Category: Preschool Reads

Posted in Early Reader, Non-Fiction, picture books, Preschool Reads

So Cool/So Cute… So perfect for kids

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

NatGeo Kids once again rocks my nonfiction section with a new series for younger readers. So Cool/So Cute is perfect for preschoolers through first graders who love animals, whether they’re cool, like dinosaurs, or cute, like puppies. Filled with facts, amusing side commentary, and color artwork and photos, they’re a great add to displays and small enough to fit inside a backpack or Mom’s bag.

So Cute! Puppies, by National Geographic Kids, (Feb. 2022, National Geographic Kids), $6.99, ISBN: 9781426339066

Ages 3-5

Readers who love puppies will love this adorable collection of puppy facts and photos. They’ll come away with fun facts: did you know that playtime is just as important for puppies as it is for kids? It is! Playtime “teaches young pooches important lessons in how to make friends – and keep them”. They’ll learn a little bit about some of the over 400 dog breeds out and about, and how some puppies look very different at birth, like the Dalmatian, born without spots. Clearly labeled photos introduce kids to different dog breeds, and fun word bubbles give the puppies a say in the dialogue-based text. A perfect Dad joke ends this volume and will give readers a giggle.

Want to pair the book with a fun puppy craft activity? Try Ms. Merry’s Build-a-Puppy craft, or some of these creative and fun crafts from The Spruce Crafts.

 

So Cool! Dinos, by National Geographic Kids, (Feb. 2022, National Geographic Kids), $6.99, ISBN: 9781426339042

Ages 3-5

Puppies are so cute, but dinosaurs? They are SO COOL. This little book is filled with dino facts and colorful artwork, with humorous commentary to keep kids laughing while they learn. An armored Ankylosaurus warns readers, “You wouldn’t want to mess with this”, while a peevish Pterosaur gripes that they wouldn’t “want to be a dinosaur anyway”. Readers will find out ways that scientists learn more about dinosaurs, and yes, there is a mention of dinosaur poop (coprolite), to keep them entertained. There’s information about dinosaur descendants that live in our world today, dino babies, and different-sized dinos. Clearly labeled pictures also offer phonetic pronunciation, making dino researchers out of every reader. The ever-present Dad joke closes this volume.

We Are Teachers has a great article with 20 different dinosaur activities for kids. Offer some as a companion activities or have a Dino Day.

There are more So Cool!/So Cute! books available, including Sharks (So Cool!), Koalas (So Cute!), Leopards (So Cool!), and Pandas (So Cute!).

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Blog Tour: Thursday by Ann Bowill and Kayla Harden

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Thursday, by Ann Bowill/Illustrated by Kayla Harden, (June 2022, Two Lions), $17.99, ISBN: 9781542032896

Ages 4-7

Thursday used to be a little girl’s favorite day of the week, until she learns that her parents are getting a divorce on a Thursday. Now, instead of art class, and popsicles with friends, Thursdays mean that everything will change. Her stuffed unicorn steps in to give the girl a much-needed friend and comfortable shoulder, staying with her to support her through the hard feelings and the move, until Thursday becomes “just Thursday again”. The story moves forward with a gentle sensitivity, told in first person by the unicorn, who repays an act of kindness with love and and concern. The unicorn grows into a larger-than-life-sized companion that the little girl can lean on; when she can stand on her own again, the unicorn shrinks back to a toy-sized stuffie, but never leaves her – always around, ready to take her side if she needs it. Kayla Harden’s digital illustrations glow with optimism, letting readers know that things may be difficult right now, but the sun will always come up the next day, and things will eventually get better. The unicorn has its own cheerful radiance, sharing its warmth with the little girl. Add this one to your SEL (social-emotional learning) collections, and maybe consider adding some stuffed friends to your collection for kids who need a friend to lean on.

 

Ann Bonwill grew up in Maryland surrounded by books. Before becoming an author, Ann worked as a clinical social worker, a Montessori teacher, and an autism therapist. She is the author of multiple picture books and nonfiction books for children, including When Mermaids Sleep, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, and I Am Not a Copycat!, illustrated by Simon Rickerty. Ann has lived in many places, from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Frankfurt, Germany. She currently lives in Virginia with her family. Learn more at www.annbonwill.com.

Kayla Harren is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City with a BFA in illustration. She’s an award-winning illustrator of multiple picture books, including A Boy Like You, written by Frank Murphy, and The Boy Who Grew a Forest, written by Sophia Gholz, among other titles. Her work has been featured in the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, Communication Arts, and 3×3 Magazine, and she won the Highlights for Children Pewter Plate Award. She lives in Minnesota with her family. Learn more at www.kaylaharren.com.

