Tag: Schiffer Kids

Posted in Middle Grade, Non-fiction, picture books, Preschool Reads, Teen, Tween Reads

The holidays are coming… What do I do with these kids?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Welcome to this year’s edition of “What the heck do I do with a house full of kids?” Thanksgiving is THIS WEEK, which means Hanukkah and Christmas are right around the corner. We’re going to have homes full of kids while you’re getting the house clean, cooking meals, wrapping gifts, decorating your home. Sure, you could turn on Klaus on Netflix, but why not have some fun things ready to keep the kids entertained while you and the grownups get some face time in? Here are a few fun books chock full of ideas.

Playing with Collage, by Jeannie Baker, (Oct. 2019, Candlewick Studio), $16, ISBN: 9781536205398

Ages 8-12

Who doesn’t love making collages? It’s one of our favorite things to do at the library. Jeannie Baker is a picture book author-illustrator who created this master class on working with collage for kids and adults alike. She provides a look at the tools and textures she uses to create wonderful collage artwork, with plenty of examples. How do you prep leaves for pressing? Did I even know you prep leaves for pressing, rather than just gluing them to a page and calling it a day? How do you use corrugated cardboard and torn tissue paper to create a visually stunning scene that you can feel by just looking at it? Jeannie Baker is here for you with easy-to-read explanations and techniques. She’s got a whole section dedicated to kitchen materials, so keep things aside as you prep for holiday cooking – your kids will find ways to work with them. She even includes a fun guessing game at the end of the book, challenging readers to identify the materials in her final collage. Provide the materials, set aside a creative space (I usually designate my dining room table), and let them go to work with this book as a fun reference guide. There are suggestions for more advanced crafters in here – make sure any kinds of superglue or cutting materials are used with an adult’s guidance.

 

 

Yikes! Santa Claus is in His Underpants!, by Mister Ed,
(Oct. 2019, Schiffer Kids), $6.99, ISBN: 9780764358296
Ages 3-8

How much fun is this? You get to dress up Santa! The inner flap of this softcover paper doll book is Santa, in all his underwear-rocking glory. The rest of the book includes pages of accessories and outfits to dress him in. All of his gear are removable stickers, so you can dress him up, mix and match, and do it all again. Dress him up in bunny pajamas, biker gear, a superhero set of tights, a sheriff, get him ready for his post-Christmas nap with a pair of fuzzy pajamas and reindeer slippers. Get creative, and have fun! At $6.99, you can definitely swing buying a couple of these for stocking stuffers or to let groups of kids have their own Dress Santa contests.

 

Make Your Own Beauty Masks: 38 Simple, All-Natural Recipes for Healthy Skin, Illustrated by Emma Trithart,
(Nov. 2019, Odd Dot), $19.99, ISBN: 9781250208125
Ages 10+

Come ON. This is just too much fun, especially if you have tween and teen girls in the home. Get in some pampering for the holidays with this adorable book from Odd Dot. Everything is natural; straight from your fridge or the produce section to your face. I bet you can find nearly everything in your home right now. The masks have the cutest names, and the book is beautifully illustrated. The contents tell you exactly what you need, and the step-by-step directions help you prep your face and your ingredients for absolute pampering and relaxation while you watch March of the Wooden Soldiers and wait for your turkey to cook. The book comes with ten sheet masks to get you started. Keep an eye out for any prep that requires cutting or blending; you may want to prep the ingredients with your spa participants the night before.

Don’t forget tabletop games – we’re still loving Monsters in the Elevator and Nightmarium, and are looking forward to introducing Throw Throw Burrito, which is, essentially, a combination of tabletop card game and dodgeball, with soft, adorable burritos. Dueling burritos, sneak attack burritos, team-up burrito warfare: it’s all here, and we have laughed ourselves into stomachaches playing it, so what better way to end a day of Thanksgiving eating? 

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate!

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

‘Tis the Season to be Reading!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Seasons Readings! I’ve got a bunch of holiday and winter books to talk about over the next couple of days. Let’s start with Christmas!

How Winston Saved Christmas: An Advent Story in Twenty-Four and a Half Chapters, by Alex T. Smith, (Sept. 2019, Silver Dolphin), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1-68412-983-6\

Ages 3-10

How Winston Saved Christmas is adorable. It’s an Advent storybook and activity book, starring a mouse named Winston, who discovers a little boy’s note to Santa and is determined to deliver that important message in time for Christmas! Start reading on December 1st, a chapter a day, leading up to the big day. Each chapter is about three pages, and the book is beautifully illustrated with color artwork. After each chapter, there’s a story-related craft that you can easily do with your kiddos. Great for the library, great for a way to end a day in the classroom, great to do with your own kids at home. The crafts are simple and don’t require lots of time or materials, making this a wonderful way to spend holiday time with your kiddos. Tips for next year, Christmas poems, and an author’s note finish everything off and get you ready for the holidays; the chapters and craft ideas are laid out in the front of the book, written on little gift tags, across an opening spread before the story begins, so you can get a peek at each activity (and gather your materials in advance).

