Picture Book – Page 60 – Unleashing Readers

Three Bears of the Pacific Northwest by Richard Vaughan & Marcia Crews

October 20, 2016 by Kellee

Three Bears of the Pacific Northwest
Authors: Richard Vaughan & Marcia Crews
Illustrator: Jeremiah Trammell
Published August 6th, 2016 by Little Bigfoot

Goodreads Summary: When a small blue teddy bear falls out of a moving recreational vehicle in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, two native bears-Black Bear and Brown Bear-agree to help reunite Blue Bear with his family. The bears only know that Blue Bear’s boy lives in a “shiny silver box with wheels.” Down the mountains, through the forests, and across the saltwater, the three bears encounter eagles, seals, skunks, and many other Pacific Northwest animals along their way. This is a charming story with a happy ending and no Goldilocks.

The book features Jeremiah Trammel’s beautiful oil-painted illustrations, which are sure to engage children and parents alike. Marcia and Richard Vaughan write children’s books separately and collaboratively. Marcia has written more than sixty children’s books in Australia and the United States. Richard is the author of more than twenty children’s books. Marcia and Richard live in Vashon Island, WA.

Review: Three bears, the Pacific Northwestern Brown Bear and Black Bear along with a stuffed Blue Bear, go on a journey through nature to help Blue Bear get back home to his family. On the journey, the reader is taken from the mountains to the shore and get introduced to different aspects of the Pacific Northwest and the animals that live there. Accompanied by Trammell’s expressionistic illustrations, the bears’ story is a very fun and educational adventure.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: The bears’ journey would be a perfect cross curricular text for language arts, social studies, and science. This text is a fun narrative mixed with a geographical journey with a cast of animals.

Discussion Questions: Have you ever lost a stuffed animal or blanket that you loved? Did you get it back?; What animals live in your state that you would meet if you went on a journey?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Loved: O is for Orca or 1-2-3 Moose by Andrea Helman, The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach, A Story for Bear by Dennis Haseley

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Sasquatch Books for providing a copy for review!**

Celebration of Music: Jukebox by David Merveille and Dan, The Taxi Man by Eric Ode

October 14, 2016 by Kellee

Jukebox
Author and Illustrator: David Merveille
Published February 1st, 2008 by Kane Miller

Summary: From disco to opera, hip hop to jazz, David Merveille’s unique style makes this practically wordless book sing. A non-fiction journey through the musical universe, Jukebox is filled with details, revealing as much about the people who listen to music as it does about those who create it.

My Thoughts: This wordless picture book celebrates a variety of music genres in a beautiful way. He is able to show through illustrations the feeling of music personified. Merveille’s artwork really bring each genre to life. The easiest way to explain how he is able to do this is to show you:

Dan, The Taxi Man
Author: Eric Ode
Illustrator: Kent Culotta
Published September, 2012 by Kane Miller

Summary: “Here’s Dan, Beep! Beep! the Taxi Man, going to the show and picking up the band. Climb inside while you still can with Dan, Beep! Beep! the Taxi Man.” And what a band it is! A symphony of sounds and colors, this cumulative tale is as much fun to read aloud as it is to listen to.

My Thoughts: Dan, The Taxi Man celebrates music by bringing a band together and putting focus on each musician and their instrument. The onomatopoeias, the rhythm, and the repetition throughout makes this a book that kids will want to read over and over again (just like Trent does!).

P.S. Check out Busy Trucks on the Go by Eric Ode and Kent Culotta for a fun shout-out to Dan, The Taxi Man!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: These two books definitely celebrate music and do so in two different ways. These books would be great read alouds in the classroom, specifically music classes. I also could see them be used in a lit circle or book club activity with a selection of music picture books such as Trombone Shorty, Herman & Rosie, and Marvin Makes Music as well as many others.

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Lynn from Kane Miller for providing copies for review!**

A Parade of Puppies by Charles Ghigna

October 13, 2016 by Ricki

A Parade of Puppies
Author: Charles Ghigna
Illustrator: Kristi Bridgeman
Published August 23, 2016 by Orca Book Publishers

Summary: In this follow-up to A Carnival of Cats, babies, toddlers and dog-lovers alike will enjoy discovering and guessing what breed of puppy is hiding on the next page. With playful rhyming text from award-winning author Charles Ghigna, and beautiful illustrations by celebrated artist Kristi Bridgeman, this hint-and-reveal board book will have everyone pondering what puppy will turn up next!

Ricki’s Review: After I received A Carnival of Cats for review, my son wanted to read it every night. I have that book memorized, and it is a delightful book to know by heart! So when I heard that A Parade of Puppies was coming out, I jumped at the chance to review it. Charles Ghigna’s clever rhymes make the story engaging and fun. I loved being able to teach my son about different dog breeds, and I am looking forward to going to the park, so we can practice his new knowledge! It is hard to find board books that are fun to read over and over and over again, but I know I will enjoy reading this book each time that my son requests it.