Facebook: Kayla Harren Illustrator

Instagram: @kaylaharren

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

End of School Year storytime: This is a School

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

This is a School, by John Schu/Illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison, (March 2022, Candlewick Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9781536204582

Ages 4-8

I know, kids are ready to run out the door by now, and you may be thinking, “End of school year storytime? WHAT?” But bear with me, because John Schu’s This is a School is a beautifully crafted look at a community, and how a school is the beating heart of a community. Using brief, definitive sentences, John Schu tells the story: “This is a kid. / This is a kid in a class. / This is a class in a hall. / This is a hall in a school – / WELCOME!” Using repetition, he invites readers to look and listen as he goes through a school day, where children ask and learn, share and help, hope and heal, fail and try; with alternating spreads, we see what happens in the school day, and how it contributes to communities growing, celebrating, transforming. An inclusive group of families and cheerful mixed media artwork present a thriving urban community. What a wonderful way to send learners off into their communities for summer break, and an equally sterling way to welcome them back.

John Schu is a former classroom teacher and school librarian, a former Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic Book Fairs, and a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University. His blog, Mr. Schu Reads, is an excellent resource for anyone who loves kidlit. You can find him on Instagram and Twitter.

Veronica Miller Jamison is an illustrator and textile designer who trained as a fashion designer. She is the illustrator of Suzanne Slade’s A Computer Called Katherine. Find more of her illustration work at her website.

This is a School has a starred review from Booklist.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Books about Birds

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Birds are a great storytime theme: there are great songs and fingerplays, crafts are plentiful and adorable, and there’s a bird for every season. I’ve got some new(ish) bird books for your storytimes right here; let’s see what’s good.

Odd Birds: Meet Nature’s Weirdest Flock, by Laura Gehl/Illustrated by Gareth Lucas, (June 2022, Abrams Appleseed), $8.99, ISBN: 9781419742231

Ages 2-4

Laura Gehl and Gareth Lucas’s companion board book to Odd Beasts (2021) has gone to the birds! Odd Birds is a rhyming look at eight different birds, all with unusual characteristics: “This seabird has a pouch. / This booby has blue feet. / This shoebill’s beak is huge. / This ostrich likes the heat.” Striking, colorful illustration brings these birds to life, with a new spread for every encounter. Back matter includes photos and descriptions on each of the eight featured birds: the magnificent frigatebird; the blue-footed booby; the ostrich; the shoebill stork; the hoatzin; the oilbird; the California condor, and the burrowing owl. An excellent storytime choice.

 

The Song of the Nightingale, by  Tanya Landman/Illustrated by Laura Carlin, (Apr. 2022, Candlewick Studio), $17.99, ISBN: 9781536217681

Ages 6-9

A newly created world thrums with color, but the animals are so drab! The Painter sets to work, imbuing each animal with color and patterns, from the striped zebras and blue whales to the golden scarab beetle. As the day comes to an end and the animals head back to their homes, the Painter discovers a shy bird, preferring the quiet and stillness of the nighttime, has come forward for a splash of color. Will the Painter have enough paint left?

This rich story carries the lyricism and storytelling magic of myth and legend. Tanya Landman uses sporadic rhyme, alliteration, and humor to tell her story and enchant readers. Watercolor, acrylic, and pencil illustrations add a dreamlike quality, letting readers easily imagine an omniscient Painter wielding a paintbrush to bring color to their world. Th titular character’s gift adds a final spark of wonder. Endpapers show black and white and colorful menageries. A gorgeous story that wraps itself around readers.

Show kids a picture of a nightingale at National Geographic. Print out some coloring pages and let kids become Painters! Here are some nightingale pictures, and here are some wild animal coloring pages.

 

Chirp!, by Mary Murphy, (March 2022, Candlewick Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9781536217698

Ages 2-6

Mary Murphy has entered that realm of go-to authors I always have ready for anyone who asks me for book suggestions for early readers: Eric Carle, Lois Ehlert, Donald Crews, and Mary Murphy. With Chirp!, different birds show off their different songs as the night gradually moves toward a bright new day. A little bluebird demands their turn, and the other birds join in, serenading the new day. Bold, easy-to-read fonts and high-contrast illustrations make this an excellent lapsit choice for babies, too!

