What's Basbusa reading?

I saw Library Lion recommended over at Supratentorial, and we absolutely loved it. It's the story of a lion who wanders into a library, and, entranced by the stories and books, soon makes himself at home - until, in an attempt to help his friend the head librarian, he gets banished from his beloved library. All turns out well in the end, but along the way there's a touching story about friendship, a discussion of the power of rules and regulations, and, of course, the joy of libraries. We go to the library maybe four or five days a week, so that's a message we can sympathize with! Basbusa and I both loved this one, so we also checked out a new book by the same author, Argus. It was ok, but nowhere near as charming, in my opinion. Basbusa liked it, but didn't ask for endless re-reads.

I can't remember where I saw The Lorax recommended, but I would never have gone browsing through the Dr. Seuss shelf spontaneously. Dr. Seuss wasn't huge in Ireland when I was a child - we had The Cat in the Hat, but that was it, as far as I can remember. More recently, I had glanced through some other titles in our library, but wasn't wild about them, and assumed that The Cat must have been the pinnacle of the author's work. Oh my goodness, how wrong could I have been? We loved the Lorax. Basbusa still spontaneously recites bits of it (at least a month after we returned the book to the library), and refers to "gluppity glup and shloppity shlop" quite matter-of-factly when encountering goo in everyday life :) The story - just in case there are others besides me who have happened to miss this one - tells the tale of a nefarious Once-ler, who gradually chops down a whole forest of Truffula Trees in his quest to make himself rich selling thneeds, despite the vociferous protests of that friend and guardian of trees and barbaloots, the Lorax. It's a light but thoroughly heart-felt introduction to the idea of industrial pollution through an exciting and engaging story, told in poetry that rises to a level far above that of the well-known but well-worn Cat.

Pickle-Chiffon Pie was an accidental library find, and it was one of the most enjoyable once-upon-a-time stories we've read so far. The plot is the fairytale classic of three princes competing to win the hand of a beautiful princess, but the imaginative nature of the illustrations and of the competition itself - to find the most unusual thing in a very unusual forest - make the story both delightful and funny. Prince Bernard is initially certain that he will beat Princes Musselbaum and Wellred with his discovery of a Three-Nosed Snozzle who knows how to make the king's favorite dish, pickle-chiffon pie. But then he spots three baby Snozzles, hiding behind the trees while he leads their father (mother?) away, and can't bring himself to split up the happy Snozzle family. Of course, the tale ends up with a happily-ever-after, along with rewards for thoughtfulness and kindness.

My Name is Elizabeth was a favorite of Basbusa's right from the first reading. Elizabeth likes her name, and strongly objects to being called Beth, Lizzy, or any other variation of it. Basbusa could easily sympathize with her frustration, because Basbusa strongly prefers her own nickname, but finds people continually choosing to use her "real" name instead. She liked the story for its own sake, but I think she also liked seeing how Elizabeth eventually spoke up, and told people what she liked being called - and finding that everybody quite happily complied with her request. This book also served as a vehicle for explaining the difference between speech-bubbles and thought-bubbles, a concept which Basbusa found very interesting.


Linking up with What My Child is Reading and Read-Aloud Thursday.