This is an adorable way to prepare for the holidays. I think Winston will become a regular part of our holiday celebrations.

 

The Lobsters’ Night Before Christmas, by Christina Laurie/Illustrated by Elizabeth Moisan, (Oct. 2019, Schiffer Kids), $16.99, ISBN: 978-0-7643-5826-5

Ages 3-10

Who doesn’t know and love Clement Moore’s classic poem, A Visit by Saint Nicholas (also known as The Night Before Christmas)? Add some ocean life to the mix for an Underwater the Sea holiday storytime with The Lobsters’ Night Before Christmas! Read the rhyming tale of Sea Nick, pulled in his clamshell by his eight minnows, each with a distinctive species name, as he fills skate cases with holiday gifts and moves on to the next cave. There are lobster and fish facts woven into the rhyme, making this a great story for sea life readers. Elizabeth Moisan’s watercolor artwork brings a soft, underwater feel to the illustrations, and she’s hidden a lobster, hiding in the eel grass, for sharp-eyed readers to find. Make it a game to see who can find the hidden lobster! The endpapers are loaded with tiny little lobsters, some holding little red stars for a tree. The cover is die-cut in a pine tree shape, adding fun to the design. Back matter includes an All About Lobsters feature, with information about what lobsters look like, eat, how they molt, and how they’re affected by climate change.

A cute read and gift for your sea life readers.

More winter and holiday books to come! If you know of any upcoming or new Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and other multicultural holiday books, please tweet me @roesolo or email me here and let me know!

Posted in Intermediate, Middle Grade, Non-fiction, Non-Fiction, picture books

Unhinged History, where the oddest of couples change the world: The Bathysphere Boys

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Bathysphere Boys: Beebe & Barton (Unhinged History), by Ted Enik/Illustrated by G.F. Newland, (Sept. 2019, Schiffer Books). $16.99, ISBN: 9780764357930

Ages 7-10

This second book in Schiffer’s Unhinged History series brings together William Beebe and Otis Barton, who came together to create the bathysphere, an invention that sent the two underwater explorers more than half a mile underwater in 1930. The two were able to sees, close-up, underwater sea life that redefined deep-sea exploration. The story, written in slant rhyming, tells the story of the two very different personalities, who clashed throughout the invention process and, in 1934, split up for good after their historic dive. The story mentions the sphere’s return to life in 1994, when a renovation to the New York Aquarium gave the sphere a facelift, and where it proudly stands today. Back matter includes drawings of some of the sea life discovered during the deep sea dives, Bathysphere schematics, a timeline of human diving, and a profile on explorer Gloria Hollister, who worked with Beebe and Barton and who made her own deep sea dive in 1934.

Cartoon illustrations and a rhyme scheme outside of the norm make this an interesting choice for intermediate and middle grade readers who have an interest in science and underwater exploration. I like the idea of bringing together people who may not always have the most harmonious relationship, but who work together to affect great change: it’s a good way to show kids that you may not always get along, but there’s a value in putting aside differences to work together. A note on slant rhyming (also called “lazy rhyme”) will help readers ease into reading the story, which may feel off at first.

 

Posted in Middle Grade, Tween Reads

STEAM project fun: Super Robot

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Super Robot, by Arnaud Roi, (Oct. 2019, Schiffer Kids), $12.99, ISBN: 9780764358302

Ages 6-12

This is one of those books that makes me think back to when I had punch-out paper doll books. They’re still around, albeit a little tougher to find, so I was really excited to get a copy of Super Robot in the mail from Schiffer Kids! Artist Arnaud Roi uses his love of the 1950s aesthetic to create a vintage-looking robot that kids can punch out and put together, creating a 2-foot-high paper structure.

Assembly instructions are detailed and take readers, step-by-step, through assembly; the assembly process is helpfully illustrated so you don’t get too turned around in the building process. The paper is sturdy and scored where necessary, to help with folding and assembling. The robot is a bright, bold combination of primary colors.

Younger scientists and paper artists will need a helping hand, but bigger creators should be able to work on this, no problem. It’s a fun idea for a Discovery Club activity, and small groups can work on one robot at a time, if your budget permits you to buy a few copies. Create a robot army, or an army of one – either way, Super Robot is a fun build that get kids working with their hands.

Pair with Adam Rubin’s Robo-Sauce, one of my favorite robot books: the book transforms into a Robo-Book. Have some Legos, and some robotics books around for your readers who are ready to explore more. I recommend NatGeo Kids’ Everything Robotics and National Geographics Readers: Robots.