Month: February 2021

Who Loves The Dragon? by Bianca Schulze, Illustrated by Samara Hardy

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Who Loves the Dragon?
Author: Bianca Schulze
Illustrator: Samara Hardy
Publishing February 16, 2021 by Clever Publishing

Summary: In this interactive follow-up to Don’t Wake the Dragon, our beloved Dragon is wide-awake and preparing to celebrate one of the kingdom’s most important events of the year: the annual Friendship Festival! It’s a time for everyone to gather and have fun, all honoring their meaningful friendships. But on the day of the feast, the cooks are called away to cater to the Queen and the knights must report for special duty in the Enchanted Forest. With everyone gone, Dragon is upset and worried that this year’s Friendship Festival is doomed. Could they be planning something special for her? And in the meantime, can you help cheer her up? With colorful and humorous illustrations throughout, this read-aloud picture book encourages kids to interact with the text on every page. Young readers will love waving to characters, blowing kisses, dancing, and more on this fun ride alongside Dragon and her adorable friends in this delightful story that will beg to be read again and again.

About the Author: Bianca Schulze is the founder and editor of The Children’s Book Review – a resource devoted to children’s literature and literacy. Bianca is also the bestselling author of 101 Books to Read Before You Grow Up, an Amazon “Book of the Month” in 2016. She is a reader, reviewer, mother, and children’s book lover. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Bianca now lives with her husband and three children near Boulder, Colorado.

About the Illustrator: Samara Hardyis the illustrator of Don’t Wake the Dragon and Who Loves the Dragon?. An experienced illustrator and designer, she has created artwork for clients across the globe for greetings cards, stationery, homewares, children’s books, and much more. She lives in Surrey, England.

About the Publisher: Clever Publishing was founded in 2010 with the purpose of changing children’s lives for the better. We create a world full of fascinating experiences for families through our books, games, sets, and series. Focusing on Pre-school and Edutainment, we’ve developed a wide range of innovative formats with modern teaching techniques. Kids love to read, touch, and play while learning, so our program includes products for all ages, including box sets; board books; puzzle books; learning flash cards; interactive coloring, activity, and word play formats; and boards games for the entire family. Our dream team – more than 100 employees worldwide – have a comprehensive understanding and knowledge of children’s books. With this expertise, we present products that are fun, entertaining, and vibrant. We are modern and educational and strive to always emphasize the importance of first experiences. We connect to the needs of busy parents and aim to enrich the time spent with their children. Our goal is to make children – as well as their parents happy!

Review: Interactive books are a favorite in our household, and the Dragon books do not disappoint in getting the reader involved with the story. In the second Dragon book, the Dragon is so sad because the friendship festival is happening, but none of her friends are around. Luckily, the reader is there to make her day better!

The activities the reader does with the dragon are great because they are all things that could be used in real situations of sadness or loneliness such as counting to ten slowly, positive words, and exercise.

On top of the fun story and interactive aspect, the illustrations are delightful! So colorful and full of life! I truly hope there are more Dragon books in our future!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Who Loves the Dragon? activity booklet –> Download for free and print here

Discussion Questions: 

  • What do you do when you are feeling upset?
  • What type of dance did you dance for Dragon?
  • What friends would you bring to the Friendship Festival?
  • Put your hand on your heart and tell yourself something kind about yourself–something you love about yourself.
  • What is your favorite joke?

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: Dragon books; Interactive books such as There’s a Dragon in Your Book by Tom Fletcher, Don’t Push the Button! by Bill Cotter, I Say Ooh You Say Aah by John Kane, and Push Here by Hervé Tullet

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to the author and publisher for providing a copy for review!**

First Day of Unicorn School by Jess Hernandez, Illustrated by Mariano Epelbaum

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First Day of Unicorn School
Author: Jess Hernandez
Illustrator: Mariano Epelbaum
Published January 1st, 2021 by Capstone Publishing

Summary: Milly is incredibly excited to go to Unicorn School, a school that accepts only the best and the brightest. There’s only one problem: she isn’t a unicorn! She’s a donkey in a party hat. Milly first feels uncomfortable but eventually learns that she and the others at the school have more in common than it might have seemed.

