Quantcast

Plants Feed Me by Lizzy Rockwell

Source: Holiday House
Hardcover, 29 pgs
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Plants Feed Me by Lizzy Rockwell includes adorable illustrations of vegetables, fruits, plants, and children to demonstrate the importance of plants in feeding humans.  The book provides the basics of plants and their growth cycle for young children to easily understand, including the need for sunlight and nutrients in the earth.  Children are smiling as they dig holes, plant seeds, water plants, and begin harvesting food.  My daughter and I have read this book several times and each time she tells me something new.  She’ll point to something we’ve talked about in previous readings even before I read it to her.  She is recognizing carrots, lettuce, beets, potatoes, and more.

The author talks about the different parts of edible plants and she labels each vegetable and fruit depicted.  Fruits grow on trees and in bushes, vegetables can grow in the ground and above the ground, and some plants that many think are vegetables are actually fruits.  The pictures are well drawn and easy to understand.  Plants Feed Me by Lizzy Rockwell is a great story for young readers to share with their parents, helping them understand the natural wonders and where food comes from.

About the Author:

Lizzy Rockwell is an illustrator whose artwork can be seen in picture books, magazines, games and on walls. She studied art and art history at Connecticut College, and drawing and illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Lizzy is the illustrator of over 25 children’s books by a variety of authors including her mother, Anne Rockwell. She is the author/illustrator of Plants Feed MeGood Enough to Eat: A Kid’s Guide to Food and Nutrition, Hello Baby! and The Busy Body Book: A Kid’s Guide to Fitness.

Lizzy has two grown sons, and lives and works in Bridgeport, CT with her husband, Ken Alcorn, a high school social studies teacher, and their dog Reggie.

79th book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley

Source: Public Library
Paperback, 192 pgs
On Amazon and on Kobo

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley is a journey in olfactory memory and the memories generated by tastes.  Memory is tricky, but recalling even our oldest memories can be difficult without a trigger, and many of those triggers are often related to food.  Whether its a first experience with food, a food we associated with a specific relative or friend, or just food that we loved, our taste, sight, and olfactory senses can bring those memories flooding back with just a hint of smell or taste, even color.  Knisley says in the opening pages, “Sometimes it’s frustrating, this selective memory.  I can remember exactly the look and taste of a precious honey stick, balanced between my berry-stained fingers, but my times tables are long gone, forgotten, in favor of better, tastier memories.”

What’s fresh about this book is that it includes recipes along with the memories and some of them should be just as delicious as the author remembers if prepared using her precise instructions, which do include the use of patience!  In graphic novel style, the images are fun and the memories are dispersed in a way that makes reading a memoir about food even more fun.  It even seems as though it is geared in a way that will entice younger readers to get interested in food and cooking.

Knisley not only explores the creativity of cooking, but also its precise science and measurement, which leads to the perfect recipe.  For an example, you’ll have to check out her memories of baking, particularly chocolate chip cookies and how she still strives and falls short of making the perfect cookie.  Her mother maintains a cool head with her baking, while Knisley bakes through emotion.  It’s an interesting contrast and demonstrates not only the power of baking as a way to soothe emotions, but also as a way to connect with family.  Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley is colorful and flavorful all at once — a travelogue of food memories — that readers will not soon forget.  And as the author would say, “Devour it with relish.”

About the Author:

Beginning with an love for Archie comics and Calvin and Hobbes, Lucy Knisley (pronounced “nigh-zlee”) has always thought of cartooning as the only profession she is suited for. A New York City kid raised by a family of foodies, Lucy is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago currently pursuing an MFA at the Center for Cartoon Studies. While completing her BFA at the School of the Art Institute, she was comics editor for the award-winning student publication F News Magazine.

Lucy currently resides in New York City where she makes comics. She likes books, sewing, bicycles, food you can eat with a spoon, manatees, nice pens, costumes, baking and Oscar Wilde. She occasionally has been known to wear amazing hats.

78th book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

The Lollipop Monster’s Christmas by Eric T. Krackow, illustrated by Heather Krackow

Source: Schiffer Publishing
Hardcover, 64 pgs
I am an Amazon Affiliate

The Lollipop Monster’s Christmas by Eric T. Krackow, illustrated by Heather Krackow, is a children’s story about the meaning of Christmas through engaging colored pencil drawings.  Reading this together, my daughter and I talked about the presents the monsters receive from one another, the cocoa they drank, and how they opened their hearts and home to a monster who was spending the holiday alone in the woods.  Larry’s favorite holiday is Christmas, not because of the gifts, but because he can spend quality and fun time with his friends.

