Kane Miller – Page 10

Nibbles is the cutest little book monster – but keep him away from your fairy tales!

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Nibbles the Book Monster, by Emma Yarlett (Apr. 2016, Kane Miller), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-61067-467-6

Recommended for ages 2-6

Nibbles is an adorable little monster. He likes to nibble on everything from clocks to toes, but his favorite thing to nibble on is BOOKS. When Nibbles munches his way out of his box and gets loose, he wreaks havoc on some fairy tales! Can you catch him?

I LOVE this book, and so does my 3 year-old. This book has entered daily storytime rotation, and I’m happy to read it again and again, because it’s so much fun. The rhyming text just begs you to giggle along with it, especially when paired with the adorable, cartoony illustrations (Nibbles hanging on, teeth first, to a swinging clock pendulum never fails to make me crack up). Holes and die-cut flaps throughout the book send you and your readers on an adventure – books within books! – as you pursue Nibbles through Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack and the Beanstalk. It’s an exciting romp for little ones, and just when you think Nibbles has been caught… well, let’s hope that there are more Nibbles adventures to come. There are a lot of fairy tales out there, after all!

Highly recommended for children’s collections, and you can pair this with any fairy tale or fun monster book for a great, laugh-out-loud storytime.

Emma Yarlett is a Kate Greenaway award-nominated author and a winner of the English Association Picture Book Prize. Her author webpage showcases her artwork, links to her blog and a shop where you can purchase her books and art prints. You can buy your own plush Nibbles to love and display (maybe not too close to your books) at the Usborne website.

Check out the adorable book trailer!

Nibbles: The Book Monster from Bee Grandinetti on Vimeo.

Early Reader, Intermediate, Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads

Kooky Crumbs is loaded with wacky poems for wacky days

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Kooky Crumbs: Poems in Praise of Dizzy Days, by J. Patrick Lewis/Illustrated by Mary Uhles (Jan. 2016, Kane Miller), $12.99, ISBN: 978-1-61067-371

Recommended for ages 4+

I know we’re out of National Poetry Month, but I just discovered this book and had to talk it up. You know those wacky holidays that come up, and leave you scratching your head? Holidays like International Museum Day (it’s legit, and pretty cool, actually), or National Bike to Work Day? Some of these holidays lend themselves to a pretty fun storytime, like these two, and some of them leave me scratching my head. But Kooky Crumbs, by former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis, is loaded with poems that salute tons of these “holidays”. Take, for instance, “First Ever Idea for Arithmetic”, written in honor of World Math Day (October 15): “Add two numbers together/and you’ll get sumthing else”. “When Should We Meat?”, observing World Vegetarian Day on October 1, is more traditional in its rhyme scheme: “If vegetarians have trouble/ finding tasty lip-smackers/Aren’t they allowed to cheat a bit/By eating animal crackers?”

The poems are fun, short, and perfect to punch up a storytime. You can build a theme around one – National Pancake Day begs for a reading of Eric Carle’s Pancakes! Pancakes!, and World Toilet Day would be even livelier with a reading of Once Upon a Potty – or you can just add a poem to your normal storytime, mentioning a funny holiday and giving the kids and parents a good laugh. Mary Uhles’ cartoony illustrations add to the fun of the poems. The only things missing are the actual dates of the holidays – some may shift, so that’s understandable, but a month by month guide would be great. No worries, though; Google has all of these holidays listed.

A fun addition to poetry collections and storytime reference collections – I’m going to have a lot of fun for next year’s Poem in Your Pocket Day with this book!

J. Patrick Lewis is the former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate and the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the NCTE award for Excellence in Children’s Poetry and the Cybils Award for Poetry. Mary Uhles is an award-winning illustrator and former animator for Warner Brothers and Fisher Price Interactive.

Early Reader, Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads

Explore life On the Space Station!

Posted on March 23, 2016March 22, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

On the Space Station: A Shine-A-Light Book, by Carron Brown/Ilustrated by Bee Johnson, (Jan. 2016, Kane Miller), $12.99, ISBN: 978-1-61067-411-9

Recommended for ages 4-8

Take readers on a trip to outer space, where they can discover what astronauts do in space: how they sleep and exercise, for starters; we also get a glimpse into some of the work astronauts do on board the space station: working robotics, making repairs, even calling home!

On the Space Station is one of the books in Kane Miller’s Shine-A-Light series, where see-through pages allow readers to shine a light – a flashlight, or simply holding the page up to a light source – behind the page to reveal a new piece of information about the picture! A great next step for little ones who love the excitement of lift-the-flap books but are ready for something more, Shine-A-Light books continue working with the concept of object permanence for younger readers while adding a new dimension of interactivity to older readers. The books ask a question on one page; the child is able to discover the answer for his or herself by illuminating the page. The highlighted image has an expanded explanation on the next page.

The contrast between black and white images on the left and color images on the right will keep readers’ attention; explanations are black and white, concrete; activity and exploration is in color, provoking the imagination. The artwork is wonderful and fluid, giving kids an idea of the weightlessness of space contained within the space of a page.

My 3 year old loved this concept, and yes, this book has entered the regular rotation, too. The language is great for young audiences; direct, with fun “flicks”, “swishes”, and “wheees!” to add some zing to the nonfiction text. This could make for a fun storytime book, too – I have to figure out how to smoothly shine the light onto the page without the book flopping down as I hold it up!

