Review #124: The Monstore

Dad:  We have ourselves a copy of The Monstore, by Tara Lazar and James Burks!

Lily (age 10):  The words and pictures are so good together, you’d think they were done by the same person.

Isaac (age 14):  The book is about this kid named Zack.  He goes to the Monstore, which is a store with useful monsters. 

Lily:  The monsters are adorable.  Well, some of them are kind of creepy.  But mostly adorable.

Isaac:  Zack buys a monster in order to keep his little sister in line and keep her out of his room--

Gracie (age 12):  And what is his little sister’s name, hmmm?

Isaac:  Gracie.

Gracie:  Heh, heh, heh…

Isaac:  Where was I?  Gracie messed me up.

Dad:  We need a monster to keep *our* Gracie in line.

Isaac:  Yeah, EXACTLY. 

Gracie:  Zack’s sister might be annoying, but she has an awesome name. 

Isaac:  The monster he buys doesn’t work, so he gets another one.  That one doesn’t work either, so he keeps getting more and more and more monsters. 

Gracie:  The monsters don’t keep Gracie out of his room, instead they help her annoy her brother.  Which is hilarious.  It’s the exact opposite of what he wanted. 

Isaac:  At the Monstore there are no exchanges or refunds, so Zack had to keep them all.  He built up a huge collection of monsters.

Dad:  Zack’s not very bright.  You’d think he’d figure out pretty soon that buying monsters wasn’t working.

Gracie:  He’s not very smart.  Not as smart as his wonderful, beautiful, incredibly-named sister.

Dad & Gracie:  Hah ha ha haah hah!

Dad:  We do actually have it on good authority that this character is kind of named after you, my dear.

Gracie:  She is me.  Tara Lazar said that when she made up these characters, the girl’s name was just always Gracie.  And she thinks unconsciously she named her that because she reads our blog!  And it IS a lovely name.

Lily:  Why wasn’t *I* stuck in her head?

Elijah (age 7):  It would be fun and awesome to draw pictures for a book like this because of the monsters in it.

Dad:  You are our monster-boy.  You love drawing monsters.

Elijah:  Yes, I do.

Dad:  How did these monsters hold up compared to other monsters you’ve seen?  How is James Burks as a monster draw-er?

Elijah:  Better than me.

Dad:  So he gets a thumbs-up?
Elijah:  The monsters are awesome.  Really awesome.  The awesomeness of them is awesome.

Dad:  Would you guys want to have a monster?

Gracie:  It depends on what kind of monster.  I would like to have the kind that eats dinners you don’t like.  And I’d use him every day.

Isaac:  Then you’d starve and die.

Lily:  I’d buy a glow-in-the-dark monster.  That would be the most useful.  For my life it would.  Because I always like to stay up late.

Elijah:  I want that globby monster in the jar.  I’m pretty sure you could transform him into anything.  I’m pretty sure.  You could just shape-him-up and then make him do stuff for you.

Dad:  What do you think the most helpful monster would be, Isaac?

Isaac:  I’ve actually thought about this before.  Yes, I have.  And I’ve decided – at least at this moment I’m still feeling it – that the best monster would assist you with your pet peeves.  So, when someone leaves the faucet on and it’s barely dripping, the monster would turn it off.  Or if someone leaves the front door open and the flies are flying in, the monster would close it.

Dad:  That’s what children are for.  “Hey kid – go turn that off…”  You’ve got plenty of brothers and sisters for that…

Isaac:  Are you kidding.  I’ve asked so many times.

Gracie:  Yeah – he’s always like, “Turn-it-off–Turn-it-off–Turn-it-off…”

Isaac:  It doesn’t work.  That’s why I want a monster.

Lily:  The purple furry balloon monster is the cutest one.  It’s a girl.  I know because it has eyelashes.

Gracie:  Dad has eyelashes.

Elijah:  I have eyelashes.

Gracie:  Elijah’s eyelashes are way, way long.  The longest eyelashes of anyone I’ve ever met.

Dad:  I love the monster in the book that is just a teeny eyeball with legs.

Gracie:  Hey, what does that little eyeball monster even do?  What is he useful for?

Elijah:  He is just useful for awesomeness.

monster line-up, by Isaac

monsters hi, by Elijah

monster party, by Lily

 

helpful monsters, by Gracie

Author: Tara Lazar

Illustrator: James Burks

Published, 2013:  Aladdin

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Review #122: Giant Dance Party

 

Isaac (age 14):  “Giant Dance Party.”
Lily (age 10):  (singing) Hey, hey, hey, it’s a good book!

Gracie (age 12):  When a book is good, you are just drawn to it for the sake of its awesomeness.

