Category: Preschool Reads

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Rock out with Goth Moth

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Goth Moth, by Kai Lüftner/Illustrated by Wiebke Rauers, Translated by Tim Mohr, (Sept. 2024, North South Books), $19.95, ISBN: 9780735845558

Ages 4-8

Shy moth Walter keeps to himself in his little attic home, but inside, he’s got the heart of a musician: “Unwatched, pumping hands and feet, / He bashes out a nonstop beat, / Whirly, twirling his drumsticks, / Pounding tom-toms, hi-hat tricks”. He’s a “Goth Moth” and a big fan of Lady B. Marie, aka Jitterbug, but to actually go to one of her shows? Yikes, that’s going out in the daytime! When Goth Moth ultimately ends up at a Jitterbug show, the unthinkable happens: can Goth Moth save the show by taking the stage and playing the drums for real? This sweet story, originally published in Switzerland, has a playful rhyme scheme and takes on overcoming anxiety and fear. The details in the illustration are spot on, with deep browns to give the goth-y look, and a little bit of zing within those browns to wake them up; there are bursts of color around Walter to bring light to the drab. Mohr uses wordplay to create buggy versions of popular albums, including works by Iron Mantis and Def Lepidoptera. Walter sports skulls on his wings;  his buddies have very gothy black t-shirts. Goth Moth is an adorable companion to Lüftner and Rauers’s Jitterbug (2023). The duo makes a fun addition to storytime collections – if your readers liked Punk Farm by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, these will be wildly received.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Hello Trees asks thoughtful questions

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Hello, Trees, by Bailey Bezuidenhout/Illustrated by Maria Lebedeva, (June 2023, Kane Miller), $14.99, ISBN: 9781684647330

Ages 3-7

A young brown-skinned girl shares thoughtful questions about trees as she interacts with them in this beautifully illustrated book. Poetic meanderings like “…I run my hand over the rough bark, / wrinkled like my fingertips / when I’ve stayed in the bathtub too long” share space with contemplative musings like “Do trees have souls?”, “Do trees smile when I swing in their branches?”, and “Do they feel loved being a home…?” The girl is dwarfed by the silent guardians, with the occasional bird peeking out to observe. She revels in nature and is a wonderful self-insert for readers who imagine themselves running their fingers across bark, digging their fingers into soil, and swinging from branches. A warm white background provides a nice backdrop for the brown and green trees to pop against; larger, decorative font emphasizes key ideas and words throughout. Endpapers show our main character climbing a tree to peek into a hole –  maybe to see a squirrel family – while a white bird peeks out of another hole, watching. A friendly, easy introduction to trees that appeals to our feelings; great for a STEM introduction to preschool and kindergarten classes.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Choose Your Own Adventure, Picture Book Style!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

You Choose Fairy Tales, by Pippa Goodhart/Illustrated by Nick Sharratt, (Aug. 2023, Kane Miller), $12.99, ISBN: 9781684646067

Ages 3-7

The You Choose series is just like a Choose Your Own Adventure book for the preschool set. My Kiddo used to love his copy of You Choose in Space; I have great memories of him telling me a different story every time we sat down to read. (He’s in middle school now – can you believe? – and obsessed with manga). You Choose Fairy Tales is another title from Kane Miller’s You Choose series, taking readers on a fairy tale adventure of their own making. Pick a type of hero: a mermaid or a prince, a daring feline adventurer or a wooden puppet, or make up someone of your own. Where would you live and who are your friends? Colorful spreads with fairy tale mainstays prompt readers with different questions, helping them assemble their stories. Rhyming text asks readers what “items might be handy as you go about your quest? Be prepared – your fairy tale may put you to the test!” and suggest different antagonists to choose or avoid. Great fun for one-on-one storytimes and independent reading time. Other titles in the You Choose series include You Choose, You Choose in Space, and You Choose Christmas.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Shine a Light on Backyard Bugs!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Backyard Bugs (A Shine-a-Light Book), by Carron Brown & Wesley Robins, (Aug. 2023, Kane Miller), $12.99, ISBN: 9781684645695

