Read, Write, Repeat.

Max is a baseball player.

And, at least in America, eating hot dogs at the ball game is tradition.

So he was a great choice to review Hot Diggity Dog (Dutton, 2010), a nonfiction picture book about the history of the hot dog.

The book, written by Adrienne Sylver and illustrated by Elwood H. Smith, shares a lot of hot dog history, and it’s a juicy read.

It’s full of fun facts. For example:

• Most hot dogs are eaten in July.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt fed King George VI a hot dog when he visited America in 1939.
• Oscar Mayer has a car shaped like a giant hot dog called the Wienermobile. (I’ve been inside it, but that’s a post for another day.)

The book also has cartoon illustrations and some photography which … um … tastefully bring Sylver’s words to life. There are even two family recipes in the back.

Now, let’s hear from today’s guest reviewer Max. He puts mustard and ketchup on his hot dogs, but they’re not his all-time favorite food. He likes plain macaroni better.

Our reviewer: Max

Age: 8

Things I like to do: Play football. I’m also really good at baseball. I play outfield and third base.

This book was about: Hot dogs. On one page, there was a spaceship that looked like a hot dog, and a dog was in it, and the dog said some crazy stuff.

This book taught me:  That at first, hot dogs were sold without a bun.

The best part was when: There was a list of all the different kinds of hot dogs and the different toppings people put on them.

My favorite line or phrase in this book is: When the turkey is holding the sign saying, “Say yes to veggie dogs.”

Three words that describe this book: “Funny.” “Tasty.” “Cartoon.”

Other kids reading this book should watch for: All the interesting things in the pictures — like coins and spaceships.

You should read this book because: It has really funny pictures.

Thanks, Max!

Are you hungry yet?  If you want more details, you can:

Learn more about the author by reading this interview or visiting her website.

Learn more about the illustrator by reading this interview or visiting his website.

I’ve always enjoyed watching and listening to thunderstorms. I even like walking in them when I can.

Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to books like Waiting Out the Storm by Joanne Early Macken and today’s featured book Thunder-Boomer (Clarion Books, 2009) written by Shutta Crum and illustrated by Carol Thompson.

This picture book tells the story of a farm family suffering through a hot, sticky day when an unexpected thunderstorm drives them inside. But as they’re slamming the windows and watching the raindrops, they see some strange things.

• Dad’s underwear flying off the line and through the air.
• Hail hitting their roof and their corn crops.
• And their favorite chicken, Maizey, stuck outside.

Funny thing is, Maizey isn’t keen on being rescued, but no one finds out why until after the storm. I’ll let Max, today’s guest reviewer, take it from here:

Guest reviewer: Max

Age: 8

I like: Playing basketball. Playing with my brother, Will. Playing baseball.

This book was about: A family who knew a storm was coming. They called it a thunder-boomer. And the little girl’s chicken, Maizey, is behaving crazy, but she’s really trying to protect a little kitten.

The best part was when: The thunderstorm seemed like a tornado. And when the farmer didn’t get right inside and was soaked.

I was worried when: The storm got really bad. I thought the house might blow down.

I was surprised when: The dad’s underwear went flying into the sky.

This book taught me: Why Maizey stayed out in the rain.

Three words that best describe this book: “Thunder-boomer.” “Underwear.” “Storm.”

My favorite line or phrase in this book is: “Dad’s underwear!”

Other kids reading this book should watch for: Why Maizey behaves so strangely.

By the way, when Max encounters a storm, he gets in his bed and hides under the covers. Unless, as he says, it’s a tornado. “Then,” he says. “I go to the basement.”

Thanks, Max!

To learn more about author Shutta Crum and her other wonderful books, visit her website.

Meet Max. He’s 8.  He like books.

He especially likes books with characters named Max. So he was happy to review Max and the Dumb Flower Picture by Martha Alexander (Charlesbridge, 2009).

And it’s a book worth reviewing. It was started by Martha Alexander, who wrote more than 60 children’s books, before she died in 2006 at age 85. She left the text and unfinished sketches, which illustrator James Rumford completed.

The book tells the story of Max, whose teacher has the class color in flower pictures to give to their moms on Mother’s Day. The students all color happily — except Max. He knows his mother would prefer a hand-drawn picture much more than a colored-in picture someone else drew. He stomps and sulks and leaves the room.

What happens when Max decides to color outside the lines? Let’s ask the real Max.

Guest reviewer: Max

Age: 8

I like: Playing video games, playing soccer and doing stuff with my brother, Will, like playing outside and making snow forts together.

This book was about: A boy named Max and his teacher. She told the class to color a picture of a flower, but he thought it was dumb and that his mom wouldn’t like it. So he ran away with his crayons and the picture of the dumb flower and he drew his own flower picture instead.

The best part was when: Max ran away and hid behind the bushes.

I laughed when: Max thought the flower picture he was supposed to color was dumb.

I was surprised when: All the moms liked the pictures that their kids made for them.

The book taught me: That it is OK to be creative and share your own ideas.

Other kids reading this book should watch for: What the children did after Max showed them his drawing.

Three words that describe this book are: “Creative.” “Flowers.” “Mother’s Day.”

My favorite line or phrase in this book is: “The children ran back to the classroom. They got right to work.”

You should read this book because: It encourages you to be creative.

To reinforce Martha’s vision that all anyone needs to be creative is a blank sheet of paper and some imagination, the book’s endpapers are decorated with flowers drawn by Martha’s friends and family.

There are flowers from her sisters, her son, her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren. Flowers from the book’s editors and designers, other authors and artists, friends and admirers. There’s even a blank spot readers can draw their own flower pictures.

You can learn more about Martha by visiting the Charlesbridge Web site or by reading her many wonderful books.