Short and Sweet Blog Tour!

Title: Short and Sweet 

Author: Josh Funk 

Illustrator: Brendan Kearney 

Publisher: Sterling Children's Books 

Publication Date: September 1st, 2020 

Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book 

GoodReads Summary: Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast are back with a twist: they’ve been transformed into small children. Now it’s a race against the clock to turn our favorite duo into grown-ups again!

Lady Pancake is aching; Sir French Toast’s looking pale. Could they be going . . . STALE? Maybe a visit to Professor Biscotti’s lab for her despoiling procedure will help. But instead of beautifying them, Biscotti accidentally transforms the two treats into toddlers! Frightened of the now gargantuan (to them) Baron von Waffle, the mini breakfast foods scamper off on an adventure in the fridge, visiting everywhere from the Bran Canyon to Limes Square. Will Baron von Waffle and Professor Biscotti figure out a way to turn them back into a grown Lady and Sir? Or will they stay short & sweet forever?

In this fourth LADY PANCAKE & SIR FRENCH TOAST adventure, Pancake and Toast fear they are going stale and visit Professor Biscotti, whose faulty gadget transforms them into toddlers, sending them on an adventure in the refrigerator. 

What I Think: It's amazing to me what Josh is able to do with words and rhyme AND still be able to tell a great story. One thing I've been thinking a lot about lately is format and ways to have some fun with what we are creating while also moving the story along. One way this stood out to me in Short and Sweet is when Baron von Waffle suggests Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast check out Professor Biscotti's Brochure. As a writer, this is a brilliant move! Instead of taking time to explain it, Josh and Brendan can show us. 

There are opportunities in narrative, information, and opinion writing to think about how to get creative with ideas like this. Younger students can draw their own brochure - either to try it out with in a longer piece of text like in Short and Sweet or on its own. Older students can use this as a tool as well. Last year, I had a lot of students who loved to draw and I loved encouraging them to use their drawings in their writing so this is another example to share with them. 

Snatch of Text:

"Professor Biscotti's Laboratory

Starting to MILDEW or CURDLE or CRUMBLE?

Don't sit around and complain, 

pout, and grumble!

Try out my patented DE-spoiling ray!

Feel fresh and you again.

VISIT TODAY!"

Don't miss the other stops on the 

Long and Savory 5-week Short and Sweet Virtual Tour!

Sign up for the Virtual Launch Party on 9/1 

with An Unlikely Story bookstore HERE.

Pre-order from Indiebound HERE.

Listen to the music book trailer HERE.

Top 10 Indie Kids Next List (#9): "Josh Funk pours on the adorable once again ... well worth the carbs for all readers."

"A series that just keeps improving, with an adorable couple taking center stage. A must purchase." - *Starred Review* from School Library Journal

"The quality remains consistently high for this series, linking edibles and emotions with excitement and ease." - Kirkus Reviews