In book 5 (Night of the Ninjas), it's not announced yet, but Morgan shows up in the form of a mouse (whom Annie nicknames Peanut). Jack and Annie travel to Japan in an effort to help rescue Morgan from a spell she is under after reading an urgent message that Morgan left for them in the tree house. They have to find four special things in order to break the spell and, in this book, they found a moonstone. Jack & Annie also learned how to be like a Ninja to carry themselves stealthily away from danger. 
Currently, we are on chapter 5 of book #6 (Afternoon on the Amazon) and so far it has given me the heeby-jeebies with all the bugs and spiders and ants on the rainforest floor. We've learned that there are three levels/layers of a rainforest and so Jack and Annie had a considerably longer climb down the rope ladder to reach the ground. All the animals were camouflaged against their environment and Peanut is still tagging along with them as they look for the second special thing to break Morgan's spell.
Here are a list of the picture books we borrowed as well:1. Why Do Leaves Change Color? by Betsy Maestro. I mentioned this one already and Will still finds it rather boring. But he does enjoy talking about fall and what happens to the leaves.
2. Let It Fall by Maryann Cocca-Leffler. Remember we borrowed a couple of her books last week? This one was a Scholastic book order purchase from Will's school and we love it. Just a fun story about all things fall.
3. From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer. I'm always amazed at learning about how things grow. And I guess I should just assume this by now, but just like apple and oak trees, a flower blossoms before the fruit grows in its place. This is another Let's Read and Find Out Science book so it's very educational and has lots of extension suggestions.
4. Can I Play Too? (an Elephant & Piggie book) by Mo Willems. For some reason, Will thinks this is hilarious. I heard him laughing uncontrollably while Craig read it to him as I was bathing Sophie. It's a SUPER easy read and I tried to get Will to help read it to me, but he was much more interested in laughing while we read it to him.
5. Digger Man by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha. I actually never read this to Will. Craig did. And surprisingly, Will didn't request it as much as I thought he would. But it's a book about a little boy who dreams of the day when he buys his own real "digger" (or front-end loader as Will will tell you) and how he will have so much work to do and will teach his little brother how to run the digger when he's big enough.
The rest of our reading was all about dinosaurs - Will's latest obsession and interest.
2. Let It Fall by Maryann Cocca-Leffler. Remember we borrowed a couple of her books last week? This one was a Scholastic book order purchase from Will's school and we love it. Just a fun story about all things fall.
3. From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer. I'm always amazed at learning about how things grow. And I guess I should just assume this by now, but just like apple and oak trees, a flower blossoms before the fruit grows in its place. This is another Let's Read and Find Out Science book so it's very educational and has lots of extension suggestions.
4. Can I Play Too? (an Elephant & Piggie book) by Mo Willems. For some reason, Will thinks this is hilarious. I heard him laughing uncontrollably while Craig read it to him as I was bathing Sophie. It's a SUPER easy read and I tried to get Will to help read it to me, but he was much more interested in laughing while we read it to him.
5. Digger Man by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha. I actually never read this to Will. Craig did. And surprisingly, Will didn't request it as much as I thought he would. But it's a book about a little boy who dreams of the day when he buys his own real "digger" (or front-end loader as Will will tell you) and how he will have so much work to do and will teach his little brother how to run the digger when he's big enough.
The rest of our reading was all about dinosaurs - Will's latest obsession and interest.6. When Dinosaurs Came With Everything by Elise Broach. This one is my favorite and Will really liked it too. Just a very funny tale of a son who is begrudgingly out running errands with his mom. But much to his surprise (and the chagrin of his mother), every place they stop has a special surprise for him... a real, live (huge!) dinosaur. Dinosaurs come with every service they buy - they come with a dozen donuts at the bakery, they come in place of a lollipop at the doctors office, and in place of a balloon at the barber shop. And in the end, the mom finds lots of practical uses/chores for the dinosaurs around the house and allows them to stay.
7. The Littlest Dinosaur's Big Adventure by Michael Foreman. We read the other Littlest Dinosaur book awhile ago and this one is just as cute. I'm forgetting the details (we read a lot of dinosaur books this week) but I know I liked it.
