• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

A Field Trip Life

Books, places, and books that take you places

  • Home
  • About
  • Places
  • My Author Site
  • Review Policy
  • Contact Me

Cybils Time- four reviews

December 17, 2016 By Claire Annette Noland 3 Comments

As a reader, I always have a stack of books waiting. But, right now, my stack is extra tall.

I am excited to be a first round judge for the easy reader and early chapter book categories of the Cybils Award given to the best children’s books of the year selected by children’s book bloggers. In the next few days, I’ll share some of the great books I’ve been reading.

Many of you are familiar with books written and illustrated by Mo Willems. I am especially fond of his Elephant and Piggy books for beginning readers and two of these books have been nominated for this year’s award.

I Really Like Slop! By Mo Willems (author and illustrator)
Easy Reader ages 4-7
Hyperion

Gerald the Elephant and Piggy are as different as night and day. Elephant is a worrier. Piggy isn’t. Gerald is serious. Piggie is a happy-go-lucky character. Gerald thinks things through before doing something. Not Piggie. But, they are best friends. So, when Piggie prepares slop and wants Gerald to try it, what’s a best friend to do?

I Really Like Slop is a super funny book which will appeal to young readers. The illustrations are simple but very expressive. The witty text is written in speech bubbles with back and forth dialogue. Hand this to children who are hesitant to try new things and be prepared for lots of laughing out loud.

Themes: Friendship, politeness, trying new things

 

The Thank You Book by Mo Willems (author and illustrator)
Easy reader ages 4-7
Hyperion – 2016

Please, Mo – say it isn’t so! The Thank You Book is the final title in the Elephant and Piggie series. (I’m wiping away a tear here.) Once again, negative Gerald and exuberant Piggie banter back and forth as Piggie goes about thanking ALL of his friends. Gerald is sure that Piggie will forget someone. The suspense builds as Piggie finally realizes that he forgot to say thank you to his best friend, Gerald. But, Gerald isn’t worried about himself. He wants to make sure that their faithful readers aren’t forgotten.

The Thank You Book is a truly satisfying ending to the series which has helped so many young people become readers. The text is deceptively simple and says so much in so few words. This books show the importance of saying “thank you” and the illustrations show how much these simple but heartfelt words mean to the recipients. The Thank You Book is one that should be in every home, school, and public library.

Themes: friendship, thankfulness

Fortunately, Mo Willems has started the new series,  Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! These easy readers are written by various children’s authors and Gerald and Piggie are featured in the beginning pages introducing the book to readers.

Two books in this series have been nominated for the Cybil Award in the Easy Reader category:

We Are Growing! By Laurie Keller (author and illustrator
Easy reader ages 4-7
Hyperion 2016

This is a book about grass growing. Yes, really. As each blade of grass grows, it describes what special characteristic it has. One is tallest, one is curliest, and another is silliest. But poor Walt, he doesn’t know what he is. This book is clever and hilarious!

Themes: friendship, encouragement, self-esteem

 

The Cookie Fiasco by Dan Santat (author and illustrator)
Easy Reader ages 4-7
Hyperion 2016

Hippo, Crocodile, and two Squirrels are excited about cookie time but, there is a big problem. There are only three cookies! The animals become frantic as Hippo keeps breaking the cookies. Readers will laugh but also be trying to figure out the math so that each character gets their fair share. The book contains great vocabulary such as nervous, fiasco, and equal which a young reader can figure out from the surrounding text and great illustrations.

Themes: friendship, sharing, problem solving

 

On a final note, a few weeks ago we took a field trip to meet some beautiful elephants who happen to be movie and television stars.

Here are a few snapshots of our adventure:

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

« Field Trip Friday – book review and a visit to the jail
Knitting + Picture Books = Love… six books to keep you warm »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joan Schoettler says

    December 18, 2016 at 3:38 pm

    Thank you for sharing. Great ideas for the holidays.

    Reply
  2. Tina Cho says

    December 19, 2016 at 1:15 pm

    I want to read all those books! Thanks for sharing, and great photos!