With colorful, bold illustrations, cheerful rhymes, and lovable characters, kids love looking at her books, and grownups love reading them. An insta-buy for storytime collections.

 

The Legend of the Storm Goose, by Fiona Halliday, (Feb. 2022, Page Street Kids), $17.99, ISBN: 9781645673484

Ages 5-8

Fiona Halliday creates a legend, inspired by the Scottish coastline of her childhood, about a magical bird that protects those who live and work along the coast. Erin is a little girl living with her dad and her Nana, and loves hearing her father’s stories about the Storm Goose, a great white bird who protects him while he’s at sea. Shortly after he returns to the sea, a terrible storm hits and she discovers an injured bird, tangled in a net. Is it the Storm Goose? And if it is, who’s protecting her Papa?

The Legend of the Storm Goose is a moving story of grief, loss, and recovery. Illustrations add a mythic quality to the overall look and feel of the story, with the Storm Goose wreathed in gold dust; a shimmering aura. A sensitive story about healing oneself by healing another.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Where Butterflies Fill the Sky evokes memories of home

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Where Butterflies Fill the Sky: A Story of Immigration, Family, and Finding Home, by Zahra Marwan, (March 2022, Bloomsbury USA), $18.99, ISBN: 9781547606511

Ages 4-8

Zahra is a young girl living in Kuwait, where “the desert reaches all the way to the sea and one hundred butterflies are always in the sky”. She is surrounded by love and by family; by her ancestors, who watch over her. When her father and mother tell her they are no longer welcome in the only home she has known, forcing the family to move far away to New Mexico, she feels unmoored: will her ancestors know where to find her? She misses her aunts, and misses being surrounded by people who speak her language. Slowly, though, Zahra and her family discover moments of familiarity: of music; of friendship; of belonging. Eventually, Zahra discovers that she can hold onto her home, where she has her aunts who love her and her ancestors who watch over them, and she can make this new “place of high desert” a home, with new friends and new traditions. Back matter includes the story of Zahra’s family and a word about the art. Zahra Marwan’s ink and watercolor artwork is dreamlike, to match her memories of her childhood. Colors are warm, influenced by her desert upbringing and move and her feelings of family. She tells her story in spare prose that creates images that will leave their mark on readers’ hearts. Endpapers with butterflies and balloons provide a link with the story. Invite readers to create butterflies or balloon crafts as an extension activity. Booktalk Butterflies Belong Here: A Story of One Idea, Thirty Kids, and a World of Butterflies by Deborah Hopkinson and Meilo So and talk about the use of butterfly migration in stories about immigration. Visit Zahra Marwan’s website for more about her books and her illustration.

Where Butterflies Fill the Sky has a starred review from School Library Journal and the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.
Posted in Intermediate, picture books, Preschool Reads, Uncategorized

Books About Nature to Brighten Your Spring

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

It’s time for a roundup! This time, we’ve got nature books to enjoy now that the Spring weather finally looks like it’s going to stick around. Get comfortable by your favorite tree, or sit in the warmth of the sun, and enjoy some of these Spring-y books.

Be Thankful for Trees : A tribute to the many & surprising ways trees relate to our lives, by Harriet Ziefert/Illustrated by Brian Fitzgerald, (March 2022, Red Comet Press), $19.99, ISBN: 9781636550206

Ages 4-8

This is a fantastic way to introduce younger readers to all the great ways people and animals depend on trees! A rhyming tale expounds on the seven big things trees provide: food; comfort; music; art; recreation; home, and life. Colorful illustrations shows trees in nature, and how they’re used in day-to-day life, from providing a forest full of animals with food, to a kitchen table seating a family for dinner; from a child playing a piano, to a bird feeding her babies high up on a branch. Each area opens with a repetitive question and answer: “Would life be satisfying/good/possible without trees? It would not!” During a read-aloud, it’s the perfect opportunity for interaction; invite your littles to tell you what they think. The verse reminds also readers that trees are essential to life on earth, and the man-made disasters that threaten them, like deforestation and forest fire; Ziefert encourages readers to “explore a cool forest with its pine-scented breeze” and to “remember forever, BE THANKFUL FOR TREES!”. Playful, cheery color illustrations add to the fun verse, and golden leaves pop from the blue endpapers, really making this a wonderful book for early childhood natural science readalouds.

Author Harriet Ziefert has written hundreds of children’s books. You can see more of illustrator Brian Fitzgerald’s work at his website.