Kellee’s Review: I love when books teach toddlers specific knowledge instead of assuming that they aren’t able to learn things like dog breeds. Charles Ghigna’s two books, A Carnival of Cats and A Parade of Puppies, assumes that toddlers want to learn more than just dog vs. cat (which, as a mother of a toddler, is true). Trent loves looking and talking about the differences between the different types of dogs (which is bigger? Has spots? etc.).

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Teachers might ask students to write extended rhymes for this book. Charles covers a lot of popular, fun dog breeds, and students would have a lot of fun researching other breeds and creating additional pages for this book. I can see a bulletin board covered with a parade of puppies! That would bring warmth to a classroom!

Discussion Questions: How does the author make decisions about rhyme? Are there certain dog breed names that seem more difficult to rhyme with? How did he creatively solve this issue?; What dog breeds are included? What breeds are missing? Why do you think he chose to include certain breeds and not others?

We Flagged:

Read This If You Love: Dogs; A Carnival of Cats by Charles Ghigna

Recommended For:

and Kellee Signature

**Thank you to Orca for providing copies for review!!**

Never Insult a Killer Zucchini! by Elana Azose & Brandon Amancio

October 12, 2016 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

Never Insult a Killer Zucchini!
Authors: Elana Azose and Brandon Amancio
Illustrator: David Clark
Published February 9th, 2016 by Charlesbridge

Goodreads Summary: This is one science fair you’ll never forget!

When Mr. Farnsworth, the science-fair judge, declares that he loves zucchinis, the Killer Zucchini is smitten. As the judge makes his way through the exhibits alphabetically—A (antimatter), B (bionic limb), C (cloning)—the Killer Zucchini tries to show his affection. But when Mr. F gets to K and admits he likes to eat zucchini with ranch dressing, the Killer Zucchini gets steamed and attempts to exact his revenge on the snack-loving judge using the other science-fair projects as his means to an end.

Hilarious havoc ensues as the entire science fair is destroyed by his wrath.

Engaging backmatter provides the science behind the science fair entries created by the characters in the story.

Review: My favorite part of this book isn’t even the Killer Zucchini found in the title but all of the supporting science fair experiments. While they all seem like mad science, in the back of the book, the authors have back matter explaining how each of the science fair experiments are based on real science. For example, even though Killer Zucchinis aren’t real, carnivorous plants are, a laser that erased ink was invented in 1968, and Florida’s Mag Lab can shrink a quarter!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: What a great STEM resource! This text will be a perfect read aloud and science text before starting science fair experiments. It can get the brain turning and even give some ideas (though some are quite extreme science!). Hopefully your science fair will not end up anything like this one though!

You could also have students choose one of the experiments to learn more about instead of reading the back matter. It would be a good science/language arts cross curricular research assignment. (The book is also in alphabetical order!)

Discussion Questions: Which of the experiments is the most dangerous?; Why does the girl win the fair?; Which of the experiments would you like to learn more about?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Loved: Science texts and picture books

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Elana for providing a copy of the text for review!**

Teaching Guide for The Hat Trilogy by Jon Klassen

October 13, 2016October 11, 2016 by Kellee

Happy book birthday to We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen!

We Found a Hat
Published October 11, 2016 by Candlewick Press

I Want My Hat Back
Published September 27th, 2011 by Candlewick Press

This Is Not My Hat
Published October 9th, 2012 by Candlewick Press

The first two books of The Hat Trilogy have enthralled readers for years. They have been read in many classrooms and in many bedrooms delighting millions of children (and adults!). Today we get to celebrate the final installment of the trilogy.

Summary of We Found a Hat: Two turtles find one hat – and it happens to look great on both of them.

Q&A With Jon Klassen:

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions:

I am happy to share the teaching guide for the books that I had the honor of writing!

The guide can also be found here.

Happy reading!

Animal Planet’s Animal Bites: Farm Animals and Wild Animals

October 15, 2016October 5, 2016 by Ricki

Nonfiction Wednesday

Farm Animals

Wild Animals

Animal Planet
Published June 21, 2016 by Animal Planet

Farm Animals Summary: With more than 200 gorgeous animal photos of cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, llamas, and many others, Animal Planet Farm Animals is a fun, habitat-by-habitat guide that provides kids in the first years of schooling with the perfect bite-sized view of their favorite farm animals. Arranged thematically with focus on animal behavior and family relationships, young readers will explore sections about animal bodies, baby animals, food, play time, conservation and more. Special book features designed for this age group include Quick Bites sidebars with cool animal facts, simple infographics, and illustrated maps of life in on the farm and at the petting zoo.

Wild Animals Summary: With more than 200 gorgeous animal photos of lions, giraffes, ibexes, flamingos, hippopotamuses, and many others, Animal Planet Wild Animals is a fun, habitat-by-habitat guide that provides kids in the first years of schooling with the perfect bite-sized view of their favorite wild animals. Arranged thematically with focus on animal behavior and family relationships, young readers will explore sections about animal bodies, baby animals, food, play time, conservation and more. Special book features designed for this age group include Quick Bites sidebars with cool animal facts, simple infographics, and illustrated maps of life in the African savannah and Amazon rain forest.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit Animal Planet’s R.O.A.R. (Reach Out. Act. Respond.) project which partners with leading animal organization to make the world a better place for domestic and wild animals.

