Books | Page 37 of 82

Spookytale, high quality board book narrative, with an Abrams Block twist

What if you had some delicious, baked potato chips that were sold in a can? They taste the same as the ones you’re used to eating, but they’re a little bit larger, the packaging is different and their shape is just a bit round, instead of oval. Spookytale is that board book. It’s by Christopher Franceschelli and has a young elementary spooky vibe that’s complete with the fold-out, die-cut aspects that his other Abrams Appleseed books deliver. It introduces Halloween-ish elements to those young ages via thick, durable pages and a fun, engaging story that’ll get them primed for October 31.

Spookytale, a board book that feels familiar, but has a story to tell to kids aged 3-6 that is in line with the Abrams Block Book Series that those ages love.

Taking a great thing and extending it to continued other great things

Say hello to your new favorite graphic novel, Barb The Last Berzerker

Graphic novels are a cat video literary equivalent to things in the classroom. The great ones spread like wildfire to all corners of every reader and leave them gnawing at the pages for more. A great graphic novel can give younger readers the encouragement that they need to read longer-form books of any type. They can also provide mental downtime and allow readers to simply enjoy their book time. Barb The Last Berzerker, Book 1 is a great graphic novel the opens up a whole new world in the best of all non-Beauty and the Beast ways. It has the epic feel that will grab in older readers, the manic silliness mid-elementary students want, and street smart humor that allows the book to go to high school and beyond.

Great for ruluctant readers or those 8 and up who simply want to have fun

Frankie & Bug, well-crafted mglit that will divide readers or libraries

Middle school books sometimes exist in the middle of the Venn Diagram. That’s the spot where a myriad of kids could enjoy the book for any number of reasons. Overlaid on that diagram is the very black and white metric of ‘kids want to read it’ and ‘kids don’t want to read it’. To make things even more complex there’s a duo chromatic lens that asks the very simple question of ‘is the book good?’, with a yes/no slider that could help middle school readers find that book. Of course, this silly way of quantifying children’s literature doesn’t exist. However, when I read a book that’s aimed at middle school readers my imagination creates this matrix and tries to think like a kid. Frankie & Bug is mglit that hammers some of these categories home, while creating a whole new “yes, but…” category that will inspire some readers while frustrating others.

Frankie & Bug is well crafted and paced mglt that works as two halves, but might divide its target audience too.

A great book that aims wide, but has niche appeal

Cranky Chicken, early reader graphic novel that levels up for some

A child’s first graphic novel and those graphic novels that speak to reluctant, young readers are two different things. If the latter category addresses the book as being too young or does them in such a manner that mid-elementary kids would find them babyish then they’ll be exiled to the first grade classroom. Conversely, if the content is too much then those younger readers see too much text, or the words are too big, then they’ll get psyched out. If a graphic novel is aiming for the nebulous category then it has to be funny, but not too silly, have some attitude, but not too much, in addition to having a story kids want to read, with enough pictures and length to make it worth their while, so, no pressure. Cranky Chicken is a graphic novel that’s not a kid’s first graphic novel, but many first grade students will want to read it. It’s also a graphic novel the sublimely hits the Jell-O people who make up reluctant readers.

Cranky Chicken is a young enough for a kid’s first graphic novel, but has the intelligence that will also be attractive to reluctant readers.

Oh Cranky chicken, you had us at Cranky

Where’s Brian’s Bottom? proves that board books can think out of the box

Where’s Brian’s Bottom? is a very intelligent and unique board book that uses every square inch of its pages to entertain crawlers through first grade. If it’s been a while since you read a board book or you’re new to them then that sentence might seem odd. It’s a cardboard book with thick pages whose audience might be crawling or somewhere in first grade. How could a book like that be smart and make kids curious about its content? As we’ve covered before, board books, the same ones geared towards that crowd can talk about complex things like quantum physics. Where’s Brian’s Bottom? is a board book that flexes its graphic design muscle and infuses it with a grinning sense of humor.

Where’s Brian’s Bottom? is an interactive, fold-out creation that will really engage those crawlers through first-grade.

A board book whose content is as big as its size

This Book Is Not A Bedtime Story! is book happiness for ages 3-6

If you have a child who is a certain age then This Book Is Not A Bedtime Story! is one that you need to have in your forever library. The exception to this is, if you often read illustrated books aloud to kids aged three through six, then you need to have this near your reading table. This Book Is Not A Bedtime Story! is a new book as of 2021, but it’s wrapped in a timeless veneer that would make it at home in 1970 or 2060. For us, the book was reminiscent of one that we immediately loved, Are You Scared, Darth Vader? from 2018.

This Books Is Not A Bedtime Story! combines succinct words, friendly art and lots of humor to create a great, good-night book that kids will love anytime.

Spooky monster cuteness for ages 3 and up year-round

Spooky America, The Haunted South, bite-sized ghost nuggets for 9 and up

As I child I remember one of the most popular books in our elementary school library was about the ghosts of North Carolina. I don’t recall the name of it, but every kid had read it, was privy to someone else reading it aloud, or supposedly had seen the ghost in question. Every geographic area has a ghost book like this that enthralls readers in third grade and up. The Ghostly Tales of The Haunted South is a collection of hauntings, sightings, and bumps in the night that have raised spirits in the southern United States.

Spooky America is a series that distills real-life spooky stories in ones that kids 9 and up will love. The Haunted South looks at the lower 11 U.S states.

Informational spooks and ghouls for ages 9 and up

Once Upon A Camel is mglit (and younger) for the forever bookshelf

I love great books. Actually, it stands to reason that anybody who likes to read loves great books. It’s probably even more important for reluctant readers and younger readers to dig into those great books. If you have a third-grade reader then The One And Only Ivan is a great book. It’s a novel that feels big and gives those ages confidence that they’re able to read, understand and enjoy books that they thought were previously out of their range. It’s a modern classic that elementary school readers will still be reading in 100 years. In reading the press about Once Upon A Camel, it was often compared to that book, which I found a little insulting. Ivan is a book that gave our kid confidence and taught our youngest son. That book has memories. How dare something new and unproven be compared to the book that provided the literary bridge to our child, I thought. All of that was until I actually read Once Upon A Camel.

Here is a book that kids will be reading for generations