WEASELS ~ they're plotting to take over the World!

Weasels
by Elys Dolan
32 pages; ages 5-8
Candlewick Press, 2014
 Review copy provided by publisher.

Weasels spend most of their time chasing bunnies, eating berries and .... wait! What's this? They really drink coffee and spend their days plotting to take over the world?

Apparently so and, according to Elys Dolan, Today Is The Day. The weasels are at their world-taking-over machine ready for the countdown.

5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - oops! Suddenly everything goes dark. The machine is broken - and the remainder of the book is given over to the process of determining what went wrong and how to fix it. We see weasel engineers and weasel computer programmers and maintenance weasels and a weasel from the division of health and safety who enforces the regulations. Then there's the LABORATORY  where weasels work at counters covered with flasks and papers filled with complex mathematical equations.

But back at the machine, things are still in chaos! At least until someone finds the problem - with a solution so elegant it will make you think twice before calling tech support the next time you have a glitch in your computer.

This is such a fun book - with illustrations that beg for the same sort of attention you'd give Waldo or I Spy. Lest you think all weasels wear neckties, here's a video showing some more natural weasel behavior: a stoat (weasel) hunting.



re

Old MacDonald's (Urban) Farm

EIEIO: How Old MacDonald Got His Farm [with a Little Help from a Hen]

by Judy Sierra; illus. by Matthew Myers

32 pages; ages 4 - 8

Candlewick, 2014

Old MacDonald had a house. And around this house he had a yard – but mowing grass was not high on his list of “things I love to do”. So MacDonald decided to get a goat to keep the grass short.

Then he got a chicken. Not just any chicken, but the “smartest hen in history”. She convinces MacDonald to cover his lawn with cardboard and paper, and top it off with a layer of dirt. In short: a garden. The hen decides a bit of manure is needed to add nutrients for the vegetables…. but the neighbors Are Not Amused.

So begins the legend of Old MacDonald’s (urban) farm… e-i-e-i-oh! A fun book, to be sure. Give it, with a package of seeds, to your young readers and see what happens.
Review copy from publisher.

Charlie Bumpers Returns - blog tour

Charlie Bumpers vs. the Really Nice Gnome

by Bill Harley

160 pages; ages 7-10

Peachtree Publishers, 2014

For their special project, Charlie’s class isn’t designing an obstacle course – Mrs. L’s class is doing that. His class isn’t serving lunch with foods from around the world – Ms. Lewis’s class is doing that.

Charlie’s class is presenting a play – and Charlie knows exactly what part he wants. In fact he’s been practicing his evil laugh for days. But when Mrs. Burke calls her thespians to order, Charlie doesn’t see his name next to the Evil sorcerer Kragon. Nope – he’s got the part of the Nice Gnome.

“If I had to make a list of parts I did not want in the Sorcerer’s Castle, the Nice Gnome would be at the very top,” thinks Charlie.  Now he has to make a costume with a pointy hat and golden shoes… and gnome pants. And get over the fact that his friend gets to do the evil mwa-ha-ha laugh on stage.

To make it worse his sister, the Squid, wants to walk the dog (she’s too small) and his brother just makes fun of Guh-nice Guh-nomes. And the killer rabbit escapes from its cage.

Storyteller Bill Harley (who also sings funny songs) entertains us with a second volume of tales of Charlie Bumper, focusing on the big worries and small victories that fill a fourth grader's world. But there's more - Charlie has his own blog, where you can get the recipe for his favorite food (train wreck) and see the trailer for this book.

Join the Blog Tour and drop by tomorrow's stop at  The World of Peachtree Publishing. Today is also Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday round-up. Drop by to see what other bloggers are reviewing. Review copy provided by publisher.