BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Play with a few simple construction motions in this brightly colored interactive board book. While I have seen other similar board books with more motions, like Bizzy Bear’s Big Building Book, I have never heard such a great sawing sound and motion! If you love board books, for that alone I would add it to my collection.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
An ode to the new classic Trunk-or-Treat. Simple flaps are liftable to see the candy each trunk presents. Super simple in design and execution. You might have to worry about your little ones getting their candy wishlists ready!
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: MANY
Can you bang, boom, caw, crash, buzz, blub, pitter-patter, pffffft, whoosh, yawn, moo, or roar? Then this read aloud book is for you! just look at the picture and say whatever noise you think the picture is making.
Buzz! Boom! Bang! is a fun and silly, interactive, wordless picture book where readers make sounds based on the colorful illustrations, encouraging creativity and imagination through onomatopoeia.
PGPowers
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL
APPEALS TO: MANY
There are many parts to building a house. First, land is purchased and excavated. Then, there is the foundation, framing, drywalling, bricking, etc, that makes the structure of the house. There is also work done by electricians, plumbers, tilers, flooring installers, etc, that make the house beautiful and comfortable. And, lastly, there are landscapers who work to create a beautiful yard.
Blanchard writes clearly, with vocabulary words in bold type. Balicevic stole the show with adorable illustrations, pull tabs, doors, and rotating illustrations. The book was made to endure with its heavy cardboard.
Many different persons of color were used in the illustrations.
MOMMAC
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
It is the year 1160 BCE. Pharaoh Rameses is dead, his tomb and treasures are safely hidden in the Valley of the Kings. You have come to live with your uncle in Egypt as his apprentice. He leaves you a task to discover who stole the map that shows where Pharaoh Ramses tomb is, and to stop the robbers. In this game of chance, you will choose how to solve the mystery. Make your choice and spin your Survival Spinner to survive. Will you have success or disaster?
Hawkins has created a clever story that is also a game for young ancient history lovers. I enjoyed playing the game as I read along.
PGPowers
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Kitty and her friends are getting ready for her birthday party. Each of them uses their phone in some way to make all of the arrangements.
Six big buttons will get a lot of pushing time! While it has an on/off switch, a parent might also be tempted to remove the batteries. It is a nice option instead of giving your child a real phone to play with.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - GIFT - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Sammy and Pip have brought out a special Christmas box with magical objects and a sheet of music that takes them on a magical musical journey around the world to see different ways Christmas is celebrated.
The question you, as an adult, need to ask yourself is - how many times do you want to hear the snippet of music? THe back matter includes the name of each piece. Pip and Sammy’s story is incidental to listening to the tunes.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Travel to eleven homes around the world and learn a little bit about how each of them celebrates Christmas.
While a board book, the pages are large. Each page not only has a lot to discover in the illustrations, but each page has several flaps to lift; the flaps blend into the illustrations, so I had to run my fingers all over the pages to find each of them. The illustrations are very full - almost too much.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Who's Making All That Noise?! plays a noisy guessing game with the reader about which animal is rap-tap-tapping, or Too-OOt! trumpeting, Yak-Yak-Yammering and many more sounds of different animals.
Lunde creates a fun and rowdy read-aloud to learn more about different animals. I'm not sure a human can make all the different sounds, but it's fun to try.
PGPowers
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Oh No! A hungry monster is eating its way through Christmas!
I love a board book with a difference - in this case, holes of every page - including the covers! Nibbles is silly and the action is based around a countdown - so educational to boot!
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SOME
Join Santa and the elves as they are getting ready for Christmas Eve.
Sliding scene changers will be fun for young eyes and hands, who will want to flip the pages back and forth to make the changes. The rhyming is simple and a little stiff. A good optional holiday book.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
The chickens' eggs are lost. Can you help them each find their eggs?
Paul’s seek-and-find book starts out pretty fun, but once the chicks hatch, my eyes were feeling dazzled by all of the colors and patterns on the page. You could also use this is a counting book - it goes from 8 hens on down.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
The creature inside the book is reluctant to come out. The narrator tries to coax or drag the creature out and asks the reader to help also.
Lot only includes a little bit of reader participation. While the book was funny, it wasn’t as interactive as I had hoped.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Ready to make a cake without making a mess? Meet the newest Cook in a Book, #6 in the series. I would say that making and decorating a cake is much more complicated than making spaghetti - so the mixing process gets a little compacted. But, the ingredients list is correct, so after you’ve baked a pretend cake, you could actually bake a real one.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ESSENTIAL
APPEALS TO: MANY
Welcome to the 13th book in the Peekaboo interactive board book series. This time we are headed off to the zoo!
The sliders on each page are so much fun to play with. I would look at all 13 to pick your faves, but the zoo one was much fun to play with.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Meet five important construction vehicles as they are busy at work.
I’m not sure I would call this a “first words” book, as bulldozer and tractor are not really beginner words. Despite that, the pop-up machines are adorable. Trucks and machines are always very popular. I am curious to give this to my 14 month old grandson to see how the pop-ups fare.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
11 Halloween creatures can be mixed and matched in this cute split board book. The text and illustrations are simple and easy to understand for little friends.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
