two fun books for young lads and those who read to them

We lucked out with a couple of recent library selections.

Monkey with a Toolbelt is right up our collective alley.  Chico Bon Bon (love the name) has an array of implements in his tool belt and is thus ready for anything, including capture by an organ grinder in need of a new monkey.  As it happened, shortly after reading this fun book (written and illustrated by Chris Monroe), the younger lad took a spill on the wood floor, landing on his hip.  We whipped out the "tool belt" ice pack from the freezer, and he was good as new.  

The snickers emanating from my beloved's otherwise bemused reading voice belie the wide-reaching appeal of Mini Grey's Traction Man is Here.  Household items like scrubbing brushes and garden spades are elevated to hero and villain respectively as the action figure Traction Man sets about saving the world one spoon at a time.  Wildly imaginative and fun from start to finish, this story is both visually and aurally entertaining for everyone within earshot.  The sequel Traction Man Meets Turbo Dog continues the fun, though the first in the series retains pride of place around here.

We've read and reread these two funny books countless times in the week we've had them checked out. For our two young lads, they are fodder for laughter, imagination, and dreams of tools and super heroes.