lessons into a fun way to teach and learn about the concept of puns.

7 Ate 9: The Untold Story (Private I #1)

written by Tara Lazar, illustrated by Ross MacDonald

Little, Brown BFYR, 2017, 32 pages

It all begins when a very scared 6 runs into the office of Private I of the Al F. Bet detective agency and tells him that word on the street is that 7 ate 9 and now 7 is after him. After taking the case, Private I tells 6, "Stay here. I'll get to the root of this." "I hope so!" says 6. "I fear my days are numbered." What follows is a caper that sounds like it is straight out of a 1940s film noir mystery as Private I tries to find clues about 9's disappearance. It has the same kind of hard-boiled old school way of speaking, but with the slangy language is replaced with punny language. And the number puns never stop. And Ross MacDonald's bold, colorful illustration, digitally created with colored pencils, and watercolors, are as energetic as the caper itself. This didn't work with my younger readers, but it was a real hit with older kids who are already somewhat math savvy. They really enjoyed finding and talking about the math references. Their favorite - Cafe Uno where customers can get a slice of 𝝿.

The Upper Case: Trouble in Capital City (Private I #2)

written by Tara Lazar, illustrated by Ross MacDonald

Little, Brown BFYR, 2019, 32 pages

Capitalizing on the fun of her first book, Tara Lazar returns to the Al F. Bet detective agency for another caper. It seems Question Mark was all bent our of shape because all the uppercase letters in Capital City has gone missing and to emphasize his point, he had brought along Exclamation. Would Private I take the case? if he didn't solve this one, with all the capital letters gone, there would be incomplete sentences dangling everywhere. What results, as Private I tries to solve the case, is a punny introduction to punctuation when he tries to interview them. They are all too busy to talk, only the Quotation Twins are willing to talk: "Yeah, something's definitely up, besides us...But don't quote us on that." This is written with the same kind of hard-boiled film noir mystery way of speaking and illustrations as 7 Ate 9. Once again, I found it did not work with my younger readers who are 4-5 years-old, but it did work better with kids 6+. My favorite part was the appearance of the Grammar Police represented by Elements of Style and the Chicago Manual of Style. 

My older readers had some fun trying to come up with their own punnny jokes after reading these books. Both of them are delightfully funny, punny, fresh ways of helping students understand puns and word play and are ideal additions for classroom or home school libraries. 

Mini PB Review: A Piglet Named Mercy by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen

Well, here's a picture book that couldn't come at a more opportune time. Some of my young readers are beginning to transition out of picture books to a combination of picture books and early chapter books. And what better way to this than by reading Mercy Watson's origin story. And I have to confess that after reading 6 Mercy Watson chapter books, I wondered did wonder how the Watsons came to acquire the "porcine wonder" that is Mercy. Well, at last, the mystery is solved.

Mr. and Mrs. Watson used to live ordinary, predictable lives on Deckawoo Drive, next door to elderly sisters Baby and Eugenia Lincoln. But, after a day of doing chores, Mrs. Watson asks Mr. Watson if he thinks they are too predictable. "Predictable? Us?" said Mr. Watson. "Surely not." But in truth, nothing very exciting seems to happen to them. That is, until one morning when the Watsons discover a little piglet on their lawn and are immediately smitten by it. Little did they suspect that Mercy had fallen out of the pig transport truck and right into their lives - which will no longer be ordinary or predictable again.

This picture book prequel delighted my young readers so much we've read it over and over this week. I haven't read the chapter books in a while, but I seem to remember that all the important characters my kids will meet in future Mercy Watson stories are introduced here, personalities and all. Mr. and Mrs. Watson are smitten with Mercy the moment they find her and continue to be; Baby Lincoln is her usual sweet self, and sister Eugenia is her usual grumpy, curmudgeony self. Mercy is cute and pink and hungry, and it is in this that she almost immediately discovers her passion for hot buttered toast.

There is even a preview of sibling neighbors Frank and Stella (whom you meet in Mercy Watson #4: Princess in Disguise) walking down the street with their parents.

A Piglet Named Mercy is everything a prequel should be, a fun, informative story and with the bold, humorous, brightly colored gouache illustrations by Chris Van Dusen, a delight to read.

Don't forget to download the great activity kit that is a companion to A Piglet Named Mercy courtesy of  Candlewick Press. You can download it HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
Thank you, Candlewick Press, for providing me with a copy of this book.

