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Outdoor Books for Summertime Fun
By Holly E. Newton

Summertime is a great time to read to your 4- to 8-year-old children as you enjoy the great outdoors.  Here is a list of some fun, and funny, picture books to read out loud under a shady tree.

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The Mixed-Up Rooster, by Pamela Duncan, is a fun read-aloud about a rooster, Ned, who just can’t seem to wake up the hens at dawn with his cock-a-doodle-do.  He says, “I’m just not a morning bird.”  So the hens fire him and hire another rooster who can crow when the sun rises.  But Ned ultimately saves the day when he spots something creeping up to the henhouse.  The vivid paintings, beautifully illustrated by Megan Lloyd, bring each animal to life and help liven the story as Ned is about to become a hero.

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And while we’re on the subject of farm animals, here’s a funny bovine story that begs to be read aloud.  Dooby Dooby Moo, by Doreen Cronin, and illustrated by Betsy Lewin, is another hilarious story about the famous barnyard collaborators who decide to enter themselves in the county fair talent contest.  (Their previous book, Click Clack Moo:  Cows that Type, won the Caldecott Honor in 2001.) 

Farmer Brown detects something is amiss with his animals when he hears musical sounds coming from the barn late at night.  But day after day he sees nothing unusual with his farm.  Each day the animals practice and practice as the big day for the contest gets closer. 

Cronin has each set of animals practicing a different song with their farm sounds, making this the perfect and fun read-aloud.   The cows are practicing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”  The text reads, “Dooby, dooby dooby moo. Dooby moo, moo, moo, moo, moo.”  As you read, or sing, each part of the animals singing their song in their language, the words fit the music making this book fun and funny to read aloud!  The artwork fits perfectly with the story, and Lewin draws each animal with a comic zest and ability!

There must be something funny about cows because here’s one more book on the subject.  Manny’s Cows:  The Niagara Falls Tale, written and illustrated by Suzy Becker, is full of funny antics by young Manny and his cows. 

It begins with Manny hating the last day of school because everyone in class tells where they are going for summer vacation.  When the teacher asks Manny what he is doing for the summer, he states, “Well, you can’t exactly go on vacation when you have five hundred cows.”  But he begins to dwell on where he could go and take his cows along with him.  He decides that Niagara Falls would be the trip to take for his troop of cows and lines up food, milk pails and buses for all 500. 

The trip becomes an adventure full of hilarious dilemmas that include rest stops that become long due to the lines for the cows waiting to use the ladies' restroom and spilling and breaking items in the gift shop.  The illustrations are as hilarious as the text as you read about Manny and his funny cows.  The premise is unique and hopefully more stories will come from talented Becker. 

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Mrs. Crump’s Cat, by Linda Smith, is a delightful tale about a lonely woman who finds a cat on her doorstep one rainy day.  She exclaims that she has “no use for a cat” and shoos it away.  But before the door slams all the way closed, the cat sneaks in and finds that Mrs. Crump has placed a log on the fire.  So the cat warms up in front of the fireplace, making Mrs. Crump decide that when the cat is dry she will send it away.  But each time she attempts to do so, she finds that she can’t.  This little ball of fur has wormed itself into her heart and made her much happier while doing so.  David Roberts has beautifully illustrated each page making the reader enjoy and peruse the page, especially the inside of the store that has the look of a time long ago.

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Mars needs Moms!, written and illustrated by Berkeley Breathed, is an unusual look at moms from the planet Mars.  Milo is sick of his mom making him eat all his broccoli and taking about the trash.  He thinks she’s a “summer-stealing, child-working” mom.  But his opinion is about to change when Martians kidnap him to Mars where there are no moms.  The story is a hoot and the illustrations are even funnier making this a book that’s sure to be read again and again!

Sometimes you just need a book to take along on trips to the store or to visit relatives and that book needs to be long enough and good enough to capture your little one’s attention for the entire trip.  Animal Tales is a Little Golden Book Collection that is filled with some favorite stories that youngsters adore.  Some of the nine tales include:  “The Saggy Baggy Elephant,”” The Big Brown Bear” and “The Kitten Who thought He was a Mouse."

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