Wave, by Suzy Lee - summer fun and memories of the beach (ages 3 - 6)

We've just spent a week at the beach in England, and our youngest has discovered the utter joy in chasing the waves. The first day, she was excited but terrified to touch the water. She would run to it, and then run away. By the end of our stay, she was thrilled, jumping up and down when the wave came up to her. I don't have pictures of her (too busy holding her hand!), but here's our middle daughter leaping with delight at the waves.

Do you remember your child’s first time seeing the ocean’s waves? Their fascination? The rhythm and magic of the ocean? Suzy Lee's wordless picture book is perfect for capturing those memories.

Wave
by Suzy Lee
SF: Chronicle Books, 2008
ages 3–6
available on Amazon and at your local library

A girl sees the wide beach before her, stretching across the horizon. She leaves her mother’s side to taunt and tease the wave. In the meantime, the wave approaches her little by little. Both the girl and the wave grow more courageous, until the girl goes too far into the wave’s territory. Suddenly, the wave roars up to become a great blue frothing wall of water, drenching the little girl. Startled, she looks around to discover shells and treasures that the wave has washed ashore. As the girl waves goodbye, readers can tell that she loved the game and will be back another day. This is a lovely, evocative story that is bound to bring back memories and start conversations.

You can have a taste of the book with the images from the book trailer, but the book itself reads even more beautifully. It is opens to quite wide double-page spreads, giving the reader a sense of the expanse of the beach and ocean. The colors are clear and beautiful.

I'm very excited about Suzy Lee's newest book, Shadow, coming out next month.

Here's the publisher's description from Chronicle Books:

A dark attic. A light bulb. An imaginative little girl.

Internationally acclaimed artist Suzy Lee uses these simple elements to create a visual tour de force that perfectly captures the joy of creative play and celebrates the power of imagination. Stunning in their simplicity, Lee's illustrations, in just two shades of color, present an adventure that begins and ends with the click of a light bulb.

Head over to the blog Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast to see more of Suzy Lee's artwork, and read a very interesting interview with Suzy.

The review copy came from our school library. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this page, a small portion will go toward Great Kid Books (at no cost to you). Thank you for your support.

What we're reading on vacation

We have been having a great family vacation, visiting family and friends in England and sight-seeing in Paris. I keep thinking of different posts, but have found little time to write. I thought, instead, I'd try to do a quick wrap-up of different things we've all been reading.

Audiobooks: I love having the kids listen to audiobooks while we're on vacation. They each have a different audiobook loaded onto an MP3 player (like an iPod), and listen to them at night (great help with jetlag in the middle of the night!) or just when they need some down time. I get our audiobooks through Audible.com or through the local library.

Ramona and Her Father, by Beverly Cleary: We have loved listening to several other Ramona books all together. So now, my 6 year old is listening to Ramona and Her Father, the 4th book in this series and a Newbery honor book. The Ramona books make wonderful family listening - we all laugh at Ramona, seeing her stubbornness, but we find ourselves relating to her predicaments and rooting for her. Available from audible.com or your local library.

Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire, by Derek Landy: I loved, loved the first Skulduggery Pleasant book as an audiobook (see my full review here), as did my 8 year old. She loves the blend of fantasy, action and humor. The protagonists are fantastic: a 12 year old girl full of courage and curiosity, and a 100 year old skeleton detective who's witty, sarcastic and, well, long-lasting. I recommend it to kids who've loved The Lightning Thief and want that blend of action, adventure and fantasy. This is the second in the series. I have not listened to this book, but she's now listening to it for the second time and begging for the third in the series. Rupert Degas is a deliciously wonderful narrator. Available from audible.com or your local library.

Bloody Jack #4: In the Belly of the Bloodhound, by L.A. Meyer: The Bloody Jack series is a ripping yarn full of adventure for Mary "Jacky" Faber, a young British girl who escapes poverty and convention in her 18th century life to live on the high seas. In this installment, Jacky and her classmates at the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls are kidnapped and forced onto a slaver ship. My 11 year old loves the combination of historical fiction, action, adventure and breaking stereotypes. Winner of the 2010 Odyssey honor award from the ALA for outstanding audiobook. Click here to listen to a clip from the publisher, Listen and Live. Available from Amazon, audible.com and your local library.

Novels and chapter books: We've also brought along several books to read on vacation. Here are the ones that stand out.

