Tag: movement

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Uncategorized

STEM Books to Explore

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I’m back with some new books to explore fun STEM concepts. I really miss having a Discovery Club at my library… maybe I’ll use these as a way to gauge some interest again.

Tree Spirits (2nd Ed., Revised), by Louise Wannier/Illustrated by April Tatiana Jackson, (Sept. 2023, True Roses Books), $24.95, ISBN: 9780990997658

Ages 3-8

This book was published in September of last year, but I’ve just seen a copy and wanted to include it here. Incorporating nature and art, Wannier creates fun rhymes that encourage readers to think and wonder at different photos of trees. The repeated questions invite readers to look at each photo, considering the swirls and bumps, shapes and bends of the featured trees. The author offers her point of view, and Jackson, with a turn of the page, offers an overlaid illustration of an animal in the tree. Color photos are crisp, with texture and detail. The rhyming text incorporates different emotions, making this a helpful inclusion in social-emotional collections as well as nature science and STEM/STEAM collections. A nice additional purchase.

 

Tree Spirits is an interactive picture book that encourages creativity, social-emotional intelligence, and seeing the world with fresh eyes. With 25 color photographs of trees, the rhyming text asks, “What do you see when you look up at this tree?” inviting a child to use their imagination. Turning the page reveals an illustrated overlay of a charming animal inspired by the lines and shapes of the tree bark. Each animal introduces a different emotion, helping children understand their inner spirit and feelings.

All About Color, by Elizabeth Rusch/Illustrated by Elizabeth Goss, (March 2024, Charlesbridge Publishing), $17.99, ISBN: 9781623543532

Ages -8

Rusch gets into deep stuff in this exploration of color, telling readers right off the bat that “Color doesn’t exist. The sky is not blue”, giving a few additional examples before explaining that we perceive color when light sends messages to our brains. Rusch discusses how color helps us in our day-to-day lives: they can describe emotions, like “seeing red” and “feeling blue”; they can warn us, as illustrated by the bright red triangle on a black widow spider; they can let us know when to stop and go, as with a traffic light. Goss’s boldly outlined illustration offers bright color washes to communicate Rusch’s succint explanations. Rusch uses simple sentences to allow emerging readers to enjoy this book on their own or as part of a readaloud. A good introduction to the science of color. All About Color is the companion title to All About Nothing (2023), an introduction to negative space.

 

 

Hands on Science: Motion, by Lola M. Schaefer/Illustrated by Druscilla Santiago, (Feb. 2024, Charlesbridge Publishing), $16.99, ISBN: 9781623542450

Ages 4-8

This introduction to the science of motion is too much fun! Enter the Physics Lab and let the narrator take you on an interactive journey where you can poke, tilt, and push the book to learn about gravity and friction: poke a dollop of whipped cream to discover how your finger’s force can change its shape, and guide a marble through a series of inclines to see how it changes its path. Scientific terms are bolded for easy reference, and colorful illustrations keep readers engaged. Caregivers and educators will love these easy experiments: no muss, no fuss! If you have a Science Club, you may even want to set up similar experiments to guide scientists through during a readaloud. Schaefer includes examples of journaling observations and predictions; back matter includes additional ways we use forces every day, and an experiment for readers (and their grownups!) to conduct at home. This is the third entry in the Hands-On Science series by Schaefer and Santiago. A very good addition to STEM collections for emerging readers. Download the free Hands-On Science activity kit at the Charlesbridge Publishing website.

 

 

 

Posted in Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Book Review: Shake it Up, Baby! by Karen Katz (Little Simon, 2009)

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

shake it up babyRecommended for ages 1-4

Shake It Up, Baby! is an interactive board book that will get parents and toddlers moving together. The book, which contains a rattle in its spine, leads readers through a dance, encouraging them to “touch your nose, rub your tummy, [and] shake your rattle”. As with Katz’s other books, the featured babies are multiethnic and have big, round heads with cheerful facial expressions. Katz’s artwork uses pastels with her trademark heavy outlines, varicolored backgrounds, and bright colors with bold fonts. Dotted curves depict movement.

The book includes a link to SimonSaysKids.com, the publisher’s children’s division, where parents and guardians can read a parenting guide and discover more Karen Katz activities.

As the book is the activity, a story time using this book gives parents, guardians and toddlers the chance to get up and dance with the book. Story time can include other songs and dances, like the Hokey Pokey and fingerplays like Tommy Thumbs.

Posted in Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Book Review: My Two Hands/My Two Feet, by Rick Walton/illus. by Julia Gorton (Putnam, 2000)

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

my two handsRecommended for ages 2-5

My Two Hands/My Two Feet is two stories in one, each story celebrating the many things that hands and feet can do over the course of a day. On one side, we have hands: stretching, washing, making a cup for water, holding onto someone, and folding together at bedtime. Flip the book over and discover what feet can do: wiggle, dance, stomp, twirl, and lie still at bedtime. The stories meet in the middle, with the two narrators asleep side by side. The endpapers clue readers in as to which body parts they will read about first, with overlapping hands decorating one side and overlapping feet, the other. The stories are told in rhyme and illustrated in airbrushed acrylics, with bright colors and full-bleed images on each page. The illustrations are flat, and the characters are semi-realistic looking, with large heads and small, black shiny dots for eyes. The only texture in the images comes by way of the characters’ knitted sweaters, which appear to be collage.

The story, told in rhyme, uses simple language that younger readers will understand and enjoy. The font is a simple yet decorative font, alternating in black and white to stand out on the brightly colored backgrounds.

This is a great opportunity for an interactive read-aloud. Children can be invited to pantomime the movements mentioned in the book, like wiggling their toes and stretching their hands.  This would also allow for a fun, movement-based storytime: get the children up and dancing, play Ring Around the Rosie, maybe even a game of Simon Says. Younger attendees can play “Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes”.

The author’s website links to information about Mr. Walton, including school visits and a biography; he also links to free book resources online for parents, writers, and educators.

Posted in Toddler Reads

Book Review: Who Hops, by Katie Davis (Harcourt, 2001)

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

who hopsRecommended for ages 0-4

Who Hops takes a funny look at animals who hop, swim, fly or crawl – and which animals do not.  Asking the opening question, “Who hops?”, the book teaches children about the animal world. We learn that frogs hop, as do rabbits, kangaroos and cows – wait, cows? Even the cow appears distressed! The author quickly corrects herself, noting that “Cows moo and give milk, but they don’t hop!”

The questions continue, asking who flies, who slithers, who swims and who crawls, with similar groupings of animals that do and one animal that doesn’t, with hilarious responses. The exaggerated facial expressions on the odd animals out are laugh-out-loud funny, and the day-glo artwork, outlined in bold black outlines, assures that all readers will be able to see and enjoy the book. The artwork is simple – line drawings, filled in with fluorescent colors – and the text is in bold, black font.

The book is a good companion to Jan Thomas’ What Will Fat Cat Sit On? and can be read as part of a silly animal read-aloud. Readers can participate by calling out when the story reaches the animal that doesn’t hop, fly, slither, swim or crawl. The author’s website features a printable matching game, where readers can match the animal to his activity. There are also songs and fingerplays about animals and how they move that would make for a fun read-aloud.

The book has received the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award, National Parenting Publications Honors, and designation as a Book Sense 76 Pick.