At 64 pages, this was a little long for a young toddler, but she did take to heart what we discussed as Larry made the monster at home in his house and among his other friends.  She learned that holidays — and generally, most ever day — should be about spending time with friends and family and enjoying one another.  The text was not too much for her per page, which was nice, and the illustrations were colorful, but not overly vivid.

The Lollipop Monster’s Christmas by Eric T. Krackow, illustrated by Heather Krackow, is an engaging story, though we would have liked it a little bit shorter.  Otherwise, the story has a good message for young kids learning about the holidays and what is truly meaningful about spending time with family and friends.

69th book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

Children’s Activity Atlas by Jenny Slater, illustrated by Katrin Wiehle and Martin Sanders

Source: Sterling’s Children’s Books
Hardcover, 31 pgs
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Children’s Activity Atlas by Jenny Slater, illustrated by Katrin Wiehle and Martin Sanders from Sterling Children’s Books, is chock full of information about landscapes, national flags, and industry.  This volume focuses mainly on the large continents, and each region is depicted over a two-page spread, complete with mountains, lakes, rivers, and topography like desert and grasslands, etc.  The book comes with a passport that kids can use to answer questions about specific items on the regional maps using the map key and once those questions are completed, the kids can place their seal on the passport page.

Each page is colorfully illustrated, includes local industry and culture on each nation, as well as a key to the land and other facts about those nations.  The back pages have stickers for the individual flags of each nation, which kids can add to each map and stickers for a variety of industries, animals, and local sites.  My daughter and I have started doing a region every few days and placing the stickers and answering the questions, but we’re also talking about what I learned about those nations and where I’d like to visit someday.  She points to things that interest her on the map and we make sure that we fill out the passport together where the questions are and affix her seal when she’s done.  Rather than be a one-time use atlas, this book contains information that can be referred to again and again, and there are postcards included for kids to share with family and friends.

Children’s Activity Atlas by Jenny Slater, illustrated by Katrin Wiehle and Martin Sanders from Sterling Children’s Books, is an interactive look at other countries and regions that kids and parents can use together to discuss different cultures, topography, and industries, etc.  My daughter gets excited when I ask if she wants to bring out the atlas and check out some other countries and regions.  I would recommend this for parents with toddlers eager to learn and interact, as well as older kids who are in school.

68th book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

 

There’s a Pig in My Class by Johanna Thydell, illustrated by Charlotte Ramel

Source: Holiday House
Hardcover, 26 pgs
I’m an Amazon Affiliate

There’s a Pig in my Class! by Johanna Thydell, illustrated by Charlotte Ramel and translated from Swedish by Helle Martens, is a cute book for kids in kindergarten and for parents to read to kids.  A lonely pig dreams of fun at the local school and one day gets his wish.  He is sneaked into the school and dressed up like a kid, so he can fit in.  While the students distract the teachers from the pig and his funny clothes, the other students make sure the pig can play the games and eat lunch with them.  He even gets to take a nap.  But eventually, the teacher becomes aware that this kid is a little bit different from the rest.

Nice pencil and ink drawings make these characters come alive from the honey-haired girl to the lively pig in human clothes.   My daughter adores books with animals and this one is no different, though the text is a bit too much for her, she did look at the pictures as I read it to her.  There’s a Pig in my Class! by Johanna Thydell, illustrated by Charlotte Ramel and translated from Swedish by Helle Martens, is a fun book about nature and how children can be brought out into the world and learn from it, and that nature can be fun.

About the Authors:

Johanna Thydell is a popular YA novelist in Europe, where her books have been published in thirteen different languages.  Her first novel won the prestigious August Award and was made into an award-winning film.  This is her first picture book and was inspired by her young son.  She lives in Stockholm, Sweden.

Charlotte Ramel grew up in Sweden with an American mother and a Swedish father.  Before becoming an illustrator she art directed food magazines.  The first children’s book she illustrated, The Cake Book by Marie Meijier, was an international hit.  She has since worked with Sweden’s most eminent children’s authors and now lives in Stockholm, Sweden.

66th book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

Whiny Whiny Rhino by McBoop

Source: Blue Blanket Publishing and iRead Book Tours
Paperback, 34 pages
I am an Amazon Affiliate

 

Whiny Whiny Rhino by McBoop, the father-daughter team of Carmin Iadonisi & Amanda Iadonisi-Word, is a vividly illustrated book about overcoming your fears by looking inside and taking a leap for fun.  Tiny Rhino has three older brothers, and they are rough and tough, often telling Tiny that he’s too whiny and scared all of the time.  They say that he needs to be tough to make it out in the world.  He would rather stay inside and read, but one day, he decides he’s had enough of his brothers’ teasing and leaves the house.  Rather than jump at the opportunities presented to him by his friends, Tiny stays away from all the fun.  When he’s in bed thinking about his day and how much fun he didn’t have, Tiny comes to a realization that he needs to be more adventurous.

