Tag: Schiffer Books

Posted in Intermediate, Non-Fiction, picture books

Whazzat? You want MORE book suggestions? Happy Holidays, I got you.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

You need kids’ books? I have recommendations!

For the kid who loves cars and trucks and things that go:

Big Bertha: How a Massive Tunnel Boring Machine Dug a Highway under Seattle, by Amanda Abler/Illustrated by Katy Wu, (Sept. 2024, Little Bigfoot), $18.99, ISBN: 9781632173065

Ages 7-10

Have an emerging middle grader who loves reading about heavy machinery and vehicles? Big Bertha is the book for them: an earthquake rocks Seattle, Washington in 2001, damaging an elevated highway by the city’s waterfront. If another quake were to hit, the roadway could be at danger of collapsing. The decision was made to replace the highway with a double-decker tunnel running underneath the city. Bertha is the huge tunnel boring machine – the height of a 5-story building! – built in Japan and brought to Seattle to dig and build the tunnel. Named for a former Seattle mayor, Bertha is depicted as massive; readers will be amazed at her scale and power. Deputy Project Manager Greg Hauser and his crew, dedicated to the project, took sleeping shifts and stayed with Bertha all the way, even sleeping in shifts to stay with her as she worked. Do you know kids who love building with LEGO and blocks? Do they construct cities in Minecraft and Roblox? Readers interested in engineering and heavy machines will be fascinated by Bertha, who “chewed up dirt and boulders, removing the earth ahead of her” while her “red erector arms pieced together arcs of concrete to form the outer walls” of the tunnel. Back matter includes a photo of Bertha and her crew; numbers, and facts about the machine and the construction.

Big Bertha has a starred review from Booklist.

 

For the future marine biologist:

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Arctic, by Candace Fleming/Illustrated by Deena So’oteh, (Oct. 2024, Anne Schwartz Books), $18.99, ISBN: 9780593377789

Ages 4-8

Is there anything Candace Fleming can’t do? She writes picture books, novels, fiction, non-fiction, and she’s a conservationist, making her a super human being in my book. Fleming’s newest work is a lyrical piece about a year in the life of a narwhal. Fleming combines nonfiction description with storytelling verse, with playful descriptions – “You are… . shy, / swift, / small (for a whale)” and detailed: “your tusk… / a single / twisting / rod of ivory / that sprouts from your upper left jaw”. The narwhal moves with his pod through the seasons, following food and avoiding danger. So’oteh’s digital illustrations bring the clear cold of the Arctic to beautiful life, with brilliant blues and greens and murky blues showcasing the underwater world. A gatefold displays an incredible narwhal pod dive that will delight readers, and near escapes from a pod of killer whales on the hunt, being stuck under the ice, and discovery by a polar bear! This is picture book nonfiction done spectacularly well and is perfect for readers who love animal stories.

Narwhal has starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, and Horn Book.

 

For the stargazer:

The Mathematics of the Universe, by Soledad Romero Mariño/Illustrated by Renee Hao, (Oct. 2024, Schiffer Books), $18.99, ISBN: 9780764368387

Ages 5-9

Verse, quotes, and beautiful illustrations come together to explain the patterns of our universe, from the spiral of a snail’s shell to the swirl of a galaxy. It’s a beautiful introduction to STEM and mathematics, inviting readers to explore concepts like spheres and hexagons, symmetry and spirals, and inviting readers to look closer at nature and unpack the mysteries they see: “The universe seems in such disarray, / but it follows an order, not one thing astray”.

Want to show your readers more about mathematics in nature? The Carnegie Museum of Natural History has some great photos that explain these concepts, too!

 

 

Reaching for the Stars: A Mission to Space, by Roxanne Troup, Amanda Lenz, (Aug. 2024, Schiffer Books), $16.99, ISBN: 9780764368172

Ages 4-8

A space exploration story in rhyming verse! A group of explorers head to the stars in this fun story with dynamic illustration that blends art with actual NASA space photographs. “What will we find light-years away, / beyond the expanse where our planets play?” Constellations, nebulae, and meteor showers, for starters! The group introduces new space vocabulary to readers and features a diverse cast of explorers. Great for a STEM storytime or a space storytime, and excellent to pair with Roda Ahmed and Stasia Burrington’s Mae Among the Stars (2018).

