Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Scorch, Hedgehog of DOOM, is fierce (and cute)!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Scorch: Hedgehog of Doom, by Cate Berry/Illustrated by Margherita Grasso, (July 2024, Page Street Kids), $18.99, ISBN: 9781645678670

Ages 4-7

An adorable class pet wants everyone to think she is ferocious, but Class 402 just thinks she’s so darn cute! No matter what she does: sink her fangs into a mango; wields an apple slice like a sword; or storm her little cliff to squeak at her observers, it doesn’t matter; everyone loves to coo at Scorch. When she accidentally finds herself in the snake tank next to hers, she’s got to rely on being both adorable and ferocious to earn everyone’s respect. Author Berry wrote Scorch’s story with the hope that readers will see themselves in her: a flexibility that allows for multiple aspects of a personality – and the self-awareness to embrace those aspects. Grasso’s digital illustrations show a spirited, tiny hedgehog with a determined expression: she clutches her fists; she sees herself consumed by flames of energy; she gnashes her little teeth, and still manages to be the cutest thing in the room. Endpapers depict classroom drawings of Scorch and her slithery neighbor. An all-around fun read that kids will enjoy for multiple readings.

Scorch: Hedgehog of Doom has a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

Posted in Toddler Reads

Check out this high-contrast board book series that grows with your baby!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Kane Miller has the inside line on a board book series that grows with your baby: author Lily Murray and illustrator Jane Foster have new, high-contrast board books made for cuddle time. Originally released in the UK, the publisher has brought them to the U.S. Let’s take a look.

Jane Foster’s Baby’s First Stories (0-3 Months), by Lily Murray and Jane Foster, (May 2024, Kane Miller), $10.99, ISBN: 9781684649105

Ages 0-12 months

Four rhyming animal stories make up this first board book: an elephant uses her trunk to sing a special song; a panda snoozes and spends a day at play; a playful whale spends the day with under-the-sea friends, and a bunny spends the day exploring before retiring to her burrow for bedtime. Developed for babies 3 months old and younger, the high-contrast black-and-white illustration work is perfect for baby’s developing brains. The animal illustrations include contrasting shapes and patterns to help babies develop visual focus, and the simple rhyme is easy and soothing to read: “Little whale dives through the seas, / Where turtles swoop and glide. / She meets a friendly starfish / Who asks to hitch a ride”.

 

Jane Foster’s Baby’s First Stories (3-6 Months), by Lily Murray and Jane Foster, (May 2024, Kane Miller), $10.99, ISBN: 9781684649112

Ages 0-12 months

As baby gets a little bigger, Foster adds a splash of color to her illustrations and Murray includes fun activities in the storytelling to engage baby and caregiver: “Now here comes an octopus / Tickling your tummy. / Tickle, tickle everywhere / Tickling’s so funny!”; “There’s Panda! Smiley Panda, / Waving back at me. / I see Panda! Hello, Panda! / And Panda sees me”; “Little Elephant, stomp your feet. / Little Elephant, waggle your nose. / Little Elephant, flap your ears. / Little Elephant, touch your toes!” Caregivers will enjoy tickling and identifying noses, feet, and ears during lap time and cuddle time. The animals from the Baby’s First Stories 0-3 months return, providing comfortable continuity, and the rhymes incorporate movement, questions, and answers while adding blue backgrounds and details to the black and white images and patterns help developing eyes grow stronger and continue creating neural networks.

 

 

Jane Foster’s Baby’s First Stories (6-9 Months), by Lily Murray and Jane Foster, (May 2024, Kane Miller), $10.99, ISBN: 9781684649129

Ages 0-12 months

The animal friends celebrate baby’s new milestones with stories about daily routines: Panda goes through a morning routine of waking, washing up, and getting dressed; Bunny enjoys a tasty lunchtime; Elephant has a bath after playing in the mud all day, and Whale gets ready for bed. As baby reaches 6-9 months, these rhymes parallel a baby’s busy day and include questions like, “Have you finished, Little Bunny? / Let’s clean you up, don’t wait!” and playful phrases like, “Gently, gently, with a towel, / Rub-a-dub-a-dub! / All clean, Little Elephant…  / …till the next time you find mud!” A cheery splash of orange joins the blue, black, and white illustrations and makes the animals’ patterns stand out, easily recognizable. An adorable way to go through the day’s activities and teach babies about routine.

