Wednesday, June 1, 2016

#MMBBR #Childrens #PictureBooks #Books Review/Highlight Round-Up





REVIEWS



This unique and imaginative story focuses on bringing life to a "counter top bully" appliance, some unpredictable ice cubes and a zany bunch of fruit.
What would you do if you were trapped on the dreaded Smoothie Island with The Big Hungry Blender and his army of Not Nice Ice?
Would you run? Maybe hide?
How do you escape The Big Hungry Blender and his Not Nice Ice? A bunch of fruit take on the challenge in this action-packed adventure. Will they ever be able to escape and find their way to the fruit capital of the world, Fruit York City?

MY REVIEW:
A cute book about a group of fruit that gets off track on their way to a vacation where they defeat a blender and some crazy ice cubes.  A funny story that using funny figures of speech and other fruit related humor to create action.  Fun pictures will increase the enjoyment.  4 stars



Louie Kablooey was hungry for cake. With no cake in the house, and Mom and Dad unable to help, Louie bakes her own cake.  A short book that is perfect for new or reluctant readers.  4 stars

MY REVIEW:
A very cute story by a budding second grade writer.  Louie Kablooey is going to bake a cake but is not supposed to make a mess...with a little help she will have her cake.  4 stars





Jump Splash Books proudly presents "I Dreamed I Was a Bird", by author Christopher P. Stanley. This story is the first of the "I Dreamed I Was...." series, and takes the reader inside the imagination of a child who wants to soar upon the wind. With illustrator Alexander LeVasseur bringing the words to life, this is a story to be enjoyed by children and parents alike. Prepare to take flight!

MY REVIEW:
A beautiful story about imagination.  Being a bird is something most kids have dreamed to be and this poem illustrates the wonder and splendor being a bird would involve.   The pictures capture the story with their water color design.  A delight in story telling and a great book for a read aloud.  4 stars





Monsters in Manhattan is the story of Mike, a regular kid from Queens, NY. He's super psyched for the start of his Christmas vacation and has all sorts of awesome plans for his week off from school. Snowball fights, sledding, snowmen and lotsa fun! Unfortunately, it all goes south when he finds out that his horrible cousin Mary Lou from Kalamazoo is comes to visit New York City for the holidays. She's the worst. She's rude, obnoxious, disgusting and totally gonna ruin all of Mike's plans. Mike needs to find a way to get rid of her. And fast! If he can scare her away by showing her all the creatures, goblins and ghouls that lurk at Manhattan landmarks, then maybe, just maybe, he can save his Christmas vacation!

MY REVIEW:
What a funny and entertaining book.  It reads like a very long, rhyming poem.  The illustrations are reminiscent of Tedd Arnold books, which my kids loved.  Through this book you will tour New York City and all the famous landmarks, but you get to go on the tour for the bullies, the meanies and the just plain gross. This tour is not like the others...they are ghouls and goblins and slimy stuff.  My kids thought is was so funny.  The pictures are bright and colorful and very detailed.  You will laugh at you see Mike do all he can to scare his terrible cousin back home, so he can enjoy his Christmas break in peace.  Will it work?  Read to find out....4 stars 





TIME For Kids explores America from sea to shining sea!

Discover what makes America unique in this comprehensive timeline and photographic overview of American history--pre-Columbus through the present--highlighting the milestone events and important people that have made America awesome. 

Perfect for both dip-in reference and longer-form reading, Awesome America is organized into thematic sections, each comprised of bite-sized articles, engaging factoid sidebars, colorful charts, graphics and interactive quizzes to help make learning about American history interesting, interactive, and fun. From America's early history all the way to present day, kids will learn about what it was like to grow up in the 1700's, 1800's, 1900's and today and discover the inventions, innovations, and important social movements great American's have created over the years.

MY REVIEW:
This book is amazing for anyone who loves history!  There is so much to read about and learn.  
You could choose to read your way through or chose to read the chapters and/or areas of interest. The chapters include:  Our Beginning, Our Government, Tour the Fifty States, The Land, Coming to America, Moments that Changed America, Civil Rights, Great Americans, Growing Up in America, America's Role in the World, America's Home-Grown Gifts the the World, One of a Kind and Year by Year.  I have been reading this book for a while now and every time I read it I learn a bit more.  I just love how well organized this book is.  There is a well detailed glossary and an extensive list of websites for government agencies, parks, tourism, foundations and national monuments, just to name a few.  There are tidbits of information for quick reference too, which is great for creating talking points with the kids.  I love this book so much and I cannot wait to use this book over the summer with my kids and to teach them all about the United States.  I additionally love this book because it allows me a great resource to allow me to teach my children over the summer.  Because just because school is out does not mean that leaning stops.  5 stars





Animal Planet's definitive atlas of animal life takes readers on a continent-by-continent and habitat-by-habitat passport to adventure! Meet fierce snow leopards in the Tibetan mountains, giant helicopter damselflies in the rain forests of Central America, majestic eagles in the temperate forests of North America, and hundreds more fascinating creatures.

What is a habitat? How is the North Pole's animal life different from the South Pole's? How and why do animals adapt to their environment? Is a food web different from a food chain? Animal Planet Animal Atlas answers all these questions and more in a kid-friendly, accessible format that young readers, parents, teachers, and librarians will adore. 

Through illustrated maps of every continent and its major biomes, full-color photographs of more than 200 animals, and illustrated animal travel guides presenting fun animal trivia, readers can track their favorite animals across the globe while learning about how animal habitats are affected by climate, food and water availability, migration, and human environmental impact. Additional special features throughout the book point out ways in which many animals on our planet share characteristics or behaviors with humans. "ROAR" sidebars discuss conservation and animal rescue efforts around the globe. R.O.A.R. (Reach Out. Act. Respond.) is Animal Planet's initiative dedicated to improving the lives of animals in our communities and in the wild. 

