Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends. You are in for a treat this weekend, for sure! A VERY SWEET TREAT! I’ll give you a hint…think maple syrup.

That’s right! You are all so smart! One of my favorite authors, Josh Funk, has a BRAND-NEW SEQUEL to the Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast series…and we are TWO stops on his blog tour! Woo-hoo! And guess what? If you leave a comment, we’ll enter you in the giveaway of a copy of Josh’s FIRST book – the one that started this whole series! At the bottom of this post, you’ll find the blog tour line-up – check it out so that you don’t miss any of the stops.

SHORT AND SWEET

Written by Josh Funk

Illustrated by Brendan Kearney

Published by Sterling Children’s Books (September 1, 2020)

Ages: 3 and up

Themes: Teamwork, ingenuity, humor

Synopsis: From Amazon:

Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast are back with a twist: they’ve been transformed into small children. Now it’s a race against the clock to turn our favorite duo into grown-ups again!
 
Lady Pancake is aching; Sir French Toast’s looking pale. Could they be going . . . STALE? Maybe a visit to Professor Biscotti’s lab for her despoiling procedure will help. But instead of beautifying them, Biscotti accidentally transforms the two treats into toddlers! Frightened of the now gargantuan (to them) Baron von Waffle, the mini breakfast foods scamper off on an adventure in the fridge, visiting everywhere from the Bran Canyon to Limes Square. Will Baron von Waffle and Professor Biscotti figure out a way to turn them back into a grown Lady and Sir? Or will they stay short & sweet forever?

The book has already gotten starred reviews…I’m not surprised! Right before Covid hit, I was lucky enough to attend a bookstore event for Josh and I heard him read several of his books…they have heart and humor – a winning combination!

Here’s the adorable book trailer:

Why I love this book:

1, Did you watch the above trailer? Yup…that’s one of the reasons…what a clever idea for a story, don’t you think?

2. Josh has a knack for word play and humor…and the kids love it and so do the adults, even though they probably have to read the story over and over again.

3. Illustrator Brendan Kearney knows what kids love…and his pictures keep the reader engaged from the first page to the last.

RELATED ACTIVITIES

Definitely, without a doubt, you need to make French Toast and Pancakes with your kids! I think because of Covid, a lot more parents are probably inviting their kids to help in the kitchen. One of the best ways to encourage children to try new foods is to have them be part of the preparation. Also, there is so much learning that takes place when you cook – math, science, geography, literacy…the list goes on and on.

And then, how about making a fun paper plate pancake puppet.

Photo courtesy: https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/paper-pancake-dolls

For detailed instructions, please go to the fabulous Activity Village website: https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/paper-pancake-dolls

And just so Sir French Toast fans don’t feel left out, you can easily adapt this craft and make a Sir French Toast puppet by trimming the paper plate and creating a square.

Here’s the graphic of all of the stops for Josh’s book blog tour:

And even though it doesn’t say anything about tomorrow’s Will Write for Cookies, I PROMISE you that Josh will be stopping by to visit…and you don’t want to miss his answers because he always shares important stuff.

There is also going to be a virtual book launch – I’ve been to a few recently and they are really lots of fun. Usually the author, and sometimes the illustrator, will talk about the writing/illustrating process and how they collaborated. It kind of cool because you don’t have to get dressed up and travel to a bookstore…but you do get to celebrate with the author and illustrator!

For more information and details, you can hop over to Josh’s website:  https://www.joshfunkbooks.com/tour

And last, but certainly not least, you can even pre-order a copy of this awesome book:

I think we are done. Good thing, because now I am hungry for some French Toast…one of my absolute favorite breakfasts that I only have when I go out to eat because at home I try to be good and eat oatmeal.

I hope everyone has a beautiful weekend…I’m in the last days before the movers come – so I’ll be packing boxes. Please make sure you leave a comment to be entered into the giveaway…and come back tomorrow to say howdy to Josh!