Love

A very belated Happy New Year! I’ve been away too long from the blog and all of you. Lots going on. My debut picture book was announced last fall. You can find out about it here. I am doubly-excited to share today’s book. First, I absolutely adored their first collaboration, BEAUTIFUL. The colors, the energy and most importantly how they re-defined beauty. You can check out my review of it here. The second reason is Ms. Lew-Vriethoff is the illustrator for my book! I can’t wait to see what she creates for it. 🙂 Now onto the review!

Title: Love

Author: Stacy McAnulty
Illustrator: Joanne Lew-Vriethoff
Publisher: Running Press Kids, 2019
Book Type: Holidays, Empathy, Love
Ages: 3-6

Opening Line:

Love is … a fancy dinner.

Synopsis (from Amazon’s website):

What is love? Can you only express it in fancy meals, greeting cards, and heart-shaped chocolates? Kids will find love everywhere in this delightful book. It can be found in everyday moments such as baking cookies with grandma, notes from Mom in your lunchbox, or a family singing together on a car trip, and it isn’t always what you expect!

Activities:

• If you like the themes of this book, then go check-out THIS IS NOT A VALENTINE by Carter Higgins.
• Make your own valentine and worksheet to go with the book.
• Do a Random Act of Kindness. Here is my blog post which has loads of ideas from when I did 40 Random Acts of Kindness in 40 Days.

Why I Like This Book:

The wonderful duo has done it again. LOVE is the third book in a series that take smarter and thoughtful interpretations of age-old sayings. The first two books were BEAUTIFUL and BRAVE, do check them out.

LOVE re-interprets the traditional ways of showing love to someone you care such as giving a fancy dinner or a designer card. A fancy dinner is preparing a doggie bowl with a flower in it for your injured dog. A designer greeting card is a child drawing a hand-drawn card with a crayon. It also reinterprets ideas such as ‘love at first sight’. You’ll have to read to find out. It’s charming.

This book can be used as a springboard for discussions about how one can show empathy and love in simple ways. It’s perfect for kids. The book shows how kids can do an act of kindness for someone without having to buy something, which is important in our consumer-driven world.

The art is vibrant and engaging and full of details. The large type and big illustrations make it perfect for a group read-aloud.

Find Love at the following spots:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads
ISBN-10: 0762462124
ISBN-13: 978-0762462124

This review is part of Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Book series. Visit her site to see the other books recommended.

Disclosure: I received my copy of this book from the publisher. This review nevertheless reflects my own and honest opinion about the book.

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How to Code a Sandcastle

Title: How to Code a Sandcastle

Author: Josh Funk
Illustrator: Sara Palacios
Publisher: Viking Books, 2018
Editor: Kendra Levin and Leila Sales
Book Type: Fiction
Ages: 4-8
Theme: Coding, Persistence

Excerpt:

There must be a coding trick I can use.
Aha! a LOOP!
When you need to repeat something in code, you can use a LOOP!
“Pascal, LOOP through this SEQUENCE:”

1. Fill the pail with sand.
2. Dump the sand on our spot.
3. Pat the sand down.

Synopsis (from Amazon website):

From the computer science nonprofit Girls Who Code comes this lively and funny story introducing kids to computer coding concepts.

All summer, Pearl has been trying to build the perfect sandcastle, but out-of-control Frisbees and mischievous puppies keep getting in the way! Pearl and her robot friend Pascal have one last chance, and this time, they’re going to use code to get the job done. Using fundamental computer coding concepts like sequences and loops, Pearl and Pascal are able to break down their sandcastle problem into small, manageable steps. If they can create working code, this could turn out to be the best beach day ever!

Activites:

• Girls Who Code – Organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology. Click to find out what programs are available in your area – clubs, immersion programs in tech companies, and more.
• Hour of Code – try out one of the programming activities.
• Game and Activity Ideas using coding constructs for the toddler set by Vicki and Babies to Bookworms. She’s done wonderful job!

Why I Like This Book:

What’s not to love. A book that can breakdown coding concepts in a funny, engaging way with amazing colorful illustrations! Be still my beating heart. I love the way the author has broken down the building of a sandcastle into clear and simple steps and is able to connect it to fundamental concepts in coding – sequence, loops, if-then-else. While coding in itself can be dry, the author and illustrator have  infused plenty of humor along the way. Gotta love the ending which is the beauty of code and robotics.

Click to Enlarge — Art courtesy of Viking Books for Young Readers

This book is a must for any classroom, school, and home library! Be on the lookout for How to Code a Rollercoaster!

Find How to Code a Sandcastle at the following spots:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Goodreads
ISBN-10: 0425291987
ISBN-13: 978-0425291986

Disclosure: I received my copy of this book from the publisher. This review nevertheless reflects my own and honest opinion about the book.

Be Kind

I’m so excited to share this lovely book. It seemed like the perfect choice since Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) week is coming up February 11-17, 2018.   

Title: Be Kind

Author: Pat Zietlow Miller
Illustrator: Jenn Hill
Publisher:  Roaring Brook Press, 2018
Editor: Connie Hsu
Book Type: Fiction
Ages: 4-8
Theme: Kindness

Excerpt:

What does it mean to be kind anyway?
Maybe it’s giving.
Making cookies for Mr. Rinaldi, who lives alone.
Letting someone with smaller feet have my too-tight shoes.
(He might win races in them, too.)

