Leroy Ninker Saddles Up by Kate DiCamillo

Leroy Ninker Saddles Up (Tales from Deckawoo Drive #1) by Kate DiCamillo
Candlewick Press

Rating: 4 stars

Yippie-i-oh! We've lassoed an early reader for you!

(Define "early reader?" A book that has more pages than an easy reader, five to ten short chapters, illustrations to keep kids interested and give them clues about the text, appropriate language and content for young readers, and serves as a bridge between easy readers and middle grade novels. Generally, the age range is 5 to 8.)

Leroy Ninker is a little man with big dreams of being a cowboy. He has a lasso and boots and cowboy hat, but he lacks a horse. Which is kind of important. So he goes and finds a horse, and that horse is Maybelline. She is not the gallant steed named "Tornado" he imagined; rather, she's a big ol' nag with only four teeth. But it is love at first sight for Leroy Ninker.

Maybelline is funny in different ways than Leroy is funny--she requires certain care that made Ben laugh out loud. For example, to get Maybelline to run, Leroy must compliment her. He must whisper sweet nothings into her ear. "You are the sweetest, most beautiful horse I have ever had the fortune to lay eyes on," he says to her. And off she goes!

Despite Leroy Ninker's goal of becoming a cowboy, and despite the procurement of one fine steed, he doesn't know how to take care of a horse. But he's got such a big heart and doesn't let his cluelessness get in the way. He tries his very best! I love the image of little Leroy trying to get oversized Maybelline into his apartment, and the fact that he cooks her spaghetti for dinner. 

The climax of the book comes when Leroy Ninker doesn't follow the instructions he was given for Maybelline, and she runs away because of an oversight (of his). He goes to "make it right" and is determined to find her. Which he does--I love how in these early readers and middle grade, too, that you can depend on a happy ending. In fact, the happy ending in this book involves Mercy Watson, the pig in Kate DiCamillo's other series, and I realize that Leroy Ninker is another resident on Deckawoo Drive and this book is a spin-off from the successful and great, you-should-read-it-too Mercy Watson series.

This book is proof that Kate Dicamillo still has her finger firmly on the pulse of what kids think is funny. And she has a knack for producing wonderful tales. Leroy Ninker, a story of a simple man fulfilling his dream, is another one of her great stories. I can't forget to mention that the fantastic Chris Van Dusen illustrates this book. (He writes and illustrates picture books--they are THE BEST!) He fills most of the pages with the bright-eyed, needle-nosed cowboy and a goofy but sweet-looking horse. They are quite the pair. They're in love, but I'm pretty sure most readers will fall in love with them.

There you go. An early reader book to give your early reader kid as they ride off into the sunset.

Yippie-i-oh!

President Taft is Stuck in the Bath by Mac Barnett

President Taft is Stuck in the Bath by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen

Rating: 4.5 stars

This is a book for kids who are completely SURE, absolutely POSITIVE, completely CONFIDENT that they hate books.  Because I dare--triple dog dare!--those kids to keep their arms folded in disgust and resist picking up this book.  It is just too big an invitation to partake in serious silliness.

You know the story: President Taft was a hefty fellow who allegedly got stuck in his own bathtub.  Poor guy, his most embarrassing moment is what parents and educators use to lure our kids into learning more about Presidents of the past...

Mac Barnett has taken that simple allegation and transformed a wild and silly romp of a story about Taft's time in the tub and how he gets out.  "Is this true?!" Lorelei and Ben asked, over and over, as we read the book.  They were reacting less to the story than the fantastic, colorful, hilarious illustrations created by one of our favorite illustrators, Chris Van Dusen.

According to this story, which I explained to my kids was "inspired by a true story," President Taft calls in different people to help him out, and they all have solutions to match their expertise.  The Secretary of Agriculture churns butter to help grease him out (Taft quips: "As soon as I'm out of the bath, I'll need a bath!"). The Secretary of State suggests a diet.  ("Blast it! I need something fast!") In each of these meetings, President Taft is naked in a surely cold bubble bath, his chubbiness exposed to those in the room and those reading the book.

