Eraserheads by Kate Banks- pictures by Boris Kulikov

Eraserheads is another collaboration of Kate Banks and Boris Kulikov and I am, again, really impressed with the creativity of the story line! This is about a day in the life of three eraser heads. While helping correct a mistake, they get stranded in the two-dimensional drawing they feel confined to. Well written and well illustrated, it's a great adventure that appealed to my three year old and a few older kids hanging out near us in the library! Banks and Kulikov are both doing what they do well!

(ISBN-13: 978-0374399207 copyright 2010)

Max's Words by Kate Banks- Pictures by Boris Kulikov

I stumbled upon Max's Words at our local library and I love it so much I wanted to tell you about it.  In this book, Max's brothers have impressive collections of coins and stamps, so Max wants to start a collection.  He decides to collect words and discovers that when he arranges his collection he doesn't just have a pile of stuff, he has a story! I love how Max uses his imagination and how the illustrations capture the crazy turns the story takes!

(ISBN-13: 978-0-374-39949-8 Copyright 2006)

Allison Investigates by Nicoletta

Allison Investigates; Does Chocolate Milk Come From Brown Cows, Written and Illustrated by Colette Omans Nicoletta is a wonderful books for kids of all ages! The words per page are few enough to keep an active two year old interested. At the same time, the content is unique enough to keep older kids attentive as well.  The book, about how chocolate milk is made, reminds me a bit of that show "How It's Made" (but not as dry as the show).  I also really love the the illustrations. In a children's book, so much in conveyed in the pictures that they are, in my opinion, just as important as the text.  These are informative without being so detailed that the kids miss the point.  I truly hope Nicoletta will do many more Allison Investigates books!

(ISBN-13: 978-1-59298-356-8  Copyright 2011)
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author through Bostick Communications (http://www.bostickcommunications.com). I was not encouraged or required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Dreaded Weaved Catcher

Review by Julie
The Dreaded Weaved Catcher is the first book in a series called The Adventures of The Thundering Whales by Stephen Vadakin.  Vadakin is a artist, sculpting and drawing marine animals.  His love for the ocean and it's residents is obvious in this book and in his dedication to create an marine education program that has already been shared with 50,000 elementary school children.

The story is about three dolphin friends and their adventures to reunite after one gets pulled away when caught in a fishing net.  The 55 page book is very educational (maybe a little too educational?) and introduces many different animals, concepts and advanced vocabulary words.  I'm guessing a child in grade school would enjoy having this book read to them, but my preschooler got lost in the unfamiliar vocabulary and complex relationships.  That's probably for the best though because the chapter where the dolphins are hunted by Orca Whales might have been a little too scary for him. The art work in the book is colorful and interesting, with a full color page for every two or three pages of text. I'll be interested to see if my son takes to the book when he's older.

(ISBN 987-1439263877 Copyright 2009)
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author through Bostick Communications (http://www.bostickcommunications.com). I was not encouraged or required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Rescuers by Margery Sharp

(review by Julie)
I've been looking for some longer picture books to read to my two year old on those days that his attention span seems a little longer.  Our library has a small collection of such books but I've been disappointed at the weak plots and uninteresting characters.

However, a month or two ago, my mom saw The Rescuers at a Thrift Store (a great place to buy cheap books!) and got it, with a bunch of others, for her stash at home.  I LOVED this book as a kid- it's one of the few I remember, so I swiped it (with mom's permission, of course) and have read it to my son a few times.

It has an engaging plot line, memorable characters, and classic Disney style artwork. I think it's probably about the same length as Level 3, I Can Read book.

Summer Reading Programs

Summer is here and so are the summer reading programs!  Deanna and I were just discussing all the great  programs available for kids, so I thought I'd summarize what I was aware of. If your children are too young to read, most of these programs allow you to read to them in place of them reading the book themselves, so don't pass up starting a great summer tradition just because they're young! 