Visit Red Comet’s book detail page for a free, downloadable Teachers Guide. TeachersPayTeachers has a wealth of free learning activities about trees. I really like the idea of adopting a “class tree” and journaling observations over the course of a school year, as Robynn Drerup’s class has. Amanda Whitaker also has a fun tree journal for kids. Our Time to Learn’s Tree Animals Coloring sheet is great to hand out after a readaloud.

Firsts and Lasts: The Changing Seasons, by Leda Schubert/Illustrated by Clover Robin, (March 2022, Candlewick Press), $18.99, ISBN: 9781536211023

Ages 4-8

Every season comes with its own unique firsts and lasts. Leda Schubert and illustrator Clover Robin beautifully capture these moments in Firsts and Lasts: The Changing Season. Organized by season, the book offers gentle observation designed to provoke memories and warm feelings as we follow family through the year: Spring is the last time they (and we) wear snowsuits and build snow forts, but it’s the first time they see new grass, and wash the car; in the Fall, it’s the last time for things like going to the ice cream stand, but it’s the first time for seeing wooly caterpillars and jumping in leaves. Cut paper illustrations add a playful whimsy and the colors capture the feelings for each season; crisp winter skies and warm autumn leaves; bright spring flowers and lush summer landscapes. It’s a wonderful illustration of the transition nature – and people! – go through from season to season, and offers opportunities for kids to share their observations on seasonal change.

First and Lasts has a starred review from The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.

KB3Teach has a fun Seasons Cut and Paste activity on TeachersPayTeachers that nicely extends this book. Teresa Tretbar’s Amazing Literacy has seasonal coloring pages and posters for you to hand out, too.

Olaf Hajek’s Fantastic Fruits, by Olaf Hajek (Illustrations) and Annette Roeder (Text), (Apr. 2022, Prestel Junior), $19.95, ISBN: 9783791375069

Ages 6-9

Olaf Hajek has made beautiful art from vegetables and flowers; now, fruit gets the Hajek treatment in Olaf Hajek’s Fantastic Fruits. Annette Roeder returns to provide fun and interesting profiles on 25 fruits, like the pomegranate, also known as the “apple of discord” that was created, according to Greek myth, by an angry goddess of strife and discord; the banana, whose curve is slowly being bred out of the fruit in order to make for easier stacking; and the fig, whose juice can help against insect bites. Factual information on each fruit’s countries of origin, and other names and varieties of each fruit run across the bottom of each profile, and – as we’ve come to expect from Hajek – colorful, stunning portraits are the star of the show in this oversized volume. A fox and a woman collect orange juice from giant fruits hanging from a tree in one painting; another woman serves cherry cake to a young boy and a bird as cherries hang from a tree and provide a headdress; a porcupine carries a gigantic blackberry and raspberry on its back through a field. Hajek’s playfully surreal artwork is sure to catch eyes and make new fans as they pore through the pages of this gorgeous book. Great for art sections and 634 sections (fruits, naturally!).

Visit Olaf Hajek’s illustrator webpage for more of his work.

 

What’s Cooking in Flowerville? Recipes from Balconies, Rooftops, and Gardens, by Felicita Sala, (Apr. 2022, Prestel Junior), $14.95, ISBN: 9783791375182

Ages 6-10

Flowerville is a bustling, multicultural neighborhood where everyone loves to grow and share food! Beginning in April, the book takes readers through the year, month by month, with Flowerville citizens tending to their plants: in April, Maria chops down her asparagus spears; in July, Ramon tests the floating ability of a cucumber as his parent waters the plants. Each month features a new recipe, made with ingredients shown in the artwork. In July, we get creamy tzatziki sauce; in November, roasted beet dip. Warm and colorful artwork shows families and friends sharing food and friendship, and gardening tips and recipes make this a handy gardening guide for families and classes. Pair with Francine Sala’s What’s Cooking at 10 Garden Street and Cynthia Cliff’s Pie for Breakfast for a worldwide trip for the palate.

Felicita Sala’s webpage has more of her illustration work, and a link to her food illustration is a must-see.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Two Lions Celebrates Children’s Book Week with FREE EBOOKS

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Happy Children’s Book Week! I just got the news that Two Lions/Amazon Publishing is offering free ebooks to celebrate this week!

You may recognize some of these books (especially my best T-Rexter buddy, Dexter); you may even have hard copies. But now, you can get e-copies to have handy whenever the occasion pops up – impromptu storytimes, long train rides (or car rides, if you and the kiddos don’t get car sick), or just those lovely “I’m so BOOOOOOOORED” moments that pop up, whether you’re visiting, sitting and waiting for a parent-teacher meeting, or out at a restaurant that actually has flatware on the tables.