8. Harry and the Dinosaurs Go to School by Ian Whybrow. Harry's dinosaurs are smallish toys but they talk and "raaaahhhh!" He takes them to his first day of school and they help him transition and meet new friends. My only question with this book is why mom (or was it sister?) and teacher have on a sort of cropped-top shirt? LOL
9. I Wonder Why Dinosaurs - a flip the flaps book by Judy Allen. This one wasn't in the picture book section so I got a little more practice in hunting down books by code number instead of just alphabetical by author. It was very informational and it both asked and answered questions about dinosaurs. Will really liked it.
10. Diego and the Dinosaurs was a hit. Maia the dinosaur is (of course) trying to find her family on Egg Island and Diego and Baby Jaguar must help her get home. Really, are there ever any other story plots in these books? :)
11. A Trip to Dinosaur Time - also by Michael Foreman - was not my favorite. I just thought it was kind of dumb. But Will really liked it. A little boy plays with his moms new kitchen timer after being told not to and somehow the timer sends him back to dinosaur time. He unintentionally causes a bit of disruption there and, in his effort to get back home, accidentally brings a dinosaur egg with him. The little boy then has to figure out how to send the baby dinosaur back in time again. It's just weird and kind of dumb.
12. William's Dinosaurs by Alan Baker. Hello? Jackpot title! :) A boy is getting tired while playing with his dinosaur toys and takes a walk in the woods only to embark on a crazy adventure and wonder at the end if he had dreamt the whole thing. Again, not my favorite. But Will liked it.
Will has become quite the expert in dinosaur names. He can spout off a bunch of them without even having to think about it: brachiosaurus (a.k.a. "long neck" - Will's fave), plesiosaurus (a swimmer), pteradactyl, stegasaurus, tyrannosaurus, microraptor, velociraptor, ankylosaurus, etc. The rest are slipping my mind. You'll have to ask my son. It's funny that I do actually ask him what some things are called when it comes to his favorite topics (i.e. construction trucks) because he often remembers better than I do.
7. The Littlest Dinosaur's Big Adventure by Michael Foreman. We read the other Littlest Dinosaur book awhile ago and this one is just as cute. I'm forgetting the details (we read a lot of dinosaur books this week) but I know I liked it.
8. Harry and the Dinosaurs Go to School by Ian Whybrow. Harry's dinosaurs are smallish toys but they talk and "raaaahhhh!" He takes them to his first day of school and they help him transition and meet new friends. My only question with this book is why mom (or was it sister?) and teacher have on a sort of cropped-top shirt? LOL
9. I Wonder Why Dinosaurs - a flip the flaps book by Judy Allen. This one wasn't in the picture book section so I got a little more practice in hunting down books by code number instead of just alphabetical by author. It was very informational and it both asked and answered questions about dinosaurs. Will really liked it.
10. Diego and the Dinosaurs was a hit. Maia the dinosaur is (of course) trying to find her family on Egg Island and Diego and Baby Jaguar must help her get home. Really, are there ever any other story plots in these books? :)
11. A Trip to Dinosaur Time - also by Michael Foreman - was not my favorite. I just thought it was kind of dumb. But Will really liked it. A little boy plays with his moms new kitchen timer after being told not to and somehow the timer sends him back to dinosaur time. He unintentionally causes a bit of disruption there and, in his effort to get back home, accidentally brings a dinosaur egg with him. The little boy then has to figure out how to send the baby dinosaur back in time again. It's just weird and kind of dumb.
12. William's Dinosaurs by Alan Baker. Hello? Jackpot title! :) A boy is getting tired while playing with his dinosaur toys and takes a walk in the woods only to embark on a crazy adventure and wonder at the end if he had dreamt the whole thing. Again, not my favorite. But Will liked it. 
Will has become quite the expert in dinosaur names. He can spout off a bunch of them without even having to think about it: brachiosaurus (a.k.a. "long neck" - Will's fave), plesiosaurus (a swimmer), pteradactyl, stegasaurus, tyrannosaurus, microraptor, velociraptor, ankylosaurus, etc. The rest are slipping my mind. You'll have to ask my son. It's funny that I do actually ask him what some things are called when it comes to his favorite topics (i.e. construction trucks) because he often remembers better than I do.
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