Books | Page 62 of 82

Ick! National Geographic Kids is disgusting nature loved by students

Ick! is the National Geographic Kids equivalent to bad words in another language. “Did you know that the Dung Beetle can push something that weighs 50 times more than itself”, our 10 year-old said as he came into my office. After he finished this tidbit of trivia he showed me a photo of the little creature doing just that. In my mind’s eye I saw the Dung Beetle from Larva, except I never knew that it was a Dung Beetle. I always thought of it as that smart beetle that pushes balls of poop around, much to the chagrin of the two larvas that always fought. Ick!, the book from National Geographic Kids had been in our house for less than an hour and our oldest son was already enthusiastically reading it and sharing things with us.

Knowledge, kids 8 and up get your disgusting animal 411 here

Sloth Went, gets better the more that you read it

My knowledge on the digestion tracts of animals other than human is limited. Some domestic animals are in that Venn diagram, while jungle animals don’t have any representation. Sloths are jungle animals. I knew that sloths are slow movers, and had I known how infrequent they have bowel movements I would’ve loved Sloth Went the first time I read it. As it reads for people like me, it’s a soft entry into potty training or ad casual glance at the poop cycle of a very slow and cute animal. The

It’s the #1 book on sloths going #2 that kids will enjoy

Alien Tomato, a charming book on imagination and possibility

Alien Tomato is the kind of simple children’s illustrated book that gives a loving wink and nudge to the early adopters while playfully teasing those who are slow to accept. What’s great about the book is that its story is as equally entertaining for anyone on any side of the argument. Perhaps it’s best if we explain the plot of the book, then that description might be easier to draw parallels to children or even adults in your respective circles.

Alien Tomato is a lovingly weird book about life, but in the garden

The Word For Friend is well meaning, but gets lost in translation

The Word For Friend has an inspiring message that is impossible to disagree with. The lead character is an anthropomorphic pangolin. To us, a pangolin is a dog-sized version of a roly poly with a long tail. Kemala has just moved to a new place and she doesn’t know the language. The kids in her class don’t speak what she speaks, everything sounds funny and it’s weird to hear the strange new sounds coming from her mouth.

The message is great, the book has its moments

The Little Kitten continues the My Little Animal Friend series brilliance

Nicola Killen has a knack for seasonal books. She’s done other books which have a younger demographic and are really cute. It’s her other books that resonate with us, specifically, The Christmas Reindeer, The Little Rabbit and now, The Little Kitten. The My Little Animal Friend series is one that you’ll hold onto in your forever library. They effortlessly ooze mono-chromatic seasonal charm. Reindeer was about winter, ‘Rabbit’ about spring and The Little Kitten is about fall. None of the books are about a specific holiday, rather, they tell a short, illustrated story about an animal during that season. These books have interactive die cut pages that allow you a glimpse into what the story might look like. That, combined with the unique combination of black and white illustrations, with just a couple touches of color add up to a really magical book.

This book series is sublime and will remain in your forever library

Rot, The Bravest in the World! slays the second book curse

We love Rot. Rot, The Cutest in the World is a charming illustrated book about a mutant potato in a land of otherwise charming vegetables that are the cream of the vegetable. Rot is not. However, his attitude is positive; he’s helpful towards everyone and is more of a friend than those other edibles. Another thing that Rot was not, is a series, however, now with Rot, The Bravest in the World it’s got a shot. With two books out starring Rot, it’s a series and the second spud proves to be worth the wait.

Rot is back for another shot, and he brought his brother Snot

What Miss Mitchell Saw is addictive STEM (and anytime) reading

There is something visually jarring about What Miss Mitchell Saw that I just couldn’t put my finger on. When I saw the cover I loved it. In looking through the book there was something that I couldn’t identify that gave me a lukewarm feeling However, after looking at the book a second time I understood what caused that reaction and now see that as one of the bigger positives of the book. What educators, parents and somewhat patient readers will discover is the fascinating story of Maria Mitchell. She was a trailblazing astronomer whose upward gaze and talent awarded a crater on the moon named after her, the discovery of a comet and numerous other scientific accolades.

Fabulous art, great story and a stem background for ages 4 and up

Southwest Sunrise gorgeously and softly teaches while entertaining

Southwest Sunrise is a sneaky illustrated book. At first impression, young readers (or those poetry adverse people like me…) might look at the text by Nikki Grimes and dismiss it as a poetry book with pictures. However, once it’s read to them (or when they read it….like me), they’ll realize that it’s a fabulous story about a young boy who is moving to New Mexico from New York. Is it a stealth poetry attack that you won’t mind because of the art by Wendell Minor? Or is it an illustrated story about a young kid adapting to an entirely new way of living-with poetic text to add some literary clues to add more insight?

This is a travelogue for ages 4 and up