Perfect Picture Book Friday - Mrs. Armitage Queen Of The Road

I know it's Perfect Picture Book Friday and I'm supposed to lead off with that, but two quick things first.

1. Just a reminder that next Friday, June 14, will be our last PPBF until September, as we go on summer hiatus.  I will miss it, but I need the time to update, and also to do some other things... like write!... and finish cleaning out my basement! :)

2.  It's NATIONAL DONUT DAY!!!!!!!  So have one on me, even though I don't usually serve snacks on Fridays :)

Now then.  My Perfect Picture Book for the day:

Title: Mrs. Armitage Queen Of The Road
Written & Illustrated By: Quentin Blake
Peachtree, September 2003, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 5-8

Themes/Topics: fun, friendship, making the best of things

Opening: "One morning, Mrs. Armitage came downstairs and found a letter on the doormat.  She read it to her faithful dog Breakspear.
Dear Anastasia,
Because I am buying a new motorcycle,
I won't need my old car anymore.  I would like
you to have it as a present.  It's parked outside.
Here are the keys.
With love,
Your Uncle Cosmo"

Brief Synopsis:  When Mrs. Armitage receives an old jalopy as a present it doesn't look particularly exciting, but she is ready to give it a try.  She sets off with her faithful dog.  Mrs. Armitage has her own style of driving, however, and before long the old jalopy is dropping parts left and right.  What to do?  Nothing stops Mrs. Armitage!

Links To Resources: I didn't find any actual links, but here are a few activity suggestions:

• discuss what it means to be queen of something, like "queen of the road" then have kids think up what they'd like to be queen (or king) of.  Why would they like to do that?  What special clothes might they wear?  What special accessories might they have?  What special things might they do?
• Write your own story, individually or as a group, in which someone is the queen (or king) of something.  Illustrate it.
• Mrs. Armitage's car loses part after part after part until, though it maintains its function, it looks very different than it stared out.  Choose a vehicle and draw it the way it's supposed to look.  Then draw it again seeing how much you can take away so that it can still do it's job but it looks entirely different.
• Read the other Mrs. Armitage books, all equally entertaining :)

Why I Like This Book: LOVE Quentin Blake's delightful illustrations and sense of humor and fun!  Mrs. Armitage is a delightfully quirky character who just makes you wonder what she'll do next.  Just wait until you see who she meets up with and what her car looks like by the end :)

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

Have a great weekend, everyone!  And tune in Monday for the July Contest announcement and the revelation of the fabulous prize! :)  (Wish me luck thinking up the contest parameters over the weekend and feel free to share ideas in the comments if you have any :))  PPBF bloggers be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below!