Billy Brown and the Belly Button Beastie

By Bobby Norfolk and Sherry Norfolk

Book Overview

Confront your fears and listen to your mother

Every night when Billy Brown's mother puts him to bed, she tells him to keep his covers on so he doesn't catch a cold. Yet every morning when she wakes him, he has kicked the covers off the bed. Knowing how proud Billy is of his belly button, his mother tells him that if he doesn't keep the covers on the bed, the Belly Button Beastie is going to pay him a visit and steal his belly button.

Billy makes a critical error when he disregards his mother's advice, only to find out the Beastie is real. The chaos that ensues when Billy Brown gets up the next morning interferes with his morning routine and follows him to school, until he and his classmates devise a plan to get his belly button back.

With a little improvisation and a lot of bravado, Billy Brown tames the Belly Button Beastie and breaks him of his belly-button-stealing habit for good. Billy is courageous in his confrontation with the Belly Button Beastie and also grows from his experience. This story, taken from a Japanese folktale, celebrates a clever boy who learns of courage, fairness and resourcefulness.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874838312
• ISBN13: 9780874838312
• Release Date: December 2007
• Publisher: August House Publishers
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.9" x 11.3"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

what a great gift

My children and all the neighborhood kids loved this book. I even ordered it for my childrens librarian for christmas! The illustrations are so great everyone could not wait to see the Beastie on the next page.

An imaginative retelling of a Beauty and the Beast British folk tale

"The Great Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog: A Folktale from Great Britain" is an imaginative retelling of a Beauty and the Beast British folk tale originally collected and retold in "A Dictionary of British Folk-Tales" by Katherine M. Briggs. Filled with brilliant tapestry-like full color illustrations, the children's tale moves swiftly to the sticking point. The familiar tale has fresh appeal in this version and the central message of the liberating nature of compassion overcoming the deception of appearances always enchants. Of particular interest in this book are the beautiful explanatory pictures of flowers and their meanings, on the inside pages and covers. Every beautiful illustration seems filled with luminous meaning "The Great Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog" is an artistic and literary triumph!

Awesome pictures

The story is very cute and clever. The artist did an amazing job of really bringing the story to life. The expressions on Billy Brown's face are wonderful. I hope to see more of this artist!

ideal story for kindergartners!

I had the chance to purchase this book by Margaret Read MacDonald--one of my fav authors--at the National Storytelling Festival, and my granddaughter just loves it. So do I, because it communicates traditional values in a subtle way. And because the illustrations are gorgeous. I'm buying more to give to new parents in my church.