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Tales from the TBR: Detectives, Nightmare Bugs, Fetching Cats, Cities, and Geraldine!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I know, it’s been a month. Crazy, right? It’s one of those moments when you just don’t realize how fast time goes until you realize… well, how fast time goes. But let’s jump right back in, since I’ve got a stack of books to talk about and some cool library programs to share. Let’s start with the books. Here’s a round-up.

The Upside Down Detective Agency, by Ellie Hattie/Illustrated by Brendan Kearney, (Aug. 2022, Kane Miller), $14.99, ISBN: 9781684644148

Ages 4-8

Welcome to Super Sleuth HQ! Meet Stella and Stan, two crime-solving sloths who may look similar but who have different personalities that will help readers tell them apart. A famous race car driver gives them a big case, and they need help from the reader to solve it! With interactive prompts and visual clues throughout, this fun book combines an entertaining story with a seek-and-find activity to keep readers engaged and sharpening their observation and problem-solving skills. A variety of colorful landscapes take readers to a race car garage, a lavish mansion, and a race track; friendly anthropomorphic animals stand shoulder-to-shoulder with people, and the villain sports a monocle. Endpapers show Stella, Stan, and the key to the mystery. I’d love to see Stella and Stan solve mysteries in different locales!

There are some fun seek and find worksheets available through TeachersPayTeachers, for an extension activity. This springtime sheet from Casey Wiggins is great for younger readers; The Speech Owl has an 18-card set to create a fun inferencing game.

The Nightmare Bug, by Hillary Daecher/Illustrated by Angie Hohenadel, (Sept. 2022, Schiffer Kids), $16.99, ISBN: 9780764364310

Ages 4-8

A child learns to confront their nightmare in this rhyming story. Every time the child is in the middle of a wonderful dream, the Nightmare Bug shows up and ruins it! Mom lets her little one in on a secret: she used to have a Nightmare Bug, too, but she learned how to conquer it: with a hug. As the child goes back to sleep, they take two stuffed friends in for company and wait for the Bug to show up. Black backgrounds set the nighttime tone for the story, allowing bold, colorful artwork to pop off and emphasize surrealist dreamscapes; Hohenadel plays with negative space, letting the inky Nightmare Bug form as a planet or a wrapped piece of candy. Sharp-eyed readers will enjoy keeping an eye out for the bug; invite them to let you know when he’s near! Daecher tells a soothing bedtime story and teaches a valuable “hurt people hurt people” lesson by showing readers that the best way to defeat a fear is not only to confront it, but embrace it. A good choice for collections dealing with bedtime fears.

Want a good extension activity? Have construction paper around and invite kids to create their Nightmare Bugs. Use black construction paper and scissors for bigger kids, or colorful construction paper and crayons for littler creators. Try giving the kids some chalk and let them create surrealist, dreamlike creations.

 

Fetch Cat, Fetch!, by Charles Ghigna/Illustrated by Michelle Hazelwood Hyde, (Sept. 2022, Schiffer Kids), $14.99, ISBN: 9780764364600

Ages 4-7

Father Goose is at it again with this hilarious story about a little girl trying to teach her cat some new tricks… and the cat, who just wants to nap. Told in 3-word repetitive phrases: “Here, Cat. Here!”; “Speak, Cat. Speak!”, and “Dance, Cat. Dance!”, an adorable little girl attempts to get her cat to jump rope, climb a treehouse, take part in a tea party, and a number of other laugh-out-loud scenarios. Hazelwood Hyde’s illustration captures the spirit of the story, showing an enthusiastic child and a poker-faced cat determined to ignore her. Families with pets will likely see themselves in this story, especially when the little girl, tired from a day of playing with her reluctant companion, gives Cat the one command she expects him to follow, with amusing results. The girl’s dramatic body language communicates the frustration of a playmate who won’t join the game, and the cat’s determination to remain at rest will appeal not only to families with pets, but for every parent who’s wondered when their Kiddo’s battery will run down. An adorable story that makes for an amusing readaloud and a great choice for emerging readers to try on their own.

