Books | Page 67 of 86

What Miss Mitchell Saw is addictive STEM (and anytime) reading

There is something visually jarring about What Miss Mitchell Saw that I just couldn’t put my finger on. When I saw the cover I loved it. In looking through the book there was something that I couldn’t identify that gave me a lukewarm feeling However, after looking at the book a second time I understood what caused that reaction and now see that as one of the bigger positives of the book. What educators, parents and somewhat patient readers will discover is the fascinating story of Maria Mitchell. She was a trailblazing astronomer whose upward gaze and talent awarded a crater on the moon named after her, the discovery of a comet and numerous other scientific accolades.

Fabulous art, great story and a stem background for ages 4 and up

Southwest Sunrise gorgeously and softly teaches while entertaining

Southwest Sunrise is a sneaky illustrated book. At first impression, young readers (or those poetry adverse people like me…) might look at the text by Nikki Grimes and dismiss it as a poetry book with pictures. However, once it’s read to them (or when they read it….like me), they’ll realize that it’s a fabulous story about a young boy who is moving to New Mexico from New York. Is it a stealth poetry attack that you won’t mind because of the art by Wendell Minor? Or is it an illustrated story about a young kid adapting to an entirely new way of living-with poetic text to add some literary clues to add more insight?

This is a travelogue for ages 4 and up

Good Guys, Bad Guys, it’s classic or dated-depending on your view

This is the soul of an active, imagination based play kid who is four through seven years old. Our eight year-old is still firmly in this camp where imagination is his leading currency and he spends it all of the time. Good Guys, Bad Guys is an illustrated book that speaks this language. One day a kid can be on the good side, other days they’re on the bad side and teams of who is good or bad can switch all the time. If you’re a fan of ‘come home when the street lights come on’ style books then Good Guys, Bad Guys will be just your sort of all-skate, slightly old school, pretend play, good-night book.

An old soul book about pretend play and switching sides as the street lights come on

Prairie Days is picture perfect summer (or anytime) illustrated reading

Perfect is a relative thing for an illustrated book. It requires a balance of content, art, pacing, text and unquantifiable characteristics that are combined into a book that reaches audiences regardless of where they live or what they do. Prairie Days is that sort of book. Think of a hot, summer day on the prairie and this book scorches its way into your memory. It all but leaves wet footprints in your house from the pond, with just a couple traces of dirt and rogue straws of hay strewn about the area where kids have tracked them in.

You don’t need to love the prairie to love this illustrated book

Zombies Of The World, a real (and entertaining) look at the unreal

In a more sensitive time Zombies Of The World would’ve had umpteen hundreds of people calling the police to warn about the hoards of approaching zombies. At times resembling the literary zombie equivalent to The War of The Worlds radio broadcast, this book is a realistic middle grade look at zombies. It’s also much more entertaining than you think it would be, especially for the passive zombie or undead enthusiast.

Research, wit,respect and more in the time of zombies

Mutts: Hot Dogs, Hot Cats is a classic comic in a new wrapper

Mutts by Patrick McDonnell is that friend who you might not have seen in years. The two of you had excellent conversations. They were your ying to your yang. You really like chocolate and they really like peanut butter and it was never a problem if the two accidentally rubbed against one another. It’s the Snoopy to your Woodstock. Mutt, Hot Dogs, Hot Cats is a collected works of this classic comic strip that have been released in book form that’s as fabulous the first of fourteenth time that you read it.

Hot dogs, hot cats is must-read stuff for any season

Lloyd Finds His Whalesong, a shy story about gifts and safety

Lloyd Finds His Whalesong by Skylaar Amann is an interesting illustrated book. From the moment that you pick it up the colors and illustrations make you smile. Lloyd is a young whale who is struggling to find his song amongst a pod of adult whales. If there’s no song then he can’t keep up and it’s a big ocean. Much like the tides, the book ebbs and flows, with Lloyd finding his voice, getting sidetracked by a noisy ship and hopefully finding the confidence to sing again so that he can find his people. As a children’s book it will meet the needs of whale kids or those who can focus on the art over the story.

Whale books-Get your whale books

Super Soldiers, a deep and loving dive into superheroes and the military

After reading Super Soldiers, A Salute to the Comic Book Heroes and Villains Who Fought for Their Country by Jason Inman; I challenged myself to think of one superhero that didn’t have direct ties to their country’s military. I did come up with a couple like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Spider-Man. However, even in trying to think of them I could see some fan circles thinking that they were part of the military, either per their definition or by them assisting in dire times. That’s a topic for another book. Super Soldiers is a respectful, well researched book about a variety of superheroes, their relationship to the military and parallels that they have in common with real soldiers in the military.

Superheroes don’t always wear capes