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Book-O-Beards

Series: Wearable Books
Written by Donald Lemke
Illustrated by Bob Lentz
Capstone Young Readers        2/01/2015
9778-1-62370-183-3
12 pages         Size: 8” x 8”      Age 1 to 6
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“Fun interactive board book that children and adults can wear like masks, allowing for make-believe games and hilarious snapshot moments! With catchy rhymes, colorful illustrations, and interactive dialogue, everyone will enjoy this laugh-pout-load read-along.” [catalog]
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New for 2015, Book-O-Beards allows young children to become a lumberjack—TIMBER!—a pirate—ARRRG!—a cowboy—YEEHAW!—a sailor—ANCHORS AWEIGH!—a police officer—You’re under ARREST!—or Santa—HO, HO, HO! The Book-O-Beards helps young children role-play different  personas as they try these full-spread, fully bushy beards. Read the rhyming text, and then try one on..

“This orange beard
is softer than fur. I
In a deep voice
shout out, ‘TIMBER!’”

While the Book-O-Beards will appeal more to young boys, girls can certainly use this imaginative interactive board book. Made of heavy cardboard, the Book-O-Beards will stand-up to many hours of play. Young children love to play make-believe. The Wearable Books series lets kids try on teeth, hats, masks, and beards, all the while producing giggles. The love of reading can begin with one spark from these unusual dual-fun books.

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BOOK-O-BEARDS (A WEARABLE BOOK). Text copyright © 2015 by Donald Lemke. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Bob Lentz. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Capstone Young Readers, an imprint of Capstone, North Manakato, MN.
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Purchase Book-O-Beards at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Capstone.
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Learn more about Book-O-Beards HERE.
Meet the author, Donald Lemke, at his bio box:  http://www.capstonepub.com/library/authors/lemke-donald/
Meet the illustrator, Bob Lentz, at his website:
Find more interactive fun at the Capstone website:  http://www.capstonepub.com/

Capstone Young Readers is a Capstone Imprint.

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Also available in the Wearable Books series.

 

 

 

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Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews

Filed under: 5stars, Board Books, Books for Boys, Children's Books, Library Donated Books, NonFiction, Series Tagged: beards, Bob Lentz, Book-O-Beards, Capstone Young Readers, Donald Lemke, hats, imaginative play, interactive books, masks teeth, Wearable Books

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The Box by Jo Linsdell is filled with imagination. A young boy shares why his box is his favorite toy; transforming it into a football goal, a pirate ship, a race car and more.

What I’ve always loved about Linsdell’s children’s books is their simplicity and creativity. As a mom, she knows what young readers are looking for. She proves this once again with The Box. How often do parents joke that we buy our kids a bunch of toys for their birthday and they end up playing with the boxes? Linsdell truly gets into the heart of a child with this one. The adorable illustrations keep the reader focused on the boy and his magic box that he can transform into anything.

Preschoolers and parents will enjoy this book together.

Rating:  :) :) :) :)

Publication Date: Mar 15 2014
ISBN/EAN13: 1497344646 / 9781497344648
Page Count: 44
Binding Type: US Trade Paper
Trim Size: 8.25″ x 8.25″
Language: English
Colour: Full Colour with Bleed
Related Categories: Juvenile Fiction / Imagination & Play
ASIN: B00J91VBTA 

 

Purchasing links: 

Print

 http://www.amazon.com/The-Box-Jo-Linsdell/dp/1497344646

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Box-Jo-Linsdell/dp/1497344646/

http://www.createspace.com/4715488

 

Kindle 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Box-Jo-Linsdell-ebook/dp/B00J91VBTA

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Box-Jo-Linsdell-ebook/dp/B00J91VBTA

 

http://www.amazon.ca/Box-Jo-Linsdell-ebook/dp/B00J91VBTA/

 

Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21569590-the-box

Author website: http://www.JoLinsdell.com

I received a free digital copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

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As I child, I understood the poetic magic of origami even before I knew the name of the art. One of my great-great aunt's many skills was paper-folding. She could swiftly make an origami bow tie appear out of a paper scrap. That fascinating talent was as magical ability as anything I'd ever witnessed, and it was always an honor to receive one of her tidy, crisp bow ties.

