Tag: ABCs

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#HomesCool: New ABCs!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I love concept books that take the idea to the next level. These are two new abcedaries that make the ABCs a heck of a lot more exciting!

Eek! A Noisy Journey from A to Z, by Julie Larios and Julie Paschikis, (Sept. 2020, Peachtree Publishing), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-68263-169-0

Ages 2-5

ACHOO! A mouse picks a flower, sneezes, and the adventure begins! This book of ABCs tells a story from A to Z, all using sound effects to illustrate the letters of the alphabet. There’s a startled Eeek! when the mouse sees a cat, a Fwump when a growling dog playfully knocks the cat off its feet, and a Kabonk when a bicycle-riding raccoon strikes a tortoise’s hard shell. The mouse and its flower are at the heart of the story, witnessing sweet acts of kindness, fun, and excitement, with Mouse ultimately completing its mission and delivering the gift of a flower to a friend. India Ink and gouache artwork in bright colors and patterns stand out out against colorful backgrounds; the sound words are playful and the letters of he alphabet are bold, standing out against the backgrounds, letting readers easily identify them. Bright yellow backgrounds decorate the endpapers, with letters of the alphabet standing out, in orange, across the pages.

What a fun addition to ABC books and concept collections! Publisher Peachtree has an activity kit with coloring sheets and a storytime activities.

Eek! has a starred review from Kirkus.

 

Not An Alphabet Book: The Case of the Missing Cake, by Eoin McLaughlin/lllustrated by Marc Boutavant, (Aug. 2020, Candlewick Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781536212679

Ages 3-5

Oh no! As soon as you open the book, Bear is there waiting for you: there’s been a horrible crime and he needs your help! “The world’s most completely delicious, tongue-jinglingly chocolaty cake has been STOLEN” and we have to help find the thief! The ABCs lead readers through the clues and suspects they need to solve the mystery… but that bear looks like he’s hiding something, don’t you think? Readers will love this whodunit, and sharp-eyed observers will notice little details like a rather dark smudge across Bear’s face… and are those crumbs scattered across his table? The digital artwork makes for fun, expressive characters, and Bear is hilariously evasive as our unreliable narrator. The endpapers start off with Bear tracking crumbs, and end with… well ,the story’s conclusion. Absolute fun for storytime, this is an abcedary with a plot and a wicked sense of humor. Pair this with Audrey and Bruce Wood’s Alphabet Mystery for a whodunit storytime!

Not An Alphabet Book: The Case of the Missing Cake has a starred review from Kirkus.

Posted in Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

#HomesCool for babies, too! Anti-Racism, Climate Change, Oceanography, and Mammals!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Babies need fun books, too! #HomesCool doesn’t just start with school-age kids: let’s take a look at some of the best board books out this summer, ready for you to read to your lap-sitters as we head into Fall.

Anti-Racist Baby, by Ibram X. Kendi/Illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky, (June 2020, Kokila), $8.99, ISBN: 9780593110416

Ages 0-4

If you haven’t had the chance to enjoy Anti-Racist Baby yet, please find a copy now! National Book Award Winner Ibram X. Kendi and illustrator Ashley Lukashevsky have created a gorgeous, playful book for readers of all ages that celebrates diversity and offers simple, wonderful ways that we can teach our children, from the  youngest ages, to be actively anti-racist. There are easy concepts to grasp here; it’s our job as parents and caregivers to use the vocabulary to break down large concepts as “see all colors” “and “blame the policies, not the people” to our kids. The illustrations are bold, upbeat, and feature diverse groups of families. The rhyming scheme will keep kids entertained, introducing them to new words – just like STEM board books! – while we show them concepts through our own actions. Consider this for your collections, display and read with books like Feminist Baby, Woke Baby, and A is for Activist.

Anti-Racist Baby has a starred review from School Library Journal.

 

Climate Change for Babies, by Chris Ferrie/Illustrated by Katherina Petrou, (Aug. 2020, Sourcebooks Explore), $9.99, ISBN: 9781492680826

Ages 2-5

Another Chris Ferrie STEM board book! I love his STEM series for babies and toddlers. Here, Chris Ferrie and illustrator Katherina Petrou teach littles about climate change, using the idea of a blanket keeping planets warm: that’s the atmosphere. Different planets have different blankets, but Earth’s blanket is just right, thanks to our trees, animals, and oceans… but not when people start changing the blanket with transportation, pollution, and livestock! When our blanket gets too hot, Earth doesn’t feel well, and makes a lot of things go wrong. What can we do? Lots of things, like plant more trees, cut down on coal, oil, and cars and factories! Simply illustrated with bright colors and pictures of happy and sad planets, vehicles, and landscapes, kids will be entertained while we grownups digest the big picture and talk about keeping our world safe and healthy.

