These are books that kids will want to read-or should read, but will enjoy doing so. Board book, picture books, kid lit, elementary school books, middle school books, high school books, all age comic books and more will be talked about here.
At the intersection of soft education, entertainment, and the imagination of four-year-old lays If Your Babysitter is a Bruja. It’s an illustrated book with a Halloween spirit, but can be entertaining any time of the year. Bruja, as those broom-flying people know by its implication is that the book sprinkles in the occasional Spanish word. Really, I haven’t seen ay, caramba used this much since the first couple of seasons of The Simpsons.
I understand why some parents don’t want to read a book to children in a second language. It’s the accent that we perceive they’ll be laughed at. I get that, but spoiler alert, your elementary school student is not going to know if you’re slightly mispronouncing a word in a second language that’s in a book. This is a good thing. To be able to have a book in Spanish and English, with exactly the same content in a way elementary-aged kids will understand and enjoy, is a good thing. Mi Comunidad!/My Community! is by 123 Andres and it’s a high-quality bilingual illustrated book that kids will enjoy, but might fly under your radar.
You’ll feel like you know Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins. The story will resonate with you simply by looking at the cover as a menorah is being lit by a traveler with a goblin hovering beside him. You might have never read the book, but its moral, succinct fashion, and spot-on art will leave you feeling like it’s a book that you’ve always known. Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins is a hardcover, illustrated book that’s more about the story than it is about the religious celebration.
Softness is not a pejorative. There are certain children’s illustrated books that wear that descriptor as a badge or cloak, enabling it to give it strength and personality. Author Julie Fogliano’s work embraces that mantra. Her books have the timeless and approachable morals that early elementary kids crave. They do so in a way that’s not preachy, this is important because that fact allows older readers, teachers and parents to relate to the book as it brings back memories. I Don’t Care is an illustrated book that starts out on somewhat of a contrary tone, but teaches an aspect that everyone can learn from.
What do you like to read? What do you want to read? I enjoy asking that question to elementary-aged readers because they are still figuring out how to answer it. For a certain period their go-to responses will be kittens, ninjas, unicorns, Minions, sometimes MCU/Disney, and possibly SpongeBob. Whatever their response is, so long as they’re reading it’s OK. SpongeBob Squarepants Mysteries: Find A Missing Star is the start of an early reader chapter book that’s squarely aimed at those who still get belly laughs over Bikini Bottom.
Pity the white crayon. Those books or shows always poke fun of white because it can’t be seen. So Much Snow is a picture book that takes that thought, turns it on its head, and shakes it up for good measure. It’s a ridiculous, wonderful wordless book that takes the white, fluffy stuff that some people see in winter and makes it into a temporary Rorschach test for anyone who picks it up. Whenever a book crosses our desk that shakes up how you view things it’s a special thing, and So Much Snow does just that.
I’m a casual Star Trek fan. The most current spate of movies was OK, and I haven’t seen any of the three recent television shows. If that downgrades my level of Star Trek fandom then I’ll reset my phasers to busy. Star Trek: Trek the Halls is a holiday book that is laden with tribbles, puns, and references to classic characters. It’s an illustrated book that will send those Star Trek fans to their happy place.
The Vanquishers has a great title. Its name alludes to a once great team of vampire slayers who were so successful that their prey is now extinct. However, much like Doc Brown in the very last minute of Back to the Future, “It’s your kids Marty”. Now it’s a couple of decades later, the vampire hunters are older, and have families and grandchildren of their own. It’s the families of the original Vanquishers that still keep an eye on the rearview mirror. It’s a book with more heart than vampire horror but will deliver for those mglit audiences that want more silly, than scary.
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