For this lovely Perfect Picture Book Friday before Easter, I have chosen a book...
... that has nothing whatsoever to do with Easter at all.
Not in any way.
Even I, a master of twisting things around to suit my theme of the day, cannot really see how to make a book about cheese connect to Easter. But it's still a good book! :)
Written By: Nancy Gurney
Illustrated By: Eric Gurney
Random House 1965 (also HarperCollins 1986)
Suitable For Ages: 3-8, great for beginning readers
Themes/Topics: tolerance, getting along, problem-solving
Opening: "Once upon a time, in a faraway country, there lived a king. He lived in a beautiful palace. He had everything he liked. He liked cheese best of all."
Brief Synopsis: The cheese-loving king has the best cheese makers in all the land. The cheese they make smells so good that it brings in mice from the country. The king doesn't like sharing his palace with mice, so he calls on his wise men to come up with a solution. But the solution doesn't work out quite the way they had in mind! :)
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| how cute is this mouse? :) |
Links To Resources: Fun Facts About Cheese (with some other links), Kids Facts About Dairy Products, History of Cheese, Cheese Making
Why I Like This Book: Any book that includes the sentence,"'Listen, boys, let's make a deal," said the king.'" already has a point in its favor :) I love the way the king and the wise men, in an effort to solve the palace's mouse problem, make it far, far worse. It's the kind of cause-and-effect snowball situation that is full of hilarity and that kids love. The wise men call in cats to chase away the mice, and then dogs to chase away the cats, and I won't tell you the rest because that would spoil the fun :) But the message of the book is one I really like - that it's important to learn to get along with one another. And ultimately, the book tells a circular story... so I'll leave you to try to figure out how :)
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
Now that I've shared my book, I think we should have some fun. I believe it's time for our annual What's Your Favorite Color Of Jellybean Poll :)
Ready? Go!
I will admit that I love red and black equally and could really not decide!
Have a great weekend, everyone, and Happy Easter! :) PPBF bloggers, please put your post-specific links below so we can all come visit! :)
