Tag: creative

Posted in family, Guide

Gift idea: LEGO With Dad (and some LEGO blocks!)

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

LEGO with Dad: Creatively Awesome Projects for Parents and Kids to Build Together, by Warren Nash, (Oct. 2020, Rocky Nook), $24.95, ISBN: 978-1681985862

Ages 12+

Blogger Warren Nash has taken to blogging and making videos about his LEGO projects with his son, drawing on memories of making cool LEGO stuff with his own dad. LEGO With Dad is a love letter to caregiver and kids bonding time; he notes in his foreword that “LEGO With Dad” carries different meanings for different families. The book is a comprehensive guide to building with the blocks, no kits necessary. Sections on the best bricks to use and best kits to buy are helpful when spending holiday dollars; a section with structural advice, adding unusual bricks for flourish, and working with  moving parts, like gears. Projects go from simple builds to more advanced builds, photographed and detailed step-by-step for easy following. Family Spotlights show off different families and how they share LEGO time together.

Easy to read, easy to follow, and with an emphasis on creating memories, relationships, and LEGOs together, this is a great book for all families. It’s a fun, imaginative gift idea, too: wrap this up with a LEGO set of mixed blocks, like the Classic Creative sets, and you’re all set. Set some time aside every day – goodness knows we’re getting a lot of it, but let’s try to make it less stressful – to build together, talk, and laugh together. And check out Warren Nash’s YouTube channel, too: he’s got some good videos on there, not all of which are about LEGO.

Posted in Middle Grade, Non-fiction, Tween Reads

Kids can discover their Superpowers with this fun activity book

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Superpowers! A Great Big Collection of Awesome Activities, Quirky Questions, and Wonderful Ways to See Just How Super You Really Are, by M.H. Clark, (Feb. 2018, Compendium), $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-943200-75-7

Recommended for readers 7+

It’s no secret that I love my superhero programs. I’ve turned my libraries into Gotham City and put the kids on the hunt for Bat-signals, celebrated birthdays for the Bat and Captain America, and run the kids through a superhero camp over the summer. Compendium sent me a book that will make for some more introspective superhero programming, too.

Super Powers! is a workbook/journal where kids (and us grownups, too) get a chance to be our own superheroes. Led by thoughtful prompts, readers are invited to think about words that describe themselves, think about what they feel happy doing and what they  love, and what makes each reader fantastically, wonderfully, them. They’re invited to connect with the grownups that they can turn to – hey, every Batman has an Alfred, right? – and maybe even the famous people they would like to talk to (and that can totally include Iron Man, in my humble opinion). Finally, the proud moment arrives, and kids can fill out their own Official Announcement of Superpowers, choose their superhero name, fill up a superpower tool kit, and fill out their anti-superpowers – their Kryptonite, if you will – in the form of things they just don’t like. Finish up by creating your own origin story, and Superhero You #1 is ready!

This is a great way to get kids thinking – and creating! – about their strengths and what makes them special. Each spread is bright, with science fiction-like illustrations, and lots of journaling space for kids to create. It makes a great gift. It’s not a book I’d put into circulation – it’s just too tempting to write in, because it’s so cool! – but I plan to use this book in my summer reading programming (hello, Infinity War releases in May) to get the kids writing, drawing, and thinking about themselves as a little group of Avengers or Justice League of their own.