Blog Archives
Jack
Jack is stuck at home with the measles, but he is still up for adventure. When his mother insists that he rest and takes away his television and game privileges, he is stuck with books–his least favorite things. Imagination, however, is stronger than even Jack realizes, and soon he finds himself lost in one world after another as he gazes out his window. Will Jack put two and two together and figure out what his teachers knew all along?
Jack, written by Norman Whaler and illustrated by Nina Mkhoiani, stresses the importance of books and the impact they have on our lives without ever stating it outright. Whaler uses Jack to demonstrate the effect stories have on children and how, when instruction is administered effectively, they never truly realize how much they are learning. The way in which Whaler uses the changing clouds to spark Jack’s imagination is quite ingenious. The illustrations by Mkhoiani are vibrant and eye-catching and convey the story line well.
I recommend this short children’s picture book to any teacher in grades K-3 who wants to impress upon students the fantastic wealth of information that can be found in books. This quick read would make a wonderful read-aloud to kick off the new school year.
Pages: 24 | ASIN: B07B2DNQPX
A New Alphabet for Humanity
![A New Alphabet for Humanity : A Children's Book of Alphabet Words to Inspire Compassion, Kindness and Positivity by [Leesa McGregor , Daniela Sosa ]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51HdpC-+NIL.jpg)
A New Alphabet for Humanity is an inspiring children’s picture book that introduces kids to new ideas and concepts by using encouraging and uplifting words. The book goes through each letter in the alphabet, gives the letter along with an accompanying explanation, a beautiful image to reinforce the message, and a short description of the words meaning. All of these words come together to encourage children to think globally, socially, and positively.
Leesa McGregor introduces young readers to new words, some may be beyond their reading level, but not beyond their comprehension. This wonderful children’s book will inspire kids to think about new ideas, and give them a vocabulary for ideas they may already have and just don’t know how to express. The short but impactful descriptions of the word’s meaning are helpful, not just for children, but also for the adults that may be reading this book with their children. The illustrations by Daniela Sosa are bright, colorful, and focused on action which helps to keep kids engaged. The cute smiling faces of diverse children scattered throughout this book were to numerous to count. I think this is a better way to teach children about the alphabet. Instead of Apple, Cat, and Dog. Leesa McGregor uses empowering words like Abundance, Bravery, and Compassion. These are words that children have to think about more deeply, and because of that, the words and letters will stick much easier.
I have never read a book that embraced humanity with such positivity before. It’s refreshing seeing it accomplished so magnificently for young readers. This is a book for children, parents, teachers, and anyone looking for a new, empowering, alphabet.
Pages: 34 | ASIN: B089ZGG6NM
I’ve Got You (Captain Fantastic Book 1)
![I've Got You (Captain Fantastic Book 1) by [Tommy Balaam]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41iJ1DRGBaL.jpg)
I’ve Got You is a fun space adventure for young readers. Captain Fantastic and his best friend Winston sail through the galaxy when they encounter a scary looking galaxy. When Winston gets frightened Captain Fantastic’s mission is to reassure his best friend and let him know that he’ll never be alone. Together, they can face anything.
Tommy Balaam has created a charming children’s story that is filled with colorful images that give life to this simple but effective story. I don’t often come across children’s picture books that fall within the science fiction genre. This is a welcome surprise as the story embraces it with a unique charisma that is reminiscent of early science fiction TV shows like Flash Gordon.
The story begins with the duo departing on an adventure. Before long we’re given a peek into their various exciting adventures on diverse planets and against many cute monsters. All relayed through rhyme. I loved the story but what I enjoyed most about this book, much like a comic book, was the fantastic art and imagery throughout the story. A fantastic start to what promises to be an amazing intergalactic children’s series.
Pages: 32 | ASIN: B08BKSBHSN
Learn To Read From Sounds
![Learn to Read from Sounds by [Barnes Florence]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41sTOlpDJJL.jpg)
Learn to Read from Sounds by Florence Barnes is an enriching children’s book that aims to help young kids learn how to read using the phonics system. It also includes an insightful question and answer portion at the beginning to clarify frequently asked questions regarding the phonics system and its effectiveness. This book serves as a very useful tool for teachers or parents looking to teach a child how to read. This is due to the numerous exercises on reading using the phonic system in the book. The reading exercises are also fun and are suitable for children.
Although I found this book to be educational and informative, I thought that the book was a little plain. I thought an addition of brightly colored illustrations or animals would help capture children’s attention. Otherwise this book does an excellent job of relaying educational information in a straightforward and easy to understand manner. I think that this book will significantly help children, or really anyone, who is learning to read. If you’re looking for a book that stays focused on the material then Learn to Read from Sounds is a perfect choice.
Pages: 60 | ASIN: B07P6MVW6M
Lillee Can Be
![Lillee Can Be by [Joseph, Adam Zebediah]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51eZz%2BNISPL._SX260_.jpg)
Adam Zebediah Joseph’s Lillee Can Be delivers a sugary sweet children’s book with a punchy, poetic pace and solid sense of cohesion overall. The book focuses on the school and extracurricular lives of two young twins in an unspecified setting, making it an allegory of sorts. Specifically, the twins provide a totally relatable dynamic for any reader with a sibling, as the book directly confronts feelings of inferiority, unequal recognition, and other relevant issues that many children experience.
