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Quick note: Not surprisingly, the motherboard died one last time, just days after arriving home from its last death. I am at the library and running out of time. Please excuse the unfinished post. I will get all images and links up as son as I can. I hope you enjoy the review, such as it is. ~Sue
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The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake
Written by Robin Newman
Illustrated by Deborah Zemke
Creston Books          2015
978-1-939547-17-0
40 pages            Age 7—9
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“When food goes missing on Ed’s farm, Detectives Wilcox and Griswold do what it takes to track down the thieves. In this case, Miss Rabbit’s carrot cake has disappeared. Has it been stolen? Or eaten? Or both? Who dunnit?” [publisher]

Review
Oh, my, a carrot cake has gone missing and Miss Rabbit, besides being crumbed by cake from head to toe (she did bake the now missing carrot cake), is hopping mad. Good thing the MFI’s are on the case, with Captain Griswold and Detective Wilcox as lead investigators. These two small Missing Food Investigator mice may have experience, but the layered Case of the Missing Carrot Cake just might be unsolvable.

I know detectives do not want to be viewed as cute, but cute is an apt word. From their gruff-looking MFI badge pictures, to their droll 1950’s cop-speech—think Friday of Dragnet—Griswold and Wilcox are all business, but adorable. The two made me laugh each time they spoke. Kids may not know who Sargent Friday was, but if a parent were to channel Sargent Friday while reading Detective Wilcox’s story, their children will at least get part of the joke.

“It was 10:00 Monday morning. The captain and I were working the day shift when we got our first call . . . Every day food goes missing from the farm. Sometimes it’s lost. Sometimes it’s stolen. Sometimes it just runs away.”

The first four chapters introduce the usual suspects: Fowler, the Owl (Alibi. He was picking up his dinner in the field); Porcini, the Pig (a convicted corn robber, he was with Miss Rabbit—she refused a refreshing hot cup of slop); Hot Dog, a dog (evidence is found! Hot Dog is, according to Wilcox, “in as pickle”); and . . . uh, oh. Where did suspect number four hide? I know there is a fourth, but, unlike Detective Wilcox, I am no missing food investigator.

The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake will delight readers. Kids will love the goofy characters, the illustrations, and the oft-used humor. Adults will also laugh, and sometimes groan, but always appreciate the humor and Wilcox’s Dragnet performance.

“Just give us the facts and nothing but the facts . . . “

The illustrations enhance the story on every page. The short chapters, just right for readers learning to read on their own, and illustrations that make each page come alive, kids will begin viewing reading as entertainment, rather than something one only does in school. Each of the seven characters is well-developed with distinctive personalities. I love Hot Dog, who towers over the detectives, yet gives them all due respect. Twists do occur, so do not get cozy with your solution to this case.

Will the MFI solve The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake? Will the residents of Ed’s Farm ever be safe from bakery thieves? To find out, check out Newman’s debut chapter book. I hope there are more cases to solve. The MFI detectives can delight readers again and again . . . they just need missing food to find.

THE CASE OF THE MISSING CARROT CAKE. Text copyright © 2015 by Robin Newman. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Deborah Zemke. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Creston Books,

Purchase The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake at Amazon—Book Depository—iTunes—Creston Books.

Learn more about The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake HERE.
Meet the author, Robin Newman, at her website:
Meet the illustrator, Deborah Zemke, at her website:
Find more chapter books at publisher, Creston Books, website: http://www.crestonbooks.com

Review Section: word count = 473

Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved
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Filed under: 5stars, Books for Boys, Chapter Book, Debut Illustrator, Favorites, Library Donated Books, Reluctant Readers Tagged: beginning to read on your own, book for boys, Creston Books, Deborah Zemke, Dragnet, mystery, Robin Newman, The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake, whimsical, witty

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Thank goodness it's Friday!

I've been waiting for MONTHS to share this book with you (because I was lucky enough to get an advance copy), and it's finally officially out, so I can finally post it for Perfect Picture Book Friday!

Not only that, but I have a signed copy to give away to one lucky commenter!  All you have to do is bake me cookies er tell me and Lori which farm animal you are and why in the comments :)

I, for example, would be the horse because I am beautiful and graceful and I can run like the wind...