My daughter was captivated by the vivid images and the fun Tiny encountered.  Her favorite pictures were Tiny’s injured foot and when he’s in bed dreaming about becoming a superhero with a cape.  With easy rhymes, my child followed the story with little confusion and she wasn’t easily distracted from the story as we read and looked at all the pictures.  Whiny Whiny Rhino by McBoop, the father-daughter team of Carmin Iadonisi & Amanda Iadonisi-Word, is about taking a chance, letting go of anxieties, and take life one experience at a time.  These are good lessons for kids to learn, especially as most everything they encounter is new to them.

About the Authors:

McBoop is the creative team of Carmin Iadonisi & Amanda Iadonisi-Word. This father-daughter duo co-wrote and illustrated Whiny Whiny Rhino. They currently live in New England where they enjoy making art, reading comics, playing board games, eating fancy chocolate and whining about the weather.  Connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, and through their Website.

64th book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

The Rat by Elise Gravel

Source: Tundra Books
Hardcover, 32 pages
On Amazon and on Kobo

The Rat (Disgusting Creatures) by Elise Gravel packs a lot of information in its pages and includes colorful images and punchy commentary.  My daughter enjoys looking at the fun pictures of the Rat, and some of the large words are easier for her to notice, which makes a teachable moment for her to learn new words.  While some of the information may be too much for kids in one sitting, after a few reads, kids will learn more an more about rats.  Other books in the series focus on flies, head lice, slugs, spiders, and worms.  Most kids are fascinated with bugs and creepy crawly things, probably because they are smaller and often within their field of view and touch, unlike birds and other animals.

Gravel’s images are fun, and it allows young readers to learn about the rat, his habits, and his behavior, as well as how important rats are to human research.  When the rat picks her nose with her tail, kids will laugh or say its disgusting.  It’s just one example of how these books can entertain readers as well as help them learn.  The Rat (Disgusting Creatures) by Elise Gravel is fun and informative, allowing young readers to learn new words and spellings, while also having fun with life’s more creepy creatures.

About the Author/Illustrator:

Elise Gravel is an award-winning author/illustrator from Quebec. She was the winner of the 2013 Governor General’s Award for Children’s Illustration in French, and is well-known in Quebec for her original, wacky picture books. She has published a number of books with US publisher Blue Apple and is currently working on a graphic novel for Roaring Brook Press. Having completed her studies in graphic design, Elise found herself quickly swept up into the glamorous world of illustration. Her old design habits drive her to work a little text here and there into her drawings and she loves to handle the design of her assignments from start to finish. She is inspired by social causes and is likes projects that can handle a good dose of eccentricity.

57th book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

Twelve Dancing Unicorns by Alissa Heyman

Source: Sterling Children’s Books
Hardcover, 32 pages
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Twelve Dancing Unicorns by Alissa Heyman, illustrated by Justin Gerard, is gorgeously illustrated. Like paintings that leap off the page by some magical power, these unicorns will dance into the hearts and dreams of any little girl.  Heyman adapts her fairytale from Grimm’s “Twelve Dancing Princesses,” and here the little girl loves the unicorns so much that she is willing to help them in any way she can.  When the King says that he will grant any wish to the person who finds out how the chains are broken each night by the unicorns in his corral, she is determined to do just that.  While there are few obstacles in the girl’s way and the text can be in huge paragraphs for little kids, Heyman does a great job of showing the girl’s determination and love for the unicorns in a few pages.

The illustrations are fantastic; it’s like stepping into another world, but the unicorns look as if they could be real animals.  The book is clearly for older learning readers probably ages 6+, as some of the words will require assistance from parents and older readers and the paragraphs are longer than in other picture books.  While the story has little that’s new to offer and is not in the poetry-like prose my daughter enjoys most, the story will seem new to younger readers and engage them with its fantastic world popping off the pages.  Twelve Dancing Unicorns by Alissa Heyman, illustrated by Justin Gerard, is visually stunning and shows that young girls can not only solve problems but achieve their goals, no matter how overwhelming they may seem.

Follow the Twelve Dancing Unicorns blog tour tomorrow on Kindred Spirit Mommy.

