Lunches December 2nd - 6th

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read at bedtime the previous evening. Each night, Boogs reads one book to me and I read a book or a chapter of a book to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks. We like to pack our lunches in ELBs and Laptop Lunchboxes.  

The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett

We love to read Jan Brett books this time of year. Brett's illustrations are so beautiful and detailed. In this story, Santa assigned Teeka the task of rounding up the wild reindeer and getting them trained for Christmas Eve. Teeka tried her best to work with the reindeer. She shouted out commands, brushed them until their ears turned pink, and pushed them into unfamiliar places in line. The reindeer ended up frustrated and scared. Eventually, the reindeer got their antlers so tangled they could not get loose. Teeka learned it was better to work with others by using a soft voice instead of yelling, screaming, and bossing.

Boogs and I had just been discussing how to redirect/correct someone nicely before we read this book. At the after school Math Pentathlon group, Boogs' partner for the FIAR game was not paying attention and kept letting the other team easily win. Boogs started to get frustrated and his voice began to get very loud. I helped him out by reminding him to use quiet questioning rather than yelling. After group was over, we talked about which way worked best with his partner, yelling or questioning. Boogs said he felt it was more effective when he asked, "Is that the best move? Can you see where they can go next?" rather than yelling at his friend, "Not there!!!" I love that Boogs chose this book for our bedtime reading and it reinforced something he had experienced that day. 

In the ELB lunchbox: almond butter & jelly reindeer sandwiches with locked horns, strawberries, salad, olives, cheese, and yogurt.



Three French Hens by Margie Palatini

A mademoiselle from Paris wants to send her true love parts of the 12 Days of Christmas song. The partridge in a pear tree and the two turtledoves arrive on schedule. Unfortunately, the three French hens (Poulette, Colette, and Fifi) were accidentally shipped to New York City. The hens tried to find the mademoiselle's true love. They knew his name was Philippe Renard. When they looked for him in the phone book they discovered a name that matched when translated, Phil Fox. The hens immediately went to Phil Fox's apartment to deliver themselves. The kindness of the hens and their holiday spirit worked to transform Phil Fox's life and luck. Boogs liked this story. He really enjoyed looking at the cute and quirky illustrations, especially the drawings of Phil's cockroach friend.

In the ELB lunchbox: salami & cheese fox sandwich, cheese Christmas tree, candied sunflower seed bulbs for decorating the tree, yogurt "parfait", berries, and salad. Bento-logy's "What Does the Fox Say?" post was the inspiration for the fox sandwich made with a star shaped cookie cutter. What a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing it Caren.

Scaredy Squirrel Prepares For Christmas by Melanie Watt

While I was at work, I stopped by the school library to pick up a few holiday books. The public library we go to had already been wiped out. I checked out two books and then the school librarian told me I should check out this holiday Scaredy Squirrel book. She said she would love to see me make a lunch from it. So, I made this lunch and gave it to my school librarian. Even grown-ups like story themed lunches.

Scaredy Squirrel is constantly in a state of panic and on high alert to avoid dangers. In this book, Scaredy Squirrel explains exactly how to have a safe holiday season. Boogs read this book out loud to me while we were in the car. He thought it was hilarious, especially Scaredy Squirrel's extreme dislike of mistletoe.

In the ELB lunchbox: salami & cheese Scaredy Squirrel sandwich with cheese shirt, hat and list. I colored in the details with Foodwriter markers. Cheese Christmas tree with candied sunflower seed Christmas lights, spinach, tomatoes, pesto sauce in a Mini Dipper (I like pesto & salami, I put it on the side in case the Librarian didn't like it), and apricots. 


King Hugo's Huge Ego by Chris Van Dusen

Boogs is a big fan of Chris Van Dusen as an author and as an illustrator. Van Dusen's If I Built A Car is one of Boogs favorite books. He also loves the Mercy Watson series which Van Dusen illustrated. Boogs thoroughly enjoyed this book, too. Tiny King Hugo had such a big ego that he only cared for himself. One day, he crossed the wrong villager. She was a sorceress who cast a spell that made Hugo's head swell larger and larger whenever he was being arrogant or pompous. Boogs laughed out loud when he saw the illustrations of Hugo's giant head on top of a teeny tiny body.

In the Laptop lunchbox: pb&j giant headed King Hugo sandwich, crackers, Babybel cheese, blueberries, applesauce, broccoli and tomatoes.

Snacky Lunch

I was in a rush this morning so I threw this food in an ELB in about three minutes. I did not have an extra 10 to 15 minutes for a story themed lunch.  In the ELB: pretzels, salami, olives, tomatoes, Babybel cheese, blackberries, and half of a homemade zucchini muffin.


Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.