Critter Sitter & Lulu's Magic Wand

Gr 1–3—Critter Sitter (2008), a classic chaotic tale of pet sitting gone terribly wrong, features colorful, imaginative cartoon illustrations by author/illustrator Chuck Richards and humorously voiced narration by Mike Pongracz. All the usual comic suspects misbehave for the sitter, Henry: Slobberchops the hound, Bubbles the goldfish, Muss Purr-fect the cat, Flip the tree frog, Peepers the cockatiel, and escape artist Slinky the snake. Lulu's Magic Wand (2012, both Walker) takes place on a family trip to "Adventure Planet," a fairly ordinary theme park until Lulu's dad wins a magic wand and chaos ensues at the amusement park when the child makes some outrageous wishes. Viewers discover that "a real magic wand is no toy for a toddler!" In both books, Richards's terrific artwork is scanned. Each book cleverly ends with a "what if" scenario, which is an ideal setup for a successive story and can be a great extension for students. Most valuable of all is the author interview which gives insight into his craft and will be extremely useful to help students analyze the creative writing process.—Lonna Pierce, MacArthur and Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, Binghamton, NY