Books that teach different concepts are a fun way to get young kids learning things they know. I always loved them when Hazel was young. Today we get to share three board books from a beloved children's book series, Guess How Much I Love You, and a fun picture book for slightly older kids. We will start with the board books. The first one is Guess How Much I love You: Shapes by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram. The recommended ages are 1 to 3.
Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this set of books in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Ryan Cowan to bring you this post.
Do you love Halloween? Do your kids/students? A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to share this book with you and today I am reviewing it again with its activity book! It has been interesting re-reading the book. It has been a while since I have re-read novels. The book is Mr. Moonbeam and the Halloween Crystal by Ryan Cowan, and it is accompanied by Mr. Moonbeam and the Halloween Crystal Activity Book/Novel Study Grades 3-5 also by Ryan Cowan. Now the book has 31 chapters, and the activity book has activity pages for each chapter, so this book is amazing for a countdown to Halloween! After my review is a giveaway!!
Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Mark C. Fava to bring you this post.
Have you ever wondered how a navy ship is run? Do you have little ones who love ships and everything that moves? Today we are sharing a wonderful book that teaches the lessons from an admiral on a navy ship. The book is Andy the Admiral and the USS Shipshape by Mark C. Fava and illustrated by Agus Prajogo and Yohanes Bastia. After my review there is a giveaway!
Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Deana Plaskon to bring you this post.
Little kids and really all of us have BIG feelings sometimes. Little kids do not always know how to deal with them. Bella and Bird return in a new book focusing on sadness this time! The book is Bella and Bird Explore Sadness by Deana Plaskon, PhD, LMHC and illustrated by Lea Marie Ravotti. There is a giveaway for the series after my review.
The moon has fascinated people for centuries. We see it play key roles in folktales from all over the world. Today we are sharing two books featuring the moon. One shares facts about the moon, and one is the retelling of a folktale. The book featuring facts about the moon has various flaps to lift to find out the facts. It is The Moon by Sandra Laboucarie and illustrated by Didier Balicevic. It is recommended for ages 4 to 6 but I would guess really 4 to 8 would enjoy it.
Looking for some new books for younger kids? Today we have a collection of books that teach pet care, recovering from a mistake, the truth about cicadas and words perfect for helping those learning to read! The first is a board book called Kit and Her Cat by Meredith Walker. It is recommended for babies through age 5. Personally, unless the five-year-old is just learning to read I would recommend baby through 3.
Dragons in September always reminds me of Michaelmas. Michaelmas is on September 29th. It is a day that we learned about when we were in parent/child at the Waldorf School. For the Waldorf School, Michaelmas is a day celebrating the story of St. George defeating the dragon. The celebration is about facing our own dragons. Today we are sharing three books featuring dragons, so they are perfect for Michaelmas. The first book however is actually about the Chinese New Year or the lunar new year celebration in China. It is Where's Waldo? The Golden Dragon Chase by Candlewick Press. It is an early reader book and is recommended for ages 4 to 8.
It is after Labor Day, so that means fall is about to begin. I can feel it in the air even though the leaves haven't really started to change yet. We have three new fall/Halloween/thriller mysteries for different ages perfect for the upcoming season! Two are for the younger to middle grades and the third is a young adult book. We will start with the second book in the Squirrel Lock Holmes series. It is a graphic novel style book for early readers. We reviewed the first one here. The second one is Squirrel Lock Holmes: Mystery at the Corn-y Maze by Ashley Belote. It is recommended for ages 6 to 9.
I love a good picture book, and it is even better when it has diverse characters and important messages and/or lessons. Today we are sharing three new diverse picture books, and each has a wonderful message and lesson. Honestly, I wish I had time to give each of these books their own post because each one is so special, but alas, the beginning of September brings lots of new books to share and this week is full and next week is worse! The first one is part of the STEAMWORKS series. We have been loving this series. They have a nice story and STEAM lessons and more added to them. They are also available in both English and Spanish. The book is Sisters All the Time by Angela Quezada Padron. It is recommended for ages 4 to 7.
