Posts Tagged Ag Ford

Ripe Reads for National Cheese Lover’s Day

Really, today is National Cheese Lover’s Day, and to celebrate we’ve got a spread of “cheesy” books from fiction to food to just plain fun for you to savor.

brick-of-cheese

 

9780545939577Cheese by Sarah Weeks

Oggie Cooder loves cheese so much that he carries a slice of cheese with him wherever he goes. It’s not just for a snack — Oggie is an excellent charver. (Charving is when you chew a piece of cheese to carve it in the shape of something.) The kids at school think Oggie’s charving is a little strange. But when a big TV show comes looking for people with unusual talents, Oggie is suddenly Mr. Popular. Can Oggie charve a path to fame and score an invite to the party of the year without melting under the pressure? No matter how you slice it, you’re going to laugh when you read about one small kid becoming a really big cheese, in this hilarious combination of Oggie Cooder and Oggie Cooder, Party Animal.

 

9781101931219The Birthday Suit (Commander in Cheese #4) by Lindsey Leavitt, illus. by Ag Ford

If you are a mouse, then you might know about Ava and Dean Squeakerton. They are kind of famous, for mice. That’s because Ava and Dean and the rest of their family live in the White House. When a human has a birthday, mice get to eat a BIG cake! When a mouse has a birthday, mice get to throw a BIG party! Ava and Dean can’t wait to surprise Gregory on his birthday. They have the perfect gift: a special Abraham Lincoln suit made just for him! But making sure a mouse arrives at his surprise party on time is not easy . . . especially when a human kid picks up that mouse and wants to keep him as a pet! This chapter book series is sure to thrill readers who love tiny details and big fun. Bonus cool facts about presidents, the White House, and U.S. history are featured in the back of the book.


9781442433083Who Cut the Cheese? (Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder) by Jo Nesbo, illus. by Mike Lowery, trans. By Tara F. Chace

“Large helpings of whimsy, humorous black-and-white illustrations, and the occasional fart joke provide plenty of silliness” (Booklist) in the third Doctor Proctor adventure from New York Times bestselling author Jo Nesbø. Nilly, Lisa, and Doctor Proctor are too busy inventing things to watch TV, and everyone says they’re missing out on the hot singing competition. But then Nilly and Lisa notice that their friends and family are acting really weird. And the only people acting weird … are the ones watching TV. What’s going on is WAY bigger than a singing competition. It could mean the end of the world. Or a silent but deadly could save everything! Let ’er rip.

 

9780545872522The Cheese Experiment (Geronimo Stilton #63) by Geronimo Stilton

New Mouse City was in a panic. A strange epidemic had broken out—mice everywhere were covered in weird blue spots! Mouse Island’s most famouse doctor immediately set to work with his team to try to find the cure… but someone was trying to stop him. Could I figure out who before I ended up blue myself?

 

 

9781481423274Heidi Heckelbeck Says “Cheese!” by Wanda Coven, illus. by Priscilla Burris

Heidi Heckelbeck is a little witch with a big problem: she’s missing her front tooth! Can she fill the gap with some magic in time for class picture day? Heidi Heckelbeck has a loose front tooth, and class picture day is just around the corner. Despite being as careful as can be, Heidi loses the tooth—and ends up with a big hole in her smile! Can she use her Book of Spells to create a new tooth? Or will she have to learn to love her new look?

 

9781561458103The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright, illus. by Barry Moser

Skilley, an alley cat with an embarrassing secret, longs to escape his street-cat life. Tired of dodging fishwives’ brooms and carriage wheels, he hopes to trade London’s damp alleyways for the warmth of ye olde Cheshire Cheese Inn. He strikes a bargain with Pip, an erudite mouse: Skilley will protect the mice who live at the inn, and in turn, the mice will provide Skilley with the thing he desires most. But when Skilley and Pip are drawn into a crisis of monumental proportions involving a tyrannical cook, an unethical barmaid, and a malevolent tomcat, their new friendship is pushed to its limits. The escalating crisis threatens the peace not only of the Cheshire Cheese Inn but also the British Monarchy! Unbeknownst to Skilley and Pip, however, they have a secret ally: a famous author who scribbles away many an afternoon in ye olde Cheshire Cheese Inn…

 

9780545035255Say Cheese and Die! (Classic Goosebumps #8) by R.L. Stine

Discover the bone-chilling adventures that made Goosebumps one of the bestselling children’s book series of all time. Now with all-new bonus materials! Greg thinks there is something wrong with the old camera he found. The photos keep turning out . . . different. When Greg takes a picture of his father’s brand-new car, it’s wrecked in the photo. And then his dad crashes the car. It’s like the camera can tell the future—or worse. Maybe it makes the future!

 

9781512434217Chips and Cheese and Nana’s Knees: What is Alliteration by Brian P. Cleary, illus. by Martin Goneau

What is alliteration? You’ll find the answer inside this bookit’s packed with wonderful and wacky words that start with similar sounds. Brian P. Cleary’s remarkable rhymes and Martin Goneau’s ingenious illustrations creatively present the concept of alliteration for young readers. For easy identification, key examples of alliteration appear in color, and comical cats reinforce each idea.

 

9780399240164Who Moved My Cheese? For Kids by Spencer Johnson and Christian Johnson, illus. by Steve Pileggi

Spencer Johnson’s Who Moved My Cheese? is a bestselling book that has helped millions of people around the world adapt and succeed in changing times. Now Dr. Johnson has adapted his story for the picture book audience so that, starting from the earliest age, children can view change as a positive thing that can lead to new opportunity. Young readers will enjoy following the story of the four little characters, Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw, who make their way through a maze looking for the “Magical Cheese” that makes them happy. And once they find the Cheese, it seems like it will last forever-until one morning when everything changes. Who moved their Cheese? Will it come back? Or will they have to look for different Cheese, venturing onto strange paths, around corners they’ve never explored? As children follow these friends through the maze of change, they can try to figure out which character they’re most like-or which they most admire-and what their own Magical Cheese might be.

 

9780766033153Chocolate Ants, Maggot Cheese, and More: The Yucky Food Book by Dr. Alvin Silverstein, Dr. Virginia Silverstein, and Laura Silverstein Nunn, illus. by Gerald Kelley

Would you eat chocolate ants or roasted grasshoppers? What about maggot cheese or octopus? Authors Alvin and Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn introduce readers to foods from all over the world that students may think are yucky—and foods that we may eat that other people think are yucky, too!

If you know any other “gouda” books like these, let us know in the comments section. We’ll “edam” right up!

Dorian Cirrone is the co-regional advisor for the Florida Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She has written several books for children and teens. Her most recent middle-grade novel, The First Last Day (Simon and Schuster/Aladdin), is available wherever books are sold. You can find her on Facebook and on Twitter as @DorianCirrone. She gives writing tips and does occasional giveaways on her blog at: http://doriancirrone.com/welcome/blog/