Visit Charles Ghigna’s website for more information about his books.

 

 

 

If You Were a City, by Kyo Maclear/Illustrated by Francesca Sanna, (Oct. 2022, Chronicle Books), $16.99, ISBN: 9781452155197

Ages 3-6

A delightful celebration of cities and how they form – and are formed by – the people who live in them, this rhyming exploration invites readers to imagine what they would be like if they were a city. Colorful, vibrant illustrations show a variety of city settings with a diverse group of citizens at work and play, and each city has its own personality: “shiny, glassy, sleek and tall”; “wooden, squat, and nicely small”; a library shows a group of readers dreaming of cities that come from the mouth of a storyteller, and an explorer discovers Central American-looking pyramids in a “lost city”. The cities thrive with action, their societies interacting peacefully together. Verses prompt readers to consider the neighbors we share our space with, “leav[ing] them room for nest and lair”, a brown-skinned girl holding a fox safely in her outstretched hand as a monkey swings on her foot. As the story moves toward a close we see children creating their cities, using their own bodies to connect the pieces: arms connected to become a bridge; holding up a platform with buildings; covering a roof (maybe a library?) with a book. An uplifting, hopeful vision of who we can become. Endpapers feature a series of snowglobes with cities inside. An excellent storytime choice and a great STEAM storytime book: invite readers to create their own cities with blocks, construction paper, and soft toys.

 

Geraldine and the Rainbow Machine, by Sol Regwan/Illustrated by Denise Muzzio, (Nov. 2022, Schiffer Books), $16.99, ISBN; 9780764364396

Ages 4-8

One of my favorite tinkerers is back! In Geraldine’s fourth adventure, she works to create harmony among her classmates when a new friend arrives at school. Hamid arrives from Pakistan and Geraldine immediately befriends him, but not everyone is as kind or welcoming. Frustrated by insensitive playground antics, Geraldine tinkers up a rainbow machine to show her classmates that everyone has something interesting about them; and when you combine the colors of the rainbow, they all blend together. There are lovely moments of kindness here, from Geraldine gently relocating a spider family taking up residence in one of her bowls to her statement regarding the Rainbow Machine: “When you spin it really fast, the colors all blend together. I think it shows that our differences don’t matter”. The class, delighted at Geraldine’s hands-on device, enjoys their differences and their similarities, and celebrates their uniqueness. Endpapers display a rainbow coming from what looks like one of Geraldine’s journals, the Rainbow Machine sketch laid open for readers. Regwan manages to keep the STEM/STEAM theme of the Geraldine series while delivering heartfelt story about acceptance and friendship. A good book to consider for SEL collections.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Season’s Reading! Christmas Books for littles!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

All the Things Santa Claus Will Never Do, by Ronan Badel/Illustrated by Noé Carlain, (Nov. 2021, Schiffer Books), $14.99, ISBN: 9780764362170

Ages 4-7

I have been holding onto this book for a full year! I received it while I was out sick last year (thanks, COVID), but had so much fun reading it that I wanted to make sure I gave it some love. All the Things Santa Claus Will Never Do is a giggle-worthy read-aloud that tells readers all the things Santa won’t do, like running late delivering toys because he’s stopping at every Christmas Tree to sing “O Christmas Tree”, or unwrapping presents and playing with them. All of these silly little things that Santa would never, ever do lead up to the one biggie – Santa won’t ever forget where his favorite readers live, naturally! Amusing cartoon artwork illustrates each scenario and will have readers laughing along as they come up with their own things that Santa would never do. Endpapers show Santa and one of his reindeer playing a game of tag, chasing one another back and forth. A fun additional Christmas book add to holiday collections.

