Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Hockey Then to Wow! from Sports Illustrated Kids

Hockey Then to Wow! 
From Sports Illustrated Kids
September 2017
80 pages
Hardcover
Nonfiction
Review copy provided by publisher

Goodreads Summary
Hockey: Then to WOW! shows readers how the cool sport has evolved from the early days of its 19th century origins to the game as it is today. Using NHL action photographs, illustrations, stories, and trivia, the book is a journey through time both for hockey fans and those new to the game. Kids will learn how basic equipment has changed from a ball to a puck and how the evolution of game strategy has transformed the sport, players, and equipment. Players throughout history are stacked up against each other in every position so fans can dream up the perfect fantasy team with Wayne Gretzky playing alongside Patrick Roy and Stan Mikita. A fun-filled section of the book explores everything fan culture-from the best ice rinks, to the iconic hockey sweater and the hockey haircut along with key aspects of the toughest sport around.


Sports Illustrated has created some beautiful books about the history of baseball, football and now hockey! It is filled with facts about the rules, equipment, uniforms, players and more!
The text is accompanied by incredible photographs, charts, stats, graphs, diagrams and tables. 

This book, and the others in the series would make great gifts for sports fans! 

See what others have to say about this book.

Monday, December 11, 2017

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? December 11, 2017


Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

Yes, it has been quite the dry spell for me. Blogging has taken a back seat these days, but I have been reading. Here is some of what I have read recently. 
Click on the covers to learn more about each book. 

Loved this sweet book so much! Ages 3+

Add this to your wordless picture book collection. Any age.

Adorable! Preschool-grade 2



Really loved this one! Great for grades 5-8. 

Enjoyed this one as well. Grades 5-8

Did not expect to like this one, but I really did. Grades 4-7

Not sure all kids will understand the "punk" references, but I really liked this story. 4-7

Currently Reading

and 


What Are You Reading Friends?

Saturday, December 9, 2017

3 New Holiday Books from Sterling

The Bear Who Didn't Want to Miss Christmas
by Marie Tibi
Illustrated by Fabien Öckto Lambert

Published October, 2017
by Sterling Children's Books
Hardcover
40 pages

Goodreads Summary
Poor little bear! He’s supposed to hibernate—but if he does, he’ll sleep right through Christmas! What can he do?
Winter is coming, and it’s time for little bear to settle in for his long cold-weather nap. But that means he won’t get to celebrate Christmas with his woodland friends, and he’s very sad. Can his pals find a clever way to help him join in the fun? This heartwarming, holiday picture book captures the festive spirit of the holiday and the beauty of friendship.


My Thoughts
What a sweet story of friendship. Little Bear is so sad that he misses Christmas every year because he has to hibernate.  When his friends are decorating and writing letters to Santa he feels very left out. I won't spoil the ending, but let's just say that Little Bear has some very good friends. 
Young children LOVE Christmas and will absolutely relate to Little Bear's feelings of sadness at the prospect of missing the holiday every year. They will enjoy how this touching story ends. 
The book's illustrations are beautiful and the characters are adorable. Each page has the frosty feel of winter.  

  Image from book taken by G. McAllister

I would highly recommend The Bear Who Didn't Want to Miss Christmas for children ages 3-8.  

See what others have to say about this book.



by Annie Silvestro
Illustrated by Teagan White
Published October, 2017
by Sterling Children's Books
Hardcover
32 pages

Goodreads Summary
This mouse doesn’t want to stay in the house . . . even if it’s cold outside!
For most field mice, winter means burrowing down and snuggling in. But not for Lucy! She loves snow crunching under her paws and wearing a fluffy wool hat. And most of all, Lucy loves to skate, and she’s just ACHING to show off her new skill with her friends. After all, a winter wonderland is twice as nice when you have friends to enjoy it with. But the other mice just don’t understand—and after a disastrous indoor snowball fight, it looks as if they never will. Can Lucy find a way to make the other mice come out and “mice skate” too?
With intricately detailed illustrations as cozy as a fireplace in December (and a cup of cocoa, too), this funny punny warmhearted love song to winter—and to one brave, bold, and generous mouse—will have kids bundling up for some cold-weather fun of their own.


My Thoughts
While this title is not technically a holiday title, it is gorgeous and has a Christmasy feel to it. Lucy loves winter and wants to share it with her, but they all just want to stay inside where it is warm until spring. Can clever Lucy think of a way to help them all come outside and go "mice skating"? 
The illustrations are gorgeous! They are done in muted earth tones using water color, gouache and colored pencil on a mostly cream colored paper. 
       Image from book taken by G. McAllister

While the puns are a bit cheesy (sorry, couldn't resist), this book will appeal to young children. I would recommend it mostly for ages 3-8. 

See what others have to say about this book.


by Sue Fliess
Illustrated by Claudia Lambert
Published October, 2017
by Sterling Children's Books
Hardcover
32 pages

Goodreads Summary
We wish for a furry monster,
A big, hairy, scary monster,
Our own stomping, chomping monster, for Christmas this year!

Dear Santa: please bring us a MONSTER for Christmas! This hilarious parody of the traditional carol stars two siblings who want something just a little more special than the usual toys for their Christmas gift. Mom and Dad refuse—so they appeal to a higher power: Santa. And since they’ve been good all year, he delivers. But having a monster in the house may not be all it's cracked up to be . . . as the kids discover when he turns their playroom to rubble and causes tons of trouble. Now, what will they do? Delighted readers will sing along with the merry song.


My Thoughts
So fun! It took me a while to catch on that the book can be read (or sung) to the tune of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", but when I did, I couldn't read it any other way. Kids will love this silly Christmas story and just might change their minds about what they would like for Christmas. 
The digital illustrations are bright and colorful and the characters, even the monsters, are super-cute. 
  Image from book taken by G. McAllister


Check out this book trailer!

There is also a karaoke song for the book here
I would recommend it for ages 4-8. 

See what others have to say about this book.