Donut Feed the Squirrels by Mika Song

Norma wakes up and begins to cook a batch of pancakes. She wants to share them with her friend Belly but because she leaves her cooking to find him the pancakes are burned. As the two friends discuss what to do next they smell something delicious.

"like honey ... it smells like crispy sugar, oil, and a hint of linden flowers."

This smell is coming from a donut van which has parked nearby.  Norma and Belly do not have any money but they do have lots of chestnuts. They pop these on the van counter but the human donut seller is horrified and he grabs a water spray bottle and sprays his small animal customers. Norma and Belly are desperate to eat one of those donuts so they devise a very clever plan.

The library I visit each week use date due slips for their books. This is a great way to see the frequency of borrowing for individual titles. Donut feed the Squirrels arrived in the library in May 2021. This is not a large school (around 300+ students) and yet I see this book has been borrowed twenty times.

Awards for Donut Feed the Squirrels:

• 2021 Eisner Honor for Early Reader 
• Chicago Public Library Best of the Best 2020
• Michigan Great Lakes’ Great Books Award 2021-22
• 2021 The Center for Children’s Books Gryphon Award Honor and
• 2020 The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Blue Ribbon in Fiction
• The Nerdy Book Club Pick
• Indie Next List
• Junior Library Guild Pick
• Texas Little Maverick Reading List 2020-21
• Cybils Award
• ALA Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading List
• ISLN Red Dot Short List 2022-2023

I highly recommend Donut feed the Squirrels. A perfect book for a newly independent reader and a great way to introduce chapters - there are five chapters in this book. 

The paperback edition of Donut feed the Squirrels has a different cover (Pushkin Children's Books).

Take a look at the webpage for Mika Song. Here are some other books from this series:

I previously talked about Agatha May and the Angler Fish by Nora Morrison and Jessie Ann Foley illustrated by Mika Song.

What About Worms? by Ryan T Higgins and Mo Willems

"I love a book that worms its way into your heart."

What About Worms is the perfect book for a newly confident reader - it is funny and it is easy to read and it invites a reader to use lots of voices. This is also a book that a young reader will be happy to read over and over again. For adult readers you might also think about the way this book 'breaks the fourth wall.'

Tiger is not afraid of anything - well no he is very afraid of worms. 

"Worms are slimy. Worms like to wiggle. And you cannot tell their tops from their bottoms."

Surely there are no worms nearby. Oh, look a lovely pot of flowers! Oh no wait a minute worms love dirt. What if they are lurking in the flowerpot? Oh, look an apple. Delicious. Oh no wait a minute worms love to hide inside apples AND our hapless tiger just took a bite! That book on the path looks good but is that a worm on the cover? Tiger just has to run away. Meanwhile some worms emerge from the ground. They are so afraid of tigers.

"Tigers are furry. Tigers like to walk. And you can tell their tops from the bottoms."

Is there a way the tiger and the worms can actually discover the truth about one another? Perhaps the book will help.

Higgins’ latest addition to the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading series is an exclamation-point–packed, liberally uppercased rambunctious rollick through the irrational world of phobias. His Hobbes-like feline is a master of inscrutability (NOT!). Expressions ranging from cheesy grins to abject terror race across the tiger’s face faster than you can thumb a flipbook. Kirkus

The book-within-a-book will intrigue beginning readers, and the Elephant/Piggie speech-balloon format will seem like a familiar friend as they follow along (look for a surprise appearance by the Pigeon). Redeemed Reader

This book won a Geisel Honour in 2021. This book would be the perfect addition to your library, your kindergarten classroom or your preschool. 

This book is from the hugely popular and hilarious series - Elephant and Piggie. 

You might also look for these as a way to continue the fun!

The Worm

Fish and Sun by Sergio Ruzzier

Young Fish is cold and bored living under the sea. He tells his mum won't bother with breakfast - he is going to find a different place where it is warmer and more interesting. Up near the surface Fish sees Sun. Sun is warm and best of all Sun is fun! They play hide and seek, and Fish demonstrates his ability to spit out water but then something terrible happens. Sun sinks down and the sky turns red. 

"Sun are you okay? You seem a bit red."

"I know, I'm setting."

