How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah?
Jane Yolen (Author)
Mark Teague (Illustrator)
Blue Sky Press an imprint of
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545416771
Since the first book in 2000 the 'How Do Dinosaurs Say …?' series has been very popular. In 2012 two new books are being added to the others in the series and they should both be great fun for readers of all ages. Across the series more than 14 million books have been sold and brought together laughter, learning and fun to children around the world.
The first part of the book is a series of questions about what a dinosaur should not do while celebrating this Jewish feast. The second half of the story is what a good dinosaur should do to observe the holiday. The oversized picture books are filled with amazing illustrations, and brightly colored dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes; in fact every 2-page spread has a different dinosaur. Yolen and Teague have done a great job with the book and we look forward to reading more of them together as a family.
How Do Dinosaurs Say Merry Christmas?
Jane Yolen (Author)
Mark Teague (Illustrator)
Blue Sky Press an imprint of
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545416788
To be honest, I was a little disappointed with this book compared to the 'How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah?' book. That one focused on both the social and religious aspects of the holidays. This one is almost a Dinosaur version of 'The Night Before Christmas', with a mix of what a Dinosaur should not do followed by what a good Dinosaur should do on Christmas eve. It would have been interesting to see more of the religious aspects of the holiday covered. That being said, it is a fun book that children will love and enjoy again and again. It could have been just a little more.
In this 'How Do Dinosaurs Say …?' series there are now about 10 books; they have sold 14 million copies worldwide and brought laughter, humor and learning together for children and readers of all ages. They are fun books and are well done, just with a little less learning then its counterpart.
Cause I Love You
Jan Carr (Author)
Daniel Howarth (Illustrator)
Cartwheel Books
an Imprint of Scholastic
ISBN 9780439872782
This story was such a wonderful story with the tongue twister text and bright beautiful illustrations. The board book is a story that could easily become a family favorite. It follows a young bear and his mother through their day. They go to the store, the park, the playground, then race home and prepare supper, have a bath and get ready for bed.
The Super Secret Adventure Club
George McClements
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545436854
The illustrations in this book are different - they have a unique feel and look. Combined with the text and number of words in the background on the club house itself, it makes for some wonderful reading for young readers. As the boys fight over what to call their new clubhouse, Bea yells at the boys to be quiet about their club and they love what she calls it. A good read in the leveled readers series. But because the text is in so many different colors, styles, and sizes, some young readers might struggle with it more than other books in the leveled reading series at the same level.
About the Level Readers
The Leveled readers from Scholastic are a great way to introduce your child to reading. The levels are:
Pre1: ABC's & First Words
Level 1: Sight words, words to sound out and simple sentences.
Level 2: New vocabulary and longer sentences.
Level 3: Reading for inspiration and information.
Each book has a level rating, a grade level, a reading level, a lexile level and a word count on the back.
I Am Small
Emma Dodd
Cartwheel Books
an Imprint of Scholastic
ISBN 9780545353700
My children have always had a fascination with penguins. This book, done mostly in black and white, is an excellent read. The illustrations and text, both by Emma Dodd, have a stunning effect. The contrasts between extremes and a small penguin's search to find his place in the world make for a wonderful tale. The story is charming and the illustrations are excellent.
Read Me A Story
Canadian Favorites
Scholastic
ISBN 9781443102490
This is an amazing book for Canadian families. It contains stories from icons in Canadian picture books. It is oversized and children love the large format and super-sized pictures. It is a fun book to read again and again and even though we have a few of the stories in separate books, all of my children love picking this one to read together.
The stories in this collection are:
The Party - Barbara Reid
Henry Penny - Werner Zimmermann
Sophie and the Sea Monster - Don Gillmor and Michael Martchenko
A Second Is A Hiccup - Hazel Hutchins and Kady Macdonald Denton
Too Many Books - Gilles Tibo and Bruno St-Aubin
Great fun for the whole family.
Books written and illustrated by Barbara Reid:
Zoe's Year (2012)
Picture A Tree (2011)
The Party (2010)
Perfect Snow (2009)
Sing a Song of Mother Goose (2007)
Fox Walked Alone (2009)
Read Me A Book (2004)
The Subway Mouse (2003)
Zoe's Rainy Day (1992)
Zoe's Sunny Day (1992)
Zoe's Windy Day (1992)
Zoe's Snowy Day (1992)
The Golden Goose (2000)
Fun With Modelling Clay (1998)
The Party (1997)
First Look Board Books: Acorn to Oak Tree (1999)
First Look Board Books: Seed To Flower (1999)
First Look Board Books: Caterpillar to Butterfly (1999)
First Look Board Books: Tadpole to Frog (1999)
Two By Two (1992)
Sing A Song of Mother Goose (1987)
Book illustrated by Barbara Reid:
Peg & The Yeti (2004)
Gifts (1995)
Effie (1990)
Have You Seen Birds? (1986)
The New Baby Calf (1984)
Jenny Greenteeth (1983)
Mustard (1983)
Books contributed to:
Read Me A Story (2010)
Dream; a Tale of Wonder, Wisdom & Wishes (2004)
Mother Goose: A Canadian Sampler (1994)
Author Profile and Interview with Barbara Reid
The Ballet Recital
Lalaoopsy
Jenne Simon (Author)
Prescott Hill (Illustrator)
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545392167
The Leveled Readers from scholastic are great tools for helping young readers. This one was a new one for us. We have read some of the others but as my daughter grows we wanted to expand her experience. This story was a fun read and one she will read again and again. The illustrations are drawn to look like cut outs and follows the girls of Lalaloopsy Land as they prepare to put on a dance show. It is a fun read and based on it we will be looking for more to read in Lalaloopsy!
