Tag Archives: children’s book

Nov30

Book Advent Calendar

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Each December as we count down to Christmas, the kids like to have an advent calendar to mark the days. There are many types of advent calendars available for purchase, but this year I was vaguely thinking about making one. Before I had decided on what I was going to make, I saw a picture of an advent calendar that someone had made up with books (I don’t know where the photo originated). I thought this was brilliant, as L and A love books. The picture I’d seen was using Christmas themed books, but I ended up just using books that I thought the kids would like.

Some of the books ready to be wrapped.

Some of the books ready to be wrapped.

A lot of the books came from my favourite secondhand bookshop (Canty’s Bookshop in Canberra), and some I bought from the Scholastic Book Club at the kids’ school. A few of the books were mine when I was a child, and I am now giving them to my kids. There is a mix of fiction and non-fiction, with a couple of Christmas themed books. I think L and A will enjoy these books, and they will form part of their Christmas presents.

 

All wrapped up.

All wrapped up.

I took 24 books and wrapped them in Christmas wrapping paper. Then I randomly sorted them and numbered them from one to twenty-four. I placed them all into a cardboard box with the numbers facing forwards. On the first of December, L will open the parcel numbered ‘1’, with one parcel for each day leading up to Christmas.

This is an advent calendar that you can really customise to your own child, by choosing books to their reading level and interests. It would be a lovely present for an adult too. Library books could be a good alternative to buying the books, especially if you want to use picture books or Christmas books, but don’t forget to return them!

Ready to be opened.

Ready to be opened.

Nov25

Mog at the Zoo by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski

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IMG_2736Mog at the Zoo by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski, paperback picture book, first published by William Heinemann Ltd in 1982, this edition published by Puffin Books in 2014.

Meg, Mog and Owl visit the zoo, but Mog is mistaken for a tiger. The zoo keepers chase him past lots of animals until they catch him and lock him in a cage. Meg tries to rescue him, but her spells don’t always work the way they should.

This book is part of the popular Meg and Mog series. I loved it as a child, and now my own children love it! The story is easy to read and fun, while the illustrations are bright and simple. Lots of solid blocks of colours with black outlines make this book good for helping younger children to learn colours, as well as making it easy for them to enjoy the pictures without being overwhelmed by too much detail.

Mog at the Zoo is a great book to share with toddlers, preschoolers and older children. It is also perfect to read alone for lower primary school students. I like when the crocodiles cheer Mog on, and my preschooler liked that the monkeys gave Mog a banana to cheer him up. Kids will love all of the adventures that Meg and Mog have!

Nov25

Peppa’s Christmas Wish

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IMG_2734Peppa’s Christmas Wish, boardbook, published by Ladybird Books in 2012.

In Peppa’s Christmas Wish, Peppa and George have been to see Santa and told him what they would like as a present. They spend Christmas day with Granny and Grandpa Pig, but when it comes time to open the presents, there doesn’t seem to be one for Peppa. Will she get her Christmas wish?

Peppa Pig is a staple in our house at the moment, the kids love her adventures, and really, I do too! When my preschooler saw a Christmas book featuring Peppa, she just had to have it. Being a sturdy boardbook has meant that my toddler could enjoy the story too, without damaging the book. He has spent quite a lot of time on his own with this book, just looking at the pictures. My preschooler loves the story and the illustrations, but then, she does love anything Peppa related. Peppa’s Christmas Wish is great for sharing with young children in the lead up to Christmas.

Nov25

Doll Bones by Holly Black

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IMG_2738Doll Bones by Holly Black, paperback novel, 244 pages, first published by Doubleday in 2013, this edition published by Corgi in 2014.

Best friends, Zach, Alice and Poppy have made up a fantastical world that they play out with dolls and figurines. The Queen in this world is a very old, fine bone china doll, that is kept displayed behind glass at Poppy’s house. When Zach unexpectedly refuses to play the game any more, Poppy and Alice remove the Queen from the cabinet, discovering that she is full of what appears to be some ashes. Poppy dreams that the Queen was really a girl called Eleanor Kercher who died in 1895, and she wants Poppy to return her to her grave. This quest leads Poppy, Alice and Zach on an interstate adventure, as they try to placate Eleanor, and fulfill her last desire.