Fish returns home to his mum feeling very sad. He has lost his new friend. But wait - tomorrow Fish swims near the surface again. It is a cloudy day and at first he cannot see his new friend. Then the clouds part and yay - Sun is back!

This book has just over 160 words! And it is an example of a very simple graphic novel or as my friend calls them - Toon. The whole plot is told through a simple dialogue and using speech bubbles. AND this book is cheap here in Australia at only AUS$13. Oh, and this book has a satisfying story so it is a book you can read to a child, re-read to a child, and then later they will read it to you! (You cannot say that about silly school reader books or the new phonics books called decodables). Perhaps you could even take turns with your child and read it with two different voices.

The book nearly sparkles with color: The sun-dappled palette is one of warm, eye-catching, and elegant pastel shades. The book’s dialogue is set in bold black text in clean, white speech balloons.  Kirkus Star review

This beginning comic reader is an ideal introduction to the sequential art format, and the guided reading series provides a short tutorial for budding comic fans. Ruzzier presents a delicately designed story of friendship full of intimacy and emotion. His textured watercolors mirror the environment as well as the shifting moods of the lonely Fish. School Library Journal

If you are unfamiliar with this style of book there is a handy guide to reading the speech bubbles on the first page. Kirkus explain this - Like many titles in the series, this one includes a page at the beginning that demonstrates the fundamentals of reading comics, including the order in which panels should be read and the differences between various types of word balloons. Each spread consists of a single panel, with thoughtful separation between the left and right sides.

Fish and Wave from the same series won a Theodore Geisel Honour in 2023. 

The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year.   The winner(s), recognized for their literary and artistic achievements that demonstrate creativity and imagination to engage children in reading, receives a bronze medal.

There are three more books in this series:

Due out June 11th, 2024

I previously talked about Sergio Ruzzier and his book A letter for Leo (not a Toon or graphic novel). Try to find A letter for Leo it is such a sweet story about friendship and letter writing.

A Letter for Leo

Sergio Ruzzier is a picture book author and illustrator. He was born in Milan, Italy, in 1966, and began his career as an illustrator in 1986. Sergio has written and illustrated many picture books, including Fox and Chick: The Party, a 2019 Geisel Honor Book; Fish and Wave, a 2023 Geisel Honor book; Two Mice; and more. ... His work has won many awards, including the Parents’ Choice Gold Medal for The Room of Wonders and This Is Not a Picture Book!. After many years in Brooklyn, NY, he now lives in a very old house in the Apennine Mountains in northern Italy. 

Untitled by Timothy Young

Heaps of schools and children talk about this book - The Book with No Pictures. Yes, it is funny but I cannot grasp how children can ask for this to be read over and over again. Surely the joke is a "one hit wonder". Anyway, I guess I am wrong because this book appears on so many lists and seems to be constantly recommended. 

Can I now suggest this book - Untitled - could be your next go to funny book for young and slightly older students.

Who are the characters?

• Carlos - a coatimundi
• Ignatz - a porcupine who transforms into a capybara
• The author - he is also a character albeit a silent one

The title page has a joke which sets up the tone of the story:

"Hey, Ignatz, what time is it?' 'I don't know, Carlos. He didn't draw me with a watch."

And so we turn the page and see the two characters waiting for the story to begin. Their dialogue on the next page is shown with different fonts.

"I wish he'd send us on some kind of adventure to battle dragons or monsters or aliens or something."

And yes, the page now has a huge fierce dragon, a monster and an alien - the omniscient author/illustrator has been listening. Then the friends wonder if the story could be set in the wild west - and yes it can! Or perhaps it could be set under the sea. Then turn the page for a shock - it's a Dr Seuss scene.

"He'll probably throw us into a scene from somebody else's book. .... Yeah, you're right. He's a bit of a show-off that way."

And now we come to my most favourite page. Ignatz and Carlos are in a library surrounded by books from other authors - but no no no - look closely. The titles are so funny. Corduroy is now called Carlos, The travels of Babar is The travels of Capybara, Captain Underpants is Capybara Underpants, and The Day the crayons quit is now The day the Capybara and Coatimundi quit.

Image source: Schiffer Publishing

"You know what, we're almost at the end of the book and I don't think anything interesting is going to happen."

