Books | Page 41 of 82

50 Things To Do At The Beach, is obvious and folksy

Imagine that you’re an adult who has never been to the beach. It could be for any reason, maybe you live in the middle of the country, and getting to the coast wasn’t an option. Perhaps ‘going to the beach’ is more of a creative exercise, like people might think about the woods as deeply as Henry David Thoreau. For those people, you can say one activity any number of different ways and it counts as a new experience, even though the scenery and actions in doing so are almost identical. It’s not technically a case of double-counting something, but it’s awfully close. 50 Things To Do At The Beach is a beautifully presented book that’s long on aura, education, and presentation. It’s a visually pretty book that is also more at home in a doctor’s office or library, rather than actually being used at the beach.

A folksy look at the beach for those who have never been there

Spy School At Sea effortlessly sails like few middle grade books can

Upper elementary school kids love the Spy School book series from Stuart Gibbs. One could insert ‘middle school’ instead of ‘elementary’ in that sentence. You could also just simply say that readers aged eight and up love the Spy School book series. It’s an example of an author who can create characters and a story that’s thoroughly engaging, as well as, very smart. Moreover, Gibbs is able to do so at a level that’s not going to scare away young readers due to its big vocabulary, nor adult readers due to being too juvenile. Spy School At Sea is the ninth book in this venerable series that deepens the personal relationships, without showing any age in our young protagonists.

Spy School at sea, all aboard for a fabulous read

The Story of the Olympic Games, a go-to for a kid’s view on the games

The Story of the Olympic Games is a bold title for a book that’s geared to upper elementary through middle school readers. As of 2021, the Olympic Games have been around since 1896 and consist of 28 editions that have spanned the globe. Older readers are rightly questioning how a book could encompass such a massive event on arguably the biggest athletic stage in the world. Certainly, key moments would be missed and readers who know the Olympics might quibble about how they couldn’t include this or that. The fact that The Story of the Olympic Games is an engaging book to read is a testament to the adage, ‘brevity is the soul of wit’.

The Story of the Olympic Games is a beautiful book with tons of photos and content blurbs about each of the games in the modern era.

A great jumping off point for kids who want to see Olympic history

Athena: Goddess of Wisdom and War, nuggets of Greek graphic novel, goodness

And here I thought Athena was the only Greek Goddess. As previously mentioned I don’t know much about the Greek gods. Young readers or those who simply enjoy an entertaining graphic novel will like Tales of Great Goddesses: Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and War. It’s from Imogen and Isabel Greenberg and details the Goddess of Wisdom as she helps Athens, learns to fear spiders, conceives the Trojan Horse, and more adventures.

The Who sang about her for good reason

North Pole/South Pole:A Flip Book that delivers in content and presentation

Book design is an under-appreciated art. And to be fair, books, especially illustrated books, work just fine the way that the vast majority of them are laid out. It’s only when a book comes along that shatters the established mold that you realize how efficiently, and creatively a book can become. North Pole/South Pole: Pole to Pole: A Flip Book is one of those books. The key to its fun is in the flipbook, phrase. If the book weren’t accompanied with illustrations that are on point and text that’s informative and to the point, then that phrase could also have been a cheesy gimmick.

The result is an engaging illustrated book that utilizes every square inch of every page with its text and illustrations. Moreover, it’s a non-fiction book that loosely tells a story and concisely wraps it all up. The twist that makes the book unique is also head numbingly simple, yet could also be difficult to pair up with the yin to its yang.

North Pole/South Pole: Pole To Pole: A Flip Book that entertains, educates and has the potential to amaze readers aged 8 and up.

Oh Artic, teach us your tundra ways

Long Distance, a great summertime graphic novel for ages 9 and up

Sixth grade is a magical time. It’s when kids are getting old enough to do some of the really cool things in life, are discovering their own social circles, and are just clinging on to that ability to be utterly silly. On the surface, Long Distance by Whitney Gardner, feels like some other early middle school graphic novels that you’ve seen. There are some overlapping themes and it’s easy to compare Long Distance to Lumberjanes as a sister by another mother. But just one moment, do not get lulled into a sense of malaise or that you fully know what to expect with this graphic novel.

Long Distance is a perfect summertime graphic novel that has familiar elements, but abrupty sets them on a 180 course for the better.

Don’t judge a book by its cover, it’s more than a friendship/camp jam

Disney All Aboard! Mikey’s Railway, durable, charming fun for 4 & up

As an ex-Great Movie Rider I shouldn’t like Disney All Aboard! Mickey’s Railway. While this over 3-foot board-book is not directly related to Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at The Disney Studios in Orlando, Florida, it looks like the ride’s concept work. As if to pour salt in the wound out 11-year-old just commented, “Mickey’s Railway”, isn’t that a ride?”. I’m glad that our son follows the comings and goings of WDW, and if he were about eight years younger, Disney All Aboard Mickey’s Railway would be his board book jam.

Disney All Aboard! Mickey’s Railway folds out to over three-feet long and is a durable, colorful trip for kids four and up.

A board book even an ex-great Movie rider can love

Sharkblock, far from jumps the subject matter for ages 4 and up

Don’t judge a book by its cover. I know the saying. Yet, I was completely judging Sharkblock before looking at it. Ironically, my first thought was that the ‘block’ series has jumped the shark. How could Franceschelli and Peskimo make a block book about sharks that was something more than just a board book asking young readers to look at the sharks? Quicker than you can say ‘hold my cartilage they’ve made a book that continues the excellence that you’d expect from this series. Sharkblock has the thick, interactive pages that fans of the series expect to see, but has added education in the most kid-friendly way possible to their subject matter.

SharkBlock shatters board book expectations by being fun, educational and engaging for ages 4 and up.

Board books are just for babies you say…..