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Stanley’s Diner Written and Illustrated by William Bee Peachtree Publishers      8/01/2015 978-1-56145-802-8 32 pages     Age 3—6 “Stanley is cooking for some hungry customers. He is also baking a birthday cake—but who is it for? It’s another busy day for Stanley and friends . . .” [back cover] Review Young children will …

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Stanley’s Garage

by William Bee
Peachtree Publishing      9/01/2014
978-1-5614-804-2
Age 3 to 8         32 pages
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“Stanley is working at his garage today. From filling up Hattie’s red sports car with gas to changing the tire on Shamus and Little Woo’s blue car, it sure is a busy day. As his friends each come in with their car problems, Stanley knows just what to do to get them back on the road.”

Opening

“This is Stanley’s Garage. Who will drive in today?”

The Story

Stanley the hamster owns a garage and a green tow truck. He spends the day helping his friends. Hattie needs gas in her car, and, like the days of old, Stanley pumps the gas for her. I love her red sports car. Shamu’s car has a flat tire. While Shamu and Little Woo’s car has a flat tire, Charlie’s car is overheated, and Myrtle, in her purple car, needs towed back to Stanley’s garage. All day Stanley fixes auto problems. It’s a lot of work for one day. Stanley, smudged in black oil spots, walks home. He takes a bath, eats his supper, and heads to bed ready for tomorrow. What job will Stanley take on tomorrow? Will he be a chef at his own diner, or maybe the farmer that grows the food?

Review

Young boys will love the Stanley’s Garage. Stanley does a variety of jobs, all to help his friends. Young boys, and some girls, will enjoy Stanley in his new business. In his garage, Stanley works alone, unlike as a builder with Charlie. The illustrations are basic with large, easy to recognize shapes, separated by solid black lines, which help deepen the colors and drawing one’s attention. The colors are basic primary and secondary colors. Kids should be able to recognize each color, and he basic shapes that compose the items in Stanley’s world, if asked.

I love this clean presentation. The white background helps keep the eyes focused on the illustrations. I like watching Stanley helping his friends and I really wish, like Stanley, garages with gas pumps still pumped the gas for customers. What else has changed that kids might recognize? The text is simple with a few complex words related to automobiles. These words are: radiator, overheating, jacks, tow (no, not toe), and oily. Boys and girls will have a new vocabulary to use when playing with their toy cars.

Young children will enjoy learning about the jobs Stanley takes on in this series. Along with building a house and running a garage, Stanley will be a chef in his own cafe, and grow food as a farmer. What other jobs Stanley might take on in the future is anyone’s guess. After reading Stanley’s Garage, young children will wonder why mom and dad pump their own gas. Stanley’s Garage can help prepare for kindergarten, as they learn the colors, shapes, and new words in each story.

The Stanley books are also a great choice for story-time. The illustrations, thanks to those black lines, are easy to see from a short distance. Stanley has more adventures on the way. Young children will eagerly await each new addition. Next, Stanley runs a cafe and then becomes a farmer.

STANLEY’S GARAGE. Text and illustrations copyright © 2014 by William Bee. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Peachtree Publishing.

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Purchase Stanley’s Garage at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Peachtree—your favorite bookstore.

Stanley’s Collection

Review is HERE

Learn more about Stanley and his series HERE

Meet the author/illustrator, William Bee, at his website:   http://www.williambee.com/

Check out William Bee’s fantastic blog:  http://williambee.blogspot.com/

Find all of the Stanley series at the Peachtree Publishing website:    http://peachtreepub.blogspot.com/

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Also by William Bee

Beware of the Frog

Whatever

And the Train Goes…

And the Cars Go…

Digger Dog – NEW

Migloo’s Day – March 24, 2015

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Copyright © 2014 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews

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Peachtree Publishing Book Blog Tour

Stanley’s Garage

Monday 9/8
Green Bean Teen Queen
Tuesday 9/9
Jean Little Library
Geo Librarian
Kid Lit Reviews
Wednesday 9/10
Chat with Vera
Thursday 9/11
Blue Owl

Filed under: 5stars, Books for Boys, Children's Books, Favorites, Library Donated Books, Picture Book, Reluctant Readers, Series Tagged: automobiles, children's book reviews, jobs, Peachtree Publishers, picture books, Stanley the Builder, Stanley the Farmer, Stanley's Cafe, Stanley's Garage, William Bee

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Stanley the Builder

by William Bee
Peachtree Publishing           9/01/2014
978-1-5614-801-1
Age 3 to 8           32 pages
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“When Myrtle buys a plot of land, she asks Stanley to build her a new house. He works step-by-step—from clearing the site with a bulldozer, to pouring the foundation, to painting the finished house in Myrtle’s favorite colors. Luckily, Charlie helps out too. Building houses is hard work, but all three friends are happy with a job well done.”

