Category: Books

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.

Van Dog, illustrated artistic madness that runs with energy and mirth

When most elementary-aged children are shown Van Dog, they won’t understand it. Heck, I’m decades older than an elementary student and I’m 100% confident that I don’t understand every inference, cultural nod, or artist’s reference in Van Dog. The obvious fact that the painting dog is certainly supposed to be a canine representation of Van Gogh, I got that one. After that, it’s up for grabs, but the one takeaway that every reader will walk away with; is that Van Gogh is a big, colorful, mostly-wordless, illustrated book that’s loaded with infectious energy.

Van Dog is one of the smartest, most immersive, introspective, yet seemingly simply seek-and-find books that you’ll see.
A seek and find, yes, but oh so much more

Stinetinglers, short stories that scare in just the right way

We’ve read a couple of age-appropriate scary books lately. And while we enjoyed them to an extent they all felt like it was paying homage to something else, now here’s the interesting part. We have never read a Goosebumps book. The series came on the scene too late for us to read as its intended audience and since a new one hasn’t popped up on our radar, they’re Greek to us. Stinetinglers is from R.L. Stine and sparkles the way that I imagine some people view his more well-known publications.

Stinetinglers is a collection of 10 new short stories by R.L. Stine that’s on the right side of scary for ages eight and up.
THis is the start of a beautiful relationship

Raised on the 80s, life lessons from that decade of cinema, music and more

Somewhere between John Hughes, Aztec Camera, a business/self-help book and The Tao of Pooh lies Raised on the 80s.  30+ Unexpected Life Lessons is the main subtitle to the book and when you combine the two of them it provides a nice overview of the book. The family and I are going through the classic 80’s movies now, some of them we’ve seen before and others are being viewed for the first time. Raised on the 80s is a comprehensive look as movies, music, and culture that happened in the 80s, combining real-life stories from Chris Clews, and then give it some gas to make it relevant to today’s culture.

Raised on the 80s, a more comprehensive than you’re expecting dig into 80’s culture and lessons that we can apply today.
80s trivia, with life lessons and deep dive stories from the decade that didn’t care

Win a complete series of Explorer Academy, realistic fiction w/a STEM backbone

Explorer Academy is an ongoing mglit series that weaves in non-fiction globetrotting adventure travel, STEM smarts, and aspects of a family quest. Our protagonist, Cruz Coronado attends a prestigious school where 23 other kids from around the world study and learn the art of becoming explorers. It’s here where you can all but hear Miss Frizzle saying something motivational about questioning the process, outcome, or possibility as to how something can occur. I’ll be honest, I forget what she used to say, but it was a catchphrase that made her students reach further intellectually. I need a phrase like that for my students. The seventh book in the series is out and we’re hosting a giveaway for all of the Explorer Academy books. This giveaway ends soon, so double-time it on those responses.

Win a complete series of the Explorer Academy book series by Trudi Trueit, including The Forbidden Island.
A dande addition to your home (or school) Mglit library

The Little Bear continues the charm and love that Killen’s books evoke

It’s a fine line between déjà Vous and going back to the well once too often. The process of critiquing that can get thrown a curve ball when you factor in that authors and illustrators have a style that they’re known for. Dance with who came with, goes the old adage. Nicola Killen has a way with illustrated books. Her drawings match the style and flow of each book of hers so perfectly that it’s a case of hand in a well-fitting glove. The Little Bear is the fourth book in the My Little Animal Friends series and has elements of what made the other three books such a joy, but blazes its own path for those young elementary school ages.

The Little Bear is a joy of an illustrated, first day of school book. It’s the fourth in the My Little Animal Friends series that hasn’t lost an ounce of overwhelming charm.
The quality, cuteness and love is deep with this one

Grounded For All Eternity succeeds with its playfully evil intent if you let it

Grounded For All Eternity is hyperbole. True story: for a while, I thought hyperbole was pronounced hyper bowl and really was just people bowling really fast. This is a case where a youth does something bad, really bad, and thinks that they’ll be grounded for a very long time. This is also no ordinary kid. Mal lives in Hell, again, that’s not hyperbole, he lives in Hell. It’s hot, with lots of red and black décor, and has various circles that comprise neighborhoods with homes, fallen angels, and flying folks.  Grounded For All Eternity is thrilling mglit that takes a leap of faith to follow its premise, but rewards readers with a story that’s ironically about redemption and friendship.

Grounded For All Eternity is devilish fish-out-of-water mglit about a trio of teens who live in Hell and leave for one night to have some Earth-bound fun.
It’s Ok, really, it’s OK. Read it and have fun

Stories to Keep You Alive Despite Vampires, year-round treat reading

Scary is relative. Sometimes the things that fourth through sixth-grade ages find scary, actually start out funny. Other times those stories are icky, disgusting, or mildly disturbing, but they’re never graphic and usually fun. Stories to Keep you Alive Despite Vampires is kid scary in the best of all possible ways. Ages eight and up know Lemony Snicket, while their compatriots who are a year older are reading it. Despite Vampires is cut from a similar cloth, with a couple more influences that’ll make the book demo just a bit older.

Stories to Keep you Alive Despite Vampires is an anthology collection of spooky, scary, heartfelt, tongue-in-cheek stories for ages eight and up.
Age-appropriate scary stories know no best month to be read

The Museum of Lost Teeth, far from being pulled-it’s a great-goodnight book

“I have no idea why you lost your tooth or what the tooth fairy does with them”, that’s what I told a kindergarten student earlier this month. They were over the moon with curiosity as to how the tooth disappeared from underneath their pillow last night. And while they were thankful for the money that it had been displaced with, their wonderment as to where the tooth could’ve gone took up as much real estate in their mind as their sudden financial gain. The Museum of Lost Teeth is an illustrated book by Elyssa Friedland with illustrations by Gladys Jose that examines one theory as to how baby mouth bones disappear from the cool side of the pillow.

The Museum of Lost Teeth is a great-goodnight book that takes the fear away from losing your first tooth and turns it into an adventure for all.
It’s funny, clever and takes the scares out of that first lost tooth
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