When I am looking for a certain subject (like Dirt) I usually find a few books that I like…and one that I LOVE. Once in a while all of the books that I find make their way up to the top of my favorite book list. This week is one of those weeks. I love, love, love each of these dirt books. Which I suppose is not surprising considering how much I love dirt and mud! Curious what the other book groups were that had me doing cart wheels? Garden and Dreams…if you haven’t seen them make sure to check them out!
by Cornelia Funke Illustrated by Kerisin Meyer
Little M picked up this book when we brought it home and has carried it tucked under her arm ever since. I’m not one bit surprised…there is dirt and a tiara on the cover.
Isabella (the pigsty princess) is so tired of being waited on. She has footmen, ladies-in-waiting and servants that do everything for her…and she has had enough. Her parents assume that a princess, given everything she could ever want, should be the happiest girl in the world, but Isabella wants more.
When her punishment sends Isabella to the kitchen, she quickly starts cooking. She loves learning new things, getting her hands dirty and hard work. After the kitchen she is sent to the pigsty…and she is even happier! I love the idea that this princess longs for hard work, that she is willing to wear her tiara as long as she has dirt under nails and that she can’t wait to spread the information she is learning.
By Erik Jon Slangerup Illustrated by John Manders
Dirt Boy…aka Fister Farnello (isn’t that a fun name?) loved dirt. He loved it so much that he spent all day in it. His mother on the other hand liked squeaky clean little boys. When she tried to bath him, Fister ran far away. He came across a very dirty fellow. Someone who liked baths even less than him. Dirt Man and Dirt Boy enjoy some very dirty games until Dirt Boy is sprouting mushrooms. YUCK!
When Dirt Boy gets so dirty and smelly that he can’t take it anymore he hurries home to a Mother who doesn’t even recognize him. In the end he discovers that being dirty is wonderful…but so is being clean!
The Dirtiest Hair in the World
Bob McAllen Illustrated by Tom McClure
When Claire decides she is not going to wash her beautiful long hair everything seems okay at first. As the weeks go by her hair tangles grow into brambles! Eventually Claire cannot even get out of her bedroom and public health officials declare her room to be a Toxic Zone. Claire finally decides enough is enough and she washes her hair. It is hard to believe what crawls, creeps, walks, flutters and flies from her dirty mane.
What fun these books are…I hope you enjoy them as much as we have.
This post is a part of the Mud lesson plan.
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What a great topic fo a book list (and just in time for International Mud Day!) I will have to look for these titles, they sound great!
I’m kind of fond of “Harry the Dirty Dog” too!
Oh my!!!! We just read that one. I can’t believe I didn’t use it!
Try to find a book called “Mud Trouble” by Teri Bergens (ISBN 978-160844-302-4). Definitelt fits well in the category of the books already mentioned.
Also a great one for mud play is Piggy in the Puddle. Baby piggy doesn’t want to get out of the puddle. Daddy, Mommy and Brother all try to convince her that “What you really need is soap.” But the little piggy answers “Squishy squashy – NOPE!” It’s an extremely clever rhyming book, and in the end after asking “What’s a Mother pig to do?” They all end up “way down derry” and being “very very merry.” It may be out of print, but I found a used one on Amazon.