Blog Archives
What’s Troubling Tawny?
Tawny is a Sumatran rhino and is having trouble making friends. She loves playing in the mud, but it is not as much fun without someone to roll around in the muck with. As she feels lonely, she hears a squawk, and it is a rhinoceros hornbill named Tallulah. Tawny loves the look of Tallulah’s horn and asks if she can help her have a colorful shiny horn too. Tallulah helps her, and suddenly Tawny has more confidence. Shortly after, she hears another rhino playing in the mud, and Tallulah encourages her to go and make friends with them. Tawny is very nervous, but Tallulah is there to help her make this big step.
What’s Troubling Tawny? is the second book in Emma Sandford’s Sumatran Trilogy. This remarkable children’s book deals with the challenging topic of making friends and being confident in who you are. Being shy is an emotion that children often face, and it is hard for them to see a way to get past that shyness.
Tawny thinks no one will like her for who she is and that her new rhino friend only likes her because of her shiny horn that is different. This stunning picture book shows children that it is important to find things you both enjoy doing together when making new friends. Making new friends is hard for some children, and this heartwarming story shows how it is ok to be afraid but to take a chance. Together Tawny and Rusty discover all the things they enjoy doing that are the same.
What’s Troubling Tawny? is an engaging and vibrant picture book that children will love and relate to. Parents and teachers will find this through-provoking children’s book a great addition to their library to help kids work through the complex emotions of making friends.
Pages: 30 | ISBN : 1916896812
I Can Do That
Scarlett is a little girl, and her mom wants to play a game all day long. The game is mommy and daddy will give her different challenges all day, and she has to see if she can do them all by herself. Challenges like making her bed, cleaning her room, helping with shopping, and even playing at the park and drawing a picture make for a full day of fun. Scarlett spends the day thinking she is playing a game but is really learning and growing as she completes each of her challenges.
I Can Do That: A Little Girls’s Day of Big Challenges is written for preschoolers and kindergarten level children; this book introduces taking responsibility in a fun and creative way. Scarlett has a mantra she repeats with each task given, “I can do that!” This phrase is often heard from small children and allows them to feel empowered and able to accomplish things. Finding age-appropriate jobs and helping them succeed is a delicate balance, and this picture book demonstrates a creative way to engage children. Learning while playing is a crucial developmental skill, and Scarlett jumps right into this activity despite the fear that she may not be able to do everything. Her mom, however, offers encouragement and tells her all she needs to do is try and ask for help if she can’t do it.
Author and illustrator Kairen Alaina is immensely talented and does a fantastic job composing this children’s story and providing whimsical artwork to follow along. Reading this playful story aloud will entertain children and adults with a positive and energetic narrative.
I Can Do That: A Little Girls’s Day of Big Challenges is a remarkable picture book that will delight children and adults. Parents and teachers will love having this charismatic book on hand to help teach children about responsibility and building self-confidence.
Pages: 31 | ASIN : B09KNWFK5T
Know Your Hairitage: Zara’s Wash Day
Zara is frustrated by her weekly ritual of having her hair styled in traditional afro puffs, twists, and braids. She wants to have silky smooth hair instead. Zara’s mom then tells Zara the history of all the different hairstyles she puts her hair in, explaining the significance of each one and why Zara should be proud to have kinky curvy hair.
Author Zenda M. Walker is a licensed cosmetologist who turns her own memories of growing up and having wash day every Saturday with her own mom into this magnificent book. She recalls her father explaining how their hair is their connection to the Maroons of Jamaica that are descendants of their ancestors from West Africa. This history is brought to life in Know Your Hairitage: Zara’s Wash Day.
Walker gives readers a fascinating look at the different hairstyles and the meaning behind each of them. The historical relevance is a great topic of discussion for cultural diversity and teaching children of African descent to appreciate their unique hair. The stunning illustrations provided by Princess Karibo give this awe-inspiring picture book an edge to become an extraordinary experience for children. It is one thing to learn about hairstyles, but to learn the value and importance of your past and see it represented in literature is paramount for children of color.
Know Your Hairitage: Zara’s Wash Day is a must-read picture book for all children. The representation of culture, heritage, and diversity make this phenomenal book an excellent choice for teachers, parents, and anyone that has or works with young elementary-age children. This cultural journey will entertain and educate children of all diversities and show that just because someone’s hair is different, it does not make it strange or weird, rather it is rich in history and tells a story of its own. It will also help children struggling with their own kinky curvy hair understand that their hair has value and is part of who they are and where they came from.
Pages: 40 | ASIN : B0984H77V4
Happy Tails Camper Stories: Lucy Learns to Share
Lucy is nervous about her first day at Happy Tails Dog Camp. Once she gets there, she sees so many different dogs in all sizes. There was a big play yard with a shed off to the side. Lucy sniffed and made friends with the other dogs. After a while the humans brought out a big box of toys to play with. Lucy wanted the orange ball, but Baxter took it first. All Lucy could think about was that orange ball. So, the next day at camp when the toys were brought out she dashed for the orange ball and ran off and hid so no one could take the ball from her. Lucy learned that playing alone is no fun.
Happy Tails Camper Stories: Lucy Learns to Share by Sharlene Novak and illustrated by Sarah Gledhill is a heartwarming story about learning to share. Learning to share is hard, whether you are a kid or a dog. This playful picture book shows that keeping toys to yourself can end up not being as much fun as one would hope. Instead, it is better to share what you have and that way everyone can have fun together.
The colorful illustrations come to life in this imaginative story. Seeing the way the dogs make friends is relatable to small children that are naturally drawn to cute cuddly animals. The idea of sharing is a hard concept to visualize for little kids, so seeing Lucy get the toy she wanted and be disappointed is a great message that children can relate to.
