Perfect bedtime stories

These two books from Chronicle are perfect bedtime reads. Quiet enough to relax, but with enough curiosity to make you think.

theme: family, friendship

Over the Moon
by James Proimos; illus. by Zoey Abbott
44 pages; ages 3 - 5
Chronicle Books, 2020

When a baby floats down a river, she doesn’t think about her place in the world.

And when two wolves sit on the river’s edge, it’s a pretty good bet that one of them is thinking about dinner. So what happens when a baby floats by? The wolves scoop her up and take her home and “teach her about good and evil, dark and light, right and wrong.” Even though one of the wolves is still thinking about dinner.

What I like about this book: This is such a sweet story, perfect for sharing before bedtime. I like how the girl learns to live as a wolf, and then one day discovers something new! Other children. She wants to join them, and when she leaves even the second wolf sheds a tear. But family is family, so she will return because she has learned about good and evil, light and dark…

Tiny T. Rex and the Very Dark Dark
by Jonathan Stutzman; illus. by Jay Fleck
48 pages; ages 3 - 5
Chronicle Books, 2020

It is our first campout in the backyard, and we are nervous.

Tiny (a T-rex) and his stegasaurus buddy, Pointy, are going to camp outside. But even mighty dinosaurs get scared if they can’t sleep with their “nighty-lights”. It is very dark outside, and hard to be brave when you are scared of Nom-bies and Crawly-creeps.

What I like about this book: Tiny and Pointy come up with a plan. It involves a hiding fort, Christmas tree lights, and plenty of snacks. It is a good plan until – something goes wrong and everything is very dark! But Tiny finds some night light …. in a place he hadn’t expected.

Beyond the Books:

Draw a plan for a hiding fort – and then build it. Think about materials you have at hand: blankets, pillows, tables and chairs…

Imagine what your life would be like if you were adopted by wolves - or some other wild creature. Draw a picture or write about your adopted family. What makes them "the best"?

If you’re going to sleep outside, you need to make s’mores. You need: marshmallows, chocolate candy bar, and graham crackers. If you have a campfire, toast marshmallows and put them on a slice of candy bar between two graham cracker halves. Otherwise, put a marshmallow on a graham cracker half and pop it into the microwave for 10 seconds or so. Then put on the chocolate and the other cracker half and yummmmm!

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publisher.

Pack your duffle for "Camp Average"

Camp Average 
by Craig Battle
240 pages; ages 8 - 12
Owlkids, 2019

I spent many memorable weeks at summer camp – hiking, doing arts and crafts, canoeing, and learning archery – and later as a camp counselor. Author Craig Battle has spent his share of weeks coaching rambunctious boys at a sports camp. Years later he began wondering, what if a camp director pushed kids to become more competitive?

The first chapter sets the tone for this fun summer romp. We see yellow buses bumping their way over a potholed dirt road into camp [I’m pretty sure all roads into camps are required to have a minimum number of potholes]. From inside the buses comes a loud chant: “We’re number two!” as the buses roll to a stop at Camp Avalon – or Camp Average, as the kids call it. There’s a mess hall, the baseball diamond, the lake, and counselors wearing bright orange camp T-shirts. There are pranks, the annual telling of the camp legend, and camp food.

As the kids settle in to their cabins, readers settle in for some fun summer reading.  Except all is not well at Camp Average! Because in the morning, when Mack and his buddies head to the main field, they discover it has been transformed. As Craig writes, “…it looked less like their old camp and more like something straight out of the NFL Scouting Combine, the event where college football players showcase their skills for professional coaches.”

And Mack and his friends do not like this one bit. They were looking forward to a summer of fun on the waterfront, and friendly ball games against the other camps. Now they are pushed to show athletic aptitude. The guys decide they need to nip this competitiveness in the bud – but how?

Over the summer the kids deal with interpersonal challenges as well as challenges on the field. I don’t want to give away the fun, but let’s just say that it’s harder to intentionally lose games than you’d think. This is definitely one book you’ll want to pack in your duffel for summer reading!

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review ARC provided by the publisher.