 

ABCs of Oceanography, by Chris Ferrie/Illustrated by Katherina Petrou, (Aug. 2020, Sourcebooks Explore), $9.99, ISBN: 9781492680819

Ages 2-5

It’s a Chris Ferrie Fest! ABCs of Oceanography is the seventh(ish?) book in Ferrie and illustrator Katherina Petrou’s ABCs series. Like other books in the series, this book grows along with your little ones: Colorful pictures illustrate each alphabetical concept, with the letter and word bright and bold, standing out against a stark white background: “A is for Algae”, with an illustration of algae. Next, for young learners, the concept word is used in a descriptive sentence: “Algae are aquatic life that conduct photosynthesis”; using bigger vocabulary words in a scientific context, to introduce preschoolers to the basic words they can expect to learn in kindergarten. Finally, a fuller definition, perfect for children moving up into elementary school, yet still easy enough to grasp, to give them the full breadth of the definition and ownership of the concept. There are familiar words, like Dolphin, Island, and Octopus, and newer words, like Euphotic Zone, Gyre, and Quahog. Pair with Baby Shark and get some flannel ocean figures out!

Sourcebooks has a Baby University page on their publisher website, that features Chris Ferrie’s books organized into series: For Babies, ABCs, and Picture Books.

 

Curious About Mammals, by Cathryn Sill/Illustrated by John Sill, (Aug. 2020, Peachtree Publishing), $6.99, ISBN: 978-1-68263-198-0

Ages 0-3

This book is adorable and informative! The second book in Peachtree’s and author-illustrator team Cathryn and John Sill’s Discovering Nature series, Curious About Mammals presents one-sentence facts about mammals, accompanied by elegant, detailed wildlife artwork by wildlife illustrator John Sill. The sentences contain basic facts and plenty of sight words for young learners, with the accompanying artwork showing animals in their daily lives: climbing; swimming; flying; alone, or with a group. Each animal’s common name appears under their picture, in small italic text, letting readers go back and discover their new favorite animals again and again. Some may be familiar, like the Northern Raccoon and Blue Whale; others may be brand new, like the Black-Tailed Jackrabbit and American Badger. A great add to board book collections where you have burgeoning animals fans.

Posted in Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Hazy Dell Press makes monsters fun for readers!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Last year at BookExpo, I saw a table with board books like, “Goodnight Krampus” and “Get Dressed, Sasquatch!” and I immediately ran over. I’m the mom that buys Cthulhu board books for my kid, so this spoke to me. The guy at the table was great, gave me a bunch of stickers, and I went happily on my way. (My kid quickly snagged and stuck the stickers all over his closet. So much for decorating my laptop.) A year later, I saw the board books up on Edelweiss for review, and yelped, quickly hitting “request”. My little guy was thrilled that he got read the books that matched the stickers on his closet, and the best news of all: the books are as much fun on the inside as they are on the outside. Check ’em out.

Get Dressed, Sasquatch!, by Kyle Syllivan/Illustrated by Derek Sullivan,
(Sept. 2018, Hazy Dell Press), $13.95, ISBN: 9780996578738
Ages 1-5

Sasquatch loves running around without his clothes on – he’s a Sasquatch, it’s what they do! But the exasperated park ranger wants him to put on some pants. This hilarious rhyming tale is all about getting Sasquatch to try on some clothes and find something that works for him… or maybe, just letting go and taking advantage of the moment! There’s fun, kid-friendly art, a friendly neighborhood Sasquatch and a good-natured bear, and a park ranger who learns to loosen up with the rules once in a while.

 

Don’t Eat Me, Chupacabra! / ¡No Me Comas, Chupacabra!, by Kyle Syllivan/Illustrated by Derek Sullivan,
(Sept. 2018, Hazy Dell Press), $13.95, ISBN: 9780996578776
Ages 1-5

A little chupacabra has a hankering for goat in this bilingual story about picky eaters. He nips a goat, who tries to expand the little monster’s palate, introducing him to other food options like fruits, flowers, fish, or bugs, but Little Chupa isn’t having any of it. Luckily for the goat, Abuela is home and she always knows what to do! Set in Puerto Rico, the book offers Spanish and English vocabulary, and a nice lesson about finding new strategies for picky eaters. If food allergies aren’t an issue, bring some plantain chips to introduce to the readers at storytime.