As I said regarding The River, I worry about this one in circ. The paper is a good quality stock, but I have visions of pages being yanked and torn as little hands hold them up to the light. I may buy a set to keep in storytime reference, because I love this concept and think the kids will, too. Classrooms and home collections will really benefit from these.

Kane Miller is knocking my socks off with the quality of material they’re putting out for kids now! I’m becoming an unabashed Kane Miller fangirl, with good reason. Stay tuned for more!

Early Reader, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Follow a fish’s journey to the sea in The River

Posted on March 22, 2016March 22, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The River: An Epic Journey to the Sea, by Patricia Hegarty/Illustrated by Hanako Clulow (March 2016, Kane Miller), $12.99, ISBN: 978-61067-468-3

Recommended for ages 3-6

A little fish begins her journey in the snowcapped mountains, traveling downriver and passing through forests, past animals going about their days and nights, until finally reaching the sea in this rhyming tale with a little something extra to capture little eyes and minds: the book is die-cut, with a lenticular window that gives the illusion of a three-dimensional swimming fish!

Beautifully illustrated by Hanako Clulow, each spread depicts a different scene in nature, progressing through the seasons as the fish makes her journey. We see the wildlife, weather, and surroundings change, and the gentle, rhyming text sets the reader in each location; whether watching geese fly overhead, beavers scamper, and an owl, hooting softly in the moonlight. The moving fish is a constant, ever swimming toward her destination.

The pages are sturdy and will hold up to multiple readings, which is a good thing – I’m pretty sure this book will demand it! This book has entered my 3 year old’s regular rotation, and we’re at the point where he now “makes the fish swim” by holding the book as I read. I’ll be bringing this to my toddler storytime this Thursday, where I’m sure it will get rave reviews: anything to hold their attention!

I love this book and would love to see more in a series for little ones. It’s a great way to introduce nature and nonfiction in a fun, interactive way. I am a little worried about how this would hold up in circulation, because of the die-cut and the lenticular fish, because the kids at my library are very enthusiastic readers. That said, I’m going to give it a shot and order a couple of copies to test the waters. I think it will be a great read-aloud for my class visits, too; the teachers I’ve seen lately have asked for more nonfiction books during the read-aloud portion of the visit, and I think this would be a fun, educational read for the Kindergarteners.

Enjoy the book trailer for The River, and consider adding this one to your collections.

Illustrator Hanako Clulow’s webpage has more of her illustrations, links to her Etsy shop, and a cover reveal for her upcoming book, “Above and Below”.

Animal Fiction, Early Reader, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Uncategorized

Olga da Polga – a favorite classic comes to Kane Publishing!

Posted on December 19, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Olga da Polga, by Michael Bond/Illustrated by Catherine Rayner (Oct. 2015, Kane Miller Publishing), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1-61067-433-1

Recommended for ages 6-10

The creator of Paddington Bear, Michael Bond, introduced Olga da Polga, an adventurous guinea pig with a bit of sass, in 1971. I don’t remember this book when I was growing up, so I’m not sure whether these were originally published only in the UK, but there are both picture and chapter books full of Olga’s Adventures! Kane Miller Publishing recently brought Olga back to readers with this beautifully illustrated edition. Greenaway Medal winner Catherine Rayner adds beautiful watercolor artwork to this collection of stories that new readers and their parents will love and want on their shelves.

Olga da Polga is a guinea pig who wants to go on adventures. She wants out of the pet store! She gets her wish when she’s adopted by the Sawdust family – that’s what she calls humans – who builds her a her own hamster run in their garden. She goes on adventures in the family’s backyard and meets the local wildlife, including Noel the housecat, Fangio the hedgehog, and Graham, the tortoise. Stories encompass all the seasons, also lending themselves to great seasonal storytimes.

Olga da Polga is one of those books that I feel like I missed out on, and that I need to get on the shelves here at my library to make sure today’s kids meet Olga and her friends! Give this to kids who love their animal fiction – Paddington fans, naturally; Olivia fans, and Corduroy fans can move up to Olga da Polga and enjoy another group of stories about a plucky little guinea pig and her adventures. Kids reading the EB White trilogy (Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, Trumpet of the Swan) will love Olga, too. The short chapters/stories provide for great read-aloud opportunities.

You can get your own copy of Olga da Polga at the Usborne books website. Amazon offers the book through independent sellers.

Animal Fiction, Preschool Reads

Blue Whale Blues: A good friend always helps cheer you up!

Posted on November 6, 2015November 6, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Blue Whale Blues, by Peter Carnavas (Kane Miller, Sept. 2015), $22.99, ISBN: 978-1610674584

Recommended for ages 3-7

Blue Whale is singing the blues about life’s little obstacles, but his friend Penguin is always there to cheer him up. Can the poor whale ever learn to laugh at himself and make lemonade out of life’s lemons?

This is an adorable story about something kids (and adults) will recognize right away – letting the little things get to you, and the importance of having a friend there to help you shake off the blues. Blue Whale sings about his “Blue Whale Blues”, but Penguin always jumps in with a better way of handling life’s little trials. Blue Whale Blues is about the importance of having a friend to boost you when you’re feeling down, but also the value in laughing at yourself – something Whale eventually learns. Preschoolers will love the cartoony art and the upbeat ending. Grownups, make up your own Blue Whale Blues tune and sing along – the kids will love it!

Blue Whale Blues is a fun addition to storytime and classroom libraries. It’s available through Usborne as well as through online retailers.