Pirate Stew

Pirate Stew

Neil Gaiman

illustrations by Chris Riddell 2020

Neil Gaiman spins a silly yarn about a pirate babysitter who makes "Pirate Stew" for dinner.  Made of onions and carrots, cannonballs, wooden planks, mermaid tears and other ridiculous things, beware, it will turn you into a pirate if you eat it!  Soon the house is a pirate ship sailing through the sky and finding a donut shop to pillage.  The children charges are savvy and Gaiman's rhymes are fun to read aloud.

(We actually have a dish we call "Pirate Stew".  It's beef and potatoes and a little bit of everything made in the crock pot.)

 

Poems for Galloping

Poems for Galloping

pictures by Robert M. Quackenbush 1963

 First of all, let's appreciate how great the illustrator's last name, "Quakenbush" is!  (It reminds me of a Marx brothers movie!) 

These midcentury illustrations are really making me happy! And the collection of poems accompanying them are all about movement- galloping, sliding, hopping, swinging, skipping, marching, etc...  The words and the pictures do a great job demonstrating the boundless physical energy of kids!

What to Look for in Spring

 

What to Look for in Spring

E.L. Grant Watson

illustrations by C.F. Tunnicliffe, R.A. 1961

I finally got my hands on another Ladybird "What to Look for" book!  This one is just in time for Spring.  Although the setting is England, many of the same signs, animals, and flowers are popping up here as well.  The book starts in early spring and unfolds through out the season just as Nature does.

(The woods around here are always filled with Marsh Marigolds and I love seeing them!)

Springtime

 

My Goodmorning Book

 One of Charlotte's favorite childhood books is My Goodnight Book by Eloise Wilkin.  I was surprised to find the "Good Morning" version at a flea market the other day.  I had no idea there was a companion!  This one follows a little boy as his wakes up and starts his day.  Like My Goodnight Book, Wilkin's pictures are so enjoyable and her interiors are always so charming.

My Good Morning Book

Eloise Wilkin 1983

(Wilkin really had a thing for widow seats!)

Bugs!

Books about bugs always appeal to my inner entomologist!

Bugs!

David T. Greenberg

illustrated by Lynn Munsinger 1997

Here's a silly book that might gross out parents but delight kids!  With ridiculous rhymes and nonsensical insect information, some of the pictures are quite funny!

Bunny Bearskin

Bunny Bearskin

An old vintage book with wonderful illustrations.  The story is a little odd and involves a bunny borrowing a bear skin coat he finds hanging on the line at Mr. and Mrs. Bear's house.  He manages to escape many would be predators on his way home because they mistake him for a bear.