Early Reader – Page 18

Early Reader, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Non-fiction, Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Blog Tour: NatGeo Kids/Put Me in the Story and a Trip to San Diego!

Posted on June 8, 2016June 3, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

I LOVE the NatGeo Kids’ books. They have breathtaking artwork and photography, they break down information into chunks that kids can’t get enough of, and they cover everything from dinosaurs to gross science. What’s not to love? They’re aces at my library, too – just about every title is on my “reorder” list, because the kids circulate every last book like it was gospel, and at home? My little guy devours them, just like his older brothers did before.

I was lucky enough to get copies of their new “Put Me in the Story” books for dinosaurs and animals, and am in love. It makes a great gift for a dino fan or an animal fan: you upload your child’s picture to the (very secure) site, put in your child’s name, plus a dedication, and they generate the book. My little guy has his own Dinosaurs and Animal books, and each spread contains facts, photos, and questions aimed at your child, like, “How fast can you run, Anthony?” “What’s your favorite dinosaur, Sarah?”! It’s such a great way to spark discussion, and let’s be honest, it’s just really cool.

Even better, you have a chance to win a trip to the San Diego Zoo for their 100th Anniversary, courtesy of Put Me in the Story and National Geographic Kids! Read on!

PUT ME IN THE STORY AND NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS PRESENT…

THE LITTLE EXPLORER DRAWING CONTEST!

Help us celebrate the new National Geographic Kids personalized books and the San Diego Zoo’s 100^th Anniversary!

Enter the contest for your chance to win a trip to the San Diego Zoo to celebrate their 100^th anniversary!

The San Diego Zoo has an extra special year of fun planned and we want YOU to be a part of it! With displays on Centennial Plaza, new film experiences, new shows and more, this year will be one of the most exciting at the San Diego Zoo!

Contest Open: May 16 – July 8

To Enter: Adults 18+ can fill out the form on the contest page to enter.

For EXTRA entries: Download the free coloring pages on the contest page and share a photo of your child’s drawing on their coloring page with the hashtag #ColorAndExplore on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook! You can also upload the drawing to the photo gallery on the contest page.

*Social media posts must be public for them to be counted as an extra entry.

1 GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive:

Family vacation to San Diego!
- 4-days/3-nights for a family of 4! Includes flights and hotel accommodations and 4 tickets to the San Diego Zoo
National Geographic Little Kids Book of Animals and National Geographic Little Kids Book of Dinosaurs personalized books

2 RUNNER-UP WINNERS will receive:

National Geographic Little Kids Book of Animals and National Geographic Little Kids Book of Dinosaurs personalized books
1-year subscriptions to National Geographic Kids magazine and National Geographic magazine

ABOUT THE BOOKS

National Geographic Little Kids Book of Animals

Hardcover $29.99 | Paperback $19.99

Explore the rain forest, the ocean, and the icecaps with this personalized guide for your animal-lover! National Geographic Little Kids Book of Animals is a colorful introduction to some of the world’s coolest creatures. From blue morpho butterflies and red-eyed tree frogs to tigers and polar bears, this personalized guide is sure to indulge your junior explorer.

Each page features beautiful photos of the animal alongside quick facts about its size, diet, and habitat. Questions like “How fast can you run?” are woven throughout to keep your little one’s interest.

Personalize this book with your child’s name, photo, and an encouraging dedication message to create a memorable keepsake. For a special surprise, check out the final pages, where your child can mark their favorite animal characteristics, then draw themselves as their favorite animal!

National Geographic Little Kids Book of Dinosaurs

Hardcover $29.99 | Paperback $19.99

Take a trip back in time with this personalized guide through the prehistoric world! With full-color illustrations, quick facts, and pronunciation guides, National Geographic Little Kids Book of Dinosaurs has plenty of information to captivate your paleontologist-in-training.

This kid-friendly reference book includes dinosaurs of all kinds: big and small, scaled and feathered, meat-eating and plant-eating. Your kiddo will learn fun facts about each dinosaur and answer questions like, “How many plates do you see on the Stegosaurus?”

Personalized with your child’s name, photo, and special dedication message, National Geographic Little Kids Book of Dinosaurs will become a favorite read. On the final pages, your child can mark the dinosaur qualities they like best, then draw themselves as a dinosaur!

