books4yourkids

Adventures from Scratch: On-the-Go Challenges,  In-Home Adventures,  Tear-Out Goodies, and So Much More   Review Copy from  LET'S ROAM Before I tell you how amazing the book Adventures from Scratch is, I need to tell you about the authors and why they are perfectly poised to create a book like this. Brothers Charlie and Mike Harding share passion for travel that, combined with a love of the digital world, inspired them to create what is now the number one app-led scavenger hunt company. What I especially appreciate about the brothers and their approach to scavenger hunts is their goal of connecting people through exploration and collaboration. Their scavenger hunts tours are created by a  team of expert writers and on-the-ground adventurers who find, "the must-sees and hidden secrets in cities worldwide. On your scavenger hunt, your team will walk around the city, making discoveries, earning points for every challenge you complete. You’ll learn about the city and each other

  5,203 Things to Do  Instead of Looking at Your Phone by Barbara Ann Kipfer illustrations by Scot Ritchie Review Copy from Workman Publishing Do I really need to review this book (that cleverly, has a trim size similar to a phone and, ironically can be read as an ebook on your phone)? We all know we need it. The beauty of 5,203 Things to Do Instead of Looking at Your Phone , and what will keep you off your phone, is the variety of things to do, some of which (let the dog out) can be done in a moment and some of which (crochet an afghan) could take a while, depending on your talents. Kipfer, author of 14,000 Things to Be Happy About , has a gift for list making that includes humor, thoughtfulness, kindness and creativity while also acknowledging that these tiny computers we constantly hold in our hands can open some pretty amazing windows and doors. Above all else, Kipfer wants to inspire us to give our devices a rest and "make direct contact with others, with our environment, w

  Taro Gomi's PLAY ANYTHING Playing Cards Review Copy from Chronicle Books I discovered Taro Gomi in 1995 when I started working as a children's bookseller and my first born was two years old. Everyone Poops , first published in 1977. With straightforward tidiness in text and illustrations, Gomi, who is Japanese, explores the variety of poop, how living creatures poop and where they poop, ending with this solemn truth, "All living things eat, so . . . everyone poops!" Chronicle Kids has been the American publisher of Gomi's fantastic picture books (he's seventy-five and still at it!) for several years now and they have just released a lovely new hardcover edition of this must-have classic. Gomi's winsome, cheerful illustrations and warm palette pair perfectly with playing cards, and I guarantee, this is a set your kids and you will love. Starting with the tin (rather than the cardboard box which, speaking from experience, kids cannot get the entire deck

  Make Me a Robot by Mark Rogalski I love robots and could not pass up the chance to try this rhyming, interactive book that ends with an adorable robot! With each page turn of this interactive board book, a smiling, digital face greets readers with the invitation add a part to their creation. From arms and antennas to wings and fuel tanks, each gadget makes this bot hard to resist! Readers will enjoy all the different combinations they can create, depending on which gadgets they choose to unveil. Review Copy from  Chronicle Books

Piece It Together Family Puzzle: Owl Aboard! I loved doing puzzles with my kids, and working at Barnes & Noble for all of their childhoods, I had an amazing array of quality puzzles to choose from at every level of complexity. Happily, when I became an elementary school librarian, the sturdy puzzles my children did over and over were in good enough shape for a whole new set of kids to enjoy them. In my years of buying puzzles, I never encountered one like Owl Aboard! With 60 pieces, it's a good challenge for kids who already have some jigsaw experience under their belts. What is especially cool about this puzzle, and what makes it a "family puzzle" are the size of the pieces. The top half of the puzzle is comprised of 20 large pieces and the bottom half is made up of 40 smaller pieces. So, a more skilled puzzler can work on the lower part while the younger puzzler works on the top! The puzzle divides in a place that works naturally with Wednesday Kirwan's  charm

In 2017 I reviewed the interactive board book  Masha and Her Sisters    by the ultra-creative Suzy Ultman. I love nesting dolls, and the superb design of Ultman's book worked perfectly with the theme. Since then, Chronicle Books has created an activity book and now a nesting puzzle featuring Masha and her friends. Read on for more Masha - and nesting dolls Ultman designed herself! The Masha and Her Friends Nesting Puzzle  will inspire hours of creative play from the moment it is opened. Like the board book, Masha and her five (smaller) friends have an array of items incorporated into the pattern of their dresses that reflect their interests, from baking to music and dancing to collecting. On the backside are animal friends. Flip Masha over and you find her bear and a jar of honey. Flip Natalya, the smallest friend, and you find a ladybug with paints. Each animal has a number that corresponds with the items for number recognition and counting practice. Once out of the box, you can

Science Comics    Crows: Genius Birds by Kyla Vanderklugt Review Copy from FirstSecond Crows are fascinating. And entertaining. The same can be said for Science Comics! While I love comics, I don't always like reading about science (or history). This is the fourth in this series of twenty-one books  that I have reviewed ( Dinosaurs , Coral Reefs and Volcanoes ) always hooked by the storytelling aspect of these non-fiction books. In Crows: Genius Birds, Vanderklugt gets readers wanting to know more about these birds that are not always popular or even liked with Buddy, a playful dog who is befriended by a crow. While the crow coaxes Buddy out so that his friends can have a go at the dog's dinner (which is in the house, behind a doggie door and no obstacle for these genius birds...) the relationship proves to be mutually beneficial and engagingly educational. Making their way through town looking for the best morsels of food to be found gives Crow the perfect opportunity to exp