Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!
As you all know, I am behind (not even going to say how far!) in updating the Perfect Picture Book List. One of my problems is that Blogger overloaded due to how much I was trying to put on that page. I’m trying to sort out a better system. Stacy, the wonderful and generous, put together a possible plan which I haven’t had time to figure out yet, but in the meantime, at the very least, I have two (2!) things to mention.
1. I am experimenting with using Pinterest for the theme lists, so many Perfect Picture Books, grouped by theme, are on Pinterest HERE.
2. The complete alphabetical list of books that have been done through April 10, 2015, is on another blog HERE. It is grouped into titles A-H, I-P, and Q-Z. Although all the titles are listed, the vast majority have yet to be linked to their reviews because I haven’t figured out how to get an eighth day into the week just for PPBF updating 🙂
There is a theme list on the new blog and it is complete – all the themes are listed alphabetically, and they connect to the Pinterest boards… but the Pinterest boards are only partially loaded.
There is a list of contributing bloggers on the right side of the new blog which I know is incomplete. If you’re a contributing blogger whose site isn’t mentioned, please feel free to email me and I’ll add you in – I just couldn’t remember everything off the top of my head so have been adding slowly as I go along – and I apologize for not getting you up there already!
As I said, I’ve been experimenting, so things are a bit at sixes and sevens and this is a stop-gap measure until I can figure out what is going to work best for this amazing and impressive list. In my dreams, I’d also like to list the books in a way that would be helpful to writers looking for mentor texts – examples of parallel stories, or wordless picture books, etc… But like I said, I lack an eighth weekday… so we’ll see 🙂
As for today’s Perfect Picture Book, I have a fun one for you, because sometimes books should just be fun 🙂
Title: Meet The Dullards
Written By: Sara Pennypacker
Illustrated By: Daniel Salmieri
Balzer & Bray, March 2015, Fiction
Suitable For Ages: 4-8
Themes/Topics: humor, family
Opening: “One day, Mr. and Mrs. Dullard received quite a nasty surprise. [art: children are reading books: Becoming One With The Tightrope and The Nicest Way To Befriend A Lion] The Dullards collected the books and handed their children some nice blank paper to read instead. Then they left the room to discuss the problem in private.”
Brief Synopsis: Mr. and Mrs. Dullard are committed to raising a dull family, doing everything in their power to keep their children safe from the evils of applesauce cake, puppies, and thinking. If only they knew… 🙂
Links To Resources: talk about family traditions: what are some things you do as a family? How are these things alike or different from what other people do with their families? Do you think people are “weird” if they do things differently? Discuss things to do together as a family. In this book, the kids are completely focused on joining the circus while their parents concentrate on being dull – in a group or individually, think up and illustrate another Dullards story where the kids have a new plan and practice making the story say one thing while the pictures show another. Why is this funny?
Why I Like This Book: I have long been a fan of The Stupids and, more recently, The Dumb Bunnies. The Dullards are full of tongue-in-cheek humor. Mrs. Dullard faints at the sight of flowered wallpaper. The Dullards’ idea of fun is (actually!) watching paint dry. And when Mr. and Mrs. Dullard see a snail crossing the driveway they pack up their family and move away from such dangerous excitement. Meanwhile, readers (young and old alike) will enjoy the illustrations which depict the elder Dullards picking out paint (gray or beige?) oblivious to their offspring juggling paintbrushes, climbing on clotheslines and befriending puppies. The contradiction of the text and the deadpan illustrations is entertaining every time through the book! This book is just plain fun! 🙂
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!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂
http://www.simply-linked.com/listwidget.aspx?l=e238d3d1-cb31-401b-8553-7e4b283042bb
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Fainting at the sight of flowered wallpaper? I'd love to meet Mrs.Dullard! Good luck with the PPBF solution crisis, and if we can help by uploading out picks on multiple sites/locations let us know! Three cheers for Stacy for trying to help!
This looks like a great book to read on a dull and boring day!
