Tag: preschool

Activity and Coloring Sheets, Children's Literature (Ages Birth - 7), Picture Books/Easy Books (Ages 3 and up) (Fiction), Reviews

Review: Pig the Monster by Aaron Blabey

BentenShisho

Blabey, Aaron. (2021). Pig the Monster. Scholastic.

*Downloadable activities at the end of this post!

Spoiler alert! I was NOT a fan of this book, now, nor of the series. While the illustrations are great, and I do mean really awesome, the story…man this pug is MEAN. And I thought, oh, maybe there is a redeeming story ark. Nope…just gross and mean and I didn’t like it. Some kids dig that sort of thing, so if your kiddo is that sort, feel free to give it a go. The activities are fun though, and as much as I hate giving a bad review, I think it is important. However, it is just my personal opinion, so again, keep that in mind.

So, here is said pug. The author says straight up, hey, this pug gets a little extra during Halloween.

When he feels short-changed, he apparently results to vandalism. The page before this was him egging someone’s house and toilet papering their car (although the reference to fixing their little read wagon was funny). But dude, don’t be telling kids that the way to vent their anger is by making other people miserable! (again, nothing in this story that says, hey this behavior is wrong). Cuz I guarantee, you leave poop on my doorstep, and I’m gonna find out who you are. 😛 What a jerk!

So again, jerk be doing jerk things. He eats chocolate. Another dog says, dude you can’t do that. (It is poisonous bro, not just gonna make you gag) But Pig is like, don’t you tell me what to do! So, he stuffs it down until there is an issue and then the other dog swings him around by the feet until he pukes. Charming.

Then they try to say, oh Pig is much better. He’s way nicer. But he looks thrilled, doesn’t he?

Yeah, but not so much. *le sigh* Oh well. As I say, can’t win ’em all.

If you want to read this to your kiddos, suggested age would be 5-7, but I would be pointing out how Pig is pretty darn mean, so that they don’t try to emulate his behavior.

Activity Pages:

Original source: https://www.scholastic.com/site/pig-the-pug.html

Scholastic_PigMonsterActivities
Children's Literature (Ages Birth - 7), Picture Books/Easy Books (Ages 3 and up) (Fiction), Reviews

Review: Scooper and Dumper: The Pumpkin Parade by Lindsay Ward

BentenShisho

Ward, Lindsay. (2024). Scooper and Dumper: The Pumpkin Parade. Two Lions.

Scooper and Dumper are super big helpers and the Fall Festival is just the place. They help decorate and then get the call…time to get the pumpkins from the pumpkin patch!

They run into a few problems, but with their friend Maybelle, they got the job done. But Maybelle’s tailgate opens and her pumpkins end up in the spooky cornfield, where it is rumored, trucks go in but trucks don’t come back out.

They know they have to go in to get the pumpkins or the festival will be ruined. But they know, even though they are scared, they can do it together. They’ll use their radios!

That is until they notice something tromping through the corn, red and glowing. It’s Rusty Tractor! He has a broken clutch so he can’t go very far, but he’s not scary. He’s going to help them load up the pumpkins and get out of there. They can do it!

And they do! Together they bring joy and happiness and pumpkins to the festival for a Happy Halloween!

These books (yes, they are a series) are super cute, especially for kids that love vehicles. Some of the rhymes were a little rough but overall great illustrations and content. I would definitely recommend them for the truck and tractor kiddo crowd.

Recommended Ages: 3-6

Children's Literature (Ages Birth - 7), Picture Books/Easy Books (Ages 3 and up) (Fiction), Reviews

Review: A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster by Amy Young

BentenShisho

Young, Amy. (2020). A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster. Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Reader.

It’s Fall! Lucy and her pet “unicorn” Sparkles go to Pat’s Pumpkin Farm.

They tried the corn maze, the games, the goodies, the apple cider! YUM!

Then it was time to head into the pumpkin patch to pick out their pumpkins, and that’s when Sparkle started to have a not-so-great time! He was spooked by a scary tree and a scarecrow. Lucy thought it was fun to feel scared sometimes, but Sparkle…pretty sure he disagreed. But they went into the patch and had a good time finding their pumpkins.

The trouble didn’t happen until they were done carving the faces into their pumpkins. Sparkle was so scared of Lucy’s that he ran out of the barn and into the dark pumpkin patch, terrified. Poor Sparkle! Then he started to hear a scary “AAAAAAaaaaaaaa” amd he panicked his way straight inside a pumpkin, scooping it out as he went, to hide.

Sparkle heard the noise again and, scared out of his wits he tried to run, even though he was inside the pumpkin and he started rolling down the hill, IN THE PUMPKIN, toward the sound he was trying to escape from, which just happened to be Lucy calling his name. But he also ran her over with the pumpkin!

