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No! That's Wrong! by Zhaohua Ji and Cui Xu.

Oh my...Kane/Miller has brought us a delightful book from China!

A pair of ruffly red underpants blows off a clothes line and lands near a little white rabbit who immediately places them on his head. "It's a hat," he says. The text at bottom corrects him, "No, that's wrong. It's not a hat." But the rabbit doesn't seem to listen and goes about placing the underpants on the heads of other animals. It takes a donkey to set him straight and let him know he's wearing underpants on his head.

But, if the donkey is right, and they really ARE underpants, where does his tail go?

Along the way, the story introduces a number of adjectives and opposites. For example, the "hat" is too small for an elephant, but too big for a fox, and it's simply amazing, magnificent, incredible...you get the drift.

I really can't think of anything that's much funnier than a bunch of animals with hilarious facial expressions wearing underpants on their heads, and children will laugh out loud at this book and its illustrations. I can just imagine them yelling, "No! That's Wrong," as they turn the pages. Even the back end papers will elicit giggles as readers see a number of animals incorrectly wearing articles of clothing and other objects on their bodies.

If you're looking for a funny book that will make your child (and you) laugh and also introduce some new vocabulary words along the way, this would make an excellent choice.

Release date: March 1, 2008 (available now!)

The Kentucky Derby is over. It was eerie how the phone just suddenly stopped ringing at 3 pm. One of my coworkers rigged a daisy chain of paper clips into an antenna so we could all get to watch it on NBC. Not a single call came in through during Street Sense's race from 19th to the win and the celebration afterwards. It took twenty minutes before life returned to normal.

Now I have ten minutes to get ready for my birthday dinner which will be followed by celebratory Cinco de Mayo margaritas.

It's been a busy day.

So, here we go.

Congrats, Street Sense for coming from behind to win.

Congrats, Mexico, for the battle of Pueblo being the turning point in the French/Mexican war.

And Congrats to everyone who has a birthday on cinco de mayo. This margarita is for me and you!

Perfect Timing: How Isaac Murphy became one of the world's greatest jockeys, by Patsi B. Trollinger; paintings by Jerome Lagarrigue; Viking, 2006

Today is Derby Day which seems like the perfect day to share this book. Isaac Murphy was a three time Kentucky Derby winner and is the only jockey buried on the grounds of the famous Kentucky Horse Park.

Author, Patsi Trollinger makes the point that Isaac Burns Murphy's timing was perfect in life as well as on the track. The son of a slave, he lived at a time when black jockeys could enjoy a successful career in racing, before they were forced out of the sport early in the 20th century.

Trollinger describes his career beginning with his early training in Lexington where he learned the importance of pace and concentration. Murphy went on to become one of the most sought after jockeys of his time. The exciting match race between Salvatore and Tenny is told in such detail that the reader feels like they are standing at the rail watching the race.

Jerome Lagarrigue's soft focus paintings convey the speed and power of the horses. The colors are dark and muddied which imparts the yesteryear feel of the story. The reader eyes do need to linger on the pictures to fully appreciate and discern the images.

Isaac Burns Murphy had a reputation for honesty and fair play.

"He had rules for himself that were firm: no cheating, no fighting, no swearing. And he rode every race, large of small, as if it was the most important one of his life."