Elementary school | Page 5 of 28

Jasper Rabbit’s Creepy Tales! Troubling Tonsils!, chapter book fun ages 6-9

How do you make an excellent pizza even better, or at least maintain the same level of quality at a different location? Jasper Rabbit has that issue. The three illustrated book in Jasper Rabbit’s Creepy Tales had they problem when they were initially released, but more on that in a moment. Jasper Rabbit’s Creepy Tales! Troubling Tonsils! has the same spirit as those now classic illustrated books, but ups the demographic. This is a chapter book aimed at those early elementary age students who were, just yesterday laughing at Creepy Carrots! or Creepy Pair of Underwear! Can Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown corroborate on a chapter book as cohesively as they did previously?

Jasper Rabbit’s Creepy Tales! Troubling Tonsils! is the first in a series of fun chapter books that continues the young creepies for ages 6-9.

You will want to become seven years old again…just to read this for the first time

It’s Almost Time for Halloween! is a seasonally silly book for kids

Here’s an ode to cute illustrated books of Halloween. These are the kid-friendly books that are heavy on illustrations. The book’s pages are glossy and the cover has embossed characters, letters, or both. These features help drive home the book’s movement and tactile enjoyment for young hands. It’s those ages who get more out of touching than they do sitting. It’s Almost Time for Halloween! is the silly sort of seasonal selection that exists to make kids fall in love with the idea of reading a book.

Pre-K through 3rd grade kids laughing? check.

Pocket Bear is go-to, early-chapter book magic for ages 7-12

Pocket Bear has a style and spirit that will easily tap into kids in early elementary school. Those kids who are already reading will feel accomplished because of its short chapters. The slightly older kids, say those in third through fifth grade will feel encouraged that they’re able to read a real book. By ‘real book’ they’ll mean a chapter book with very few, if any, illustrations. Everyone, even you adults who might read Pocket Bear aloud to young audiences, will quickly fall prey to its cuteness and the age-appropriate action.

Pocket Bear is by Katherine Applegate, a go-to author who again is able to tap into a story that will charm elementary ages in the best of ways.

Resistance is futile to Pocket Bear

Aggie and the Ghost, illustrated book gold for ages three and up

Children are not stupid. When they see illustrated books they’re able to tell the simpler ones from those that entertain at a more cerebral level. And just because something is not at a stupid level doesn’t mean that it’s relegated to the tucked-away lands of fancy pants books. There’s a place where clever, sublime illustrated books live. Those who have an old-soul, new-world sensibilities, intelligence and a timeless characteristic that allows the book to feel ‘new’, regardless of when it comes out. Matthew Forsythe lives there and turns out hauntingly charming illustrated books that are as endearing as they are creepy and weird. Aggie and the Ghost joins Pokko and the Drum, and Mina for a hat trick of illustrated book storytelling magic.

Aggie and the Ghost makes Matthew Forsythe 3-for-3 when it comes to illustrated books that are an instant classic.

This aint no New Coke, this is a new classic yo

Iron Man: Something Strange is fun for young readers in elementary school

When I was a teenager I loved the Marvel Team-Up comic books. Spoiler alert: I still love those comic books. It’s the thought of one cool superhero who might be slightly antagonistic, temporarily partnering with another one with complementary powers or an opposing personality. Iron Man: Something Strange is the young reader, graphic novel equivalent of those comic books. It’s the fourth in A Mighty Marvel Team-Up book series that seemingly has the goal of making reading fun and approachable to grades two through five.

Iron Man: Something Strange is the all-age graphic novel that your seven-year-old self desperately wanted. This is great fun for early elementary school ages.

Iron Man and Doctor Strange-yes please

Sibling Adventures in Axolotl and Axolittle: A Picture Book for Kids

In my Venn Diagram of animals big and small I have an axolotl and a quetzalcoatlus. I know that quetzalcoatlus, according to fossil records, lived near Mexico; and that its much smaller phonetic friend, axolotl, is native to two freshwater lakes near Mexico City. Those STEM kids know what an axolotl looks like, but they’ve probably never seen one in real life. Even saying its name is fun, axolotl. It simply begs for an illustrated book like Axolotl and Axolittle.

Axolotl and Axolittle is a picture book with big, cute characters, who are small in real life, but pack a powerful punch that softly teaches amongst the laughs. .

The cuteness can not be escaped from

It’s Busy Down in the Woods Today is a poetic seek-and-find for today

Someplace, somewhere, there is a doctor’s or dentist’s office waiting for a copy of It’s Busy Down in the Woods Today. Wait, the mere thought of associating those offices with the book might put off the pre-K or kindergarten crowd. Instead, let’s say that It’s Busy Down in the Woods Today: Friends to Meet, Places to Explore and over 100 Things to Find is the rabbit hole, busy time, chill-out companion that young, manic minds need, even though they may not want it.

It’s Busy Down in the Woods Today is a seek-and-find book in Brown Bear Wood series, but offers a homespun, poetic twist for ages two to six.

There are other things to look for than a skinny beatnik guy

The Music Inside Us, a look at the life of Yo-Yo Ma, with takeaways for all

As a younger man I was always skeptical of biographical movies because you always know how they end. Since then, my thoughts on entertainment have evolved somewhat as to what makes a movie entertaining. That same qualifier has never existed for books, even when it came to children’s literature. The Music Inside Us is the story of world-renowned cellist Yo Yo Ma. It’s a safe bet most elementary school ages don’t know Yo-Yo Ma, much less what a cello is or can isolate its deep, soul searching sounds were they to hear it. As an illustrated book, The Music Inside Us is not a typical biography. Instead, it opens the book by asking a question about the purpose of music. This soft introduction works in partnership with the art that is realistic, painted, and muted in all the right ways.

The Music Inside Us: Yo-Yo Ma & His Gifts to the World is the life story of the world’s most famous cellist, but has life applications for those who are a prodigy.

The life story of Yo-Yo Ma, but with a takeaway for everyone