Preschool Reads

Mahalia Jackson: Walking with Kings and Queens is a beautiful biography for young readers

Posted on April 22, 2015April 22, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Mahalia Jackson: Walking with Kings and Queens, by Nina Nolan/illus. by John Holyfield (2015, Amistad/HarperCollins),$17.99, ISBN: 978-0-06-087944-0

Recommended for ages 6-10

Mahalia Jackson had a voice that could make the world stop. I’m only familiar with her through my mom’s records and Ms. Jackson’s enduring performance as a choir soloist in the movie Imitation of Life, but once you’ve heard her sing, her voice is with you forever.

Walking with Kings and Queens is Mahalia’s story, from her New Orleans childhood to her performance at the March on Washington. It’s a story of determination and endurance, of her faith, and her talent. Orphaned at a young age, she lived with her aunts, forced to drop in and out of school as other duties made themselves known. She always had her singing, though. As a child, it made her feel like a peacock, spreading his feathers, and as she grew, it was a source of strength and comfort to her. She drove to churches that would pay her to sing, and was finally noticed by someone from Decca Records. From there, her gospel was heard far and wide. Her aunt once told her she would “walk with kings and queens” one day, but she never counted on being a queen herself – the queen of gospel.

This book is gorgeous, with beautiful acrylic paintings bringing out the true joy that singing brought Mahalia Jackson. Her face is always tilted upward, illustrating her relationship with God and her music, a beatific smile lighting up her face. The story emphasizes Mahalia’s determination not only to keep singing, but her determination to continue her education. There are positive messages to be found through this whole story, and I’m hoping it finds a place on library and classroom shelves to introduce a new generation of listeners to Mahalia Jackson and her amazing voice.

Animal Fiction, Preschool Reads, Uncategorized

The Queen’s Shadow combines fiction and non-fiction with tremendous art and story!

Posted on March 4, 2015March 3, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Queen’s Shadow: A Story About How Animals See, by Cybèle Young(Mar. 2015, Kids Can Press) $18.95, ISBN: 9781894786607

Recommended for ages 6-10

The Queen throws a fabulous royal ball, with food and entertainment, and society guests aplenty. All of a sudden, the lights go out! When the lights go back on, the Queen shrieks – someone has stolen her shadow! As she interrogates each of her animal guests, we learn exactly why they couldn’t have stolen the shadow – and each reason has to do with the ability to see.

First things first – the look of this book is just beautiful. The pen and ink illustrations have a classic feel, and the use of black and white paired with bright colors (via Photoshop) makes for stunning images with incredible depth.

Putting the science of vision in the context of a whodunit is such a great approach to storytelling. Kids will love the mystery that links the different animals’ stories together, and this unique approach to non-fiction/fiction storytelling will stick with them. This is a great choice for science classes and ELA alike. Children can expand on the story by thinking of additional animals, and whether or not they would be suspects (bring in some art for that one, break out the pencils and crayons!).

Early Reader, Preschool Reads

Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs is a laugh-out-loud retelling (that every mom will love)!

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs, by Davide Cali (April 2015, Tundra Books) $17.99, ISBN: 9781770497634

Recommended for ages 3-8

In this hilarious retelling of the classic fairy tale, Snow White escapes the Evil Queen, and ends up at a house that belongs to 77 dwarfs. They let her stay on the proviso that she helps with the chores. For 77 little men. Not only does she have to remember everyone’s name, but she’s got to do their laundry, help with their grooming, tell every single one of them their own, personal bedtime story, referee all the quibbling – is being on the run really worth this, Snow?

Every mother will appreciate this, whether she’s wrangling multiple children, hosting a playdate, or acting as class mom. I’ve got three kids, and on some days, I swear there are 77. Snow White, I’m right there with you.

This book is adorable, with bright, cartoony illustrations that kids and grownups alike will enjoy. Snow White’s expressions are priceless (and oh, so recognizable), and the multitude of dwarfs, with all their word balloons, will strike a chord with any parent whose found themselves surrounded by children.

Look at me, I’m reviewing this book for parents. But we’re the ones who read them first, so why not? Kids will love this book because it’s flat-out funny, with eye-catching art. They’re most likely already familiar with the story of Snow White, so they’ll have a good frame of reference for Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs. And if you read this book as dramatically as I plan to? You’re going to have a lot of giggles and cries of, “Again! Again!” This is going into my bedtime rotation and my storytime rotation. Don’t miss this book.

Early Reader, Preschool Reads

The Angry Little Puffin clears up some confusion

Posted on October 1, 2014October 1, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Angry Little Puffin, by Timothy Young (Sept. 2014, Schiffer Publishing), $16.99, ISBN: 978-0-7643-4387

Recommended for ages 5-8

“Oh, look at that cute little penguin!” This little puffin has had it up to HERE with being mistaken for a penguin, and he’s going to let everyone know the differences between puffins and penguins – RIGHT NOW.