Synopsis (from Amazon website):

When Tanisha spills grape juice all over her new dress, her classmate contemplates how to make her feel better and what it means to be kind. From asking the new girl to play to standing up for someone being bullied, this moving and thoughtful story explores what a child can do to be kind, and how each act, big or small, can make a difference―or at least help a friend.

Activites:

• Kindness lesson plan
• Have kids do a Random Act of Kindness. Here is a link to my past blog post to get some ideas.
• There are tons of other resources on the Internet. I recommend searching Pinterest. Here is a link to get you started.

Why I Like This Book:

What’s not to love. The succinct text, the musings of a young child, cheery illustrations, with a message of empathy and compassion. A charming book which shows that kindness can be done in the simplest ways with the potential to grow. The book can be used as a springboard for discussions at home and school about kindness and can be extended with a kindness activity.

Also, check out this adorable trailer where kids answer questions about kindness.

Find Be Kind at the following spots:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Goodreads
ISBN-10: 1626723214
ISBN-13: 978-1626723214

Beautiful

Title: Beautiful

Author: Stacy McAnulty
Illustrator: Joanne Lew-Vriethoff
Publisher: Running Press Kids (September 13, 2016)
Editor: Lisa Cheng
Book Type: Fiction
Ages: 3-6
Themes: Identity, Girl Power, Self-Esteem

Opening Line:

“Beautiful girls … have the perfect look.”

Synopsis (from Amazon’s website):

Every girl is unique, talented, and lovable. . . .Every girl is BEAUTIFUL.

Much more than how one looks on the outside, true beauty is found in conquering challenges, showing kindness, and spreading contagious laughter. Beautiful girls are empowered and smart and strong!

BEAUTIFUL breaks barriers by showing girls free to be themselves: splashing in mud, conducting science experiments, and reading books under a flashlight with friends. This book will encourage all girls to embrace who they are and realize their endless potential.

Why I Like Love This Book:

This book takes the sugary, sweet, stereotypical praises and compliments for little girls and turns it on its head in a superb way! This is a must have book for any young child. I think it’s important not only for girls to see who they can be, but also for boys to realize it too.

I love the interplay between text and art. The text contains the typical saying while the art shows a new and smarter interpretation of the words. Take a look at the examples below.

I love the energy, enthusiasm, and contentment of the girls enjoying the activities they are partaking in. This is where their beauty shines.

The large type and big illustrations make it perfect for a group read-aloud. Use the book as a conversation starter on breaking gender roles and asking what is beautiful.

Find Beautiful at the following spots:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads
ISBN-10: 0762457813
ISBN-13: 978-0762457816

The review is part of the BEAUTIFUL BLOG TOUR. Do check out these other stops over the next two weeks.

8/29 Flowering Minds
8/30 Kids’ Book Review
8/31 My Word Playground
9/1 Stacking Books
9/2 Unpacking the POWER of Picture Books
9/3 MomReadIt
9/5 Enjoy Embrace Learning
9/6 Geo Librarian
9/7 A Foodie Bibliophile
9/8 MamaBelly
9/10 Diapers and Daydreams
9/11 The Late Bloomer’s Book Blog
9/12 Unconventional Librarian

Disclosure: I received my copy of this book from the publisher. This review nevertheless reflects my own and honest opinion about the book.

Water is Water: A Book About the Water Cycle

Hope your summer has been relaxing and enjoyable. Can’t believe kids’ school starts in less than three weeks. In light of that I will be reviewing fiction and non-fiction books this month that can be used in classrooms. Enjoy!

Title: Water is Water: A Book About the Water Cycle

Author: Miranda Paul (interview)
Illustrator: Jason Chin (interview)
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, 2015
Book Type: Non-Fiction
Ages: 4-8
Themes: Water Cycle, Seasons, Weather

Opening Lines:

Drip. Sip.
Pour me a cup.
Water is water unless…
it heats up.

Whirl. Swirl.
Watch it curl by.
Steam is steam unless…
it cools high.

 

Synopsis (from Amazon’s website):

This spare, poetic picture book follows a group of kids as they move through all the different phases of the water cycle. From rain to fog to snow to mist, talented author Miranda Paul and the always remarkable Jason Chin (Redwoods, Coral Reefs, Island, Gravity) combine to create a beautiful and informative journey in this innovative nonfiction picture book that will leave you thirsty for more.

 

Activities:

• The Classroom Bookshelf – Lessons on written responses, visual narratives, finding rhymes, the hydrologic cycle, drama, and more are available for grades PreK-5.
• Sally’s Bookshelf – Questions and Water Mapping activity for kids / STEM Friday

 

Why I Like It:

I love this book for oh so many reasons. This is a MUST HAVE for any home or school library. I predict this book will become a mainstay. Here are my reasons why.
– It’s creative non-fiction book about the water cycle!!
– And it’s in rhyme with great page-turns. Picture book writers pay attention, the “unless …” is a great cliff-hanger to get the reader to turn the page.
– The watercolor and gouche illustrations are gorgeous and beautifully capture the wholesome and simplicity of kids playing outdoors. (see more inside pages here) The art reminds me of growing up in rural Pennsylvania. I can almost smell the fresh air of spring or the icy chill of winter as I look at the illustrations.
– Aurally pleasing rhyme with kid engaging visuals – a perfect combination to enrapture young minds.
– Extensive backmatter to complement lesson plans on the water cycle.

 

Find WATER IS WATER at the following spots:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Goodreads
ISBN-10: 159643984X
ISBN-13: 978-1609055301

Disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher Roaring Brook Press. This review nevertheless reflects my own honest opinion about the book.