1, 2, 3 in the Sea
Sue DiCicco
Cartwheel Books an Imprint of
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545432382
With full page flaps that open to the right, to the top, a full page expanded spread and even a double flap unfold, children love the book and its variety of pictures, counting, and styles of physical interaction. It takes you on a journey through the sea, visiting fish, sea horses, sea turtles, whales, and mommy, daddy and me. With wonderful illustrations, this bright colorful ocean-themed counting book will be fun for your children.
The New Puppy
BOB Books
Lynn Maslen Kertell (Author)
Sue Hendra (Illustrator)
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545382687
A great read for young readers. These BOB Books leveled readers are a little different from any of the other Level readers we have used, in that, at the back of the book are pull-out flash cards for the key words in the story. This was a great fun story. Anna and Jack want a puppy; their parents explain it will be a lot of work. They get their puppy and soon the kids experience a young puppy with all of the excitement and trouble that comes with. But as they spend time with the puppy, both they and the dog become tired out. Wonderfully written and illustrated, this will be a great book to work through with your young readers and younger children will enjoy the story also.
About the Level Readers
The Leveled readers from Scholastic are a great way to introduce your child to reading. The levels are:
Pre1: ABC's & First Words
Level 1: Sight words, words to sound out and simple sentences.
Level 2: New vocabulary and longer sentences.
Level 3: Reading for inspiration and information.
Each book has a level rating, a grade level, a reading level, a lexile level and a word count on the back.
Chug of War
Chuggington
Sarah Ball and Lorelei King
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545338899
We love the design of the magnetized board book. There is a great tray to hold the 8 magnets. Each page of the story is magnetized and guides children in telling the story with the magnets. The story can be read again and again and will have different outcomes and be fun to play with the magnets. The more of the Chugginton books that we read, the more we appreciate them. Great concepts, great stories and always Traintastic fun.
My Race Car
Ace Landers (Author)
David A. White (Illustrator)
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545436465
My son loved this book from the second he saw it. A book shaped like a shiny race car. The window is a hole and can be used as a handle to carry it. He has taken it everywhere since he got it. The story begins with
"Race car, race car, zoom zoom, go!
Around the race track, never slow!"
And the rhyming story goes on to the finish line.
The illustrations depict the race, from start to finish. They are full of action and children love them. The easy rhyming text is accessible to younger readers to practice sight words. The story is fun and the book was an instant favorite. It will be fun to read again and again.
BOB Books
Sight Words - Kindergarten
Lynn Maslen Kertell (Author)
Sue Hendra (Illustrator)
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545109231
The Bob Books are a series of boxed sets designed to help develop skills at different levels and complexities. They are designed to grow with a child as their skills in reading improve. There are 10 books in this specific boxed set:
Mat Hid
Hop
The Jet
Who?
As Big As
Milk
She Did It
Frog Sat
The Trip
Sun Sets
30 Flash Cards of the 30 sights words:
a , as, can, did, do, down, fly, get, go, goes, had, has, home, in, is, jump, look, not, off, on, over, ran, saw, she, some, they, to, was, went, who
The tools combined in this box set are a real aide in helping a child grow and develop their reading skills. The focused repetitions between the flash cards, and the same words being a big focus in the books, is a well designed and planned tool.
Zero To Hero
Ghost Buddy 1
Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545298872
ISBN 9780545298827
eISBN 9780545392525
I must admit I am a big fan of this writing team. When I found out they had launched a new series with Scholastic I was overjoyed. But once I found out more about the new series I was a little nervous. A story about a ghost roommate could go either way. I should not have been worried. If the rest of the series is as good as this book, we are in for some amazing reads.
In this first book we are introduced to Billy Broccoli and Hoover Porterhouse. Billy has moved because his mother has remained. Billy has never been the most popular and starting at a new school where his mother is principal does not look like it will begin well. But the weekend before school starts he meets Hoover; Hoover has been a ghost for 99 years. And he only has one year left to pass Ghost School or he will be stuck on his family's piece of property for his entire afterlife. But for some strange reason Billy and Porter hit it off, and when things start going bad for Billy at school, Porter steps in.