Lily:  It’s by Betsy Bird, and Brandon Dorman is illustrating it.

Elijah (age 7):  I’ve never heard of a book illustrated by a Doormat.

Gracie:  DorMAN.

Lily:  The book is about this girl, and she loved to dance all the day.

Gracie:  Lexy.

Lily:  But every time she had a recital, she froze up on stage like an ice pop. 

Isaac:  She forgot to breathe… THAT’S not a good thing.

Lily:  You should NOT forget how to breathe.

Isaac:  Dangerous.  Breathing is very important.

Lily:  She thought instead of dancing she could teach dance lessons.  But no one came.

Evangeline (age 5):  Then giants showed up.

Elijah:  Big blue furry ones in overalls.

Lily:  I think we should name them.  The… Farggy Hizzard Giants.

Dad:  Ooo… catchy.

Lily:  She taught them to dance, and she got over her fear when the giants got froze-y up too.

Elijah:  Froze-y!  Froze-y.

Lily:  Dancie-dance-dance.

Isaac:  I honestly would not have thought of drawing giants that looked like that.  But it would not have been as awesome if they just looked like giants the way everyone imagines giants.

Gracie:  Most giants just look like normal people but magnified.  With crooked teeth and bad clothes.  But these ones are like cute monsters.  They are adorable!

Lily:  They look like really big bugs.

Gracie:  They’re kind of like furry cucumbers.

Lily:  They look like fuzzy blue pigs.

Gracie:  They do!

Lily:  With antennas.

Evangeline:  I like the girl ones.  They are cute ones.  How many girl giants are there?

Elijah:  My favorite is the giant with bushy eyebrows.  MacDuff.  I especially like when he wears his wig.

Isaac:  What is Scottish Highland Dancing?  I want to learn it.  Because it sounds awesome.

Dad:  I think it’s kind of jiggy.

Gracie:  Jig it up!

Isaac:  Is it like River Dancing?  Because that’s cool.

Dad:  Elijah has awesome dance moves, don’t you.  Do you remember that one time you drank olive juice and went crazy all over like a dancing fool?

Elijah:  In my underwear.

Dad:  You do remember!

Isaac:  We’ve got it on taa-aaape.

Dad:  Gracie used to take dance lessons when she was a little dude.

Gracie:  When I was 4!

Dad:  Do you remember that at all?

Gracie:  Yeah.  I had a special spot where I liked to sit on the floor – the whole floor was flat except for this one notch that bumped up and it looked like someone pooped there.

Dad:  Ha ha ha hah… Wow.  I’m glad you have some fond memories of your dancing days.

Isaac:  I have a question.  Why is there a cupcake on the cover of this book?  It has nothing to do with the book at ALL.  It’s a random cupcake!

Gracie:  Yeah, why on earth?  There’s not one cupcake in the entire book!

Dad:  I think it’s just a bonus cupcake.  For your viewing pleasure.

Gracie:  Why the heck is it there?

Lily:  It’s got to be a really big cupcake.  Giant sized.

Isaac:  It’s as big as the girl’s head!

Elijah:  He’s going to splat it on her.

Gracie:  We are so obsessed with this cupcake.

Dad:  Any final thoughts you’d like to share?

Isaac:  I have a theory about why no one came to Lexy’s dance lessons.  She didn’t have her address on the fliers she put out.  That could definitely be the reason.

Dad:  How did the giants find her then?

Isaac:  That’s why it took them all week long.  They found the fliers the first day, and they were looking for her all week.  They had been going door to door.  See, I have reasons for everything.

Gracie:  Then what’s the reason for the cupcake?

Isaac:  I have no reason for that.

a Farggy Hizzard Giant, by Lily

Lexy, by Evangeline

MacDuff, by Elijah

 Lexy's dance lessons for giants, aliens, & unicorns, by Gracie

giant dance moves, by Isaac

Author: Betsy Bird

Illustrator: Brandon Dorman

Published, 2013: Greenwillow Books

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Review #107: Back to School Tortoise

