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Dining With … Monsters: A Disgusting Way to Count to 10! by Agnese Baruzzi

Source: Sterling Children’s Books
Hardcover, 34 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Dining With … Monsters A Disgusting Way to Count to 10! by Agnese Baruzzi is a cute children’s book in which young readers can dine with monsters on some of their favorite foods.  From The Beast with Giant Claws and Scales to Mr. One-Eye Not-So-Nice, these beasts eat spiders, frogs, and more.  My daughter has read and re-read this book several times with me and she enjoys flipping open the flaps to count the disgusting creatures being swallowed whole.  Even when we are not reading together, she often opens the book and creates her own stories about these monsters.

The bright, bold colors in these drawings and the short little rhymes are engaging and entertaining, and these characters are scary and funny at the same time. It’s a fun way to count to 10.  At the end, there is even a recap of all the items eaten, so that young readers can recount these items.  Dining With … Monsters A Disgusting Way to Count to 10! by Agnese Baruzzi was a big hit.  Perfect for Halloween and for R.I.P. X.

About the Author:

Qualified from the ISIA in Urbino in 2004, Agnese Baruzzi currently lives in Bologna, Italy. She has been working as an illustrator and has been publishing children’s books since 2001 in several countries. She collaborates with advertising agencies and leads workshops for kids in schools and libraries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodnight Songs: A Celebration of the Seasons by Margaret Wise Brown


Source: Sterling Children’s Books
Hardcover and CD, 36 pgs
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Goodnight Songs: A Celebration of the Seasons by Margaret Wise Brown is a collection of poems accompanied by beautiful images from 12 award-winning artists.  Brown’s verse is tailored to the sensibilities of children and their sense of wonderment about the world around them.  All but two of the poems in this collection have never been published because she died before they could be, but even though she died before publishing all of her writing, she had published about 100 books.  Many of these poems read like song lyrics.  Kids will be immediately engaged by the poems and their rhythm, but the images also are so vivid and beautiful.  Some them are reminiscent of pastel renderings.  The poems sing the praises of each season, and the artists’ renderings are so enchanting, and the book includes short biographies of each artist.  The accompanying CD of music brings these poems even further to life, and kids will love swaying and moving to the rhythm.  Some of these are very folksy, but with an undercurrent of country and pop.  Very versatile, as some are more soothing for night time activities.

Many of these read like spur-of-the-moment made-up lyrics, which is what children often do on their own from time to time.  Singing often gets them to do things they normally would be opposed to, such as cleaning up their messes.  Goodnight Songs: A Celebration of the Seasons by Margaret Wise Brown is an adorable collection of poems and songs that will entertain kids for some time, and Brown’s legacy lives on.  Another printing from Sterling Children’s books has a more wintery feel to it, but is a great companion for this copy.

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.

This Old Van by Kim Norman, illustrated by Carolyn Conahan

Source: Sterling Children’s Books
Hardcover, 30 pgs
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This Old Van by Kim Norman, illustrated by Carolyn Conahan, is a fun re-imagining of the old song, “This Old Man,” which my daughter happens to love, especially when Anna sings it.  In this VW-looking van all tricked out in flower-power aesthetics and an old man and lady behind the wheel who have to be grandma and grandpa, little kids will be unable to take their eyes off this traveling duo as they wonder where are they going?!  My daughter loved hearing a new rendition of the song she knows, and was curious to see what happened next because she knew it wouldn’t be the same.

Young readers can count along with the grandparents in the van, and they can ask questions about what these people pass on the road to their destination, which you know has to do with grandkids, right?  Traveling as quickly as they can, these grandparents have quite a few adventures as they count to ten, just like in the song.

This Old Van by Kim Norman, illustrated by Carolyn Conahan, has some great colors and a great story.  There was a little explanation by the end as to what a derby is, but she loved reading this one too.  We’ve probably read this one 10 times.  That’s two winners in a row from Sterling.

About the Author:

Kim Norman is the author of more than a dozen children’s books published by Sterling, Scholastic and two Penguin imprints. Titles include Ten on the Sled, (Sterling) which spent weeks on Barnes and Noble’s Top Ten bestseller list and has been released in Korean and German editions as well as appearing in Scholastic Book Fairs in schools around North America. I Know a Wee Piggy, was reviewed in the New York Times, and is listed on the Texas “2×2 Reading List,” as well being offered by Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.  Kim has a long history of theater & musical performing, which she enjoys including in her school visits and presentations.

 

Mailbox Monday #334

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog.