ABOUT THE HOSTS/SPONSORS

About National Geographic Kids

National Geographic Kids inspires young adventurers to explore the world through award-winning magazines, books, apps, games, toys, videos, events and a website, and is the only kids brand with a world-class scientific organization at its core. National Geographic Kids magazine (10 issues per year) and National Geographic Little Kids magazine (six issues per year) are photo-driven publications available on newsstands or by subscription in print and on tablets. National Geographic Kids Books is the leading nonfiction publisher for kids with more than 100 titles each year, including The New York Times best-seller “Kids Almanac.”

About San Diego Zoo Global

Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is the goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes on-site wildlife conservation efforts (representing both plants and animals) at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents. The work of San Diego Zoo Global is made possible by the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy and is supported in part by the Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global.

About Put Me In The Story

Put Me In The Story, the #1 personalized books site in the U.S., creates personalized versions of bestselling books and books where you star alongside your favorite characters. Our gifts capture moments that matter and memories that last. With each touching picture and special dedication message, our readers have become our most dynamic characters.

Put Me In The Story inspires a love for reading, across all ages and generations, through the experience of shared, personalized stories.

GOOD LUCK!

Animal Fiction, Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Black Cat & White Cat: Friends Forever!

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Black Cat & White Cat, by Claire Garralon (June 2016, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), $7.99, ISBN: 978-1-4926-3781-3

Recommended for 0-4

I just spotlighted Black Cat & White Cat yesterday, but today’s where I get to talk about actually reading and testing the book out at storytime. The story is simple and very sweet: Black Cats live in white houses. White Cats live in black houses. Black Cat and White Cat want to meet up and play, but Black Cat disappears when he goes to White Cat’s house, and vice versa. What can the two friends do to find a place that lets them have a great playdate? Strike out in search of a place that’s not too black or too white, naturally!

I LOVE this book. It’s perfect for a mixed storytime like my baby storytime, which ends up having a healthy combination of baby and toddler siblings all together. I explained to my parents that high contrast, black and white books are great for infants; they can best see these images. Older siblings get to enjoy a fun story about two friends in search of the perfect playdate while the littlest lapsitters enjoy the cutest images of cats and houses. The use of negative space is wonderful, especially when the friends try to visit one another – parts disappear! We see hind quarters and tails and cat feet; window cut-outs and stark trees add to the lonely atmosphere the cats feel as they try to make the most of a hide and seek playdate. When they finally arrive at a place just for them, it’s a surprise, a revelation, like stepping into Oz from Kansas. Beautiful, bright colors await the reader and the cats, and make for a very happy ending. My babies and my toddlers love this book, my 4 year-old loves this book, and I love this book.

For collections that see a lot of storytime action, particularly for babies and toddlers, this is a must-add. Put together a baby read-aloud with high contrast titles like Hello Animals, Hello Ocean Friends, and Hello Baby Animals for a fun, animal-friendly storytime with tons of fingerplay and song potential.

Early Reader, Fiction, Fiction

Aaron Becker’s Journey trilogy concludes with Return (and a giveaway!)

Posted on May 31, 2016May 27, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Aaron Becker’s beautiful series of wordless picture books reaches a conclusion with the release of Return. Beginning with 2014’s Caldecott Honor-winning book, Journey, readers follow a young girl who escapes into a magical land, courtesy of her red marker. In Quest, the girl and her friend encounter a king that they must rescue, armed with their imaginations and their markers. Now, it’s time for the girl to return home – what final adventure awaits her?

The adventure begins with Journey…

A 2014 Caldecott Honor Book

Follow a girl on an elaborate flight of fancy in a wondrously illustrated, wordless picture book about self-determination — and unexpected friendship.

A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. Red marker in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon, and a flying carpet that carry her on a spectacular journey toward an uncertain destiny. When she is captured by a sinister emperor, only an act of tremendous courage and kindness can set her free. Can it also lead her home and to her heart’s desire? With supple line, luminous color, and nimble flights of fancy, author-illustrator Aaron Becker launches an ordinary child on an extraordinary journey toward her greatest and most exciting adventure of all.

…and continues with a Quest…

Aaron Becker, creator of Journey, a Caldecott Honor book, presented the next chapter in his stunning, wordless fantasy.

A king emerges from a hidden door in a city park, startling two children sheltering from the rain. No sooner does he push a map and some strange objects into their hands than he is captured by hostile forces that whisk him back through the enchanted door. Just like that, the children are caught up in a quest to rescue the king and his kingdom from darkness, while illuminating the farthest reaches of their imagination. Colored markers in hand, they make their own way through the portal, under the sea, through a tropical paradise, over a perilous bridge, and high in the air with the help of a winged friend. Journey lovers will be thrilled to follow its characters on a new adventure threaded with familiar elements, while new fans will be swept into a visually captivating story that is even richer and more exhilarating than the first.