Lily (age 8):  "Back to School Tortoise."  Lucy M. George and Merel Eyckerman -- they wrote it and illustrated it, you know.
Elijah (age 5):  It is the cutest book in the world.
Lily:  And he is the cutest tortoise of all.
Gracie (age 11):  He's got awesome little shoes.
Lily:  Cutie-cutie-cutie land.
Gracie:  The illustrator even makes GRASS cute!  I mean, who can make grass cute?
Lily:  She can!
Dad:  What's the premise of the story?  I guess the title kind of explains that, huh?
Lily:  Well, everyone is finishing up their summer stuff.  And Tortoise gets ready to go back to school.  Then he starts thinking...  What if the kids are mean?  What if I really don't like the lunches?
Gracie:  He doesn't want to go to school because he thinks something awful might happen.  But then he starts thinking of all the good things that might happen.  And after that, he wants to go to school again.  And it's okay.  He has a fun time.
Dad:  We talked about the cuteness of the pictures already.  How was the writing?
Gracie:  I thought the writing was cute too.  It's not very complicated -- it's not like Shakespeare.  But it's also not like "Jack is a boy. Jack likes red."  It's in the middle.
Dad:  And the book has a clever little twist at the end.
Gracie:  It's funny.  I was surprised.
Elijah:  I still don't get it.
Dad:  Elijah doesn't get the joke.  But we can't explain it here because we don't want to give away the funny ending to everyone else.
Gracie:  I'll explain it to you later, Elijah.
Elijah:  My favorite part of the book is the cuteness of the turtle.
Dad:  Is it a turtle or a tortoise?
Elijah:  A tortoise.  And a turtle.  It's a "turtle-slash-tortoise."
Dad:  This is a perfect book for you.  Turtles are your favorite animal!
Elijah:  The turtle in this book is my favorite turtle ever.
Dad:  AND it's also a great book because you are starting school this year!  Kindergarten!
Elijah:  Yeah!
Dad:  Do you think you are going to have slurpies and cupcakes for lunch like Tortoise did?
Elijah:  I hope so!
Dad:  Or maybe you will have a big bowl of peas.
Elijah:  Nooo!
Gracie:  We always have good lunches.
Lily:  We'll probably have applesauce, and a sandwich, and an apple.
Dad:  That's a lot of apple.  Why not wash it down with some apple juice too?
Gracie:  My teacher is the best.  I have the best teacher in the whole entire universe!  I'm home schooled.
Lily:  When we walk to school, honestly all we have to do is go up the stairs.
Gracie:  Those are good things about being home schooled.  And you never have to worry about mean teachers.
Lily:  Unless you have a mean mom.
Dad:  You guys lucked out in the mom department.
Lily:  Mm-hmm.
Dad:  Now, the school situation in the book might not apply.  But have you ever felt like Tortoise before?  Worried about something new?
Lily:  Yes.  The first year I went to Family Camp classes.  I was scared about kids being mean to me.  But then I met one of my best friends.
Gracie:  I'm still worried about that every year I go.  Sometimes boys can be mean.
Dad:  Did you notice Tortoise had a choice to make in the book?
Gracie:  Either be grumpy and worried about school all day...  or be happy and excited and confident.
Lily:  That takes practice.
Dad:  Did anything about the school change?  Or did his attitude change?
Gracie:  His attitude changed.
Dad:  You always have a choice.  You can look on either the negative side or the bright side.
Lily:  You should look on the bright side.  Unless you are going to boarding school.
Dad:  Any last words to sum up the book?
Elijah:  It's all cuteness and turtle pictures.
Lily:  Dad, at the beginning it says "Tortoise gets dressed."  But all he is wearing is a hat and scarf and shoes.
Dad:  It doesn't take him very long to get dressed does it?
Gracie:  He's not wearing any pants.
Lily: (addressing Tortoise)  Are you wearing any pants, sir?
Gracie:  Nope.
Dad:  Maybe THAT'S why he didn't want to go to school.
Gracie:  I can't go to school!  I'm not wearing any pants!

Tortoise eats lunch, by Elijah

Tortoise eats ice cream, by Lily

worry vs. bright side, by Gracie

Author: Lucy M. George
Illustrator: Merel Eyckerman
Published, 2011: Albert Whitman and Company
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Review #105: The Watcher