To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links.  Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Vicki, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what I received:

1.  The Race for Paris by Meg Waite Clayton for review in September with TLC Book Tours.

Normandy, 1944. To cover the fighting in France, Jane, a reporter for the Nashville Banner, and Liv, an Associated Press photographer, have already had to endure enormous danger and frustrating obstacles—including strict military regulations limiting what women correspondents can do. Even so, Liv wants more.

Encouraged by her husband, the editor of a New York newspaper, she’s determined to be the first photographer to reach Paris with the Allies, and capture its freedom from the Nazis.

However, her Commanding Officer has other ideas about the role of women in the press corps. To fulfill her ambitions, Liv must go AWOL. She persuades Jane to join her, and the two women find a guardian angel in Fletcher, a British military photographer who reluctantly agrees to escort them. As they race for Paris across the perilous French countryside, Liv, Jane, and Fletcher forge an indelible emotional bond that will transform them and reverberate long after the war is over.

NotBlackWhite2.  Not Black and White by G.A. Beller, which arrived unexpectedly from Tandem Literary and one that will be passed onto someone who would enjoy this.

First time author G. A. Beller creates a fictionalized accounting of the characters and events surrounding this time in Chicago politics. His storytelling will place the reader inside the smoke-filled back rooms where political deals are made. Inspired by true events, Beller’s speculation of how these events played out leaves the reader to interpret fact from fiction.

 

3. Goodnight Songs: A Celebration of the Seasons by Margaret Wise Brown for review from Sterling Children’s Books.

Fluffy clouds, butterflies, furry bunnies, and life from a bug’s-eye view: This stunning sequel to the New York Times bestseller Goodnight Songs celebrates the beauty and wonder of nature all year long. Once again, a treasure trove of Margaret Wise Brown’s newly uncovered verses receives loving treatment from 12 award-winning artists, including Floyd Cooper, Peter Brown, David Small, Molly Idle, and Bob Staake. From a little bear singing one morning in May to a soft snowfall, mysterious, deep, and glowing, each song is magical.

An accompanying CD, with lilting songs beautifully composed and sung by Emily Gary and Tom Proutt, makes this the perfect gift for children.

4.  How to Entertain, Distract, and Unplug Your Kids by Matthew Jervis for review from Skyhorse Publishing.

Face it. Your kids don’t want you around ALL the time! As much as you’d like to build that go-cart or that amazing tree house for them, you also need a little time for yourself!

Sure, we’d all like to hand our kids the phone when things get tough, but down deep we know that screen time will not build world leaders. So how does a parent like you keep those little rug rats entertained and engaged in a meaningful way while you get your own stuff done?

Well, this book is a good start! With these simple tricks, you will turn their boredom into fun, teachable, and productive (sometimes) moments in this irreverent yet practical guide.

From photo bombing magazines in the dentist’s office to sock matching speed trials to making bread, this book provides spontaneous activities that kids can do with or without you, leaving time for you to do parent stuff like making dinner, reading the paper, or enjoying a glass of wine.

5.  Piglet Bo Can Do Anything! by Geert De Kockere, illustrated by Tineke Van Hemeldonck for review from Sky Pony Press.

Piglet Bo finds friends on his journey—a whale, a pigeon, a bull—and they inspire and help him when they can, but ultimately it takes courage and daring for Piglet Bo to attempt the impossible. Piglet Bo is the bravest and most determined little piglet, with a heart set on adventure. There are no limits to what he can do, and young readers will fall in love with his sweet and endearing resolve. Geert De Kockere writes Piglet Bo’s adventures in simple, playful language, filled with light humor. Tineke Van Hemeldonck’s brilliant mixed-media illustrations bring the story to life, and even the littlest readers will have fun spotting the elusive, lucky four-leaf clover hidden on each page.

What did you receive?

Animal Gas: A Farty Farce by Bryan Ballinger

Source: Sterling Children’s Books
Hardcover, 24 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Animal Gas: A Farty Farce by Bryan Ballinger is a children’s book full of smelly farts, which came with a whoopie cushion that has provided hours of fun for a certain little girl in my house.  All young kids and even adults find farts funny — not so much the smell as the noise.  Why bodily functions amuse us is anyone’s guess, but they do.  Ballinger has some fun illustrations of animals who perceive their farts to be the best smelling from cakes to flowers to waffles.  These animals happily fart and other animals come along to tell them what their farts really smell like.  Written in rhyming verse, this book easily captures young readers’ attentions.  Even adults will find themselves chuckling at these farting animals and their antics, particularly that of the goat.

