At our house, we have a lot of stuffed animals. These animals are blessed with a variety of creative and unusual names, such as White Bunny and Brown Doggy. One of our favorite fictitious stuffed animals is Blue Kangaroo. Blue Kangaroo has been brought to life in several of Emma Chichester Clark’s wonderful books. Chichester Clark is an illustrator who was trained by Quentin Blake. If Blake’s name sounds familiar to you, it is probably because he illustrated Roald Dahl’s books for children (think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and James and the Giant Peach). Take a look at some of Emma Chichester Clark’s books!

What Shall We Do, Blue Kangaroo? by Emma Chichester Clark

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Lily is surrounded by adults who are too busy to play with her and Blue Kangaroo. She starts to try to do things by herself, and Blue Kangaroo is impressed with his Lily. When a storm forces Lily to bring in all her stuffed animals out of the rain, Blue Kangaroo realizes that Tiny Teddy is inadvertently left outside. Inspired by Lily, Blue Kangaroo musters up the courage to go fetch Tiny Teddy by himself.

The further adventures of Lily and Blue Kangaroo teaches young readers that they, too, can be independent and have fun, even on their own!

No More Kissing by Emma Chichester Clark

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Momo definitely does not like kissing! He is constantly running away from everyone who tries to lay a kiss on him; his aunts, his cousin Mimi, and his mother. But when his sweet baby brother is born, Momo just may find that kissing isn’t so bad after all.

Emma Chichester Clark’s monkey tale is adorable!

Follow the Leader! by Emma Chichester Clark

rating: 5 of 5 stars
A little boy and his dog play follow the leader, and a variety of animals join the game. While going through the forest, a tiger with not-so-good intentions follows along as well. The little boy and his dog have a plan to get rid of the tiger, saving all the animals while keeping the tiger happy at the same time!

More books by Emma Chichester Clark include Lunch with Aunt Augusta; a tale about three lemur siblings; More!; a book about a boy who just can’t get enough; and Up in Heaven; a story about what happens when a favorite dog grows old and dies.

Yesterday, Lily was playing with her toy puppy. She was dressing her puppy with a fancy collar, a tiara, and she had big plans for a fancy dress. They are going to the big event together.

Today, Lily was playing with Ed, and she was putting a blanket under her headband. Emmy was the “minister,” and Lily was the bride. Ed played the groom’s role. Lily has weddings on the mind. We are leaving on Saturday to attend my sister’s wedding. All the wedding preparations have Lily quite excited!

Unfortunately, my mom is too weak to go. Her broken rib gives her a lot of pain, and she is just not able to travel right now. She is in good spirits, though, which I think is great. Her positive attitude will help her get well again! My dad will be able to attend, which is fortunate since he is the minister who will marry my sister and her fiance.

Lily wrote this letter to my mom today. (Mom, you’ll get this in the mail soon!) It says, “DEAR GRANDMA HAVE A GOOD WEEK WHEN WE ARE AT AUNT HEATHERS WEDDING WITHOUT GRANDPA” It’s written all in caps, as four year old writers tend to do. I had to spell out every word for her, so writing this letter was very tedious, but she stuck with it until she had written down everything she wanted to say.

Lily also brought this book off of the book shelf, and insisted we read it.

Lilly’s Big Day by Kevin Henkes

rating: 5 of 5 stars
When Lilly discovers her teacher, Mr. Slinger, is marrying the school nurse, she is determined to be the flower girl at the wedding. She practices over and over in her room, wearing attire suitable for a flower girl. Mr. Slinger breaks it to her gently; his niece is to be the flower girl. Lilly is heartbroken, so Mr. Slinger makes her the flower girl assistant. Being a flower girl assistant just isn’t the same, and Lilly isn’t sure how she feels about her role in the wedding. The big day arrives, and in the end, Lilly is an excellent flower girl assistant, and she even makes a new friend along the way.

Lilly continues to enchant her young readers in Lilly’s Big Day!