Kid's Book Blog

by Kathleen Krull
Grades 2-5

This is the story, as the title indicates, of the boy who invented TV, Philo Farnsworth. As a child, Philo, loved everything mechanical and worked really hard studying science. His heroes were Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison, the inventors of the telephone and phonograph. He struggled with bullies in school for loving to play the violin. He knew he would have to get an education to be able to work on his dream of a television. But he had to quit after only one year of college because his father died. After much talking, 2 buisnessmen put up some money to fund the first working model of the television and gave him a deadline of one year. Philo worked around the clock but after one year, he had to find new investors. Finally, in 1927, he was able to finish the project. The image was no fancy, but he was able to show a dolar sign, and then the motion of cigarette smoke. The following year, the invention of the television was annouced.

This is a very long book. The pages have lots of words on them. This is for an advanced reader or an older child. It could almost be an easy reader or something like that. The pictures are great! But the great thing is the amount of information given. There is an authors note, a list of other books to try, and websites that give more information.

How many hours a week does your child watch TV? Wouldn't be great for them to know how difficult one man had to work to create the TV? Talk to you child about inventions, ask them to imagine what they would want to invent, if they had a chance. Think about how different our lives are with the television.

By Dave Horowitz
Grades 1-2
This book takes well known nursery rhymes, mixes them together, and creates a story about conquering your fears. Humpty Dumpty has a fall but recovers after the doctor tends to him. However, he is scared and doesn't see the point of climbing walls or doing anything. He sits at home and watches TV in his underwear. After a spider scares him out of his house, Humpty Dumpty ventures out to the wall again. He finds that the King's horse has gotten stuck and needs help. Humpty Dumpty rises to the occasion and saves the day.

Moral of the story, "...from that day on, Humpty Dumpty never climbed again with out the proper safety equipment. Or pants."

This is a very funny book. The font is large and easy to read. The pictures match the theme and style of the book perfect.  There is a good storyline that children will be somewhat familiar with and will get the jokes. The pictures and story aren't too feminine or masculine.

All in all, it is just a great picture book.

This delightful flip book by renowned author-illustrator team Laura Numeroff and Lynn Munsinger, celebrates all the wonderful things brothers and sisters can do together.

After reading what brothers do best, simply flip the book over and enjoy the story again from a sister's perspective! With charming mirrored text and adorable illustrations, this exciting follow-up to the best-selling What Mommies Do Best/What Daddies Do Best and What Grandmas Do Best/What Grandpas Do Best is sure to appeal to any child who has or wishes for a brother or sister to play with.

A perfect story to read aloud or give as a gift to any new little brother or sister! Lynn Munsinger's illustrations for these stories are just fun and so child friendly.

Penelope's poppy always wears khaki pants. When he finds a hole in one pair, he asks Penelope to patch it up. Penelope likes to sew . . . but this is a big job. Penelope struggles, but with a little help from her mama, she gets the job done.

Cute illustations of the dolls through out the story called wooberry's dolls  (Penelope and Poppy). It's a cute story about a little girl and her poppy and how she like to sew and he gives her a pair that has a hole to fix. She discovers that this whole is harder to repair than she thought. The dolls and illustrations are cute but, I was disappointed with the overall story.

Ages 4-8
This is a cute and sparkly book about a cupcake, named Vanilla, that feels left out. All of Vanilla's brothers and sisters have been picked (to be eaten. Thankfully, the death of the cupcake is never mentioned or discussed). Vanilla runs into a lonely candle and together they search for things to decorate Vanilla until they decide that the candle should hop on Vanilla's head and be the decorations!

This is was a very cute book, illistrated in pastels. I also liked how there was text to the book and then the dialoge between the cupcake and the candle were with the pictures, almost like a comic book. When the candle and Vanilla were trying out different decorations it was really funny. The last decoration they tried was a squirrell. That just cracked me up. There was a picture of a cupcake with a squirirll on top.

A very, cery cute cupcake.

By Linda Ashman
Grades 1-5

What’s bored 13th century royalty to do? If you’re the Earl of Daftwood, you throw a party complete with a grand feast and jousting. And if you’re the Earl of Daftwood’s staff (steward, herald, cook, cleaning servant, farmer, knight, squire etc), you groan and fret because nothing is more troublesome than a party.

Using various rhyming schemes, Ashman begins with the Earl and then shifts the point of view to his various underlings as each describes their preparations, and in doing so give a sense of what it was like to live in a thirteenth-century English castle. The rhymes have an appropriate leisurely pace energized by clever couplets such as this sentiment from the Cleaning Servant: “Scatter the rats. Now it’s perfectly clean— / Or at least good enough; we’re not serving the Queen!”

The intricate artwork portrays monastic illumination on each page and also hints at the caligraphy in the font that is used. This is a pretty realistic look at life in the 13th century in all levels of life. And the illistrations are stylized to look like many of the pictures in the manuscripts of the time. This is very different than the Disney Sleeping Beauty picture of the middle ages.

I am not sure I agree with the reviews on this title because they indicate that a first grader can and should pick up this book and read it. It has some difficult words, lots of words on a page, many pages, and difficult to read fonts. The first grader who would read this book would have to be very advanced. But I could see this as being picked up by an older kid and enjoying it (3rd-5th).

