Tag: Brian Biggs

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.

 

Posted in Fiction, Humor, Middle Grade, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor – Jon Scieszka makes science awesome.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

anitmatter motorFrank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor, by Jon Scieszka (2014), $13.95, ISBN: 9781419712180

Recommended for ages 8-12

In his neverending quest to get boys – and guys! – to read, Jon Sciezska has taken on alternative history (The Time Warp Trio), fractured fairy tales (so very many), and anthology genres (his Guys Read series). He’s got a website devoted to getting men and boys to love books, and understands that there are biological and sociological factors tied into the recent decline in boys’ reading; he’s determined to find the best books and the best subject matter to write about.

Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor is Sciezka’s foray into science, and it is fantastic. Frank Einstein is a kid who loves science. While his parents are away, scoping out travel locations for his dad’s job, he’s with his grandfather, working on experiments in his quest to win the science fair. He’s up against his archenemy, the bratty T. Edison, who is not above stealing others’ ideas to further his own fame – and buy up Einstein’s grandpa’s shop.

Frank finds that one of his experiments wasn’t a bust after all – his attempt to create robots worked, with some lighting providing electricity! Klink and Klank are a hilarious duo who work to help Frank create an antimatter machine – until T. Edison starts to make trouble.

Scieszka loads his novel up with legit science backup, and it is amazing to read. I learned about antimatter and robotics in a way that no science textbook ever taught me as a kid. Teachers and librarians should be all over this book for its nonfiction elements that will enhance their Common Core curriculum, but mainly because it’s fun, it’s hard science made readable and understandable, and Scieszka never, ever talks down to his audience. Brian Biggs’ illustrations will empower every kid to make their own antimatter machines at home – trust and believe it. And while they’re at it, kids will be breaking down states of matter so that we parents can finally figure it out.

The book releases on August 19th. Pre-order yours from Amazon today.