Imagineer loves Judy Blume’s Fudge books.

So, its no surprise that Double Fudge ranks at the top of her favorite stories.

She has read this one a handful of times in the past few months.  Its on her kindle and serves as her “go to” book, when she is in between books.

She thought it was silly that we had not posted a review yet on one of her favorite stories.  And, I agreed, so we sat down today for a short interview.

Q. Describe this book in a few sentences

A.  This book is about a boy named Fudge, and his older brother Peter.  Fudge gets interested in money and money becomes his whole life.  Fudge and Peter’s parents get worried and then his Grandma says that they should go to Washington D.C. and show Fudge where money comes from and Peter’s Dad agrees and says it might even help Fudge understand about money.

Q. Describe the main character                    

A.  The main character is probably Peter who is in seventh grade and his brother, Fudge, who is in mixed group, which is an accelerated program, that let kids who have either done kindergarten or are smart enough for 1st grade, but not old enough.

Q.  What is your most favorite scene in the book?

A.  My favorite scene in the book would be when Peter’s friend’s Dad, Mr. Fargo, who is an artist, has an art show and puts Peter’s little sister, Tootsie, on his shoulders and says, “Here is the star of my show, the one, the only Tootsie Pie!”  I like this scene because I like imagining Mr. Fargo with Tootsie on his shoulders and saying “the one, the only, Tootsie Pie.”

Q. Would you recommend this book to your friends?

A.  Yes.  I would recommend this book because it is funny and it is a book you can read over and over, again.

For another review from Imagineer check out Bandit.

What would you do if your town was overrun by rats?  Would you move?  Would you call an exterminator?  Would you pay someone to calmly lead the little rascals out of your town?

The people of Hamelin Town were faced with this very problem and were offered a unique solution in Paying Piper, by Ilana Waters.

They enlist the help of a mysterious Piper to solve their problem and embark on quite an adventure.  The people of Hamelin Town learn an important lesson in their dealings with the Piper, and this lesson is the heart of this fantastical story about rats and men.

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of rat excavation, a whimsical piper, and lessons learned.

Stories that keep you guessing and beckon you to turn the page to see what’s going to happen next are my favorites.  Paying Piper fits into this category for me.  After a critical scene where the Mayor pays the Piper, my head was spinning with the possibilities of how the Piper would react, and I could not wait to turn the page to the next scene to find out.

As I have mentioned before on my blog, I really appreciate it when authors take the time to incorporate important life lessons into their captivating stories.  The lesson learned here is focused on treating others with kindness and respect.

Children learn a great deal from books, and when a lesson is presented in a fun and interesting manner, it will stick with them for years to come.

My 9 year old daughter enjoyed reading Paying Piper as well, and  I sat down with her to ask her a few questions about this delightful fantasy.

Q. Describe this book in a few sentences

A. This book is about a piper who solves 2 problems in the town of Hamelin.  One of the problems he solved was he made the adults be better, kinder, and they didn’t scream and yell at each other as much.

Q. Describe the main character                    

A. The main character is The Piper. The Piper has a pipe, and pointed ears at the tip.

Q.  What is your most favorite scene in the book?

A. My favorite scene in the book is when at the end the rats dress up as the children.

Q. Would you recommend this book to your friends?

A. I would recommend this book to my friends that like fiction or fantasy, books. I would also recommend this book to my friends that like a good, short book.

For another review by Imagineer, check out:  The Secret of Platform 13

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Pie-Rits, by Julia Dweck, to my five year old son, Bam Bam. 

The main characters of this magical tale are a cupcake named Sweet Cherry, a French Bread named Pierre, and a crescent roll named Victor.

Pierre and Victor meet Sweet Cherry at the bakery and tell her tales of their ocean trips.  They explain that the Pie-Rits have stolen all of their dough and they need to find them to retrieve it.  They are leaving for their trip and ask Sweet Cherry to join them.

Sweet Cherry agrees and the adventure begins.  I love that the three friends jump into a mixing bowl to sail away in search of the Pie-Rits.  🙂

One of my favorite illustrations in this book is of Sweet Cherry, Pierre, and Victor in their doughnut inner tubes, holding their swords while approaching the Pie-Rit ship.  They look so threatening.  🙂  Really cute.

Once on board the Pie-Rits ship, the battle for the dough begins.  We will not say anymore.  You’ll have to read this magical rhyming tale to find out what happens to Sweet Cherry, Pierre and Victor.  I will say that there is a food fight involved, and as Bam Bam says, “its really funny”.

The rhyming is so much fun to read aloud and the characters are incredibly unique and likable.  I love books that encourage the love of reading in our little ones, and Pie-Rits is definitely one of those books.

Bam Bam was absolutely riveted the whole time.  He pointed to the cleverly illustrated sweet treats and said, “I want one of those.”  You could tell that he could not wait to see what was going to happen on the next page.

My favorite quote from Bam Bam was at the end, when he said, “Can we read the next story about the Pie-Rits now?  PLEASE, where is it, where is the next story?”  He was very insistent on hearing more adventures about the Pie-Rits.  🙂

I sat down with Bam Bam to ask him a few questions about Pie-Rits.  Below are the answers in his own words.

Q.  Describe this book in a few sentences

Pirates and Adventures and it has yummy food in it.  Pirates using swords in big fights.  Goodies against pies.

Q. Who is your favorite character?

A.  Victor, the Crescent Roll.  Because he looks yummy.

Q.  What is your favorite part of the story?

A.  When the Pie-Rits were fighting.

Q.  Did you like the ending?

A.  I liked it when one of the Pie-Rits split.

As I’m writing this review, Bam Bam is saying, “Mom, can you read the Pie-Rits again right now?  Pleeeaaaasssse?”

My nine year old daughter, Imagineer, loved listening to Pie-Rits as well.  In fact, when we went out to run errands the next day, she asked, “Mom, can we go to the bakery to buy a crescent roll named Victor?”  🙂

This book was a big hit in our house, and we look forward to reading more books from Julia Dweck.