Storytime (vlog): I Will Surprise My Friend! by Mo Willems

My, oh,  my! Since Leslie raved about Mo Willem's Elephant and Piggie books here, Talon and I haven't been able to get enough. We've read  all in the series multiple times. And Leslie was right, these books never get old.  

I Will Surprise my Friend! is the first one we spotted at the library. We read it right then and there-- and giggled and laughed out loud. Yes, it is that funny. 

Here is Talon's Storytime vlog review:

As you saw briefly in the video, Elephant, Piggie and their friends speak and think in word bubbles.  And much of the meaning is conveyed through these cute little animals' facial expressions and body language-- and that adds to the funny. 

(Light bulb moment! Just realized these books would be a fun teaching tool for my students who have difficulty interpreting social language cues!)

 In this book, Elephant and Piggie decide to surprise each other by the big rock... they wait and wait on opposite sides of the rock and, of course, Elephant's imagination runs away with him...

  
He imagines scenario after scenario of horrible things that might have happened to Piggie.  The ever practical Piggie thinks Elephant must have went to lunch.

Then they nearly give each other a heart attack! Talon loves the next page when they both fall over on their backs. 

Such a cute book.  Aren't the word bubbles fun?! And the facial expressions are priceless.


That Mo Willems is a genius!


Talon and I join Leslie and her kiddos in highly recommending the entire Elephant and Piggie series. And the Pigeon series too... hysterical! 


If you are fans of Elephant and Piggie, which is your favorite book in the series?

If you haven't met Elephant and Piggie yet, go to the library immediately... read one ... don't laugh too loud and get shushed...then come back and report.



Linking to: Book Talk Tuesday at The Lemme Library

Kid Konnection at Booking Mama

Bargain Book Bonanza (30): Wildwood Dancing

Welcome to Bargain Book Bonanza!


Lesa is hosting this week!

Greetings, book buddies! BBB is back in 2012-- hopefully on a weekly or bi-monthly schedule. But possibly less if life gets too busy. That is the great thing about being a blogger: one can make up the rules then change them or break them.

Now on to my BBB book...

I can't wait to show off this beautiful book that I found for one dollar at a Texas Hastings (a chain that sells new and used books, movies, music and video games) during my Thanksgiving week of seriously bizarre bad juju. Finding this book was very good juju and a turning point in the juju department.  

Isn't the cover breathtaking?  There are so many minuscule delights hidden in the cover art that I discover something new every time I look at it.  

 But I didn't buy it just for the cover. 

The title influenced me too. It was just too evocative for a girl with the soul of dryad. You know how I love trees and forests.  

Then the synopsis clinched the deal. One of the shortest and simplest that I've ever seen but irresistible. 

Five adventurous sisters...

Four dark creatures...

Three magical gifts...

Two forbidden lovers...

One enchanted frog...

Cross the threshold into the Wildwood, and enter a land of magic, daring, betrayal, and true love.

That is it and all it took. 

Wildwood Dancing was lost amid all my bargain books but I found it this past weekend and I can't wait to read it. In fact, I'm going to start it even though I'm absorbed in a reread of Great Gatsby. I'm suddenly in a fairytale mood.  Fairytale moods are like that...

Have you read this book or any others by this author?

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BBB is a book haul linky party for bargain loving bookworms!

Want to join the party? Just visit the Bargain Book Bonanza page for the particulars.

Win an IPAD2 and Kindle Fire!! Rafflecopter Launch Party Giveaway!

The  super cool and very generous guys at Rafflecopter are celebrating the launch of the new version of Rafflcopter with an awesome giveaway!

Enter to win an IPAD2!

 And whoever refers the winner will win a Kindle Fire!

Suggest a name for the Rafflecopter mascot. If your suggestion is chosen, win a Kindle Fire!!

Wow! What an exciting giveaway! 

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only. It ends February 9.

For your convenience, enter to win right here at Baja Greenawalt's Cozy Book Nook. And don't forget to say 'Lesa' referred you.  I already have a Kindle Fire so will giveaway any that I win. 

Have fun and good luck!
 




a Rafflecopter giveaway

On Fire with Lesa in 2012! Dance Party!

 (I have a deep dark bookish secret. Can you guess what it is from the conspicuous clues? And grooving is mandatory-- no matter where you are)

Happy second week of this beautiful new year! Is your year off to a blazing good start?

Great balls of fire! Mine certainly is.

I've been in a searing frenzy of productivity around the old homestead.  Start rearranging furniture at midnight? Hot damn, I'm just heating up at midnight.

And in the blogging department? Well, lately, I've been neglecting poor Baja in favor of my everything else blog, Dusty Us Diaries. 

BUT as the embers of 2011 burn to ash, the sparks of 2012 have ignited an inferno of exciting book bloggy ideas.  So stay tuned! 

And my reading? Off to a sizzling start with Summer by Edith Wharton. It is a scorcher! (teehee)

Using all the these fiery words tickles me. Hope you are amused too and not ready to toss me onto a pyre.  Okay, moving along, just in case. 

Have you guessed my secret yet? Are you burning to know? (teehee again)

Aw, you're so flaming brilliant, I bet you already figured it out. 

Alright, I never in a million years (or at least 5 years) expected to say this but here goes.... the big reveal... 
 


I received a Kindle Fire for Christmas! 

I  am actually the bemused proud owner of an e-reader. And a super cool high tech e-reader at that. Me. The girl with no ipod. The girl with a dumb phone.  (I did just upgrade to a smarter phone with a slide out keyboard and touch screen but kept it deliberately dumb-- no texting/interneting for me!)

And now I am with Kindle Fire.

Dang, I don't know nothin' 'bout reading on e-readers!

Ha, looks like I don't know whether to smile or grimace. Just momentary cognitive dissonance though. 


My mind was a whirl of: Uh buh.. no e-reader is my trademark. OMG! A KINDLE FIRE! Uh buh.. I prefer real books. OMG! A KINDLE FIRE! Uh buh... I want to be the last holdout. OMG! A KINDLE FIRE! I CAN GET ALL THE DICKENS' NOVELS FOR FREE!  (And that is no lie. Dickens popped into my mind before all others. my bargain book hunting has been thwarted by Dickens all year)

So yeah, I'm fired up about my new book toy!

Now, if I could only try it out.  That is right, I haven't even tried it out yet (but I have watched Amazon's cool tutorials). 

Why?  There is no wi-fi at my house.  

Why?   My bone idle but charming and bookish (redeeming qualities) Hub bought a wireless router two years ago and has yet to set it up. 

Hahahahahahahahahhahahah! This kills me! It is just so typical of our sitcom-esque life. 

Is your life like a sitcom too? 

Ours is a wonderfully maddening amalgamation of The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy, Andy Griffith Show, Beverly Hillbillies, Gilligan's Island and Fawlty Towers. Really. 


So I'm giving Hub until February to hook up the wi-fi so I can set up my Kindle Fire in the comfort of my own home. If there is still no wi-fi on February 1, I'll go use the library's wi-fi. 


How much you wanna bet that I will be at the library on February 1?

Until then, I will just stand next to my Kindle Fire...

Where do you stand regarding e-readers? If you have one, which one do you have? How often do you use it?