Since it's National Poetry Month, the kids and I picked up a few new poetry books at the library.  One picture book we particularly like has an origami theme  -- Fold Me a Poem by Kristine O'Connell George, illustrated by Lauren Stinger.

The summary on the copyright page states that the book is "a collection of poems about origami animals."  In reality, the Fold Me a Poem is much more than a collection.  The poems, read together in succession, collectively tell a story about an imaginative boy who plays with his origami creations all day long, from the moment he wakes up in the morning until he falls asleep in his bed at night. The short poems are rather like private thoughts as he brings the origami animals to life, folding them into splendid creatures and playing with them afterward: "Forty bright sheets / of colored paper, / a world of animals. / Who will be next?" The animals race each other, hide, and get into trouble. Even the boy's cat joins in the fun, by attacking and injuring a poor pink ostrich during a "wind storm" produced by a fan.  The cleverly designed square book  has end papers that look like origami paper. In total, the book contains 32 original poems; it does not include instructions for creating origami animals -- however, the illustrator in her end note mentions various book resources.

This poetry book provides wonderful inspiration for showing children how to capture their own thoughts in poetry form on paper! All children need to do to write their own poems is describe their own play.  O'Connell's poems are written in many different forms including haiku, apostrophe (poems of address), mask or persona poems, and process poems, making the book a useful springboard for teaching these styles.  Lauren Stringer's painted illustrations beautifully accompany the poems and are instrumental in helping the reader visualize the poems.  Stringer skillfully captures the origami creatures -- folding origami is hard enough, but painting all the shadows, showing the folds through illustration takes real talent indeed!

As for favorite poems, I adore "Night," a poem that tells how the boy adds his own star to the night sky.  My son likes the poem "Tub" mostly because the illustrations for the poem show many of the origami creations waiting for a ride on an origami boat, including a bandaged ostrich. My daughter especially likes "Mystery" because it fully captures the wonder and joy of creating your own origami. Anything, yes, anything is possible with a little imagination.

Fold Me a Poem by Kristine O'Connell George, illustrated by Lauren Stringer. Harcourt (April 2005); ISBN 9780152025014; 32 pages
Book Source: Borrowed from our local library

I am an Amazon affiliate and may receive a very small commission for products purchased through my Amazon links. (View my full disclosure statement for more information about my reviews.) 

Related Links:
Kristine O'Connell George - Author Website
Lauren Stringer - Illustrator Website
Teacher's Guide - Fold Me A Poem


Today is Poem in Your Pocket Day!  When thinking about combining origami and poetry, we chanced upon a verse by the brilliant children's poet, Aileen Fisher. The poem "Baby Chick" questions how a chick knows its way out of the egg.  We've created a neat origami project to go along with the poem (plus the paper egg shell makes a neat, handy pocket to tuck the poem into!)

The directions to fold the chick and egg origami can be found at http://www.kutchuk.com.  The design is made from a single piece of paper. This is an easy, beginner origami project for kids.  I created a pdf template with folding guides to make it even easier to fold your own origami if you'd prefer to use that instead.  One is full color and the other can be colored-in by a child.  Make sure to print with page scaling set to "none" or unclick "fit to page" so that it doesn't resize the document. Click on the google doc links below to print your own copy (clicking on the image won't work).

To extend the poetry in a pocket idea and fold a poem, you could have your child write the poem on the paper before folding it into the chick/egg shape!  Or, if your child can't write, print out the poem and tuck it into the pocket formed by the folded egg shell.

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If you've read books together with a preschooler or early elementary aged child I imagine you've seen Mercer Mayer's popular Little Critter books.  But if you are like us, you might not be familiar with another of Mercer Mayer's fabulously cute characters -- Little Monster.

Little Monster has pointy ears and teeth, wings and a spiky tail. He's a not-to-scary, overall-wearing, dragon kind of monster that spends his days doing the ordinary things all children do: going to school, spending time with his family and trying to stay out of trouble.  The Little Monster series books were first published in the late 1970s, and the bestselling books continue to be popular with young kids today. However, many of the books are now long out-of-print. 

FastPencil is helping to bring back the Little Monster books for a new generation to read. The company has released a fantastic Mercer Mayer Classic Collectible four-book series. The books feature Mayer's “Little Monster” character.  My family recently had the chance to read one of the books in the series: Mercer Mayer's Little Monster Home School and Work Book.

