Day 6: Baby Animal Roundup

Yesterday seemed busier than most, and for that reason I fell a few hours behind in getting this up. On the plus side, that means there will be another 4 match-ups coming later today! The first four all wound up being about animals (as I've noticed 65% of these books are), so that's our theme.

Dr. Seuss Region

6. Good Night Farm vs. 11. Time for a Hug

"Good Night Farm" was a morning-to-night journey around the jack-of-all-trades farms that are rare in this day and age (or the reader was unknowingly being teleported to many different farms). Jack was in a surly mood and I was hoping "Good Night Farm" would put him to sleep. It did not, but "Time for a Hug" calmed him down a little bit more. No smiles here, so we'll see how the 11 seed does next week.

Beatrix Potter Region

6. And Tango Makes Three vs. 11. We're Going on a Bear Hunt

My wife and her family remember this as "We're Going on a Lion Hunt." Which is insane. There appears to be some real-time Mandela effect stuff happening here, as there are videos on YouTube that are the exact same except for the predators involved (see bear; lion). "Bear" has more views, and Michael Rosen's "Bear Hunt" book came out ten years earlier (in 1989-perhaps as commentary on the fall of the Soviet Union?). So I'm right. But it's honestly a terrifying book across the last few pages, as our hunting party flees certain death. "And Tango Makes Three," on the other hand, is an uplifting and refreshing story about a family of penguins, so it won out today. We are wishing Michael Rosen a speedy recovery, by the way.

4. Good Night, Gorilla vs. 13. Glacier Babies
"Good Night, Gorilla" is another book whose worn cover betrays its high standing with Jack's cousins, and I would guess that he'll come around on it pretty soon. Unfortunately, the story is told without many words, and my impromptu efforts to fill in the gaps didn't cut it. "Glacier Babies" has cute animal babies, which Jack definitely likes (see below).

8. If I Were a Moose. . . vs. 9. Some Babies are Wild
I like both of these books, but honestly I was rooting for "If I Were a Moose. . ." As we saw in earlier match-ups, however, Jack is not yet impressed by books that rely on the sense of touch, and is impressed by cute baby animals (as a fellow cute baby animal, I suppose). Maybe next year when we have a blog following all of the hiking, canoeing, and cross-country skiing Jack is getting up to we'll just steal the title of his favorite this round.

As I mentioned above, stay tuned for the rest of the first 32 match-ups. I think we'll take a break tomorrow and go outside, but I'll try to get the updated bracket up.