LLED, Spring 2010 discussion

The award I will be giving is called "Villainous Villains." This award will go to the best picture book villain. The character may be someone that is misunderstood or even at the wrong place at the wrong time. It is also possible that the villain is just one mean son of a monkey! In Lehr Chapter 13, there is talk of such villains and heroes; there is always a balance between the two. The nominations for this book should be posted no later than March 25, 2010.

Nomination for Andrew: Bootsie Barker Bites by Barbara Bottner

Bootsie Barker Bites by Barbara Bottner is about two little girls who have moms who are best friends. When Bootsie comes over to play, she completely scares her so-called friend and always says she is going to eat her because she is a dinosaur. She rips up all of her friend’s books and hates her friend’s pet salamander. She drags her around and never lets her friend talk when the parents ask if everything is OK. Bootsie is just absolutely one hundred percent mean and becomes the villain in this book.

"A Monster Under Alex's Bed" by Angelika Glitz

This book is about a little boy who is deathly afraid about the monster under the bed. As a kid what greater villian could there be

"Field Guide to Fantastic Creatures the Ultimate Monster Encyclopedia" by Giles Sparrow

I think the title speaks for itself. This book is full of monster like the Yeti for example. It very colorful and creative

My nomination for the best villain is No David by David Shannon. This book is about a young boy who is always getting into trouble. It seems that everything he does is bad and his mother is constantly telling him, "no David!" I feel that this book is deserving of this award because he is so bad bad.

My nomination for the Best Villain is Disney's "Aladdin." In the story Jafar is a villain who is in search of a magic lamp which will fall in the hands of a poor boy, who happens to be Aladdin. Jafar is a sneaky and mean character and who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants.

My nomination for Andrew is "Snow White" by the Brothers Grimm. This version of Snow White is very similar to to the Disney version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. After running away from her wicked step-mother, she finds herself at the cottage of the seven dwarfs. Her step mother devises plans to kill Snow White, but each time she tries the dwarfs save her. However, on the third try, she poisons her and the dwarfs were sure she was dead. Then, a prince comes by and as he is carrying her coffin away, his servants drop her and the poisonous apple dislodges from her throat and she awakens. I think that this would be the perfect award because the wicked step mother is a classic villain who every child loves to hate.

Nomination for Andrew: The Cat In the Hat by Dr. Seuss. The Cat In the Hat comes into the home of two young kids while their mother is not there. He wants to play and do tricks and completely destroy the house. The children know the Cat should not be there but he has ideas of his own and he steamrolls the kids into doing things they're not allowed. This book deserves the Villainous Villain Award because the Cat walks all over the little kids and does whatever he wants.

Nomination for Andrew: "Lon Po Po" by Ed Young. Lon Po Po is the Chinese version of Little Red Riding Hood. It’s the story of three young children whose mother goes off to visit their grandmother, Po Po. That night, a wolf comes to the door, pretending to be their grandmother. The eldest child, Shang, asks why "she" comes so late and why her voice is so low, and the wolf finds excuses. When the two youngest children let the wolf in, he immediately blows out the candles so that the children cannot see him. He pretends to be sleepy, so they all go to bed. The children feel his tail, and he says it is hemp strings to weave them a basket. Finally, Shang lights the candle, and even though the wolf immediately blows it out, she sees his face. She gets her brother and sister out of the house by saying that they are going to pick gingko nuts for their grandmother, because they will make her live forever. The children climb to the top of the tree, and Shang tells her siblings that the "Po Po" in the house is really a wolf. They devise a plan to trick the wolf, and successfully kill it before their mother gets home. I chose this book because it shows how a villain, the wolf, tries to manipulate little kids and take advantage of their vulnerability!

My nomination for Andrew is "Baron von Baddie and the Ice Ray Incident" by George McClements. It is a classic story of good vs evil in the duel between von Baddie and Captain Kapow. The evil genius Baron always has his plans stopped by Captain Kapow. In spite of time in jail, the Baron is always planning his next invention. One day he traps Captain Kapow, leaving him free to do anything! At first, he has a lot of fun, but soon things become routine and dull. The large and cartoon-like illustrations are fun and exciting and sure to hold the reader's attention.

Congratulations to the Winner - George McClements for "Baron Von Baddie and the Ice Ray Incident"