WARNING: Be prepared to have this song in your head all day! Especially after using it in a storytime!
See what librarians and teachers are saying about PETE THE CAT: ROCKING IN MY SCHOOL SHOES by Eric Litwin and James Dean:
“The text invites students to sing along with Pete as he rocks in his new school shoes. It also invites them to jump in with the place in the school where Pete is doing whatever it is he is doing. A perfect book for young children at the beginning of the school year. So many possibilities!” ~ A Year of Reading
“This book is a perfect fit for preschoolers through early elementary, and potentially as fun for the reader as the listener (I suggest belting out Pete’s song right along with him in your jazziest voice!). It might be a comfort to kids who are experiencing first-day jitters, as Pete’s sense of calm and cool is a tad infectious. And just like this cat, school IS cool, after all! My grade for Pete, the coolest cat around? A+.” ~ Book Talk (King County Library System)
“PETE THE CAT: ROCKING IN MY SCHOOL SHOES is the perfect back-to-school story for preschoolers through first graders. You better believe you’ll hear enthusiastic singing and clapping coming from my school library.” ~ Watch. Connect. Read (Mr. Schu)
PETE THE CAT: ROCKING IN MY SCHOOL SHOES
by Eric Litwin and James Dean
Available now
ISBN 9780061910241
Check out the website!
Seriously, it is! Back-to-school? They’re back now and we’re looking ahead to holiday book ordering and displays. First up: Halloween! Here are some ideas to help you with your book displays:
PUMPKIN TROUBLE by Jan Thomas
LITTLE GOBLINS TEN by Pamela Jane, illustrated by Jane Manning
PUMPKIN CAT by Anne Mortimer
SCARY SCHOOL by Derek the Ghost, illustrated by Scott M. Fischer
ZOMBIE CHASERS #2: UNDEAD AHEAD by John Kloepfer, illustrated by Steve Wolfhard
JUNIPER BERRY by M.P. Kozlowsky
GUYS READ: THRILLER edited by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Brett Helquist (check out the discussion guide)
FROST by Marianna Baer (and read by Sasha Obama!)
FAT VAMPIRE by Adam Rex (now in paperback!)
POSSESS by Gretchen McNeil
What are your go-to recommendations for kids looking for scary books? Anything fun that you do for Halloween book displays?
With villain names like Professor Von Evil and the Flaming Eyeball, how can you not be dying to read Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon’s debut picture book THE ASTONISHING SECRET OF AWESOME MAN, illustrated by Jake Parker? With short text and plenty of derring-do action (take a peek inside), this picture book will be a favorite of kids who love comics, as well as kids in your storytime programs.
In its starred review, School Library Journal said “the depiction of a showdown between Awesome Man and his nemesis-the Flaming Eyeball-is priceless. Readers may notice that there’s a moral peeking out from Awesome Man’s cape, but they’ll still grab this story in their ‘ginormous Awesome Power Grip’ and not let go.”
Monica Edinger (of Educating Alice and Huffington Post fame) recently had the chance to interview Michael Chabon himself! Here’s how the conversation went:
Photo by Jennifer Chaney
From reading your Pulitzer Prize-winning adult novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, fans probably know you have a long-term relationship with superhero comics. Can you give us a taste of your own childhood introduction to them and how that might have inspired this story of Awesome Man?
Well, of course I remember seeing Batman and the first animated Spider-Man show on television when I was very small… but my first true plunge into the world of superheroes came through the comic books that my father began to bring home for me, as soon as I could read. He had grown up reading them himself, and felt they were an important part of a kid’s education.
You clearly revel in language and names — Professor Von Evil, Moskowitz the Awesome Dog, positrons, and…pooped (and what kid doesn’t like saying “pooped!”). As an adult author known for reveling in words and language, how did you manage to balance that with the need to keep things relatively simple for a picture book audience?
I was really thinking about the parents here–how much it meant to me, when I was reading a book aloud to my children for the 33832nd time, if there was a little verve or snap to the language. Probably the all time champ, in that regard–to me, at least–is William Steig. Nobody used English, in kids’ books, the way he did.
You have children of your own — were they helpful in the creation of this book?
I wrote this book for my younger son (I have two, and two daughters), Abe. He was the direct inspiration, in every way, for the main character of AWESOME MAN.
Are you a reader of children’s books yourself and if so, what are some of your favorites?
One of the greatest, and most lasting, pleasures of having children, for me, has been the excuse and the opportunity that bedtime reading has given me to revisit, and re-relish (usually), so many of the books I loved a
Having done a Storytime Corner on cats, it only makes sense that we’d have to do one on dogs, right? I’m a cat person myself, but these dog stories are completely irresistible. And to keep all your parents and kids happy, you could even consider mixing up the dog and cat stories to make an integrated “Pets” program!
STORIES:
IF YOU GIVE A DOG A DONUT by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond (On-sale 10.4.11)
THAT PUP! by Lindsay Barrett George
NO DOGS ALLOWED! by Anne Davis
TEN LITTLE PUPPIES/Diez perritos by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy, illustrated by Ulises Wensell
Usually when I do storytimes, I like to make some books available for checkout that follow the theme. Here are a few ideas of books you can display for checkout post-program:
CHARLIE THE RANCH DOG by Ree Drummond, illustrated by Diane deGroat
DOGS by Seymour Simon
HARRY THE DIRTY DOG by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham
HIP HOP DOG by Chris Raschka, illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky
I AM THE DOG by Daniel Pinkwater, illustrated by Jack E. Davis
MAGGIE’S BALL by Lindsay Barrett George
ZOOMER by Ned Young
I started compiling song, rhyme, and craft ideas…and then I realized that Storytime Katie had most likely already put together something fabulous for a dog-themed storytime. And she had. Check out her