Two Lions has a website ready for you to view and download your books, along with discussion prompts and reading tips, courtesy of Amazon’s nonprofit partner, Reading is Fundamental.

Now, go get your books!

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Blog Tour: Before the World Wakes, by Estelle Laure

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Remember those mornings when you were a kid, when you were awake before everyone else woke up and it felt like you were the only person in the world? That spirit of magic and anticipation is the heart of Estelle Laure and Paola Zakimi’s Before the World Wakes.

Before the World Wakes, by Estelle Laure/Illustrated by Paola Zakimi,
(April 2022, Two Lions), $17.99, ISBN: 9781542028837

Ages 4-7

Two siblings awaken in the wee hours of the morning and explore the world around them, enjoying each other’s company. It’s the best time of day: it’s not too bright; there’s not a lot of noise; they aren’t rushing to be anywhere. Estelle Laure’s lyrical prose evokes the best childhood memories and makes them available to a new audience, brought to life by Paola Zakimi’s gentle watercolor, pencil, and gouache illustrations. Phrases like, “The stars say good morning at the same time / they say good night, / and we watch the moon pull them home, / as night and day hold hands” beautifully capture the gentle time before the hectic rush of the day begins; the spread brings the words together by illustrating a waking sky, moving from midnight blue to soft blue, stars and moon still twinkling in the sky, with a pink and yellow dawn moving in from the east and bringing secrets of the day with it: flowers perking up to greet the sun, and snails creeping out to snack on morning dew. Perspectives shift from close-up portraits of the children watching the world awaken around them, moving out to glimpse them dancing in their blanket capes, to their toes squishing into the “wet grass that is cold but not too cold”. Before the World Wakes is a joyful celebration of childhood, of exploration, and of the anticipation of a new day.

A great sensory storytime read aloud, inviting kids to talk about how they “feel” their days begin: the warmth of a blanket versus the shiver of cold air when they emerge from their blankets; the feel of a floor – grass or otherwise! – under their feet, the sounds of the morning, from the birds outside to the chatter in their homes as everyone starts their day.

“The poetic text and charming pictures celebrate a special time and universal feelings” – Booklist

Estelle Laure is the author of six young adult novels, including This Raging Light, Mayhem, Remember Me, and the City of Villains series, and the picture book The Perfect Pet for You, illustrated by Amy Hevron. She lives with her family in New Mexico, where you can often find her walking the dogs and watching the sun rise before the world wakes. For more about Estelle, visit www.estellelaure.com or on Instagram: @estellelaurewrites

Paola Zakimi is the illustrator of Secrets I Know by Kallie George, Teddy & Co. by Cynthia Voigt, The Christmas Tree Who Loved Trains by Annie Silvestro, and Ruby’s Sword by Jacqueline Viessid. She is also a doll maker and fine artist and lives in Argentina. Her favorite part of the early morning is listening to the buzz of the bees while the sun comes out all bright and beautiful. You can learn more about her at www.paolazakimi.com or Instagram: @paolazakimi
Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Earth: We’ve only got one.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

What do you do when you have some really cool, new, science-y stories? You put together a supercool Science Storytime!

Only One, by Deborah Hopkinson and Chuck Groenik, (Apr. 2022, Anne Schwartz Books), $17.99, ISBN: 9780399557033

Ages 4-8

A young girl talks to her friends and family about the story of the universe from the Big Bang to the development of our big blue dot, planet Earth, and how it evolved to sustain life. As the narrative progresses, we see that she’s leading her group to a tree planting event. Only One is perfect Earth Day reading, filled with interesting observations about the formation of the universe and the planets, and about our own planet’s uniqueness and ability to host a multitude of diverse life forms: “But though there are seven billion of us, / we are unique, / with bodies, brains, fingerprints, / and feelings of our own”. Arcylic, ink, and Photoshop illustrations beautifully bring the story to life, bringing the girl’s story to life through vivid word balloons and showing the group small against the giant scale of a forest, the clouds, and the atmosphere; pulling back, a spread shifts to show a diverse group of people coming together to plant trees against a forest shore. Additional resources guide readers to more information about caring for our planet and about climate change. A lovely reminder that we have one planet and to be mindful stewards, while empowering readers to take action. Miss Becca’s Classroom on TeachersPayTeachers has a free downloadable climate change activism activity that would make a good display piece or storytime handout for readers in grades K-2.