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Book Reviews
A Gaggle of Giggles: Funny Picture Books

by Terry Miller Shannon
Lately I feel like I need a laugh in the best way! Share a chuckle with your little ones with these rollicking picture books:

Mrs. Biddlebox
By Linda Smith, illustrated by Marla Frazee
ISBN: 0060286903

Have you ever had one of those days? You wake up grumpy, the sky is dark, those twittering birds are driving you crazy . . .and it all goes downhill from there. Well, now you can take a cue from the endearingly witchy-looking Mrs. B, who bakes her rotten morning into a lovely cake. Her day, from funk to bunk, is spun in jaunty verse. I loved this story from the start; to my delight, so do my grandchildren.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
By Judith Viorst, Illustrated by Ray Cruz
ISBN: 0689711735

Speaking of bad days, consider Alexander's. His litany of troubles start when he wakes up with gum in his hair, trips on his skateboard, and continues right up to bedtime when the cat won't sleep with him. When I read this book to my young sons long ago, they laughed and related to Alexander's wry woeful voice. Today, their children love it just as much as their dads did.

Officer Buckle and Gloria
By Peggy Rathman
ISBN: 0399226168

Officer Buckle gives such boring safety presentations at schools that the kids doze--until he teams up with Gloria, the police dog. Gloria's hilarious pantomimes, unknown to her human partner, save the day. But when Officer Buckle realizes that she's stealing the show, their friendship is imperiled (but not for long, of course). Rathman's vibrant illustrations won the prestigious Caldecott Medal in 1996.

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs
By Jon Scieszka and "A. Wolf", illustrated by Lane Smith
ISBN: 0140544518

Alexander T. Wolf tells his side of the story, writing from the pig penitentiary he landed in after the infamous porcine trio incident. That wolf is just so misunderstood! After all, he had a bad head cold, and that's what all that huffing and puffing was about. In actual fact, Mr. Wolf informs us, he was trying to borrow sugar to make his grandma a cake. But the pigs built such flimsy houses that it appeared he blew them down. Quirky illustrations set the perfect tone for this outlandish spoof.

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Terry Miller Shannon (www.terrymillershannon.com) and her son, Tim Warner, wrote a funny, rhyming picture book. Tim's three-year-old bath-loving son inspired TUB TOYS (Tricycle Press, 2002), which MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW says is "..greatly recommended..whimsical and fun." Check it out at Tub Toys



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