Finally, with a big heave-ho, seven people pull him out and he catapults through the window, finally free but still very naked.  Bubbles help protect the innocent readers…  As everyone congregates and congratulates on the White House lawn, Taft meekly requests his bathrobe.

A wild and funny book, for sure!


(Confession:  To be honest, I really dislike watching embarrassing things.  There was a touch of that in the book for me, and I also felt a little badly hearing my kids laugh at a man's obesity.  I know, I know…way to bring a party down, Kate…!)

If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen

If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen

Rating: 5 stars

We are huge fans of Maine author Chris Van Dusen.  His three Magee books get checked out (literally) a whole lot.  His If I Built A Car book is read whenever one of my three kids spots it around the house.  Could Van Dusen really write another book that is just as wonderful as these four?

Yes.  Yes, he can!  And (much to our delight) yes he DID!  (Did you hear my kids and I just go crazy with applause and cheering?)

The race track room is (not surprisingly) my boys' favorite room.

This time, the boy/narrator plays in his backyard and starts designing a creative structure with the Legos, sticks, Tinkertoys, and Frisbee that are within reach.  He begins to tell his mom that their house is okay, but if he built a house, he'd do it a whole lot differently.

The rooms he thinks up are the stuff of kids' wildest dreams: a tall, tall room with a button that takes away gravity and allows you to fly, a bedroom similar to the Space Needle that has an elevator to get you up and a twisty, turny slide to get you down, a living room that includes built-in trampolines on the floor that guide you to a pit with oodles of soft balls.

Playdate at this kid's house, please!

But all of those rooms come after the kitchen, which interests me very much:

We'll start with the basics, right off the bat
Check out my all-in-one Kitchen-O-Mat!
You don't have to cook and you don't have to clean
It's done by a space-age robotic machine
It makes all the meals and the food is deee-lish!
Then it washes and puts away every last dish.

If I Built a House is, I think, a bigger hit than If I Built A Car for the simple reason that smaller kids can design non-moving, house-like structures more easily than they can create vehicles that must move.  Whenever we read it, the kids' next move is to grab blocks or Legos, Tinkertoys or Play-doh, or simply just paper and pencil and think up the house of their very own.

Once again Chris Van Dusen has created magic with this magically creative book!

If I Built A Car by Chris Van Dusen

If I Built A Car by Chris Van Dusen

Rating: 5 stars

The creativity packed in If I Built A Car by Chris Van Dusen is pretty incredible.  You'll be able to see it when the book is over--something crazy happens when you read it that makes me think there is some magical transference of creativity from the pages into my kids' heads.  I mean, I think that some of Van Dusen's imagination actually gets implanted into their own brains and they just…start thinking up some crazy awesome things.

It's just a simple little story, really: a boy drives along with his father and says if his father's cool, classic ride: "This car is fine, but I'd design something a whole lot cooler!"  And then…he does...

I'll work through the night to create a design--
Constantly analyze, tweak, and refine.
I'll study jet rockets and look at old planes,
Contemplate buses and zeppelins and trains.
To make it as smooth and as sleek as an eel,
I'll borrow ideas from the Wienermobile!

The boy is not joking.  He took all that into account to create one kick-ass car.  (Not that I encourage you to use the word "kick-ass" with your child while reading it, but I assure you the word will bounce into your head because the boy's car is…kick-ass!)

Try and disagree after you read this:

Now that we're cruising, let's head to the lake.
There's no need to panic or slam on the brake.
My car can do something that very few can.
The fenders will float like a catamaran!
We're skimming the waves and we're having a ball!
But wait--hold your horses, 'cause that isn't all.
Boating is fine till we get the urge 

To dive underwater…Then just hit SUBMERGE!

We'll fly over land! We'll fly over seas!
To Alaska, Nebraska, Bermuda, Belize!

What kid doesn't love the sound of that?  Van Dusen not only produces these fabulous rhymes; he also created illustrations that match the excitement in his verse.  The boy's dad's face is priceless in every picture--he is panicked in the illustration on the lake (because they're about to hit Mr. Magee and his dog Dee, who wonderfully pop up in this book), and in shock when the car later becomes a rocket. His expressions are beyond kid-friendly; they are spot-on, hilarious, and wonderful.