I'm not sure these two realise the author/illustrator is listening. Be careful what you wish for ... something big is about to happen!

Untitled is packed with so much subtle and ingenious humour. Helen Ishmurzin

Now for the bad news. This book was published in 2019 and while it is still available (thanks to my friend from Kinderbookswitheverything for purchasing this book for her library) it is expensive here in Australia but if your budget can stretch I do recommend you try to find this book. 

Companion books:

You're Finally here!

Now go back to the beginning of this post - surely you are curious?

What is a coatimundi?

They look like a combination of a lemur, raccoon, and monkey with possibly a bit of piglet thrown in, coatimundis are officially part of the raccoon family. These furry creatures mainly inhabit parts of South and Central America but can also be found in Arizona and New Mexico. They hang out in trees and have brown-colored fur and a long snout that helps them forage for insects and fruit.

The name coatimundi is believed to come from the Tupian languages indigenous to South America. Their word, kua’ti, is a combination of “cua” meaning “belt” and “tim” meaning “nose,” describing the way the coati sleeps with its nose tucked into its belly. 

Read more:

Treehugger 11 Interesting Coatimundi Facts

San Deigo Zoo

National Geographic kids (photos)

I don't want to be a frog by Dev Petty illustrated by Mike Boldt

"I want to be a cat."

"You can't be a cat"

"Why not?"

"Because you're a frog."

"I don't like being a frog. It's too wet."

"Well, you can't be a cat."

And so it all begins. Can frog be a rabbit? Can frog be a pig? Can frog be an owl? Then frog meets the Big Bad Wolf. He loves to eat cats, rabbits, pigs, owls and even badgers. BUT ... there is one animal he never eats!

This book is perfect for young readers who enjoy books by Mo Willems (Elephant and Piggie; and the Pigeon books).

Here is a bookshop blurb: Frog wants to be anything but a slimy, wet frog. A cat, perhaps. Or a rabbit. An owl? But when a hungry wolf arrives--a wolf who HATES eating frogs--our hero decides that being himself isn't so bad after all. In this very silly story with a sly message, told in hilarious dialogue between a feisty young frog and his heard-it-all-before father, young readers will identify with little Frog's desire to be something different, while laughing along at his stubborn yet endearing schemes to prove himself right.

There are three more books in the series - I Don't Want to Be Big: There's Nothing to Do!: and I Don't Want to Go to Sleep.

Here are other books illustrated by Mike Boldt. Mike Boldt comes from Alberta, Canada.  Here is the website for Dev Petty. 

The Bear who Wasn't There by LeUyen Pham

"Dear reader you will find the bear on page 9. Signed Anonymouse"

"We have to get away from this duck! Turn the page."

"Wait! Look! There is the Bear! He's hiding behind the next page! Turn the page, quick!"

These text samples might give you a tiny idea about the writing in this book which contains multiple voices  - a duck, a narrator, a mouse, assorted animals and the author herself! And there is regular text and assorted speech bubbles along with very zany cartoon characters. 

Here is the text from the last page:

"Well that does it. We've reached the end of the book. I guess there really IS no Bear her. Unless ... "

Hint check under the dust jacket. Oh and do look at the back cover - it is funny too!

Readers are encouraged to explore, pore over details, and follow the comical clues. The wordplay is delightfully nonsensical. Look—and laugh out loud. Kirkus Star

Publisher blurb: Bear has gone missing! When he doesn't show up in the book he's supposed to star in, his friends rally to find him. Who will find him first? Will it be Giraffe, who himself seems to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or Cow, or even the author herself? Duck doesn't seem concerned that Bear is missing. In fact, he seems to be trying to steal the show for himself! But after pages of searching high and low and everywhere between, Bear appears after all, somewhere utterly unexpected. LeUyen Pham's latest picture book invites readers to join the hilarious search for the titular missing Bear.

The library I visit each week has a large selection of Toon.  Toon books represent a whole new approach to books for beginning and reluctant readers—a rethinking as radical as the first time Theodor Geisel put a hat on a cat. Each book is just right for reading to the youngest child, ... (they)  offer early and reluctant readers comics they can read themselves.

