This is so exciting! It’s the first Perfect Picture Book Friday of 2016!
(Because I know you guys are a bunch of wild revelers and would have been too tired on January 1st to appreciate PPBF 🙂 Really. That’s the reason. I was thinking of you. It had nothing whatever to do with the fact that I spent the holidays not working :))
Woo hoo!
Just think of all the terrific books we’re going to read and share this year!
And my pick for today is one that none of you have read or probably even heard of because it’s not out yet! 🙂 You’ll just have to drool with anticipation until February 16! 🙂
Before we get to it, though, one quick housekeeping note!
As I mentioned Wednesday, I’m about to have a brand new website and blog! Actually, I kind of already do – it’s up! Which, if you’re reading this on wordpress you know because you’re here 🙂 We’re just still working out a few kinks… so don’t be shocked or horrified if you see a typo or something looks a little off kilter (but do please let me know! 🙂 ) I hope you like it as much as I do!
For now, I’m posting blog posts on blogger and wordpress, but I’m hoping to switch to only wordpress by next week… I just don’t want to leave anyone behind *sniff sniff* That would be so sad! So please add the new blog ( https://susannahill.com/blog/ ) to your reader, or sign up to follow it by email, or whatever system works for you so you don’t miss any of the fun and I don’t miss you! I’m looking forward to a new year full of high jinx and shenanigans serious writerly pursuits 🙂 – among other things very possibly including a writing contest in about 3 weeks, judging by the poll response so far from Wednesday (if you haven’t voted, please go HERE so you can express your opinion :)) so PLEASE! Come along! 🙂 Remember… I have chocolate… not that I’m trying to bribe you or anything… 🙂
So I hope everyone is flocking over here and dragging all their friends and relations along to join the fun and now let’s get to this fabulous book already!
Title: The Almost Terrible Playdate
Written & Illustrated By: Richard Torrey
Doubleday Books For Young Readers, February 16, 2016, Fiction
Suitable For Ages: 3-7
Themes/Topics: friendship, compromise, getting along, imagination
Opening: “What do you want to play?”
“What do you want to play?”
“How about I’m the queen of the universe and my doll, Pippy, is my sister queen, and you visit my castle?”
“Or how about I’m the giantest dinosaur ever and you’re a dinosaur too – but not the giantest – and we stomp around smashing stuff?”
Brief Synopsis: A girl and a boy with active imaginations each have very different ideas about what makes a fun game. Will the afternoon end with two kids playing alone on opposite sides of the room, or will they find something that is fun for both of them?
Links To Resources: Class Compromise Activity for grades 3, 4 & 5 – Planning A Class Party; let your child or student draw a picture of what they think would be a fun game to play; discuss the meaning of compromise and the importance of getting along – what would happen if everyone insisted on getting his/her own way? Give examples of situations where people might have to compromise and have kids discuss how it could be handled, for example if one child wants to go to the zoo and the other wants to go to the playground, or how to plan a family picnic that will be fun for a variety of interests, etc.
Why I Like This Book: First of all, how fun is it that I got to read this book and share it with you when it’s not even out yet?! 🙂 This is a delightful story, told completely through dialogue and illustration (a good mentor text for writers who are working on similar stories.) The writing is spare and there is no written narrative – it’s all a conversation. The girl is completely sure that her idea is best, her game the most fun…and not surprisingly it gives her the starring role. The boy is equally convinced that his totally different idea is best, his game the most fun…and not surprisingly it gives him the starring role 🙂 Anyone who has ever spent time around kids will recognize this dynamic. The children’s imaginative descriptions grow more and more elaborate as they try to convince each other, but it is not to be. Before long the girl is playing her game, and the boy is playing his. But they are side by side… sneaking glances at each other… ultimately unable to resist their curiosity about each other’s games and the allure of having someone to play with, not just next to. The resolution is just right – very believable – and brings young readers full circle. But one of the best things about this book is the art! Childlike crayon drawings depicting the imagined games – SO much fun, and not to be missed!
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you! (Which will hopefully appear… I haven’t tried this on wordpress yet…)
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! And don’t forget (hopefully I won’t forget! :)) that we’re going to have a special blog post on Monday to vote for all the best Would You Read It pitches from September, October and November!
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Wow! I love your new website!! It looks fantastic!!
And this new book looks amazing, one I’d definitely be interested in having in my classroom!
Thanks, Andrea! I’m so glad you like it! And the book is very fun 🙂
Fabuloso! Will the Perfect Picture Book List be accessible from here too?
That’s the idea… apparently I haven’t figure out how to do it properly yet! 🙂
Nice looking website Susanna. Your hard work is paying off 🙂 I like the color scheme, and the layout. Easy to navigate and find what I am looking for. No overload of information in any one spot – very organized. Feels cozy, too. Good job! I subscribed. And I also found your YouTube channel, which I didn’t know you had.
PS You are my first subscriber on YouTube, and I don’t even have any videos yet! Haha 😀 I’m working on it. Thanks for the vote of confidence.
I know I can count on you to put up great videos that I’ll love 🙂
Thanks so much, Christie! I’m thrilled you like it! I’m SO happy with how it’s turning out. Not my hard work though – my fantastic web guy, Arturo Alviar, gets the credit for that. I tell him what I want and he makes it happen 🙂 Thanks for subscribing here and to YouTube! 🙂
The new website looks fabulous, Susanna! And the book sounds fun — and very relatable!
Thanks so much, Gabi! I’m so glad you like the site – I’m really happy with it! – and the book is such a fun one!
Doggone it! I left a message here in the wee hrs of the morning, before I finally fell asleep – but it was a happy sleep because for the first time I was first in leaving a comment on PPBF. But now it has vanished. Was it just part of my dream? To be first in line on your first PPBF post on you warm and friendly new site and blog? In any case, it was a warm and friendly dream! Book looks great!
Even if you technology absconded with your first comment, you are first in my book dearest Jules 🙂 I’m so glad you like the site!
My technology can drive me crazy at times, but then I probably tend to blame it for more than is deserved! Oy veh!
This looks delightful – both the book AND the new site. Definitely will be waiting impatiently for it to come out 🙂 And I LOVE the little sheep in the upper right corner. Just sayin 🙂
Aw, thanks, Joanne! I love that little sheep too… and that little groundhog 🙂
Your site looks great!!! I love this concept. It’s so universal. This book sounds very much like Lady Bug Girl and Bumble Bee Boy by Jackie Davis. Have you read it? Will have to check this one out.
Thanks, Jilanne! I’m so glad you like it 🙂 And yes, I’m familiar with Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy – Jackie Davis lives near me and we have been at book festivals together 🙂
Hi Susanna, Oh what a b-e-u-t-i-ful spank’n NEW WEBSITE!!! Many congrats!!! I love wordpress, I’ve been blogging with it for quite sometime. “The Almost Terrible Play Date,” sounds like a great read, I’ll have to look it over when it’s out. Happy New Year, Cheers!
Aw Shucks, Michelle, thanks! I’m so glad you like it. I feel like I’m stumbling around blindfolded a bit, trying to get used to the new system over here, but I think once (if!) I figure it out it’s going to offer a lot more options! Hope you enjoy the book when it comes out, and Happy New Year to you too!
This looks great, Susanna. Congrats. Thanks for telling me about the book. I will check it out. It sounds cute.
I’m so glad you like it, Rosi! I’m really pleased with how it came out… even though we’re still working on some stuff 🙂 I hope you enjoy this book when it comes out and you get a chance to read it!
Duly followed. And YAAAAAAAY!
Thank you, Mike! 🙂