Education | Page 17 of 39

Big Bear, Small Mouse-a great pair make opposites fun

Chocolate and peanut butter. Starsky and Hutch. Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman. There are some things that work together, teams whose end results are so effective, charming or tasty that you look forward to enjoying them. Big Bear, Small Mouse is like that. This is from the Bear series of books by Wilson and Chapman.

We’ve been fans of this series for years and Bear Snores On is one of the classic board books that your toddler needs to own. There are more from the Bear series of books in the house too. Fans of the series will find themselves flip flopping as to what they like most about them. Is it the carefree happiness of the artwork by Jane Chapman? It could be the timing and caliber of the words by Karma Wilson.

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National Geographic Kids book bundle giveaway

We’re a National Geographic Kids Insider and received a copy of these for our use. All thoughts are our own. Our kids love some Nat Geo Kids. Even if we weren’t a National Geographic Kids Insider they’d still love these books, pester us to get them and spend hours looking through the images and graphics in each book. There are 4 new National Geographic Kids books out that will entertain ages 9 and up for hours. National Geographic Kids Almanac 2017, National Parks Guide U.S.A., famous FAILS!, and Weird but True! 8 are all different, yet retain the thread that makes them distinctively National Geographic.

“Some dog’s paws smell like corn chips. The South Pole is the sunniest place on Earth”, our son said from the back seat. During the trip to the grocery store he was that blond kid in Jerry McGuire. The only thing he didn’t tell me was how much a human brain weighed. Weird but True! 8 is one of those essential bathroom reads with large font factoids on each page. It also has vocabulary that an elementary school student can read by themselves.

National Geographic Kids book bundle giveaway

Open up National Parks Guide U.S.A.at your discretion because you will immediately discover a severe case of wander lust. This is a detailed look at the National Parks all over the U.S.A., complete with hundreds of photos, maps, insider tips and more. This is the kid’s version so it looks at things from their perspective, what areas are fun to explore, what sorts of adventures there are to do, games, history and more.

The world’s tallest empty building is in North Korea. The flying car, movie goofs and bungled buildings are things that were mistakes, but might have led people to greater success. Famous FAILS! is a book of failure. Some failure added up to better things, while others were just wrong from the get go. Either way, kids 9 and up will love reading about these inventions, their original intention and what else they accomplished. As with all National Geographic books the photographs in here are top notch.

Page for page the National Geographic Kids Almanac 2017 has the most information, images and fun content of any book we’ve received this year. Hundreds upon hundreds of images, quizzes, maps and more make up this book that has information on everything about everything. From animals, ecology, science, geography and more there is something in the book for any kid. At the price of $14.99 it’s a virtual steal too.

DC Super Heroes Little Library is new-parent geek mandatory

My wife and I are done having babies. One thing that I still read-and review on the site are some good board books. The DC Superheroes Little Library is a collection of 10 board books from the DC Universe all about things that pre-k kids through 2^nd grade need to learn. It fills a huge void in board books and is almost enough to make me want to have another baby.

I don’t regret the board books that our kids read. Brown Bear and Boynton Books are fabulous and we’re saving those for the grandkids. And to be clear, Downtown Bookworks has been producing these DC board books for a while. The DC Super Heroes Little Library simply collects all ten previously released books at a substantial discount. The individual board books cost anywhere between $7-$10. The DC Super Heroes Little Library costs $30 online, more in some other place, but why pay more?

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The Kano computer kit that kids build, code and play

It’s not a challenge to get a child interested in computers. The games, interactivity, visuals and sounds make it a natural attraction for kids to want to play with them. However, parents know the difference between productive play, time wasting play and play that can be a combination of both-or even more. The Kano computer kit takes that into consideration and has its main goal as being a solution to making computers fun, approachable and something that kids can build from the ground up. In short, for some children, the Kano computer kit will be a game changer in how they interact with technology, data and their future.

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The Epik Learning Tab fails to measure up to its name

As the parent to two kids who love (and need) technology we do love tablets. We were provided with an Epik Learning tab to review and have the kids try it out. In the house we have a couple iPads, a Kindle, Amazon Fire and a kid’s Samsung tablet that stopped working about a year after we reviewed it. In short, we have a couple tablets and know how kids (and adults) will utilize them. So how did the Epik Tablet stack up?

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The Big Book of Superpowers and Girl Power-big, fun, great

When it comes to superheroes books and young readers the options can be somewhat limited. Capstone does do a bang up job on their books, but for the most part they are geared to children that can already read. For ages 3 and up we found some great, one would almost say super books that will engage, educate and entertain them. From Downtown Bookworks, The Big Book of Superpowers and The Big Book of Girl Power are two oversized books whose bright, vivid colors will attract kids, while their content will keep kids glued in for a number of reasons. These are all DC heroes and this is a great chance for kids to get a primer on them, especially since these characters do not have consistent appearances in an all age monthly comic book.

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An Excessive Alphabet is proof that it’s OK to have more

An Excessive Alphabet, Avalanches of As to Zillions of Zs looks familiar and that’s OK. It’s written by Judi Barrett, with illustrations by Ron Barrett, the team behind the children’s classic, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Even if you’ve never read that book there is a comfort food quality in An Excessive Alphabet that makes readers feel that everything is going to be alright.

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Push! Dig! Scoop! is kid counting book comfort food

Children under 6 are fun. Granted they have periods of unpredictability, but on the whole they’re simply little fun people who like books that rhyme. Push! Dig! Scoop! is a counting book that rhymes by Rhonda Gowler Greene with illustrations by Daniel Kirk. For kids 6 and under there is lots to love in this book including the fact that it’s plus sized, packed with color and has a nice variety of machines.

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