Rufus Blasts Off! by Kim T. Griswell and Valeri Gorbachev

Rufus is a very adventurous pig. He's gone to school and he's sailed with pirates. He has a treasure chest full of his very favorite treasure: books! And, now the pirates want more stories. Rufus has an idea. He'll go to space! Surely there will be plenty of stories to tell about space. He packs up and rows away from the pirate ship, waving goodbye to his pirate friends, then trudges toward the space center on shore.

A guard takes Rufus up in an elevator, where a rocket ship is waiting to take off for Mars. But, the commander says pigs are not allowed in space and lists all kinds of silly reason why pigs can't go to space:

"Because pigs draw smiley faces on the portholes," said Commander Luna. 
"They do loop-the-loops in the crew cabin."
"They hog the juice packets."
"And they always want to push the buttons."

Rufus is disappointed but not discouraged. He knows what he needs. A space suit! He goes out and buys a space suit (and even poses for a selfie with a tourist when he puts it on). But, Commander Luna is unimpressed. Again, she tells him he doesn't have the "right stuff" and reminds him that pigs are nuisances with a second list of silly things that pigs do.

Rufus has a third idea. He makes a flag that says, "I love reading!" and returns to the rocket ship. Commander Luna says it's no use. The mission has been scrubbed because one of the passengers was going to read from Mars but she has a cold. "I can read!" Rufus says. The commander realizes Rufus has the right stuff, after all.

The spaceship takes off, loads up supplies at the space station, and they set off on a long journey. It takes months. Rufus keeps asking, "Are we there yet?" and then finally settles down for a long nap. Eventually, they arrive. Rufus does loop-the-loops from the space ship to the planet. He goes six-wheeling. He has a great time on Mars. And, then he reads and the reading is broadcast on Earth, where children and pirates eagerly watch. Because it's good to share books with friends and Rufus loves reading most of all.

Recommended - When I first read Rufus Blasts Off! I admit I was a little disappointed. The story was, I thought, a bit wobbly. But, I loved Rufus's determination and love of reading. The second time I read it, I wondered what I was thinking the first time. I absolutely loved it. Maybe I had a preconceived notion of what a pig in space book should be like; I always have my own stories brewing in my head, after all, and it's been 4 years since I read Rufus Goes to School.

Rufus Blasts Off! is the third Rufus book. I actually missed the one with the pirates, although I remember I loved Rufus Goes to School (link to my review, at left) and, now that I've looked at my review, I see the listing of things pigs do that are a nuisance is a hallmark of this series. Well, I think it's adorable. I've noticed recently that I've read and reviewed quite a few books illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev and always appreciate his illustrations. The same is true of this latest Rufus book. Rufus is adorable. As in the first book, I noticed the artist does a great job of portraying action (several images of Rufus in one illustration show him doing loop-the-loops, for example). While I haven't read the second book in the series, I imagine it's much the same and youngsters will probably especially appreciate owning all three so they can read about all the ridiculous barriers that are placed in front of innocent piglets and how determination gets Rufus past them. Because that's what they're really about: determination and love of reading.

This is my last picture book for Children's Week. Wow, did I have a stack! I have two middle readers that I'll save for next week. Next up will be a Fiona Friday photo, in a couple hours. Hope everyone enjoyed the children's book reviews. I'll have links to all of them in my Monday Malarkey post, for convenience. Happy Weekend!


©2017 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Big Little Hippo by Valeri Gorbachev

I've read Big Little Hippo by Valeri Gorbachev several times because my first impression was not a positive one. The youngest in a hippo family is unhappy because everyone is bigger than him: his parents, her brothers, the giraffe, crocodile and elephant that live nearby. Little Hippo is feeling small until he discovers a beetle that has ended up on its back and is lying there helplessly. The beetle is grateful and so is his family. When they thank Little Hippo they say, "Thank you, Big Hippo!" Suddenly, Little Hippo feels big and goes running around, shouting that he's big now. His mother says, "You are a Big Little Hippo now!"

