Time For A Break

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The Penthouse is perfect, complete with a view. There’s even a terrace with a pool for the crew. Great job, dogs! Our work is all through. Tomorrow we’re off. There’s a new job to do.

Build, Dogs, Build: A Tall Tail, by James Horvath

Safety Police and Dog

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Gloria gave Officer Buckle a big kiss on the nose. Officer Buckle gave Gloria a nice pat on the back. Then, Officer Buckle thought of his best safety tip yet…

Safety Tip #101: Always Stick With your Buddy!

Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann

Notes of interest:

Giggle Book Award: Ninja Family

Every family needs that special play time that just brings the whole family together as a team. For some families it’s a game like football, baseball or soccer. For the family in the Ninja! books by Arree Chung, it’s pretending to be NINJAS!

I strongly recommend reading these books together because the two stories, combined, illustrate the Ninja bond within the family illustrated.

Ninja!

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Ninja! is about Max, a young boy, playing pretend-ninja and causing trouble throughout the house. He wakes up his dad, steals his sister’s cookie and causes her to accidentally fall on her bottom (it was not intentional), which earns the little ninja some punishment time.

Oddly enough, according to the children in my life, the punishment is one of the funniest parts of the book – and it consists of nothing more than a picture of mom’s arm pointing and the little ninja leaving the kitchen, clearly downtrodden, with the words:

I have been shamed.

As mentioned in previous posts, I tend to use children’s books as an opportunity to indulge in a little reader’s theater. In this case, I point to the hand with an ‘uh-oh,’ which is usually echoed by the children because ALL children know what the silent point means. Then I read the words  “I have been shamed” in a very dramatic ‘shamed’ voice.

Giggles galore.

Then the story takes a turn for the better as the little ninja makes amends with his little sister by giving her a costume and saying:

Baby sister, let me teach you the way of the ninja.

And they are off…

Ninja! Attack of the Clan

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Attack of the Clan features Max playing pretend-ninja alone but, this time, he doesn’t want to play alone – he wants someone to play with him. He trying to entice his sister, mother and father, but each one is fully absorbed in another task.

a misunderstanding between father and son leads Max to believe his father has agreed to play hide-and-seek when his father hasn’t even heard what Max was saying. End result? Max confronts his father, realizes the error, and returns to his room with hurt feelings.

This is a scenario most children fully understand.

Then, things change.

Maxwell, time for dinner!

So, Max heads downstairs, looking for the family, and finds dinner on the table but no one around – except the dog who is lapping up the soup. BUT, what Max does not know, but the reader DOES know, is that his entire family has bot on their ninja costumes and taken hiding places all over the dining room.

Surprise Attack!

The entire family jumps out and an epic pretend-battle ensues. First Max takes down dad by poking him in the belly button and tying him up with a jump-rope.

Then he give his mom a kiss and shouts:

The Kiss of Death!

Finally, it’s little sister’s turn.

The little ninja is elusive. She is small but powerful.

Little sister hides from Max long enough to jump on his back and lick his face.

SLURP!

I’ve been licked.

I love my ninja clan!

Between the drawings and the text,the readers theater opportunities are wonderful!

Giggles, giggles and more giggle!

The best part? The family is clearly having a wonderful time playing pretend and bonding through play.

Ninja Brothers Team Up

This is a story about two brothers. The older brother loves to pretend to be a ninja, but his ninja-play can be both rough and mean as he uses his little brother as a target. By the end, the older brother has decided to stop targeting the younger and takes him on as a partner-ninja.

As I was reading this, the children in my life made comments about the older brother’s behavior, such as: “That is very not nice!” and “You shouldn’t do that!”

I suspect this would be a very good book for families with siblings who regularly challenge one another.

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Ninja plan, Ninja scheme.

Ninja lone? No…

Ninja team!

Ninja, Ninja, Never Stop!, written by Todd Tuell and illustrated by Tad Carpenter

Pitch In

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In honor of Zombie Awareness Month I am posting extra quotes from World War Z – Enjoy!

Be nice if that was the lesson people took from all this misery. We’re all in this together, so pitch in and do your job.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

Important Change

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The important changes begin with you and then spread outward to others.

Team Geek: A Software Developer’s Guide to Working Well with Others by Brian W. Fitzpatrick and Ben Collins-Sussman

True Friends Constructively Criticize

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If you can find friends or colleagues who will constructively criticize your work when you ask them, hang on to these people because they’re worth their weight in unobtainium.

Team Geek: A Software Developer’s Guide to Working Well with Others by Brian W. Fitzpatrick and Ben Collins-Sussman

Building Team Culture

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A “strong culture” is one that is open to change that improves it, yet is resistant to radical change that harms it.

The interesting thing about team culture is that, if you build a strongly defined one, it will become self-selecting.

Just as important as your team’s decision-making process is the manner in which team members treat one another, because this is more self-selecting than anything else.

Team Geek: A Software Developer’s Guide to Working Well with Others by Brian W. Fitzpatrick and Ben Collins-Sussman

Women Justice and Freedom

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“We are united in a common cause for freedom and justice.”

“Democracy, justice, and peace demand the full and equal participation of women. Justice is a long-term undertaking.”

Vital Voices: The Power of Women Leading Change Around the World by Alyse Nelson