What follows is an adorably illustrated lesson on puffins: where they live, what they eat, different types of puffins, and their ability to fly (versus flightless penguins). The puffin’s rant isn’t fruitless; he discovers that there’s at least one little girl out there who understands the difference between penguins and puffins, something that hopefully tides him over for the next round of onlookers ready to see the “happy little penguin”.

What a great way to conduct a nature lesson! I’d love to use this book in an animal storytime, and I’d love to see teachers using this book in their Kindergarten and first grade classes. The illustrations are adorable, eye-catching, and use bright colors (especially on the puffin’s beak!). Fonts are large, in word balloons to denote dialogue, and bolded for easy reading. The puffin has character, with facial expressions and body gestures that teachers can use for emphasis during a read-aloud, and that kids will immediately recognize, whether it’s frustration or happiness.

The Angry Little Puffin just published on September 28, so ask your bookstore to order a copy, or buy it on Amazon.com.

Animal Fiction, Preschool Reads

Storytime: Dinosaurs!

Posted on July 21, 2014July 21, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

This is a short storytime I did at for my preschool classes. Because this was a week where they had library time, I only read one story and sang one song, but the kids loved the story!

It’s hard to go wrong with How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen/illustrated by Mark Teague. The kids were largely unfamiliar with the book, so they really got a kick out of seeing the dinos storm and stomp and pout and, ultimately, kiss Mama and Papa good night. I gave everyone a fun coloring sheet from Twisty Noodle, and we were off to the library!

We also sang a fun song about dinosaurs, to the tune of Ten Little Indians:

10 Big Dinosaurs

1 big, 2 big, 3 big dinosaurs,
4 big, 5 big, 6 big dinosaurs,
7 big, 8 big, 9 big dinosaurs,
10 big dinosaurs!

There are great dinosaur songs on the Bry-Back Manor blog!

Animal Fiction, Preschool Reads

We all have our own song – A Song for Papa Crow

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

A Song for Papa Crow, by Marit Menzin (Schiffer Publishing, 2012). $16.99 ISBN: 978-0764341311

Recommended for ages 4-8

A young crow sings his happy song wherever he goes, but the birds around him – Goldfinches, Flycatchers, and Cardinals, to name a few – can’t bear to hear Little Crow’s caw. Papa Crow tells his son that he always knows where to find him when he follows his song, but Little Crow wants to sing like the other birds. When he sees The Amazing Mockingbird sing, and finds out the bird’s secret, he wants to change his song – but learns that singing your own song is the best song of all.

This is a sweet story about individuality, by collage artist Marit Menzin. She uses mixed media collage to great effect to illustrate her story, making this a gorgeous book to use in a storytime. The textures make the birds and scenery come alive, and her font – a decorative font, black in color – allows for a reader to weave the story to an audience that can sit and listen to the tale. I would read this book to an older group, maybe 4-6, that can sit quietly and enjoy the story.

This book invites a fun workshop for any librarian/parent/educator who has the space – make your own birds with collage materials! The book also includes a list of the birds referenced in the book, with some information on each. For a simpler storytime activity, there are bird printables all over the Internet.

A Song for Papa Crow received a Mom’s Choice Award Gold Honor in 2012. The author’s website offers a look at some more of her beautiful collage work.

Preschool Reads

Julia’s House for Lost Creatures is an adorable look at friends and sharing responsibilities.

Posted on June 24, 2014June 24, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Julia’s House for Lost Creatures, by Ben Hatke (:01 First Second, Sept. 2014). $17.99, ISBN: 9781596438668

Admittedly, I’m a Ben Hatke fan thanks to the Zita the Spacegirl series; when when I saw that he had a picture book coming out, I jumped to review it. I knew it was going to be adorable as well as fun, and I was right – Julia’s House for Lost Creatures is a sweet look at friendship, individuality, and sharing responsibility.

Julia’s house comes to a quiet, seaside area and decides to settle in. At first, Julia enjoys the warm fire, toast, and tea, but soon realizes it’s just too quiet. So she posts a sign that states the house is for “Lost Creatures”, and in no time, goblins, trolls, ghosts, and more homeless or lost creatures show up. Everyone’s happy at first, but Julia becomes frustrated by everyone’s refusal to make a mess and leave it for Julia to clean up. When the noise reaches critical mass, Julia sequesters herself in her workshop, only to emerge with a solution that will make everyone happy.

The book delivers several sweet, but important messages – Julia offers her home to misfits of all sorts; all “lost creatures” are welcome there. It’s not an exclusive club, or a place allowing only certain types. It appeals to anyone – or anything – that’s been shut out somewhere else. And it brings home the point that everyone pitches in to make their home a happy place. Julia creates a chore chart, so all of the creatures know exactly what to do. I love these messages and I love Hatke’s art, done in watercolor for this book. It lends a soft quality to the art that makes the story even sweeter, more dreamlike. There are few, short sentences per page, making this a great read-aloud candidate. The font is usually black and fairly low-key, unless Hatke wants to make a point; then, the font is large and takes on the character of the sound, whether it’s Julia’s exclamation or the sounds of a house that needs some help.