Likewise, the author is perfectly on trend with the wave of subtle social justice and advocacy messages within children’s and young adult literature currently. For example, Joseph boldly tackles sexism, gender identity, equal pay, and other concepts beyond merely familial themes, yet he does it with humility, honesty, and ease, without any preachy or condescending tones. Although the male character is unnamed, the female character (or mini SHE-RO!) offers an affirmative, fun, feisty, and feminist protagonist for readers to emulate. Lillee, the main character, demonstrates resilience and displays fearless fortitude as she faces gender boundaries and revolutions about our world, social norms, and cultural mores in this vibrant but also bold, bubbly book.
As far as the pros and cons, I love that the book perceptively resonates with girl power. I also applaud how his writing cleverly employs a rhythmical quality that makes you want to sing or rap each page aloud-of course with a fist pump, too! I further appreciate the teachable lessons in this book beyond character education and tolerance, since Adam Zebediah Joseph also cites many careers for young children to pursue. Occupational terms in this book and illustrations make it suitable for a teacher, counselor, parent, or family member and embed superb context clues for the definitions. However, I was a bit dismayed that the male twin character remained nameless throughout the entire piece. This anonymity seemed to counter the equity themes that this book so adamantly advocated. While I also liked the pictures, I wanted a bit more multicultural depictions to truly illuminate the themes that book defends: equality, respect, inclusion, etc.
In sum, this book provides a mirror for young readers to assess not only themselves and their personal relationships around them, but also a path for sociopolitical awareness. Read it yourself to see if a fairy godmother emerges or if other lessons enlighten these characters as they grow and mature. The author shows empathy and wisdom to tackle themes with such poise and poetic power!
Pages: 50 | ASIN: B07F7XCTLV
Tilly and Torg – New Kids At School
![Tilly and Torg - New Kids At School by [Crawley, Connie Goyette]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/5196%2BLISppL._SY346_.jpg)
Tilly and Torg New Kids at School is a wonderful children story about two monsters that are intrigued by a yellow school bus out their window and decide to find out where it’s taking all the children. They soon find out that the bus is going to a place called school. Tilly and Torg meet many nice people at school learn all about the things that go on there.
This is a wonderful children’s story to read to any child that is starting school and worried, or interested in, what happens there. As Tilly and Torg go through a full day of school they, like many kindergarteners, find themselves surprised and confused at some of the things that go on, but all the while they are open minded and ask questions. The art in this book is cute and filled with hidden gems, like the book Tilly and Torg carry around “Monster Rule Book For Living With Humans”, that beg for a second read through. The books is suitable for new readers or for parents to read to children as the art will keep the kids plenty busy as parents read them the story.
Although the art was cute and fitting, I thought the text could have been bigger or bold, which would have helped it stand out more when the text was on top of the images. This story offers so many opportunities for parents to discuss the different aspects of school with their kids. I didn’t realize that going to school comes with its own lingo; like ‘lost and found’ or ‘time for the bell’, and this book helps explain what these terms mean. At the end of the book is a little quiz that helps with reading comprehension and there is also a vocabulary list that is helpful for kids to review.
With beautiful art, cute monsters, and an easy to understand story, I think this book is a must read for any child that is about to start school.
Pages: 24 | ASIN: B07H52WP2V
A Trail of Honesty – Trailer
Summertime is vacation time for the Angelino family, and the two Angelino boys are excited about their upcoming camping trip. They’re going to the local state park, where they can swim, go fishing, and look for wildlife!
Being on vacation doesn’t mean the boys have to be careful. An encounter with a sneezing deer provides their father with an opportunity to teach the boys about respecting wildlife and staying alert for danger. Knowing more about the park’s wildlife helps the boys have more fun while staying safe. They discover staying quiet and moving slowly makes it easier to see the animals and birds that call the park home.
At the camp, the boys have responsibilities like the rest of the family. When they neglect one of these responsibilities and lie about it, they wind up in trouble—and learn an important lesson.
Beautifully illustrated, A Trail of Honesty teaches children about honesty while explaining actions have consequences. J. A. Angelo’s delightful story is an ideal way for parents to use consequences to teach children how to be better people—not simply to punish them.
Frolicking Friends
![Frolicking Friends by [Welsh, Karen Leis]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61GdN3T%2BwmL.jpg)
Frolicking Friends by Karen Leis Welsh is the story of a little boy who goes on a search for all of his animal friends. All of the animals have disappeared and he can’t find them anywhere. He searches high and low for mostly creepy, crawly creatures. The book is simple and whimsical and best suited for early readers. This book reminded me of Dr. Seuss books with sentences that are short and sweet with a repetitive rhyming style accompanied by cartoonish illustrations.
This would be a great book for parents or teachers to read with children, pointing out things in the pictures as you read. This is a helpful teaching aid in matching words with pictures. All too often my students struggle with words and feel overwhelmed or discouraged. This book would be a relief from that, and would be a useful building block for harder stories. It would be a good base level to work from.
Kids will enjoy the somewhat exaggerated, adventurous style of the illustrations. I didn’t notice until I flipped back through the book a second time that there were some subtle hints in the pictures. The sky is gradually clouding up in the backgrounds of the pages. With minimal words, the illustrations play a big part. I like that the lines of the illustrations are a little rough around the edges. Crooked, imperfect lines add to the whimsical nature of the book.
I work in an elementary school, and can totally see it being a hit in our Pre-K and Kindergarten classes. Repetition and rhyming are good for building confidence in very young beginning readers. It’s sing-song style will have little readers reciting the entire book in no time.
Pages: 44 | ASIN: B0792XDRYJ
LITERARY TITAN 