Ages 4-8

I have so much fun with these Shine-a-Light books. If you have a bright storytime area, you have to try one. It may feel a little awkward at first, getting the book in the best position to show off the hidden picture using light shining through the page, but it’s worth it and you’ll find a rhythm between storytelling and giving time to show off the picture, honest. Backyard Bugs is all about meeting the bugs in our backyards and green spaces. Pages alternate between bright, colorful pages with a featured insect, a fact, and an interactive question, answered on the next page – a black and white answer and insect; if you hold the colorful page up to the light, the bright white insect’s outline shows through, delighting readers. It’s a great STEM storytime book and adds a fun, interactive element to read-alouds. Letting readers explore the books for solo or paired reading gives them a chance to discover the hidden pictures for themselves. A good suggestion for elementary nonfiction collections.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Lost – a wordless romp about pets gone astray

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Lost, by Bob Staake, (Oct. 2024, Anne Schwartz Books), $18.99, ISBN: 9780593707029

Ages 3-7

A girl goes searching for her missing cat and helps her neighbors, also missing pets in this adorable story that will give readers a chuckle. When a girl notices that her cat is missing, she gets to work distributing “Lost” flyers; as she does, she meets neighbors who hand her their own flyers: for a dog, a bird, and a giraffe! Flashbacks show each person’s tale (or tail?) of woe as readers discover how each pet got away. As the girl searches her town, she ends up finding the lost pets – thanks to a tasty hot dog – and brings them together, while managing to find her sweet kitten! The retro art is playful, with exaggerated characters and skillful use of charcoal grey, white, and color. The pets are vibrantly colorful; muted blues pop up to denote skies, water, and a wall in the girl’s home. The girl has a rosy face, and the people missing their own pets show up with colorful faces to help them stand out; it’s a lovely way of showing readers how pets color our lives and how interacting with one another makes us seen. Lighthearted and humorous with a playful sense of adventure, Lost is a fun add for wordless collections and great for a story study.

Lost has a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

The Light of Home: Home isn’t always a place

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Light of Home: A story of family, creativity, and belonging, by Diana Farid/Illustrated by Hoda Hadadi, (Sept. 2024, Orchard Books), $19.99, ISBN: 9781338890617

Ages 4-8

Nur is a child who loves her home by the sea where she plays, enjoys time with her family, and fills her room with her artwork. Life drastically changes overnight when the family must leave right away; Hadadi illustrates the urgency of a family fleeing with the clothes on their backs, Nur grabbing a single painting off of her wall as her mother grabs her hand. On the next page, men bearing shovels and stick ransack the rooms and destroy what they can reach. Told in verse, Farid’s story of a family fleeing one home and moving to another is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. Her exquisite verse finds the beauty in pain; as Nur and her family find places to live, she remembers the sigts, smells, and textures of home: “Sometimes, / [the horizon] breathes tangerine orange and sour cherry clouds, / like the sunsets she used to watch from a picnic blanket”. As the family gets used to living in a new city, in a building unfamiliar and loud, Nur uses her painting, desperately torn from the wall on the night of their departure, as the inspiration to create once again, this time of the “glittery path she loves / even if it’s far away”. Hadadi’s paper collage brings texture that make the memories tangible to readers, using vibrant colors and evocative images. The growing body of work on the refugee/immigrant/migrant experience is incredible and such an important part of collections. Don’t miss this one. Display and read with other stories, including Nicola Davies’s The Day War Came, Yuyi Morales’s Dreamers, Hollis Kurman’s Counting Kindness, and Hannah Moushabeck’s Homeland.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Big Bear and Little Fish return!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Bear’s Big Idea, by Sandra Nickel/Illustrated by Il Sung Na, (Sept. 2024, Carolrhoda Books), $18.99, ISBN: 9798765610176

Ages 4-7

Big Bear and Little Fish have become such great friends in the two years since their first book. In their new adventure, it’s Bear’s turn to come up with a fun new idea, which gives her a bit of anxiety. Usually, it’s Fish that has the great ideas, but now it’s Bear’s turn, and everywhere she turns, she sees remnants of activities left over from the week with Fish. With a little creativity and an open mind, a great new idea is just waiting for Bear – she just has to let herself open up to the possibilities. Nickel’s storytelling sweetly pairs with Na’s digital illustrations, bringing a touch of humor to a story about the pressure of choosing the “just right” activity for a friend. Nickel captures the stress of coming up with a blockbuster activity with phrases like, “What if she couldn’t find an idea? What if that meant she wasn’t a good friend?” Readers familiar with Big Bear and Little Fish will appreciate Bear’s caution with Fish as they climb trees and splosh in puddles. Endpapers show Bear and Fish in a variety of poses. A sweet companion to the original story and a good addition to storytime collections. Download a curriculum guide for Bear’s Big Idea from Sandra Nickel’s author page.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Clouds in Space: Meet Nebula!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis
Clouds in Space: Nebulae, Stardust, and Us, by Teresa Robeson/Illustrated by Diāna Renžina, (Aug. 2024, MIT Kids Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9781536225372
Ages 7-9

