STEM Pick: Picture Book: The Very Impatient Caterpillar

The Very Impatient Caterpillar
by Ross Burach
Illustrations by the author
Scholastic Press
2019
32 pages
ISBN: 9781338289411

Quirky and quaint, this very impatient caterpillar will have young readers in giggles. The cover art says it all: Is it time yet?

A caterpillar see others climbing a tree and wants to know here everyone is going. They tell him they're going to build their chrysalis and metamorphosize. He doesn't know what that means, but he doesn't want to have severe FOMO so he follows them.

The others build their chrysalis like good, patient caterpillars except for our impatient friend. He wants to know how long this will take, and when he finds out it's TWO WEEKS, he's batty! He tries to wait, but emerges early thinking he's a butterfly. When he tries to fly, SPLAT! He gives in and tries a second time doing everything to pass the time: he wants a comic book, he tries to order a pizza, he'd like to play a game,  and wonders what he'll do if he has to go to the bathroom (sure to cause laughter!) The other caterpillars shush him. A squirrel has a great time watching the action.

When he finally changes, he wants to know where everyone's going. They tell him "we're migrating." He goes along asking, you guessed it that famous question children ask on long trips (on short ones as well) Are we there yet?

Hilarious art by the author is captivating and the use of cartoon balloons enhance the cartoon-like story. STEM for caterpillar to butterfly and migration, this is a great read-aloud for early science classes.

Highly, highly recommended pre-school to grade 3.

Big Foot Hunters Pick: Sasquatch, Love and Other Imaginary Things

Sasquatch, Love, and Other Imaginary Things
by Becky Aldredge and Carrie DuBois-Shaw
Merit Press
2017
270 pages
ISBN: 9781507202807

A fun frolic of a rom-com meets reality show and Jane Austen, Sasquatch, Love, and Other Imaginary Things is a sure winner!

Sam's Jewish family is big on Bigfoot and she is happy to help her father on "Myth Gnomers," a reality television show, to hunt Sasquatch. Her dad is an expert in the field of cryptozoology and a respected sasquatch hunter in their home state of Ohio. Sam's sisters and mother go along in support, but her father relies on Sam in all his hunting adventures. While Sam's sisters preen for the camera, Sam's mother has trouble keeping her lipstick on her lips and off her teeth. The cameras catch every cringe-worthy moment and make Sam aware of how unrealistic reality t.v. really is.

The family meets their match when they go head to head with a fancy prep school team whose equipment probably cost more than Sam's family's car. Sam was excited by the prize, thinking she could use the money for college, but she is even more determined to win when she finds out their home is in danger of repossession. If  she can help her father win that prize, they can stay in their home!

Sam doesn't trust the other team. They are a bunch of rich, spoiled brats she believes until she realizes that Devon, like her, is a person and has his own problems. The romance blooms and it is precious but not too sweet.

Readers will love Sam and her no-nonesense view of television and popularity.

Recommended grade 7 and up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Early Reader Pick: Fairy Tale Fun

The Cat, The Dog, Little Red, The Exploding Eggs, The Wolf, and Grandma
by Diane and Christyan Fox
Scholastic Press
2014
32 pages
ISBN: 9780545694810

Available August 26, 2014

A cute cartoon cat and dog caper comes to life and careens across the pages of this charming early reader. The buttoned-up cat is reading the story of Little Red Riding Hood to an energetic, precocious dog. The cat, becomes increasingly perplexed, then downright irritable as the witty, wag (yes, pun intended) of a dog continues to question the story.

The cat begins reading until the dog hears that Little Red wears a cape...he becomes exhilarated...he loves capes, and superheroes and superpowers! As the story continues, the dog interjects with questions kids are likely to think of and interrupt the story when they hear it. The dog seemingly wants to rewrite the story so it makes sense! Why would the wolf not eat Little Red when he first sees her in the forest? What is he waiting for? By this time, the cat asks the dog if he wants to hear the story or not.

Uproariously hilarious! Utterly captivating with unique insight and wisdom, this little gem will have wide kid and parent appeal. Giggles galore for everyone and sure to bring a smile. The dog is charming and cool and kids will love him!

