Perfect Picture Book Friday - Betty Bunny Didn't Do It AND An Almost Contest Announcement!

Hurray!  It's Perfect Picture Book Friday!  And I have a hot-off-the-presses super-fantastic book to share with you today!

Are you ready? :)

Betty Bunny Didn't Do It
Written By: Michael Kaplan
Illustrated By: Stephane Jorisch
Dial Books For Young Readers, February 2013, Fiction

Suitable For: ages 3-7 (publisher says 3-5, but the text is long enough and the story entertaining enough for up to 7 in my opinion)

Themes/Topics: lying/telling truth

Opening: "Betty Bunny was a handful.  She knew this because one day she was jumping up and down in her brother Bill's room yelling, "Play with me!  Play with me!  Play with me!" and Bill said, "Man, you're a handful."  She knew that she was his favorite sister, so being a handful must be very, very good."

Brief Synopsis:  Betty Bunny has done something bad, and she doesn't want to get in trouble.  So she lies.  But lying turns out to be a tricky thing.  Is lying worse than the thing you did that you're lying about?  And if lying is wrong, then how come it's okay not to tell the truth sometimes?  It's hard being 4!

Links To Resources: Talk about why lying is a bad idea.  Share the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.  Talk about the difference between a story and a lie.  Children's Activities About Lying (The Lying King, Lying Masks, The Button Game, The Honesty Train), Why Kids Lie (for parents and teachers)

Why I Like This Book:  Well to start with, it's BETTY BUNNY!  Isn't that enough? :)  But this book addresses a very common and important childhood dilemma - lying/telling truth.  Betty Bunny is so believably child-like in her behavior.  When she does something wrong, to avoid getting in trouble, she tells her family the Tooth Fairy did it.  Her mother knows she is lying and expresses her disappointment.  When Betty's brother Bill does something wrong and admits it, Betty sees how much her mother approves, so she starts telling everything she can think of that she EVER did wrong, along with a whole bunch of made-up stuff - from one extreme to the other :) - until her mother makes her understand that she wasn't proud of Bill for doing something wrong, but for 'fessing up.  Then when Betty tries to show her father how good she is at telling the truth (by telling him he smells bad when he comes home from the gym :)) he explains that sometimes you don't need to tell the truth if it's going to hurt someone's feelings!  So confusing for poor Betty!  And as always, she has her own interpretation and ends the book with her own unique conclusions! :)

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

Now then, my friends, it seems like it's been a little while since we had a writing contest :)  And what better way to fight off winter doldrums than with some contest shenanigans?  Plus this will be a new one - we've never done a contest in March before!  I'm still finalizing details (read trying to decide what to do :)), but the official announcement will go up Monday, and the contest will take place in about the third week of March... if anyone thinks they'd like to do it.  What's the consensus?  Are you up for some fun and games?  Or are you all too busy?  Or does it depend on how tempting the prize is?  Please let me know in the comments!!!  Also, let me know if there's a particular kind of contest you'd really like to try and/or if there's something you really want for a prize!  And we'll take it from there :)

So that's about it for this week, peeps.  PPBF bloggers, please add your post-specific link to the list below so we can come see what you love this week!

Have a GREAT weekend everyone!  By the next PPBF it will be March!  And that means Spring will be here... eventually :)