The Quiet Book [Hardcover]

Amazon Best Books of the Month, April 2010: Give Goodnight Moon and Goodnight Gorilla  the night off and pick up this new bedtime classic. This pitch-perfect picture book by Deborah Underwood and illustrator Renata Liwska will quell the pre-bedtime crazies. With the softest of opening salvos--"There are many kinds of quiet"--the story reflects all the different peaceful moments during the day, like "Coloring in the lines quiet," "Hide and seek quiet," and of course "Bedtime kiss quiet." The repetitive pattern of the text paired with softly colored illustrations of adorable stuffed animals is better than a lullaby. --Lauren Nemroff


Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 1—This gentle picture book subtly explores the many different kinds of "quiet." Bears, rabbits, porcupines, mice, owls, moose, and wombats are depicted in situations that effectuate the notion of quiet throughout the daily life of a young child. For example, the "first one awake quiet" shows a rabbit doing his morning stretches. In "Right before you yell, 'SURPRISE!' quiet," three animal friends crouch behind a couch. "Making a wish quiet" presents a contemplative porcupine sitting on a stool wearing a party hat. A bear and a rabbit playing tag with the waves at the beach symbolize, "Best friends don't need to talk quiet." The soft, matte feel of the illustrations, created with pencil, are digitally enhanced, and are priceless. The animals' facial expressions and body language are endearing. White space is used creatively to emphasize the mostly gray or brown palette. All of the scenarios are child-centric and realistic. A delightful and enchanting choice for storytime or sharing one-on-one.—Anne Beier, Hendrick Hudson Free Library, Montrose, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This review is from: The Quiet Book (Hardcover)

The Quiet Book is a precious collection of *different kinds of quiet* such as coloring-in-the-lines-quiet and trying-not-to-hiccup-quiet. The illustrations are a soft palate of earthy pastels and the child-animals are absolutely adorable. There are a couple of reasons why I truly love this book and would highly recommend. 1) It's an entertaining way to help children notice when quiet arises naturally. 2) This book encourages children to discover the emotions behind different kinds of quiet - be it contentment or nervousness, excitement or silent awe. It also makes a perfect gift for the friend in your life (no matter how old) who might need a meditation on quiet and where it can be found. In a world of ever-increasing noise and stimulus, this book is a very special one.

This review is from: The Quiet Book (Hardcover)

This is a wondrous book about all the different kinds of quiet there are for kids. Happy quiets and worried quiets, scared quiets and "was I being naughty?" quiets.

I have to declare an interest, since I am Deborah Underwood's brother in law. Which means I have had the privilege of knowing the book for many years in draft form (you have NO idea how long it takes for children's picture books to come out.)

The book has always been brilliant but I didn't imagine how great the pictures would be to go with it.

In short I think this is a great book and I don't think you or your children will be disappointed

Bailey [Hardcover]

Meet Bailey, a dog who surprises and charms his fellow human classmates with his irrepressible antics.
Follow Bailey the dog as he gets ready and goes to school. Should he wear the red or blue collar? Both are so fashionable! Will he be late? That squirrel is a distraction! And what about Bailey's homework? Would you believe he ate it? That is what dogs do, after all.

In this funny new book from the best selling children's illustrator Harry Bliss, school proves to be an unexpected place for Bailey to do all sorts of things he loves: reading, fetching, painting, digging, singing - and making friends!

The Ogre of Oglefort [Hardcover]

For excitement-hungry orphan Ivo, a mission to save Princess Mirella from the dreaded Ogre of Oglefort is a dream come true. Together with a hag, a wizard, and a troll, Ivo sets out, ready for adventure. But when they get to the ogre's castle, the rescuers are in for a surprise: the princess doesn't need saving, but the depressed ogre does! It's a warmhearted, hilarious romp in the tradition of Roald Dahl, with enough creepy magic, ghosts, and laughs to make even the saddest ogre smile.

This review is from: The Ogre of Oglefort (Hardcover)

Another ripping story from one of my favorite English children authors, this one released in 2010. While copies from England are titled "The Ogre of OGelfoor", it is quite possible that the book will be released in a U.S. printing with a different title. That has happened with many of Ibbbotson's books already, and it gets confusing for fans of her work. From the first Ibbotson book I read, "The Secret of Platform 13" I have enjoyed her eccentric characters and stories.
In this new book, a Hag and her familiar, a troll, a wizard and many other magical creatures are living in the city of London as their natural homes have been lost to development. The magical creatures have a big convention every year to go on a mission to help someone. Right before the mission, the Hag's familiar refuses to go and she agrees to take an orphan boy named Ivo in its place. It appears that an ogre on an island has captured a princess and plans to eat her and the group is ordered to rescue her, but things are not always what they seem. I really enjoyed the way the author linked different small things together that seem minor details at the time, but all click together in bog ways later on. She is hilarious in a rude sort of way (I am not complaining a bit) like Roald Dahl. I highly recommend the author and this book for anyone that books about witches, ghosts, banshees, trolls, ogres, warlocks, and other creatures who turn out to be nice most of the time, while the humans are often the scariest characters in the books.