All the Things Santa Claus Would Never Do is the holiday companion to Badel and Carlain’s All the Things a Teacher Would Never Say.

 

 

The Twelve Cats of Christmas, by Feather Flores/Illustrated by Carrie Liao, (Oct. 2022, Chronicle Books), $15.99, ISBN: 9781452184616

Ages 3-8

This feline-friendly take on the famous Christmas carol is all about cats, and the lovable chaos they bring with them. On the first day of Christmas, there’s a kitten under the tree. From there, it’s all cats: batting bows; laying on the gifts, watching the winter weather, and – naturally – climbing the tree. The cats become more mischievous as the verse progresses, and mixed media artwork plays out the action in hilarious detail. Front endpapers are a wrapping paper design with cats being adorable, swinging on lights and hiding in boxes; back endpapers are torn, with wide-eyed cats, upended boxes, and melting snowflakes. Back matter introduces readers to each of the featured cats by name, likes and dislikes, and favorite Christmas activities. Definitely meant to be read and enjoyed aloud, The Twelve Cats of Christmas is a fun holiday read that works well where there are animal fans.

There are adorable Christmas cat coloring pages all over the Internet! Print out some fun ones and let your littles make their own Twelve Cats of Christmas.

 

 

Crinkle Bells, by Jay Fleck, (Oct. 2022, Chronicle Books), $8.99, ISBN: 9781452181677

Ages 0-3

Set to the tune of Jingle Bells, this touch-and-feel board book lets little fingers make crinkly sounds with special material on each spread. Two jingle bells are too excited to sleep as Christmas gets nearer, but they’re keeping everyone awake! Will they finally be able to fall asleep – and give the ornaments, candles, and candy canes a break – before Christmas morning? Adorable, brightly colored artwork set off against deep green and blue backgrounds and tactile activities on each spread make this a great book for little hands to explore and celebrate. Sing the book as part of a lapsit and get your egg shakers or jingle bells out: this book is too much fun NOT to read aloud.

 

 

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads, Uncategorized

Board Books everywhere!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

It’s time for another board books rundown! I’ve got a pile that begs to be shared and enjoyed. Let’s see what’s cooking.

My Big Birthday Party, by Jeffrey Turner, (May 2021, Schiffer Kids), $9.99, ISBN: 9780764361050

Ages 0-3

Schiffer’s board book program has just taken off. They’ve been putting out consistently great concept books, working with great authors and illustrators, for a few years now and I get excited whenever a box shows up for me. Author Jeffrey Turner has been putting out a series of board books to explain concepts, starring a fluffy white poodle. My Big Birthday Party explains opposites, framing the words in the context of Poodle’s birthday party. Lights are off, then turned on to reveal friends of all shapes and sizes, holding gifts; we see the group from the front and back; piles of gifts are closed, then opened; we see a page loaded with colorful balloons, illustrating “more”; when Poodle’s friend Porcupine enters the page, we see a burst balloon, and “less”. Colorful, bright digital artwork holds exciting reveals on each page, and a note about the science of magnets – a branch concerned with opposites! – closes out the book. It’s a great way to communicate the concept to newly budding STEM/STEAM learners. Schiffer Kids’s Resource Hub has free, downloadable coloring sheets, too!

 

Smile, Baby! (Beginning Baby), (June 2021, Chronicle Books), $8.99, ISBN: 9781452170923

Ages 0-3

Chronicle has a new board book series debuting, and it is adorable. Beginning Baby addresses developmental milestones, teaches motor control and self-identification, and is loaded with friendly characters and bright colors. A series of questions about finding baby’s smile, nose, ears, eyes, cheeks, and mouth take readers through each page, with a die-cut revealing a mirror for baby to see themselves in at all times. Each question comes with an activity for baby and caregiver: blow a kiss, pat baby’s cheeks, find baby’s ears and nose. Perfect for lapsit reading, this is a great way to bond with baby: let baby see you reading in the mirror with them, and let them learn the parts of their face with colorful words paired with loving gestures as you tickle baby’s cheeks, blow kisses, give a brushing kiss on their eyes. What a fun way to snuggle and read together!

