A Very Strange Zoo by Chris Stead
This is a very cute and creative book. On an island faraway lives an inventor. He was so noisy that all of the other people who lived on the island moved away. He became very lonely. As he walked along the shore he saw a lot of garbage that had floated in. One item in particular sparked his imaginations. It was a book about zoos. How could this young inventor solve his problem, clean up his island and start inventing again. The drawings are wonderful. For me the idea of having a conversation with my grandkids about what they can create our of junk lying around is more valuable to me because it causes children to use their imagination, which is something I see as a middle school teacher that many of my students don’t know how to use.
Trouble At the Zoo
Bernard the zookeeper had a very tough job. He had to clean the cages, feed and play with the animals. When he was finished he laid down and took a nap. It was at this point that the baby elephant took his keys and let all of the animals out so that they could go on an adventure. What will happen when Bernard wakes up? The fun thing about this book is that if you ask that question of children and then read the rest of the story to them they get a big surprise. Things don’t end the way you would predict they would. I liked the unpredictability in this book.
My Birthday Cake Needs a New Home
A young girl celebrates her birthday. She gets lots of presents. Her mom bakes her a ginormous cake. When there is so much left over she must find it a new home. It won’t fit in the refrigerator. She can’t put in on her shelf, or in her dad’s car. She tries to push it into her body because her mom said she can’t eat anymore. Will she be able to solve this problem and find her cake a new home. This was such a cute book. You could imagine this young child trying all of these things to give her cake a new home. She is quite the problem solver. I absolutely loved the ending of this book.
Follow the Breadcrumbs
This is the second book in the Willy Nilly Series. I really enjoy Willy Nilly. He has a lot of cool ideas, but like most kids he doesn’t think them through all the way. This seems to get him into trouble. Willy wakes up one morning and his mom tells him he has to clean his messy room. Once he has done that he can go to the lake and feed the ducks. This is something he loves to do. Once there he gets a bright idea. What if he had a lake in his own back yard. Then he could feed the ducks in his own back yard. Willy goes to the bakery and gets all of their stale bread and creates a trail of bread crumbs to his back yard. Then he digs a lake. When he wakes up in the morning Willy realizes he has created a problem and he is I so much trouble with his parents. How will he get out of this situation? I think I like this character because he is so genuine. I could see his wheels turning in his head and it made me think of my own grandkids and how they think of things like this without thinking of consequences.
The Fastest Kid in the World
This is the third book in the Willy Nilly Series. Willy loves to pretend to drive his dad’s car. He pretends to go really fast and do lots of jumps. One day his dad bursts into his room and asks him if he would like to build a billycatr. When they finish building the car they take it to the park. Unfortunately, his dad can’t push the car fast enough for Willy. Willy’s dad tells Willy they will go to the real car races the next day. During the night Willy gets a bright idea about how to make the billycart go faster. Will this end well for Willy? How much trouble can he get into with his billycarT? Another fun and adventurous book about Willy’s adventures. These books are so fun. I do hope the author continues with this series.
To find out more about the author go to his website Old Mate Media there is so much there to learn.