Blog Tour: Don't Forget Dexter! written and illustrated by Lindsay Ward

We all know what happens when our children lose a beloved toy. But what about the toy? How does a beloved toy handle being lost?  In Don't Forget Dexter!, Brobarians author Lindsay Ward explores this, and the result is both humorous and touching. 

Dexter T. Rexter thinks he is the toughest, strongest, coolest dinosaur there has ever been, or at least that's what he tells himself after he is left behind by his best friend Jack at the doctor's office. Scared that he will never see Jack again, Dexter does everything he can think to get back to his friend. In a bit of meta-fiction and a state of panic, Dexter turns to the most available person for help - the reader, explaining that he and Jack were coloring and then Jack was gone. But when the picture of Jack that Dexter colors doesn't help, he turns to the office fish, then the receptionist, but they aren't helpful, either.

What can a scared dinosaur do to bring his best friend back? Of course, sing their favorite song, over and over, louder and louder. but...still no Jack. Then, Dexter has the scariest thought of all - what is he were left behind on purpose. replaced by a new best friend. 

Could that be possible? Will Dexter's story have a happy ending?

Dexter is a wonderful "every toy" character and I loved reading his story, remembering a certain day I almost had to dumpster dive to find a beloved lost toy. Dexter's panic and desperate search for a way to be reunited with Jack should ring true to any parent whose child has lost their favorite toy.

Young readers will also find this pretty funny, perhaps seeing themselves in Dexter's anxiety and insecurity, recognizing his despair and the sadness he feels that he may never get to do the things he loves doing with Jack ever again - no more fun, no more Jack.

Ward's colorful illustrations, created using printmaking ink, colored pencil, and cut paper, reflect the story well, adding to the fear and tension of being lost and emphasizing Dexter's smallness in relation to the world abound him.

So how did Ward come up with the idea for Don't Forget Dexter!?
According to her, she was inspired to write this book after her husband texted her a photo of a toy dinosaur abandoned at a doctor’s office. The caption read: “Well, they left me here.” Lindsay thought it was so funny that she sat down to write Dexter’s story immediately. She is also the author and illustrator of Brobarians, Henry Finds His Word, and When Blue Met Egg. Her book Please Bring Balloons was also made into a play.

Most days you can find Lindsay writing and sketching at her home in Peninsula, Ohio, where she lives with her family. Learn more about her online at www.LindsayMWard.com  or on Twitter: @lindsayward

Don't Forget Dexter! is the first book in a new series for Lindsay Ward. You can expect to see the next Dexter story, It's Show and Tell, Dexter! later this year:

Be sure to visit the other stops on the Don't Forget Dexter! Blog Tour:

Jan 8	Cracking the Cover
Jan 9	The Late Bloomer's Book Blog
Jan 10	The Baby Bookworm
Jan 11	Unleashing Readers
Jan 12	Kid Lit Frenzy
Jan 15	GeoLibrarian
Jan 16	Mother Daughter Book Club
Jan 17	Randomly Reading
Jan 18	Where Imagination Grows
Jan 19	Unconventional Librarian
Jan 22	Christy's Cozy Corners
Jan 23	Proseandkahn
Jan 24	Literary Hoots AND The Children's Book Review
Jan 25	Mom Read It
Jan 26	Inspired by Savannah

Blog Tour: Duck and Hippo Lost and Found by Jonathan London, Illustrated by Andrew Joyner

Duck and Hippo Lost and Found
by Jonathan London, illustrated by Andres Joyner
Two Lions, 2017, 32 pages

It’s the end of summer and friends Duck and Hippo decide to have one last picnic at their favorite pond, and of course, they invite their other friends, Elephant, Pig and Turtle. Everyone has brought something to contribute to the picnic, so the friends decide it’s time to have some fun dancing and singing. But when they to stop to have something to eat, Hippo realizes he forgot to bring anything. 

What to do? Hippo decides to go find the last of the summer berries in the forest to share with his friends. But after he has been gone for a very long time, his friends get worried and decide to go and look for him. Duck really gets worried when the sun begins to go down. Is Hippo really lost, could he have fallen into a hole, as Duck fears, or could he still just be looking for berries? 

This is a wonderful story about friendship and loyalty, sharing and caring. And even as the sun goes down and the moon rises, there is not cause for young readers to feel anxious. The friends are not really portrayed as being young, and they are smart enough to stick together as they look for and call out to Hippo. And once Hippo realizes he is lost, he is quick to call out for help. All's well that ends well, and the happy ending will certainly please young readers as the friends are reunited and finally finish having their end of summer picnic.

