Children | Page 7 of 55

A Festival of Ghosts creeps throughout for kids with spooks, without gore

Ghosts are real, accept that now. There are also people who have the skills to communicate with them. These people help them deal with their questions, unresolved issues or the occasional ill-tempered or misinformed poltergeist. A Festival of Ghosts is the second story to feature Rosa Diaz and the town of Ingot that has dozens upon dozens of spectral happenings, plus a pair of middle schoolers who are up to the challenge.

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MVP, Most Valuable Puppy is simple, animal & kid kidlit

The premise behind MVP, Most Valuable Puppy is so kid friendly and happy it sounds familiar. In fact, there may well be another book that parallels this story to some extent. One of the curve balls in MVP is that the author’s of the book are donating the profits to Heidi’s Angels; a group that helps fight Pediatric Cancer via V Foundation for Cancer Research. The book’s author has name cache also in that it’s ESPN Host Mike Greenberg and his wife, Stacy Steponate Greenberg.

As a book MVP, Most Valuable Puppy is cute, heart-warming stuff that mirrors Greenberg’s own home situation to an extent. It’s told from the perspective of Phoebe, an active rescue puppy who likes balls and eating crumbs off of the floor. Continue reading MVP, Most Valuable Puppy is simple, animal & kid kidlit

Henry And the Yeti, an icy quest that kids will love

If The Nightmare Before Christmas and Minions had a baby with a Yeti bent the result would be along the lines of Henry And The Yeti. Henry And The Yeti is a children’s illustrated book by Russell Ayto. This is the first book that he’d taken the reins on for art and story and based on the happy, goofy, relatable and slightly spooky monster story he’s created it won’t be his last.

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Santa Bruce, warms the heart of all who read it, even grumpy bears

Everyone loves a curmudgeon; especially the curmudgeon lite, a la Hugh Grant, to me they’re impossible to resist. Sure they appear grumpy, but you know that deep down they love not bad, they simply want to evoke a crusty exterior, most likely to put off unwarranted salespeople. Somewhere between Hugh Grant and Archie Bunker (but much closer to Hugh Grant) is Bruce, the bear who inhabits the books by New York Times Best-Selling Author Ryan T. Higgins. Bruce is back in Santa Bruce, a seasonal Christmas tale about a grumpy bear, three irrepressible mice and the rest of the animals in the forest who have a big surprise coming their way.

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Dia de los Muertos, board book is read-along fun for 3 and up

Everything I know about Dia de los Muertos I learned from Coco. I need a shirt that says that, because it’s 100% true. Now I know a little bit about it, like the key terms of abuelos, ofrendas and muertos. It wasn’t too long ago that I thought Dia de Los Muertos has more sinister leanings at worst or at best the backdrop for a sub-par James Bond film. Dia de los Muertos is also in a board book. It’s a bright slice of family memories that simply spells out what makes this Mexican tradition a happy spot in an undead arena.

That’s what I thought the tradition was all about. Skeletons, ghosts and specters, it’s like Halloween but they have parades instead of candy, I thought.

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Click, Clack Quack to School takes this must-read series to school

Our kids grew up on the Click, Clack, Moo series of books by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin. From the first one where Farmer Brown’s cows start to leave him notes, Duck runs for President to where the animals have a birthday in Click, Clack, Surprise! Happy Birthday this series of books is consistently entertaining for kids through third grade. Click, Clack, Quack to School! Is new to the series and sees all of the animals displaying their traits on center stage as they each get ready for school.

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Someone Farted, no really, someone farted and it’ll make kids laugh

Someone Farted. Someone Farted by Bruce Eric Kaplan is the book that might divide you as a parent. You want your child to read, but a part of you wants them to read books about feelings or solving elementary school problems. If the later term describes you then Someone Farted is in no way the book that you’re looking for. With any luck Gandhi Plays, the story about a 6-year old Mahatma Gandhi on the playground at an elementary school will be published next month for you.

For those other parents, or those children who just want to read, laugh and have something that relates to their family, Someone Farted is for you. You’ll never guess what Someone Farted is about-or maybe the title is too obvious and that’s the reason this book interests you.

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Brussels Sprouts, smelly shoes, parenting and school starting

We were provided with payment or product for this post. All thoughts are our own. At their core and for better or worse, children are the 100% honest, pint sized versions of us. Everything-and I mean everything strange that our kids do I know that I did at one point myself. This includes the manner in which they think those thoughts; and how they manifest themselves into the sometimes very un-PC statements that come out of their adorable heads that are impossible to distance yourself from. Continue reading Brussels Sprouts, smelly shoes, parenting and school starting