The Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy by David Soman and Jacky Davis

The Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy by David Soman and Jacky Davis

Rating: 4 stars

Last fall, Ladybug Girl's partner-in-crime, Bumbleebee Boy, got his own book.  We checked it out then and liked it, but my appreciation for the book has gone up between then and now.  Ben, our resident superhero-in-training, and Kiefer, his little brother, are just beginning to play together.

I use the term "play" loosely.  Really, they like to yell at each other, happily taking turns out-shouting the other.  And then there's chase: Ben is doing something and Kiefer zombie-walks near him, Ben screams "Here comes a Kiefer monster!" and runs away, much to Kiefer's delight.  The other version of chase is totally dangerous but even more fun because it involves our dog Guidry racing around the table, with Ben racing, too, and Kiefer...tottering precariously between and around them.  I am certain that our first trip to the Emergency Room will be a result of one such game.

Ben climbed onto my lap with this book earlier today--Lorelei was at camp and Kiefer was napping.  "Let's read this one, Mommy."  Okay, twist my arm.

Bumblebee Boy has adventure after adventure in this book.  He fights pirates and battles dragons.  He faces wild lions and chases after bandits.  On each of these uber-boy adventures, his little brother Owen interrupts and wants to play, too.  "Me be soup hero too!" Owen says, wearing his zip-up footie pajamas and from-the-hospital newborn blanket tied around as a cape.  (Pretty adorable stuff.)

My superhero boys this morning...

At first, Bumblebee Boy is adamant that he wants to play alone, and doesn't appreciate Owen's eagerness to participate at all.  Slowly, with each interaction with Owen, he realizes that these games would be more fun with a partner.  Not only does he invite his little brother to play with him, but he also incorporates what Owen is doing into his own game.  Without a tantrum or bribe or --gasp!-- a parent telling him that he should play (nicely!) with his brother.

Not the best superhero book out there (Max is still my favorite) but...right now it's my second favorite.  The good brothers in the story make me want to check this out every other month, just so Ben remembers that Kiefer will soon develop from a screeching partner to a fellow superhero.  Talking might help a little.

Ladybug Girl at the Beach

Ladybug Girl at the Beach by David Soman and Jacky Davis

Rating: 4 stars

We've fallen into the Ladybug Girl and Fancy Nancy series.  Help!

They are both wildly popular; I think each is okay.  I like Ladybug Girl a little more--she's more adventurous and independent and tough than Fancy Nancy seems to be.  We have read most of the Ladybug Girl series, but we've only read a few of the zillions of Fancy Nancy books.  When our first grade neighbor, someone Lorelei wholeheartedly adores, came off the school bus last week with a few Fancy Nancy books in her hands, Lorelei set her sight on reading all of them.  Oh my.

So, Ladybug Girl.

Ladybug Girl is a headstrong little girl with an older brother who usually doesn't pay much attention to her.  (He is not very kind to her; this is one my least favorite things about the series.)  Her best buddy is her basset hound, Bingo.  While she is brave and tough, her chutzpah sometimes borders on brattiness. 

But this book is one of my favorites, mostly because, as my sister put it, "It explains all the sensations of the beach."  Ladybug Girl is totally excited to be at the beach and she just knows that she's going to love it, but...she didn't realize how big and scary the ocean would be once you got up close to it.  So she does everything except go into the ocean--dig sand castles, fly a kite, run around. 

She carefully tries to go in, but the ocean almost pushes her over, and then nearly drags her in after planting her ankles into the soft sand.  If you've ever stood in front of the ocean as a wave washes in, and then out, you know exactly what she's talking about.  Which is kind of fun, especially for Lorelei who is also afraid of the ocean.  (On her first trip she wouldn't even step onto the sand.  We could have walked a mile away from her and Ben, and when we returned they both would have been sitting directly on the towel, feet as far away from the edge as possible!)  By the end, Ladybug Girl, who seems about 4 years old, wades into the water all by herself.  Hooray!

I plan on taking this book with us (along with a few dozen others, of course) when we head to the beach this fall.