Reluctant reader boys need a skeleton key. It’s that mythical thing that could unlock anything, but in this case, we just need to get them to enjoy reading. Thus, it’s a bit ironic that Middle School is the closest thing that we’ve seen in recent memory for those elementary-aged reluctant readers. Night of the Vam-Wolf-Zom is the fourth book in the Middle School Bites series and it has every element that grades four through six require in their reading.
Illustrated books can be fun, moreover, they should be fun, because the actual point of the book is for children to enjoy them. All too often we’ll run across books that didn’t get the memo on that point. They do have a point, but their message is too in your face and simply forgets that kids won’t read it if it’s not fun. My Dog, Hen got the memo on that. There’s no message, no ulterior motive and it ends so quickly that you’ll double-check to see if the final two pages are glued together. As a result, its stark graphics will pull you in and the story of a boy, his family, and their dog is just the sort of feel-good read that kids will always enjoy.
This is a School is a picture book that seemingly every school librarian and teacher was talking about during the start of the school year. Starting the process of going to school can be quite scary for those young students. Going to school can also be a very exciting time. Sometimes, when the emotions of ‘scared’ and ‘excited’ combine it creates a troublesome experience for educators and parents called chaos. This is a School is a gentle, go-to picture book that introduces elementary school for those ages who are young enough to envision it as a mysterious place of wonder.
Have you ever experienced something so awesome that you wish that you hadn’t seen it so that you could enjoy it for the first time again? Creepy Carrots was the last illustrated book to do this to us. On television, it was Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, however, those shows are most certainly for adults or some teens. As much as I enjoyed that, it’s the all-age entries that are more impressive. The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess is an illustrated book that roars up alongside its contemporaries and happily rises to the cream of the crop. Even a casual glance at the cover, seeing the wood graphics on the spine and the dozens of hidden details that are lovingly drawn in give readers the impression that they’re in for something special.
Our 12YO read Middle School Bites: Out For Blood so quickly that I thought he was trying to distract me from something else. It’s not I thought he was lying, but he got the book on Friday and had read it by Tuesday. Combine that timeframe with middle school, LEGO, Scouts video games, and something didn’t add up. He told me the plot of Out For Blood, I then read it for myself and had a similar experience, except I read it two days quicker. Apparently, I need to play more video games, buy more LEGO sets, or otherwise engage my time, or maybe not.
We haven’t read a children’s illustrated book like The King’s Golden Beard in a long time. It’s a timeless illustrated book that feels as old as the hills, yet as current as whatever is trending on social media now. It’s a book that’s short on words, but long on story, instead of letting the illustrations and the white spaces within the pages fill in the blanks for young audiences. The King’s Golden Beard is also very smart and treats those young readers, or anyone else who jumps into the book, like the intelligent readers they are, even if they suspect they know where the story is going.
A children’s illustrated book can be a simple thing. They can also attempt to convey complex matters. It’s really rare to have an illustrated book tackle life. It was done a couple of years ago with One Day A Dot, a book that distills the universe in a STEM-happy way for young children to understand. This Thing Called Life by Christian Borstlap addresses the same grand scale of life, but does it in a simpler way, via timeless graphics, simple-yet realistic text, a sense of humor, and a side vibe of Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
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