Storyteller Jonathan London and illustrator Andrew Joyner have once again collaborated to bring young readers this second installment in the Duck and Hippo series, and Duck and Hippo Lost and Found is every bit a wonderful as their first book Duck and Hippo in the Rainstorm. London's simple but well paced text and Joyner’s colorful cartoon-like drawings compliment each other so well and make for a fun, energetic story.

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Meet the Author:

Jonathan London has written more than one hundred children’s book, including the bestselling Froggy series, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz. Many of his book explore nature, among them Flamingo Sunset, illustrated by Kristina Rodanas, and Little Penguin: The Emperor of Antarctica, illustrated by Julie Olson. He is also author of the Arron’s Wilderness middle-grade series, illustrated by his son Sean London. Jonathan lives in Graton, California. Learn more online at www.jonathan-london.net

Meet the Illustrator:

Andrew Joyner is an illustrator, author and cartoonist based in South Australia. He has illustrated a number of picture books, and he wrote and illustrated a chapter book series about a warthog named Boris. He has also illustrated for newspapers and magazines, including the Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, and Rolling Stone magazine, among others. Learn more online at www.andrewjoyner.com.au

There's more fun with Duck and Hippo in the free downloadable activity page at https://www.andrewjoyner.com.au/activities/

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was provided by the publisher, Two Lions

2016 Cybils MG Finalist: Slacker by Gordon Korman

Cameron Boxer, 13, has worked hard to perfect his lifestyle - exerting as little energy and effort as possible on anything this isn't related to gaming and exerting maximum energy and effort on gaming for hours on end, all in service of his goal - winning the Rule the World tournament and defeating his nemesis the Evil McKillpeople.

Only when dinner starts to burn and the house fills with smoke, and Cameron is so wrapped up in the online game he's playing in the basement with his online friends that he doesn't noticed what happening round him until the fire department arrives, do his parents finally put their foot down. It is time for Cameron to put down the controller and get involved in real life.

But if gaming is your life, there's only one thing to do - enlist the help of your friends Pavel and Chuck to help you create a new school club by hacking into the school's website. And so the Positive Action Group or P.A.G., is created complete with mission statement and slogan "because helping others is an education in itself" and Cameron is its president. The phony P.A.G. thrills his parents and puts Cameron back into the gaming business.

The only problem is that the P.A.G. catches the eye of Daphne Leibowitz who has the perfect cause for the club to embrace. Her idea is to capture the aging beaver that has been eating every wooden thing in sight all over town after being left behind when younger beavers moved, and building a nice new beaver lodge for it. And Daphne isn't the only one enthusiastic about the club. Mr. Fanshaw, the guidance counselor, hopes the club will help sell the Fall Charity Raffle tickets, most of them still sitting in his desk. Then, Freeland "String" McBean, star football player but failing student, hopes being part of the club will help get him back on the team. Even Cameron's younger sister Melody has joined the club -to get under his skin? Maybe. But not everyone is welcoming this new club, certainly not the Friends of Fuzzy, the high school do-gooders club, whose president Jennifer isn't happy to have middle school competition.

And, naturally, everyone expects Cameron to act like the president of the club and lead them, all of which proves to seriously cut into his gaming time instead of increasing it.

Slacker is, for the most part, a very amusing novel. It is told in the first person from a multiple of perspectives, among them Cameron, Pavel, Daphne, String, Mr. Fanshaw, and Jennifer, president of the Friends of Fuzzy. Why so many narrators? Each one has their own motive for using the Positive Action Group to achieve their own goal. It sounds confusing, but it really isn't, mainly because Korman is a genius at the art of multi-perspective novels. And he does it all with lots of humor.

Interestingly, I found that I did not like the mean, self-serving Cameron from beginning to end, even though he is finally able to make himself step up to the plate when it counts. I found him to be a rather thin character in comparison to the other characters in the novel. And yet, even though I thought Cameron's obsessive gaming annoying, it is just the kind of book that middle graders will really love. It's not heavy or sad or sentimental, and it gets Cam out of the basement and away from the screens, so I guess you could call it an eye-opening story for him (and others like him), but, personally, I think it's just a lot of good, clean (but improbable) fun.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL