December, omg. I don’t know about you, but I’m up to my eyebrows in holiday stuff and still finishing up projects from the fall and hitting the wall with homework and and and… Ready for school break yet? Before we get there, one more set of book club flyers!
Elf
The Polar Express – This Chris Van Allsburg holiday story is now a classic, and a lovely one. if you are looking to build a collection of holiday books, it’s a good place to start. It is a little longer, and comes around each yar, though, so if your kid is really small, you could wait with this one.
The Mitten – This is a board book format of a Jan Brett favourite. Probably one of her best known stories, The Mitten is a Ukrainian folk tale about a host of animals crowding into one mitten in the cold. It’s gorgeously illustrated, of course, and kids love this one.
Bear Snores On DVD Pack – I love these books. They can get a touch repetitive, so one or two titles might be enough, and this is probably my favourite of the lot, but if you want more of them, they are on frequent offer, though not always with the DVD, which is fun. If you love fun and sweet friendship stories, these are definitely that.
Please Don’t Hit or Bite! Pack – Generally, books trying to teach behaviours are really dire stuff – preachy and either dry or saccharine. These, however, are actually quite palatable and pretty cute. There are others in this series about giving up blankets, using the potty, and so on, and they are all very readable books for when you want to take on those topics. Finally!
All About Seasons Pack – seasonal books often cover the same ground, and these don’t offer up any surprises there, but they are good solid titles and cover all four seasons, so it’s definitely a worthwhile pack for classrooms or families looking for something on this.
Chicka Boom Collection – The alphabet and numbers in what are definitely by now modern classics, and another in a similar rhythm that is just good fun. This is a great pack for reading and learning with young kids. These titles are frequent flyers, though, so if your cart is already full this month, they’re sure to come around again.
***Hugs and Kisses Pack – I love these books. Kiss Good Night is one of my favourite bedtime stories, in fact. These are really sweet (but not icky sweet) and full of warmth between mama and little guy. I’m buying this one.
Cook School – cooking is great stuff to do with kids. It promotes math skills, science inquiry, and literacy, as well as the important skill of learning to follow directions (ahem). Also? it’s good fun to do together, and may even help get dinner on the table. Winning all around!
***Funny Fairy Tales Pack – I love James Marshall’s sense of humour – he is ridiculous, and his retellings of five classic fairy tales are great, irreverant fun, though not the version you want if you are looking for the original or the time-worn. I’m also getting these, because I think I only have one of them and they are perfect for my little guy.
How Do Dinosaurs… – I love this series. this is another example of teaching manners and so on done really, really well. They are funny and silly, but then get around to pointing out how this should go, all illustrated by Mark Teague’s comical, and very human, dinosaurs. The pack is a good choice, but I want the Christmas title to add to my holiday book collection, which I like to grow by one or two every year.
SeeSaw
A Porcupine in a Pine Tree – This very Canadian rewrite of the Twelve Days of Christmas is a lot of fun, and even works well with the song (I hate it when they force it too much!).
***The Night Before Christmas – I love classic holiday stories, and Barbara Reid is, I’ve often said, a national treasure. I bought this one last month, and it is just as cute as you might expect, populated with cute little mice awaiting Christmas. This is a solid yes!
Christmas Baking for Children – cooking and baking is great stuff to do with kids. It promotes math skills, science inquiry, and literacy, as well as the important skill of learning to follow directions (ahem). Also? it’s good fun to do together, and may even help getall that holiday baking done. Winning all around!
Cinders: A Chicken Cinderella – Kids and teachers alike love Jan Brett for her stories and beautiful, superbly detailed illustrations. She rarely misses, which is why I’m recommending this without having seen it, even though the premise sounds a little odd – I think she’ll make it work.
***Up the Creek – There may be nothing more stereotypically Canadian than this cover, featuring a moose, a bear, and a beaver paddling a red canoe – but it’s not all kitsch. Oldland’s books make heavy use of Canadiana, but they are actually really cute and fun little stories, this one about teamwork. Totally fun stuff – and going in my order.
National Geographic Kids Ultimate Buglopedia – Nat Geo is turning out great non-fiction for kids these days. The pictures are everything you’d expect from them, the facts are solid, and they have pitched them well for browsing and more thorough reading alike, depending on the kid. I recommend this one if your kid would find the topic interesting.
The ABCs of Yoga for Kids – Little kids need some work on their gross motor skills and on their paying-attention skills, and yoga makes for a nice activity to help in both these areas. This book walks through a good number of poses, and works for older or younger kids as a pretty solid introduction.
The Magic School Bus Science Reader Collection – These are great books, and kids love them. They mesh factual information with fun adventures that a class goes on with their wacky teacher and her magic bus. The kids are consistent characters, and each has a personality that you come to know. There are lots of little extra bits with factoids, little jokes, and so on that makes it fun for kids to peruse on their own, as well. these do show up in various different packs often enough, as well.
Lucky
A Porcupine in a Pine Tree – This very Canadian rewrite of the Twelve Days of Christmas is a lot of fun, and even works well with the song (I hate it when they force it too much!).
Concert Catastrophes Pack – Andrew Clements is my favourite author of school stories, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is probably the funniest Christmas story ever, so this duo is a great choice for a kid who enjoys a laugh. My teacher used to read that second book to us every year, and I’m not sure how she did it, honestly, because I’d have to stop all the time to get a grip on myself.
Captain Underpants Collection – Okay, I know. he’s rude, crude, and enough with the fart jokes. But? He’s also hilarious and plenty of boys love him, not to mention the half-graphic format works really well for reluctant or less confident readers. As much as they make some parents crazy, these really are fun and a great hook for the kid who needs something a little sillier to get engaged.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not – Not quite as good as the Guinness Book which is on frequent offer through the year, but in a similar vein, this is a browser’s paradise, chock full of wild and fascinating facts and people to pore over and share with friends and family. It’s a fun recreational read, and a perfect hook for the reluctant reader, not to mention a gift that is sure to get some mileage.
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe – this is one book of the Chronicles of Narnia series – but I’d recommend that if you have a reader on your hands, you get the whole set from the Arrow flyer, below.
National Geographic non-fiction – Nat Geo is turning out great non-fiction for kids these days. The pictures are everything you’d expect from them, the facts are solid, and they have pitched them well for browsing and more thorough reading alike, depending on the kid. I recommend these if there’s one that would fit your kid’s passion.
The Magic School Bus Science Reader Collection – These are great books, and kids love them. They mesh factual information with fun adventures that a class goes on with their wacky teacher and her magic bus. The kids are consistent characters, and each has a personality that you come to know. There are lots of little extra bits with factoids, little jokes, and so on that makes it fun for kids to peruse on their own, as well. these do show up in various different packs often enough, as well.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid – This series has been a massive hit with kids and spawned a few imitators, as well. It is very funny, and the half-graphic format makes it a favourite with reluctant readers. The newest is on offer here. This is a pretty nearly monthly offering, so you can count on being able to pick them up at any point through the year.
Arrow
Old Yeller – this is one of those classics you have heard of – I remember reading it as a kid. i also remember going through about a box of kleenex, though, because this is one of those books where the dog dies at the end. Yup, I said it – because if you’ve got a sensitive kid, you might want to skip this one until they’re ready.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid – This series has been a massive hit with kids and spawned a few imitators, as well. It is very funny, and the half-graphic format makes it a favourite with reluctant readers. The newest is on offer here. This is a pretty nearly monthly offering, so you can count on being able to pick them up at any point through the year.
The Hobbit – it’s the gateway drug to the Lord of the Rings, and also of course, one of this season’s hot movies, so it’s a good time to get your kid into this icon of the fantasy genre.
Smile – This is a perfect example of a graphic novel aimed at girls – but it’s not all gag-inducing chick lit, it’s much more real than that, about the trials and tribulations of undergoing major orthodontia right when you are trying to grow up and figure out social stuff and your place in the school scene. Well recommended.
Klutz Friendship Bracelets – I love Klutz kits for their clear, easy-to-follow instructions, solid results, and completeness. This book includes instructions for a bunch of different patterns for this never-gets-old kid craft.
The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail – This one I will admit, I have not read. That said, I adore Richard Peck, who hasn’t gone wrong yet for me, and both Publishers’ Weekly and School Library Journal liked it, so you can’t shake a stick at that in terms of a recommendation! Now I would really like to read this book about a tiny mouse who finds his way into Queen Victoria’s castle.
I Survived Pack – kids who thrive on action and adventure in their reading gravitate toward these tales of surviving disaster. This is the perfect example of tapping into something they love and running with it!
Percy Jackson & The Olympians Boxed Set – This series has been HUGE, and with very good reason – it’s excellent. The writing is solid and fast-paced, to almost cinematic effect, the characters are enjoyable, and the action is based on Greek mythology, which I love. They are a pretty classic quest story, and a perfect follow to other fantasy series if you haven’t read them yet. (And you really should.)
All About Myths Pack – a good companion to old Percy Jackson up there, myths are great reading, and a good solid base to have given how muc reference is made to them in literature.
The Chronicles of Narnia Boxed Set – Another series that needs no introduction, because not only is it a serious classic, but the movies have been coming out over the last few years, bringing it a whole new audience. It’s seven books strong, a perfect introduction to fantasy, and should be read by or to everyone.
Winter Savings Pack – this is a seriously solid pack, with not a shaky book in the bunch. Not only because there are 3 Newbery medalists and 3 honour books here, but it’s also nicely varied, with some funny, some sweet, some serious, some historical fiction, some with a nice fantasy element… and kids have loved all of them, too, just as important.
National Geographic non-fiction – Nat Geo is turning out great non-fiction for kids these days. The pictures are everything you’d expect from them, the facts are solid, and they have pitched them well for browsing and more thorough reading alike, depending on the kid. I recommend these if there’s one that would fit your kid’s passion.
Bone Complete Collection – Pretty much the Cadillac of kids graphic novels, Bone is popular with kids and adults alike. Funny, with a serious, epic storyline spanning nine books, and drawn with a wonderful attention to detail and obvious cartoon influences, it’s a masterpiece that was originally self-published, and later picked up for publishing in full colour. I’ve heard Jeff Smith speak about what he was doing, and was even more impressed by the level of planning and detail he put into these. Even reluctant readers are eating these up, and I can’t say I’m surprised, they are really, really good.
The Authoritative Calvin & Hobbes – these are funny – you might remember them from a good 20-25 years ago? They still appeal. Readers and reluctant readers alike enjoy cartoons, so if your kid won’t gravitate to a full-on novel just yet, these might grab his/her attention in the meantime, not to mention that you can share some good belly laughs reading them together!
A note on The Hunger Games trilogy – I expect these to show up a lot this school year, with the second movie coming out right about now. I also expect your kids will bug you about this one, and that some of their friends will have read them. The books had been huge with teens for a few years now – and to be honest, that is who I think should be reading them. If you have a very sophisticated reader, it might be something that you could read together and talk about, but otherwise, I believe that these are worth waiting for when kids are old enough to appreciate them.
my 10 year old just finished “divergent”…which was on my book list to read! i talked to her about it and she seemed pretty okay about it…i don’t know much about it other than it was on a must read teen lit list for grownups 🙂 i guess i’ll look at it soon and then go on to hunger games. i’d really like to read that and i’m sure she’s going to want to as well. we’ll see 🙂
the book fair has hit our school and there is so much to look at!