Highly, highly recommended for early readers and witty parents. What a great whimsical romp with the clever, quizzical canine and forthright feline.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the F&G from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

YA Pick: I Have a Bad Feeling About This

I Have a Bad Feeling About This
by Jeff Strand
Sourcebooks Fire
2014
242 pages
ISBN: 9781402284557

Hilarious, wry, sardonic, and off the charts witty, I Have a Bad Feeling About This proves yet again that Jeff Strand is the funniest YA writer in the business. Strand shows off his fierce sarcasm through his characters' dialog.

Geeky, skinny Henry is shipped away to a survival camp to "make him a man." His father sees a promotional video featuring a pumped up drill sergeant type instructor who will train young boys to become men, and decides this is just what young Henry needs.  Strongwoods Survival Camp is out in the wilderness near a forest. To say that the  camp is "rustic" is an understatement--rustic with really bad food. Henry bunks with four other unhappy boys who are there against their will. The boys form a loose alliance against Max, the evil drill sergeant.

Max confiscates the boys' cell phones and electronics. From then on, there will  be survival skills only. No outside world. No music. No television. No Internet. No gaming. The boys better pay attention to their survival skills lessons--no telling when they might really need them.

When several nefarious thugs show up at camp, Henry realizes it's them against the thugs. He musters all the courage he can and looks for the boys to help save themselves. What ensues is comic and tragic. Strand can make the most unfortunate situation hilarious. Fighting off armed criminals is not that funny...unless it's told by Jeff Strand.

Readers who enjoy laughing out loud and sarcastic banter will love I Have a Bad Feeling About This.
The cover art is spot on for this book. Clever packaging helps sell this one.

Highly, highly recommended grade 7-up. Violence and hilarious shenanigans.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Hilarious Pick: Gorgeous

Gorgeous
by Paul Rudnick
Scholastic Press
2013
320 pages


Scathingly satirical, causticly comic, wickedly witty, in-your-face pun-y, and filled with more laughs per second than any comedy show, Gorgeous slapped me in the face and made me laugh until I cried. From the very first irreverent paragraph,  I was hooked and better yet, pleasantly shocked! Rudnick has that rare, ethereal gift of winsome wit that many fiction writers would kill for. David Sedaris (the funniest writer I've ever read) says, "Paul Rudnick is a champion of truth and love and great wicked humor, whom we ignore at our peril."

Becky Randle grew up in a trailer in East Trawley, Missouri, the daughter of a morbidly obese mother who dreams of Hollywood, glamour, movies and the good life. Just before her mother dies, she makes Becky promise that if something magical shows up, Becky should play along. She swears there will be magic and that Becky should use it. When getting some of her mother's old clothes ready for charity, Becky happens upon a phone number with an area code in New York. Becky calls the number and a woman sends her a plane ticket and some cash to come to New York. Becky is confused; why would someone, a complete stranger, send her money and a ticket to New York?  She enlists the help of best friend Rocher--whose mother named her after the box of fancy chocolates, famous for their gold wrappers. Rocher convinces Becky to take the ticket already  and get on that plane. If this isn't magic, what is?

Becky is whisked away by chauffeur to meet mysterious Tom Kelly, a designer so revered that he has become a recluse even from the world of high fashion. He tells Becky he will make her three dresses: one red, one black and one white. The dresses will magically make her the World's Most Beautiful Woman. The magic only lasts one year. Within that year, Becky must meet and marry Mr. Right or the magic wears off.

Wearing Tom's couture designs, Becky is immediately transformed to Rebecca Randle.  Her legs morph into supermodel legs, her skin becomes flawless, she is drop dead gorgeous.The kind of gorgeous that is simply other-worldly.  Everyone clamors to meet the new "It" girl. Soon, she's on the cover of Vogue and tapped to film a movie with hot Hollywood teen hunk Jate Mallow. The press is soon calling them Jatecca and papparazzi snap their every move.

Rebecca revels in the attention but finds it a bit vapid...that is, until she meets Prince Gregory, heir to the British throne. Suddenly, Becky knows what she must do. She must marry the prince and use her beauty and his power to help change the world!

What happens when a normal girl from nowhere rubs elbows with the A-list and British royalty? A hilarious romp that will have readers laughing out loud and quite possibly rolling around on the floor, gasping for breathe.

Libba Bray, no slouch to fierce and sardonic wit herself, wrote," Rudnick's considerable talents as a satirist as he uproariously eviscerates our celebrity-mad, class-concious, appearance-obsessed, reality-TV-vapid culture with puckish delight." (New York Times Book Review).

Highly, highly recommended grade 9-up. Profanity runs amok but it's so funny!

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)