Magic Cat Publishing

Do Not Disturb, a must-read on cell phone addiction-and stopping, for kids

Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but my kid’s cell phone is driving me crazy. As a teacher I know the struggle. The answers seem easy. Take the phone away, but it’s how they socialize. Limit their cell phone time, but they might need it for school work. If they don’t learn how to deal with it now, then they’ll be even worse when they’re out of the house. The quandary of how to deal with it, simply from the perspective of an adult is challenging. Do Not Disturb: How to Say No to Your Phone is for middle or high school kids who want to know more about the problem. But, I don’t have a problem, and it’s entirely possible that you don’t, but just for the sake of discussing it, let’s kick the topic around.

Do Not Disturb, a smart phone primer on its powerful control is a book that some need to read while others will falsely deny the need for its content or assistance.

If you have a kid in middle school there’s a 90% you need this

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 Inventor’s Workshop, STEM-fun for potato chip and cat video kids

The potato chip and cat video test is gauging whether or not a kid will want to read a book based on just one page. Because, much like a potato chip or a cat video, you can’t eat or watch just one. Some might relate better to the M&M or slice of pizza test, but the latter is far too large for repeated snacking, isn’t it? The Inventor’s Workshop: How People and Machines Transformed Each Other is a wonderful book that crosses through reference material, a loose time travelling narrative, countless blurbs of digestible information and detailed illustrations that channel a search for a lanky, bespectacled, poofy-haired, Brit who is hiding in plain sight.

The Inventor’s Workshop is a fun, easy-to-read illustrated book about inventors, their inventions, and how they’ve morphed over time.

Resistence is futile

Name That Thing!, the center of quiz, fun and daydream illustrated book

Any book that sounds like a failed show on Netflix or has a page on “how to use this book” in it, can’t be entertaining, it’s probably needlessly complex or not interesting for young readers. Note: I prefer using the term young readers, as opposed to children or students because the latter will imply to them that it’s studious and not fun, while the former infers that they’re young and might not know certain things. Name That Thing! is a puzzle book that’s smarter than most elementary school ages, has a presentation that’s agreeable to anyone and information that runs the gamut from general trivia to world flags and food from around the world. With any luck, Netflix is working on a game show with the same premise.

Name That Thing! is a picture quiz book that ranges from trivial knowledge to STEM facts for ages seven and up.

quiz, reference, rainy day fun lazy book

The Replay: 25 Greatest Moments in Sports, worldwide appeal play

There is a sport that no elementary school-aged kid likes. There is a sport that the vast majority of elementary school children like. There’s a sport somewhere that’s the official sport of a county or their national pastime. Some of these sports get more of the spotlight when the Olympics roll around, some have seasonal happenings and some of them have produced iconic images that folks around the globe will recognize. The Replay: 25 Greatest Moments in Sports is an illustrated book that looks at 25 specific instances in sports competitions that today’s elementary school students probably won’t know.

The Replay: 25 Greatest Moments in Sports is a global look at historic moments in modern competition that ages 7 and up will dig.

The more you know, the motivating sports version for ages 7 up

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

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