Gracie (age 11):  Oh wow, this book is amazing.
Isaac (age 12):  It is called "The Watcher."  It's about Jane Goodall.
Elijah (age 5):  Her job was to watch the chimpanzees.
Dad:  Did you know about Jane Goodall before we read this?
Isaac:  I knew that she liked monkeys.  But now I know a lot more.
Dad:  She's a pretty famous scientist.
Lily (age 8):  Then why didn't I know about her?
Dad:  Well, now you do.
Gracie:  She's amazing.  I can't believe that Jane Goodall went out there and studied the chimps and worked to save them.  She even got Fever and she wouldn't go home.  Jan Goodall is all good.
Lily:  When she was a kid, she sat in a hen house.
Gracie:  She sat in there for hours and hours watching chickens until they laid eggs.  She liked to watch and learn about animals.
Lily:  When she grew up, she saved her money to buy a ticket to go to Africa.  And she got a job watching monkeys.
Elijah:  At first... no chimpanzees for her.  They were hiding from her.  But she didn't give up, so then she got to see them.  One hundred chimps.
Lily:  And she named them.  One she named David Greybeard.
Isaac:  She learned that chimps use tools.  Nobody knew that before her.
Elijah:  It's not exactly like tools that we use.  It was a "stick" tool.
Dad:  They don't go buy tools at a store.
Elijah:  Noooooo.  Because they're just chimpanzees.
Dad:  What else did she learn?
Elijah:  She learned that chimps eat meat.  I thought they only eat bananas.  But now I know they also eat plants and meat.  She learned they hit each other.  And kiss.
Lily:  Now I don't want a pet chimpanzee anymore.
Dad:  Because you learned that they are endangered?
Lily:  But I would still kind of want David Greybeard.
Evangeline (age 3):  Lily, if you take a pet monkey, then you don't get a fishy.
Dad:  She can only pick one pet?
Lily:  Mommy hates monkeys, so it will have to be a fish.
Dad:  Now, how old was Jane at the beginning of the book?
Gracie:  Five.
Dad:  How old was she when the book ended?
Lily:  Old enough to have gray hair.  Like, "Grammy" old.
Dad:  So the author of this book, Jeanette Winter, had a challenge.  She had to pick and choose events from out of a whole lifetime and fit them into just 40 pages.  If someone else was writing this book, they could have chosen completely different details.
Gracie:  There was another person who wrote one.
Dad:  That's right, you remember.  We got "Me... Jane" from the library a few months ago.
Lily:  Yeah, it was about Jane as a kid.
Dad:  One author, Patrick McDonnell, chose to focus on Jane's childhood.  This author, Jeanette Winter, decided to pick stories from throughout her life.  That's the cool thing about writing.  A writer is a chooser.  Their stories are shaped by both what they say AND what they don't say.  It gives even more importance to what is included when we think about how many choices had to be made.
Lily:  If both authors picked the same things, they would practically have the same book.
Dad:  But can you see how that would be almost impossible?  Jeanette Winter is a completely unique person.  She's going to be drawn to specific things that interest her.
Isaac:  I think her art is awesome.  It's full of big patterns... the monkeys' fur... the trees on the hills.  I love this style.
Dad:  Would you guys like to go out and watch animals?
Elijah:  Not animals that are dangerous.  Hyenas?  No.  Lions?  No.  I would watch dogs.  And cats.
Dad:  Well, what did Jane start out with when she was 5 years old like you?
Elijah:  Chickens.
Dad:  Maybe you could start by watching a chicken.
Elijah:  I don't want to.  I'll start out with birds.  I mean bird birds.  Like robins.  Then I'll move to chimps.  And THEN chickens.  And then, even though they are dangerous, I'll do dinosaurs.  I'll build something that can go back then, and I can watch dinosaurs.
Dad:  Did this book inspire you in any ways?
Isaac:  It makes me want to be more patient when I go deer scouting.
Lily:  It made me excited to learn more about Jane Goodall.  It's kind of like when a commercial makes you want to watch a movie.  This book is like a commercial for Jane Goodall's life.

chimpanzees, by Lily


David Greybeard, by Elijah


Jane Goodall, by Gracie

Author/Illustrator: Jeanette Winter
Published 2011: Schwartz & Wade Books
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Review #99: Ribbit Rabbit