This was a great story, in part about bullying, friendship, blended families, and all about growing up. It was a great fun read and I look forward to more books in the series.
Books by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver
Ghost Buddy Books:
1. Zero to Hero
2. Mind If I Read Your Mind?
3. How to Scare the Pants off Your Pets
Hank Zipzer Books:
1. Niagara Falls, or Does It?
2. I Got a "D" in Salami
3. Day of the Iguana
4. Zippety Zinger
5. The Night I Flunked My Field Trip
6. Holy Enchilada!
7. Help! Somebody Get me out of Fourth Grade!
8. Summer School? What Genius thought That Up?
9. My Secret Life as a Ping-Pong Wizard
10. My Dog's a Scaredy-Cat: A Halloween Tail
11. The Curtain Went Up, My Pants Went Down
12. Barfing in the Backseat: How I Survived My Family Road Trip
13. Who Ordered This Baby? Definitely Not Me!
14. Life of Me
15. A Tail of Two Tails
16. Dump Trucks and Dogsleds: I'm On My Way, Mom!
17. A Brand-New Me!
Cupcake Surprise!
BOB Books
Lynn Maslen Kertell (Author)
Sue Hendra (Illustrator)
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545382694
Jack and Anna want to do something special for their father's birthday. They decide on making cupcakes. But they are missing some ingredients and have a few accidents along the way. Read and find out if they get to make the surprise cupcakes for father. This is a great read for young readers. The BOB Books leveled readers are different in that they have pull-out flash cards for the key words in the story at the back of the book.
The BOB books are wonderfully written and have bright vibrant illustrations. They keep the attention of children through many readings, both as they have the story read to them and as they grow and work on reading the books themselves. It's a fun book in a great series of resources for children in your life.
About the Level Readers
The Leveled readers from Scholastic are a great way to introduce your child to reading. The levels are:
Pre1: ABC's & First Words
Level 1: Sight words, words to sound out and simple sentences.
Level 2: New vocabulary and longer sentences.
Level 3: Reading for inspiration and information.
Each book has a level rating, a grade level, a reading level, a lexile level and a word count on the back.
Zoe's Year
Barbara Reid
Scholastic
ISBN 9781443113724
This book is a family favorite as are all books by Barbara Reid. But this one is so popular we now have 3 copies of it in the house, one for each child, ages 6, 4, and 1 and a half. Now the youngest's name is Zoey, which to some extent feeds the popularity but it is also the story. This board book is the compilation of four separate books:
Zoe's Rainy Day
Zoe's Sunny Day
Zoe's Windy Day
Zoe's Snowy Day
My children love reading this book and following Zoe through the year. They like pointing out activities we have done, or picking ones for us to do next year during that season. With 48 pages of amazing illustrations the children can spend hours poring over the pictures. If you are not a fan of Reid's work or have yet to give them a try, this would be a great first book. If you are a fan, add this amazing book to your collection.
Book written and illustrated by Barbara Reid:
Zoe's Year (2012)
Picture A Tree (2011)
The Party (2010)
Perfect Snow (2009)
Sing a Song of Mother Goose (2007)
Fox Walked Alone (2009)
Read Me A Book (2004)
The Subway Mouse (2003)
Zoe's Rainy Day (1992)
Zoe's Sunny Day (1992)
Zoe's Windy Day (1992)
Zoe's Snowy Day (1992)
The Golden Goose (2000)
Fun With Modelling Clay (1998)
The Party (1997)
First Look Board Books: Acorn to Oak Tree (1999)
First Look Board Books: Seed To Flower (1999)
First Look Board Books: Caterpillar to Butterfly (1999)
First Look Board Books: Tadpole to Frog (1999)
Two By Two (1992)
Sing A Song of Mother Goose (1987)
Book illustrated by Barbara Reid:
Peg & The Yeti (2004)
Gifts (1995)
Effie (1990)
Have You Seen Birds? (1986)
The New Baby Calf (1984)
Jenny Greenteeth (1983)
Mustard (1983)
Books contributed to:
Read Me A Story (2010)
Dream; a Tale of Wonder, Wisdom & Wishes (2004)
Mother Goose: A Canadian Sampler (1994)
Author Profile and Interview with Barbara Reid
You Are My Cupcake
Joyce Wan
Cartwheel Books an imprint of
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545307413
The board books by Joyce Wan are great fun. Children will ask to have them read again and again. It has bright vibrant illustrations. Joyce Wan has created a little board book children will love.
Books by Joyce Wan:
You Are My Cupcake
We Belong Together
Greetings From Kiwi and Pear
How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah?
