We don’t have Apple TV+. It’s nothing personal against the streaming giant; it’s just that we can’t have every platform because that would nullify any savings that we earned from cord-cutting. However, if I were in early elementary school, and had control over the streaming options in our house, Apple TV+ would certainly be in the first two because of Camp Snoopy. Welcome to Camp Snoopy is a graphic novel compilation from Camp Snoopy, the aforementioned show. It’s a collection of short stories, lessons, and vignettes that the campers encounter during their stay at summer camp.
We’d buy snippets of Snoopy’s backpack lintCategory: Elementary school
Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia, intersects entertainment and learning
There’s something about the cover to Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia: A Picture Book About The Wonders of Nature that perfectly translates how easily the book can cross over to different ages and cultures. It’s from the perspective of a little mouse, albeit a very intelligent one, who is exploring the things around her burrow. All the while a narrator is providing some expository comments as to why she’s doing things, in addition to offering smarter-than-expected facts about the flora and fauna that the mouse encounters on daily basis.

Tater Tales 2: The King of the World, a whole new rot (ten) world
The world of a character is only as big as the fishbowl it lives in. In the world of Rot, a mutant potato; he’s gone from solo stories to familial adventures that have taken place in illustrated books and early reader graphic novels. Tater Tales 2: The King of the World is the second release in this heavily illustrated chapter book series. One could also say that this is the second release in this early reader graphic novel series, and you’d be correct in that observation too. Whichever camp you’re in, this series is a knock-down great time, a hootenanny of early-elementary school joy that kids will laugh at as it’s read to them or grin with silent pleasure as they read it to themselves.

As The Seas Rise, soft eco message mixed with too much faux can do
Adults who visit an elementary school library will experience various thoughts. Look at how skinny these books are. Look at how many books are in this library. How can all of these books get the attention that they deserve? As The Seas Rise is an illustrated book with noble intentions but is five eras too late. The rise of sea level and climate change is science, it’s happening, but I would argue that some books do more to damage the greater cause than the good that it intends. For example, if this book were more informational about sunny day flooding then it would have more of a punch and immediacy. As it stands, the book melds one strong issue, a soft character portrait, and an environmental issue that’s tough for kids to comprehend into a listless illustrated story adrift in a crowded library of better books.
An eco book too far, save paper. Don’t buy it.Are You Small?, illustrated book genius or fun, whatever you like
I’m currently teaching a high school English class and they won’t tell you that they want order, structure and something to do. Left to their own devices most of them would be content spinning their energy and creative juices wasting time on their handheld computers that can also make phone calls. Students crave order and boundaries, but they won’t tell you that. Illustrated books have their own unwritten set of rules, mores and means that they’re presented to their key audience to maximize the book’s attention. Are You Small? is the sibling to Are You Big? and hits the same great high notes, in the same manner, albeit in a key that’s smaller in stature.

The Little Kid with the Big Green Hand, sublime fun for pre-k and up
https://amzn.to/4ajrPuqThat book is too thick for me, I can’t possibly read it all. That book is very thick, I think that it will be a great reading challenge. The Little Kid with the Big Green Hand has a fuzzy, tactile cover that makes it stand out. It’s a coming-of-age story that parallels something that every child aged five and up can understand. The book’s cover is bright, very curious, and seems like a fun, engaging read that is effortless to engage with. Any child that that picks up The Little Kid with the Big Green Hand will think of one of the five sentences as mentioned above at some point.

Bugs, a creepy, crawly, illustrated, STEM book that demands attention
https://amzn.to/3WgR1y3Size does not matter. Size does not matter. I’m talking about the size of certain books, and size does not matter. The content in books with a bigger presentation could be just as impactful if it were printed on standard paper, it doesn’t matter. Now, let us come back from fantasy land and lay witness to Bugs: A Skittery, Jittery History by Miriam Forster with illustrations by Gordy Wright. Bugs is a massively oversized statement of a book that lives somewhere between an illustrated book, a reference book, a STEM book, and a great, goodnight book. This book is impossible to ignore and presents biology to young audiences in a way that’s irresistible, curious, and motivational.

Flying Fillies coming-of-age with a historical fiction, female, WWII twist
There’s an advertisement on the radio that so sweet and schmaltzy that your initial reaction is to quickly change the station like some Pavlovian dog. But you’re too late and four seconds into the ad you’re disarmed by its quaint music and down-home copy. By the end of the ad its name is stuck in your head and you’re pining for a pint of that stupid ice cream that you know you shouldn’t eat. It shamelessly reminds you of a different era, a time when things were different, slower, and more patient. Flying Fillies: The Sky’s the Limit is upper-elementary and middle school mglit that harkens back to that feeling. It’s mglit that dances between a coming-of-age story, the non-fiction world of WASPs, and the backdrop of early 1940s WWII paranoia and pride with ease in a way that gives those younger readers an age-appropriate view into trailblazers that you never knew about.