Animal Gas: A Farty Farce by Bryan Ballinger is a fun read for kids and their parents, including when the whoopie cushion is involved and kids want to re-enact the book.  My daughter loves this book so much, I think we’ve read it more than 10 times already.

About the Author:

Bryan Ballinger illustrated a number of children’s books, including books for Scholastic, McGraw/Hill, Running Press Kids, and HarperCollins.

Bryan has also self published a number of books that are available from his website.  You can check out a preview of Animal Gas.  And it’s available in Scratch-and-Sniff.

Ally-Saurus & the First Day of School by Richard Torrey

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

Ally-Saurus & the First Day of School by Richard Torrey is a carefully crafted story about an imaginative young lady who leaves home to attend school for the first time.  Her mother assures her that she will make friends once she gets there, buoyed by this, Ally heads off to school.  She loves dinosaurs and imagines herself as one not only at home but at her new classroom as well.  She greets her teacher as a dinosaur would and eats her lunch as a dino would.  She’s not as odd as adults might think because the other students in her class act in similar ways, though none act as dinos.  From princesses to lions and astronauts, these kids have vivid imaginations.  Initially, they are wary of those who are different from one another, but eventually, their perceptions of one another are broken down and they learn to play with one another.  There is even one classmate who does not have an over-active imagination, and he’s accepted too.

My daughter and I loved this book and roared with Ally as she entered the classroom and played with her new friends.  We loved the adventures she took with her friends on the playground and hope that there are more books with Ally to come.  The illustrations are reminiscent of chalk drawings for the most part, which goes well with the theme — the first day of school.  Parents can use this tale to help ease the fears of their own kids before they enter school for the first time.

Ally-Saurus & the First Day of School by Richard Torrey is fantastic, inventive, and we loved it.  We’ll likely read this many more times before my daughter enters Kindergarten, so may by by then, she’ll be ready for her own new adventure.

About the Author:

Richard Torrey is the author and illustrator of a number of well-loved children’s books, including Almost, Why?, and the popular Beans Baker series. Mr. Torrey lives in Shoreham, New York.

Mailbox Monday #328

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog.

To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links.  Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Vicki, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what I received:

1.  Animal Gas by Bryan Ballinger for review from Sterling Children’s Books, and it came with a whoopee cushion.

Every kid knows that nothing’s funnier than a fart joke. And it’s also a universal truth (and mysterious fact) that people don’t mind the smell of their own farts. Animal Gas explores this hilarious concept through a parade of animals who describe why they don’t think their own farts stink—against the truth about how they REALLY smell!

2.  Stencil Craft by Margaret Peot for a TLC Book Tour in July.

The art and craft world is in love with the versatility, creativity and endless possibilities stencils provide. And right here is your all-access pass to learn how to create and use all types of stencils–from carefully cut Mylar to lace, leaves and other found objects. Using original, and even pre-made designs, you can create unique pillowcases, tote bags, business cards, portraits and more.

 

3.  Urban Art Berlin: Version 2.0 by Kai Jakob, a gift from Emma Eden Ramos.

A collection of Berlin street art photographs by the freelance photographer Kai Jakob.

 

 

4.  Miss Emily by Nuala O’Connor for review from the publisher in July.

Eighteen-year-old Ada Concannon has just been hired by the respected but eccentric Dickinson family of Amherst, Massachusetts. Despite their difference in age and the upstairs-downstairs divide, Ada strikes up a deep friendship with Miss Emily, the gifted elder daughter living a spinster’s life at home. But Emily’s passion for words begins to dominate her life. She will wear only white and avoids the world outside the Dickinson homestead. When Ada’s safety and reputation are threatened, however, Emily must face down her own demons in order to help her friend, with shocking consequences.

What did you receive?

How Tiger Says Thank You! and How Penguin Says Please! by Abigail Samoun, illustrated by Sarah Watts

Source: Sterling Children’s Books
Hardcover, 22-24 pgs
I am an Amazon Affiliate

How Penguin Says Please! and How Tiger Says Thank You! by Abigail Samoun, illustrated by Sarah Watts, are both part of the little traveler series of board books for ages 2-4. Kids love learning new words and why should learning a foreign language be any different.  At this age, kids are sponges ready to absorb anything they can get their hands or ears on, which also can spell trouble if you’re not careful when filtering your own behavior.  These little board books contain not only colorful illustrations of Penguin and Tiger’s travels, but also maps that illustrate the routes they took around the world.

