Children | Page 19 of 54

Baseball History for Kids: approachable and fun for 9 and up

There is just something about baseball and kids. Baseball History for Kids: America at Bat from 1900 to today by Richard Panchk is aimed at that sweet spot of children being passionate about something, able to read and wanting to learn. This book is a love letter to the game of baseball, its history, the players and the fans. It also doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to addressing the dark periods in the game and history, like segregation, work strikes or other things.

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Parent Hacks, the online parent cheat sheet is now a go-to book

Parent Hacks is a genius website that parents probably don’t use enough. I say that from experience because I don’t use it, despite the fact that most of their tips are super helpful. Using ‘hack’ as a suffix is common now and has watered down how effective some of the hacks can actually be. Because of that, some folks may think of a ‘hack’ as half measured or low brow approach to fixing something.

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Little Shaq Takes a Chance, and misses

I saw Shaquille O’Neal’s social media manager speak once. Even prior to that, Shaq was someone who I respected and admired from many perspectives. His philanthropic work with The Boys and Girls Club and the way that he handled his professional career is one that athletes should aspire to. Her speech about working for him only solidified my opinion of him. That’s why it’s such a let down that his second children’s book, Little Shaq Takes a Chance doesn’t measure up to what it could be.

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Paint By Sticker KIDS, great, go-to crafting for kids 5 and up

Our 4 year old is our crafty kid. Our 6 year old is our puzzle kid. Obviously, their roles are not set in stone, but by in large, that is what they prefer. As a parent, that’s why it was surprising to me that our oldest gravitated towards Paint By Sticker KIDS, a combination craft book that uses a little precision. This is a new book by Workman Publishing that lets kids create their own works of art using stickers.

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The Fintastic Fishsitter-a young reader’s guide to Zombie Goldfish

Our 6 year old likes reading My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish. More accurately, he likes having it read to him-and then spending some time alone with the book so that he can read it at his own pace. The concept of a zombie goldfish who can hypnotize anything with his eyes, a vampire kitten named Fang, two young boys and their respective tween brothers is the stuff of young reader dreams. The Fintastic Fishsitter is the tale of Sami, Pradeep’s little sister who is helping him and Tom by fishsitting Frankie, the zombie goldfish. This is also more of a picture book, with very few words, full color illustrations and the same evil kitten, villainous brother, madcap story that is designed for kids that have not yet graduated to reading on their own or chapter books.

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Ultimate Spider-Man Web Warriors, Contest of Champions #1

For young readers who are looking for a low impact, non committal, fun way to read all age comics the mini-series is your best bet. Ultimate Spider-Man Web Warriors: Contest of Champions #1 is the start of a mini-series that’s modeled after Marvel series that airs on Disney XD. This is still Spider-Man, but it’s the all age version that is easily approachable to younger readers, say ages 5 and up.

In this mini-series our web-warrior is minding his own business (as he usually is), when he’s tricked by Scourge, Abomination and Beetle to a meeting. A brief battle ensues when Spidey swings around the city and slams into a massive force field that someone has placed the entire city. He’s quickly teleported to The Collector’s Ship where he learns that a sibling game is going on between him and his brother called the Contest of Champions.

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Lion & Tiger & Bear: Tag! You’re It!, timeless for the young reader

Our oldest son has an old soul and not just by virtue that he was first born. He can be quite the contemporary child and run with his friends, talk about Star Wars and make up silly stories. There are moments though, as with any child, when his old soul gets the better of him and he just wants to chill out. He’ll doodle, do a connect the dots or a word search while his friends play outside-and that’s OK. Allowing children to find their space and making it OK for them to be in that area is the backbone of Lion & Tiger & Bear: Tag, You’re It!. It’s a book for young readers 5-7 that has big illustrations, fun characters and a timeless vibe that is created by the sum of its parts.

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Shushybye is the bridge from lullabies to kindie, #BlogPopEvents

Somewhere between children’s lullabies and kindie that can keep the kids entertained is a dicey world of music. If the music is aimed too low then it’s for babies, thus alienating the older kids. When the music is too much then it upsets the younger ones; and a frustrated 2 year old is something that no parent wants. Shushybye manages to thread that difficult line of acceptance so well the older kids will be nodding their head in agreement before they realize what’s happening.

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