About the Author:

Alissa Heyman is a freelance writer who edited The Best Poems of the English Language (Mud Puddle Books). Her poems have appeared in the St. Petersburg Review, Lyric, and Quarto, and she has adapted The Big Book of… series for Sterling Publishing, which includes The Big Book of Horror, The Big Book of Fairies, and The Big Book of Pirates. Alissa lives in New York City where she also curates the Perfect Sense poetry reading series at the Cornelia Street Café.

About the Illustrator:

Justin Gerard has done illustration for DreamWorks, Warner Brothers, Disney, HarperCollins, Penguin, Little, Brown, and others. The Society of Illustrators featured his illustration “Beowulf and Grendel” in the 50th Annual of American Illustration, from his IPPY Award-winning book, Beowulf, Book I: Grendel the Ghastly. Justin lives in Greenville, SC.

54th book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

The Bambino and Me by Zachary Hyman

Source: Tundra Books and LibraryThing Early Reviewers
Hardcover, 48 pages
On Amazon and on Kobo

The Bambino and Me by Zachary Hyman, illustrated by Zachary Pullen and audio narration by Jason Alexander, is a great little book about baseball and the heroes we have as children.  While this story is completely fictionalized, the author used some of Babe Ruth’s own words to inspire the story.  A young boy, named George, receives a baseball jersey for his birthday, but its for the wrong team.  George is a New York Yankees fan, but his uncle just buys him a nice jersey to wear to his first baseball game with his father.  George’s dream to see Babe Ruth play for the Yankees is about the come true, but there’s only one catch, his mother is going to make him wear his present, a Red Sox Jersey.  And if you know anything about baseball, that’s not a good situation.

George also has another problem, he’s not very good at bat when he plays with his friends, but Babe Ruth has some great advice about that.  For ages 6-9, this book is geared mostly toward boys who struggle with their sports abilities and fitting in just as much as girls.  However, my daughter really enjoyed the audio version narrated by Jason Alexander as we followed along with the book.  She liked it so much we read it twice in a row.  When I asked her what her favorite part of the book was, she said, “The Bambino.”

The Bambino and Me by Zachary Hyman, illustrated by Zachary Pullen and audio narration by Jason Alexander, is a great story for young readers about heroes and the bravery it takes to be an individual and keep trying no matter how much we fail.  There are great messages here about perseverance, respecting the gifts we’re given, and the respect we need to show to our families and others. Jason Alexander is superb as he breathes life into the main protagonist, his mother, and the Babe. He’s a great actor and it shines through in his vibrant narration.

About the Author:

Zachary Hyman is one of North America’s top young hockey prospects and was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. In 2011, Hockey Canada named Zachary Hyman the Canadian Junior A Player of the Year and his sweater hung in the Hockey Hall of Fame. His love of baseball and his passion for history inspired Zachary to pen The Bambino and Me. Hyman studies and plays hockey at the University of Michigan, where in 2012 he received the Freshman Academic Achievement Award.

About the Illustrator:

Zachary Pullen’s character-oriented illustrations have been seen in numerous publications including The New York Times Book Review, Sports Illustrated, Esquire, and The Wall Street Journal to name a few. He has been honored several times through the prestigious Society of Illustrators juried shows and Communication Arts Illustration Annual of the best in current illustration. Pullen lives with his wife and son in Wyoming. To see more of his work, please visit www.zacharypullen.com.

About the Narrator:

Jason Alexander is best known for his role as George Costanza on the TV series Seinfeld, but his acting credits span from the Broadway stage to film to music videos. His list of awards is long and varied, and includes a Tony Award and Magician of the Year at the esteemed Magic Castle in Los Angeles. He’s also an award-winning author, librettist and director; a noted cabaret artist and comedian; and a poker enthusiast. A true renaissance man, he lives in Los Angeles with his wife and sons.

37th book for 2014 New Author Challenge.

 

 

 

 

20th book for 2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

Disney Princess: Fairy Tale Moments and Disney Junior Sofia the First: Practice Makes Princess

DisneyPrincesses_SC_Hi_Res_FrntDisneyJR_PracticeMakesPrincess_SC_Hi_Res_Frnt

Source: Goodman Media
Paperbacks, 128 pages (each)
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Disney Princess: Fairy Tale Moments and Disney Junior Sofia the First: Practice Makes Princess are being issued by Time Home Entertainment Inc. as part of a Poster-A-Page book series for kids ages 4-12.  These thick books are chock full of posters to hang on the walls, though you’ll want to mete out which posters are added to the walls if you have small rooms or just want to make the fun last with your kids.  One poster in each book allows youngsters to color their favorite princesses.  Obviously, these two are geared more toward female children ages 4-12, but they also have wonderful messages about kindness and teamwork that could apply to all kids.  There are posters on every page and nine super-size posters that can be used as door signs or room decorations.