Though it's printed with different formatting, Mercer Mayer's Little Monster Home, School and Work Book is actually a compilation of three of Mayer's original picture books: Little Monster at Home, Little Monster at School and Little Monster at Work. As collections tend to be, this hardcover book is larger-sized, 92 pages long in all.  Each of the stories are treated like separate chapters within the book and a table of content in front indicates page numbers.  The book is also available as an e-book download (we received the hardcover copy version to review).

Young kids can easily identify with Little Monster -- after all, even though he's dragon-like, he acts like a normal kid, not a monster! The illustrations in the book are very similar to those in the Little Critter series, packed full of imaginative, action-filled scenes and interesting characters.

My kids especially appreciate how Mayer includes little humorous scenarios within the illustrations including aliens at the airport and a spider inching down from a bathroom sink right in front of a monster cat.  In fact, the illustrations are so fun to look at, you'll want to spend a little extra time pouring over the pages while reading to make sure you don't miss anything in the book.  Both my kids found the book engaging and enjoyable. It's a good read aloud for preschoolers and also is challenging and interesting enough for early readers.  I'd recommend it for ages preschool-2nd grade.

Little Monster gives a tour of his house in Little Monster at Home. He starts with the cellar, a rather  unusual choice. (Who starts a home tour with the cellar? - I guess monsters do!)  Mayer provides readers with a fun glimpse into the life of the Little Monster family. They take baths and do the laundry just like the rest of us.  Little Monster's pet Kerploppus sleeps on the couch, "even though he is not supposed to."  The book also details what the family does around the house during the various seasons. I adore the winter illustrations.  Little Monster mentions Christmas and likes his house best in wintertime because "it's so very snuggly and warm." 

In Little Monster at School, a student named Yally doesn't seem to like school much at all. He gets frustrated easily and wants to be the best at everything. Little Monster shows how to be a good friend and helps brings out the best in Yally by boosting Yally's self-confidence with some well-deserved praise. [In related news, earlier this year Wanderful, Inc. released a Little Monster at School iPad storybook app.]

My son's favorite section of the book is the Little Monster at Work part. The busy illustrations and focus on vocabulary building in this Little Monster story remind me of Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day. Little Monster follows his grandfather to various places and learns about different occupations.  Together they visit a road construction site, car shop, T.V. station, circus, newspaper business, medical center, campsite,  marina, the moon, a diner, home construction site, airport, farmer's market, the Olympics, craft fair, town square, and also learn about jobs in science.  There's not much explanation in the text as to what the various jobs entail, but the illustrations offer unlimited discussion possibilities.

Little Monster Home School and Work Book by Mercer Mayer. FastPencil Premiere (October 2012); ISBN 9781607469452; 92 pages
Book Source: Review copy provided by publisher

Other books in the Mercer Mayer Classic Collectible series include: Little Monster Word Book with Mother Goose; Little Monster Fun and Learn Book and Professor Wormbog In Search for the Zipperump-a-Zoo 

Related Links
http://www.mercermayer.com/
http://www.littlecritter.com

The book ends with a question from Little Monster, "Did you see anything in my book that you would like to be?" I asked my son what he wanted to be when he grows up and he replied, "a fixer."  That's not entirely surprising considering both of his grandfathers are retired mechanics. We talked about the different tools mechanics use, and I asked him to identify a few common tools.  He knew a few but it became quickly apparent that his basic tool vocabulary is lacking.

We were on a vocabulary kick after reading the word heavy "At Work" section of Mayer's book, so I decided to further the educational lessons and make some tool flashcards and a paper tool box envelope to hold the flashcards for my son. Now he knows correct tool terminology and can call the tools by their proper names (both grandpas will be so proud). We've played with the cards in a variety of ways including putting the tools in alphabetical order. I'm considering printing out a second set so we can play Go Fish--tool style.




Hand Tools Activities and Worksheets for Kids
Tool Coloring Pages and Writing Practice - Twisty Noodle
Handy Manny Toolbox Printable - Family.com
T is for Toolbelt Craft - Brilliant Beginnings Preschool
Matching Tools Printable (Pre-K - 1st) - TeacherVision
Tools Printouts - EnchantedLearning.com
Webelos Craftsman Activity Badge Worksheets - Boy Scout Trail
Felt Tools and Toolbox Templates - Serving Pink Lemonade

I am an Amazon affiliate and may receive a very small commission for products purchased through my Amazon links. (View my full disclosure statement for more information about my reviews.)  