Okay, so my immediate thoughts: Loved the illustrations but I wasn't sure there was any point to the story. But, sometimes my first impressions are not reliable when it comes to children's books; that's why I always read them at least twice. I also wondered what a child would think, so I took the book along with me when we met up with my son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter in Oklahoma. Unfortunately, the little one was sick. But, my daughter-in-law read Big Little Hippo to her and she sat still throughout the reading. That's a good sign, although nothing is definitive when you're reading to a kid with a fever who is kind of stumbly - and yet, she's an active child, even when sick, so I still took it as a positive.

After reading Big Little Hippo a couple more times, I slowly began to think about its uses. First, the book is one about the concepts of big and little (or large and small), which are important early lessons. So, it's useful for teaching the concept of size. Second, if you've got a child who is unusually small or large, you can use it to show that size is relative and fairly meaningless. Third, the entire hippo family is shown in the final panels, so you can introduce "medium" to the size order concept. And, finally, everyone loves a book with bright, cheerful illustrations and I think the illustrations in Big Little Hippo are marvelous.

Recommended but not a favorite - I was not going to recommend Big Little Hippo at all after the first reading, but I changed my mind. I do, however, recommend that you peer inside the book at a bookstore or online (if possible) if you're concerned. The story itself is a simplistic one but I think it has applications for teaching, in particular, even if I think the story itself is a bit flat. The illustrations are superb.

©2017 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Rufus Goes to School by Kim T. Griswell and Valeri Gorbachev

Rufus Goes to School by Kim Griswell, illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev

Copyright 2013

Sterling Children's Books - Picture Book 

32 pp.

Rufus Goes to School is about a piglet named Rufus Leroy Williams III.  Rufus has a favorite book  but he doesn't know how to read, so he makes up his own stories.  But, Rufus really wants to know how to read so he decides he will go to school.  He acquires a backpack and trudges off to school but the principal says pigs are not allowed.  Why not?

Because pigs track mud in the halls," said Principal Lipid.

"They turn their drawings into airplanes.

They play leapfrog in class,

and they start food fights in the cafeteria."

Rufus is "shown the door" but he acquires a lunchbox and tries, again.  The principal says no, again:

"Because pigs knock over the block towers," said Principal Lipid,

"and they hide under the teacher's desk.

Pigs draw stick figures on the chalkboard."  He waggled his finger at Rufus.

"And they chase their classmates during recess."

Rufus is not willing to give up.  He brings a blanket, along with his backpack and lunchbox and promises:

"I will never blow bubbles in my milk.

Or finger-paint my classmates.

I will not stand on my head during naptime.

Or leave nose prints on the windows.

And I will come to school every day!"

But, Rufus has to prove his determination by showing the principal he has a favorite book.  "That makes a difference!" the principal tells Rufus.  He's introduced to his classmates and finds that he loves learning, lunchtime and naptime.  

But Rufus loved storytime most of all . . . 

because it gave him room to dream.

I still don't have a hard drive, so I'm unable to snap and load interior photos but there's a nice little trailer that gives you a peek inside at Amazon:

Trailer for Rufus Goes to School (page down to find the video window).  

The first time I read Rufus Goes to School, I admit I was expecting something a little different, like an ending saying that most of all Rufus loved learning to read because it opened up new worlds.  The second time I thought, "No, that ending works."  Expectations are funny things. 

Recommended - A cute story about the fun of going off to school. I absolutely love the illustrations in Rufus Goes to School.  There's just something adorable about piglets, anyway, and the illustrations are cute, colorful and action-packed.  I like the use of motion. My niece's toddler is getting excited about books so I'm going to pass this one on to him.  I think he'll love it. Rufus Goes to School is a great book for encouraging children who are looking ahead to school but it's also a little silly and a terrific story of determination.  

I received a copy of Rufus Goes to School from Sterling Children's Books in return for an unbiased review.

©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.