CLIVE is a creative boy who likes all sorts of things: art and babies, bags and hats. Perfect for toddlers and preschoolers, each 14-page board book in this 4-book collection written and illustrated by Jessica Spanyol, shows Clive playing with friends as he explores the theme associated with each title.
One of my favorites, Clive and his Bags, follows Clive as he chooses library books for his book bag, as he and friend Mina talk about matching party bags, as he explores the special pencil pocket in his art bag. Each bag or hat, art project or doll suggests a different adventure as Clive and his friends play, care, and share together.
Check out this student collage work, inspired by the Clive books. So cute!!
The description from the back cover says it well: “A gentle, affectionate book, celebrating diversity and challenging gender stereotypes.” A lovely collection.
A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.
Most kids are familiar with the Discovery Channel’s, Animal Planet, but I, for one, had not known about their collection of books and resources. ANIMAL ATLAS (Animal Planet, 2016) is one of their newest offerings and an excellent introduction to animals from all around the world.
The book is a good size – 13” long x 11” wide – well organized and perfect for a young reader who wants to stretch out on the floor, with the book wide open, ready to lose him or herself within the book’s pages.
Kids start their journey, in chapters designated for each continent, with a large map of the area divided into the various biomes found there. In each section, kids are introduced to a small group of the many animals from that region. Each animal is brought to life with a stunning photo and short, descriptive paragraph. Kids will be familiar with the some of the featured animals, and others will be less familiar or, even, unknown. There is also a special “tour guide” – an animal from the region – who chimes in on every two-page spread to share “insider tips” and interesting facts about one of the animals living in that particular biome, on that particular continent.
On many pages, a sidebar titled “ROAR” indicates a section that discusses conservation and animal rescue efforts around the globe. Another sidebar titled “Surprisingly Human” describes ways particular animals are similar to humans.
At the end of each section is a piece called “Where in the World?” which focuses on one well-known animal. Asia, for example, spotlights the Sumatran Tiger. A sidebar includes additional information, in this case, a map showing where in Indonesia these tigers can be found.
If you’re looking for a child-friendly overview of animals from around the world to include in your home, classroom, or school library, choose this book! You won’t be sorry. And… don’t miss this useful GUIDE, aligned to CCSS!
A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.
Max and his dad are navigating new territory. Dad’s moved to an apartment and Max is spending the weekend there for the very first time.
“It is very clean,” said Max. He thought that sounder nicer than saying it was very white…
“I haven’t had much time to unpack,” said Dad.
He showed Max a white bedroom with white walls and lots of cardboard boxes and a mattress on the floor…
Of course, an apartment is different from the house where Max lives with Mom during the week. The house where Dad used to live… Still, as hard as that reality might be, it’s clear from the very first pages that Max and his dad will find their way through this new turn of events. There will be pineapple pancakes, new friends, and general, all-around silliness at Ace’s Coffee Shop, just down the street from Dad’s new apartment. There will be friendly neighbors like Mrs. Theodosia Tibbet, 302, and her two sturdy basset hounds, Barkis and Peggoty. And there will be sleepovers with Max’s best friend, Warren.
Organized into three sections with multiple chapters, each section corresponding to a weekend Max spends with Dad, WEEKENDS WITH MAX is an illustrated (by Katie Kath) chapter book with a full measure of heart. Sure, Dad is still finding his way through this new chapter of life but, together, Max and Dad are making a decent go of things. When Dad, in the very last pages, asks, “Should we clean up a little?” Max nods, agreeing to put his school things away in his room. “My room, thought Max. My room. In our apartment.”
It’s a turning point. Max had “two places to sleep. Both were safe and both were good. Some days were house days and some days were apartment days. But both were home.”
What a nice way to end.
More books about Max, Dad, and Mom are planned. While you’re waiting, don’t miss THIS ReaderKidZ interview with author, Linda Urban, about MAX and another highly recommended book, MILO SPECK: Accidental Agent.
TEACHERS WRITE 2016! is a “community of teachers, librarians, and authors who believe that people who teach writing are most effective when they are truly writers themselves.” Started in 2012 by Kate Messner, Jen Vincent, and Gae Polisner, Teachers Write is an opportunity for educators to explore writing in a relaxed, virtual “class,” alongside a growing community of more than 2500 enthusiastic teachers and librarians.
Summer 2016 dates are June 27th – August 5th! You can learn more and register to participate in this terrific opportunity to explore writing and teaching HERE.**
** Fill out the online registration form by May 26th and you’ll be entered for a chance to win $1250 Scholastic Dollars for your school, to be spent at your book fair or warehouse sale!
Poor Barnacle. He’s bored, bored, bored. The tide goes in… The tide goes out… What’s a bored barnacle to do?