I read this to my kids at least a dozen times in the first few days that I got the book--and of course I got it as a birthday present for my nephew, which means we've been extra careful reading the pages but they have, in fact, been turned a whole lot.  Because, simply put: This. Book. Rocks!

Mr Magee and his dog Dee books by Chris Van Dusen

Rating: 15 stars!  (or, 5 each)

Here are the facts about all three of these books, before I get to the details of them individually:

1. I've had them from the library for far too long. Two are due today!  But I really don't want to return them.
2. Kiefer and I have read them every-which-where, including but not limited to: the gas station, Ben's gymnastics class, the library, and carpool.
3. They are fun, fun, FUN--wonderfully silly and witty read-aloud books that just do not get old!
4. The word choice is just perfect, with mostly known words he bends into a rhyme and creative, stretch words sprinkled throughout.
5. The illustrations are fantastic, jump-out-from-the-page, retro masterpieces.
6. Van Dusen lives in Maine, so each of these books has hints of Maine, which is a nice twist if you're heading there this summer or if you live there year-round or if you wish one/both of these were true.

And now, to a few details about each book (though you really don't need details.  Just get them--order them or buy them or swipe them from my library bag Thursday afternoon if you're feeling especially wily)…

Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee

Oh to have a picture book debut like THIS!  With big, splashy pictures and a wonderful rollicking rhyme Van Dusen tells the tale of a man and his dog (that's Magee and Dee) who like to take little jaunts on their boat.  This little jaunt goes awry when a curious whale checks out their boat and, with a mighty spray, sends them up in the air and then right into a tall, tall tree.  They're stuck.  Yikes!

But it's the whale and his pals who come to their rescue by smacking their tails down all at once to create a tidal wave that makes the man and dog un-stuck.  They fall down safely and decide that their uneaten lunch should become dinner once they've returned to their cozy cabin up the hill…

From under the sea the little whale spied
Magee and Dee's boat--but not them inside
He longed for adventure.  He wanted to play.
So he bumped at the boat in a most friendly way.
Then the whale placed his blowhole directly below
And ever so gently he started to blow.

Learning to Ski With Mr. Magee 


I think this is my favorite.  Mr. Magee decides he wants to learn to ski, so he packs Dee on his back and decides to try his luck on a rather large hill by his house.  Things are going surprisingly okay until a moose meanders across their path in search of a succulent birch.

Magee tries to ask him to move, but the big old moose does not; man and dog wooooosh under him and, when their skies get snagged by a branch, they get stuck at the top of a ravine.  They do get out, with the help of said moose using their upside down skies as a bridge.  Seeing man and dog fly through the air is definitely a riot!

It's a silly tale told with gusto, and I read it once four times one morning when Kiefer was on a Magee kick.

The moose turned around and what did he see?
Mr. Magee and his little dog, Dee!
The moose was so shocked he stood frozen in fear.
But Mr. Magee hadn't learned how to steer!
And he knew very soon they were going to collide,
So he called to the moose, "Would you please step aside?"

A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee

This is definitely Kiefer's favorite.  He loves how Magee and Dee head off with their retro camper (okay, Kiefer doesn't describe it as "retro" but…it is) and park very happily and a little cluelessly near a little stream that--this only happens in children's books, or does this happen in Maine?--turns into a raging waterfall just a smattering of feet later.

After they tuck in for the night, a bear with bad eyesight stumbles along looking for treats.  He finds an open bag of marshmallows, but on his way to the bag he ducks under the trailer hitch and un-hooks the camper from the truck!  Dog and man roll back into the stream and are kept from going over by a big rock.  The bear's bad eyesight is actually the reason they escape a watery adventure (whew!!) and man and dog decide to return home a little early from their camping trip.

They were caught in the rapids--but that wasn't all.
They were headed smack dab for the big waterfall!
Dee and Magee both started to quiver,
As faster and faster they headed downriver.
But just when they thought they'd fall over the edge…
Their camper got stuck on a rock at the ledge.

Is it bad that I think the look of panic on Magee's face is downright hilarious?  Van Dusen gets his facial expressions so right--a mixture of clueless and adventurous and shock at finding himself in yet another disastrous position.  Clearly I hang around kids all day.