Children | Page 10 of 54

Zack and the Turkey Attack!, an elementary book assault they’ll welcome

When is a book whose main protagonist is a turkey not a Thanksgiving book? Zack and the Turkey Attack! isn’t about a turkey taking wrath by increased Tryptophan. This is the fun story about Zack, his friends, grandparents, making crazy inventions in the barn and a turkey who doesn’t like children. In reality, Zack and the Turkey Attack! has more in common with a farm centric Goonies-with a side of STEM, than a tale about Thanksgiving, despite the turkey in the title.

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Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter, a seasonal great good-night book

When the leaves start to fall I do it too. When I was hiking in the mountains the other week I found myself casually talking to the leaves on the ground, scattering chipmunks or twisted trees. The premise behind Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter by author/illustrator Kenard Pak is that when children speak to the things in nature they reply back to them. It’s a simple, daydream mentality that every kid through first grade does.

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Grand Canyon by Jason Chin, a book as great and big as its topic

Wow. I know that Grand Canyon by Jason Chin is a book intended for children, but I can’t stop looking at it. This is part science book, ecological text book for elementary through early middle school and self paced reading for kids who want to discover a place that seems magical, but is real. Grand Canyon manages to do that in a way that respectful and approachable to children, describing complex natural happenings in a way that they’ll understand and want to learn more about.

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The Whiskers Sisters: May’s Wild Walk, picture perfect for grades 2-3

The Whiskers Sisters is an original graphic novel by French illustrator and cartoonist Miss Paty. This is the charming story of three sisters who live in the forest with their grandfather. He’s the Guardian of the Forest and has been gone for a long time on a business trip, so the girls think. The Whiskers Sisters are Maya, the eldest, Mia, the middle and May, who is a toddler unable to speak yet, so her sisters think.

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The Pout-Pout Fish and the Bully-Bully Shark shakes up the formula

Elementary school kids know the Pout-Pout Fish. Elementary school kids are also introduced to bullies at this age. They may not know them as bullies, at the younger age they simple might perceive them as bossy or mean, but most like that kid is a bully. The Pout-Pout Fish and the Bully-Bully Shark tackles bullying in this timely book that’s appropriate for National Bullying Prevention Month and beyond.

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Santa Calls is a new (to us) Christmas classic for 9 and younger

One thing about being a parent and children is that everything old is new again. New things released today, when you don’t have children, have the potential to become classics by the time you have children. That’s the case with Santa Calls by William Joyce. It was initially released in 1993 and hasn’t aged a day in its 24 years.

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Red’s Planet, Friends and Foes, sharp art, great story-fabulous book

It’s sometimes difficult to jump into an existing book series. You feel like you’re late to the party, wish that you would’ve discovered it first or are hesitant because you don’t know the characters. Red’s Planet, Friends and Foes is the second book in Eddie Pittman’s series and our first introduction to the characters and I’m eating crow. Hello metaphorical crow, I eat you, not because I said that Red’s Planet wasn’t a good book, rather, I simply thought that based on its cover.

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Pocket Full of Colors is the story of Mary Blair and a colorful life

Some books arrive at the office and immediately draw me in. It doesn’t happen often, especially with authors or artists that I’m not already a fan of. Maybe three times a year do I receive an unknown book that so completely floors me that I’ll talk about the book to other adults? Pocket Full of Colors by Amy Guglielmo & Jacqueline Tourville with illustrations by Brigette Barrager is that book for us now.

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