Tag: Ed Vere

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Uncategorized

The Elephant and the Sea is a love letter to rescuers

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Elephant and the Sea, by Ed Vere, (May 2024, Doubleday Books for Young Readers), $18.99, ISBN: 9780525580904

Ages 3-7

Gabriel the Elephant looks back on his younger years in this story that salutes sea rescuers. As a young elephant, Gabriel wanted desperately to join the lifeboat crews; “he wanted to be brave like them – “rowing into danger, helping sailors in trouble at sea, singing as they went” – but first, he was too young to join them; then, too big to fit in the boat. Undeterred, Gabriel researched, planned, practiced, and ultimately made his own boat – and just in time, when a big storm hits and Gabriel has to save the fleet and the rescue boat! Vere blends an inspiring story of determination and spirit with an adventure to create a tribute to “all the brave people who risk their lives to save others”, as mentioned in his dedication. Use of the repetitive phrase “Heave away, haul away, heave-HO!” comes in handy for an interactive readaloud, and Vere’s illustration, heavily outlined and set on what looks like aged paper, adds the real feeling of an old document. Don’t miss this one. Download a free Elephant activity here!

The Elephant and the Sea has starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.

 

Posted in Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Max and Bird: A new friendship is born!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Max and Bird, by Ed Vere, (Sept. 2017, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), $17.99, ISBN: 9781492635581

Recommended for readers 3-6

My favorite brave kitten is back! In Max’s third adventure, he learns that the rules of nature can conflict with being a good friend. You see, he befriends a bird, but, according to the rules of nature, birds get chased by kittens. But friends don’t eat each other up! The dynamic duo decide to work on their flying skills and head to the library, because “libraries know everything”, and he and Max learn that friendship means helping each other out.

The Max series is such a sweet, kind-hearted series loaded with humor. Max and Bird are a radiant black that stands boldly out against the full-color backgrounds, and they each have giant, trusting eyes that ups their cute factor. Exaggerated fonts and exertion lines show emotion and action. Kids will love learning – and contributing to a discussion – about what goes into being a good friend. Mention Max’s “pros and cons” worksheet and ask them for their ideas on the pros and cons of being a good friend.

Posted in Animal Fiction, Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Good night, Moon! Max at Night

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

max at nightMax at Night, by Ed Vere (Sept. 2016, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), $16.99, ISBN: 9781492632962

Recommended for ages 2-5

I love, love, LOVE Ed Vere’s Max the Brave, so I was insanely excited to see Max at Night show up on NetGalley. I immediately curled up with my 4 year-old and caught up with Max.

Max was very brave when we last met him, but now it’s night time and he has to go to bed. He goes through his night time routine, that all kids will recognize: drinking his milk, brushing his teeth, cleaning behind his ears, saying good night to the moon… but wait! Where is the moon? He can’t see the moon, so Max goes on a quest to find the moon, climbing higher and higher and wishing everything he encounters a good night. Will he find the moon? Come on, I can’t spoil this book, you have to find out on your own!

Max is still adorable, and Max at Night is essential bedtime reading for parents and kids alike. It’s a sweet story that will gently rock you to sleep as you read along. The colors are stunning: deep reds and blues, bright yellows, and Max’s black form pops off the page. My kiddo loved this book, and insisted we re-read Max the Brave and Max at Night, one after the other, to recreate a whole day with Max. What a great idea, right?

Pair this book with Kevin Henkes’ Kitten’s First Full Moon and you’re set for bedtime. Add Eric Carle’s Papa Get the Moon for Me, and you’ve got a Moon storytime that the kids will love.

Want a peek at Max at Night? You know you do! Go to Ed Vere’s website and see for yourself.

Posted in Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads

Spotlight Tour: Max the Brave by Ed Vere

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Max is a fearless kitten. Max is a brave kitten. Max is a kitten who chases mice. There’s only one problem—Max doesn’t know what a mouse looks like! With a little bit of bad advice, Max finds himself facing a much bigger challenge. Maybe Max doesn’t have to be Max the Brave all the time…

max the brave
Join this adventurous black cat as he very politely asks a variety of animals for help in finding a mouse. Young readers will delight in Max’s mistakes, while adults will love the subtle, tongue-in-cheek humor of this new children’s classic.

Ed Vere is an author, artist and illustrator with a long track record of success in the picture book category. Max the Brave was named one of The Sunday Times’s 100 Modern Children’s Classics. His book Bedtime for Monsters was shortlisted for the 2011 Roald Dahl Funny Prize and Mr Big was chosen by Booktrust as the official Booktime book for 2009 (and was distributed to 750,000 British schoolchildren, making it the largest single print run of a picture book). Vere was the World Book Day illustrator for 2009.

Enter this Rafflecopter giveaway to win a copy of your own! (Contest runs Sept. 1-Oct. 31.)
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Social Media:
Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuNbrpUVunE
Website: http://books.sourcebooks.com/maxthebrave/
Activity Kit: http://sourcebooksftp.com/Email/MaxTheBrave/MaxTheBrave-ActivityKit.pdf
Educator guide: http://sourcebooksftp.com/Email/MaxTheBrave/MaxTheBrave-EduGuide.pdf
Twitter: @ed_vere, @jabberwockykids

Posted in Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads

Max the Brave is FEARLESS!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

max the braveMax the Brave, by Ed Vere (Sept 2015, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), $15.95, ISBN: 978-1-4926-1651-1

Recommended for ages 2-6

Max is a fearless kitten. He is a brave kitten. He does not like being dressed up in cutesy bows. He is a kitten who catches mice… or, he would, if he knew what a mouse looked like. He sets off in search of a mouse, politely asking several animals along the way if they are mice. Somewhere along the way, though, it looks like someone told Max a fib…

This book is adorable. The cartoony artwork will grab little readers and storytime attendees right away. Max is bold and black, with big yellow eyes. The animals he encounters are largely bold and black, set against bright background pages. The minimalist artwork makes it easy for younger readers to follow along, and the plain black text makes for an easy read for storytime.

The story reinforces manners – even though Max is brave and fearless, he’s always polite when asking for directions to Mouse. The story’s end will make parents giggle along with their children, and they will cheer for Max on his quest. There’s just enough repetition on Max’s search to keep kids engaged and interactive with the story.

I read this story to preschoolers and toddlers, and each time, they LOVED it. There was a fantastic amount of interaction, with kids calling out the names of the animals Max encounters and calling out advice to Max. The toddlers giggled and clapped and asked me to read it again – so I did!

Bottom line: Put this one on your Fall reading lists. The kiddies love it. There are great activities available as a free download from the publisher, and there’s also a free Common Core educator’s guide.

Watch this space – there’s going to be a Rafflecopter giveaway on this blog shortly!