Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Nibbles goes to bed… or does he?

Nibbles: The Bedtime Book, by Emma Yarlett, (March 2023, Kane Miller), $16.99, ISBN: 9781684644933

Ages 4-7

Nibbles, my favorite book-nibbling monster, is back at bedtime in this latest adventure. After a long day of escaping into libraries and eating his way through all the books, it’s finally bedtime and Nibbles is in crate… but a quick lift of the flap shows readers that he isn’t: he’s off on another book-nibbling escapade, hilariously chomping his way through bedtime stories like The Ugly Duckling, Cinderella, and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Will Nibbles finally slow down and get tired? Will fairy tales ever be the same? Flaps and die cuts reveal Nibbles’s adventures to readers, and the bright yellow monster pops off the quieter, darker backgrounds, letting readers easily spot him. A little bit of rhyme, mixed with exasperated storytelling and fractured fairytales, give readers a little something for everyone. A delightful addition to fairy tale collections.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Stop that monster! Nibbles: The Monster Hunt

Nibbles: The Monster Hunt, by Emma Yarlett, (2020, Kane Miller), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-61067-957-2

Ages 3-7

Nibbles, my Kiddo’s favorite book-nibbling monster, is back! In this third Nibbles adventure, Nibbles is loose again, and heads off into a brand new set of books, including loads of facts and an adventure with a dragon. Lift the flaps, inventive die cuts, and little peep holes throughout keep the energy and fun high in this read. Nibbles is AMAZING fun for read-alouds – I’ve used all three in read-alouds in various storytimes, and Nibbles always gets the kids squealing and giggling. The art is bright, fun, and Nibbles is a big, yellow ball of chaos – perfect for kids, right?

Gabe, my Kiddo, has been a Nibbles fan from the beginning, and Kane Miller Books gets all the love in the world for introducing me to him (Nibbles, not Gabe), so I can share him with the kids in my library and my life. Want a super-fun, super easy storytime craft? Get some pom poms and googly eyes, and make Nibbles and some other, different-colored monster friends! I’m going to give it a shot at an upcoming family storytime, so I’ll post pictures when I do.

Nibbles is guaranteed fun for your toddler and emerging reader explorers, with sturdy pages and flaps, fun visuals, and loads to explore.

Posted in Early Reader, Intermediate, Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, picture books, Preschool Reads

Nibbles Does Nonfiction! Nibbles: The Dinosaur Guide!

Nibbles: The Dinosaur Guide, by Emma Yarlett, (March 2018, Kane Miller),  $16.99 ISBN 978-1-61067-643-4

Recommended for readers 4-8

Nibbles the Book Monster is a HUGE celebrity in my home, in my storytime, and now, in my kiddo’s classroom. More on that in a sec. So, Nibbles is a little yellow monster who loves to nibble books. In his first adventure, he nibbled his way through some fairy tales, but he wanted more. Enter Nibbles: The Dinosaur Guide, which combines solid nonfiction dinosaur information, including eras, scientific names (with pronunciation), and fast facts. This is no regular dinosaur book, though: Nibbles is on another adventure, chomping and nom nom-ing his way through the prehistoric era, irritating dinosaurs and spreading mayhem as he goes! Will Nibbles end up on the menu this time?

Nibbles: The Dinosaur Guide is full of the same flips and bite-sized page nibbles that makes the first book so much fun to read. Add to that, the hilarious bodily functions of dinosaurs (did you know that a single diplodocus fart could power a hot air balloon? You do now!) and a laugh-out-loud interaction with a T-Rex, and you have a dino book that kids will come back to again and again.

Now the fun part: I brought Nibbles: The Dinosaur Guide to my son’s kindergarten class for a storytime visit. The kids had a choice of books, and Nibbles got the overwhelming vote, so we got into circle time on the carpet and I read the story. The screaming. The hilarity. It was controlled pandemonium, and I loved every second of it. The best part of the visit was my reading the phrase, “I am the Prince of Parps!” (polite British speak for ‘fart’) and the one Scottish kid in my son’s class burst out laughing; his classmates said, “What’s a parp?”, so I looked at him and nodded. He proudly pronounced, “IT”S A FART!” and the class lost their minds. That, my friends, is how you embrace storytime.

Need more Nibbles in your life? Who doesn’t? Author Emma Yarlett’s webpage has printable activities aplenty. Go make a Nibbles bookmark!

Rocking Nibbles in the classroom

Posted in Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads

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

nibblesNibbles 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.