• Your Local Library: Almost every library has some sort of program, so check it out!
• Barnes and Noble: Kids, grades 1-6, read 8 books and get a free book from the list with their Passport to Summer Reading Program by 9/7/2010.
• Borders: The Double Dog Dare program where kids under 12 who read 10 books get one free from their list. Bring your list to a Borders or a Waldenbooks by 8/26/2010.
• Hastings: The Summer Reading Program offers monthly coupons and a chance to win giftcards when kids turn in their reading journal by 10/2/2010.
• Half Priced Books: Kids 13 and under earn a $3 gift card for each week they read 15 min a day with their Feed Your Brain program from 6/1/2010 through 7/31/2010.
• Bookmans: Free Summer Kids Events are scheduled 5/31/2010 through 8/7/2010. I can't tell if this is more crafts or more books. (Bookmans is an Arizona chain of used book stores)
• Scholastic: The Summer Challenge program gets kids to compete for the world record.
• Chuck E Cheese: Use their Reading Rewards Calendar to get 10 free tokens with a pizza purchase (limit one per day until 12/31/10).
• Pottery Barn: The Book Club story time is every Tuesday from 11:00 - 11:30.  Your child will receive a special gift after attending 5 times.
• HEB: The HEB Buddy Reading Club (click on "Clubs and Contests") offers cool prizes to kids who read 10 books and send in their completed form by 10/1/2010.  Since this one is done all by mail, I think you could participate even if you don't have an HEB grocery store near you.
• TD Bank: Their Summer Reading Program gives kids $10 into their Young Saver Account. (TD Bank is also in the Northeast).
• National Amusements: With Bookworm Wednesdays, kids get free admission to a special kid movie when the present a book report. (National Amusement Theaters are mostly in the Northeast.)

Do you know of any others? Post them here in a comment!

The Read and Share Bible: The Jesus Series, Life and Miracles DVD

(review by Julie)
I recently received the Read and Share Bible: The Jesus Series, Life and Miracles DVD from Thomas Nelson Publishing to review it and unfortunately, I'm not very impressed.

I was excited about letting my two year old watch some bible stories, but the animation was stiff and the characters were monotone and almost mechanical. The Bible has some really exciting stories with a lot of drama- why make it rigid and expressionless?  After seeing a lot of PBS kids programming lately, I felt like this DVD was second class. I'm just so sad that this DVD ended up boring.

The stories seem to be consistent with the bible, which is great.  However it tried to cover large time periods of Jesus' life with vague pictures and minimal voice-over, so I'm not sure my son got a lot of Bible story knowledge. That being said, my son said he liked it, but then, he's never met a cartoon he didn't like.

The DVD has coloring sheets, but it's just 8 pages and 2 of them are too random to be applicable (a daisy in a pot?)

I give it 1.5 stars and I don't suggest you buy it.  Just pick up a bible and read to your kids.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Mouse and the Motorcycle but Beverly Cleary

(review by Deanna)

Beverly Cleary is a classic young children's author.  We read The Mouse and the Motorcycle to my son as one of his first chapter books.  The story is of a mouse names Ralph who lives in a hotel and a boy who befriends him and gives him a mouse-sized motorcycle, which he can ride by making a motorcycle noise.  Ralph has many adventures and gets into a few tight spots by being bold with his motorcycle.  It has a great themes of friendship, loyalty and responsibility.

It's very sweet and fun.  The writing level is a good read-aloud for an older four-year old and up.  I would guess it's about a second-grade reading level.  I think boys or girls would enjoy this book but it is particularly good for drawing in a young boy.

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

(review by Deanna)

This is a really wonderful book.

When we were ready to find my son, Zack, some longer, more involved material for me to read to him, I went searching for great early chapter books.  This series got multiple recommendations for the best place to start reading chapter books.  We started with My Father's Dragon and requested the other two books.  Later, we were thrilled to be given the series in one volume, Three Tales of My Father's Dragon. 

The story is told by a boy recounting the adventures his father had helping an alley cat to rescue a baby dragon from enslavement by an island of selfish animals.  The young hero uses a series of clever and funny tricks to distract the island's animals and give himself time to find the dragon. 

The plot is very entertaining without being harrowing.  Although there is dramatic tension in the story, it is age-appropriate, something that is hard to find even in young children's books. The language is old-fashioned in the best way.  There are illustrations every few pages, just enough to introduce a pre-schooler to chapter books.

This series would be great for boys or girls, age four and up.  I give it the highest recommendation!

Armadillo Rodeo by Jan Brett

(review by Julie)
Jan Brett has written a whole collection of kids books with fun story lines and amazing artwork. Armadillo Rodeo is no exception!

My 2 year old son loves for me to read Brett's books to him, but what I love about this book, above her other books, is it's setting in Texas and it's subject matter of a curious armadillo, Bo, who mistakes a red boot for a new friend.

As is Brett's tradition, there's the art work in the center of each page, but there is also art work on the sides of the pages, telling a little more of the story than the words on the page. For example, the image below shows the main story line where Bo gets his first taste of a hot chili pepper. But on the side, you see his mom and brothers talking to a cow, I assume, to ask if he's seen Bo.  These additional illustrations give me and my son something extra to talk about. I like to draw him deeper into the story line by asking him to imagine what might be going on.

I have a lot of friends from Texas, a sister who lives in Texas- I was even born in Texas!  So, I feel a little connection with the book.  Right now we have it from the library, but I've really been wanting to buy it. In fact, I'd like to order a dozen of them for gifts!  I guess for now, I'll just renew the book for another three weeks.