… and now, it’s time to Return.

Before Return is released on August 2nd, enter the Journey Giveaway from Candlewick Press for your chance at winning a prize pack, containing hardcover copies of Journey and Quest! One winner from the US or Canada will win. Enter a Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance!

Giveaway details

1 prize pack includes:

1 hardcover copy of Journey by Aaron Becker

1 hardcover copy of Quest by Aaron Becker

Parents and educators, there’s a great Journey Trilogy Activity Kit with activities to stimulate your children’s imaginations!

Early Reader, Fiction, Humor, Preschool Reads

Can you really have Too Many Moose?

Posted on May 27, 2016May 27, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Too Many Moose!, by Lisa Bakos/Illustrated by Mark Chambers, (Jul. 2016, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), $16.99, ISBN: 9781492609353

Recommended for ages 4-8

Martha decides to get a pet, and does a lot of thinking about what pet she should get. When she decides on a moose, she’s delighted – and decides that if one moose is marvelous, more must be magnificent! But what happens when Margaret finds herself with too many moose?

Too Many Moose is an adorable story of a a little girl who finds herself in way over her head when she accumulates too many moose. It’s a counting book that wonderfully uses rhyme and alliteration, drawing readers and listeners in and inviting them to laugh along at all the hijinks the moose get themselves into. The cartoony illustrations and bold, black text are eye-catching and adorable. I’ve read this with at my family storytime, and it went over huge (and I realized that wow, there are a lot of moose storybooks for kids). We counted the moose, and we imagined what other sorts of trouble the moose could get into when Margaret wasn’t looking.

Add this one to your read-aloud collection, and your picture book collections for sure. This is going to be a storytime standard for a long time.

You can visit Sourcebooks’ Virtual Moose Mart and choose your own moose – show him (or her) off on social media and hashtag it #toomanymoose to share in the fun! Here’s mine.

An activity kit and educator resources are forthcoming at the Virtual Moose Mart – keep checking in!

Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads

Nibbles is the cutest little book monster – but keep him away from your fairy tales!

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Nibbles the Book Monster, by Emma Yarlett (Apr. 2016, Kane Miller), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-61067-467-6

Recommended for ages 2-6

Nibbles is an adorable little monster. He likes to nibble on everything from clocks to toes, but his favorite thing to nibble on is BOOKS. When Nibbles munches his way out of his box and gets loose, he wreaks havoc on some fairy tales! Can you catch him?

I LOVE this book, and so does my 3 year-old. This book has entered daily storytime rotation, and I’m happy to read it again and again, because it’s so much fun. The rhyming text just begs you to giggle along with it, especially when paired with the adorable, cartoony illustrations (Nibbles hanging on, teeth first, to a swinging clock pendulum never fails to make me crack up). Holes and die-cut flaps throughout the book send you and your readers on an adventure – books within books! – as you pursue Nibbles through Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack and the Beanstalk. It’s an exciting romp for little ones, and just when you think Nibbles has been caught… well, let’s hope that there are more Nibbles adventures to come. There are a lot of fairy tales out there, after all!

Highly recommended for children’s collections, and you can pair this with any fairy tale or fun monster book for a great, laugh-out-loud storytime.

Emma Yarlett is a Kate Greenaway award-nominated author and a winner of the English Association Picture Book Prize. Her author webpage showcases her artwork, links to her blog and a shop where you can purchase her books and art prints. You can buy your own plush Nibbles to love and display (maybe not too close to your books) at the Usborne website.

Check out the adorable book trailer!

Nibbles: The Book Monster from Bee Grandinetti on Vimeo.

Early Reader, Fantasy, Fiction, Preschool Reads

The Seven Princesses: A fairy tale about sisters and your own space

Posted on May 21, 2016May 18, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Seven Princesses, by Smiljana Coh (May 2017, Running Press), $16.95, ISBN: 9780762458318

Recommended for ages 4-8

Once upon a time, there were seven princesses, all with diverse interests, who did everything together. But one day, they had the biggest fight in the entire history of princess fighting, and they all decided to build their own towers and be on their own. But that wasn’t the answer, either; the princesses really missed one another. What’s a princess to do?