 

Goodnight Krampus, by Kyle Syllivan/Illustrated by Derek Sullivan,
(Sept. 2018, Hazy Dell Press), $13.95, ISBN: 9780996578776
Ages 1-5

Santa’s getting ready to go on his Christmas Eve ride, but little Krampus is WAY too keyed up to go to sleep! This rhyming tale stars Santa Claus, trying to talk the Krampus into bedtime – something every parent and caregiver is familiar with, right? Krampus is riding toy trains, he’s banging drums, he’s psyched. But Santa breaks it down for him: if he can’t go to bed, Santa can’t deliver toys. Krampus immediately discovers that he’s exhausted after all, and Christmas Eve can continue! Absolute fun for Christmas reading or anytime reading, and gives us a mischievous but sweeter Krampus than the traditional German one.

 

Monster ABC, by Kyle Syllivan/Illustrated by Derek Sullivan,
(Sept. 2018, Hazy Dell Press), $13.95, ISBN: 9780996578707
Ages 1-5

Don’t trust appearances – that’s the first thing kids will learn with this rhyming abcedary, which tells kids, “Some monsters seem spooky when seen at first glance, but who knows if they’re scary if we don’t give them a chance?” Good life advice! The next 26 pages are dedicated to different monsters and their fun descriptions: “G is is for Ghost, who gave us a start; H is for Hobgobin, who smells like a fart” (guess what spread my kid’s favorite is?). Banshee, Krampus, Chupacabra, and Sasquatch are all in here, which makes me hope that the other featured monsters are in the pipeline for their own adventures. (I will buy a Quezsalcoatl board book YESTERDAY if you offer it, Hazy Press!) Kudos for introducing me to a new one, too: I had to look up Xingtian after we discovered him in the book.

 

Hush Now, Banshee!, by Kyle Syllivan/Illustrated by Derek Sullivan,
(Sept. 2018, Hazy Dell Press), $13.95, ISBN: 9780996578752
Ages 1-5

Another rhyming tale, this one, on manners! Banshee is a shrieking little demon who wants friends to play with her, but she’s so loud that she startles everyone! The story counts the monsters that Banshee encounters on her way through the Irish landscape: one Banshee, two ghosts, three hobgoblins… you get the idea. Sad Banshee wonders why no one is around for her to play with, until her friends have a polite intervention, telling her that she’s got to respect their quiet time, and teach her to count down from ten to one. It’s a nice read-aloud for teaching kids to be patient, and respectful of other people’s space. And the nine meditating druids are my absolute favorite (nudge nudge, Hazy Press).

The digital artwork in each of these books is super kid-friendly, eye-catching, and just fun to read. I’m in love with this set! Check out Hazy Press’ website, where you can sign up for a newsletter, read their blog, and download some free activity sheets. Give to your C is for Cthulhu, Sweet Dreams Cthulhu, and Mummy’s Always Right-loving parents and kids, and if you don’t have ’em in your library… consider it. Seriously, they’re too much fun.

Posted in Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Build that Baby STEM Library! The ABCs of Mathematics and Physics

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Quantum theorist and Dad Chris Ferrie adds two more board books to his Baby University library: The ABCs of Physics and The ABCs of Mathematics!

The ABCs of Physics, by Chris Ferrie, (Oct. 2017, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), $9.99, ISBN: 9781492656241

A is for Atom; B is for Black Hole; C is for Charge… The ABCs of Physics is a bright, entertaining introduction to physics. Not your run of the mill ABCedary, The ABCs of Physics works for all ages – for babies and toddlers, it’s a pretty board book with all sorts of interesting pictures to look at. For older kids and adults, it’s an intro to physics terms and concepts. I am here to tell you, unabashedly, that I found this book fascinating. Did you know that a newton is a standard unit of force? I did NOT. I also learned that my little book scanner works thanks to photons – and you can trust and believe that I will pass on little bits of this information in my day to day at work and at home.

 

The ABCs of Mathematics, by Chris Ferrie, (Oct. 2017, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), $9.99, ISBN: 9781492656289

The ABCs of Mathematics is even more little one-friendly, because it introduces basic concepts that our kids are going to be learning soon enough. A is for Addition: Addition is the mathematics of counting. D is for division: Division is the mathematics of fair sharing. It’s wonderfully to the point, and illustrations help reinforce simpler concepts like union: a Venn diagram, something that most school-age kids are familiar with, or addition, which stacks apples over numbers to illustrate the concept.

Want to close that word gap? Introduce some of these terms to your little ones. Let them explore and play with the books. Just expose them to the words and ideas in the books; if they hear it enough, it won’t be a scary thing when they hear it in school. Any book that teaches me something as much as it does my kids is a good book.