Quirky, sarcastic, and educational, this is a great first introduction to the way people lived before ipods and combustion engine.

By Babette Donaldson
Ages 6-8
 
Emma Lea is told a the bedtime story of Aladin one night. That night she dreams that her favorite teapot is like Aladin's lamp and is given 3 wishes. The next day she finds that her wishes comes true. However, her father reveals to her that is isn't magic that made the things come true. Emma Lea did all those things herself.
 
There are a lot of words on these pages. The story takes up the full 30 pages and might be overwhelming for a toddler or young reader to read on her(this is a girlie book) own. But the pictures are beautiful enough to entertain a child while she is being read to.
 
Overall, story is charming and the watercolor pictures are beautiful.

Ages 4-8

 In this book, told entirely in pictures, each browsing a new storyline will race through children’s heads as they follow the many different lead-ins that the illustrations present.
Mr. and Mrs. Dog’s cake is stolen! As they chase the thieves through a variety of landscapes, one calamitous event after another ensues. Looking for the cake in each frame brings the hilarious storyline to the forefront.

This is emacualtely put together. I thought with so much going on it would be impossible to have a cohesive story. But just the opposite. Watch each character in the book. When you turn the page, you can see what happens next to that character. It is such a fun book. This stimulating book is the perfect backseat activity, and it encourages creative thought.

A great activity is having your child tell the story. You can even write it out on post-it-notes and put them on the pages so your child can see all the work that goes into writing a story!

I LOVED THIS BOOK! Every child should read it!

Ages 4-8

"It was dark. It was stormy. It was night." The opening lines to this easy reader is a really great example of using simple words and repeition to get a point across to kids. To a young reader, "It was a dark and stormy night" may be a daunting sentence to read. Half of the words in that sentence are not familar to those little eyes causing frustration. But when the kids already know, "It was," the sentence goes much easier. Plus, what a great opening line to a book!


The storyline is cute: Melvin has a flat tire and needs a new one. He rolls into a spooky junkyard and finds just what he needs: a golden! But when the junkyard ghost asks, "Who took my golden tire?" Melvin gets scared.

The illistrations by David Shannon are vibrant and so very cute. This is a great boy book because it is about trucks, but girls won't be offended by it either because the art and  personified car is not overly masculine.

My only complaint is that sometimes the word placement is wonky, not exaclty left to right. This might confuse a new reader. OR it might make reading the book more interesting. Not sure.

I really liked this book.

Mom has a new family! She has a new husband who is not my dad, and worst of all, new kids. Girls!

Just as it feels for the young child in "Do You Sing Twinkle?" living apart from a parent can be a hard adjustment for kids. And, when that parent remarries and has stepchildren, things can get really confusing for kids! This story is told from a young boy's point of view, the book sensitively addresses many questions that children may have while adjusting to remarriage and joint-custody situations. Kids and parents will learn good and easy ways to stay connected all around helping kids to feel special and loved.

A 'Note to Parents' is included that will help parents talk to their children and deal with common but difficult emotions as they adjust to all the changes in their lives. This title addresses directly the kinds of issues kids face when parents divorce and remarry. It tackles difficulties of separated parents, stepparents, and step-siblings. It is a 'read aloud' book that is suitable for very young children but readable by second graders.

This a a great story explaining what it's like to have divorce, remarriage and step siblings in the family. This is written from one little boys perspective from the family. I found this book to be a great book to recommend to those families with these diffcult topics to explain to their children.

It's raining cats and dogs! Good thing Rover is snuggled safe and dry inside his doghouse--until, one by one, a soggy menagerie of creatures shows up looking for a cozy place to sit out the storm. But who's the very unwelcome surprise visitor? Skunk, of course. Suddenly that doghouse isn't quite so crowded after all!

A Theodor Geisel Honor book- This softly illustrated book is a fun story about a dog named Rover who has to share his doghouse with a bunch of other animals that want to squeeze in during a rain storm. A perfect book for an animal lover or just a fun read a a rainy day!

A young girl, a woman (presumably her mother), and their dog go through their evening activities as night falls: arriving home, cooking out in the backyard, reading before bed, brushing teeth, and finally going to sleep. Throughout their routine, an array of lights shine bright to accompany them: a street light, porch light, reading light, night light, and, finally, moonlight and starlight. The litany closes with a comforting “good night.” The names of the lights are the only text; it’s up to the appropriately dark illustrations to show the action. This snapshot of one calm evening spent among human and canine friends is appealing; what child wouldn’t enjoy grilling on the back porch, playing with a beloved dog, reading before bed, and sleeping in a cozy bed with beautiful moonlight just outside the window? This debut picture book will send young ones off to sleep gently, and may also inspire a new before-bed game: counting and naming lights. Preschool-Grade 1

A fun and softly illustrated bedtime or night time book using the many vocabulary words dealing with night and the type of light at night! Its fun addition to reading at bedtime!

This book is another funny addition to the Elephant and Piggie Books By Mo Willems.  I just love the cartoon drawings! Poor Gerald the Elephant - you just feel for him throughout the story when he thinks that Piggie is leaving him for ever. Only to discover that Piggie is leaving to go and have lunch!

A perfect choice for an early reader to read with on his own!