This story is perfectly adorable, bringing not only a light touch to the universal problem of boredom, but a gentle reminder that, sometimes things are better than they appear and a little gratitude can go a long way.
Pair BARNACLE with another book by Fenske – A PIG, A BOX, AND A FOX, a 2016 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor award winner and excellent choice for emerging readers.
Frank’s grandparents own the Dinosaur Education Center of Wyoming and each year he gets to spend the entire summer vacation there, without his parents. There’s nothing better than helping Gram in the field. Unfortunately for Frank, a bad case of sunburn means the dig site is temporarily off limits. He’s stuck inside the museum helping PopPop. To make matters worse, his cousin Samantha McCarthy is there, being her usual annoying self.
Just when Frank thinks he can’t stand another second, Gram bursts through the museum door with surprising news. She’s found a dinosaur egg! Sam and Frank hop in the back of Gram’s truck and the adventure begins. Frank and Sam soon have a cute little dinosaur – Peanut – on their hands.
This engaging chapter book series will keep kids turning the pages from start to finish. Book 2, Too Big to Hide is currently out, and Book 3, It’s Not A Dinosaur, arrives on shelves in October.
LUIS PAINTS THE WORLD, written by Terry Farish and illustrated with dramatic swirls of color by Oliver Dominguez, presents a story of how confusing and scary it is to have someone in the family deployed.
Luis’s big brother, Nico, doesn’t have to join the army and leave home to see the world. “No!” argues Luis.
Right here, in their home and neighborhood, there is a whole world for his brother to see. How can Luis convince his brother not to leave?
Nico’s army duffel is packed full and waits by the front door. Luis sits down next to it. Then he knows what to do. He crawls inside his brother’s duffel. Oh, but Mami see Luis’ legs and pulls him out.
“You’re not going to the army too,” she says.
“Where is the army?” Luis asks. “Far away.”
Here in the United States, for many years, a war has been taking older brothers and sisters “far away.” How does a little one understand about deployment and cope with such big worries and long waiting? In this picture book, the reader learns from Luis. There are ways to hold onto hope and to stay connected over far distances.
Luis slips on his big brother’s boots and begins painting – his world, and his brother’s world – with swirls and swoops of images overlapping. Day by day, as Luis waits, he creates a mural of the many things he and his brother love – baseball and flan, bicycles and fresh bread. Luis paints a world that stretches along the alleyway wall – and maybe even farther.
Luis paints and paints, creating an exciting, colorful world to greet Nico when he returns home from deployment. How can Luis even understand deployment? What Luis does understand is that he has found a way to hold onto his brother. As Nico sends home emails and photos, Luis incorporates those descriptions and images into his paintings. Luis brings both worlds together.
Neighbors stop by. Some begin to paint a favorite part of the neighborhood – a market cart stacked high with bananas, a fat fluffy cat napping, a Red Sox baseball cap. Luis’s mother paints huge loaves of freshly baked bread, “panaderi…. Steam swirls – the bread is hot from the oven. “ Luis’s mother sings as she paints. She sings the sweet-sad song of departure, “Naranja Dulce (Sweet Orange),” an old folk song song long ago in Spain and then by mothers in Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, and now by many in the United States.
With song and paint brushes, a family and also a community wait for that most wonderful moment, when a soldier, someone’s brother or sister, daughter, husband, wife, or son, returns to the world of home. LUIS PAINTS THE WORLD is a beautiful book.
from the author, Terry, after reading this book at a school assembly:
“Luis’s mom makes flan the night before his older brother is deployed with his army unit. The story is set in a Dominican-American neighborhood where flan is a treat, but these kids in Newport never had it. Luis is sad as the story opens and runs from Nico, his brother, when Nico says he’s leaving. One student asked me, Why did he run away? Another student told him, He didn’t want to say good–bye.
That night I thought about the day. I love it when students follow closely and add their interpretations. I decided to make flan so I could tell students how long the mom had to stir. I stood at my own stove and stirred the sugar like the mom in Oliver Dominguez’s illustration in our book. Sure enough, it turns to syrup. In the syrup you bake the sweet milk custard.
illustration by Oliver Dominguez
Later I got a note from one of the librarians who organized the school and public library event. She wrote: “We were a little worried the anti-refugee/immigrant sentiment in parts of the town might surface in kids’ questions, but instead Luis and Nico showed the children that immigrants and immigrants’ children are just like them: they have favorite foods, and miss their brothers, and need to run away sometimes, and need to show everyone that the world is at home, too. Thanks so much for that.”
Mission Statement
To provide teachers, librarians, and parents with the resources and inspiration to foster a love of reading in kids, K-5.
