Bonnier – Mom Read It

Tough Tug, by Margaret Read MacDonald/Illustrated by Rob McClurkan, (March 2018, Two Lions), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1503950986

Recommended for readers 3-6

Tough Tug is a scrappy tugboat, newly built and ready for action! He’s got his first big job – to pull a barge to Alaska – and learns that being a tug isn’t all about racing and bravado, especially in arctic waters! Based on the true story of an Alaskan tug that cut loose its own barge to rescue a floundering tug, Tough Tug sends positive messages about responsibility and helping others. Repeated phrases on each spread – Slide and Splash, Swirld and Twirl – get exaggerated font sizes and and lend a fun rhythm to storytelling. The digital illustrations personify the boats, giving them wide eyes and facial features, like eyepatches and mustaches. Kids who love movies like Cars will enjoy this fun add to vehicle/transportation picture books. Get your readers up and moving to this story like you would for Helen Oxenbury’s classic, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt: swirling and splashing, painting and priming, using their arms and legs to wade through the story. Endpaper maps illustrate Tough Tug’s journey from construction to Alaska.

Ready, Set, Sail!, by Meg Fleming/Illustrated by Luke Flowers, (March 2018, Little Bee), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-4998-0533-8

Recommended for readers 3-7

Are you ready for a day of fun on the high seas? Join this group of animal friends as they grab their life vests and head out onto open water in this adorable rhyming tale. The group rows out to their ship, sets sail, and drops anchor so everyone can have some island fun diving and exploring. At the end of the day, they head to town to tell their whale of a tale. Luke Fleming’s colorful art, with Meg Fleming’s jaunty rhyme and rhythm, make for rousing storytime reading. Pair this with some fun fish and marine tales, like Lucy Cousins’s Hooray for Fish, Kyle Westaway’s A Whale in the Bathtub, or Steve Light’s board book, Boats Go.

Meg Fleming’s book, Ready, Set, Build! is a rhyming tale about two friends who build a playhouse together; together, these two books could form a nice cooperative themed storytime.

The Great Pasta Escape, by Miranda Paul/Illustrated by Javier Joaquin, (Aug. 2017, Little Bee/Bonnier), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1-4998-0480-5

Recommended for readers 3-7

Different types of pasta learn the ugly truth about where they really go once they leave in those cute little packages, and take action in this hilarious story. Pasta followed the rules: they stuck to their own kind; they stayed still in their packaging, and they NEVER spoke to humans. They thought they were bound for a better place; a happy, carefree existence, until the fettuccine overhears some factory workers talking about how hungry they are… *needle scratch* and what they plan to eat. Fettucine panics, and the rest of the pasta gets ready for action: Bow Tie tries to stay logical; Ramen is ready to rumble; elbow-shaped Mac just wants everyone to chill. Together, the different pasta types come together to carry out the greatest escape in pasta history.

This book is a current favorite at home because it’s so funny. The pastas have their own personalities, some of which tie into their shapes, like the professorial Bow Tie. My favorite is Mac, the elbow pasta who has a total New Age look on life and envisions himself by the water, doing some yoga. It’s a fun adventure story; pure escapism and laughs, with a Menu – sorry! I mean, Guide to Pasta Shapes – at the end. The art is vibrant and bright, and the endpapers sports different types of pasta in the front, and a boxed spaghetti-look at the back.

I pair this one with an oldie but goodie, Food Fight! by Carol Diggory Shields/Illustrated by Doreen Gay-Kassel, for a fun food storytime. You can read Tomie dePaola’s Strega Nona for a story about pasta that gets out of control, and pasta necklaces are perfect for a craft pairing. Ask your kiddos what types of pasta they recognize in the book, and see what you’ve got in the house to identify.

Miranda Paul is an award-winning author who has a great author website where you can find resources, including downloadable teacher guides to her books (and a blobfish coloring sheet!!!) and videos. She’s also the chair of the We Need Diverse Books Mentorship Committee. You can find more of illustrator Javier Joaquin’s illustrations at his website, including a section of his children’s book work, where you can filter by subject or style to see everything from nonfiction to board books to classics and more.