Disney Sofia Please Knock Poster

The perforations in the books make it easy to tear out the posters and pages.  In Sophia The First, young readers not only get colorful pictures of the characters from the cartoon, but they also get to see her beginnings as a princess unfold and what she learns along the way.  In the Disney Princess book, provides snapshots of each fairy tale princess — Rapunzel, Ariel, Cinderella, Merida, Tiana, and Jasmine, etc.  And these posters are more about making kids rooms their own sanctuaries.

Disney Fairy Tale Moments Slipper Poster (2)

Disney Princess: Fairy Tale Moments and Disney Junior Sofia the First: Practice Makes Princess were well received by my daughter who promptly had me help her tear out the posters she could color.  While she is still filling them in with color slowly, she was thrilled to see that the other pages came out too.  Right now, she wants to keep the books in tact, but that will change as the days move forward and she realizes she can redecorate her room and replace the Dr. Seuss with the princesses she loves.  The one thing she wanted in the books, however, were stickers.  She’s big into her own art and loves adding new stickers to her collections.  Princess stickers would have knocked this out of the park for her, but she still loves them.

36th book for 2014 New Author Challenge.

Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown

Source: Sterling Children’s Books
Hardcover, 28 pages
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown is beautifully illustrated by 12 award-winning artists and has a great CD of songs to accompany it.  My daughter loves listening to the songs nightly these days — replacing the other goodnight songs, which were mostly nature sounds or easy-listening Eagles and Eric Clapton.  We’ve only ever read 2 other books by Brown, Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny.  She’s loved that one, and the calm way I read it, but the verse in this collection does not seem as polished, which could be attributed to the fact that these lullabies were found in a chest of unpublished manuscripts.  However, what rings true is that these songs resemble those that children often sing to themselves when they are playing or picking up their things — spur-of-the-moment made-up lyrics — as said in the book’s introduction.

From The Mouse's Prayer (page 25)

Close my eyes and go to sleep.
Bugs no more on grass blades creep.
Bugs no more and birds no more,
In the woods will come no more

Dream of a weed growing from a seed,
Quietly, quietly from a seed.
In a garden
A slim green weed,
Quietly, quietly from a seed.

Each of these songs is repetitive in nature, like the songs children sing, and they are catchy when set to music.  My daughter is already singing them as she goes to sleep and takes her naps.  She’s engaged with the vivid drawings, which are fanciful and other worldly.  Goodnight Songsby Margaret Wise Brown is gorgeous, playful, and calming in words, illustration, and song — a delightful addition to anyone’s collection.

About the Author:

Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. Even though she died over 45 years ago, her books still sell very well. Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading. She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them. She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn’t the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things.

Bosley Builds a Tree House – Portuguese-English by Tim Johnson

Source: Tim Johnson, author
Paperback, 34 pages
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Bosley Builds a Tree House – Portuguese-English by Tim Johnson is a story that emphasizes teamwork with cartoonish images on one page and text on the other.  Each page of text includes English and Portuguese, with highlighted vocabulary words.  The corresponding vocabulary words in English are highlighted in Portuguese as well.  On certain pages, there are vocabulary words to teach readers the Portuguese names for the animals in the book, such as rabbit and coelho.

Although the images are the right kind for children, these books are for older readers interested in learning a language or for parents interested in teaching their younger children another language.  As a Portuguese descendent with little to no experience in the written language, it would be difficult to speak the Portuguese translations without consulting another source for pronunciation.  My daughter’s grandfather speaks the language and struggled with the translated text, as his experience with the words he knows instinctively sometimes did not match up with how the words were written on the page.  Bosley Builds a Tree House – Portuguese-English by Tim Johnson doesn’t really work with native English speakers because of the lack of pronunciation key, but it could work as an audio book or with help from a native speaker.

About the Author:

Tim Johnson is an author in a variety of fields, most notably dual-language children’s illustrated picture books and martial arts non-fiction.

Tim discovered the power of bilingual books while visiting Japan as a teenager. In 2011 he published his first dual language children’s book in 7 different foreign languages as a tool for increasing cultural awareness and gaining new perspectives. Bosley Bear has since become popular among U.S. and international readers, providing a fantastic way for children to learn a second language in a fun, easy and natural way.

26th book for 2014 New Author Challenge.