Doll Bones is an adventure ghost story, and it is also a coming of age story. Zach, Poppy and Alice are pre-teens still playing out the fantasy game of their childhood. Becoming haunted by the spirit of a lost and angry little girl trapped inside a doll, is the last true adventure of their childhood, as they move towards more teenagerish past-times. They embark on an epic quest into regions unknown in the middle of the night by themselves, vastly unprepared for such a journey. Add in a creepy doll, vivid dreams, unexplained occurences and misadventures, and you have a spooky tale indeed.

This would be a good book for middle and upper primary school students to read, especially those that like a good ghost story. I thought the story was okay, but nothing spectacular. It was an easy read, and interesting enough, but I didn’t find it gripping. I am putting that down to the fact that as an adult I like a good horror or mystery story, and spooky stories for children just aren’t spooky enough for me! Having said that, I always take photos of the books I review to add to the post, and I took photos of this book, transferred them to the computer, but when I went to add one to this review, the photos were all blank! That’s a little creepy coincidence…

I hope that my second grader will give Doll Bones a read so I can get a true child’s perspective on the story. The story did flow well, and the character’s personalities really came through from the story, so it was a good book that I think many children would enjoy.

 

Nov22

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Star! by P. Crumble and Louis Shea

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IMG_2545There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Star! by P. Crumble and Louis Shea, paperback picture book, published by Scholastic Australia in 2012.

Yet again, P. Crumble and Louis Shea has made us laugh with a wonderful twist on the tale of the Old Lady who swallowed some things that really couldn’t be good for her. In this wonderful Christmas themed story the Old Lady is up to her old trick of swallowing larger and larger items, including an elf and a whole tree!

Hilarious illustrations complement the funny text, and make this an excellent book for sharing. My kids like to spot things in the pictures, like the little mice that are hoarding lollies and having a ride on the reindeer. My favourite illustration was of the bookshelf when she swallows the elf, the names on the spines of the books are parodies of real books. The kids didn’t appreciate this as much as me, and preferred the scene with all the Christmas lights.

This edition has a very cool lenticular cover. When you tilt the book, the Old Lady goes from the bottom of the tree, up the tree into a position of eating the star. My preschooler loves to do this over and over.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Star! is a fun Christmas read for children in preschool and primary school.

Nov18

Optical Illusions by Dr Gareth Moore

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IMG_2514Optical Illusions by Dr Gareth Moore, hardback non-fiction, 96 pages, published by Parragon Books Ltd in 2013.

Optical Illusions presents more than 150 different images with explanations of these truly amazing illusions. The book was broken up into sections containing different types of illusions, such as perspective illusions, movement illusions, and colour illusions.

Both my daughter and myself pored over this book for hours allowing our minds to be tricked by the images. Some of them we had to move closer or further away to experience the illusion, and a few I couldn’t see at all, but most of them were very obvious. Even knowing that it was an illusion, it was incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to ignore the trick and see the image for what it really was. I loved trying though!

There was a handy little visual interpreter card inside the front cover that could be used to remove the illusion. Throughout the book, if an image could be decoded using the visual interpreter, there was a coloured circle besides the illusion indicating which part of the visual interpreter to use. This made checking whether lines were really straight or areas were the same colour much easier. My second grader liked using this visual interpreter to help her to see the reality of the image.

Optical Illusions is a very entertaining book that really has to be seen to be believed!

 

Nov13

Explorers: Big Cats by Claire Llewellyn

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IMG_2522Explorers: Big Cats by Claire Llewellyn, hardback non-fiction, 32 pages, published by Kingfisher (Macmillan Children’s Books) in 2013.

This junior non-fiction title is part of the Explorers range of reference books for young learners produced by Kingfisher. It is packed with facts about big cats from around the world, and is the perfect introduction to exploring these amazing animals.

Explorers: Big Cats is suitable for preschool, lower and middle primary school students. It is an interesting look at big cats, and would make an excellent reference for school assignments. Children will learn a little about different types of big cats, habitats, diets and big cat interactions. This is an introductory text, so the depth of information is not extensive, but suits the target audience well. The information is presented in an engaging and logical way, and is not overwhelming for younger readers. The realistic illustrations and clear photography enhance the text, and assist in engaging the reader. This book will satisfy younger readers, and will also inspire children to discover more about these incredible creatures.