Happy Tails Camper Stories: Lucy Learns to Share would make an excellent read aloud book for children. The pictures are engaging and the story is beautifully written to relate the message of sharing. Children will love the charismatic dogs in this picture book and parents and teachers will love the meaningful message and simple writing style.
Pages: 28 | ASIN : B09N3WQTSZ
Monty’s Rainbow Road Adventure
Monty’s Rainbow Road Adventure takes Monty the mouse on an adventure to discover all the colours of the rainbow. Monty wants to bring a balloon of every color to his friends birthday party, but he is unsure what all the colours are. Lucky for Monty he has friends that live on all the different colour roads and he asks them for help collecting balloons in each of their favorite colors.
This adorable picture book, written by Tina Kid, is perfect for the three to five year old age group. It is ideal as a read along and one on one reading with a child. As you progress through the colours of the rainbow, the pages give readers prompts that ask what else that colour could be used for. This makes this book a fun and interactive tool that engages a child’s imagination and helps them connect the colors in the book to the colors they see in the world.
Parents, teachers and children will be delighted by the animal friends that Monty engages with. Ruby the fox, Ginger the cat, Dorothy the duck, Freddy the frog, Wendy the whale, and the dolphin twins. Each animal has a unique personality and their homes are phenomenal. I loved the textured illustrations as they all had vibrant colors that really brought the characters to life. This book will surely keep the attention of children as the book is filled with adorable characters and brilliant art.
Monty’s Rainbow Road Adventure: Learn The Colours Of The Rainbow is exactly what teachers and parents need for preschoolers, or toddlers. This charming children’s book is a wonderfully educational tool that inspires children to think of the world around them and builds their descriptive language skills.
Pages: 37 | ASIN: B09H36WLCC
Ridiculously Good
Ann Bevans Author Interview
Bean Takes a Walk is a short, colorful, and educational adventure book for kids. What was the inspiration for Bean in the Garden?
Matt originated the idea of a children’s series about a bean walking across a garden. As we explored it further, we realized that Bean could be an aspirational character for young children, and we could use him to teach kids about acceptance, kindness and friendship. These are lessons we’re both trying to instill in our own children, so it felt right to do it in the series. Before we knew it, we had a whole town full of veggie people!
The story is about sharing, making friends, and being kind; a great message for preschool kids. In such a short book, how did you balance story telling with the delivery of those messages?
We try to keep it lighthearted and fun. We want kids to engage first and foremost with the characters and the story. The lessons are baked in, but there’s nothing preachy about it. I believe that kids have an intuitive understanding of fairness and kindness, so it’s easy for them to grasp these concepts!
The art in this book is wonderful. What was the collaboration like to make such colorful works of art?
Matt is just ridiculously good. It’s an honor to work with him. We’ve been working together for almost 10 years on website and logo design, so we know each other well. Even so, this was a brand new adventure for us! It’s been really fun figuring out all the characters and how the different scenes might look.
On Bean’s adventure he takes three toys, one of them is The Amazing Pickle #1 comic. So cute! Why did you choose these items?
We wanted things that would be simple and identifiable to kids – the kinds of things they might have in their own backpacks! As for the Amazing Pickle – well there might be some special superhero adventures in Bean’s future!
Bean Takes a Walk is book 1 in the Bean in the Garden series. What’s next for Bean in the Garden?
There are so many characters to explore in our little world! Coming up, you can expect more stories about Bean’s family and his best friend, Bella.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Bean in the Garden is a series of delightful, lighthearted picture books and videos aimed at teaching preschoolers how to be brave and kind in everyday life. In Bean Takes a Walk, Mrs. Berg entrusts Bean with a beautiful stone to trade with Miss Tots for some chamomile tea. Along the way, he makes some new friends and learns that not everything is what it seems!
Bean Takes a Walk
Bean in the Garden is the first book of the children’s series, Bean in the Garden, by Ann Bevans and Matthew Ethan Gray. The books are designed with preschool children in mind, so Bean in the Garden is short, colorful, and easy for young children to understand.
Bean sets out to take a walk around the garden, and packs his favorite toys in his backpack. On the way, he meets Mrs. Berg, who has a new teapot but is out of tea. Bean offers to get her some tea as part of his adventure. Along the way, he meets three little peas who are about his own age, and they all have toys just like his. When he discovers a hole in his backpack and all of his toys are gone, he realizes the three peas were trying to return what they had found. The story is all about sharing, making friends, and being kind; a great message for preschool kids.
The first thing that struck me about the book was the illustrations. Mr. Gray’s artistry fills the page with bright colors and engaging images. This is a world of vegetable people. Bean is, of course, a bean and his mother is a lovely red beet. His neighbors include a friendly lettuce, Mrs. Berg, and a potato, Miss Tots. The clues to Bean’s toy dilemma are right there in the pictures so adults can encourage their children to search for the “lost” toys as they read along. Kids may also want to look at the pictures and imagine their own Bean adventures.
Another message I got from the story is that some things that seem bad, like a hole in your backpack, don’t have to be a big crisis. Bean reacts with shock when he realizes his toys are lost, but instead of being angry, he realizes that the three peas were trying to help him all along. It’s a good way to teach children about kindness and understanding, especially since kids who will be reading this are learning how to control their expectations and emotions.
There are three books in the series thus far, each available in both print and eBook formats. For toddlers and preschoolers, you can’t go wrong adding this book to their reading list. You can get more information about the authors, the series, and links to purchase the print and eBooks at http://beaninthegarden.com/
Pages: 36 | ASIN: B01LNRBK7K
LITERARY TITAN 