About the Author: Jess Hernandez is a writer, librarian, teacher, and all-around word girl. When not being used as a human canvas for baby food art, she writes books for kids. Her debut book, FIRST DAY OF UNICORN SCHOOL, illustrated by Mariano Epelbaum, came out in Jan. 1, 2021 from Capstone. Sometimes she writes essays, poems, and short stories for grown-ups, too. Jess lives in a very small, very LOUD house in Washington with her husband, their three children, a blind Labrador, and seven chickens.

Review: This book is so relatable! Everyone has those first day jitters when they are about to start at a new school, no matter how excited they are, so Milly and the reader will definitely have something in common. And just like Milly, the reader probably realized that although everyone is different at their school, they all are awesome and fit in in their own way at school.

In addition to the story, I really liked the fun colors of the illustrations, and Milly is so expressive!

Trent’s Review: I really liked it because I love animals and it was funny when they all revealed the truth showing their fake unicorn horns and manes. In the end, Milly found the truth everyone and the school became for all animals, so Milly fit in.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: As an educator, Jess created extension activities to go with First Day of Unicorn School!

Coloring Pages

Lesson Plans

And Jess does online visits with schools or groups! https://www.jesshernandezwrites.com/school-visits

Discussion Questions: 

  • What was Milly so worried about when she first got to the school?
  • Why did Milly want to go to unicorn school?
  • How did the author use word play when having the different animals speak?
  • Why did Milly turn around right before she almost left the school?
  • Have students draw their own “unicorn” (any animal with a fake horn and hair!)
  • How were all the animals at the school the same? Different?

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: Thelma the Unicorn by Aaron Blabey, Kevin the Unicorn by Jessika Von Innerebner, Danbi Leads the School Parade by Anna Kim, Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten by Laura Purdie Salas

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to the author and Capstone for providing a copy for review!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 2/1/21

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop co-hosted by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts which focuses on sharing books marketed for children and young adults. It offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

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Tuesday: Schneider Family Book Awards

Thursday: Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-Winning Children’s Book Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing edited by Melissa Stewart

Sunday: Author Guest Post by Vivian McInerny, Author of The Whole Hole Story

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

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Kellee

  • Starfish by Lisa Fipps gave me so many feels! It is a story of a young girl who is SO tired of being fat-shamed when she is not ashamed of being fat, but it seems like everyone else has an issue with it–including her family. Beautifully written and heartfelt.
  • Diana Princess of the Amazons by Shannon Hale and Dead Hale is a fun young Wonder Woman graphic novel.
  • Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson is the sequel to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and picks up RIGHT after the first book, even continuing the trials from the first book’s case; however, this novel brings us another mystery that Pip gets pulled into and it is life or death.
  • The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad & S.K. Ali with illustrations by Hatem Aly is such an exquisite book, not only in illustrations (I mean–look at that cover!) and story but in inclusion. This book was a window for my son which led to amazing conversations but will be a mirror for so many kids.
  • The Little Blue Bridge by Brenda Maier, illustrated by Sonia Sanchez is a fun twist on “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” with a fun, sassy young protagonist!

To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2020 Goodreads Challenge page  or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

I read and loved Mahogany L. Browne’s Chlorine Sky. I wish this book existed while I was teaching high school. I know so many students who would have benefited from it. I am so glad it is out in the world now, and I know it will really reach a lot of readers.

I REREAD Dear Martin by Nic Stone because my preservice teachers are pairing up with high schoolers who are reading this book. Ahhh, I love this book even more every time I read it. It’s simply phenomenal.

I loved Deborah Wiles’ We Are All Under One Wide Sky. It has great representation, and the concept is wonderful. This book is a great reminder to adults and children alike. Andrea Stegmaier does a lovely job with the illustrations!

I really enjoyed Cranky Right Now by Julie Berry. Holly Hatam’s illustrations are fantastic and made me smile. I know the perfect kid for this book, and I can’t wait to read it to him.

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Kellee

Reading with Trent: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Reading: (Don’t) Call Me Crazy edited by Kelly Jensen

Listening: The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

Ricki

Reading: Dear Justyce by Nic Stone

Listening: We Are Not Free by Traci Chee

Reading with 7yo: When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

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Tuesday: First Day of Unicorn School by Jess Hernandez, illustrated by Mariano Epelbaum

Thursday: Who Loves the Dragon? by Bianca Schulze, illustrated by Samara Hardy

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Asking the Important Questions about Action Scenes” by Matt Wallace, Author of Bump

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Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

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