Lily (age 8):  "Ribbit Rabbit."
Isaac (age 12):  By Candace Ryan.  Illustrated by Mike Lowery.
Gracie (age 10):  I love the way he did those pictures.
Lily:  They kind of look like kid drawings.
Gracie:  They do.
Lily:  But they look like awesome kid drawings.
Gracie:  It's not just a scribble.
Isaac:  I've tried drawing like that before.  It's not as easy as it looks.
Lily:  The characters are cuties.
Gracie:  They are SO cute!
Isaac:  It's about this frog and this rabbit.
Gracie:  And Pillowcase Man.  He's awesome.  I love that Pillowcase Man.  It only shows him in two pictures.  But he's awesome.  The frog and the rabbit were making monsters while they played.  Pillowcase Man is just a blue pillow that they scribbled eyes, a mouth, and teeth on.  But he's awesome.
Dad:  So... Frog or Bunny?  Did you have a favorite?  Ribbit or Rabbit?
Gracie:  Rabbit.
Lily:  Ribbit.
Isaac:  Ribbit.  Rabbit!
Gracie:  Rabbit.
Lily:  Ribbit.  Ribbit.
Gracie:  RABBIT!
Isaac:  RIBBIT!  RABBIT!  RIBBIT!
Lily:  RIBBIT!
Dad:  Alright, alright...  Zip it!
Gracie:  Zap it!
Lily:  Zip it!  Zap it!
Isaac:  ZAP IT!
Dad:  Shhhh....  This is going to be the dumbest review ever...
Gracie:  Ha hah haa...
Dad:  But is it fun to talk like that?
Kids:  YEAH!
Dad:  So, can you tell what is going on with the word choices in this book?  "Ribbit" and "Rabbit."  What is different between those two words?
Gracie:  One vowel sound.
Dad:  How about "Trip it" and "Trap it"?
Gracie:  The vowel.  The author changes one vowel sound in the words.
Dad:  Can you make your own?
Gracie:  Wop it.  Wap it.
Isaac:  Wap it.  Whoop it.
Gracie:  Coop it.  Keep it.  Slip it.  Slap it.  Lily.  Lolly.  Shilly.  Sholly.  Gilly.  Golly.
Dad:  Gracie's on a roll.  Can we do the whole review like this?
Gracie:  Sure.
Dad: (pointing at the book)  Lookit.
Gracie: (pointing at herself)  Like it!
Dad:  How about this one... (pointing at Candace Ryan's name)  Wrote it.
Gracie: (pointing at herself again)  Read it.
Dad:  How did you like the book, Lily?
Lily:  Loved it.  Laughed it.
Dad:  Good one!  So the word play in the book is fun.  The pictures are fun.
Gracie:  They are so cute!
Dad:  Is there a storyline to the book?
Isaac:  The frog and the rabbit are best friends and they do all kinds of stuff together.
Gracie:  They should have another adventure with Pillowcase Man.
Isaac:  Then this robot they are playing with accidentally breaks.  And the frog and the rabbit each grab one part.
Gracie:  They are being selfish.  Dad... you picked this book out for us on purpose.
Dad:  Ha ha!  I didn't even notice that plot when I picked it!  I was attracted to the art and the wordplay.  Honestly, I looked at this book three or four times before I even realized there was a lesson inside.  What is the lesson?
Gracie:  Share.
Isaac:  Don't be selfish.
Gracie:  I still think you picked this book out on purpose.  Now Dad's going to make us be good.
Dad:  Encouragement can never hurt.
Gracie:  We try to be good.  Trust me.  I try and try and try, and it never works.
Dad:  Hang in there.
Gracie:  I took a personality quiz, and these were the exact words.  It said, "You should be a little more patient. You usually think about yourself, and you like to be the center of attention most of the time."
Dad:  Ha ha...  Hmmmm, that doesn't sound like you at all.
Gracie:  Yeah it does!
Dad:  But what did Frog and Bunny learn?
Gracie:  Things work better when you work together.
Dad:  Just like the author and illustrator had to work together to make this book.
Isaac:  Candace Ryan, are you the bunny or the frog?

kick it, crack it  - by Isaac

rock it, racket  - by Gracie

wake it, whack it  - by Lily

Author: Candace Ryan
Illustrator: Mike Lowery
Published, 2011: Walker
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Review #97: Rain Brings Frogs