Smiljana Coh’s book about sibling rivalry is a great story for preschoolers to early school-age kids, because it gets to the heart of sibling arguments: sibings are largely together day and all night, and space eventually gets tight, no matter what the living situation. Arguments are bound to happen; kids are all too quick to say things like, “I never want to see you AGAIN!”, but eventually, love wins out, and things get smoothed over. She also captures the feeling everyone around kids feel when there’s sibling unrest: the palette goes from soothing, happy pastels to washed out, sad, sepia-toned art, and she addresses how painful the sound of silence can be. When the princesses reunite, there’s joy in the kingdom again!

I also love that the princesses are such great girl-power figures for younger readers: the multi-ethnic princesses are interested in math, building, music, fashion design, gardening, animals, swimming, and the arts; one princess creates the blueprint for a grand castle layout. The royal parents show up in the beginning and end of the book; other than looking lovingly at one another and their kids, there’s not much of a role here, except to show a beautifully diverse family.

I can’t wait to put this into storytime rotation, especially since princess books are aces with my crowd. I’d spotlight this with both Kate Beaton’s Princess and the Pony and Andrea Beaty’s Rosie Revere, Engineer; let girls see how amazing they are with these fun and fabulous role models.

Smiljana Coh is a Croatian author and illustrator. You can follow her on Facebook or check out her author website for more information.

Follow the Seven Princesses blog tour!

5/18 Anastasia Suen

5/20 Kid Lit Frenzy

5/21 Mom Read It

5/23 Reading Through Life

5/24 Unpacking the POWER of Picture Books

Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads

Spotlight On: I Wanna Be A Great Big Dinosaur!

Posted on May 19, 2016May 14, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

This latest spotlight is an adorable story about the grass being greener on the other side. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky presents…

A little boy wants to be a Great. Big. Dinosaur! Luckily for him, a great big dinosaur is nearby, and is happy to show him the ropes: the roaring, the stomping, the eating LOTS of meat… but the boy has some pretty cool things to show the dinosaur, too! Playing video games and soccer, and eating ice cream are pretty awesome, after all.

Kids will see themselves in both little boy and dinosaur: each wants to try on the other’s life, just to see if things are as cool as they look. It taps into a child’s sense of imagination and play – who among us hasn’t wanted to be a dinosaur? A bird, a butterfly, or something other than who we already are? And when the boy sees things from a dinosaur’s point of view, he realizes that there are some pretty great things about being a little boy, too, and shares them with his dino friend. The verdict: you can be a little bit of both, and be very happy!

I love this book and can’t wait for it to enter my regular storytime rotation. My three-year old LOVES it. We stomp, roar, and chomp on imaginary pteranodon drumsticks as we read it. The art is vibrant and there’s a bigness to it, coming off the page and inviting readers to join in. Words like “STOMP!” and “ROAR!” splash across two-page spreads, contributing to the giant feeling of the story and the words and will keep younger listeners entertained and giggling.

Grab some shoe or tablet boxes, paper, and some dot art painters (really cuts down on the mess), and let the kids make their own dinosaur hats and tails! Add this book to your storytime rotation and your home and library/school collections; it’s a good one.

And now, the Sourcebooks Spotlight – keep reading for your chance to win your own copy of I Wanna Be a Great Big Dinosaur!

Title: I Wanna Be A Great Big Dinosaur!

Author: Heath McKenzie

Release Date: May 17, 2016

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Summary:

Want to find out what it takes to be a Great Big Dinosaur? This book is for you!

More than anything in the world, one little boy wants to be a great big dinosaur. And he’s in luck! A great big T. Rex shows up to teach him how to stomp and roar just like a dinosaur. But dinosaurs aren’t so great at soccer or video games… Maybe being a little boy isn’t all bad?

A story about being whoever (or whatever) you want!

Buy Links:

About the Author (photo by Angela Ginsberg):

Heath McKenzie has illustrated numerous picture books and children’s book jackets. He lives with his wife and kids in Melbourne, Australia. Visit him online at heathmck.com.

Enter a Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance at one of two finished copies of I Wanna Be A Great Big Dinosaur! (Runs May 1-May 31st; U.S. & Canada only)!

