board books – Page 10

Early Reader, Fiction, geek culture, Science Fiction, Toddler

Star Wars Epic Yarns: Train your youngest readers in the ways of The Force.

Posted on May 15, 2015May 15, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Star Wars Epic Yarns: A New Hope (ISBN: 978-1-4521-3393-5), The Empire Strikes Back (ISBN: 978-1-4521-3499-4), Return of the Jedi (ISBN: 978-1-4521-3500-7), by Jack & Holman Wang (2015, Chronicle Books), $9.95

Recommended for all ages

I love Star Wars, and am crazy about all the concept books coming out so I can get my toddler on board early. He’s already got Star Wars 123 and Star Wars ABC, and next on the list will be these three adorable board books that teach exciting new words and introduce all readers to the greatest trilogy in the galaxy.

Each book covers a movie in the original Star Wars trilogy, using words kids will be familiar with (“princess”, “boy”, “heroes”) with new words that can only enhance a youngling’s vocabulary (“Force”, “droids”, “lightsaber”). The books are sturdy and can are ready to be held by little hands over and over again.

Let’s just talk about the amazing work that the Wangs have put into these books. Created with figures made of needle-felted yarn and set against movie-esque backdrops, these pictures are gorgeous. This is a tremendous level of artistry that leaves me shaking my head in wonder. Kids are going to love these child-friendly faces and words, and there are many, many cuddly storytimes ahead with these books in hand.

Look at the work that went into this series, courtesy of StarWars.com, and check out this behind-the-scenes video. And then, go get your copies!

Toddler Reads

Learn to Count with Dracula!

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Little Master Stoker: Dracula, A Counting Primer, by Jennifer Adams/illus. by Alison Oliver (Gibbs Smith, 2012), $9.99, ISBN: 978-1423624806

Recommended for ages 0-3

I was in a great little indie bookstore this weekend, when I came across this lovely. Seeing as how I like a little of the unusual in my board books, I fell instantly in love. BabyLit, in case you aren’t familiar with them, produces gorgeous board books, based on the classics, for babies. They drill down basic concepts in each classic, perfect for little ones.

Dracula is a counting book. Going from 1 to 10, we count different objects present in the famous classic: 1 castle, two friends (Mina and Lucy), 3 wolves, 4 ships, 5 heroes (Harker, Seward, Turnbull, Morris, and Van Helsing), and more. The pictures are rendered in the sweetest detail with just a touch of baby goth. The art is mainly black, gray, and white, with accents of red as necessary. There are little winks to the grownups who will read this book over and over again – Dracula’s face on the Demeter flag, well-known character names and locations, a rat wearing a bat shirt – that will make you smile and chuckle. There’s a wonderful sense of humor in the book, which is as perfect for grownups as it is for children.

This is now in my toddler’s short stack of favorites. He carries it around with him and asks to read it several times a day. I can’t wait to fill out his classics bookshelf with more BabyLit, and I know for sure that I’m buying some of these for my storytime toddlers. How often do you get to read babies Frankenstein and Dracula, where they learn about basic concepts?

Check out BabyLit’s webpage for more titles, but don’t blame me if you end up buying a Pride & Prejudice playset. They’ve also got one of the best Pinterest layouts going, and you can check out some of their videos on Google+.

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!