Lily (age 8):  "Rain Brings Frogs"!
Isaac (age 12):  By Maryann Cocca-Leffler.
Lily:  Cocca-Cola...  Hot Cocca!
Gracie (age 10):  Lily!
Isaac:  The book is about this kid named Nate.
Lily:  He's a "happy side" person.
Gracie:  He's always looking at the bright side.
Isaac:  For example, his sister got a present -- this purple and neon green scarf and hat.  And she thought it was the ugliest ever.  Then Nate saw it and said it was warm.  He found something good to say about it.
Gracie:  He's showing her the bright side.
Lily:  And there is a boy named Ben who has more ice cream than a banana split, and he says to everyone, "Nooo!! I'm not going to share with you!"  But Nate is sharing his.
Gracie:  Even though Nate's ice cream is a billion times smaller than the other guy's.
Lily:  Nate only has one scoop of ice cream, but he's sharing.
Dad:  Does this book help you learn anything?
Isaac:  Be content with what you have.
Lily:  Don't complain.  Be thankful for what you've got.
Dad:  Does our attitude depend on the things around us?
Lily:  Our attitude comes from what's inside.  It's pretty much love and self-control.
Dad:  Would you like to have Nate for a friend?
Gracie:  He would give me ice cream!
Lily:  Nate would be my BFF.
Gracie:  I already have a friend who is happy all the time.  I have Julia.
Dad:  How about you guys?  Could we say that you are like Nate?
Gracie:  No-ho-ho.  No one is THAT perfect.
Isaac:  Nobody could be like Nate.  Not ALL the time.
Gracie:  Except Julia.
Dad:  Could we work to be more like Nate?
Isaac:  Well, we do try to be like Jesus... which is an impossible goal.
Lily:  But we try our best.
Dad:  Are there legitimate things to be sad about?
Gracie:  Like if a person fell down and skinned their knee.
Lily:  But Gracie, there's a bright side -- at least the person didn't break their leg!
Dad:  Has that happened to you before in real life?  Did something disappointing happen, but you looked on the bright side?
Lily:  At Christmas.  Mom was in the hospital having a baby.  So I only got to open one present.  I was kind of sad about that.  We had to wait for three days to open the rest.
Dad:  Ha ha...  But what was the good thing in that situation?
Lily:  At least I got to open one present.
Dad:  What else?
Isaac:  And we got a BABY SISTER!
Lily:  Oh yeah.
Gracie:  Would you rather have gotten a few more Polly Pockets, or had a BABY come into the world?!
Lily:  Ba-by!
Gracie:  Hey... Mom wanted to review this book with us!
Dad:  That's right... what did you want to say about this book, Hon?
Mom:  Just that I loved it.  It gets your kids thinking about thankfulness.  It gets them looking on the bright side.  We all know people out there who are positive...
Gracie & Lily:  Julia!!!
Mom:  And Julia's mom is like that too.  They are a bright-side-of-things family.
Dad:  Is there specific "complaining" that we deal with in our family?  Maybe we can think through a good response instead?
Mom:  All the time when we are homeschooling they say, "I have to do Math again?  Every day?  I'm sick of Math..."
Dad:  So what would be a better response?
Gracie:  "We...  have the ability...  to learn."
Mom:  "I can do Math on my couch."
Gracie:  Yeah, you don't send us away to learn Math!
Dad:  "I can do Math in my jammies."
Gracie:  Yeah!!!
Dad:  How about positive examples.  Can you think of a time when one of our kids looked on the bright side in a hard situation?
Mom:  It seems like something just happened the other day...  What was it?  It seems like...  it might have been Isaac....
Gracie:  That figures.  He's the perfect kid.
Mom:  It's hard having one perfect sibling.  But on the bright side: at least you have four other imperfect siblings -- Ha ha ha ha!

Lee says, "It's so green"
Nate says, "It's so yummy"
- by Lily

When Mom says, "What a mess"
Nate says, "Yuuummm!"
- by Gracie

Jake says, "It's too long!"
Nate says, "But it's worth it!"
- by Isaac

Author/Illustrator: Maryann Cocca-Leffler
Published, 2011: Harper
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Review #95: All the Way to America

