The Little Crooked Bookshelf

WARNING: DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOK!
by Adam Lehrhaupt, Illustrated by Matthew Forsythe
 
What it's all about . . .
Adam Lehrhaupt’s anxious narrator entreats us not to turn the pages of this book — but with artwork by Matthew Forsythe, who can resist?

Why it's on The Little Crooked Bookshelf . . .
A book overrun with monkeys, toucans, and crocodiles? Sounds like our kind of party!

Our favorite lines . . .
Maybe you should put this book back. You don’t want to let the monkeys out.

Our favorite illustration . . .

From WARNING: DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOK! Illustration copyright 2013 by Matthew Forsythe.

Why kids will love it . . .
Lots of interactive monkey business! The reader works with the narrator to set a trap for the animals run amok — and it seems to work. Or does it?

Why grown-ups will love it . . .
A super-fun read-aloud, and a great lesson in the advantages of obeying rules and signs!

BOO!

Velcome to the Little Crooked Cottage’s Haunted Halloween Bash! 

I am your host. . . Count Pigula! Mwa-ha-ha-ha! 

Don’t mind the cobwebs. I went a little overboard this year because nearly all the spiders RSVP’d yes. Itsy Bitsy, Charlotte and Miss Spider are already here, hanging around. Only one spider sent his regrets--I forget why. Something about being very busy. 

Any-hoo. . .

I like your costume! Are you hungry? Please help yourself, we have so much food! Everyone brought treats. The Girl and Cub brought cookies, of course. We have twelve pounds of banana pudding from the monkeys. Pony brought feather-free macaroni. Oh! And someone brought a sushi platter! Very fancy. I’m not sure who it was, but my money’s on Fang, the shark.

Speaking of. . . apparently, the Big Bad Wolf thought it would be just hilarious to bring a huge tray of Pigs in a Blanket.

Look at my face. Am I laughing? No, no, I'm not.

Ah, well. I won't let it dampen my spirits. How can I? I just LOVE Halloween!

You know what is funny? Zombelina and Vamperina Ballerina came dressed as EACH OTHER! HA! And the Gingerbread Man is dressed as the Elf on the Shelf! Every time he jumps up and sits on the mantle in the living room, I can’t help but giggle. (He’d better be careful, though. I hear he’s had some close calls around fire.)

Really, all the costumes are so creative! A few years ago, we had twenty-three Harry Potters and fifteen Hermiones, but so far this year, I haven’t seen any repeats!

What’s that? No, Vampire Boy doesn’t count, because technically, he’s not in a costume.

Anyway, I’ll let you mingle.

I’ll be hosting a spooky story hour in just a little while, and I have to go get into character. I can’t wait! I’m pulling my favorite spooky stories off The Little Crooked Bookshelf!

It’s going to be SPOOKTACULAR! See you soon! 

MR. PIG LIVE!

Hello, and welcome to my talk show . . .  

MR. PIG LIVE!

Today I have a very special guest. He’s the star of Adam Lehrhaupt’s energetic new picture book, Warning: Do Not Open This Book!

Before introducing him, let's take a look at a clip to see our star in action.



Wow. That’s bananas. Let’s give a big round of applause for . . . MONKEY!

Q. Thank you for joining us, Monkey. Is that the name you usually go by? 
A. My full name is The Monkey, but my friends just call me Monkey.

Q. What three words best describe you? 
A. Whimsical. I would definitely use whimsical. No idea what it means. It just sounds good, doesn’t it? “Look at that whimsical monkey over there. You can see the whimsicalness oozing off of him.” It’s like Pithy. Pithy just sounds like something you want to be called. Um, what was the question again?

Q. This is a personal question, but . . . do you have a belly button? 
A. I thought I did, but I can’t find it right now. Mandrill has one for sure though. I’ve seen it.

Q. What is the best thing about being you? 
A. Oh, the best thing? That’s a tough one. It would have to be bananas. Bananas are great. Or my tail. My tail is pretty cool too. Ok. I want to go with my tail. It’s prehensile. That means I can use it like a hand. Sometimes I hold bananas in it when my other hands are full.

Q. What is the worst thing about being you? 
A. I’m not a big fan of toucans and lately, they seem to be everywhere. Toucans are loud and unruly. Just when you have everything set up all nice, they come along and cause a ruckus. Toucans, phooey.

Q. Phooey indeed! What is your favorite word? 
A. Banana.

Q. What is you least favorite word? 
A. Trap.

Q. When do you feel the happiest? 
A. After. After a swing. After a sleep. After a meal.

Q. Do you identify more with Goldilocks or the three bears? 
A. The porridge. I definitely identify with the porridge. That stuff is good.

Q. What is your favorite sound? 
A. Ukelele in the treetops.

Q. What is your least favorite sound? 
A. Alligators.

Q. If you have a pocket, what is in it right now? 
A. I am currently without a pocket. I would be glad to take one if you have an extra. Then I could put stuff in it.

Q. Do you have any siblings? 
A. 2 brothers and 4 sisters. But I’m the oldest on account of me being taller.

Q. What is your pet peeve? 
A. People that close books.

Q. What was it like working with Adam Lehrhaupt? 
A. Working with Adam? All-in-all, I’d say it was a pretty cool experience, but you need to watch out for that hair. On rainy days it’s like it’s trying to attack you. His hair gets in everything. He sheds more than Mandrill in the spring. I keep telling him to shave it like all those other writers do. The bald and bearded look is totally in this year. Not Adam. Nope. He’s all, “My hair this. My hair that.” He made a mess everywhere. It was terrible, just terrible.

Q. Do you mean this hair?



















 

A: Yes.

Well, that's about all the time we have, folks. Thanks for being on my show, Monkey!

Tune in next time when I interview another talented mystery guest. Hint: he’s one tough cookie! 


About the book “Children won't be able to resist the urge to turn the page as they wade through caution tape, warning signs, and scenes of chaos. The madcap mayhem includes monkeys stealing the illustrator's tools to paint their own drippy forest, a flock of swooping toucans, and an alligator sprawled across several spreads. . . . . More fun than a barrel of monkeys!’ --School Library Journal





About the author
Adam Lehrhaupt has traveled to six continents, performed on Broadway, and lived on a communal farm. He firmly believes that opening a book is a good thing, even if there are monkeys in it. Adam currently lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA, with his wife and two sons. Adam’s first book, Warning: Do Not Open This Book!, released on August 27th. For more about Adam, visit www.adamlehrhaupt.com.

About the illustrator 
Matthew Forsythe is an author and illustrator living in Los Angeles. He works at Cartoon Network as lead designer on the show, “Adventure Time.” The first picture book he illustrated, My Name is Elizabeth, written by Annika Dunklee, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year for Children in 2011. Find out more about Matthew at www.matthewforsythe.com.

Literary Lunch

Hungry? Please stay for tasty treats. Our party's caterer, Nina of Mamabelly’s Lunches with Love, has prepared a special lunch inspired by today’s “Mr. Pig Live!” guest, Monkey of Warning: Do Not Open This Book! by Adam Lehrhaupt and illustrated by Matthew Forsythe. Enjoy! 

Lunch was packed for a banana-loving monkey and contains:

• a whole wheat bagel topped with banana-flavored, all-natural peanut butter and sliced fresh bananas on spinach leaves. The monkey is made with provolone cheese, ham, and seaweed.
• banana salad with honey and yogurt dressing
• a banana corn muffin
• a banana