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I've traipsed through many a wood and have collected my share of pinecones, but never, never on any of my adventures have I come across a friendly, mechanized, working robot.  I must be walking through the wrong kind of woods, because in Ame Dyckman's picture book world this scenario is entirely possible.

Simply and perfectly told with bold, eye-pleasing illustrations by robot-lover Dan Yaccarino, BOY + BOT is quite possibly the best robot picture book we've ever read (and believe me, we've read several).  The story-line goes like this: Boy walks through the woods.  Boy meets a big, red robot.  Boy and robot problem-solve. Robot and boy become BFF.  Now obviously there's more to it than that, like for instance both boy and bot have similar "misunderstood malfunctions" and need fixing, but to say any more would spoil the fun.  Read the robot parts aloud in your best robot voice. Remark on all the fun things the robot and boy do together like swimming, apple-picking and rock-skipping.  And remember, little boys do not need oiling, and never, ever feed your robot applesauce.

This book deservedly received starred review from Kirkus, Booklist, and Publishers Weekly. Take our word for it (and theirs), if you have a young, robot-loving child, BOY + BOT is for them and worth purchasing.

Fun fact: If you look closely at the illustrations in BOY + BOT you'll discover one of Yaccarino's creative additions to the story -- a light-bulb shaped, one-eyed robot that Ame Dyckman calls "Watt."  Not surprisingly, illustrator Dan Yaccarino has a self-described "slight penchant for robots."  He is also the author/illustrator of another robot picture book, If I Had a Robot, a story about a boy who dreams about all the things he could or wouldn't have to do if he had a robot.  His robot illustrations have a retro, vintage look reminiscent of those tin wind-up robot toys from the past. 

Related links: 
Ame Dyckman - Author Website 
Dan Yaccarino - Illustrator Website

BOY + BOT by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino.  Alfred A. Knopf / Random House (April 2012); ISBN 9780375867569; 32 pages
Book Source: copy from our personal library

Sadly we have not discovered our own robot friend in the woods, so my son and I did the next best thing ... made our own robot out of LEGOs. Our LEGO collection is large and diverse enough to provide ample parts for robot building.   We have eyes, connecting parts to make arms that swing and plenty of multi-sized, red blocks.



My son insisted that our BOT robot have a power switch in the back. Pair the LEGO bot with a boy mini-figure and let the book play-acting begin!  

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Today you're cordially invited to my daughter's virtual coloring fashion show, a glitzy extravaganza showcasing the new Rosie Flo's Fashion Show Pop-up Coloring Runway Set. My daughter has worked hard and long to ready her fabulous models and spectators for the show.

Rosie Flo's Fashion Show is a box gift set published by Chronicle Books that contains a ready-to-assemble paper theater and catwalk along with 18 paper models, 8 front-row spectators and a little poodle for kids to color and personalize. There are also pop-up chairs for the front-row spectators, little invitations to pass out and a paper camera to set up at the show. Instead of designing dresses, kids get to complete the character line drawings, a sort of "filling-in-a-person" drawing activity. Like all Rosie Flo products many line drawing dresses are ready for a creative mind to take over and add heads, faces, legs, arms and all the extra flourishes. Kids get creative by making up their own characters to fit the costumes.

The pop-up theater is impressively detailed, both inside and out. Models "get-ready" at the outside back of the theater in a dressing room and then enter through the doors onto the catwalk. No glue or scissors is required and the theater itself isn't too hard to assemble though smaller kids will probably need some assistance. According to the outside of the box, this set is recommended for ages six and up but with parental help I imagine younger kids would also enjoy coloring and creating the models.

My artsy daughter has already spent several hours drawing and coloring the models and spectators in her set and still has several more models to color. I asked what she likes most about this product and she replied that, "It is better than a coloring book because when you are done coloring you can play with it. It is hard work but a lot of fun because you get to draw people."

Models walking the catwalk.

A variety of spectators watch the fashion show.