This book does sound FUN! I can't wait to read it. I am checking it out right now along with The Stupids. I love picture books that make me laugh.
Stacy is a dream come true. She is wonderful and I hope things get sorted out.. I wish for you an eighth day. I like what you have done so far in pinterest and am going to check out right now.
I am so up for books that are simply FUN! Thanks for all the work you put in to making PPBF as accessible and useful to as many as possible.
I haven't read this one. Thank you for taking the time to list all the PBs!
I also meant to say I have a board on Pinterest for PPBF as well. When I went to pin your site on my board it didn't pin. Don't know why but I wish it would. I did pin your photo and the PPBF logo though as that was all it allowed.
A funny book and clueless parents–sounds like a winner! To keep from getting sucked into another time-waster I haven't joined Pinterest, but now it looks like you have given me a reason to (sigh).
OH does this EVER sound hysterical! Requesting it from my library!
And you are AMAZING, Susannah. Thanks for all you do for those perfect picture books. WOWOW.
The Dullards sound like fine neighbors, if you ask me.
And this sound like a hilarious book.
When my son was little, I used to tell him a story about the Boring family (to which nothing ever happened) to bore him into sleeping. It didn't work all that well. I wish I'd had this book–although I'm sure it would have had him laughing instead of sleeping. It sounds (and looks) hilarious!
Love the book…I need to read more funny books to use them as mentor texts because I want to infuse more humor into my stories.
Susanna…I am totally there with you on the overwhelm issue. What is happening to time? Has it fallen into a black hole? Did aliens come and steal it away? Is the thinning ozone layer to blame? Hey…maybe that would make a cute picture book! See, that's the problem…everything I see and hear becomes a story in my mind and I want to sit down and write it. Home-cooked meals and clean laundry are over-rated, right?
Thank you to Stacy for lending a hand/thought to help you organize the incredible pb resource you have accumulated. Maybe when she is done with that, she can come over here and organize my life. 😉 😉 😉
I leave for Chicago on Tuesday for a week of family visits…and need to get this house in order and food prepared so that hubby will not be lost while I'm gone. Have a wonderful weekend, Susanna!
Thanks for this book suggestion. It looks VERY funny. 'Can't wait. And I LOVE the new alphabetical list! How did I miss that before now? I'll be adding it to all my posts. Great resource, thanks!
Back from spring break and out from under the daunting pile of emails. It took me a week. Geez….I'm slow.
The Dullards is hilarious! Love the tongue in both cheeks. 😀
And I can't believe how much work it must be to list all those books in any kind of order. I would not be up to the challenge. Good luck!
First off, thank you for all of your work on creating and maintaining Perfect Picture Book Fridays. I have learned about some of our favorite picture books through your site. I really appreciate all of your work. It is an amazing resource.
Meet the Dullards looks like a lot of fun and very funny! I look forward to reading it!
I think you'd get a kick out of this book, Julie 🙂 And yes, Stacy is awesome, and if I can get a half hour to explore her plan (which I think you were in on) I will see if I think I can make it work (which of course requires that I be able to do it, and we all know technology is not my friend!)
Well I must say! You have made my day letting me know you actually use the site and it's been helpful! I sometimes wonder if anyone does (besides the writers who contribute)! I'm so glad you like it! And I think you'll like the Dullards too 🙂
Hope your spring break was wonderful, Jilanne! And glad you're a Dullards fan too 🙂 As for the list… if I could just catch up and then be disciplined about keeping up it wouldn't be so bad!!!
I hope you like the Dullards, Joanne! And as for the list… it's coming along. The problem is, I don't think it's searchable as a page on Blogger, which makes it less useful than it could be because you have to scroll through everything… but… work in progress 🙂
Glad you like the book, Vivian! It's a funny one 🙂 And although I'm sorry you have time struggles too, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one! Stacy is the cat's pajamas and one of these days I'm going to sit down and see if I can understand her system enough to use it 🙂 I hadn't thought about having her organize my life, but now that you mention it… 🙂 Have a great time in Chicago and enjoy your family!!!