Do you have a little one who loves board books and interactive books? Today we are sharing four new ones! Three of which are being released today!! One of them is about a Netflix movie that came out this summer, Swapped. We will start with that one. It is Ollie's Big Adventure by Maggie Testa. It is recommended for ages 2 to 5.
If you could wish for something for yourself, what would it be? Would it be to meet someone famous? Or go somewhere you've never been? Or do something you always wanted to but never would get the chance to? Today we are sharing a middle school novel about three kids who have different illnesses and decide that even though they are "too old" for wishes they will make them but only if all three of them can be at each other's. Then they each struggle with their choices, family, friendships and dealing with their illness. The book is Wish You Well by Jamie Sumner. It is recommended for ages 10+.
Have you discovered the How to Catch Series? Sourcebooks has been publishing the series for 10 years and have announced a How to Catch Challenge! It is for classrooms and families to enter!! There are many prizes including a child being a character in a future book in the series to the entire series for a school library. Be sure to check how to enter and all the details and prizes! Now to be honest, I had not read any of the series, so they sent me some books to check out and share with you. Two of them are perfect for Halloween. We will start with the Halloween themed books. The first one is called How to Catch a Witch by Alice Walstead and illustrated by Megan Joyce. It is recommended for ages 3 to 7.
I love a good mystery. It is my favorite genre of books to read. Today we are sharing a middle grade mystery that is well written and does so much more than just entertain. The kid detectives in the book use prayer as their secret weapon. It is a very Christian book with some scripture in the story as well. The book is the first in the Kingswell Kid Detective Series. It is The Mystery of the Missing Falls by Jen Weaver and Gayle Veitenheimer. After my review there is a giveaway!
Have you ever tried to communicate with someone who doesn't speak the same language as you? It can be very difficult, however if you both try you can usually get the general thoughts across. Today we are sharing two new picture books about communicating with someone who only speaks a different language, and they are very different situations. We will start with
Love in Every Language by Anoosha Syed. It is recommended for ages 3 to 7.
It has been a while since I shared a young adult novel. Today we are sharing one that deals with grief, science, pets, family, ethics, morals, and so much more! It is also perfect for the start of school as high school football is a huge part of this book. The book is Golden Boy by A. J. Symon. It is recommended for ages 12 and higher.
Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Raven Howell to bring you this post.
Have you ever noticed that siblings can be very different from one another? They tend to have different likes and dislikes. It can be hard to decide what to do together and their differences can cause the sibling squabbling. Today we are sharing a fun picture book about dragon brothers who are having this problem. The book is A Day with the Dragons by Raven Howell and illustrated by Alexander Santos. After my review is a giveaway!
What does community mean to you? Many early childhood/elementary classes talk about community helpers in class, but how do kids really understand community? Today we are sharing three new picture books that have different themes on community. We will start with Luisa, at Your Service! by Sara Amini and illustrated by Juana Medina. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.
The most important thing we can do for our kids is spend quality time with them. Today we are sharing three new picture books about parents spending time with their children. Two of them work on building kids' imagination and two are about bringing children to work. The first book is Indigo Hands by Sita Singh and illustrated by Maithili Joshi. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.
As the school year begins, many teachers try to work mindfulness into the classroom. Many parents struggle to find ways to help kids quiet their minds as well. In our society there is so much noise and action. Kids are losing their attention spans because of all the constant input provided with screens. Today we get to share a wonderful picture book that introduces a bit of mindfulness and meditation and the importance of taking time to quiet one's mind. It is one of two books on this Virtual Book Tour. Both books are perfect for back to school! This one is The Boy and His Higher Self by Ricardo Santa Cruz and illustrated by Yuko Kondo. There is a giveaway at the end of this post for both books!
I have so many fun books to review this week that I am starting to share them on Sunday!! Today we are sharing three books all featuring animals in different ways. Each book is done very differently and there is a huge variety on the focus. We will start with a unique type of book called Babies: A Phototicular Book created by Dan Kainen and written by Mara Grunbaum. This book will be enjoyed by all ages!