*snort*

Yeah, I didn't think anyone would buy that :)  I can't even sell it to myself :)  But I do really love horses - that should count for something!

If it's too hard to think of yourself as a farm animal on Friday morning at the end of a long week, you can just tell us who you'd like the book for.  That will be less sporting and some people might judge you for wimping out, but not me!  Nosirreebob!  I will not think any less of you if you don't have the gumption to declare to the world that you belong in the donkey shed!

Title: Cock-a-Doodle Oops!
Written By: Lori Degman
Illustrated By: Deborah Zemke
Creston Books, May 2014, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-8

Themes/Topics: friendship, helping others, jobs, animals (farm)

Opening: "Farmer McPeeper was such a deep sleeper;
not even an earthquake could shake him.
A poke or a pinch wouldn't budge him an inch,
'cause only his rooster could wake him."

Brief Synopsis: Poor Rooster!  He's tired of getting up so early every morning!  What he needs is a vacation.  Leaving the other animals in charge, Rooster heads for the beach.  Animal after animal tries their best, but no one can wake Farmer McPeeper.  Rooster's return is greeted with relief, but he's caught a cold.  How will they ever get the sleepy Farmer up now?

Links To Resources: Teacher's Guide to Cock-A-Doodle Oops,  Farm animal coloring pages, classroom activities to learn about volunteers, emergency animal rescue, what do I want to be when I grow up, workers and the work they do.  Talk about jobs kids are familiar with and what kind of skills are necessary to do those jobs, or what personality traits would be helpful.  Talk about friendship and what kinds of things friends might do for each other.  Enjoy the YouTube video where Marissa Moss reads the story aloud HERE.

Why I Like This Book:  This book is fun from start to finish!  The rhyme is expertly written, catchy, and fun to read aloud.  The attempts of the various animals to wake the sleeping farmer are hilarious, and kids will enjoy calling out the different crows - cock-a-doodle moo, cock-a-doodle baa, etc.  The illustrations are bright and colorful and a perfect match for the story.  When Rooster returns from his vacation with a cold, the animals have to come up with an inventive solution to get the farmer out of bed.  When at last the farmer is up, he delivers a surprise ending that is clever and funny... but I can't say what it is here because that would be telling :)  Just mosey on out and get yourself a copy.  You won't be sorry.  It's delightful :)

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

Lori and I were going to do a little interview or something to go along with this post, but it appears we didn't quite get our act together in time.  I don't know how that happened.  I am the epitome of organization.  Ask anyone.  And please ignore the rapidly increasing length of my nose :)

So anyway, at the very least, here's Lori :)

You can also see a wonderful interview with her over at Laura Sassi's HERE, another review of Cock-A-Doodle Oops at Sue Morris's HERE, and another terrific interview at Carrie Brown's HERE.

Now then, my little chickens, get thee to the comments and tell us which farm animal you are and why (or just tell us who you'd like the book for), and one lucky commenter will get a signed copy of this fabulous book!

OR...

Ooh!  How 'bout this?

If you REALLY want to impress us, you can write your own crowing line!  Examples from Lori's book are:
Her cock-a-doodle-cluck didn't have any pluck
His cock-a-doodle-bleeeeat just couldn't compete
Her cock-a-doodle-whoooooooo just didn't ring true
What kind of rhyming crow can you think up for the farmyard animal of your choice??? :)
Please leave your comment by Sunday May 18 at 5 PM EDT and then random.org will choose the winner and I will announce it on Monday.

PPBF bloggers, please leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you and see what treasures you have to share this week!

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!!! :)

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Cock-a-Doodle-Oops!

by Lori Degman & Deborah Zemke

Creston Books   5/13//2014

978-1-93954-07-1

Age 3 to 9   36 pages

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“When the rooster is away, who is there to ring in the day? Cock-a-Doodle Oops! is the humorous tale of a community of farm animals who band together to help out a rooster who is badly in need of a vacation. How hard can it be to wake up a sleeping farmer? While the rooster is gone, the pig, cow, sheep, and other farm animals attempt to rouse Farmer McPeeper with “cock-a-doodle SQUEAL,” “cock-a-doodle MOO,” and “cock-a-doodle BAAAA,” with hilarious results.”

Opening

“Farmer McPeeper was such a deep sleeper, not even an earthquake could shake him.