MY REVIEW:
I am so excited to work through this atlas with my kiddos.   What makes this atlas so cool is that it is a bit different than other atlases.  The maps boarders are those of major biomes of the world.  So you will get to explore each of the eight biomes in all seven continents and get a great sense of the each of them.   I am always looking for ways to keep the learning going over the summer months and my kids love animals, so this book will be a HUGE hit! It is a super big book with bright and colorful photos, jam packed with facts, maps and other tidbits of exciting and interesting information.  You will get to explore the animals of Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Australia, Antarctica and the Oceans. This book also included a detailed glossary and animal index.  I love that the facts are written in a way that is easy to understand and you have super cute and fun "tour guides" that help guide you through their home continent.  Adults and kids alike with get lost looking at the pictures and learning so much cool and interesting information.   So awesome!!!  5 HUGE stars 



It’s Lizzy’s first day in a brand new school! At first things feel “just so” scary and “just so” hard, but in the end, they’re “just so”.... not what she thought they would be! From waking up early and boarding the bus for the very first time to meeting new friends and painting outside the lines, it’s a day of discovery and perspective for a little girl named Lizzy.

MY REVIEW:
It's just so....fun to read this book to the kids in my class.  This book makes for an amazing read aloud.  This story is about Lizzy's first day of school where she experiences so many things and comes up with some fun words to describe her feelings.  The words are fun to read aloud and caused my kids to laugh a few times. This is a great book to read to kids either at home or in the classroom on the first day of school.  I love how the text changes color and size throughout the story.  It makes it very fun when a child is reading it with you or when a child is reading independently.   It is a fun touch.  The illustrations are bright and fun as well and add to and match text wonderfully.  A great story to help with first day of school jitters and a story that will facilitate conversation about the feelings and fears that come from those jitters.  4 stars 


"Now there's a version, complete with more of the gorgeous, yet weirdly subversive illustrations. The best part? It's still funny. The rhythms, the plodding rhymes, the illustrations, the clever play on the overused trope of the world at bedtime -- they all work together to take Seriously, Just Go to Sleep beyond parody and into the realm where good children's books belong: things that parents, and children, can honestly come to from different places and enjoy together. I can imagine reading Seriously, Go to Sleep nightly, and even to the point where you're begging the child to choose something else (the ultimate compliment for a picture book) and yet still finding something to enjoy. It captures a different 'zeitgeist' of modern parenting."
--New York Times

MY REVIEW:
Hilarious kid friendly version of the beloved Go the F*** to Sleep.  It still has all the humor and flair without the choice swear words.  It is still a delight to read and will get loads of laughs from both adults and kids alike.  It captures the not so glorious part of parenting and the struggle to get your kids to just settle down at the end of the night and go to sleep.  I think this is a must for all parents.  5 stars


FOR THE PARENTS





Go the F*** to Sleep is a bedtime book for parents who live in the real world, where a few snoozing kitties and cutesy rhymes don't always send a toddler sailing blissfully off to dreamland. Profane, affectionate, and radically honest, California Book Award-winning author Adam Mansbach's verses perfectly capture the familiar--and unspoken--tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night. In the process, they open up a conversation about parenting, granting us permission to admit our frustrations, and laugh at their absurdity.


With illustrations by Ricardo Cortes, Go the F*** to Sleep is beautiful, subversive, and pants-wettingly funny--a book for parents new, old, and expectant. You probably should not read it to your children.

MY REVIEW:
The truest bedtime story ever told!!!  I have had terrible sleepers since day one, so this book is sheer delight.  I laugh each and every time I read this book and share with with every parent that comes thought the door.  This should be given out at the hospital with each and every new parent.  It adds humor to the craziness of parenthood and the hell that is getting kids to go to bed.  It is my least favorite time of day...hands down!  This book is comedic relief in the midst of that insanity.  5 stars 



HIGHLIGHTS




Join Carole P. Roman and travel through time to visit the most interesting civilizations throughout history in the first four books of her new series. Learn what kind of food you might eat in Ancient Greece, the clothes you wore in 15th century Renaissance Italy, what your name could be in Elizabethan England, and what Colonial American children did for fun. If You Were Me and Lived in...does for history what her other award-winning series did for culture. So get on-board this time-travel machine and discover the world through the eyes of a young person just like you.






Join Carole P. Roman and travel through time to visit the most interesting civilizations throughout history in the first four books of her new series. Learn what kind of food you might eat in Ancient Greece, the clothes you wore in 15th century Renaissance Italy, what your name could be in Elizabethan England, and what Colonial American children did for fun. If You Were Me and Lived in...does for history what her other award-winning series did for culture. So get on-board this time-travel machine and discover the world through the eyes of a young person just like you.




Join Carole P. Roman and travel through time to visit the most interesting civilizations throughout history in the first four books of her new series. Learn what kind of food you might eat in Ancient Greece, the clothes you wore in 15th century Renaissance Italy, what your name could be in Elizabethan England, and what Colonial American children did for fun. If You Were Me and Lived in...does for history what her other award-winning series did for culture. So get on-board this time-travel machine and discover the world through the eyes of a young person just like you.





Join Carole P. Roman and travel through time to visit the most interesting civilizations throughout history in the first four books of her new series. Learn what kind of food you might eat in Ancient Greece, the clothes you wore in 15th century Renaissance Italy, what your name could be in Elizabethan England, and what Colonial American children did for fun. If You Were Me and Lived in...does for history what her other award-winning series did for culture. So get on-board this time-travel machine and discover the world through the eyes of a young person just like you.



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