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Baby Sees Colors! is a bright, kawaii-culture board book for 0-3

Baby Sees Color! is a statement of fact and a board book for those babies that just got off the baby boat. Why are board books important? Babies as young as 6 weeks old can make out shapes and colors. For parents who want their kids to see the brightest, most vivid and certainly the most kawaii book need to check out Baby Sees Colors! This board book is a phenomenon in Japan and has sold 700,000 copies there. Baby Sees Colors! is available in the United States for the first time in all of its bright colored, wavy-lined glory so that new parents can watch their babies go down the rabbit hole.

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Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol, The Scary Library Shusher review

Some first graders need a literary push. Our first grader is like that. He likes to read in theory, but he wants to read those books that he knows and for the most part they’re picture books. Kids need to love to read and parents need to challenge kids to read things that they love without it exclusively being books about toilets, poopypants and practical jokes. The struggle is real. Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol, The Scary Library Shusher is the fifth book in this series by Andres Miedoso, with illustrations by Victor Rivas.

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Secret Scouts and The Lost Leonardo, it aims high and mostly succeeds

Secret Scouts and the Lost Leonardo aims for the stratosphere. From the front cover we glean that it’s about four kids and a huge secret that involves history that could possibly propel them through space and time. All that’s missing is a Goonies-centric, blue phone box that’s bigger on the inside. The book angles itself as all age Da Vinci Code and for the most part it succeeds. Although for us it was more akin to a National Treasure with an upper middle school cast.

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It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown review

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown; the classic seasonal book by Charles M. Schulz is back in a hardcover, oversized, keepsake book. This will be one of the largest books in your children’s library both literally and figuratively. It is cut from the same vein as It’s a Charlie Brown Christmas that was released in the same format in 2017 and both could easily be mandatory editions for their library.

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A Festival of Ghosts creeps throughout for kids with spooks, without gore

Ghosts are real, accept that now. There are also people who have the skills to communicate with them. These people help them deal with their questions, unresolved issues or the occasional ill-tempered or misinformed poltergeist. A Festival of Ghosts is the second story to feature Rosa Diaz and the town of Ingot that has dozens upon dozens of spectral happenings, plus a pair of middle schoolers who are up to the challenge.

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Game Changers is an inspiration story for tennis fans and beyond

Game Changers is the children’s illustrated story of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. It’s a fascinating story because, as I learned from reading the book, there is much more to their story than just the time that they are world champions. Obviously, no world class athlete starts out at the top, but the journey that Venus and Serena Williams did to get there was particularly inspiring for a couple of reasons. For example I knew that their dad had a big influence in their career, but after reading Game Changers, The Story of Venus and Serena Williams by Les Cline-Ransome with illustrations by James E. Ransome, I know just how big it was.

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Me, Myselfie & I, A Cautionary Tale rings true for too many folks

We would all be better off without social media, wouldn’t we? A blogging friend of mine had to re-access his social media usage when his 4 YO daughter drew a picture of them-and they were on the phone. After that illustration they went on a social detox to evaluate what’s really important. Me, Myselfie & I, A Cautionary Tale is a book that some parents need to read and all parents won’t mind reading. Thankfully, it’s presented in a manner that kids in pre-K through second grade will actually want to read it also.

Moreover, the book is one that parents can read without feeling guilty. It celebrates the smartphone, as well as social media and presents the life bonding moments that they can bring. The book also teaches the lesson of moderation, which is one that we all could use a reminder of from time to time.

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MVP, Most Valuable Puppy is simple, animal & kid kidlit

The premise behind MVP, Most Valuable Puppy is so kid friendly and happy it sounds familiar. In fact, there may well be another book that parallels this story to some extent. One of the curve balls in MVP is that the author’s of the book are donating the profits to Heidi’s Angels; a group that helps fight Pediatric Cancer via V Foundation for Cancer Research. The book’s author has name cache also in that it’s ESPN Host Mike Greenberg and his wife, Stacy Steponate Greenberg.

As a book MVP, Most Valuable Puppy is cute, heart-warming stuff that mirrors Greenberg’s own home situation to an extent. It’s told from the perspective of Phoebe, an active rescue puppy who likes balls and eating crumbs off of the floor. Continue reading MVP, Most Valuable Puppy is simple, animal & kid kidlit