Friends and Family

When readers connect books to their own lives it deepens understanding.  Young readers enjoy stories with friends and family, little adventures and discoveries, and daily life.  Children might even like it better when there is just a little bit of magic and make believe gluing together all the friends, adventures, and daily life.  For preschoolers reading books about childhood troubles may help teach about problem solving, expressing one’s self, and being a good friend.  These are important lessons and great for opening discussion with children.  Here are two books that offer such discussion starters for ages 3 to 8.

Monty and Milli, The Totally Amazing Magic Trick by Tracy Corderoy and Tim Warnes is a picture book about a brother and sister mouse.  Monty is the older brother who is into space, dinosaurs, artwork, and reading.  Milli is the younger sister who is annoyingly into pretty much anything that Monty likes.  Monty seems like a pretty patient mouse until it’s time for his birthday and he gets a totally amazing magic set.  The magic set is clearly for big kids only and Milli doesn’t take this well. 

The book is cute and the story is very believable for siblings.  I appreciated that the story showed the sibling both getting along and having problems.  The illustrations were very colorful with a bit of sparkle on some of the pages.  (I know some people are anti-sparkle in books but this was done in moderation and added to the magic.)  The scenes showing the mice’s home is really adorable, I even spotted a Lego-mini head in one of the illustrations.   (I like hidden Easter eggs like this for older readers.)

I think both younger and older siblings would really be able to relate to the story in this book.  If you have a young one who is into magic, there are a lot of little bits of magic throughout the book that they would enjoy too.   Recommended for ages 3 to 8, read alouds, big siblings, little siblings, and children who have an interest in magic.

Flabbersmashed about You by Rachel Vail, illustrated by Yumi Heo  is part of a series of books about Katie Honors.  Katie is a sweet and sensitive little girl (maybe preschool or kindergarten aged).  She has a best friend but feels betrayed when her friend chooses to play with (gasp!) a boy at recess time.  *spoilers* Katie feels very hurt and wants to yell at her friend.  Instead Katie blurts out that she feels flabersmashed!  She also unfortunately karate chops the friends hands apart in anger.  Another friend, a shy quiet girl comes and takes Katie’s hand dissipating the situation.

While I do appreciate giving children a chance to express their emotions, I was frustrated at how the author chose to deal with the problem.  Research supports that emotionally, children benefit from having an emotional vocabulary to express themselves.  We also didn’t see Katie making good decisions, coming up with solutions, or thinking about others.  These are all important steps in teaching students how to deal with problems.   Overall the book also lacked diversity even though an entire classroom full of students is shown.  I would check this one out at the library, but it doesn’t seem essential for a school or personal collection.

How about you?  Have you read any good books picture books about Family or Friends lately?  Feel free to share your suggestions in the comments section below. 

Cow Loves Cookies

The Cow Loves Cookies is a sweet picture book from author Karma Wilson.  Karma Wilson is already a favorite at our house.  Her Bear Snores On series is in high rotation at our house and is one of the books that Lil Guy has decided sounds best when read by his father.  This is all the better for me as listening to someone else read the story is relaxing and fun.  I wasn’t sure what to think about Wilson’s new book, but I was pleasantly surprised by the cute story about a farmer and his cow who loves cookies. 

The story is set on a farm with all of the usual cast of barnyard characters.  Each animal is introduced by tell what farmer feeds the animal.  The list of animals and feed are reviewed as you meet each new friend.  The rhyme is refined with such a natural cadence to the words, it’s clear that Wilson has a gift with language.  It’s a joy to read books like this. 

Lil Guy enjoys this book and laughs at the funny parts too.  The book is playful, yet calming, which is perfect to hold the interest of a rambunctious toddler boy and also keep him peaceful before bed.  I would have easily read 50 more pages in a style of writing like this.  Karma Wilson has really impressed me with this book and her Bear Snores On Series, it makes me want to read more from her soon.  Recommended for Toddlers, Preschoolers, K-2, read-alouds and for independent reading in 1^st and 2^nd grade.

Halloween and Spooky Reads

It’s October and before you know it, Halloween will be here.  We’ve been reading Halloween and spooky reads the last few weeks and here are a few I have to share with you today:

Creepy Carrots  by Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown (Illustrator) is a spooky book for young readers.  The story isn’t just for Halloween and features Jasper a carrot loving bunny.  The book is styled like a graphic novel with sometimes multiple panels on a page.  Many people have been featuring this book lately, I read one review from School Library Journal that mentioned the coloring in the book is mostly black and white with tons of shadows and interesting ‘film angles’.  Add in the little touches of orange focusing your eye throughout the book and you have a nod to Film Noir.  Maybe young readers won’t recognize the homage, but teachers and parents might appreciate the details.  Overall, the book was loved by my 3 yr old Lil Guy.  We’ve been rereading it and going back through to find details in the illustrations.  Highly Recommended to Preschool to Grade 3 who are look for a scary but not too scary book for read alouds, 2-3 grade independent readers, and Halloween readers who like film noir.

Pumpkin Heads by Wendell Minor is a picture book for the youngest of readers.  Each 2 page spread features a beautiful depiction of fall or Halloween with simple text.  This book would be great for a read aloud or for young independent readers.  It’s great to see a children’s book that treats children respectfully, offering a sophisticated view of Autumn.  The sparse text begs for readers to slow down and note the details.  Recommended for readers who want to connect to the natural part of fall.

The Hallo-wiener by Dav Pilkey is a fun picture book with Pilkey’s trademark sense of humor.  The story features Oscar a wiener dog who is miserable and getting picked on at school.  When Halloween comes around, Oscar has the worst possible costume, a hot dog.  Little Oscar becomes a hero when the tables are turned on his bullies.  The book’s illustrations are extremely appealing to K-3 readers.  The overall story is funny and predictable, but it lacks a bit of restraint with the name calling and pranks.  Recommended for a fun and light read before Halloween.

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