Isaac (age 12):  We read "All the Way to America."
Lily (age 8):  It's about a little shovel that gets passed down from generation to generation.
Dad:  And who has the shovel now?
Lily:  Dan... Yuck...a...ran...no.
Dad:  Yaccarino?
Lily:  Yeah, Yaccarino.
Isaac:  It starts out with this Italian guy... Michele...
Dad:  The author's great-grandfather.
Gracie (age 10):  Michele sounds like a girl name.
Isaac:  He was a farmer in Italy, but then he moved to America.  And when he left home, his mom and dad gave him this shovel.
Lily:  He had kids, and the kids had kids, and then those kids had kids.
Isaac:  The family passes on this little shovel from generation to generation.
Dad:  And each generation uses the shovel for something different.  If you're a baker, how do you use a little scooper?
Gracie:  Measure out flour.
Dad:  And if you are a barber, how do you use a shovel?
Gracie:  Shovel rock salt onto the sidewalk in front of your store.
Lily:  I have a question.  What does HE do with the shovel?  The author?  He's an artist.  What does he do with the shovel?
Dad:  What do you think?  If you are a storyteller, how do you use a shovel?
Gracie:  You make a book about it!
Lily:  Oh.  Yeah!
Isaac:  I think the pictures are awesome looking.  They have very bold, solid colors -- not all blended together.  And they are very sharp pictures, not sketchy.
Gracie:  Everything that isn't important in the illustrations is just done in outlines.
Isaac:  Yeah, it's all outlines in the backgrounds.
Dad:  Which is a cool technique -- it helps you to focus on the main subjects.
Isaac:  And each person has one specific thing that they always wear.  One guy always has this green checkered hat.  One guy always wears a stripey orange and yellow shirt.
Lily:  One guy always wears green pants.
Gracie:  Because the people in the book grow up.  They get older.
Isaac:  The way they look is always changing.  But by having one thing about their clothes stay the same, you know who is who, and it will be easier to keep track of them.
Lily:  I think the family really likes food.
Gracie:  There is food on almost every single page!
Isaac:  This is a historical book, but it's not something like... President Abraham Lincoln.
Dad:  It's not about national history.
Isaac:  No, but it IS about his family history.  His family tree.
Gracie:  I think their family tree is a tomato tree!  Oh wait, there are no tomato trees, are there.
Dad:  Actually quite a few things get passed down from generation to generation...
Lily:  The little shovel.  And a tomato sauce recipe.
Gracie:  And advice: Work hard, try to enjoy life, and always love your family.
Dad:  And always use this shovel.
Lily:  Hahahah...
Gracie:  And always like food!
Dad:  And never change your clothes.
Gracie:  Ha ha ha!
Dad:  So at this point in a review, I would normally say something like, "We just read a book about Dan Yaccarino's family history... now let's bring it home.  Let me tell you a few things about our family history."
Gracie:  Our family has history.
Dad:  Yes, however... I don't really know that much about our family history.  Which is kind of sad.  I know some names.  I could tell you that Jacob had Elmer.  Elmer had Grandpa.  And Grandpa had me.
Gracie:  Grandpa didn't have you!  Grammy had you.  Grandpa... helped.
Dad:  But we are lucky today!  Who is right here with us today that can tell us about some family history?
Kids:  Granny!
Gracie:  She's our great-grandma!
Dad:  We happen to be recording this over Easter weekend.  And because of our big family get together, we have Grammy's mom Granny here!
Gracie:  Granny, can we interview you about our family history?
Granny (Bess Hankinson, age 85):  You can go right ahead and interview me.
Gracie:  My first question is...  Were we always in Michigan?  Or did we come from China or something.
Granny:  Well, I'll tell you.  My mother and dad were both from England.
Lily:  Cool!
Granny:  They both came over from England when they were children.  My mother grew up in Canada before she moved to the United States.  Her name was Mabel Kitley.  My dad's name was John Towlerton.  And as a child, he was raised in Mexico.
Dad:  Really!  Canada and Mexico?  And they met up in the middle.  I didn't know that.
Gracie:  So our family is partly from England, partly from Canada, and partly from Mexico?
Granny:  Yes.  John's parents were Mary and James Towlerton.  My great-granddad wrote them and said, "There is work down in Mexico - come on down."  So my grandparents took my dad and his brother, and they came right from England and went to Mexico.  They started working in the gold mines in Mexico.
Gracie:  Gasp!  That's so sweet!  That's awesome!  The gold mines?!
Lily:  Our family worked in a goldmine!  Did he get a lot of gold from the goldmine?
Granny:  Oh, my grandfather James became very wealthy.
Dad:  So, they were actually finding gold?
Granny:  Yes, he was a very rich man.  He ended up in charge of the mines.  He was the boss.  But my dad didn't want to work there any more, so he ran away.
Isaac:  Why did he run away?
Granny:  He didn't want to work down under the ground.
Lily:  It would be dangerous.
Granny:  He was growing up, and he didn't want to be underground the rest of his life.  His mother was very sad about that because she only had the two boys.
Dad:  And how old was your dad at that point?
Granny:  He was almost 25.  So he ran away and came all the way up to Michigan by hopping trains.
Dad:  Wow - train hopping...
Granny:  In those days people did that.  And he would stop along the way... find some work... get a little money... get some food... keep going.  He did that all the way up to Michigan to meet his little American Rose.  My mother.
Gracie:  That's sweet.
Granny:  Mom and Dad met at a party.  They went around together for a little while.  Then they got married.  At that time, it was the Great Depression.  So they lived with my mother's mom and dad for almost 8 years.  Because there wasn't any work.  So people would all live together -- one of them would try to get work, and then they could share the food and rent.
