Reviews | Page 3 of 27

Dinosaur A Photicular Book spans generations who will love it

The line that separates entertainment from being branded as ‘children’s’ or ‘family’ can be described as ‘art’; in that, you can’t define it the same every time, but you know it when you see it. Some books are great for children, but will never cross over to where those out of middle school can enjoy it. It’s those rare books that firmly hit the kidlit audience; but can also be enjoyed as much those who don’t know who Captain Poopypants is that are a marvel to read. Dinosaur is one of those books.

Dinosaur: A Photicular Book created by Dan Kainen and written by Kathy Wollard is the New York Times bestselling series that is as much a natural fit to your children’s library as it is to a Paleontologist. At first glance Dinosaur doesn’t look like it has that wide of a range of readers. There are lots of big words and that’s not including the names of the dinosaurs.

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Dia de los Muertos, board book is read-along fun for 3 and up

Everything I know about Dia de los Muertos I learned from Coco. I need a shirt that says that, because it’s 100% true. Now I know a little bit about it, like the key terms of abuelos, ofrendas and muertos. It wasn’t too long ago that I thought Dia de Los Muertos has more sinister leanings at worst or at best the backdrop for a sub-par James Bond film. Dia de los Muertos is also in a board book. It’s a bright slice of family memories that simply spells out what makes this Mexican tradition a happy spot in an undead arena.

That’s what I thought the tradition was all about. Skeletons, ghosts and specters, it’s like Halloween but they have parades instead of candy, I thought.

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Click, Clack Quack to School takes this must-read series to school

Our kids grew up on the Click, Clack, Moo series of books by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin. From the first one where Farmer Brown’s cows start to leave him notes, Duck runs for President to where the animals have a birthday in Click, Clack, Surprise! Happy Birthday this series of books is consistently entertaining for kids through third grade. Click, Clack, Quack to School! Is new to the series and sees all of the animals displaying their traits on center stage as they each get ready for school.

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Monster Boogie moves to a book beat for ages 2-6

Laurie Berkner is a rock star in the world of children. She’s the most well known kindie artist ever and to millions of parents all over the world that’s saying something. Her songs have helped countless kids get their sillies out, learn about feelings and allowed sing-alongs in the car to continue for much longer than they otherwise would have. Monster Boogie is her third foray into books and it’s certain to be a welcome, home run of a book for some in the audience.

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Ghoulia-Making Friends Can Be Scary, but this is 100% fun

There was a period where I watched The Nightmare Before Christmas at least twice a week. I found it very coincidental that our 6 year-old started watching it-on his own accord and could sing the songs. Ghoulia, Making Friends Can Be Scary by Barbara Cantini is a spiritual cousin to Christmas, Coraline and Paranorman. It’s an emerging reader’s book that brings an all age appropriate scare and spook to readers aged 6-9.

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Breakout, mixed results from a middle school book with good intentions

From the cover, Breakout by Kate Messner feels like an epic novel. It’s thick, clocks in at 433 pages and has notations at the end of the book for those that want to read more about the content in Breakout. Breakout takes place in a sleepy mountain town in New York as two inmates have just escaped from a prison. The story is told through the eyes of two seventh-graders in a variety of ways including text messages, cartoons, poems, and letters to the paper, their friends and more. Breakout is loosely based on the real 2015 prison escape from Clinton Correctional Facility. It sees a fictionalized account of how those youth might have imagined the situation as they saw it. Continue reading Breakout, mixed results from a middle school book with good intentions

We Don’t Eat Our Classmates, fabulous allegory and all

Penelope Rex is at a crossroads. She’s about to go to school and it’s a bit time change. Either she’s going into kindergarten or first grade; it’s one of those landmark years in early elementary school. She’s quite worried about making friends in her class and how they’ll treat her, given that she’s a T. Rex. We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins is laugh-out-loud comfort food for readers 4-8. This is the kind of book that parents don’t mind reading more than once. It’s a great-good-night book and one that will make it through to the grandchildren’s library in 20 years or so.

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The Play-Well LEGO birthday party for the kids built itself-and was great

We were provided with product to review. All thoughts are our own. When it comes to a child’s birthday party there are two ways to proceed, have it where you live or have it at a facility. Each option has its own pros and cons; and as hard as parents try to organize it, there will be a cost, either in time or money. For our 8 year olds birthday party we did something that involved the theme of this party, kept the party at home, was something that everyone enjoyed and didn’t have the parents flittering about to ensure that things were moving smoothly. The kids have been attending Play-Well LEGO Camps that they have in the summer for year. But, did you know that they also have the ability to do a more concise LEGO workshop and take said presentation to your home?

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