 

10 Hugs and Kisses (Beginning Baby), (June 2021, Chronicle Books), $7.99, ISBN: 9781452170947

Ages 0-3

Another Beginning Baby book! This one is all about cuddles and counting from 1 to 10. Sweetly affectionate animals count their hugs and kisses through each rhyming spread, making for a perfect lapsit where caregiver and little one can join in for hugging, smiles, and butterfly kisses. A big number on the left-hand page stands out against the background; the book invites readers to trace the numbers as they go through the story. Pairs nicely with Karen Katz’s Counting Kisses.

 

Welcome to Shape School!, (Beginning Baby), (June 2021, Chronicle Books), $7.99, ISBN: 9781452170947

Ages 0-3

It’s a day at Shape School! Our animal friends (Gabriel Gabriel Giraffe, Elijah Elephant, Riley Narwhal, Mia Monkey, Layla Llama, Paisley Octopus, and Mateo Red Panda) want you to help them navigate all the space challenges they encounter in school: count squares, touch the three points on a triangle, outline the ovals in a book nook, and press hearts in the garden, for starters. There are 9 tabs that let kids explore each shape, and something new to discover on each spread. Helping develop story-following and fine motor skills and helping reinforce understanding shapes, this is just an adorable book for littles to enjoy.

 

Who is Hiding in the Sea?, by Marc Clamens & Laurence Jammes, (March 2021, Schiffer Kids), $12.99, ISBN: 9780764361029

Ages 0-6

A board book and puzzle all in one sends kids underwater to explore. Four underwater spreads to discover, and eight punch-out puzzle pieces of underwater friends to set into their homes. Each animal fits into a die-cut piece hidden under flaps: who lives in the sea anemones? Where does the seahorse call home? Facts under each flap provide a little more information on the animal that fits in the space, and colorful artwork gets readers’ attention with cute, friendly underwater buddies. Great for developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination for littles, learning about underwater life and habitats for bigger kids, this is a collection you’ll need a few copies for if you’re circulating the book (or put out when you put your toys out).

 

Who Is Hiding in the Forest? by Marc Clamens & Laurence Jammes, (March 2021, Schiffer Kids), $12.99, ISBN: 9780764361012

Ages 0-6

Another Who is Hiding? book by Marc Clamens and Laurence Jammes, this board book includes 8 puzzle pieces of forest friends. Kids can look for homes for a badger, squirrel, fox, wild piglet, fawn, bat, beaver, and owl, across four wintry forest spreads. Who hides in the tree, and who makes a lodge out of mud and banches? Where do these little animals go to stay warm? These are such sturdy pages, flaps, and puzzles pieces, assuring that they’ll hold up to multiple reads. Make sure to have a few copies on hand, especially if you’re putting them into circulation. Pair with animal coloring sheets, like these cute ones from Simple Everyday Mom, or animal toys and go over names for each animal.

 

Mommy, You’re Amazing, by Roger Priddy, (March 2021, Priddy Books), $7.99, ISBN: 9781684491254

Ages 0-3

Part scrapbook, part board book, Mommy, You’re Amazing is a celebration of moments between mommy and child. Each spread has a rhyming passage about why Mommy is amazing: for discovering new things, dancing and singing together, or playing imagination games being just a few of the great things mommies do. Each spread has a space for a keepsake, whether it’s an envelope to hold little treasures, like those dandelions we all get, or slots to slide in photos, drawing spaces, or a spot to write a story. It’s a warm, loving keepsake that moms will adore (and a darned good baby shower gift).

Posted in Fiction, Intermediate, picture books

Picture book STEM with second-grader, Geraldine: Gizmo Girl!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I’ve got two STEM picture books from Schiffer Publishing, by author Sol Regwan and illustrator Denise Muzzio. The Gizmo Girl series stars a second grader named Geraldine. If you have readers who enjoyed Pip Jones’s Izzy Gizmo, Andrea Beaty’s Questioneers series, or Ashley Spires’s The Most Magnificent Thing, this series should be next on their reading lists.