 

Jane Foster’s Baby’s First Stories (9-12 Months), by Lily Murray and Jane Foster, (May 2024, Kane Miller), $10.99, ISBN: 9781684649129

Ages 0-12 months

New friends, additional color, and more complex stories await developing babies and toddlers. Murray and Foster introduce new animal friends, including a tortoise and a duck, all sporting vibrant, high-contrast patterns. Playful text and question and answer formats make reading interactive, inviting readers to search for Bunny, help cheer Panda up and scratch his nose, find Elephant’s missing clothes, and guess where Whale’s friends are hiding. Active phrasing and rhyming text keeps babies engaged, and fun wordplay allows for playful storytimes: “Who’s this coming now, / Creeping oh so slow? / Plod-plod-plod! It’s Tortoise! / Where did Bunny go?”

Each book is easily read and enjoyed by a variety of ages while offering a grow-as-you-go approach to the special milestones of baby’s first year. Bold, high-contrast artwork and fun, rhyming text that becomes more complex keeps baby’s attention while assisting development. The series is an excellent addition to early childhood collections and makes a great gift for a new baby.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Happy Book Birthday, Somewhere in Between!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Somewhere in Between, by Laan Cham, (July 2024, Random House), $18.99, ISBN: 9780593651568

Ages 4-7

Once upon a time, a child fell from the sky and make two friends who didn’t get along. Pink, a little girl, arrives in a bright, colorful placed called the Land of Sunshine, where a friendly creature named Fireball welcomes her and shows her around, but cautions Pink never to visit the nearby glacier; he tells her it’s “full of trolls”. Pink’s interest piqued, she finds a way onto the glacier where she meets Snowball, a friendly snow-person, and sets off on a day of play until Fireball sees her and begins arguing with Snowball. Determined to make her new friends get along, Pink creates her own Pink Land and invites the two new friends to visit, where they discover that they enjoy playing together after all. A playful story about friendship, jealousy, and conflict resolution, kids will easily relate to Pink’s dilemma as she tries to negotiate friendship with two bickering parties. Cham incorporates word bubbles and graphic novel-like panels into her narrative storytelling, giving readers multiple points of interest. The chibi-like digital illustrations are colorful and adorable; immediately eye-catching for readers and varying size fonts convey emotion and emphasis. Endpapers include extra details, including Pink’s explosive arrival and later, band-aids crossed over her entry point as she frolics with Snowball, Fireball, and her little rock friends. Kids will clamor for this sweet story.

Laan Cham is a first-generation Singaporean-British-American illustrator from New Jersey who currently lives in Vancouver. Somewhere in Between is her author-illustrator debut, and she is the illustrator of the forthcoming chapter book series Camp Scream.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Uncategorized

The Elephant and the Sea is a love letter to rescuers

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Elephant and the Sea, by Ed Vere, (May 2024, Doubleday Books for Young Readers), $18.99, ISBN: 9780525580904

Ages 3-7

Gabriel the Elephant looks back on his younger years in this story that salutes sea rescuers. As a young elephant, Gabriel wanted desperately to join the lifeboat crews; “he wanted to be brave like them – “rowing into danger, helping sailors in trouble at sea, singing as they went” – but first, he was too young to join them; then, too big to fit in the boat. Undeterred, Gabriel researched, planned, practiced, and ultimately made his own boat – and just in time, when a big storm hits and Gabriel has to save the fleet and the rescue boat! Vere blends an inspiring story of determination and spirit with an adventure to create a tribute to “all the brave people who risk their lives to save others”, as mentioned in his dedication. Use of the repetitive phrase “Heave away, haul away, heave-HO!” comes in handy for an interactive readaloud, and Vere’s illustration, heavily outlined and set on what looks like aged paper, adds the real feeling of an old document. Don’t miss this one. Download a free Elephant activity here!