Early Reader, Intermediate, Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads

Kooky Crumbs is loaded with wacky poems for wacky days

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Kooky Crumbs: Poems in Praise of Dizzy Days, by J. Patrick Lewis/Illustrated by Mary Uhles (Jan. 2016, Kane Miller), $12.99, ISBN: 978-1-61067-371

Recommended for ages 4+

I know we’re out of National Poetry Month, but I just discovered this book and had to talk it up. You know those wacky holidays that come up, and leave you scratching your head? Holidays like International Museum Day (it’s legit, and pretty cool, actually), or National Bike to Work Day? Some of these holidays lend themselves to a pretty fun storytime, like these two, and some of them leave me scratching my head. But Kooky Crumbs, by former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis, is loaded with poems that salute tons of these “holidays”. Take, for instance, “First Ever Idea for Arithmetic”, written in honor of World Math Day (October 15): “Add two numbers together/and you’ll get sumthing else”. “When Should We Meat?”, observing World Vegetarian Day on October 1, is more traditional in its rhyme scheme: “If vegetarians have trouble/ finding tasty lip-smackers/Aren’t they allowed to cheat a bit/By eating animal crackers?”

The poems are fun, short, and perfect to punch up a storytime. You can build a theme around one – National Pancake Day begs for a reading of Eric Carle’s Pancakes! Pancakes!, and World Toilet Day would be even livelier with a reading of Once Upon a Potty – or you can just add a poem to your normal storytime, mentioning a funny holiday and giving the kids and parents a good laugh. Mary Uhles’ cartoony illustrations add to the fun of the poems. The only things missing are the actual dates of the holidays – some may shift, so that’s understandable, but a month by month guide would be great. No worries, though; Google has all of these holidays listed.

A fun addition to poetry collections and storytime reference collections – I’m going to have a lot of fun for next year’s Poem in Your Pocket Day with this book!

J. Patrick Lewis is the former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate and the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the NCTE award for Excellence in Children’s Poetry and the Cybils Award for Poetry. Mary Uhles is an award-winning illustrator and former animator for Warner Brothers and Fisher Price Interactive.

Early Reader, Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate

Imelda and the Goblin King: This ain’t Labyrinth.

Posted on May 10, 2016August 24, 2019 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Imelda and the Goblin King, by Briony May Smith (Oct. 2015, Nobrow), $17.95, ISBN: 9781909263659

Recommended for ages 5-8

Imelda is a young girl living in an enchanted forest, surrounded by the local fairies she calls friends. But the awful Goblin King appears to kidnap the Fairy Queen, and the fairies ask Imelda for her help. Now, it’s up to Imelda to get rid of the Goblin King for good!

Another winner from Nobrow! This debut by Briony May Smith is a fun fairy tale with a strong female main character and eye-catching, bright art that fills each spread with movement and interest. The Goblin King is suitably dour and fierce looking, and his little minions look just as distasteful. Imelda is a great fairy tale heroine, rosy-cheeked and pink-dressed, but she’s no passive princess locked in a tower, waiting for a prince – she’s got a plan to turn the Goblin King into a worm, and she enlists the fairies to do it.

I also love the great fairy tale font. It’s very bold, with emphasis on the “stomps” and exclamations of “Goblin King!” It’s a different font that makes the story as interesting for a reader as it does for the audience in a read-aloud.

A fun fairy tale for school-age kids, this one will be a fun addition to collections where fairy tales do well. I’d pair this one with Kate Beaton’s Princess and the Pony for a read-aloud on princesses who can save themselves, thank you very much. Put this on a shelf with Luke Pearson’s Hilda series, too – the kids will love it.

Early Reader, Fiction, Humor, Preschool Reads

There’s a Sword in the Stove! But who left it there?

Posted on May 1, 2016August 24, 2019 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Sword in the Stove, by Frank W. Dormer (May 2016, Atheneum Books for Young Readers), $17.99, ISBN: 9781481431675

Recommended for ages 4-8

Harold the Knight runs off to the bathroom as his buddy heads to the kitchen for some dinner. He peeks into the stove, only to find – HOLY HADDOCK! There’s a sword in the stove! Who would put a sword in the stove? The knight and the chef run through questions and scenarios as they uncover more armor hidden in the stove, leading up to an answer that is as hilarious as it is morbid. This lends itself to a wonderfully loud screwball storytime with knights, dragons, and cookery. Bonus points for introducing kids to words like “rapscallion” and phrases like “Holy Haddock!” and “Wobbling Wizards!”

Watercolor cartoony art and a nice large font, with illuminated manuscript-type emphasis on the first letter in each exclamation makes this a fun read-aloud for readers and audiences alike. Make it silly, make it fun!

Frank W. Dormer has an author website where you can take a look at more of his art, check out his Tumblr, and get in touch. Take a look at some more of the art from The Sword in the Stove, below.