But it hit a rock and when it burst open, there was Sparkle! Lucy thought it was funny that they had scared each other, but poor Sparkle was still afraid. That’s when Lucy asked him to forgive her, and let him know that she loved him.

But how were they going to get back to the barn in the dark? Well, Sparkle had a solution for THAT!

Once safe, loved and secure, Sparkle fell into a little snack nap right in Lucy’s lap and even his poots were rainbow colored. “Sweetest dreams, Sparkle!”

At first, I was a little underwhelmed with this book, though I love the illustrations. But the more and more I thought of it, the more I appreciate it for the social-emotional learning/emotional maturity aspect of Lucy apologizing for scaring Sparkle, rather than laughing at him, even though she didn’t catch on earlier in the book. The treated each other with respect and care, and still had fun romping through the pumpkin patch, once boundaries were respected and appreciation given and received. I really kind of love it now.

I already had the original “A Unicorn Named Sparkle” in my “To Be Read” pile, because I have a great activity kit from the publishers to go with it (unfortunately none for Halloween), and I mean who doesn’t love a goat-i-corn, but I’m glad I snagged this one, too. I know a lot of littles who would really appreciate it.

Recommended Ages: 3-7

Children's Literature (Ages Birth - 7), Picture Books/Easy Books (Ages 3 and up) (Fiction), Reviews

Review: Witch Cat by Lucy Rowland and Laura Hughes

BentenShisho

Rowland, Lucy. (2025). Witch Cat. Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

This is Pippin. Pippin is “The Witch’s” cat. Every year on Halloween, the witch threw a party on her street.

After the party one year, Pipping started to think about all the places he hadn’t seen. He decided to travel to figure out what kind of cat he should be. First, he tried a pirate ship, where he would catch mice. He thought that would be great.

But poor Pippin got seasick. So, when they reached land, he said goodbye and started looking for his next adventure.

He found a knight! He thought, now wouldn’t THAT be awesome…until he realized the knight was going to face a dragon. NOPE! Moving on!

Then he decided that being a pet sounded nice and safe. Until…well…dress-up really wasn’t Pippin’s thing either. He tried a bunch of other things, like a tightrope walker and a cowboy…nothing ever felt right, until one day he saw a broom in the street and got so sad.

He knew, at that point, without a doubt, he was a WITCH’S CAT! And then he remembered it was time for the party, and he got so much sadder. He had no idea how to get home. Let alone how to make it to the party.

He crawled into a big, smiley jack-o-lantern and fell asleep thinking about his witch. Meanwhile, the witch had put on her big party but it wasn’t the same. She was also so sad without Pippin. Until…someone arrived with a big, smiley jack-o-lantern…

And out popped Pippin, right into his witch’s arms, and they both knew he was exactly where he was meant to be.

Laura Hughes illustrations are fantastic and I really liked this book. It’s normal to think about “what if” but it’s also not uncommon to realize exactly where you want to be, might be where you started. I’m glad Pipping and his witch found their way back to each other. Sweet story.

Recommended Ages: 3-7

Children's Literature (Ages Birth - 7), Picture Books/Easy Books (Ages 3 and up) (Fiction), Reviews

Review: 10 Spooky Pumpkins by Gris Grimly

BentenShisho

Grimly, Gris. (2021). 10 Spooky Pumpkins. Orchard Books.

Author, Gris Grimly, says, in the back of this book, that it is based off of the song 5 little pumpkins that his son learned and his daughter’s “innate curiosity.” And with that inspiration he has created a sweet, endearing and spooky world in this fabulous countdown book, 10 Spooky Pumpkins, with ink and watercolors and a little bit of a wicked loving heart. I will definitely be adding it to my collection. Take a peek.

“Once upon a time as day turned to night, A little girl stepped out into the twilight. The wind said SWOOSH and the gage went CREAK, The owl cried WHOOOO and the night sighed EEEK!”

“10 spooky pumpkins sitting in a line…Looking for a cat and they found nine.”

Turns out, these crazy kitties were looking for a bat! Guess what they found.

The patchwork pats were looking for a goblin…just one mind you…but then they found…

…some kooky goblins playing tricks and looking for a ghost!

The ghosts were looking for a wolf.

The wolves wanted to find a skeleton…makes me wonder if they needed a snack!

Those silly skeletons wanted to find a witch!

The witches wanted a scarecrow.

But those scarecrows weren’t dancing in that field alone…you’ll have to wait and see who showed up!

Finally, there was a full moon that rose…and it had an effect on that little party…and then some. But all good, I assure you.

Oh, but there is more! First of all, I only included the left-hand pages of the actual countdown, and there is a bit of a party and a sweet ending after the countdown ends. I wanted you to have more to discover. Check it out today!

Recommended Ages: 3-7