Skip to main content

World Rat Day: Poems About Real Holidays You've Never Heard Of


World Rat Day:  Poems about Real Holidays You've Never Heard Of
by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by Anna Raff
Candlestick, 2013.  36 pgs.  Poetry

     J. Patrick Lewis will quickly be forgiven the dangling participle of his subtitle in the delight of his poetry. Beginning with January 2, Cats Day (Happy Mew Year!), Lewis works his way through a year full of oddities:  Dragon Appreciation Day (January 16), Bulldogs are Beautiful Day ("A perfectly lovely/Excuse for a pet/A face you remember/ To never forget"), International Cephalopod Awareness Day (October 8), and, of course, World Rat Day (April 4).  Anna Raff's rats, with personality to burn, appear on most every page with very funny pictures and poems about the kid who can't make it to school on National Hippo Day because something very large is sitting on him, or Mule Day when if you decide to name your mule Jack, you should probably not mention his last name. Truly ingenious rhymes and charming pictures make this a book perfect as a read-aloud for little kids, or a read-alone for their older siblings.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

An ABC of Flowers

An ABC of Flowers   by Jutta Hilpuesch New York, NY : Philomel Books, [2019] It turns out there really is a flower for every letter. This sweet book has a photograph of every flower and  a sweet cartoon illustration to go along with it. All your favorite flowers are here (forget-me-nots, mums, and sunflowers), along with some you probably haven't heard of before (billy ball, kalanchoe, xeranthemum?).  This is a perfect book for reading together, and readers of any age will enjoy every page. Don't miss this great springtime alphabet book. 

Display: Out of this World Books Found Here

Hello By Aiko Ikegami Berkeley, CA: Creston Books, 2019. Picture book. In this wordless picture book, an alien visits Earth, makes friends with a little girl, and returns to his home planet to share his experiences. - Publisher We Are Definitely Human By X. Fang Toronto: Tundra Books, 2024. Picture book. When three mysterious visitors from "Europe" crash-land in Mr. Li's field, he does what any good host would: he invites them back to his farmhouse and offers to help fix up their "car". No, there's nothing strange about these guests at all. Just like other humans, they "make business", "play sportsball" and "wear hat". As the townsfolk also come to the aid of the visitors and the gathering turns into a little party, interplanetary relations reach an all-time high. - Publisher Greetings Floof! Written by C.J. Hong Illustrated by A.J. Smith Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2024. Picture book. Floof from planet Ploof has landed! And it...

If You Like...Dungeons and Dragons

Great news for adventurous, imaginative tweens: we are starting a Dungeons & Dragons program! Nine- to twelve-year-olds are invited to join a tabletop role playing quest in the Story Room on Monday September 14 from 6:30-8:00PM. All experience levels are welcome. Registration opens on September 1 at 9:00AM. In the meantime, here are some books to inspire your upcoming campaign!  The Lionharts Written and Illustrated by Mike Lawrence New York : Abrams Fanfare, 2026. J Comic. 233 pages. The Lionhart family is in the business of adventuring. Alder and Flynt are desperate to be included in the dragon-fighting and monster-slaying quests. When their parents Lenna and Gerard go missing after accepting a mysterious job, the boys set out to save them, soon followed by their famous questing Grammy and Baba to help keep Alder and Flynt out of trouble. The journey brings challenges and opportunities, magic and mystery, but it also reveals a troubling family secret that threatens to tear th...