Although there is no storyline per se, tiger and penguin are teaching kids and parents how to say Please and Thank You — which are some of the most important words in teaching children manners — in different languages, ranging from Chinese to Russian and Indian.  Tiger not only thanks a flight attendant, but also a balloon vendor, a market merchant, and others on her journey, while Penguin says please to an airline ticket agent, a bakery clerk, someone who takes her picture and others.

How Penguin Says Please! and How Tiger Says Thank You! by Abigail Samoun, illustrated by Sarah Watts, offer a great place to start learning new languages for kids.  They make travel to other countries less frightening, and make it easy for parents to pronounce the foreign words with the a key on each page for sounding out the words.  My daughter and I had fun with the travels and we talked about each country and what information I could provide in addition to the please and thank you word pronunciation aspect.  She loves books with maps and different cultures, soaking up all the information she can.  She is full of questions, and I cannot wait to hear her start trying to pronounce these words right alongside their English counterparts.

ABC Universe by American Museum of Natural History

Source: Sterling Children’s Books
Hardcover, 18 pgs
I am an Amazon Affiliate

ABC Universe by American Museum of Natural History is not your typical book about the alphabet.  Whether you have daughters, sons, nieces, or nephews who are just starting to learn their letters, this board book presents vivid and interesting pictures for kids to associate with their new letters.  Young kids always find things they are unfamiliar with in their daily lives fascinating.  Outer space is a big wide and different world from that here on Earth.  My daughter LOVES outer space stories, and this combines learning new words with things she’s interested in.  I think since this book entered the house in March, my daughter and I have read it about 10 times or more.  She’s starting to know some of the words on her own by looking at the picture, like Astronaut, and she can tell me what letter the words start with.  Harder words, like Quasar, are more difficult, but she does recognize the Q at the beginning of the word.

ABC Universe by American Museum of Natural History is a fun introduction to not only the alphabet, but also things found in outer space.  It will get kids thinking about words that they are not readily familiar with and they will see outer space in a different way.  We have fun with this book, and we’ll probably read it another 10 times before the year is out.

Mailbox Monday #320

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog.

To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links.  Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Vicki, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what I received:

1. The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach by Pam Jenoff, an unexpected surprise from the author.

Young Adelia Monteforte flees fascist Italy for America, where she is whisked away to the shore by her well-meaning aunt and uncle. Here, she meets and falls for Charlie Connally, the eldest of the four Irish-Catholic boys next door. But all hopes for a future together are soon throttled by the war and a tragedy that hits much closer to home.

Grief-stricken, Addie flees—first to Washington and then to war-torn London—and finds a position at a prestigious newspaper, as well as a chance to redeem lost time, lost family…and lost love. But the past always nips at her heels, demanding to be reckoned with. And in a final, fateful choice, Addie discovers that the way home may be a path she never suspected.

2.  How Tiger Says, Thank You! by Abigail Samoun, illustrated by Sarah Watts from Sterling Children’s Books for review.

Tiger’s taking a trip—and everywhere she goes, from the market in Moscow to a boat on Egypt’s Nile River, she says “thank you” to the friendly people she meets. And, as they follow her round the world, children will learn to how to say thanks in seven different languages, too: French, Russian, Arabic, Hindi, Mandarin, Japanese, and Spanish. Each “please” word is translated and has a pronunciation guide, and an illustrated map follows Tiger’s travels.

3.  How Penguin Says, Please! by Abigail Samoun, illustrated by Sarah Watts from Sterling Children’s Books for review.

This adorable board book teaches preschoolers how to say “please” in seven languages! Join Penguin as she enjoys pastries in France, explores the Hermitage in Russia, sees Mount Fuji in Japan and the Pyramids in Egypt, buys fish in China, sips chai in India, visits relatives in Argentina—and remembers her manners everywhere she goes! Each “please” word is translated and has a pronunciation guide, and an illustrated map follows Penguin’s travels round the world.

4.  Ally-Saurus & the First Day of School by Richard Torrey from Sterling Children’s Books for review.

When Ally roars off to her first day at school, she hopes she’ll meet lots of other dinosaur-mad kids in class. Instead, she’s the only one chomping her food with fierce dino teeth and drawing dinosaurs on her nameplate. Even worse, a group of would-be “princesses” snubs her! Will Ally ever make new friends? With its humorous art, appealing heroine, and surprise ending, this fun picture book celebrates children’s boundless imagination.

