My pick this week for Perfect Picture Book Fridays is a book one of my favorite author/illustrators, Ezra Jack Keats

Title: Hi, Cat!

Author: Ezra Jack Keats

Publisher: Macmillan Company (1970) Viking Juvenile (1999)

Ages: 3 and up

Themes: Appreciation/Gratitude, Animals, Accidents, Conflict/Resolution

Synopsis:  Archie goes to meet his friend Peter (Remember The Snowy Day?)so they can put on a street show for the neighborhood. On his way, he meets a stray cat. The cat ends up following Archie to the show. It proceeds to mess up all of Archie’s plans. But Archie doesn’t get mad. He accepts what happens and sees that the cat just really likes him.

Opening:  On his way to meet Peter, Archie saw someone new on the block:

“Hi, cat,” he said as he walked by.

From the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation:

Archie is walking down the street eating an ice cream cone. It’s a beautiful day, and he is on his way to meet his best friend Peter. Suddenly stopped by a newcomer to his neighborhood, Archie says, “Hi, cat!” The cat sits, looks him up and down, and purrs. It turns out to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Keats’s vibrant palette brings this humorous, fast-paced story to life.

Activities:

Make your own backyard theater – Here’s some free kids scripts

The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation has a wonderful list of resources for educators

PBS Kids has a lists of plays for kids to have fun with

Adopt a kitty of your own! Petfinder.org or locate the nearest Humane Society in your area and visit or foster a pet!

Why I like this book:  I love Ezra Jack Keats of simple storytelling. He lets the reader “fill in the blanks”. I also enjoy his style of illustration. Every book of his that I have read I have loved. He knew how to interpret life in an urban environment and make it interesting and engaging for the reader, no matter what age.

Perfect Picture Book Fridays are a weekly blog event where participants review some of their favorite picture books. The posts are compiled on author Susanna Leonard Hill’s website. They are categorized by theme to help parents, educators and readers find the perfect picture book easily. To learn more, please visit Susanna’s site where you will find the complete PPBF’s library.

My choice this week for Perfect Picture Book Fridays is the hilarious picture book, Listen Buddy

Title: Listen Buddy
Author: Helen Lester Illustrator: Lynn Munsinger
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company 1997
Ages: Pre K- 8
Themes: Animals, Adventure, Humor, Consequences, Listening Skills
Opening/Synopsis:

Buddy’s father had a beautiful big nose. He was a great sniffer.
Buddy’s mother had beautiful big teeth. She was a great chomper.
Buddy had beautiful big ears. It didn’t matter.
When Buddy’s parents sent him to the vegetable stand to get a basket of squash,

he came home with a basket of wash.

From Publishers Weekly – (Warning! Spoilers!)

His ears are enormous, but listening is not the forte of a bunny named Buddy. And his misinterpretations of his parents’ requests make for the sort of silly confusion that youngsters love: when his father asks for a pen, Buddy drags in a disgruntled hen; instead of the slice of bread his mother wants, Buddy turns up with the sawed-off headboard from a bed. Taking his first solo “long hop,” Buddy forgets whether he is supposed to take a left or a right when the road forks. He selects the wrong route, of course, and ends up at the cave of the Scruffy Varmint, where he unleashes merry mayhem in trying to help that cranky creature cook soup. After the varmint decides that he’d rather eat stew made from “the Bunny rabbit who never listens,” Buddy hears him loud and clear. If lacking the all-out pizazz of Lester and Munsinger’s Tacky the Penguin, this sprightly paced tale amiably nudges kids whose direction-following skills need some honing. Munsinger’s watercolors-and Buddy’s comical expressions in particular-are characteristically entertaining. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Activities:

I found a neat little children’s play based on Listen Buddy

iTunes has a Listen Buddy app

Helen Lester’s & Lynn Munsinger’s Houghton Mifflin Author & Illustrator page

Playing a game like “Telephone” is a fun way to to teach children about listening
Why I like this book: I love the humor in Listen Buddy. The funny things Buddy comes up with when his parents request something (“hen” instead of “pen”) will make the reader giggle. Munsinger’s delightful illustrations are a perfect combination with Lester’s comedic writing. It’s a fun way to introduce children to the concept of paying attention and listening to instructions.

Perfect Picture Book Fridays are a weekly blog event where participants review some of their favorite picture books. The posts are compiled on author Susanna Leonard Hill’s website. They are categorized by theme to help parents, educators and readers find the perfect picture book easily. To learn more, please visit Susanna’s site where you will find the complete PPBF’s library.

Here’s the Easter Bunny hurrying to get all of those eggs delivered in time for the Easter Egg hunts tomorrow!

Happy Easter!

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