A poke or a pinch wouldn’t budge him an inch, ‘cause only his rooster could wake him.”

The Story

Rooster had planned a beach vacation and the time had come to leave. He was excited to be able to sleep as late as he pleased. All the animals were worried.

“If you go, who will crow?”

Rooster had a plan. Each animal would take over one morning and waking up Farmer McPeeper. On Monday, Pig knew he could do it and with the others looking on Pig gave his best.

“Cock-a-doodle-SQUEAL!”

On Tuesday, Sheep took her turn. Wednesday Cow, with much ego, told the others to step aside as he gave a morning wake-up for Farmer McPeeper. Chicken, also sure of himself—he and Rooster were birds of a feather. She stood atop the fence and gave her very best, which wasn’t very good. Chicken blamed it on the weather. Mule filled in on Friday and Goat did his best on Saturday. Finally, Owl, with much confidence, tried to wake up Farmer McPeeper. When Rooster arrived home, all the animals gathered around urging him to wake the farmer. But something was wrong .

Review

Cock-a-Doodle Oops! had me laughing starting with page one. Poor Rooster, worn out from his morning job, he needs a vacation. For one week, Rooster is going to the beach and someone else will have to wake up Farmer McPeeper. Every page will delight kids. Those reading will enjoy all the opportunities to sound like a cow, or a mule, or a sheep. Storybook hour will explode with laughter.

The illustrations deftly show the animals cock-a-doodle-doing their hearts out for Rooster and Farmer McPeeper as the other wide-eyed animals look on. The animals take on a life of their own as they spew out their wakeup calls. From the farmhouse a short ways away, all that one can “hear” are the z’s of McPeeper’s sleep. Even his dog stays by his side, asleep, waiting for the Rooster to arouse him and his master. Just getting through the week of substitute morning calls will delight the children. But there is more. There is an unexpected twist, or rather, a double-twist!

I know young children will love Cock-a-Doodle Oops! The fresh story has a cartoon flare and the illustrator makes sure the delightful story stands out from the crowd. The ending is cartoon-comical. I want so badly to tell you the crazy twists, but no endings here.* The rhyming story is easy to read, which is good since kids are going to want Cock-a-Doodle Oops! read to them nightly. And don’t forget those voices. Your kids definitely will not. Find a home on a shelf for Cock-a-Doodle Oops! It’s a keeper.

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Find out more about Cock-a-Doodle Oops! HERE!

Laugh at the wild ending after you get a copy at Amazon—B&N—Creston Books—your neighborhood bookstore.

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Meet the author, Lori Degman at her website: http://www.loridegman.com/loridegman.com/Home.html 

Meet the illustrator, Deborah Zemke at her website:  http://www.deborahzemke.com/

Find more great books at Creston Books’ website: http://www.crestonbooks.co/ 

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COCK-A-DOODLE OOPS! Text copyright © 2014 by Lori Degman. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Deborah Zemke. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Creston Books, Berkeley, CA.

ALSO BY LORI DEGMAN

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– Won 2010 Cheerios New Author Contest

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ALSO BY DEBORAH ZEMKE

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Filed under: 5stars, Children's Books, Favorites, Library Donated Books, Picture Book, Poetry Tagged: children's book reviews, Creston Books, Deborah Zemke, farm animals, Lori Degman, rhyming text, Rooster, waking up

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photo by lululemon athletica www.flickr.com

To get ready for spring and April, National Poetry Month, I thought we should start having some Wacky Wednesday posts about teaching kids poetry. Whether you teach your kids at home or you are a K-12 teacher, your students can benefit from reading and studying poetry. The next two weeks, the Wacky Wednesday posts will target elementary school students, using a book called More Pocket Poems poems selected by Bobbi Katz and illustrated by Deborah Zemke. Then I’ll have a post or two for middle school and high school teachers and home schoolers. So, on to April, poetry month, and looking at poems. . .

Bobbi Katz wrote a poem titled “Put the World in Your Pocket.” In this poem, she talks about how it’s nifty to hold a quarter or key in your pocket, but that a pocket can’t hold really big things like summer, elephants, or the sea. However, and here’s the secret–if those things are in a poem, a pocket sure can hold them! This is the introductory poem in the book More Pocket Poems, and it’s a perfect starting point for teaching kids poetry and doing several poem activities during April, poetry month.