The secret is out: there are things we can’t see beyond the clouds. But Nebula, our narrator, is here to tell us everything! Nebula means “cloud” in Latin, and she guides us – and a young astronomer featured in the story – through an outer space trip to marvel at the beautiful nebulae scattered across the universe. Stunning digital illustrations incorporate actual photos of nebulae to paint vibrant pictures across the black sky. Renžina adds shapes to Butterfly and Elephant nebulae and allows a kaleidoscope of color to shimmer forth from our guide Nebula’s entire being; Robeson creates non-fiction poetry to describe the incredible beauty of the universe with phrases like “You are grown from scattered stardust, / sprouted in a stellar nursery. / I AM THE STARDUST / AND THE NURSERY”. Back matter includes details about nebulae, with photos of the nebulae featured in the book, and resources for further exploration. A stunning book that works as a storytime selection as easily as it does a non-fiction resource.

Clouds in Space: Nebulae, Stardust, and Us has a starred review from School Library Journal.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Happy Book Birthday to The Three Little Guinea Pigs and the Andean Fox!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Three Little Guinea Pigs and the Andean Fox, by Ana Velez, (Aug. 2024, Page Street Kids), $18.99, ISBN: 9781645678694

Ages 4-8

This spin on the classic tale is set in Andean South America, featuring 3 guinea pigs who have to rebuild after floods destroyed their homes. Like the classic, they each build their home from straw, sticks, and stone, and are suspicious when a fox shows up, exhorting them to come with him. They run from house to house as condors and bears wreak havoc on the sticks and straw, but is Fox really up to no good? The sweet story reaches a delightful conclusion that praises teamwork, friendship, and community. The rhyme scheme makes for a run readaloud, with sound effects in larger, bolder fonts to invite reader participation. Digital illustrations have cultural details, including the endpapers, which feature animals from the story woven into an Andean textile pattern. The story includes words in Spanish and Kichwa (also knows as Quechua), with a glossary in the back matter. Back matter also includes a note on animals of the Andes and a shaved ice recipe. The fox wears a woven scarf and the guines pigs sport hats and sweaters. A very cute addition to storytime collections, and psst… If you need a younger selection to feature and read for Civic Awareness Month, this would be a good choice!

There are some great Andean worksheets and activity sheets on TeachersPayTeachers. I really like this Andean fabric coloring sheet from Tierney Phillips.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

More Construction Fun with Pigs Dig a Road

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Pigs Dig a Road, by Carrie Finison/Illustrated by Brian Biggs, (Sept. 2024, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers), $19.99, ISBN: 9781984816542

Ages 3-7

A construction crew is getting ready to build a new road to the Hamshire County Fair. Headed up by Rosie, the crew chief, this crew of pigs is ready to work, but they can’t seem to get things quite right and rely on Rosie to fix things. But Rosie’s exhausted, and needs some help to pull it all off before the fair begins. It’s time for the rest of the team to pull together and get the road done on time! Finison’s lively rhyming text is fun with cheerful, while Brian Biggs created loads of sight gags to keep listeners giggling and invested. Teamwork is the heart of the story here and Finison shows readers that teams work best when everyone has a say. Vehicle fans will love the parade of excavators, dump trucks, pavers, and other machines trundling through each spread. Boldly outlined and brightly colored, the pigs and their surroundings will lift spirits and the expressive characters will keep readers smiling as listen to Rosie attempt to rally her crew: “Curly, Pinky—helmets, please!
Stinky, stick your feet in these.” Endpapers show a variety of pigs at the wheels of different machines. A win for storytime and for picture book collections, and a great first purchase.

Visit Carrie Finison’s webpage to sign up for her newsletter and learn more about her books. Visit Brian Biggs’s website to see more of his illustration work and learn more about his books.