This book is due out in September of this year, and I can’t wait to get it on my library’s shelves. I’ve already got a storytime planned around it!

Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Summer Reading is Here! Refeatured kids’ reviews to get you started!

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

It’s that time – Summer Reading Time! My library is taking part in the Fizz, Boom, Read! Summer Reading program, and I’ve got reading logs and bulletin boards ready to go. I’m super excited, because I also have two storytimes! On Fridays in July, I’ll begin my Toddler storytime and my Picture Book storytime, so I’ve been getting my storytime plans together and taking a lot of inspiration from some great sites on the web (Storytime Katie and Hushlander are great blogs with great ideas)!

In the meantime, I noticed that a few books I’ve reviewed here have landed on the Summer Reading List, so I’ve decided to refeature those reviews, for anyone interested in learning a little about the books, starting with Leslie Patricielli’s board book, Tubby. I’m a huge fan of Leslie Patricelli and the baby featured in her board books (No No Yes Yes, Yummy Yucky, Toot, and more!); any parent would get a kick out of these.

Next up is Bill Martin Jr.’s Chicka Chicka, Boom Boom. If you haven’t read this one to your little ones yet, I urge you to pick it up! There are great toys and games that go along with the book, and with the companion book, Chicka Chicka 1,2,3, too.

Now, to the picture books. I’ve only read one on the list so far – T is for Terrible, by Peter McCarty. It’s an adorable book that features a T-Rex, musing over his T-Rex-ness. He can’t help that he’s not a vegetarian.

That’s all for the little ones this time around – stay tuned, as I read my way through the Summer Reading list this year!

Preschool Reads

If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur… You Could Really Get A Lot Done.

Posted on April 13, 2014April 13, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur, by Linda Bailey/Illustrated by Colin Jack. Tundra Books (2014), $17.99, ISBN: 9781770495685

Recommended for ages 3-7

Part owner’s manual, part wish list, If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur is a running list of all the amazing things you could do if only you had a dinosaur. Worried about burglars? No longer! They’re also built-in gardening help, coffee grinders and potato mashers, umbrellas, snowplows, and more. But be careful – there are also somethings that dinosaurs are NO GOOD FOR. Like, anything to do with food.

I loved this book. Dinosaurs are very popular with children, and Ms. Bailey’s writing style, which calls Laura Numeroff’s If You Give… series to mind, will get readers ready to anticipate what’s coming next. The art, rendered digitally, is very retro-1970s, and absolutely enjoyable. The dinosaurs are colorful and have goofy expressions; the people in the book have friendly faces with big expressions. The black font is fairly plain with a little flourish, which will draw the attention of new and fledgling readers, and make for a fun storytime for littler listeners. The art stands out against the white background of the pages, with the exception of a spread or two.

This would be a great read-aloud book for preschoolers. I’d love to put some plush dinosaurs around the story room for the kids to enjoy as I read. The story lends itself to a fun discussion about what other uses there are for dinosaurs; it may even be a fun craft idea to let the kids draw some uses for dinosaurs. There are some great dinosaurs songs and fingerplays online, and there are virtually hundreds of coloring printables for a takeaway.

The author’s webpage offers information about her author talks and her books, an FAQ, and contact information. If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur hits shelves on May 13. The book’s ending makes me hopeful that this will be a new series, so let’s keep an eye out!

Preschool Reads

AJ Smith shows readers that Even Monsters… are just like us!

Posted on March 30, 2014March 30, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Even Monsters… by AJ Smith. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (2014), $16.99. ISBN: 9781402286520

Recommended for ages 3-6

Sure, monsters roar, growl, and stomp around, but did you know that they have to put clean underwear on in the morning, eat their breakfast, brush their teeth, and go to school, just like any other kid? That’s the message AJ Smith communicates to his young audience with his book, Even Monsters… Perfect for preschoolers and Kindergarteners, Even Monsters talks about all the day-to-day, very un-monstery things that kid monsters have to do, illustrating that everyone has to do things like brush their teeth, take a bath, and learn their ABCs. On the bright side, monsters also get to do cool things like play video games, soccer, and hide in tree forts, just like other kids! The book is a great way to show children that no matter how different people may be – heck, they may not even be people – we’re all the same – we even need a kiss goodnight. It’s very reassuring for a young audience who may be experiencing a new routine by entering preschool or kindergarten.

Mr. Smith uses digital art to illustrate his story. His monsters, Glubb and Skeebu, are brightly colored and have friendly expressions, even when they’re being very monster-y, growling, and snarling. The text is bold, black and has an almost paintbrush-stroke feel to it, creating some interest for the reader.

AJ Smith teaches art and has created cartoons for Sesame Street and animated children’s shows like Courage the Cowardly Dog. His website is a treasure trove for kids and grownups alike, with information about author visits and a parent/teacher guide to Even Monsters. The kids’ section has links to a Monster store, art galleries, Monster trading cards, games, a section on how to draw Glubb and Skeebu, and a link to a Glubb and Skeebu webcomic.