Perfect Picture Book Friday
Yes, I’m on a Ryan T. Higgins‘ book kick. But how could I resist this title: we don’t eat our CLASSMATES (Disney*Hyperion, 2018)? It’s a hilarious back-to-school book and has a reassurance on the title page with Penelope Rex saying, “HEY, KIDS! You will never be eaten by a T. rex. They are extinct. I promise.” I love the twists in this story.
I can see a kid saying, “again” after the book is read. I had to go back and reread it aloud to my husband because he wanted to know why I was laughing. And then I read it again to make sure I hadn’t missed anything in the art.
Here are some activity sheets using art from this book
And if you want some more humor (but truth too) go to Ryan’s FAQ page and read the answer to this question: “How does Ryan come up with ideas for books?”
Tag: Ryan T. Higgins
Be Quiet!
Perfect Picture Book Friday
Be Quiet! (Disney*Hyperion, 2017) by Ryan T. Higgins is a humorous picture book. No surprise if you’ve read any of his other titles, such as Mother Bruce. The cover image definitely introduces the tone, too.
Rupert the mouse wants to make a wordless picture book, but from the very beginning his friends are messing it up. He asks his friends to be quiet, but it doesn’t work so well. Nibs and Thistle, the other mice keep talking. And talking. And taking control of the story. There’s language humor especially when Nibs misunderstands words. And, of course, there’s a twist at the end of the story.
This book makes me think of my youngest daughter at three. She’d learned to talk but then we had the difficult job of teaching her how to be quiet. Would have loved to have had this book.
I keep smiling as I’m typing because this book was so fun.
Read about the author/illustrator Ryan T. Higgins here.
Mother Bruce
Perfect Picture Book Friday*
Mother Bruce (Disney Hyperion, 2015) by Ryan T. Higgins expresses humor from the get go with the title (Goose crossed out and Bruce written above it).
On the first page we discover, “Bruce was a bear who lived all by himself. He was a grump.” And his expression shows that. That are a lot of things he doesn’t like. But he does like cooking eggs into “fancy recipes that he found on the internet.” When he finds a recipe for “hard-boiled goose eggs drizzles with honey-salmon sauce,” Bruce gets the ingredients, and starts to cook, Bruce becomes “the victim of mistaken identity.”
I love the humor in this book with Bruce as the unlikely mother of this group of goslings. Whom he can’t get rid of!
Mother Bruce has won these awards: 2016 E.B. White Read Aloud Award, 2016 Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Honor, and a 2016 Kirkus Best Book.
A new Bruce book came out last October called Hotel Bruce. This is the third book by Ryan and sounds fun too. Read about it here.
You can see Ryan’s sense of humor on his about page where he says:
“Ryan T. Higgins is an author/illustrator residing in Southern Maine. He lives with his three dogs, three cats, two geckos, one tortoise, one son, one daughter, and one wife. As a child, he lived on a diet of cartoons, cheese sandwiches, and climbing trees. At the age of four he decided to become a cartoonist and he’s been making his own cartoons ever since.”
*I’ve joined with Susannah Leonard Hill on celebrating picture books on Fridays.