House of Dolls, by Francesca Lia Block: My kindergartner was fascinated by the world of the dolls in this book. Wildflower, who once belonged to the little girl's grandmother; plain and meek Rockstar, so named because the little girl had wanted a more glamorous doll; and Miss Selene, a greenish-skinned fairy. The little girl, Madison Blackberry, is a lonely child with little contact with her parents or friends. This book was a bit of a stretch for my 6 year old, and yet it touched both of us in a heart-felt, deep way. As Madison starts mistreating her dolls, Madison's grandmother realizes that no one has given Madison real attention. Her grandmother makes Madison a dress, just the way she used to make the dolls dresses. My 6 year old could really connect to that, as we talked about a blanket I made just for her. It was a very touching moment, one that will stay with both of us. This is a book to read aloud with your child, perhaps 2nd and 3rd graders, and talk about. Review copy was sent by the publisher, HarperCollins. Available on Amazon or at your local library.

The Red Pyramid, by Rick Riordan: My husband is reading this aloud to my 8 year old, and I've been listening to the audiobook. It was really exciting to visit the British Museum and the Louvre and watch my daughter get so excited about the Egyptian sections. Right away, she recognized Horus, Isis, Thoth, and Baset. Riordan has an amazing ability to bring mythology alive. I must say that I've found the audiobook a bit hard going. There are so many different characters, and the narrators play up the different accents with almost too much gusto for my taste. But the story is full of action and suspense. Available on Amazon, at audible.com or at your local library.

Word After Word After Word, by Patricia MacLachlan: I've just started this book, on the recommendation of a fellow librarian at ACL, and it's is truly wonderful. On one hand, it's the story of an author coming to visit a 4th grade class to teach the children about writing, but on the other hand it's a story about friendship and surviving and growing up. It's full of beautiful writing, touching moments and words that whisper in your ear. None of it feels forced. I can't wait to read more. It reminds me of Love That Dog, one of my students' all-time favorite books. Review copy sent by the publisher, HarperCollins. Available on Amazon, at audible.com or at your local library.

I hope your summer is going well. Have you read any good books with your family lately?

Please know that any purchases you make on Amazon using the links on this page, a small portion will go to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you). Thank you for your support.

SPHDZ, by Jon Scieszka - BE ALL YOU CAN BE! (ages 8 - 12)

Did you ever play the game when you were kids of seeing who could identify the company from a TV ad the quickest? Could you tell what ad it was, just from the first few notes of the jingle? Do kids still play this?

I'm not sure how many kids watch TV commercials - do they just fast forward through them, or are they still watching them? Regardless, kids are bombarded by advertising wherever they turn - whether it's on the Internet, billboards, or cereal boxes. Jon Scieszka's newest series, Spaceheadz, takes this and turns it on its head. Three aliens land on Earth and all they know about us comes from TV, the Internet and radio.

SPHDZ Book #1 (Spaceheadz)
by Jon Scieszka with Francesco Sedita
illustrated by Shane Prigmore
NY: Simon & Schuster, 2010
ages 8 – 12
available on Amazon and your local bookstore

Scieszka's newest series is an irreverent take on kids and advertising. Michael K. has just started fifth grade at a new school. On top of that, he's sitting next to some truly strange kids. In fact, they don't seem to be kids at all. They are aliens – real aliens who have invaded our planet in the form of school children and a hamster. Their mission is to convince 3,400,001 kids to BE SPHDZ. But these kids (aliens) talk like walking advertisements – all they know about Earth they learned from watching TV, listening to the radio, or surfing the Internet. For a sense of the book, here's an excerpt from the first chapter:

"Michael K. decided he would goof right back . . . then move his seat as far away from them as possible.

'I get it,' said Michael K. 'You are Spaceheadz from another planet. On a mission to Earth. Here to take over the world. Take me to your leader. Bzzt, bzzzt.'

'See! I told you, Jennifer!' said Bob. 'Michael K. can do anything! He is like a rock. MMM, MMM GOOD.'

Jennifer burped up the eraser from Michael K.’s only pencil. She spit it out.

'GET RRRREADY TO RRRRRUMBLE,' said Jennifer.

'Eeek eek,' said the class hamster.

Room 501-B went silent except for the sound of Mrs. Halley writing on the chalkboard.

The thought occurred to Michael K. that Bob and Jennifer were not joking."
(c) JRS Worldwide LLC, 2010

Ad jingles are sprinkled throughout, from "Just Do It" to "The Quicker Picker Upper" to "Reach Out and Touch Someone." I thought those pop culture jokes were very funny, but I'm not sure kids will get them.