Isaac:  That is interesting....
Granny:  It was hard during those days.  We didn't have a car until I was quite old.  Never had a telephone.  Well, a year after I was born, they had my sister Mabel.
Dad:  Do you remember Auntie Mabel?
Gracie:  Oh yeah!  Sometimes when we are at Granny's cottage she comes by.
Granny:  Yes, Auntie Mabel.  Then 13 months later they had a little boy, my brother Art.  Then a while later they had another little boy named Jimmy.
Gracie:  Aw, Jimmy.
Granny:  Then my wealthy granddad sent money for all of us to go down to Mexico.  Guadalajara, Mexico is where my granddad lived.  We went on the train.  It took a long time to get there - it's not like the trains today.
Dad:  And how old were you on this trip?
Granny:  I was about 5 years old.  We went and we stayed in Mexico.  And my little brother Jimmy got sick.  They boiled the water... they did everything they were supposed to do.  But he died in Mexico.
Gracie:  Ohhhh...
Granny:  So he is buried in Mexico.  We felt so bad.  And so we came back on the bus to Michigan.
Gracie:  How long did that take?
Granny:  A long time.  And I got sick on the bus.  And they had to stop the bus, and wash the whole bus out.
Dad:  Oh no -- it was THAT kind of sick.
Granny:  Ha ha ha, yeah.  Mess.  A mess.
Gracie:  Oh yuck!  Ha ha...
Granny:  Then a little while later, my parents had another baby, and her name was Alice.
Gracie:  Baby Alice.
Granny:  And she was MY baby.  Because my mother was so weak after she had the baby.  She could hardly hold her.  So she gave her to me, and I rocked her in the chair.  I was 8 years old then.  And Alice has always been my baby.
Isaac:  You told us about your side of the family, but what about Papa?
Gracie:  Yeah, what about Papa's side of the family?
Granny:  Well, they came from England too.
Dad:  So both sides came from England.
Granny:  Yes, they did.  Papa's parents were Sarah and Joseph Hankinson.  His dad's name was Joseph, just like Papa's name.  They were very good people.  They always went to church.  And that's where I met Joe.  Papa.  We went to "Young Peoples" together.
Dad:  Like a church youth group.
Gracie:  That's nice.
Granny:  One day we were all riding on the bus, and my mother said, "Look -- isn't that a nice young man?"  Then Papa and I "went together" for 5 or 6 years.  We were just kids when we first started.  But for three of those years, he was in the the Navy air force.
Gracie:  I thought we had a relative in the Navy.
Granny:  Then he came home from the service.  One time we stopped at a light.  And he reached in his pocket to get his hanky, and he brought out a ring and asked if I would marry him.
Dad:  And what do you think Granny said?
Lily:  Yes!
Granny:  Yes, I did.  Then we got married in June of 1947.  Papa was a great man for building things.  You know the cottage up north at Higgins Lake... Papa built that.
Gracie:  He built it?  He built that big cottage?!
Dad:  You didn't know that, Gracie?
Gracie:  That Great. Big. House?  It's a beautiful house - he built that?  That's amazing.
Granny:  He built about 5 houses.  For friends.  He never had any lessons in building.  He had a book he would read every once in a while.
Gracie:  Wow.
Granny:  He loved to do it.  He loved to help people.  They knew who to come to if they wanted something done.  They came to Papa, and he'd go and help them.  That's Papa for you.  He was always helping everybody.
Dad:  So you guys have some good heritage behind you.
Granny:  If somebody needs something, they can come to you and say, "Now Gracie, can you help me..."
Gracie:  Sure!
Granny:  See, and then you can help them.
Gracie:  Actually, Isaac is the best builder out of us kids.  I mainly like to cook.
Dad:  You can feed people while Isaac is building them houses.
Lily:  I like to..... um.... I like to swim.
Gracie:  Thank-you, Granny!  This was awesome!  This was great.
Granny:  I never knew I had such an exciting life, ha ha...
Gracie:  It was great!!!
Lily:  And Gracie thought this was going to be boring!
Gracie:  It was all really interesting!  I can't believe we have such an awesome history!
Lily:  And we'll pass the story on to our grandchildren.
Gracie:  Do you have anything of sentimental value that has been passed down from generation to generation?
Granny:  Well, I have a lot of things at the cottage.  Tea cups from England.  Every time my mother and dad went away, they'd bring a cup and saucer back.
Lily:  Do you have anything, liiiiiiike..... a RUBY?
Granny:  Ha ha ha, No... I don't have anything like that.
Gracie:  Do you have any gold from your granddad's gold mine?  That would be cool!
Lily:  I think that's really cool that our great-great-great-grandfather worked at a gold mine.
Gracie:  Well, I think that I'm upset because I didn't get any gold.
Dad:  That would have been better than having a shovel get passed down from generation to generation, eh?  Gold nuggets for everybody!
Lily:  Yeah!
Gracie:  Gold nuggets all around!
Granny:  Well, I love to have all you kids around.  I have 4 children.  And 10 grandchildren.  And 20 great-grandchildren.  We had the family together for Easter today.  And someone said to me, "Look what you started!"  Ha ha ha...
Dad:  Yeah, these guys wouldn't be here -- so many people wouldn't be here -- if not for Granny...
Gracie:  You had kids, and they had kids, and they had kids...  Our family will grow and grow and grow -- and take over the world!
Dad:  And we'll put Granny's picture on all of our coins.

the Yaccarino family tree, by Isaac

great-great-great-grandpa James digging for gold (with Dan Yaccarino's shovel!) by Lily

Mexico John meets Canada Mabel, by Gracie

Thanks to Granny for the interview!  And thanks to Dan Yaccarino for making this wonderful book -- it kicked off a fun family conversation, and without it, some great family history would have been lost to us!

Author/Illustrator: Dan Yaccarino
Published, 2011: Knopf
Like it?  Here it is