Ten Fat Sausages by Michelle Robinson

“Ten fat sausages, sizzling in the pan…” begins a fresh take on a familiar nursery rhyme, with every other sausage refusing to go “bang” or “pop” and attempting escape instead. Most are not successful, due to a cat, fan, blender and so forth. But, at the end, two escape – not unscathed.

While the notion of a redo of a nursery rhyme is fun, this particular rendition is rather dark and somewhat unpalatable, so to speak. Illustrations of whirring blenders full of pulverized sausage and sliced or bitten sausages are just…yucky. The accompanying text explains each sausage’s end to the general rhyme of “Ten little monkeys”, but falls short on occasion in its faithfulness to the original rhyming sequence.

There are other “food” picture books out there that might be more fun. Or, buy this one and wait for the reactions when you read it aloud. That might be fun, too.

A Pig, a Fox, and a Fox

A Pig, a Fox, and a Fox is by Jonathan Fenske and is part of the Penguin early readers series. This book is part of a collection of Pig and Fox books by Fenske. In this rhyming book Fox has a toy fox that looks just like him. He uses it to pull pranks on his friend Pig. In the first prank, Fox puts the fox on top of blocks and Pig, seeing his friend in peril, saves fox. He seems amused by the trick of it not being his real friend. In the second prank Pig seems less amused, and by the third chapter they are both done and put the toy away. Both Pig and Fox get frustrated and mad throughout the book with each other and the pranks that are being played. Fox gets progressively more and more injured with each prank and by the end end his injuries are a bit unsettling (black eye, bruises, a band-aid and scratches). The injuries and lack of kindness between friends didn’t make me want to read this book and had me questioning why it was necessary. I have read other Pig and Fox books and have found them funny, this book fell short.

Spacebot by Mike Twohy

One quiet night, the family pup is snoozing in his dog house when something strange happens. The kitchen appliances notice it first. Then, the house looks up. Finally, the pup looks up (yep, that rhymes and so does the book!). A UFO lands and out walks a…robo-dog. The pup is thrilled! A new friend! But, this spacebot is actually a friend of the kitchen appliances, who greet him like a long-lost relative. He points up and they all start to fly, except the pup, who begins to feel a bit neglected. The appliances have a joyous space romp and are finally directed to return to their places in the kitchen, cords trailing. The spacebot turns to enter his UFO and stops to toss a red ball to the pup. This is no ordinary ball, though. It fits on his nose and he begins to fly!

Spacebot is a fun, rhyming frolic of a story. One must smile at the happy group of kitchen appliances as they soar around the night sky. Toaster loopty-loops and refrigerator nearly loses her magnets as they fly around with their electrical buddies. Pup’s disappointment is palpable until he is gifted with the magical red ball. Text is minimal and illustrations are dynamic as the story moves forward. This is a great book for the newly-minted reader and can be used as a read-aloud. Highly recommended.

Mad About Plaid, author and illustrator: Jill McElmurry

This absolutely darling, fun spirited book will capture the imagination of an elementary audience with it’s bold plaid, colorful pictures and crazy antics of the main character, a young girl. She happens to find a plaid, cursed purse in the park. She realized the magic behind the purse as everything around her turned plaid! The occasional repetition of “Piddly-Diddly-Doo” will have some reading or singing along with the refrain. When she turns the purse inside out, the plaid ends, and something new begins. You will have to wait and see the inside of the purse to get your ending to this colorful tale! Wonderful pictures and truly a fun experience reading this book about this plucky girl with the plaid purse. Recommended!