While this series isn’t for everyone, some kids – especially reluctant readers or readers who like figuring out a puzzle – will enjoy the short chapters, references to pop culture, fake websites, and crazy situations that Michael K. finds himself in. Other reviews have commented that it was confusing, but I followed the plot without problems. The chase scenes and goofy situations that Michael’s new “friends” get into are funny, but the ending did not have the zip and zaz that the middle of the book did. I felt that the ending fizzled a little bit, and I didn't feel the book really explained why Michael K. decided to help his new friends.

This book can make a fun launching pad for talking about media literacy, the power of advertising and the danger of believing everything you see and hear. The websites mentioned in the book are all real, albeit fake websites. My favorite is AAA: The Anti-Alien Agency. It's a very funny spoof of a government agency. But it would be great to ask the question - how do we know this is a spoof? How do you know what websites to trust as providing real information?

I know as a kid I would have had great fun with this book. Each chapter title is also written in code - hopefully future books in the series will use this code in the plot. The illustrations are funny and enhance the plot.

This book trailer gives a quick sense of the book:



The review copy was kindly sent by the publisher. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this page, a small portion will go to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you). Thank you for your support.

Cool facts and interesting information - great National Geographic Kids books (ages 6 - 12)

Kids love looking through the National Geographic Kids Magazine. It's easy to browse through, full of interesting information to read, and packed with eye-catching photos. Two great choices for summer reading are Weird But True! and National Geographic Kids Almanac 2011. These are perfect for summer reading - you dip into them over and over again, finding all sorts of interesting information. Wierd But True is great for early elementary kids, and the almanac is perfect for kids who want to soak in more information.

Weird But True!
300 Outrageous Facts
DC: National Geographic Children's Books, 2010
ages 5 - 9
available on Amazon or your local book store

Based on the Weird But True page in the National Geographic Kids Magazine, this book has been a hit with my kids. They love browsing through it, finding all sorts of trivia and tidbits. It's a great book for breaking up those cries of "I'm sooooo bored!" Did you know:

- Some honeybees quack.
- The most overdue library book was 288 years late.
- A bat can eat 3,000 insects in one night.
- A woman hand-delivered a pizza from London, England to Melbourne, Australia - a distance of about 10,350 miles.
- There are about a billion bacteria in your mouth right now.

Kids like the bright layout of this book, and the quick and quirky facts. It's not a book that gives you any depth or information behind the facts. But it does stir curiosity and conversations.

National Geographic Kids Almanac 2011
DC: National Geographic Children's Books, 2010
ages 9 - 12
available on Amazon and your local book store

My kids and their friends have spent hours looking at this almanac. They each have their favorite sections, whether it's about animals, distant lands and cultures, outer space or inventions from the future. This almanac is packed full of information. The text is written at a 5th grade level, and so is a little dense for many kids who are drawn to it. But it's full of interesting information. For example, I learned:

- There are 37 species of wild cats, and scientists divide them into eight groups based on their DNA.
- Domestic cats are related to the Sand Cat, which lives in the dry deserts of northern Africa and the Middle East.
- Dogs and cats each have special abilities, and pet owners have trained them to do amazing things - including playing the piano, walking tightropes, and even perhaps predicting earthquakes.
- Prehistoric marine reptiles swam the seas millions of years before dinosaurs roamed the land.
- Scientists are studying the structure of leaves to see how rain and dirt roll off them, in hopes of being able to design buildings which repel dirt and water.
- The sun is a star that is about 4.6 billion years old, and about a million planet Earths could fit inside of it - it's diameter is 870,000 miles across.

Kids are drawn to this almanac, dipping and diving into the information. I like the fact that it's more substantive than a Ripley's Believe It or Not. This is a perfect book to bring along on a summer vacation - you can glance through it, or dig in deeper. Find out what your child is interested in and have a conversation as you go along. You might find yourself pulled into it as well!

Browse through them to see what they're like. You can either enlarge these, or click on the page turn to glance at them online:





The review copies were kindly sent by the publisher. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links here, a small portion will go to Great Kid Books. Thank you for your support.

Billy & Milly: Short & Silly - great fun for beginning readers (ages 3 - 7)

Do you have a child just beginning to read? Or a preschooler who wants their books short and silly? Billy & Milly: Short & Silly is a funny, lively book that's sure to bring giggles. It uses just a few words on each page to create great laughs.

