Abrams books | Page 8 of 14

What’s Up Construction Truck? melds the impossible into a board book

What’s Up Construction Truck? is a board book that flies in the face of expectations. It is a board book. It is an interactive/pop-up book to an extent. It’s the smart, buildable board book that you wish that you had when you were a kid. It truly is a great time to be alive, but it didn’t start out this way. When we first received What’s Up Construction Truck? it scared me because of its implied simplicity. I just want a board book, not a puzzle that will embarrass me in front of my 12-year-old, I thought. So, I gave the book to him and let him put it together.

What’s Up Construction Truck? is from the pop-up genius of Matthew Reinhart, this time creating a 3-D bulldozer from the pages of a board book.

You can do this. It’s simpler than it looks and your kids will love it

Pixels Of You, a very slow burn, hazy manga-esque graphic novel

Pixels Of You, I love that song from The Cure. It’s off of Disintegration, which is easily one of the best LPs, CDs or downloads that you’ll ever run across. D’oh, that song is actually Pictures Of You, my bust. Pixels Of You is a graphic novel that’s aimed at upper middle school futurist fiction readers who really enjoy AI, cybernetically infused humans, and how those robot/people or people/robots fit in with the greater society. It’s also helpful if those readers are girls or those dudes who are into fashion or photography. Readers will further enjoy Pixels Of You if they enjoy conspiracy theories, and statements that could be facts, but could also be confused with stark chapter announcements.

Pixels Of You is a slow burn graphic novel with a manga vibe that’s great to look at, but has underdeveloped characters.

The art is striking, the story, really, really takes its time

Quackenstein Hatches A Family, now in groovy 8 x 8 size

From the perspective of a bibliophile, Quackenstein Hatches A Family is one of those illustrated books that you’ll discover in K or early elementary classrooms that’s been read in brutal fashion. The spine is cracked in several locations. Multiple pages are dog-eared. The front cover has a dozen (or more) crayon scribbles on it. It’s also one of those books that young readers will seek out and immerse themselves in during silent read time.

Quackenstein Hatches A Family, now available in 8 x 8 format and a lower price-with the same go-to read that ages 4 and up love.

Even if you don’t have kids between 4-8 you’ll want to read it

A Man Called Horse, makes pre-Civil War Seminole history approachable

Even when you’re finished attending school, you’re never done learning. A Man Called Horse is non-fiction proof to that for us, as well as, most people who will read the book. Despite having lived in Florida for half a decade I never knew anything about the Seminole. It’s very likely that resident Floridians know the basics about the Seminole Indians. However, I had no idea of the complex history that the region had in the early 1800s. What’s impressive about A Man Called Horse is how simple and concise author Glennette Tilley Turner makes the material.

A Man Called Horse is about John Horse, a Black Seminole in the pre-Civil War era, his tumultuous life and the chaotic times then.

Non-fiction on an era most middle school students know nothing about

Doctor Strange and The Mighty Thor Marvel Books deal in classic comfort

Board books can take on many forms in children’s literature. These are the feel good, comfort food books that crawlers will learn to love. My Mighty Marvel First Book Doctor Strange, as well as My Mighty Marvel First Book The Mighty Thor are two board books that are loaded to the gills with classic art, blazing action and thick pages for those kids to chew on….if they need to.

My Mighty Marvel First Board Book The Might Thor and Doctor Strange, classic art from Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby with board book smarts for crawlers.

Enter the Marvel comics world, young true believer

Run, Book One-an educational, great, and real graphic novel

Graphic novels can get a bad rap with some audiences. Some parents might take issue with what they see as being the sole topic of graphic novels, superheroes. Of course, librarians and young readers all over know that graphic novels encompass so many more topics than just superheroes in tights. For a while, Maus was considered the go-to graphic novel for upper-middle school readers. The March trilogy of graphic novels is another one that made the genre more respected in the eyes of reluctant educators or readers who might’ve been averse to the medium. Run: Book One picks up right where March, Book 3 left off, immediately grabbing readers by the pages into this story of ‘good trouble’ that set John Lewis on his way.

Run, Book One picks up where the March graphic novel series ended. It’s the powerful start of John Lewis’ life in leadership and the events that took him there.

Solid art, great story in this graphic novel for upper middle and older

Magnificent Women of Marvel, collectible/novelty or board book?

When is a board book not a board book? When it turns into a store. OK, that is not the answer, but it’s a question that one might be asking themselves when they pick up Magnificent Women of Marvel, Pop Up, Play and Display!. Sure, the pages are printed on board book thickness, which might imply that the book is geared for crawlers through kindergarten readers. However, when you look at the text it’s far too wordy and has pop-up elements on each page that are in no way able to withstand a crawler’s clumsy hands. The best way to think of Magnificent Women of Marvel is to use terminology that one would normally use with Ray Stevens or Dickie Goodman.

Who are you, no really, who are you

Cold War Correspondent, great storytelling on an area not covered in school

I make no bones about the fact that I absolutely love the Hazardous Tales book series from Nathan Hale. My only complaint about that non-fiction graphic novel series is that the pages and the font are too small. As if sensing my very wishes, Amulet Books published the Bigger & Badder Editions of some of the previously released Hazardous Tales. In my effort to temp the universe I complained about bad music on the radio and a lack of free pizza, to no avail. Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales Cold War Correspondent ups the ante to this series by making readers learn about a subject that they probably know nothing about in a manner that’s intelligent, funny, and respectful.

Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales Cold War Correspondent takes the complex, hazy era of post WWII and crystallizes it into an intelligent and approachable graphic novel.

Make the unteachable fun for middle school? Hold my pen says Nathan Hale