Children's book reviews, all age comic books, Kidlit, mglit, movies, entertainment and parenting
These are books that kids will want to read-or should read, but will enjoy doing so. Board book, picture books, kid lit, elementary school books, middle school books, high school books, all age comic books and more will be talked about here.
Kids can smell a bad allegory like expired meat that’s been left in the trashcan for three days. King Kong’s Cousin is an illustrated book that’s ripe with allegory but doesn’t have the stench of week-old room-temperature meat. The book will indirectly resonate with those kids that have older siblings, but in reality, any pre-k through middle elementary school reader will grin at the silliness that lies within the book’s big monkey spine.
Retro, by Sofia Lapuente and New York Times-bestselling author Jarrod Shusterman is an unlikely candidate for the cat video and potato chip challenge. That’s our internal and highly unscientific procedure for reviewing things. Essentially, if you’re able to partake in said thing and are able to read, or do it only one time, then it would fail the potato chip challenge. This is a case where Retro passes the challenge that’s normally reserved for illustrated books and collections of comic strips, in addition to potato chips and cat videos. Just try to watch only one cat video, and you’ll fail quickly, much like trying to read only one chapter from Retro.
Folk stories shouldn’t have an age ceiling. Most of the folk tales that I’ve encountered have enough details in them to merit a feature-length movie. The really great ones can also be distilled into simple stories that are short enough, in that package, to be enjoyed by young audiences. How the Stars Came to Be Deluxe Edition, is an illustrated fable book that feels like it belongs in your hand. It’s a beautifully illustrated book whose regal impression is felt from the moment that you lay eyes on it. The front and back of the book have gold inlays where some of the stars in the sky are, in addition to the main character’s jewels and hair.
But what about girls?, I can hear that being asked now. I’m casting a wide net that’ll describe a majority of boys, but not all boys. I’ll cast the same wide net and say that a series of emerging reader books on unicorns or kittens will be a big hit with girl readers in second grade. Whenever I teach ELA and I have to attribute one trait to a group there are always a couple who will say, “But, I….”, and yes, you might be the exception to that. Great Battles for Boys is a series of books that hits the reluctant reader boy on the head in an enjoyable and historical way.
Storytime! It’s that time when pre-k or kindergarten kids need a story read to them. It’s the book that they look at or listen to as they’re winding down for the day, or just for a little bit. The text in great storytime books usually rhymes and has illustrations that are colorful and loaded corner to corner with various hues. Nature is an Artist is one of those storytime books. Its premise is as direct as the title and will have toddlers through kindergarten hopefully looking at the things around their outside world in a different way.
Pre-k and very early elementary school students need silly time. No! Said Custard the Squirrel is geared and targeted right at the silly spot that ages three through six crave. On the book’s cover we see a duck who is properly dressed as if they’re an artist politely, but firmly telling a curious possum, no. The possum is dubious of the duck’s claim, thus the story behind, No! Said Custard the Squirrel.
Family, especially the older branches in our trees can be complicated, can’t it? When Dinosaurs Conquered the Skies is an illustrated book whose sibling we read in 2022. That book, When Plants Took Over the Planet is a gorgeous illustrated book that’s all about the massive wave of plants that crept out of the water millions of years ago. Its sibling, When Dinosaurs Conquered the Skies is cut from a similar cloth in its layout and illustrations. However, in reading it I decided to treat it as a narrative book, instead of a reference book and the result was quite interesting.
By its title, My First Book of Japanese could easily be mistaken for a children’s book on colors, shapes, and numbers. Actually, it could be used as an introductory vehicle for young children to Japanese. It could also be great for elementary, middle, or high school students to learn basic words. I spent a couple of years living in Japan and My First Book of Japanese is a great refresher for my vocabulary.
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