Kellee’s Review: I am so glad that Animal Planet is publishing this series that focuses on a different group of animals in each one. As a mom to a son that truly adores all types of animals, I am so glad that there are the variety of quality nonfiction animal texts out there for readers to access.

Ricki’s Review: My son can’t get enough of these books. We have read all of the Animal Bites series books thus far, and he constantly brings them to me to read. I like them, too, because I can learn so much from each of the pages. The photography is beautiful and they are very nicely formatted. While my toddler is probably the age demographic that these are marketed to, I think it shows that these books will be appreciated by kids (and adults!) of all ages.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: There are a wide variety of tools in these books that make it very easy for teachers to use them. They have colorful tabs, activities, resources, etc. I’d love to take each of the books in these series and create literature circles. It would be neat for each literature circle to pick out five interesting things they learned to share with the other groups. I imagine this would create interest and make the students more interested in reading the other books in the series.

Discussion Questions: What are some of your favorite facts from the books?; How do these books help you discover nature and animals more? How are the books formatted in ways that appeal to you visually? Which animal is your favorite, and why?

We Flagged: Some of the activities in these books sound like great fun:

In the farm activities section, for example, you can “race to the barn” with three other friends. Each of you will imitate an animal’s behavior from the text. You will see which animal probably moves the fastest. Also in this section, there is a craft section on how to make a flock of sheep!

Check out any of the Animal Bites books to find more activities to do in conjunction to the texts and information.

Animal Planet has also created FUN FACT cards for each of their Animal Bites books that can be accessed fore free HERE.

Read This If You Loved: Animal Planet’s Animal Bites: Ocean Animals and Polar Animals, National Geographic nonfiction animal texts, Seymour Simon animal texts, Extreme Ocean Records by Seymour Simon

Recommended For:

and

Blog Tour with Reviews and Giveaway!: Pug Meets Pig by Sue Lowell Gallion

October 7, 2016September 30, 2016 by Kellee

Pug Meets Pig
Author: Sue Lowell Gallion
Illustrator: Joyce Wan
Published September 27th, 2016 by Beach Lane Books

Summary: An unlikely pair—a pug and a pig!—realize that it’s better to be together.

Pug is a very happy pup. He has his own yard, his own bowl, and even his own cozy bed! That is, until Pig moves in and starts eating from Pug’s bowl, interrupting Pug’s routine, and, worst of all, sleeping in Pug’s bed. Will Pug and Pig ever learn to live together as friends?

This sweet and silly story about a darling duo celebrates the timeless themes of embracing change, being kind to others, and finding friends in unlikely places.

About the Author: Sue Lowell Gallion is a printer’s daughter, so she has a life-long love of type, paper, and the aroma of ink. Her work has been published in magazines including Highlights and High Five, and she loves sharing books with kids as a volunteer tutor. Pug Meets Pig is her debut picture book. A second Pug and Pig adventure, Pug & Pig Trick or Treat, is coming in fall 2017. Sue lives with her family in Leawood, Kansas. Visit her at suegallion.com and follow her on Twitter at @SueLGallion.

Kellee’s Review: Pug’s story is a perfect read aloud for preschool and early ed students who are learning how to deal with change. Pug may be a dog, but he has traits that so many kids will identify with: comfortable, stubborn, etc. And pig can symbolize any crazy change that happens in someone’s life. But it is how Pug ends up dealing with the “problem” that shows him who he truly is–what a great discussion to have with kids!

Ricki’s Review: What a charming book! Pug is happy in his life and everything is going well until Pig arrives. It’s a bit ironic that Kellee and I chose to review this book on the day my second son is going to arrive because it is perfect for teaching kids how to share and be understanding of others. It was very easy for my son to make connections between this book and the arrival of his new baby brother. We talked about how it is important to understand how others might be different from us. Further, we had a wonderful discussion about how sharing with others might actually make us happier, too. I love this book and think it would be a fantastic addition to any home or library. Readers will fall in love with the illustrations and characterization of Pug and Pig! It made us giggle!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Download the teaching guide and activity on the author’s webpage: http://suegallion.com/teacher-resources/

Discussion Questions: Why did Pug have trouble with Pig moving into his house?; What finally made him realize that he may have been overreacting?; What character traits would you use to describe Pug at the beginning of the book? End of the book? Pig?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Loved: My Dog is the Best by Laurie Ann Thompson, Won Ton and Chopstick by Lee Wardlaw, I’m My Own Dog by David Ezra Stein, Dog vs. Cat by Chris Gall

Recommended For:

Giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive a copy of Pug Meets Pig plus some treats for your favorite pooch (or pig!)–a goodie bag of dog biscuits and a tennis ball! (U.S. addresses; one entry per person.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

and

**Thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media for having us be part of the blog tour!**