October was a runaway horse this year – can’t believe November is already here, complete with the first holiday offerings! Here they are:
Elf
Who Has a Tail? – kids love guessing, and this animal guessing book based on tails is a fun one for a younger kid.
The Night Before Christmas – I love classic holiday stories, and Barbara Reid is, I’ve often said, a national treasure. this is a solid yes!
Frosty the Snowman – I also love holiday song books, for singing along with, and Frosty is a great one for little kids. The board format makes it good for sharing with little guys, but too small for sharing with a group.
Winter Caldecott pack – Owl Moon is a gorgeous book about quietly creeping through the woods by a full moon to watch for owls. It’s full of magic. White Snow, Bright Snow is a retro gem about snowy days.
No Two Alike – a lovely little book about birds and winter with illustrations that I really loved.
You Will Be My Friend! – a funny story about a bear intent on making a friend who needs to learn a lesson about boundaries and what friendship really is.
Count The Monkeys – this interactive counting book is honestly laugh out loud hilarious. I read it to my kids over and over and over, and it doesn’t lose it’s appeal even after many repeats. Gold!
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.
Henkes Mouse pack – I am a ridiculous Henkes fan, I must admit. I may have been a totally fool once when meeting him. But! With good reason! his books are fantastic, full of warmth, little lessons, amazing illustrations, and excellent vocabulary. You can’t beat these.
Bear and Friends Collection – I love these books. They can get a touch repetitive, so a smaller pack would probably suit just fine if you want to wait, but if you love fun and sweet friendship stories, these are definitely that.
Llama Llama Holiday Drama – I really only recommend these for toddlers, who totally get Llama and his frustrations, and this book about the difficulty of patiently waiting for Christmas rings true for them. Bigger kids will be past this, though.
Jane Cabrera Sing Along Collection – I love song books. they remind you of the words, help give your kid something to focus on and lets you show your child how you are following the text as you sing. Simple, but good stuff.
SeeSaw
Jan Brett holiday collection – Kids and teachers alike love Jan Brett for her stories and beautiful, superbly detailed illustrations. A couple of carols and a winter classic round out this pack.
Where the Wild Things Are – If you don’t have this on your bookshelf already, buy this, even if you buy nothing else. That is all. (It’s amazing, and a real classic. When they say “must-have,” they are actually right.)
Ten On the Sled – This fun winter counting book has a group of friends trying to go sledding together – but ten may be overloading things a bit!
Pigeon Read & Watch Set – Pigeon books are major hits with kids for their silliness, comic style, and interactivity. Get ready to get rowdy as you read them – it only makes it better that way! This pack also includes a DVD of some Mo Willems favourites, including one of the Pigeon stories.
Scaredy & Friends Collection – Scaredy Squirrel books are very funny, and kindergartners/grade 1s love them. Chester is a great followup, for the older end of this flyer, or to hold onto for your kiddo to grow into. There are a couple more Scaredy stories, though, so if you really want them all, hold out for an all-Scaredy pack.
Elephant & Piggie Pack – I love these books. They are cute, sweet, easy to read, and truly hilarious. Mo Willems’ gift for animation and facial expression is used to its fullest extent in these, where words are fewer. I have actually bought pretty much every title in the series.
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.
Best Foot Forward – guessing games that feed learning? A perfect mix, and kids love books that let them show off their knowledge. Add a bit of information about animal adaptations, and this is a winner.
Lucky
Magic Tree House series – This long-running series is still going strong, and I’m still enjoying the adventures of Jack & Annie as they explore times, places, and major historical figures. It’s a nice bridge between fiction and non-fiction, and though definitely on formula, still an enjoyable, decently-written read.
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.
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.
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle pack – Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is, it must be said, definitely old-fashioned. Some of the ideas about children will come as a bit of a surprise to any kid you read them to, for sure, but the truth is, these are still really funny, so if you like older, retro kids’ fare, they may be a fun one to read together.
Klutz Thumb Doodles book and Klutz Cat’s Cradle – I love Klutz kits for their clear, easy-to-follow instructions, solid results, and completeness. thumb Doodles are a fun pack for the arty or the slightly challenged, as it doesn’t take a ton of skill. Cat’s Cradle is a great game and storytelling device, and one I’m thinking of getting for myself, since my daughter has taken to hers so strongly, I never get to borrow it.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid #8 – 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.
Big Nate – This is one of those imitators I mentioned – sort of the natural successor to Diary of a Wimpy Kid – half-graphic, sassy, and great kid appeal. A touch cheekier, but still funny, any fan of the former is pretty sure to enjoy these.
Arrow
Diary of a Wimpy Kid #8 – 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, as well as the rest of the series. 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 Last Holiday Concert – Andrew Clements is pretty much the king of the school story, but I am also really fond of his stories for the way he shows the best of his characters. Not that they are all perfect, no. But that the kids can be smart and thoughtful, and the adults are actual three-dimensional humans with motivations and feelings, unlike so much of kids’ lit.
Big Nate – This is one of those imitators I mentioned – sort of the natural successor to Diary of a Wimpy Kid – half-graphic, sassy, and great kid appeal. A touch cheekier, but still funny, any fan of the former is pretty sure to enjoy these.
My Story collection – a fine pick to extend Remembrance Day, feed curiosity about history, and provide tales of adventure and survival. These diary-format books relate stories from real World War battles, as if told by someone who was there. These are generally quite well done.
The 39 Clues: Cahills Vs. Vespers – this series catches up on the series, so if you’ve been reading them already, you may not need them all, but if you’re new to them, it’s a good pick. This series has been super popular, a mystery pieced together over multiple books by different authors, all of whom are ace writers.
The Usborne Big Book of Experiments – I love science for kids. It’s interesting, exciting, and educational without being dry. It also gets them reading and following instructions, which is an important skill. There’s great fun to be had here, even if it makes a mess of the kitchen!
Klutz Knitting – you know what I have always said about Klutz’s clear instructions and good results? It’s always held true so far. And now, I’m thinking I might put them to the ultimate test with this one.
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.
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