This week's list of books seems to be more fails than wins, but sometimes that's the way the cookie crumbles.
Goodreads description--Join Lola as she learns what it means to be a big sister, in the third installment in the loveable Lola series. We all know how much Lola loves books, so it is no surprise that she can’t wait to share her love of reading with her new baby brother, Leo. Lola gets ready for little Leo’s arrival by reading books about brothers and sisters and picking out the perfect stories that she just knows her little brother will love. When the baby is finally here, Lola takes on the role of big sister—she helps her mommy and daddy around the house and tells Leo stories to cheer him up when he cries. Simple text and bright and charming illustrations celebrate family, reading, and what it means to be a big sister.
This was a sweet book about Lola and her new baby brother Leo. Lola is such a sweet girl and this would be a great book to give to your kids before they too become a big brother or sister. Not much to say about it. My kids liked this one too.
Goodreads description--This wildly imaginative, crayon-inspired picture book shows that with a bit of teamwork and a universe of creativity, anything is possible!
Buzz!
Zap!
CRASH!
Gurple and Preen are in a big mess!
When they crash-land onto an unfamiliar planet with nothing but boxes of crayons, they must work together to get the mission back on course.
From Newbery Award–winning author Linda Sue Park and illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi comes a story about all the best things that can come out of a box of crayons.
This book was very conceptual. You've got two robots that have crash landed their spaceship, and it's all broken. They have to figure out how to get it working again and it appears that one robot does so by breaking a bunch of crayons which ends up creating all of these random things that get used to repair the spaceship. I didn't like it. I think the idea might have been that even broken crayons can still create, but I can just see my two boys using this as an excuse to break all of our crayons and then whine because they're all broken. Whatever the concept, my two-year-old wasn't impressed either.
Goodreads description--For every child who has ever looked up at the stars and asked, "What are they?" comes the story of a curious boy who never stopped Carl Sagan.
When Carl Sagan was a young boy he went to the 1939 World's Fair and his life was changed forever. From that day on he never stopped marveling at the universe and seeking to understand it better. Star Stuff follows Carl from his days star gazing from the bedroom window of his Brooklyn apartment, through his love of speculative science fiction novels, to his work as an internationally renowned scientist who worked on the Voyager missions exploring the farthest reaches of space. This book introduces the beloved man who brought the mystery of the cosmos into homes across America to a new generation of dreamers and star gazers.
My kiddos have been interested in the stars and outer space and how big everything really is. So I thought this might be a winner for us. It started out good with this kid named Carl who used his curiousity, passion, and determination to research and learn about what he was interested in. As a family that has a creationist, Biblical world view, the idea presented that each of us is made up of star material and how outspace just sort of "happened" didn't sit well with me. But that's the good thing about being the reading parent who can just decide we're not going to finish reading the children's book that doesn't fit with our world view. There are so many other books out there that can teach my kids about space that don't have to bring in theories we don't agree with. (I'll eventually teach them about other world views, but not while they're this young.)
Goodreads description--Do you know what the fox says? Based on the hugely popular YouTube video with more than 200 million views, this picture book is packed full of foxy fun.
Dog goes woof. Cat goes meow. Bird goes tweet and mouse goes squeak.
But what does the fox say?
The lyrics of Ylvis's YouTube sensation 'The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)' meet Svein Nyhus's playful illustrations in this irresistibly entertaining read-aloud picture book.
My kids have gone through phases of being obsessed with this song. When my son saw this at the library he immediately picked it up. Now for me, this isn't my style at all. The song gets on my nerves, the illustrations are a bit out there, and I hate the nonsense words--especially because there are so many! If you know the song by heart, then you won't have any trouble repeating the sounds, but somehow even with how many times my kids have asked Alexa to play this song, I have somehow tuned out enough that I have missed all the "words" so reading this section took too much brain power for me. That's sad, but true. My five-year-old son still liked this book.
Goodreads description--Bonaparte is having a tough time. It's hard for this young skeleton to just hang loose when he can't keep hold of himself.
When he plays catch, his throwing arm literally takes a flyer. Eating lunch can be a real jaw-dropping occasion. How can he start school when he has so many screws loose?
Luckily, Bonaparte hit the bone-anza when it came to his friends. Franky Stein, Black Widow, and Mummicula all have some boneheaded ideas to help pull him together. But will it be enough to boost his confidence and get him ready for the first day of school?
Poor Bonaparte is falling apart. While doing regular things he will randomly lose some piece of his body. And he's a little worried about being made fun of once he goes to school. He overcomes his fear by just doing it anyway, and he realizes that most people are pretty nice and he had nothing to worry about afterall. This was one of those books that was a sweet, cute read with a good message, but I don't know that it'll stick with us many years down the road. My middle son (the five-year-old I've already mentioned) is into all things spooky right now, plus Halloween is approaching, so this was a timely book in that manner. I would consider this a gentle Halloween book.
Goodreads description--A rhyming, charming exploration of "flower-watering"—the art of appreciating others—for kids
We are all flowers! We all need to be seen and genuinely appreciated to be our best selves, just like flowers need water. This fun and sweet book introduces children to the practice of the-much needed art of recognizing and appreciating good qualities in the people around you, which brightens and lifts everyone's spirits.
Also includes a section on watering your own flowers to grow your own self-esteem.
This book is similar to two others I've discussed before. The Love Tank and Have You Filled a Bucket Today? This book is basically about how if people were flowers then we should be watering them and giving them sunlight. What kinds of things do people need to grow and thrive? And how can we help them? I thought it was a great metaphor. My daughter who is 7 years old and very literal told me this was a story for babies, and she wanted to give it to her nearly 2 year old cousin. But to be fair she's been going through this phase of thinking she's getting too old for various things...birthdays and Christmas included. I wouldn't count this one out because of her party-pooper attitude. Especially if you have a child who loves flowers, this might be a great book to help them think and consider how they are "watering" others.
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