Both my second grader and preschooler enjoyed Explorers: Big Cats a lot. They are both highly interested in animals and nature, and this non-fiction title was an anticipated read. My preschooler now wants to have a trip to the zoo to see some big cats (something that we do regularly anyway!) and my second grader has asked me to locate some more books on big cats for her to read. I love watching my children learning about the world, and books like Explorers: Big Cats make that journey fun. I learnt a few things about big cats that I didn’t know too! Now I’m interested to find some more titles in the Explorers series to read.

Nov10

Freaky Phobias by Joel Levy

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IMG_2519Freaky Phobias by Joel Levy, paperback non-fiction, 80 pages, published by Scholastic Australia in 2011.

This book is a fascinating insight into a range of phobias. It covers the most common ones, such as arachnophobia and claustrophobia, alongside some extremely unusual phobias. I never knew there was a word for the fear of otters or knees or kissing, but there is! And there are many other phobias that I had never considered, but discovered in Freaky Phobias.

Freaky Phobias is an informative and interesting book for primary aged children. I learnt quite a lot whilst reading Freaky Phobias, as did my second grader. It had a good depth of information for children, and plenty of fun facts to engage the reader. The photography depicted all of the terrors contained within the book with such clarity that my second grader wanted to skip some of the pages because she felt anxious.

Freaky Phobias contains an A-Z of Phobias, providing the names and descriptions of quite a few phobias. I think this glossary could have been enhanced by including the phonetic spelling of the names, as some of them are quite long and complicated words, which I had difficulty pronouncing.

This is quite a good non-fiction title for young learners (and big ones too!)

 

Nov10

Tortoise and the Hair by P. Crumble and Louis Shea

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IMG_2517Tortoise and the Hair by P. Crumble and illustrated by Louis Shea, paperback picture book, published by Scholastic Australia in 2014.

Tortoise is getting ready for his big singing performance, but he can’t find his favourite wig! He needs that wig to perform, but where has it got to? He starts searching all over the house. Meanwhile, the wig is having its own interesting journey, after Bear picks it up on the bus, and eventually Hare acquires it. Can Tortoise get the wig in time or will he perform without it?

We have laughed plenty through many readings of Tortoise and the Hair. It is an unusual twist to the old tale of the tortoise and the hare, playing with the words hare/hair. When we read this book the first time, I told my preschooler that Tortoise’s wig made me think of Elvis, and she said “who’s Elvis?”…. I really must try to educate my kids on such important things! Despite this shocking lack of knowledge, both my kids liked Tortoise, with and without the wig. I liked the message of the story that Tortoise can accomplish his dreams without the external reassurance of his wig. He is talented and special just being himself. It is an important thing for our children to remember, that everyone is special and being ourselves is the best we can be.

Amusing rhyming text and fantastic illustrations make Tortoise and the Hair a great book to share with preschoolers and lower primary school children. My kids like picking out funny things in the pictures, like the kangaroo paperboy and Monkey in his hammock. I was pleased to see Hare make an appearance too, racing to the venue!

 

 

Nov1

Airy Fairy: Magic Mess! by Margaret Ryan

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IMG_2455Airy Fairy: Magic Mess! by Margaret Ryan and illustrated by Teresa Murfin, paperback chapter book, 77 pages, published by Scholastic Ltd in 2004.

Airy Fairy is the worst fairy at spells and just about everything else in Fairy Gropplethorpe’s Academy for Good Fairies, but she does try hard. It is Fairy Gropplethorpe’s Rainbow Birthday, and all the little fairies are asked to make her a present. They have also been asked to paint their rooms. Both tasks require creative spell-work, something that Airy Fairy is not very good at. Her attempts are not helped by the meanest and naughtiest fairy at the academy, Scary Fairy, who likes to play rotten tricks on Airy Fairy. Such a small fairy, and such a large mess!

This was an easy read chapter book suitable for lower primary school children. I read it to my preschooler and she really enjoyed it. My second grader liked the story too, but the book was very easy for her. There were black and white drawings scattered through the book. They were a little peculiar, with the characters having quite angled features, but my preschooler liked them. We all laughed when Airy Fairy’s spells went wrong, and scowled when the fault lay with Scary Fairy! It was a fun read that encourages independent reading. There are a few other titles in the Airy Fairy series that we haven’t yet read, but I will be trying to find.