    Reply
  3. Cynthia says

    January 5, 2017 at 6:54 am

    Have fun serving as a judge for the Cybils Awards!

    My children love the Gerald and Piggy books. Recently, my daughter was reading The Cookie Fiasco too. It looks like you have some great selections to review.

    Reply

Join the Discussion! Cancel reply

Please submit your comment with a real name.

Thanks for your feedback!

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Hello. I’m Claire Annette - reader, writer, teacher, and field trip planner extraordinaire. Here at A Field Trip Life you will find ideas for adventures large and small and the kids’ books that inspire them. Sign your permission slip. Let's go!

Connect With Me!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS

Join the Fun, Subscribe to a Field Trip Life Monthly!


(We will never spam you)

Search

Categories

  • 2020 Debut Crew
  • Adoption
  • alphabet books
  • Biographies
  • Blogging A to Z
  • book maps
  • Book Travel
  • Bookish Field Trips
  • Books
  • Celebrate
  • Chapter Books
  • Christmas Books
  • Citizen Science
  • Cybils Awards
  • Evie's Field Day
  • Family
  • Farm Fresh
  • Field Trips
  • Food
  • Inspirations
  • Library Love
  • Mermaids
  • Multicultural Children's Books
  • picture books
  • Places
  • Uncategorized

MCBookDay-white-21-300x234



clairesfieldtriplife

Teachers- do you know about World Read Aloud Day? Teachers- do you know about World Read Aloud Day? Cardinal Rule Press authors would love to do a free zoom visit with your classroom on February 3rd  Sign up in the link in my bio
Mr. Ernie loves to put his nose in a good book. He Mr. Ernie loves to put his nose in a good book. He's currently reading the fantastic LAYLA and the BOTS: HAPPY PAWS written by Vicky Fang and illustrated by Christine Nishiyama. 
Layla is a rockstar and inventor (how cool is that?) who has three bots who help her solve problems in their town using technology.
This is a perfect chapter book for budding makers who love STEAM and fun! Mr. Ernie loves the roller coaster they design for dogs!

To read more about Happy Paws and the second book in this new series,  LAYLA and the BOTS: BUILT FOR SPEED visit my blog, A Field Trip Life. (link in bio)

@fangmousbooks #stemforkids #kidlit #Cybilsawards #chapterbooks @mrernierecommends #dogsofinstagram
What are you reading today? What are you reading today?
Posted @withregram • @robinhaart Of all the incr Posted @withregram • @robinhaart Of all the incredible images that flooded my media yesterday, this photo by @glennondoyle of two women #senate aids rescuing the boxes containing the #electoral #votes stood out to me. This image perfectly illustrates what #Strength is about. Strength is not about oppressing others with power. It is about doing the right thing, and calmly carrying out our duties in a time of peril. Despite the delay caused by the #domesticterrorists, our government resumed and announced @joebiden and @kamalaharris as our next president and vice president. And Georgia has elected two democratic senators @jonossoff @raphaelwarnock, who is the first Black senator to be elected in Georgia. This was possible because the majority of ordinary Americans have done their duty and voted, and countless people have organized and volunteered and donated their time and money to protect our voting rights. They are our true heroes.
I hope all the government officials who have been elected will uphold their duty to carry out the will of the people.
We’re celebrating National Bird Day with THE SKY We’re celebrating National Bird Day with THE SKY PAINTER: Louis Fuentes, Bird Artist written by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Aliona Bereghici. Written in first person poems, readers are introduced to the “Father of Modern Bird Art” who was repelled by the practice of killing and mounting birds to paint them. He traveled the world and painted birds in their natural habitat and encouraged wildlife conservation. Children love this book as it shows how Louis Fuentes became enthralled with birds as a child. Beautifully told with gorgeous illustrations- highly recommended! We followed up by making little treats for our neighborhood birds. @engle.margarita #nationalbirdday #kidlit #picturebookbiographies #birdwatching @mrernierecommends
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2020 · FieldTripLife · All Rights Reserved
Designed by: iBoost.co