The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs. Or at least they think they do.

But I'll let you in on a little secret.

Nobody knows the real story, because nobody has ever heard my side of the story.

I'm the wolf. Alexander T. Wolf.

You can call me Al.

I don't know how this whole Big Bad Wolf thing got started, but it's ALL WRONG.

This time, the BIG, BAD Wolf - he prefers us to call him Al gets his chance to tell his what's behind the scene - The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.

If your child has already read the classic tale of the Three Little Pigs, he / she will find this very interesting. 

It all started with a birthday cake and a big bad cold ... 

Once upon a time, Alexander the Wolf was making a birthday cake for his dear old granny. Poor Al had a terrible head cold and kept sneezing for the whole day. 

While making the cake, Al ran out of sugar, so he walked down the street to ask his neighbor for a cup of sugar. 

And his neighbor was A PIG. 

That PIG wasn't too bright (unfortunately). He had built his whole house out of straw ...

Al was thinking who in his right mind would build a house of straw?

Like the old tale, the Wolf knocked on the door ... And he huffed and snuffed because his nose was really itchy. And he sneezed, the whole straw house fell down. 

It was all an accident.

If you want to find out what happened to the second and third pig, pick up this book and find out from the voice of Alexander T. Wolf. 

Maybe you will become sympathetic and help him changing the history.

The True Story of The 3 Little Pigs is available online at The Book Depository

Princess Pig

One windy day - 

during the Picawash County Farm Show Parade - 

a peculiar thing happened ...

Pig woke from her afternoon nap.

She saw the sash.

"Am I a princess?" she squealed.

Goat shook his head. "You can't be a princess. A princess wears a crown."

So Pig made herself a crown ... 

Like many fairy tales, an ordinary girl suddenly becomes a princess. That's many girls' dreams, including this little PIG. 

It is a very windy day ... 

A parade princess's sash get caught up in a gust of wind and lands on a sleeping little PIG. Suddenly, it makes her dream come true.

Now She is a Princess! A Princess Pig!!

Although wearing the sash, not every creature in the farm agrees Pig is now a princess. Goat thinks a princess should wear a crown. Cow thinks a princess should have a gold necklace.

Pig tries very hard to make herself look like a princess and smell like a princess, yet she's not too happy.

She finds herself gradually losing the mud she enjoys, the sleep she desires and the ordinary party she loves ... 

This is another great book I enjoy reading with children to help themselves appreciate how special they are.

Every ordinary little girl should know they are SPECIAL and what makes them extraordinary!

Princess Pig is available online at The Book Depository

A Walk in New York

Hello! This is me. 

And that's my dad! 

We've just arrived in Manhattan - the busiest part of New York City! 

Dad wants to show me around.

This platform's underground. 
We walk along a ramp and came up onto group level. 

"Welcome to GRAND CENTRAL," in the world!"



It's time to open my child's eyes to see a bigger world, so we pick up more books with theme around the world. 

This time - an enormous city, a perfect place for a boy and his dad to spend the day. A Walk In New York takes you to the busiest part of New York City, The Grand Central - the largest train station in the world.

The New York Public Library which Amaris is familiar with the two lions called Patience and Fortitude guarding the books inside.

Then we go up to the Empire State Building with a hundred and two floors that the New Yorkers are proud of - it was built in just 410 days!

Now our feet are really tired, so we find a park - Union Square to rest in.

At sunset, we go to the pier where we see the Statue of Liberty with her seven rays turning to gold.

My girl said she will appreciate more of this book when she is six and a half. And by that time, I may take her to get a taste of New York!

Dedicated to my beautiful friend in a city that never sleeps.

A Walk in New York is available online at The Book Depository
 

The Monster Who Ate Darkness

Jo-Jo couldn't sleep.

He didn't like the darkness under the bed. He thought a monster might be hiding there ... 

well ... this time ... there WAS!

A tiny speck of a monster, so small he could hardly be seen.

But he had a big empty feeling inside him that made him hungry, very HUNGRY!

The Monster Who Ate Darkness is Amaris' favorite book this week. 

She cannot put it down ever since she picked up from the library. She laughed every time she's reading it and we sat down and read it together tonight.

It is about a tiny monster, so small you can hardly see. He keeps going around the darkest corner at the house, under the bed, in the cupboard, at the attics to eat up all the darkness like his food.

After eating up the darkness in the house, he slips out to find rabbit holes, bat caves, dark forest ... until he eats all the way up to the moon. 

He eats ALL THE DARKNESS OF THE NIGHT! 

So the moon no longer shines in the sky and the stars no longer twinkle ...

After reading this book with my five years old, I wonder why she finds this story so funny. The answer probably is children see the world differently. They use imagination and they love crazy things like this little black monster who likes to put darkness as spreads on burnt toast!

Recommend this book for children between K2 to Grade 2 who love crazy things.

The Monster Who Ate Darkness is available online at The Book Depository

Lost Little Elephant

Little Elephant lives on the Cape of Good Hope in Africa.

Even though he is called 'Little', he is really very big with huge, flappy ears, just like all African elephants.

One day, Little Elephant received a letter from his Indian cousin, Aziz ...

That very day, Little Elephant set out on his long, long journey to India ...

I picked up this book from the library last week and thought it would be good to help my five years old learning about geography in an entertaining and colorful way.

The illustrations on every page is fantastic! My girl described this book as the It's a Small World ride at Disneyland where you can adventure through famous cities, amazing monuments and natural wonders around the world.

We have decided to add this book to our collections, so that we can adventure through  
Table Mountain in South Africa 
The Great Pyramids in Egypt 
Vatican City in Rome 
The Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona 
The Eiffel Tower in Paris
Big Ben in London
Alluitsup Paa in Greenland
CN Tower in Toronto
Statue of Liberty in New York
Angel Falls in Venezuela
Machu Piccu in Peru
City of Angels in Thailand 
and our last stop,  
Delhi where Little Elephant finally met his cousin.

Highly recommend this book to all little adventurers!

Lost Little Elephant is available online at:

Emily Brown and the Elephant Emergency

Once upon a time, there was a little girl called Emily Brown and an old grey rabbit called Stanley.

One day, Emily Brown and Stanley were whitewater rafting down the turbulent waters of the Zambezi River with their great friend Matilda.

Matilda was just steering them skilfully over the very last rapid with her trunk when there was a 

... Ri-i-i-i-ing! Ri-i-i-i-ing! ... on the emergency telephone.

It's Matilda's mommy in a worried voice ... 

"HELP!"

"This is Matilda's mommy here and I'm TERRIBLY WORRIED. 

I'm worried that your boat might SINK. I'm worried that you might GET EATEN BY CROCODILES. 

I'm worried that THE HIPPOS COULD BE BAD-TEMPERED.

And most importantly ... Matilda isn't wearing her WELLINGTON BOOTS."

A few days later, Matilda the Elephant went for another adventure in the land of the dinosaurs in her Wellington Boots. 

Her worried mommy called again!

AND a few days later, Matilda and Emily were climbing the peak of Mount Everest. 

The Poor Matilda was wearing her Wellingtons, holding her LUNCHBOX and was having a little trouble holding onto the rope ... ... ...

Does the storyline sound familiar to you? 

Or any Helicopter parent around you?

This is another delightful and charming book by Cressida Cowell after her award-winning title That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown.

Recommend to read together with your young children for laughs and inspiration.

Emily Brown and the Elephant Emergency is available online at The Book Depository