Read about LeUyen Pham here. She is the illustrator of the popular Princess in Black series. The Bear who wasn't There is listed in hardcover for an amazing price right now (August 2022) so I can recommend you consider adding this funny book to your school library - it is sure to be popular. 

The Bear who wasn't There can be classified as a 'Meta" book. Here is a definition: Meta books acknowledge the structure of a story. A character may even acknowledge they are in a story and realize they are playing with its structure. In THE BEAR WHO WASN’T THERE, the narrator and the animal characters all realise they are part of a story. The duck keeps trying to interrupt the story and make it about him. Sings are left for the reader and the narrator talks to the characters.  Picture Book Summit How to Build a Book: 4 Things You Can Learn from LeUyen Pham

You could pair this book with:

What will you be Grandma? by Nanette Newman illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark

"One day Lily asked her grandma, 'What do you think you'll be when you grow up?' 'Well,' said her grandma, 'a lot of people think I've grown up already.' 'Oh no,' said Lily, 'you've got a long way to go yet."

Grandma could grow wings and fly around the world looking for people who are kind; or she could become an artist and paint rainbows; or a gardener who makes delicious food. But really Grandma just wants to be a grandma and to simply love little Lily.

I have a few questions about this book. Nanette Newman is an actress and she has written over 30 books. Her granddaughter is called Lily. Emma Chichester Clark has a series of wonderful book about Blue Kangaroo and the child in these books is also called Lily. So did Nanette Newman meet Emma Chichester Clark? Did the publisher see this link and ask Emma to illustrate this book? This book was published in 2011 but I have been able to find new copies (in hardcover). 

This grandma is not a stout grey-haired lady but a spunky, lithe, bespectacled brunette who happily takes part in every flight of fancy—sometimes decked out in feathers or looking quite fetching in everything from butterfly wings to a wizard hat—until it is time for bed. Young readers will take the cue from this slightly silly tale and enjoy coming up with their own ideas for what their grandparents or other family members might grow up to become. Kirkus

Unusually for a picture book, the narrative is nearly solely based on dialogue between grandmother and granddaughter; two fonts are used for young audiences to distinguish the two characters. Library Mice

I recently talked about A Small Person's Guide to Grandmas. what will you be, Grandma is the perfect companion book. 

We Found a Cat by Heidi McKinnon

Something arrives in a box. Look closely. The box says "this way up" and "beware".  The older sister is delighted. She is sure this is a cat but her little sister is not convinced. In fact little sister really can see the truth but her big sister has decided this is a cat and that is all she can see. Readers are sure to agree with and sympathise with the little sister and it does look like we are heading for a disaster.  

Using two voices is a delightful way to tell this warm, funny, and playful story. This is a great example of a picture book where the illustrations add a different dimension - you really have to 'read' them to get the whole joke. This book provides a perfect way to explore visual storytelling with young readers.  The page where the tiger “smothers” mum and dad is hilarious. The cross reference to the Cat in the Hat with the goldfish and the huge cat is one many adult readers will recognise. Of course, the ending, while it might not especially original, it matches perfectly with the fun of the previous pages.  And this book is sure to make you want to revisit an old classic - The Tiger who Came to Tea. 

The end papers, which bracket the book’s timeline, will give astute readers enough of a hint about the shared joke which is the basis of this book. I adore the ball of wool on the half title page and the way the same wool tangles over the title page. 

The matt, beige paper used in this book provides a perfect background to the art on each page and the restrained, almost retro palette, is very appealing. Using the younger child character as the ‘voice of reason’ is very affirming for all younger siblings. In this book so few words can say SO much.  

One of my favourite things to consider is the sharing of our Australian books across the world. We speak English and so our books can be shared in USA, Canada, New Zealand, UK and South Africa. We Found a Cat is such a splendid picture book and I think it is one that should be shared with children beyond our shores. Not because it contains an especially deep message but just because it is funny and because it is a perfect book to share with a preschool child who will enjoy being "in on the joke". 

If you love Elephant and Piggy and books with dialogue and confusion you will really enjoy We Found a Cat. And the art in this book is sure to remind you of illustrations by Jon Klassen. 

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Here is the web site for Heidi McKinnon.  You could pair this book with these:

Would you like a Banana?

This is a dog

Blue Badger

You're finally here!

Read more about Pat Hutchins