 

Geraldine and the Most Spectacular Science Project, by Sol Regwan/Illustrated by Denise Muzzio, (Feb. 2020, Schiffer Kids), $16.99, ISBN: 9780764358982

Ages 5-8

Geraldine is a second grader who loves to call herself a troublemaker, but she’s really not. She’s curious, a budding astronaut and scientist, and just needs a little focus, which she gets when her teacher announces a science contest! The winner gets a trophy and the title of Best Second-Grade Scientist, and Geraldine knows she has to win. She puts her talent for tinkering to work and gets out her piles of gadgets, screws, electronic parts, and other bits and pieces she’s scavenged from her parents (sometimes, while they were still in use), and thinks about what to make that would win first prize. Will it be good enough to impress her teacher and take home the gold? A fun story with a rambunctious heroine, Geraldine and the Most Spectacular Science Project is a good STEM/STEAM picture book for kids who still love picture books, but are ready to take on more complex text. The story provides a look at some popular science fair projects, like the erupting volcano and solar system mobile; teachers who are prepping classes for a science fair should kick off with this one, particularly for first- and second-graders. Illustrations are colorful and cheerful, and present a diverse group of learners. The cover and endpapers are a nod to Geraldine’s interest in outer space, and her name looks like a fun mashup of technology and gadgets from her project pile. Additional Schiffer Kids readalikes in the back are spotlighted as some of Geraldine’s “favorites”, which is really sweet and invests readers in the character.

Give this one a shot; I think it’s going to be a hit. Kids who are interested in Geraldine’s project can find a similar one here at the HomeScienceTools website.

 

Geraldine and the Space Bees, by Sol Regwan/Illustrated by Denise Muzzio, (Aug. 2020, Schiffer Kids), $16.99, ISBN: 9780764359941

Ages 5-8

Gizmo Girl Geraldine waters her mother’s plants one day and notices that there aren’t as many bees as she’s used to seeing. After mentioning it to her mother, she learns that bee populations are on the decline and that pesticides – bug-killing poisons – are a big cause. Geraldine decides to make saving the bees the subject of her next science project: creating a model of something she’d like to send into outer space, for the Space Museum. After thinking over the decline of the bee population and how a spaceship wouldn’t have harmful chemicals aboard, she decides she’s going to build a feeding station that will allow scientists to study bees in space, in a pesticide-free environment! This story delves even further into the scientific process than the first Geraldine book, and it’s really exciting to read and see Geraldine work out the steps in her experiment. Geraldine and the Space Bees makes a great reading choice for science and STEM/STEAM classes, where learners can discuss how they can and would address the environmental factors leading to the decline in bee populations, and why this is such a serious matter. Back matter includes a note about pollination and why bees are so important. Endpapers show bees buzzing around the planets in outer space, a nod to the story inside. A note at the end of the book promises more Gizmo Girl books are coming soon.

Readers who are interested in learning more about the bee crisis can read 6 Ways to Help Honeybees, from the Whole Kids Foundation; A Bee is More Than a Bug from NASA’s Climate Kid webpage; and Why Are Bees Vanishing? from Science News for Students. The Pragmatic Mom blog has a DIY Bee House STEM project that would be a good project to work on over the winter.

Posted in picture books

If there was ever a timely book… King of Boredom

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

King of Boredom, by Ilaria Guarducci, (Apr. 2020, Schiffer Kids), $14.99, ISBN: 9780764359743

Ages 5-8

Pale, thin Ben is a kid who never enjoyed himself. His favorite color is light gray, he likes plain white pasta, he doesn’t really do a whole heck of a lot, and no matter what his parents do, he’s just bored. He pronounces himself the Supreme King of Boredom, locks himself in his room… and decides to make himself a throne. And if you make a throne, you should really have a castle, right? As the Supreme King of Boredom, Ben adds onto his empire, aided by a cardboard box, scissors, some buttons and thread, and the toys in his room. He even takes a lovely queen, who pledges to be bored with him forever. WAIT! Is that… a slight smile?

