Abrams books | Page 11 of 14

The Dragon Ark makes you want to believe in them

Statement or impact books are those literary things that draw you into it even if you’re not at all interested on the subject. They can have a cover so beautiful or alluring that you simply must open it. Alternately, the book could be so large or unique that you’re curious about its content. The Dragon Ark, Join The Quest To Save The Rarest Dragon On Earth is an oversized book that works on both levels. The book is huge and its size alone will make people want to see it. The illustrations on the front cover are also incredibly detailed. It features nine dragons flying near an island while a Chinese Junk is sailing below them. There are subtle glossy gold lines that make aspects of the dragons, trees, or boat further pop off of the page.

An impact book that wears its passion for dragons on its sleeve

LoveBlock, tweaks the block books for the better

We’ve been fans of the Abrams Block Books since AlphaBlock came out and taught our then three-and-a-half-year-old his letters. Internally, I’m going whaaa, it’s really been eight years? That comes for both the age of our oldest son and how long it’s been since we received AlphaBlock. That book series evolved into dinosaurs, numbers, building, Disney, Marvel, and more. With LoveBlock the series from Christopher Franceschelli with art by Peskimo has changed again, albeit in a very subtle way.

LoveBlock takes the art and style of the block books, tweaks it a bit and nails the concept of love for ages one and up.

Love is, this book and its capture of how it’s exemplified in life

Magical Creatures and Mythical Beasts lights up international myths

Parents of a certain age will remember going to Spencer’s. It was the cool store where you could find those pop-culture items, Greg Brady beads, and blacklight posters. Spencer’s is still around, we have one at our local mall, but the teens we know don’t have as magical an impression as we did with it back in the day. To an extent, Magical Creatures and Mythical Beasts is a book that channels aspects of that black light magic. It’s an immersive seek-and-find illustrated book that looks at worldwide mythology, putting them on display using the UV flashlight it comes with.

Magical Creatures and Mythical Beasts is a book that shows you worldwide mythical creatures when the supplied UV light is shown on the pages.

Myths and beasts there be in plain sight ya see

First Names, Ferdinand Magellan, the happy nexus of graphic novel and book

First Names, Science Comics and Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales are the publishing equivalent of a slightly older brother by another mother. Science Comics, and their sibling, History Comics are graphic novels that are published by:01 First Second. Both of those series do an excellent job at presenting non-fiction topics or events in a graphic novel format. Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales are graphic novels that take a more humorous, but still non-fiction look at people or events. The First Names book series have hundreds of illustrations that would be at home in a graphic novel, but frame them around text that helps complete the story. First Names Ferdinand Magellan is a detailed look at his life, discovery, and the events surrounding all of them that shaped how we navigate the planet.

Book Edu-fu-tainment, for lack of a better term

Strange Nature, amazing close-up images kids want to see

It takes a special kind of person to oversee a fourth-grade report. In most cases those students are presented with a wide variety of options to choose from and more often than not, they’ll go for the more obscure animals. When I oversee kids doing a report like this I always encourage them to do the research in a book. The way that elementary kids use computers to research things is limited to what they see on the screen. They won’t let their natural curiosity turn the page before they’ve written down an information point that their teacher has asked for. Strange Nature, The Insect Portraits of Levon Biss is the kind of slow boiling, detail-filled book on bizarre insects that most kids will never see, but will know something about.

Bugs you can love. Photography you’ll crave.

Thanks A Ton!, teaches ‘thanks’ as only Hello!Lucky can

When we last saw the Hello!Lucky team, they were up and at ‘em with Go Get ‘Em Tiger. In Thanks A Ton! their bright, maniacally happy presentation is back with a cadre of animals and the goal of getting kids to laugh and say ‘thank you. If you haven’t seen a Hello!Lucky book or any of their graphic artwork it’s unmistakable.

It’s a book for children, keep telling yourself that

This Is The Glade Where Jack Lives, an offbeat, charming tale

I just had to look up the difference between a glade and a moor, essentially one is reserved for shooting while the other is merely an open space in a forest. This Is The Glade Where Jack Lives immediately reminded me of the book that it reminded you of. This Is The House That Jack Built is that backward told tale that was as great as the person reading it to you. If the reader is full of emotion and passion, then the story leaped off of the page. This Is The Glade Where Jack Lives, Or How a Unicorn Saved the Day takes that template, amps up the silly factor, and adds some fabulous illustrations to make a great good-night that will leave kids four-eight laughing regardless of when they read it.

This is the book, kids rightly mistook for a great good-night read

Old Enough to Save the Planet succeeds for many reasons

If Old Enough to Save the Planet were a time then it would be a sunny, warm weekend afternoon. From time to time there would be a cool breeze and there’d also hear a symphony of birds from a variety of branches in the tree above you. There’s a lot to like about Old Enough to Save the Planet. It’s all presented from an easy-going, leisurely perspective that provides elementary-aged children a dozen real-life examples of youth that saw a problem and are actively doing something about it.

A soft teaching eco book that works with illustrations and kids