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.
The habits and seasonal routines shape our memories and lives. Bread Days is an illustrated book by Hannah Chung. For me, one of the strongest smells and memories of my childhood revolves around Christmas. I’m sure that Chex Mix is as tasty any time of the year, but I always place it during the final two weeks of the year. It’s Christmastime baking, and the smell of those ingredients is flooding the house. That is my version of Bread Days.
What makes a kid want to read? The answer to that breaks down due to their age and sex. Girls tend to read much quicker and advance at younger ages. Boys are apparently made of snips, snails, puppy dog tails and fart jokes or gas euphemisms. The Snowman Code is one of the cutest chapter books for elementary age kids we’ve read this year. Not only is it a good book, it’s one that will be effortless to read for children in elementary school. These are the readers who are able to graduate to chapter books, but might need a nudge to boost their confidence to get to books that look like The Snowman Code.
Don’t think about The Contest from Seinfeld, don’t think about The Contest from Seinfeld. Nay you 90’s fans of quality television this is The Christmas Contest. It’s a book that’s been too long dormant on my to-do shelf, but is now seeing the top of my desk and ready for its close-up. And…I feel an initial pang of regret because its hook, if you’re down with Advent, is very logical and addictive. Side note: worst headline ever.
It’s a fine line between mglit that’s age-appropriate scary, and those that skew younger. They’re both easy to wrangle because they have a cover that guides them to their audience. The Black Market is certainly in the correct category of mglit. Its content is the sort that upper-elementary will enjoy-to an extent. The cover has a spooky costume that’ll confuse those readers for just a moment. However, this is where mglit has varying lines of interest, with some crossing much higher than the name implies, and some sticking stubbornly to middle school, #67.
In 2023 I saw Crowded House at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. I didn’t know anything about the venue or its historical significance. I simply knew it was the first time they had toured in a decade and that this was the closest stop to me. Once you get to downtown Nashville the history and pedigree of that venue casts a long shadow. Howdy! Welcome to the Grand Ole Opry! Is an illustrated book that’s as much a love letter to live entertainment, as it is to country music and the physical entity where that great band from New Zealand played.
For the better part of a year I’ve been teaching high school literature. For non-teachers, people who teach literature have access to large closets of books from which to choose for their classes. Sometimes they can dig into engaging books of their choosing, and other times the departments might decide on The Crucible. It’s like the wardrobe from Narnia, but it leads to a kingdom of knowledge or pain, depending on your perspective. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is in those closets. Realistically, it’s almost certainly reserved for the AP classes. However, somewhere I like to think there’s a rogue literature class, probably helmed by Mr. Escalante from Stand and Deliver. They’re being rewarded by the patient, well-told dread and gothic stench that also has romantic sensibilities.
A publisher does not a good book make. However, there are some book publishers who are so consistent in their ability that it primes the pump for your expectations. Tra Publishing is one like that. Their books have an odd, slightly unfamiliar feeling about them, but not too much that it’s incomprehensible to its young audiences. A Home for Felix is familiar, but strange, with big, dreamy illustrations that will make early readers happy and keep the older people reading it entertained.
It’s a great thing when you can jump into the second entry in a book series and be entertained. It’s also quite rare. The Rise of Neptune is the second book in The Dragonships Series. It does something equally rare in middle-grade fiction, it makes you want to find the first book and read it so that you can connect the dots.
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