Who doesn’t have a King (or Queen) or Boredom at home these days? Ben is incredibly relatable to kids stuck indoors and BOOOOOOOORED, and those kids who just don’t know what to do to NOT be bored. The dramatic pronouncement of Supreme King of Boredom is all Ben needed to spark his creativity: he’s got a cardboard box, some supplies, and – whether he realizes it or not – a little bit of imagination. At once a fun book on making and a boredom buster, King of Boredom is a smart summer reading choice for kids who need a little push in the right direction. Colorful artwork, with a taciturn Ben in the center of it all, makes for a fun read. Grab some cardboard, some paper, tape, and glue, and see what you and your Boredom Royalty can create together.

 

Just to clarify, King of Boredom – as with most of the books I read and write about here – was provided to me for free by Schiffer in exchange for a review. I haven’t added this disclaimer in the past, but I want to make sure I’m FTC complaint, so I’ll be tacking a little boilerplate at the bottom of future reviews going forward. Thanks, all!

 

Posted in Fantasy, picture books, Preschool Reads

The Great 2019 Read-Down: Fairy Tales

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I love a good fairy tale, and the end of 2019 brought some fun new ones. Here are two of them.

If the Shoe Fits…, by Deborah Guarino/Illustrated by Seth Hippen, (Nov. 2019, Schiffer Books), $16.99, ISBN: 9780764358432

Ages 5-8

This fun take on Cinderella is the story of Murray, a humble shoemaker who meets a fairy godmother on a very special night. The fairy godmother’s out of magic, and needs some help in the form of a pair of shoes, so her poor godchild could make it to the royal ball. But Murrays clerk, Mona, has designs on being a royal bride herself, and when word gets out that the prince is trying to track down the mysterious woman who left her shoe behind at the ball, she begs Murray to make a shoe in her size, so she can make the big switch and land her prince. Murray, who’s desperately in love with Mona, complies, even though it breaks his heart, but never fear – the fairy godmother isn’t letting anyone take the day away from her godchild!

Told in rhyme, with a sweet Happily Ever After for everyone, is an adorable fractured fairy tale that kids will enjoy and get a good laugh from. The characters are goofy and kind, and the rhyme cadence is instantly familiar once you start reading, letting you fall right into the storytelling. Animator Seth Hippen’s art is cartoony and exaggerated, and loads of fun to look at as you read this progressively crazier fairy tale. Fractured fairy tale lovers will get a big kick out of this.

 

The Prince and the Witch and the Thief and the Bears, by Alastair Chisholm/Illustrated by Jez Tuya, (June 2019, Kane Miller Books), $12.99, ISBN: 978-1-61067-849-0

Ages 4-8

This book is a RIOT. It’s a fairy tale with The Princess Bride-type humor and takes on fairy tale tropes with delight. A child named Jamie gets ready for bed, and Dad sits down to tell a bedtime story to Jamie’s liking. What we get is a laugh-out loud story of a prince who sets out to rescue a princess – who doesn’t need rescuing, THANK YOU VERY MUCH – and a witch who can turn things to stone or jello, and hideous broccoli castles. Jamie has opinions throughout Dad’s story, which changes events in the telling, and ends with a drowsy kiss goodnight and the promise of more stories to come. My second grader loves the Interrupting Chicken books, and had a ball reading this one with me.

Jez Tuya’s digital artwork adds so much fun and color to this fun, colorful story! Big, expressive eyes, little nuances like the story’s characters showing up as toys in Jamie’s room, and wink/nudge moments throughout the storytelling make this artwork and story a great marriage.

Originally published in the UK in 2018, The Prince and the Witch and the Thief and the Bears is officially one of my bedtime go-tos, and I’m eyeing it for a potential stuffed animal sleepover kickoff in 2020.