4 Stars
Babysitting SugarPaw
V.S. Grenier
Kevin Scott Collier
(SP) Halo Publishing
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In Babysitting SugarPaw, SugarPaw is a young bear who will be spending the evening with a babysitter, but is not happy about the situation.
“I don’t want a babysitter!”
Papa Bear assures SugarPaw everything will be okay, but SugarPaw is going to make sure that’s not true. First, he runs down and changes the rules chart.
………………
……….No TV after 7 P.M.
……….No TV after 10 P.M.
……….No playing with paints
……….Play with paints.
Every rule on SugarPaw’s rules chart now has a counter rule designed to get the babysitter in trouble.
The babysitter is indeed the best around. Bonnie Whiskers knows just how to handle sneaky little bears who think they are too old for a babysitter. She lets SugarPaw get away with his rules, cleans up after the messes he deliberately makes, and does it all kindly. SugarPaw starts to feel guilty.
This is a cute book appropriate for any child who thinks they are too old for a sitter, getting a new babysitter, or who usually acts up for the babysitter. Kids will love the characters and the mischief SugarPaw tries to create. The story can be an icebreaker for parents with a child adamantly against a babysitter, regardless of age.
The illustrations by Kevin Scott Collier of adorable, funny, and bright-eyed characters enhance the story and increase the laugh factor of SugarPaw’s antics. Such as the one of SugarPaw sitting in an over-flowing bathtub, with the biggest smile on his face and looking like he is having the best time, while Bunny Whiskers looks on with a mop in her hand.
Babysitting SugarPaw is also a good bedtime story. It is a fast read, kids will love hearing the story night after night, and parents will not mind reading it repeatedly. I do wonder why Bunny Whiskers reads the rules chart—the correct rules chart—and then allows her charge to do a switch-a-roo on her. Maybe she felt SugarPaw needed some control over the situation, something kids usually do not have. Whatever the reason, the babysitter takes it all in stride giving us a wonderful time and a beautiful ending.
SugarPaw’s creator, V.S. Grenier, visited Kid Lit Reviews yesterday and sat down for a chat. To read more about SugarPaw and the author, click HERE!
Author: V.S. Grenier website for kids
Illustrator: Kevin Scott Collier website
Publisher: (SP) Halo Publishing website
Release Date: June 30, 2009
Number of Pages: 32
Ages: 3 to 9
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Filed under:
4stars,
Children's Books,
Debut Author,
Library Donated Books Tagged:
babysitter not wanted,
babysitting,
bears,
bedtime story,
bunny,
children's books,
finger painting,
mischief,
picture book,
pranks 
Image: be_khe
Yes, I know it’s not Easter, but I have two lovely egg themed books that deserve to be read NOW, not only in 9 months time so please go and scrabble in the back of your kitchen cupboards to find that secret stash of chocolate I won’t tell anyone about, break off a piece and enjoy whilst I tell about these two egg-tastic picture books.
Croc and Bird by Alexis Deacon explores how very different two friends can be (so different they come from quite separate species), and yet, how they can still be the best of friends if they listen to their own hearts, and are not forced into conformity by others. If you like, it’s a reworking of the themes explored in Stellaluna by Janell Cannon, but this time with a crocodile instead of a bat.
It asks questions about who your family is. Can long lasting ties only be based on shared customs and cultures, or can friendship and love transcend such differences?
Deacon’s illustrations have a magical and somewhat mysterious air about them; indeed they reminded me of William Blake‘s paintings. Unlike Deacon’s earlier Beegu, the characters in this book are not so cute. The young bird is as ugly as they come – and this too says something about friendship and brotherly love.
Croc and Bird is not a sugary, all sweetness-and-light picture book. I think its themes and images are somewhat more challenging and thought provoking than you’ll find in many books on the kids’ bestseller list, but its is not without humour and it’s certainly full of hope.
The Fishing Trip by Béatrice Rodriguez (sold in the US under a different title – Fox and Hen Together) is also about cross-species friendship, this time between a chicken and a fox.
In this wordless story Chicken entrusts the care of her Egg to Fox (it is clear they have set up home together), whilst Chicken goes off to bring food home for them all. The fishing trip referred to in the title turns out to be a rather hair-raising, risky experience, but
Lessons learned: A seven year old is old enough to appreciate how good the dog looks with her ears pulled back, but not yet old enough to appreciate how much it makes her (the dog) look like Audrey Hepburn.
Today I’ve chosen the theme of babysitters for Fantastic Fiction for Kids. I would like to say that my husband and I are often out doing all sorts of exciting things of an evening which require us to have a babysitter, but the truth is we’ve NEVER had one… we’re still at that oh-just-give-me-a-cup-of-tea-and-let’s-crash-out-on-the-sofa-now-that-the-kids-are-in-bed stage of parenthood… Nevertheless, we’ve read some great books about babysitting and it’s these I’d like to share with you today.
Be Good, Gordon by Angela McAllister and Tim Archbold
If you’ve ever babysat for someone, perhaps your idea of a good night has been one where the children have slept soundly for the duration and you’ve been able to put your feet up and finish a good book. Well, this is not the sort of evening that the babysitter in this book is after – all she want is to have fun and play games with her charge, young Gordon. But Gordon has promised his parents that he will be good. He tries to resist temptation but soon he and his babysitter are bouncing on the bed, exploring the garden and generally having a whale of a time. Will this naughtiness be discovered by the parents? Will everything go horribly wrong? Whilst this may not be the book you leave out for your babysitter to read to your children it is a marvellously funny read with fantastic illustrations in the style of Quentin Blake.
Benjamin McFadden and the Robot Babysitter by Timothy Bush
With an opening reminiscent of Where the Wild Things Are this book immediately grabs your attention. Benjamin McFadden has been left at home with his robot babysitter. Fed up with being told to go to bed Benjamin rewires the robot and soon the Babysitter has forgotten its responsibility to look after Benjamin and simply wants to have fun. Pretty soon things descend into chaos and all Benjamin wants to do is to crawl into bed and turn the lights out but he doesn’t know how to get himself out of the mess he’s created. There is a special password which will reset the robot babysitter, but what could it be? In scenes that will remind you of Dr Seuss’ Cat in the Hat, will the house be tidy by the time the parents return? Will Benjamin be ab
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I loved the Baby-sitters Club as a child and read through them all. They aren’t amazing literature, and the introduction to the concept of the baby-sitters club at the beginning of each book was a little tedious (I used to skip most of the first chapter in each book) but oh how I loved them!
I would be interested in doing another Fantastic Fiction for Kids entry, and I have a friend who would write an excellent post http://www.easystayathomefun.blogspot.com/ She is actually the first person I sent a link to when I discovered your site as she is always reading to her children and doing fantastically fun things with them (she even leads a song and story hour for neighbourhood moms and children in her home.)
Hi Andi,
Thanks for your comments. It would be great to have you do another FFfK post – I’ll email you about it. And I’ll also contact Crystal at Easy Stay-At-Home Fun – thanks for the suggestion.