Billy & Milly: Short & Silly
written by Eve B. Feldman
pictures by Tuesday Mourning
NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2009
ages 3 - 7
available on Amazon or at your local library

Using just 3 or 4 rhyming words, this picture book sets up situations that will have kids thinking and laughing out loud. Can you think what picture goes with this?

"Stoops /
Hoops, Scoops /
(turn the page)
Ooops!"

Two friends are sitting on their front stoops, one starts playing basketball while the other eats an ice cream. Turn the page, and the basketball lands - you guessed it, right on the ice cream cone. Kids can often predict what is going to happen on the next page, not to mention come up with the fourth rhyming word. The pictures tell the story, the words are easy to read, and the payoff is great.

There are 13 very short stories in this book - each with a quick punchline. These stories are also great for helping kids develop their language skills in a playful, fun way. Try getting them to explain what is happening in each picture. Or you can play with rhyming words, thinking up your own rhyming word combination.

Enjoy, and have fun coming up with your own rhyming combinations. This is connected to the game "Hink Pink" where you come up with a rhyming pair, and then think up clues for friends to guess. It might go like this: "What type of resting place is best to enjoy at sunset?" "A red bed."

The review copy came from our local library. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links here, a small portion will go to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you). Thank you for your support.

Meanwhile, by Jason Shiga: a fascinating comic book like no other I've seen (ages 10 and up)

Funny books can come in all shapes and sizes, to fit all types of humor. A comic book that is like no other I've seen is Meanwhile, by Oakland cartoonist Jason Shiga. If you like puzzles, choose-your-own adventures, and linear thinking that twists and turns in different directions, this is a book you'll love looking at over and over again. It is certainly funny, in its own way - a bit dark, a bit twisted, but one that many kids and adults find fascinating.

Meanwhile: Pick Any Path
3,856 Story Possibilities
by Jason Shiga
NY: Amulet Books, 2010
ages 10 and up
available on Amazon or at your local library

You walk into an ice cream store, and what do you have to do? Make a choice. What flavor will it be today? We all have to make hundreds of choices every day. Jason Shiga wonders how we can explore those choices in the comics we read. He's fascinated by interactive comics, where the choices you make change the course of the story.

So Jimmy walks into an ice cream store, and you the reader have to decide: will it be chocolate or vanilla? The choice you make will affect the course of the story. Choose vanilla, and Jimmy has a quiet day, going home. But choose chocolate and it's a whole different story. Each time you, the reader, makes a choice, you follow tubes between the panels in the story. These tubes will lead you to the edge of the page, to tabs on different pages. Turn to that page and follow the tubes to follow Jimmy's story.

Jimmy past an industrial plant along his way home, and he walks into use the bathroom. He meets an inventor (friendly or mad scientist?) who has developed three objects: a time machine, the SQUID which transfers memories, and the Killitron that can either kill everyone in the world not inside of it or make delicious ice cream. And yes, Jimmy gets to choose which machine to play with. Each choice takes him along different paths, often looping back, covering the same ground again.

At a recent book talk at the wonderful independent bookstore A Great Good Place for Books in Oakland, CA, Shiga talked about the paths in the book resembling garden paths. Instead of thinking of the choices like a decision tree, he envisions the choices as wandering around an intricate garden path. Sometimes you'll find yourself in the same part of the garden, on a slightly different path. Sometimes you'll even be on the same section of garden path again. It's a fascinating vision. One that allows him to structure an intricate system of choices, a bit like a maze or labyrinth but with many distinct stories instead of one defined solution.

Now, I have to be utterly honest. I have only read a small fraction of this book - there are over 3,000 different stories! But every time I show this story to kids who love comics, love twisting logic, they disappear with the book for days. As one kid said, "This book really makes you think." I think it's fascinating the way that Shiga thinks about how choices affect our lives. Small choices lead to all sorts of twists and turns, just the way that our everyday choices lead to consequences we can't predict or necessarily understand.

To get a glimpse of the book, head over to Amulet's website to look at some sample pages. Or watch the video below with an interview of Shiga at the Alternative Press Expo. There are excellent reviews of Meanwhile at 100 Scope Notes, Fuse #8, and Comic Book Resources.

Jason Shiga @ APE 2009 from Doctor Popular on Vimeo.

The review copy was kindly sent by the publisher, Abrams Books. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links, a small portion will go to Great Kid Books. Thank you for your support.