The Troublemaker by Lauren Castillo

Mommy: "Get out or I will ban you from this bathtub!" 7 yr. old: "Fine, that just means I'll never take a bath again." No, this isn't a story from a picture book; this happened at my house this morning. Christine (or Beanie as she was nicknamed by her Auntie Amy when she was the size of a bean) was forgetting that we live in a house with 2.5 bathrooms, making her life without bath threats quite idle.

Despite her beginnings as a perfect baby (perfect delivery, perfect nurser, perfect sleeper), she is now known as The Troublemaker. She certainly makes life interesting.

I love the picture book of the same name, written and illustrated by Lauren Castillo. In this story, a beloved stuff animal disappears, and an older brother makes it his mission to find it. When I heard they were giving away 50 copies at #nErDcampMI 2014, I told my mother and daughter that we had to get up at 5 am so we could make it from Ohio (where we had traveled to from NC the previous day) so that we could make it to Parma, MI so I could get a copy. 

Christine loved the book and it is still one of our favorite books to read together. I ordered a copy for my school library and it is almost always checked out.