Best Books of the Month for Children: August 2011

Best Books of the Month for Children: August 2011

Each month our editors select eight of the best books for children--see below for this month's favorites in Picture Books and books for Middle Grade readers.

My Big Animal Book (casebound) (My Big Board Books) [Board book]

This is the perfect book for kids who love animals. On the big, sturdy board pages, they’ll discover bright, bold photographs of all different kinds of animals, from pets to farm animals to birds. Each has their name written underneath, so that children can learn what they’re called, build their animal vocabulary, and start to develop word and picture association.

 

This review is from: My Big Animal Book (Priddy Bicknell Big Ideas for Little People) (Board book)

My son received this book for his first birthday and it has quickly become a favorite. He still chooses this book regularly at storytime and he is now 18 months old. Reasons to buy this book include...

1. Great book for language development. The animals are sorted into groups including Baby Animals, Pets, On the Farm, Birds, and At the Zoo. A great book for playing "Where's the..." and "What's that?" pointing games.

2. Clear, beautiful photos. Each animal photograph is also placed against a solid colored background so that the image really stands out.

3. Unlike other animal photography books, the pages are not an animal collage with all the animals mixed in together. Each animal is shown in a square or rectangle with the name of the animals printed in lowercase underneath. Babies and Young toddlers are often confused by jumbled images and prefer the simplicity of how the animals are presented in this book.

4. The book also has a rhyming, interactive text. For example on the zoo page it says, "I'm hard to see when I'm out in the snow. Who am I? (polar bear) I carry a trunk wherever I go. Who am I? (elephant). My toddler, like most, is highly attracted to rhyming text.

 

  

Big Board First 100 Words (Bright Baby) [Board book]

Roger Priddy left school at 16 with just one qualification—in art. He went to Berkshire College of Art and Design and trained as an illustrator.  His first job in children’s books was working with the publisher Peter Usborne, at Usborne Publishing, and then he worked with Peter Kindersley at Dorling Kindersley, where he spent 16 years. Priddy became Creative Director of DK’s Children’s Division and was Managing Director of the children’s mass market publisher Funfax when it was acquired by DK.

In 2000, he created Priddy Books with John Sargent at St Martin’s Press to create innovative and imaginative titles for children, from first books for babies through early reference titles for older children. Since then, over 30 million copies of Roger's 200 plus books have sold worldwide, with five of his books—My Big Animal, My Big Truck, Happy Baby Words, Happy Baby Colors and Puppy and Friends—each selling over one million copies. He is also the author of Big Board First 100 Words; Big Board Books Colors, ABC, Numbers; and Bright Baby Noisy Monsters. His creativity has been recognized with numerous industry awards. Priddy lives in London with his wife Zena and their four children.

 

This review is from: Big Board First 100 Words (Bright Baby) (Board book)

We got this for my daughter when she was about 8 months and she has loved it ever since. Now we can ask things like "Where is the doggie?" and she points to it with glee. I really like the progression of the book too... the first page is very simple, every day words. Then it moves on to ABCs, numbers, shapes, colors, times of day, opposites, etc. To me, this seems like a book that will keep her entertained and learning for a few more years even. The bright, realistic pictures help, since she is not really interested in anything animated at this point. She loves the pictures of the other "babies", or children, in the book. I would definitely recommend this, and we plan on getting more of the Bright Baby series of books.

Heroes of Olympus, The, Book Two: The Son of Neptune [Hardcover]

 In The Lost Hero, three demigods named Jason, Piper, and Leo made their first visit to Camp Half-Blood, where they inherited a quest:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

Who are the other four mentioned in the prophesy? The answer may lie in another camp miles away, where a new camper has shown up and appears to be the son of Neptune, god of the sea. . . .

The Going-To-Bed Book [Board book]

For a little one who is reluctant to go to bed, sometimes a silly book is just the ticket. And when it comes to silly books, Sandra Boynton is the undisputed queen. In The Going to Bed Book, an ark full of animals watches the sun go down and then prepares for bed. They take a bath ("in one big tub"), find pajamas, brush their teeth, do exercises up on deck (imagine an elephant jumping rope, a moose lifting weights, and a pig doing handstands), and finally say good night.

The moon is high. The sea is deep.
They rock
and rock
and rock
to sleep.

Boynton's inimitable animal characters have graced the pages of scads of picture books over the years. She has an extraordinary knack for knowing what appeals to small children: simple rhymes, goofy animals in goofy settings, and sweet, comforting stories. This book, along with her many other board-book titles (Moo, Baa, La La La!, But Not the Hippopotamus, and others) will surely remain a favorite. (Baby to preschool) --Emilie Coulter

From the Publisher

Serious silliness for all ages. Artist Sandra Boynton is back and better than ever with completely redrawn versions of her multi-million selling board books. These whimsical and hilarious books, featuring nontraditional texts and her famous animal characters, have been printed on thick board pages, and are sure to educate and entertain children of all ages

 

 

This review is from: The Going-To-Bed Book (Board book)

