Where do you stand on practical jokes? There is one camp that stands firmly on the side of a joke is a joke is a joke, and everyone should just laugh it off no matter what. There is the other camp on the side of sometimes jokes can be taken too far, and the situation becomes more mean than funny. What do you think? If I'm being honest, I'm probably not the biggest fan of practical jokes. They always strike me as a bit mean-spirited, and I feel uncomfortable laughing at someone else's expense.

In the new book by now-beloved duo, Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, two friends learn what it means to play a practical joke on a friend and what it means to take that joke too far.

Triangle and Square are two friends in a world of shapes. Triangle plays a trick on Square. Square is afraid of snakes, and triangle pretends to be a snake. It scared Square, but he gets his friends back by playing a trick on Triangle. Kids will enjoy the funny parts of this book. I have mixed emotions about this one. I love this author/illustrator duo's style, but I have some reservations about the story. I was having a conversation on Instagram about the story, and someone brought up a good point. The story focus is overall negative, and it seems like the friends play mean jokes on each other without learning to treat each other kindly in the end. Food for thought. Speaking of food . . . . . we made cookies!!!

We made some story-themed snacks today. Y'all know that I have a Pinterest board with one million ways to cook and craft, but at the end of the day, I love a project that needs no Pinterest pin but instead can be put together in ten minutes with minimal fuss. These cookies/brownies are that minimal fuss project that will go perfectly with your Triangle reading.

What you need:

your favorite chocolate cookie dough or brownie recipe/mix (I used Dorie Greenspan's famous and delicious World Peace Cookies recipe.)
candy eyes
Nutella or melted chocolate

What to do:

bake cookies/brownies according to the recipe.
cut into triangles. (you could cut into triangles and then bake, but every time I do this, i get more triangle blobs instead of crisp-edged shapes. It's up to you.)
use the Nutella or melted chocolate to adhere the eyes to the cookie/brownie.
enjoy your Mac Barnett creations!

Hi there! Are your toes frozen? Is your breath forming icicles in the air? Not to fear! Go throw on your fave hand-knitted sweater/blanket/socks, and check this book out.

Annabelle lives in a pretty dull town where the only two colors to see are the white of the snow and the black of the soot from the chimneys. It's cold, boring, and the people are pretty grumpy. She finds a mysterious box one day, and inside the box, she finds a ball of yarn and a pair of knitting needles. Annabelle decides to knit herself a sweater to keep warm, and once she starts knitting, she realizes this is no ordinary yarn. No matter how much she uses it, the ball of yarn never gets smaller. She knits and knits and never runs out. Annabelle makes sweaters and hats for everyone and everything in her town, and her act of kindness spreads love and warmth all over town.

I have just one question for illustrator Jon Klassen: is there anything you can't do?! Klassen has illustrated so many good books over the past couple of years, from the hilarious I Want My Hat Back to Sam and Dave Dig a Hole , his artwork has a quality that I can't find the right word for. It's humorous but not over the top silly. It's adorable and sweet but not cartoony. I love the way he painted Annabelle's sweaters with the little v's that make hand-knittted things to distinctive. Have a great Monday and stay warm!