As a parent I really like that this set challenges young artists by helping them practice

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If you notice a little girl at your doorstep wearing an adorable red tutu with rainboots costume next Halloween, hopefully you'll be able to correctly identify her dressed up as a new (on the way to becoming a classic) children's book character. Please don't call her a "cute little ladybug" or, even worse, "a red fairy." No, she's Ladybug Girl, everyday superhero, brave explorer and a thoughtful friend to others.

A creation of husband and wife duo David Soman and Jacky Davis, Ladybug Girl is the star of the New York Times bestselling series of children's books about an ordinary but imaginative little girl named Lulu who enjoys dressing up in a red tutu, rainboots, ladybug wings and antenna. Lulu, accompanied by her trusty canine companion, Bingo, goes on everyday adventures and figures out her own solutions to various childhood situations.

The two newest Ladybug Girl book in the series are Ladybug Girl at the Beach and, published just this year, Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad. They follow the first two picture books, Ladybug Girl and Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy.

❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖

Ladybug Girl at the Beach by Jacky Davis and David Soman. Dial / Penguin Books for Young Readers (May 2010); ISBN 9780803734166; 40 pages

Lulu, the brave Ladybug Girl, has never visited the beach before but she is ready for her newest adventure. She and her family spend a day soaking in the rays and experiencing all the wonders of the seaside. She builds sand castles, flies a kite, eats a double scoop ice cream cone, takes a walk on the beach with Bingo her dog, and searches for a few sea shells. She's not so sure though if she's ready for a dip in the big, blue ocean. It's normal for kids to exhibit fear when encountering the unknown. With Ladybug Girl as their role model, they can learn to conquer the waves, too.



David Soman's pen-and-ink watercolor illustrations in the Ladybug books are all fabulous, but his sweeping beach views really impress. One page spread shows Lulu and Bingo standing with hesitation on the beach as a large wave crashes on the sand in front of their feet. The text seems secondary, the waves tell the story. The emotion filled sunset views toward the end provide a spectacular conclusion. The images in the book make me long for a leisurely day at the beach with my kids, watching them play in the sand and splashing

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With the exception of a few daffodils, the gardens outside our home sit vacant and we're waiting patiently for warmer weather. Hopefully, sometime around Mother's Day, we'll start planting. In the meantime, the little green thumbs in our home have kept busy with some pretend gardening with Dora.

Dora's Garden Gazebo is just one of many Dora the Explorer products that Mega Bloks offers. The gazebo set includes the following 19 pieces to encourage pretend gardening play:

• Build & Dress Dora with 2 interchangeable skirts
• Baby Blue Bird
• Gazebo building (4 blocks)
• Watering Can
• Flower Pot
• Sunflower
• Patio Table and Umbrella
• Pine Tree
• Fence
• Extra blocks (3)

The set is recommended for ages 3+ and includes several small parts. Building the gazebo as pictured on the box really isn't too difficult. Like all building sets, kids can use their imagination to set up the blocks however they prefer, anyway. The small playset works perfectly fine as a stand-alone set and offers several options for imaginative play. My kids prefer to set the gazebo up separately and move the accessories around while they play.

The Build and Dress Dora figure has some special features worth mentioning. It is a positionable doll -- her arms and legs move and her head twists. Even her wrists rotate, allowing her to grasp onto the watering can and dump pretend water onto her flower! The figure pulls apart to make it easy to change out the skirt, from blue to pink or vice versa. Also, if Dora is in the mood to wear pants, one can just leave the skirt off altogether. While my kids can pull the figure apart themselves, they have some difficulty putting it back together.

My daughter especially enjoys playing with the Baby Blue Bird. In fact, at the time I took the photos, the bluebird was off on an exciting adventure somewhere in our home. My son is a little sad that the set only includes one character figure from the TV show. He wanted to know what happened to Boots! I do wish that play sets like this would include more than one main character. Siblings would be able to play with it together and the figures could hold conversations. Also, though it includes a table, this garden set lacks a chair. My kids remedied the situation by using a chair from a Fisher Price toy. An extra flower would be a nice addition as well. The buildable playset works with other Mega Bloks sets (as well as Lego DUPLO bricks) for open-ended play. My kids plan to build a house for Dora so they can attach this set as an outdoor living space.

Dora's Garden Gazebo retails for $14.99 and is available at Kmart, Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, select Target stores and Amazon.com.