Holiday Edition - Story Time with The Book Nympho

Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Christmas: A Safety Guide for Scaredies (Scaredy Squirrel) 

by Mélanie Watt

Hardcover, 80 pages

Published October 1st 2012 by Kids Can Press

'Tis the season for worrying, planning, decorating, wrapping, entertaining, carolling and, worst of all, fruitcake! Scaredy Squirrel returns with a quirky safety guide filled with practical tips and nutty step-by-step instructions to help readers prepare for a perfect Christmas. A fun-filled guide sure to appeal to all the Scaredies out there!

REVIEW:

I love Scaredy Squirrel's 1st self titled book, so I was excited when I saw the Christmas book on Netgalley.

In this safety guide Scaredy lays out a plan for getting ready for Christmas. He even shows you how to build a "to code" gingerbread house.

If you love squirrel's that are scared of EVERYTHING and don't mind reading a how to Christmas guide that shows you the pros and cons of Christmas and all it's events like decorating and gift wrapping then Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Christmas is a fun holiday read to share with the kiddos.

Arthur Christmas

Released: 2011
Directors: Sarah Smith, Barry Cook
Writers: Peter Baynham (screenplay), Sarah Smith (screenplay)

Cast: James McAvoy ... Arthur, Hugh Laurie ... Steve, Bill Nighy ... Grandsanta, Jim Broadbent ... Santa, Imelda Staunton ... Mrs. Santa, Ashley Jensen ... Bryony, Marc Wootton ... Peter


On Christmas night at the North Pole, Santa's youngest son looks to use his father's high-tech operation for an urgent mission.

REVIEW:

I grabbed this one from Netflix and it was awesome! It was enjoyed by me and my 6 year old son. They humor was on the lines of Shrek and Despicable Me. Funny for adults while still safe for little kids.

The movie follows the Christmas family around. Santa is on what is to be his last "mission" before handing off the title of Santa to his youngest son, Steven. But something happens and one gift gets left behind. So all of the North Pole is turned up side down when Arthur the youngest son of Santa tries to deliver the toy to the child it was meant for.

Arthur gets help from Grand Santa, and he is the start of the movie! Funny old man that's the Grandfather of the family and retired Santa. He is worth watching the movie and he is the reason I give this movie a 5 star candy cane rating.

This all British cast will have you laughing so if you are looking for a family Christmas movie with humor you need to check out Arthur Christmas this year!

Story Time with The Book Nympho

Made a trip the library for some new bedtime reading. 

This is the pile I ended up with.

There's A Dragon Downstairs 

by Hilary McKay

★★★

There's adragon downstairs at Sophie's house.

Every night Sophie hears him...rattling through the cat flap, slinking to the living room, growing and growing in the dark.

Mom and Dad say there's no dragon, but Sophie is determined to find him herself

Award-winning author Hilary McKay and illustrator Amanda Harvey have created a wonderfully imaginative tale about confronting nighttime fears, a story that will delight young children everywhere

REVIEW:

This book kept my son on the edge of his bed wanting to know when the dragon would show up. And when it did we talked about it for several minutes after finishing the book. I love it when a book gets him excited and we have a "meaning full" discussion about it.

Sophie keeps hunting the dragon that is sneaking into her house at night. She dresses up as a knight, fireman an a princess. Because of course dragons like princesses.



Pete & Pickles 
by Berkeley Breathed 
★★★★

Pete is a perfectly predictable, practical, uncomplicated pig. At least, he was . . . before a runaway circus elephant named Pickles stampeded into his life, needing a friend. Pickles is larger than life and overflowing with imagination. She takes Pete swandiving off Niagara Falls. (Sort of.) And sledding down the Matterhorn. (Sort of.) Pete goes along for the wild ride and actually begins to enjoy himself . . . until Pickles goes too far. And Pete tells her she must leave. Yet sometimes the simple life isn?t all it?s cracked up to be.

Pulitzer Prize?winning cartoonist Berkeley Breathed offers two new irresistible characters and a heartfelt, hilarious look at the rarity of true friendship.

REVIEW:

I totally picked this book up just because it had pickles in the title. LOL

Pete is a grumpy pig and Pickles is a fun loving circus elephant. This odd couple become fast friends.

It's a cute story about how opposites attract and how you can find a friend in the unlikely places.




The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School 
by Laura Murray
★★★★
When a class leaves for recess, their just-baked Gingerbread Man is left behind. But he's a smart cookie and heads out to find them. He'll run, slide, skip, and (after a mishap with a soccer ball) limp as fast as he can because: "I can catch them! I'm their Gingerbread Man!"

