Lunches March 24th - 28th

Boogs' lunches are usually inspired by the books we read together. Story time is part of our daily bedtime routine. Boogs reads to me and then I read 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.  

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie and  re-told by Disney Studios

Our public library has a wonderful collection of books-on-tape. (I still call them that even though they are cds.) Boogs and I rarely listen to music in the car, we listen to stories. We listened to the original Peter Pan story by J.M. Barrie in the car during the last couple of weeks then watched the Disney movie. We had a great discussion on the similarities and differences between the two versions of the story. Boogs said, "I liked the book version better even if it had a little more violence in it. The book has so many more details and parts to the story so I know more about it. I think we should probably always read the book before seeing the movies so we can know the whole story." 

In the ELB lunchbox: Peter Pan drawn on cheese on top of a salami & cheese sandwich, salami hook, dried apricot Tinkerbell glowing behind a spinach leaf, Chex Mix, pineapple, salad, and yogurt.

Dr. Roach's Monstrous Stories: Night of the Zombie Goldfish

This book is one in a series of easy-to-read books that Boogs asked to buy a couple of months ago. He re-read the four books in the series Saturday morning before I woke up. He asked if I could make a lunch featuring the Zombie Goldfish. In the story, Judd loves to work on experiments in the garage. Unfortunately, one of his experiments resulted in zombie goldfish wandering through town. With the help of his friend, Zak, Judd was able to make an antidote and return his pet fish to normal.

In the ELB lunchbox: cheddar cheese Zombie Goldfish with candy eyes/mouth, pistachio fish food, bubbling purple water blackberries, and celery sticks with cream cheese.


No Room For Napoleon by Adria Meserve

Napoleon is a small dog with big ideas. He found an island while exploring in his boat. Napoleon decided the island looked like paradise. Bear, Crab, and Bunny already lived on the island but they welcomed Napoleon and invited him to stay. The new friends wanted to help Napoleon build a home of his own on the island. Pretty soon, Napoleon's big ideas and bossy ways took over the entire island and made his new friends leave.  Eventually, Napoleon realized how he hurt his friends. He then tried to make it right with them. Boogs had a lot to say about the theme of this book. He told me about a bossy friend who is sometimes hard to play with because he always wants his own way. We discussed how to talk to his friend about how that kind of attitude made Boogs feel.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: Napoleon drawn on provolone cheese on top of grilled ham & cheese sandwich, marshmallow pebbles, crackers, orange sun, broccoli trees, and salad dressing.

Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni

Boogs brought this book home for reading homework. I remember reading it in elementary school.  The family that lives in Alexander's house love a wind-up toy mouse but they chase Alexander away with brooms. Alexander discovers that if he can find a magic pebble he can make a wish. He searches for the pebble so he can become a beloved toy like the wind-up mouse. Before he is able to get his wish, he finds the wind-up mouse tossed out in the garbage. He was replaced by new toys. Alexander acts quickly to use his wish to save the wind-up toy. Boogs told me he thought the moral of this story is, "Be happy that you are who you are." He also told me, "The wind-up mouse and other old toys should have been given away to littler kids or Goodwill instead of just being thrown away." I love the discussions Boogs and I have after our bedtime reading each night. I learn so much about the way he thinks by listening to his responses and connections to the books we read.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: boiled egg wind-up mouse, pb&j lizard who can grant wishes sandwich, raisins with purple fruit snack wish pebble, Chex Mix, and berries.


How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning by Rosalyn Schanzer

This picture book biography of Benjamin Franklin is packed with information about Franklin's life as a scientist and inventor. On the first two-page spread there is a cartoon drawing Franklin made showing the colonies as segments of a snake with the words "Join, or Die". Boogs looked at it and said, "Oh I have seen that before! Did you know it was the first cartoon drawing of a discombobulated snake." Wow! I asked what he meant by that and he told me the snake in the picture is confused and probably frustrated that it can't get connected all together. Anyway... the main focus of the book was explaining ways Benjamin Franklin changed lives for the better. The lightning rod was a big factor in reducing the number of house fires in his time. Franklin also started the first lending library in America. He invented bifocals, an odometer, the first clock with a second hand, a musical instrument called the glass armonica, and many other things. Boogs was fascinated with all the things Franklin accomplished.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: cheese quesadilla Ben Franklin, turkey meatball glass armonica, pita chip library books, cheese lightning with tortilla key, pistachio seeds for farmers using his almanac, radish fire hat, carrot stick lightning rods, salad with cochineal tomato used for red dye, and "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". 

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.