Tonight while surfing through amazon I stumbled upon Sandra Boynton. Remembering how fond my children were of her board books when they were toddlers, I read a few of the reviews. I laughed and cried thinking about how frequently "The Going To Bed Book" was read in our household and how IMPORTANT it became in our bedtime ritual. Out of curiosity I pulled the old book from our library shelves and went to my kids, now 15, 12 and 9 and began to recite a few lines. *NOTE - I didn't actually NEED the book in order to do this. To my delight each of them perked up, smiled and began to chant the lines right along with me. They remembered the characters, the words, the way we used to read the story. You see, for them the memories of this book are wonderful as well! Sandra Boynton is gifted at coupling wonderful, readable verse with delightful illustration. Don't miss this book and don't hesitiate to purchase others from her collection. We have HUNDREDS of read aloud childrens books in this house. This ranks right up there with the absolute favorites and should be IMHO amongst the first books read to a cherished babe.
P.S. Don't miss "Doggies" either! If you read this one with FEELING they'll be begging for it time and again!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? [Board book]

Amazon.com Review

The gentle rhyming and gorgeous, tissue-paper collage illustrations in this classic picture book make it a dog-eared favorite on many children's bookshelves. On each page, we meet a new animal who nudges us onward to discover which creature will show up next: "Blue Horse, Blue Horse, What do you see? I see a green frog looking at me." This pattern is repeated over and over, until the pre-reader can chime in with the reader, easily predicting the next rhyme. One thing readers might not predict, however, is just what kinds of funny characters will make an appearance at the denouement! Children on the verge of reading learn best with plenty of identifiable images and rhythmic repetition. Eric Carle's good-humored style and colorful, bold illustrations (like those in The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Grouchy Ladybug, and Have You Seen My Cat?) have earned him a prominent place in the children's book hall of fame. (Baby to Preschool) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1-- In this new edition of the popular classic (Holt, 1983), the same clean design and crisp text remain. Illustrations, however, have been slightly altered. Stronger colors and more texture help delineate animal bodies more sharply. Positions and shapes are slightly changed, resulting in a less static look. Red Bird is shown in flying position with a sleeker body, sharper beak, and more carefully defined tail and wing features. Yellow Duck has webbed feet and an open bill; Blue Horse has black hooves and teeth showing; Green Frog a spotted back and pink tongue; the former Mother with pale pink skin has become Teacher with beige skin tones and darker hair. The overall effect is livelier and more interesting, although changes are minimal enough that the old edition is still serviceable. When replacements are in order, this will be a welcome addition. --Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition

  

 

This review is from: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Board book)

Brown Bear, Brown Bear has provided my child with reading enjoyment since 9 months of age. The colors are outstanding and eye-catching to the little ones. This is most definately her favorite book. (As the book shows). It teaches children of various animals and associates them with colors. At the age of 14 months, my daughter could depict every picture and state it by name and color. True educational book for the young at heart . If your child does not have this book, trust me, buy it - it is well worth it. It's companion book, "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you hear." is as phenomem.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever [Hardcover]

In his latest diary, the fifth in the mega-best-selling Wimpy Kid series, Greg Heffley, star of page and screen, proves indisputably that “when it comes right down to it, middle-schoolers are just a bunch of wild animals.” It’s a jungle out there for sure, and the key components are farting, pimples, family gatherings, headgear, fatherly homework help, lousy aim in the bathroom, and, of course, girls. Greg’s main focus as the school year gets under way is replacing his best friend, Rowley, with whom he had a falling out over the summer. Although he has not reached full-blown puberty quite yet, Greg feels as if he’s hit his childhood “expiration date,” and when you’re no longer a cute kid, nothing is as easy as it used to be. Once again, Kinney remains unerringly attuned to the tween psyche as he packs in rapid-fire experiences in words and cartoons that are bust-a-gut funny, beg-to-stay-home-from-school mortifying, and completely authentic in all their ugly truths. Grades 5-8. --Andrew Medlar
   

About the Author

Jeff Kinney is an online game developer and designer, and a #1 New York Times bestselling author. In 2009, Jeff was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. He spent his childhood in the Washington, D.C., area and moved to New England in 1995. Jeff lives in southern Massachusetts with his wife and their two sons.


 

This review is from: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (Hardcover)

This is an amazingly funny book. The Wimpy Kid series should not be confined to people under 18 so I highly urge adults to read all three as soon as possible. My sides hurt and yes, my eyes watered. The book is so funny and each one is better than the last which means The Last Straw is the funniest so far. The author has a knack of mentioning things that kids and kids who have gotten older can all identify with. It's great. My favorite scene in this book was the gym class in which middle school students are urged by their gym teacher and other teachers to dance the Hokey Pokey! What a nightmare! What fun! Rowley is the sad sack friend who is embarrassing to be with and makes a great stooge for our hero. Mom is supposedly "hip" and so uncool that she needs to be kept in the house and not let out for activities that involve being "with it". Dad can't stay on a diet and Greg's New Year's Resolution is telling everybody else what's wrong with them! Just a wonderful book and I think that we will see more of them. This is truly a classic series and too good just to be isolated in the kids' section. Adults get your "Young Adult" reading done now! My excuse? I teach middle school.