Props to the Pups

more puppy post 1

Today is National Puppy Day, and we’re giving some love to our furry friends, starting with this handsome doggie, Finley Zondlo, the newest edition to Katie’s family! And even if there is not a pup present on this auspicious day, you can still have a canine celebration with some of our favorite pup-inspired posts!

ian walks the dog

Take a walk with a pull string dog (and our pal Ian) here

shelter story 2

Adopt a sweet new friend at our Storytime Shelter here

taxi

Navigate NYC traffic in an iconic yellow checker cab here

costumed champion

Win best in show with your doggie diva here

itty bitty home

Build a tiny house for a tiny dog (and enjoy Cece Bell’s awesome picture book) here

companions

And finally, enjoy the slopes with your pup here!

Pop’s Top 10: Literary Baby Showers

Oh, this is going to be CUTE. Katie searched for some of the most adorable literary baby showers she could find, and these parties do not disappoint! Here are Katie’s Top 10, in no particular order…


#10 GOODNIGHT MOON
From Bump Smitten

Those are PILLOWS at the heads of the tables! And while there are no bowls of mush in sight, there ARE these adorable “Hush” cookies…


#9 THE PIGEON NEEDS A BATH
From Tonya Staab

The pigeon in the cotton ball bubble bath, the rubber duckie…and the DONUT TOPPERS on the milk bottles below!


#8 CURIOUS GEORGE
From Kojo Designs

The mural of pages! The yellow hats! The spotted ties around the glass treat jars! And this adorable sock monkey balloonist…


#7 IF YOU GIVE A DOG A DONUT
From Pizzazzerie

Technically, this shower wasn’t just If You Give A Dog A Donut. It featured several children’s books, as evidenced by their charming party menu:


#6 WINNIE THE POOH
From Hostess with the Mostess

I love the non-pastel colors, the big red balloon, the charming floral centerpieces, and the quotes on the plates!


#5 WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
From Homeroad

The botanicals add such a fabulous wild feel to this table, and the little cookie packets and copy of the book for guests to sign are way cool. Plus…a cake with a crown and wooden platter!


#4 BABAR
From 100 Layer Cake-let

I think the photo of mom as a little girl reading says it all! Also love the lanterns/hot air balloons and the mini clothespin garland with prints from the books!


#3 PETER RABBIT
From Hello Brielle!

Awwww! The baby clothes Peter Rabbit scarecrow! And HUGE props for making vegetables so incredibly celebratory!


#2 GOLDEN BOOKS
From Aesthetic Nest

This bold, fabulous color palette is utterly fantastic. Definitely the winner of “Best Use of Yellow and Blue!” Also, the time and effort that went into these cupcake toppers alone. I’m impressed (and they provide the printables for them on their blog)!


#1 THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR
From Leigh Anne Wilkes

Fruit kabobs are PERFECT for hungry caterpillars! But check this out…one of the shower gifts was customized book chapter onesies for monthly baby photos!

The shower featured a number of books and treats (don’t miss the mouse sugar cookies!) but we thought we would end with something that applies to ALL literary parties. SO going to use this somewhere:

Once Upon a LEGO

once upon a legoIt started with an excited text from Katie: “Check out this LEGO set!” The accompanying image made my heart go pitter pat. LEGO has created a fairy tale pop-up book. I think it took oh…maybe 15 seconds for me to order one for blog testing? The set was Katie’s discovery, so she gets to do the honors. Take it away, Katie!


The brilliant folks at LEGO have done it again. They created an honest-to-goodness pop-up book out of LEGO bricks!

Before I go any further, I will fully admit that I was quite skeptical when I saw the “Once Upon a Brick” Pop-Up Book from LEGO’s Ideas line set in my son’s new 2019 LEGO catalogue. It claimed it was the “First pop-up book in LEGO history” and features two fairy tale stories: Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk. Awesome, but would it work?

lego once upon a brick boxThe set retails between $50-$70. There are 859 pieces in the box and the suggested age range is 12+. The instruction manual is a novel in its own right, weighing in at a hefty 162 pages. I loved that at the start of the instruction manual, LEGO introduced the fan designers who came up with the original idea for the pop-up book, as well as the LEGO designers who helped bring the book to LEGO life.

lego once upon a brick fan designersLEGO also provided the history of pop-up books, which date back to the 13th century, and briefly discussed the two fairy tales that are a part of the set. Along with words of encouragement to “Create your own fairy tale!” and “Build your own story…,” the instructions to build your LEGO set starts.

There are six bags of LEGOs to build the pop-up book. I found the instruction manual was straight-forward and easy to follow. There were only a few times when the instruction images were a bit tricky and forced me to slow down to pay close attention to the details. There are also lots of little pieces, especially when building Jack and the Beanstalk, so have your nimble fingers ready to attach small LEGOs to each other.

see katie build legoThe instructions have you build the Little Red Riding Hood cottage first. As I attached the pieces inside the book covers, I wasn’t sure the cottage would properly fold down and create the pop-up book illusion. But it really works!

little red riding hood lego set


After carefully removing the cottage from the book, I built the Jack and the Beanstalk tiny town and the beanstalk itself (complete with the giant’s castle at the top!). The town is adorable, surrounded by puffy white clouds, and the beanstalk grows when you open up the book. You read that right: the beanstalk grows as you open up the book.

jack and the beanstalk lego set


The attention to detail with this LEGO set is remarkable. You get the feeling that you are handling a real book when you have it in your hands, and the ease of how the pieces pop-up when you open the covers is stunning.

once upon a brick lego bookMy *only* complaint – and perhaps it is merely a humble suggestion – is that the little windmill blades in the Jack and the Beanstalk tiny town should have been a different color. They sort of blend into the white clouds surrounding them.

windmill suggestionIt took me about three hours to put the LEGO set together. I do agree with the suggested age range of 12+. The complexity of the set would be tough for younger kids to complete on their own, but they could probably build it with assistance from an adult.

My rating for the newest book in the Cotsen Children’s Library special collection: 5 out of 5 stars!