The Elephant and the Sea has starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

The Secret Elephant… based on a true story!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Secret Elephant: Inspired by a True Story of Friendship, by Ellan Rankin, (Apr 2024, Random House Studio), $18.99, ISBN: 9780593703267

Ages 4-8

Inspired by the true story of Denise Weston Austin and Sheila the Elephant – a female zookeeper and her young charge, whom she kept safe during the bombing of Belfast in World War II – The Secret Elephant is a story that animal lovers of all ages will love. Told from Sheila’s point of view, we learn that Austin and Sheila were very close before the War, and that the young elephant was terrified and alone during the bombings, prompting Austin to stay with her and calm her. Weston had the idea to hide Denise at her own home after the Zoo closed for the day, allowing Sheila to live in her home, safe and comforted. When she was discovered, she had to go back to the Zoo, but Austin stayed with her, refusing to leave her friend alone. Rankin’s storytelling is warm, charming, and emotional; she uses brief sentences and evocative language to help readers empathize with the frightened elephant. Rankin’s brush illustrations provide texture and look like paintings with slight aging, letting readers feel the passage of time. Details include photos of Austin and Sheila in Sheila’s enclosure, and before-and-after moments show the chaos of living with a growing elephant: photos are askew, rugs bunched up. Rankin also shows the love between animal and person, as she shows Sheila playing with Austin’s yarn as she knits; Austin holding Sheila’s trunk as she leads her home; the hug between Sheila and Austin, reunited years down the line, both with “a few more wrinkles now”. An author’s note is smartly written as a series of newspaper articles, adding more texture to the story and engaging reader interest. Readers will love this story of light in a dark time of history.

Weston and Sheila’s story was made into a 2017 film, Zoo. You can find photos of Austin and Sheila at WartimeNI.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

The best kind of friends are Even Better than Sprinkles

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Even Better than Sprinkles: A Story About Best Friends, by Linda Skeers & Heather Fox, (June 2024, Random House Studio), $18.99, ISBN: 9780593705513

Ages 4-7

What makes a best friend – and what happens when that friendship is in trouble – forms the foundation of this relatable and charming story. Being a best friend means a lot of things: dressing up as a unicorn together (even when one person has to be the decidedly non-magical back of the unicorn); playing knight and dragon; even naming your favorite goldfish after your friend. Two friends illustrate these magical moments until one “accidentally-on-purpose” blows out the candles on her friend’s birthday cake before the birthday girl can make her wish, leading to a terrible split that can only be repaired with an apology. Skeers describes friendship in wonderful ways that kids will immediately understand, with phrases like, “Friendship feels like being hugged by a blanket right out of the dryer”. Fox’s digital illustrations are bright; characters are a white-skinned girl with curly red hair and a brown-skinned girl with top-knot bun, and they play joyfully together until the crisis occurs. Then, as Skeers notes, friendship feels like “being hugged by a porcupine while sitting on a cactus”; Fox shows the girls living their lives separately, sadly, until an apology card with three kinds of glitter and a lot of glue reunite the two. Themes of sharing, apologizing, and forgiveness will appeal to kids and adults alike.

Posted in Graphic Novels, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

YA LGBTQ+ romance: Navigating with You

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Navigating with You, by Jeremy Whitley/Illustrated by Cassio Ribeiro, (Aug 2024, Mad Cave Studios), $14.99, ISBN: 9781952303609

Ages 12+

Neesha Sparks is a queer, black, disabled community activist who loves costume design and manga. She’s moved from Queens, NY to North Carolina, and is not having a great first day of school. Gabby Graciana is a surfer girl from Florida, also new to North Carolina. She’s a friendly extrovert who is determined to make Neesha her first new friend at school. The two girls bond over their love of Navigator Nozomi, a same manga series, and set off on a challenge to locate copies of the book all over North Carolina. The girls discover deeper feelings for one another as they spend more time together, but each comes to the relationship with challenges to work through: PTSD, divorce, ableism, and toxic relationships are all addressed in Whitley’s masterful story of love, acceptance, and friendship. Whitley intersperses panels from the fictional Navigator Nozomi series to show parallels between the story and the girls’ lives, particularly focusing on the lead female character learning to stand on her own and separate from a toxic male influence. Whitley – the creator of female-led graphic novels like Princeless, The School for Extra-Terrestrial Girls, and Marvel’s The Unstoppable Wasp – has a gift for writing smart, relatable female characters; his dialogue flows easily between the characters and he has the ability to capture defining moments with skill and empathy. Neesha and Gabby each learn to trust one another as friends first, moving into something more, gradually letting each other in. Ribeiro’s illustrations beautifully capture each teen’s personality and the Nozomi panels will delight manga fans. It’s a moving romance that teens and young adults will love.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Uncategorized