With help from the gym teacher, the nurse, the art teacher and even the principal, the Gingerbread Man does find his class, and he's assured they'll never leave him behind again.

Teachers often use the Gingerbread Man story to introduce new students to the geography and staff of schools, and this fresh, funny twist on the original can be used all year long. Includes a poster with fun activities!


REVIEW:

This book is so much better when my husband read it to my son and I listened. He does the perfect Gingy from Shrek voice while he reads the gingerbread man's lines. We were laughing our heads off.

It's a cute story about a class making a gingerbread man and then going outside for recess while he cools off. But he thinks that the kids have left him with no promise of return. So he runs around the school looking for the people that made him.



If You Give a Moose a Muffin 
by Laura Joffe Numeroff
★★
If a big hungry moose comes to visit, you might give him a muffin to make him feel at home. If you give him a muffin, he'll want some jam to go with it. When he's eaten all your muffins, he'll want to go to the store to get some more muffin mix. In this hilarious sequel to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, the young host is again run ragged by a surprise guest. Young readers will delight in the comic complications that follow when a little boy entertains a gregarious moose.

 Children's Choices for 1992 (IRA/CBC)


REVIEW:

If you've read any of the If You Give... books then you know they all pretty much read the same way. If you give (blank), in this case a moose something like a muffin then it leads to him wanting more things.

I pretty much picked this one because my inner fat girl loves muffins and I wanted to about a moose.

Story Time with The Book Nympho

Welcome to a new monthly feature, Story Time with The Book Nympho.

Like a lot of you out there, I'm a mom, so I read my fair share of children's books. But I don't feel like I can review enough of those books to support a whole new blog. So I thought I would make a monthly feature where I'll post my thoughts on children's books and movies. This feature will be posted on the 2nd Sunday of every month.

So with no further ado....

Story Time with The Book Nympho

Halloween Edition

Where's My Mummy?
 by Carolyn Crimi, John Manders (Illustrator)
★★★ 1/2

Where's My Mummy is a book that follows a little boy mummy that doesn't want to go to bed. He plays a game of hide and shrek with his Mommy Mummy.

It's a cute and quick bedtime read with Halloween monsters like mummies and vampires.

Creepy Carrots! 

by Aaron Reynolds, Peter Brown (Illustrator)
★★★★

Jasper Rabbit loves to help himself to the carrots in a nearby garden. Til one day he feels the carrots are following him every where he goes.

Creep Carrots is what I imagine what a book would look like if Alfred Hitchcock had written children's books. It's done in black and white except for the orange creepy carrots.

The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches

by Alice Low, Jane Manning (Illustrator)
★★★

Wendy is the youngest of three witch sisters. She is the weakest and smallest. Her two older sisters scare her with their powers and mean attitudes. But one Halloween Wendy finds her own power and learns that she has nothing to fear.

In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories

by Alvin Schwartz, Dirk Zimmer (Illustrator) 

★★★

This book has multi short stories: The Teeth, In the Graveyard, The Green Ribbon, In a Dark, Dark Room, The Night it Rained, The Pirate and The Ghost of John

This one might be a little too scary for some children but I've been reading this one my son since he was 4 (he's now 6) and he loves it. My favorite story is The Green Ribbon.

Hotel Transylvania

★★★ 1/2

Cast: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade

The whole family enjoyed this one. It was funny and just scary enough. The only "bad" thing my husband and I had to say about it was that Adam Sandler wasn't that great. We thought someone else should have done the voice of Dracula. Perhaps Steve Carell.

Netflix Find

Ruby Gloom
3 Seasons (2006-2008) 

★★★ 

Welcome to Gloomsville, where every day may be dark but red-haired Ruby Gloom always finds its bright side. In this animated series, the "happiest girl in the world" dwells with Doom Kitty in a Victorian mansion teeming with quirky spirits.

This kid-friendly animated series follows the adventures of Ruby Gloom, a curiously cheerful girl who lives in a gothic mansion and solves mysteries and other problems with the help of pals Skull Boy, Iris and Misery -- and a cat named Doom Kitty.  (from Netflix)

The character of Ruby Gloom is a small girl with bright red hair wearing a black dress with red and yellow striped socks. She has a pet cat named Doom Kitty, and she is described as "The Happiest Girl in the World." Ruby Gloom was originally aimed towards a gothic crowd but was later adapted for kids. (from Wiki)

My son and I both have been watching this show like crazy on Netflix. I wonder where it originally came from so I looked it up on the net to find out that the show started in Canada and is based off an American apparel franchise.

Fans of Courage the Cowardly Dog and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy will enjoy this cute goth-like cartoon.





Do you have any favorite Halloween books or movies that you would recommend to a Halloween loving family like mine?