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Opening 

“What are Stanley and Myrtle doing?”

Review

Myrtle the mouse just purchased a plot of land and hires Stanley to build her a house. Stanley is an industrious hamster. After clearing the land with his bulldozer, Stanley and his helper Charlie, build the foundation. The tricky work of laying down the bricks is next. There is not a wolf around who will be able to blow this house down. When the house is finished, Stanley paints it using Myrtle’s favorite colors. All done, Stanley heads home, newspaper in hand, for dinner, a long bath, and bed. He will wake up ready for a new day.

Young boys will love the Stanley the Builder. Stanley uses all kinds of machines to help him build Myrtle’s house. Will kids know what and how these machines are used? Stanley wears a yellow safety hat, possibly just as dad wears. Young boys, and some girls, who enjoy building things just like Stanley, will love a story about building, especially with the cute hamster Stanley. The illustrations are basic with large, easy to recognize shapes, separated by solid black lines, which help deepen the colors and drawing one’s attention. The colors are basic primary and secondary colors. Kids should be able to recognize each color if asked.

I love this clean presentation. The white background helps keep the eyes focused on the main illustration. I also like that Stanley’s friend Charlie helps and Myrtle finds a way to help out, too. These three friends work well together. Young children will enjoy pointing out the equipment Stanley uses—a crane, digger, cement mixer, and bulldozer. A game can be made of finding the machine, the item used to build the house, or a specific color, after reading the story, of course. In this way, Stanley the Builder can be a great way to prepare for kindergarten. Stanley has more adventures on the way. Young children will eagerly await each new addition. Next, Stanley runs a garage.

STANLEY THE BUILDER. Text and illustrations copyright © 2014 by William Bee. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Peachtree Publishing.

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Purchase Stanley the Builder at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Peachtree—your favorite bookstore.

Learn more about Stanley and his series HERE

Meet the author/illustrator, William Bee, at his website:   http://www.williambee.com/

Check out William Bee’s fantastic blog:  http://williambee.blogspot.com/

Find all of the Stanley series at the Peachtree Publishing blog:   http://peachtreepub.blogspot.com/

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Also by William Bee

Worst in Show – 2014

Digger Dog – 2014

Stanley the Farmer – 2015

Stanley’s Garage – 2014

Review HERE

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Migloo’s Day – 2015

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Copyright © 2014 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews

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Peachtree Publishing Book Blog Tour

Stanley the Builder

Monday 9/1

Green Bean Teen Queen

Tuesday 9/2

Jean Little Library

Geo Librarian

Kid Lit Reviews

Wednesday 9/3

Chat with Vera

Thursday 9/4

Kiss the Book

Blue Owl

Friday 9/5

The Fourth Musketeer

photo by joi www.flickr.com

First, I’d like to announce the winner of the book: Coolhead Luke and Other Stories. It is Kim W.! Congratulations, Kim, I hope you enjoy the book and all the silly poems/illustrations with your children. Now to today’s post. . .

On Friday the 13th, it’s only natural to write about a book that contains a monster-eating frog, goblin, troll, and ogre.

*Picture book for preschoolers through second graders
*A very-hungry, special frog and his owner Mrs. Collywobbles as main characters
*Rating: I absolutely love fun and silly picture books with a twist. So, believe me, Beware of Frog by William Bee will not disappoint!

Short, short summary: Mrs. Collywobbles lives near a big, dark, scary wood. Thank goodness she has her pet frog to protect her from a goblin, troll, and ogre. Although, do these scary monsters pay any attention to the “Beware of Frog” sign on Mrs. Collywobbles’ gate? Of course not! Should they pay attention to the sign? YES! Once the monsters are taken care of, Mrs. Collywobbles and her pet frog sit down to some tea, and then the real fun begins!

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Adjectives are everywhere in this book; so if you are talking about adjectives with your children or teaching them to your students, this is a great book to use. You could also use this book with a word choice lesson if you are teaching the six traits of writing.

2. This is a FUN, FUN, FUN read-aloud book for teachers to their classes or parents to their children. Have fun with the different monsters’ voices and rhymes. Children can do the “gobbles” with the frog!

3. Do children know the story of The Frog Prince? Compare and contrast what happens at the end of Beware of the Frog with The Frog Prince or The Princess and the Frog. Comparing and contrasting with a Venn Diagram is always an easy shared writing activity.

Have you read Beware of the Frog? Share your feelings and experiences here!