That is practically the same story, Linda! You'll have to read this one so you can see how close it is to your idea 🙂
It's very funny, Mike 🙂 I think you'd like it!
You're very kind, Joanne, but I don't do enough! If I did, everything would be up to date!!! I hope you enjoy the Dullards 🙂
It's a fun book, Wendy – I think you'd enjoy it 🙂 And I think you can look at Pinterest without having to join… should you feel the urge… 🙂
I hope you get a chance to read it, Manju – it's funny 🙂 And listing the PBs is my JOB! It's just a job I don't keep up with very well 🙂
I know, Joanna – me too! I love fun books 🙂 And you're welcome… but I don't do nearly enough or it would be way more organized and caught up!
It IS fun, Clar! I hope you like it.
Hmm… that is odd. But then again, I don't really understand how Pinterest works. But it seem like it should have pinned… And P.S. I sent you an email – I did put links on Edmund – sorry for the delay – and if he's not on the Pinterest board yet I'll try to get him there soon.
It's even better than watching paint dry, Sue 🙂
We all appreciate the never ending work you do the PPBF page. Bless Stacy!
Haven't heard of The Dullards. The cover looks like a dull book. But, the magic seems to be inside the pages with the humor.
You do a FANTASTIC job Susanna logging all these books including putting one up yourself every week. I am knocked over by a feather at how you can maintain all this. If only I could find some way of magically making an extra 30 minutes for you appear. I would! Good luck with that. The new blog looks good. Love your hilarious pick for this week. Have a great if not a somewhat relaxing weekend. 🙂
This sounds soooooo good. I'm happy my library has it. I just ordered it up. Thanks for telling me about it.
Ha ha! I think Mrs. Dullard would like me.
Are you prone to wearing gray? 🙂
I hope you like it, Rosi! 🙂
You're very kind to say so, Diane 🙂 I'm not sure I do a very good job of keeping up, but I do love PPBF and all you awesome folks for being such staunch supporters and awesome contributors and making it all that it is!
The cover looks dull on purpose, Pat 🙂 The juxtaposition of art and text is really fun 🙂 At least I think so… let me know if you read it what you think!
Sound like a good read, and a good laugh, which i'm always up for! Maybe it's good we don't have that eight day… Imagine how much more we'd keep on packing in.
This sounds AWESOME!!! That's it! I'm getting it! 😀
This book looks hilarious! I've never read any of these you mentioned. I have to work on changing that lol And I think we all have that “far behind” problem. OH, I want to meet the person who has the answer as to how to fit 48 hours in each day! There IS, in fact, an eighth day of the week, though. Just ask Dianne Salerni! http://diannesalerni.com/books/the-eighth-day-series/
Thanks so much for everything you do, Susanna!
You are the best! 🙂
Hi!!! I can't wait to read this one! Sounds like so much fun. Not dull at all. Ha!
I think you need nine days…what a job! But thank you for compiling this list. I know I've been missing and I've missed being here. Life needs brakes! I actually headed over here today to check the list for a review of a book. It's such a great resource 🙂
I'm glad you find it helpful, Penny! There is so much I want to do… I feel like I could just put my head down and work all the time… but I have to keep stopping for grocery shopping and stuff 🙂
I know – isn't the Dumb Bunnies great? And this one is so fun too!
It is a fun book, Donna 🙂 And yes, 48 hours in a day would be magnificent! If I could just catch up, maybe I could keep up! 🙂
It's definitely right up your alley, Erik 🙂
You know, you might be right about that Michelle! Maybe the problem is less with time and more with the fact that I have too may ideas and can't say no! 🙂
Oh, Susanna, this has been my goal—and battle—for decades. Then, just when I'm close to getting caught up (well, for the most part), life interferes and keeps me from KEEPing up, so I fall behind again and have to catch up again! The biggest problem is choosing what needs to be eliminated so there's less to catch up on and keep up with! I tell you, the blogosphere and internet, in general, is simply TOO MUCH! I'm sure you'd agree lol