The Digger and the Dark is ready for bed… maybe

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Digger and the Dark, by Joseph Kuefler, (June 2024, Balzer + Bray), $19.99, ISBN: 9780063237933

Ages 3-7

A group of trucks are all ready for bed after a busy day, but a playful group of raccoons have other plans. Surely they can play for a minute, right? The latest book in Kuefler’s Digger series is a cheerful wink to kids who want to play “for one more minute” at bedtime. Digger and friends indulge the raccoons, only to be exhausted the next day; when it’s time for sleep again, though, the raccoons reappear, ready to play. The trucks can’t keep up this momentum, and even poor Digger is “delirious”, declaring “I am ready to play… I am wide awake!” Thankfully, the raccoons see the other trucks asleep and help Digger get ready for a good night’s sleep… “just for a minute”. The story is charming, with short sentences that work great for emerging readers and readalouds. Parents and kids alike will relate to both the trucks and the raccoons: trying to keep up with a nonstop, energetic playmate and the manic frenzy that kicks in when one is overtired is familiar on both sides of the aisle. Kuefler has a deep blue background to denote the nighttime, and the primary colors of the trucks pop against the background, as do the gray and black raccoons, who manage to be here, there, and everywhere on each vehicle. An adorable bedtime story that will enchant truck fans.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Uncategorized

Stitching together memories: Poppy’s Family Patterns

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Poppy’s Family Patterns, by Lauren Semmer, (June 2024, Crown Books for Young Readers), $18.99, ISBN: 9780593710609

Ages 4-8

A little girl learns about the patterns connecting her family when her doll’s dress tears during playtime. Poppy is distraught when Bunny’s dress is torn, but Mom has a cache of fabric scraps ready for the rescue. Going through the scraps, she tells Poppy about a special memory attached to each: a piece of Poppy’s grandfather’s tie; a swatch of Poppy’s father’s t-shirt; even a bit of Poppy’s mother’s wedding veil! As Mom recalls her happy memories, Poppy remembers, too; through the fabrics, Poppy thinks of how fabric patterns come together, just like her family. Mom has a special project for both Poppy and Bunny, bringing everything full circle. By illustrating that tactile memories are just as substantial as, say, browsing a photo album, Semmer tells an intergenerational story of family and connectedness. Memories encompass all the senses, as Poppy recalls the smell of cherry tomatoes in her grandmother’s garden, the fuzziness of chevrons in her aunt’s scarf. Readers can spot each pattern within the memory, like dancing inside a paisley curl with her grandfather or the gate of her grandmother’s garden maching her grandmother’s dress. Semmer also addresses throwaway culture by focusing on repairing Bunny’s dress; by having a box of swatches with which to create and repair clothing, rather than discarding something for being torn. Digital collage illustrations look quiltlike, pieced together with vibrant colors and bold lines. Endpapers show a variety of sewing materials and a pieced together quilt; back matter includes a pattern library with labeled fabrics and an author’s note. Poppy and her family are brown-skinned, with different pigmentations. Under the book jacket, the hard cover shows a series of Poppy’s memories. A moving story about time well spent and memory.

Visit Lauren Semmer’s author website for free downloadable goodies, and more information about her books.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Tate’s Wild Rescue will melt your heart!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Tate’s Wild Rescue, by Jenny Turnbull/Illustrated by Izzy Burton, (June 2024, Crown Books for Young Readers), $18.99, ISBN: 9780593569078

Ages 4-8

Tate is a young girl who loves animals, but she worries about the animals who live in the wild. Are they cold and lonely? She can help! She sends letters to several animals with offers of a warm bed, spa treatment, meals fit for a king, even a trampoline, but each animal politely declines her offer. They’re all happy where they are – or are they? There’s one potential best friend out there that Tate misses at first. Animal lovers all over will immediately relate to Tate and her desire to care for the lions, tigers, bears, and other wild animals in the world, only to realize that all she has to do is look a little bit closer to home. Fun animal facts pop up in each animal’s letter to Tate, and Burton’s colorful, cheery illustrations are a delight to see. Sharp-eyed readers will see Tate’s new friend appearing in each spread, and will likely be waiting on pins and needles for Tate to take notice. An appealing treatise on wild animals needing to stay wild while empowering kids to help make positive changes, Tate’s Wild Rescue is a great adoption story and a tale of finding home.