5. Mireille by Molly Cochran from Lake Union Publishing and TLC Book Tours for review in June.

Near the end of World War II, seventeen-year-old Mireille de Jouarre flees the home of her stepfather, a Nazi collaborator and abusive drunk. She finds shelter with her childhood friend Stefan, and the two fall deeply in love. But as the fighting escalates, Mireille must escape alone to Paris, where she discovers she’s pregnant and lacking a way to provide for her child.

So begins her new life as l’Ange—the Angel. After an unlikely meeting with a wealthy aristocrat in a Parisian hotel—and her acceptance of his solicitation—Mireille becomes the most celebrated poule in all of France, eliciting huge fees and invitations to exclusive parties. At one of these events, Mireille meets Oliver Jordan, an American womanizer and film producer, and is soon launching a promising film career. As her star rises, Mireille is determined to bury her past. But her success isn’t as carefree and glittery as it seems, and when her daughter’s future is threatened, Mireille must make a deadly decision in a desperate attempt to finally choose her own path.

What did you receive?

Mailbox Monday #315

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog.

To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links.  Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Vicki, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what I received:

1.  Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran from the author for review.

When the British Empire sets its sights on India in the 1850s, it expects a quick and easy conquest. After all, India is not even a country, but a collection of kingdoms on the subcontinent. But when the British arrive in the Kingdom of Jhansi, expecting its queen to forfeit her crown, they are met with a surprise. Instead of surrendering, Queen Lakshmi raises two armies—one male, one female—and rides into battle like Joan of Arc. Although her soldiers are little match against superior British weaponry and training, Lakshmi fights against an empire determined to take away the land she loves.

Told from the perspective of Sita, one of the guards in Lakshmi’s all-female army and the queen’s most trusted warrior, The Last Queen of India traces the astonishing tale of a fearless ruler making her way in a world dominated by men.

2.  Double Jinx by Nancy Reddy from Milkweed Editions for review.

Double Jinx follows the multiple transformations — both figurative and literal — that accompany adolescence and adulthood, particularly for young women. Drawing inspiration from sources as varied as Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the rewritten fairy tales in Anne Sexton’s Transformations, and the wild and shifting dreamscapes of Brigit Pegeen Kelly’s work, these poems track speakers attempting to construct identity.

A series of poems depict the character of Nancy Drew as she delves into an obsession with a doppelgänger. Cinderella wakes up to a pumpkin and a tattered dress after her prince grows tired of her. A young girl obsessed with fairy tales becomes fascinated with a copy of Grey’s Anatomy in which she finds a “pink girl pinned to the page as if in vivisection. Could she / be pink inside like that? No decent girl / would go around the world like that, uncooked.”

The collection culminates in an understanding of the ways we construct our selves, whether it be by way of imitation, performance, and/or transformation. And it looks forward as well, for in coming to understand our identities as essentially malleable, we are liberated. Or as the author writes, “we’ll be our own gods now.”

3. ABC Universe by American Museum of Natural History from Sterling Children’s Books for review.

From an astronaut in space to Voyager, yellow dwarf, and zenith, this ABC board book opens up the entire universe to children! Created in tandem with the American Museum of Natural History, it takes kids on a photographic journey through comets, flares, and planets like Jupiter, and introduces them to black holes, supernovas, telescopes, and more. Perfect for the youngest astronomers.

What did you receive?

Savvy’s Best of 2014 List

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I cannot believe how quickly 2014 has flown by, and I also cannot believe I read more than 150 books this year. 2015 will be a year of changes for me, as I pull back from reviewing and reading so many books here on Savvy Verse & Wit as I start my own business, Poetic Book Tours.

I did want to share with my readers here the best books of 2014, in case you missed the day-by-day announcements on the Facebook page.

  1. Jane Austen’s First Love by Syrie James (my review)
  2. Not My Father’s Son by Alan Cumming (my review)
  3. Lust by Diana Raab, read by Kate Udall (my review)
  4. Any Anxious Body by Chrissy Kolaya (my review)
  5. Going Over by Beth Kephart (my review)
  6. The Descent by Alma Katsu (my review)
  7. Still, At Your Door by Emma Eden Ramos (my review)
  8. A Long Time Gone by Karen White (my review)
  9. The Vintner’s Daughter by Kristen Harnisch (my review)
  10. Children’s Activity Atlas from Sterling Publishing (my review)
  11. Grand Central: Original Stories of Postwar Love and Reunion (my review)
  12. Women of Valor: Polish Resisters to the Third Reich by Joanne D. Gilbert (my review)

What books have made your end of the year favorites??