I’m Bad

I’m heading to the downtown Seattle Barnes & Noble this morning to take part in a fundraising book fair sponsored by the Parent Advisory Council of the North Seattle Community College affiliated cooperative preschools. I’m going to be reading a couple books and will probably throw in a song or two for good measure. If you’re in the area, come on down. I start at 11 a.m.

Parent educator and author Elizabeth Crary will also be there to talk about her terrific book, Dealing With Disappointment.

I’m planning to read one of my all-time favorite pictures books, Storm Boy, by Paul Owen Lewis. At school I like to read this one along with Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are to the older kids then spend time finding similarities between these two deceptively simple, yet incredibly rich stories.

The second book I’m planning to read is the latest book from the wife and husband team of Kate and Jim McMullen, the folks who brought you the fantastically energetic I Stink and I’m Mighty. I love reading these books in class. They’re full of fun sound effects and a kind of childish bravado that really grabs the kids’ attention. This one is called I’m Bad and stars a romping, stomping T-Rex. The only thing that makes me a little nervous is that I’ve never actually read this entire book before (only the few pages you can see online), so I’m placing my trust in the authors. I’m heading down early to make sure I’ve read it a couple times first. I long ago learned to never read a book aloud cold. You never know what you’ll find in there!

I’ve threatened to wear my pink bunny costume, but decided against it. I’m worried it’ll scare the kids who don’t know me.