Children's book reviews, all age comic books, Kidlit, mglit, movies, entertainment and parenting
Why do I need to remind our 14-year-old of his multiplication tables? He’s “on level”, got a B in eighth-grade math, but I’m still reminding him of what 8 x 8 or what 64 divided by 8 is. Something is amiss in the state of middle school mathematics. Lot and Lots of Ocelots: A Skip Counting Book does not have this problem. If anything, Lots and Lots of Ocelots is the pre-school and early-elementary school- kryptonite to a problem that could vex kids in four-to-seven years.
When I was in elementary and middle school I was knee-deep in curiosity about ancient Egypt. I also wasn’t a reader at that age. The internet didn’t exist and if I wanted to browse information on a topic I had to look through an encyclopedia. Yes, my family had a set of them, which weren’t used nearly as often as my parents would’ve wished. I remember my sister searching in vain for information on the cold war and having to ask my father instead. RIP, the physical monolith of Encyclopedia Britannica. Actual Factual Files: Ancient Egypt is the time-traveling book I needed when I was seven years old.
My pseudo-critical thinking lessons to high school students sometimes challenge them. I do provide answers, but I prefer to have students find the path or the solution, themselves. Jokes, stories and raw enthusiasm can lead people to learn in a manner where they want to, as opposed to they have to. Mushrooms and Company takes the former road. Educators, parents and some students will recognize the look of Mushrooms and Company.
Wild About Capybaras! What the heck is a capybara? Do capybaras, sloths and quokkas belong to a slow-moving club that secretly meets south of the Equator? Is it really possible to Giggle and Learn? Giggle and Learn Series are Toon Books by Kevin McCloskey that are smarter than they look and more fun than they seem. Wild About Capybaras! is a fun book to read, which raises the question, can early-elementary ages really have fun reading? So many questions, let’s unpack them. However, in case you’ve got to split, the answer is “yes”.
Quite often, we’ll talk about all-age comic books. These are comic books that can be enjoyed by any age; but have the ability to serve as entertainment for young ages. Is there such a thing as an all-age reference book? There is, but to call them a ‘reference book’ could be a disservice to how entertaining some of them are. What Makes A Bird? An Illustrated Guide to the Bird World is a fun, entertaining ‘reference book’ that belies the dreaded boring label young ages might apply to something that’s not brain rot. The book has a classic, timeless vibe that can be attributed to its illustrations and presentation.
“It’s criminal how cheap this is”, I said when I was checking out. I was a Mojo Vinyl (no relation) looking through some albums when I found the debut, eponymous album from The Producers. I couldn’t believe it was only $5, not that I wanted to pay more. However, it’s always worth talking to the record store employees so that they know what you’re looking for. Speaking of criminal behavior, I can’t believe that Earth Clock: The History of Our Planet in 24 Hours is only $8.23 on Amazon. Also, it says that it was released in 2022? What book vortex was I engulfed in to miss this one?
There’s a template that the irresistible non-fiction, reference books have. They cater to elementary school audiences. However, they’re enjoyable enough for older audiences to read them without being ashamed, as if they were caught reading Peppa Pig. They’re also smart enough to teach them facts they legitimately didn’t know. These are the cool facts they can share with family and friends like, “Did you know that the red spot on Jupiter is a massive storm that’s been happening for hundreds of years-at least?” Why Space Will Freak You Out got a copy of that template. It’s the planetary version of ‘things that go bump in the night’. This book baits the hook for science kids, as well as, reluctant STEM kids who avoid non-fiction, but love unusual or disgusting things.
Have you seen Inside Out or Inside Out 2? Both of those movies did a fabulous job in explaining emotions. They were especially effective with those complicated ones, like anxiety and jealousy. The Gland Factory: A Tour of Your Body’s Goops, Juices and Hormones is the literary sibling by another mother to those movies. This is a book that’s funny, legitimately LOL funny on so many levels that you’ll begrudgingly find yourself learning something in-between a chuckle, grin, guffaw or laugh. Author Rachel Poliquin proves that she knows her audience because The Gland Factory is sufficiently gross enough to attract upper-elementary through middle school readers.
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