The rest of the book has poems by some very famous poets, and all of this poetry could easily fit in a pocket or two. For example, “March” by Emily Dickinson is included in this book with a cute illustration of hats flying in the wind–did students know they could carry March around with them? There are also “Skeleton Parade” by Jack Prelutsky and “Song of the Witches” from MacBeth by William Shakespeare. Bobbi and the poets take children through the four seasons, and the illustrations add to the poetry fun. Teaching kids poetry with this book might just be e-a-s-y or at least easier.

Once you have shared some poems from this book with your students, ask them to choose a poem either from the book or a favorite. They should copy it down; or if they are too young, you can make a copy for them. Ask them to illustrate it, fold it neatly, and put the poem in their pockets. (Maybe send a note home earlier in the week to make sure students can wear a jacket or pants with a pocket that day if you teach in the classroom–or bring some aprons with pockets in case anyone forgets.) At the end of the day, gather students around or put them into small groups and ask them to take out their pocket poems to share for April, poetry month, activities.

Stay tuned next Wacky Wednesday (3/17) for some poetry writing fun while teaching kids poetry. Also, don’t forget there’s a book giveaway going on this week. See yesterday’s post for a chance to win a copy of Aries Rising, the first book of a new contemporary YA series with some astrology mixed in! Contest goes until Friday at 11:55 p.m. CST.

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Doodles at Dinner: 36 Tear-Off Placemats Author: Deborah Zemke
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 36 pages
Publisher: Blue Apple Books (April 15, 2008)

Remember heading out to a restaurant with your parents and getting a couple of crayons and a placemat you could draw on or do activities? At least it was something to pass the time while you waited for that cheeseburger and fries! Doodles at Dinner is a clever collection of 36 heavy-paper place mats featuring step-by-step drawing instructions. I think it's a great idea and Blue Apple Books carries it out nicely. Zemke, a children’s book author and illustrator, shows how to transform a simple line or number into, say, an armadillo, in a few easy steps. The placemat book features the characters from her other hands-on books for children, including "D is for Doodle," "Zoodle a Doodle" and "T is for Toucan." Create a grizzly bear by starting with two z's, for instance, or make a meerkat out of two e's. I like that the placemats are bound together as a pad, so there's always another placemat ready when one has been used and it's not just something you can use at a restaurant-You can use them right in your own home! I think this is suitable for kids 5 and older, although following the directions is a bit more suitable for an 8 year old.

Zemke’s placemat sequel, "Doodles at Lunch," will be out in the spring! Check out Zemke's other titles:
Doodles to Go
Doodle a Zoodle
D is for Doodle
2 is for Toucan: Oodles of Doodles from 1 to 42 (A Step-By-Step Drawing Book)

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It’s a fun job and somebody has to do it.

We’re talking about interviewing 51 artists — professionals, hobbyists and children — about their drawings for our Love of Reading Gallery. It’s all part of the celebration of the second anniversary of the Just One More Book children’s book podcast.

On this edition, Mark speaks with Deborah Zemke about her contribution, You are What you Read.

Besides book illustration, Deborah Zemke is an illustrator for Ranger Rick Magazine.

Be sure to enjoy all of the amazing artwork in our Love of Reading Gallery.

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I've been writing lately about how disturbing I find letters and interviews printed in our local newspapers with unfounded accusations and barely-disguised untruths stated in them. Obviously, there's something in the air. Or perhaps the art of lying is contagious.

In the publishing/book world, there's a James Frey redux. Only this time it's Margaret B. Jones, a/k/a Peggy Seltzer. Another memoir that received positive reivews is fiction.

There are some differences. One is that the lie was promptly exposed by the author's sister after publication of the book and the news publicity it engendered. So Oprah isn't embarrassed this time.

The publisher has also changed its response --recalling all copies of the book and cancelling Ms. Seltzer's book tour. No chance for extra sales of copies after the scandal, as happened with James' Frey's book A Million Little Pieces.

There's an interesting discussion at Galley Cat about why this problem continues to resurface. While you can vote in a small poll, there's no option that includes "people like to lie; it makes them feel important." Meanwhile, Media Bistro is selling a video lesson on fact-checking.

And if you get tired of the fact-checking problem, you can always read about plagiarism, and its latest incarnation at the NYT, here at SLATE .

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