Chapter Book Pick: Kitty and Dragon

 

Kitty and Dragon   

by Meika Hashimoto

Illustrated by Gillian Reid

Epic! Andrews

McMeel Publishing

2021

104 pages

 ISBN: 9781 5 to 48 6100 1

Kitty and Dragon is a winsome book containing three stories about friendship between a little kitty and a lonely, but friendly dragon. Kitty lives in a very noisy barn. All the animals make noise at night and Kitty can't get any sleep so she decides to look for a new place to live. She goes into to but it's too noisy. Next she ventures into a forest but she keeps walking. Fnally she climbs a giant hill and finds a cave and a new friend. Dragon is happy for company and invites her to stay.

In the next two stories Kitty gets a cold and Dragon nurses her back to health. Then their roles are reversed. Kitty llikes it very very tidy in the cave but Dragon is very messy. They are just like The Odd Couple. Kitty decides to visit the potions shop in town and buys a potion so Dragon can be neat, but it backfires. Kitty decides Dragon isn't so bad after all, and they learn to clean together.

Beginning readers will love these sweet stories and whimsical  illustrations Gillian Reid capture Kitty's and Dragon's personalities and humor. Kitty and Dragon has the nostalgic look of older picture books and whimsy that will captivate young readers.

Highly highly recommended for new readers end beginning chapter book readers grades 1 and 2. This is the perfect Christmas gift for a young reader.

Picture Book Pick: Only My Dog Knows I Pick My Nose

Only My Dog Knows I Pick My Nose

By Lauren Tarshis

Illustrated by Lisa Bronson Mezoff

Orchard Books

Scholastic

2021

48 pages

ISBN: 97813 38 680 2 5 6

A young boy and his best friend, his dog, go everywhere together. When he's a good boy who eats his vegetables, plays with his sister, and goes right to sleep anyone can see he's always a good boy. Only it sometimes he doesn't go right to sleep. Sometimes he doesn't follow all the rules. Sometimes he burps very loudly and sometimes he picks his nose, but only his dog knows that.

Only My Dog Knows I Pick My Nose is a love letter to every childhood pet. Pets love us no matter what. Dogs accept strange human behavior and this dog not only accepts it, he seems to expect it. What a charming picture book! Brilliantly titled for toddlers, the marketing team deserves kudos.

Highly, highly recommended for every young reader and a welcome bedtime story to put in the nightly rotation.   

Non-Fiction Pick: Everything Awesome About Space and Other Galactic Facts!

Everything Awesome About Space and Other Galactic Facts!

By Mike Lowery

Illustrated by Mike Lowery

Orchard Books

Scholastic Incorporated

2021

128 pages

ISBN: 978 1338 3 5 9 7 4 9

Everything Awesome About Space and other Galactic Facts Is sure to be a hit with young readers, especially reluctant readers. Information  and exciting facts are  at readers' fingertips. Genius design using  comic book bubbles and fonts make weird facts fun to  read.

Lowery certainly understands his audience. They want fun and informative factoids. They want to learn funny things they can share with their friends and family. Chock-full  of space minutiae even a NASA astronaut is likely to learn something new reading this little gem. This is the perfect book for a beginning Astronomy unit.

Incredible little known discoveries like that of the tardigrades will thrill readers. Tardigrades are known as water bears and are microscopic, yet considered the most resilient animals discovered. In 2011 scientists put them outside their spaceship without a spacesuit. Ten days later scientists discovered 68% of the tardigrades survived in space without a spacesuit! 

In the early Space Program astronauts had to eat food from squeeze bottles. It was not very good. Today astronauts enjoy using tortillas in the place of bread to make sandwiches. Not only are they flat and easy to store, they don't have crumbs like  bread. Did you know you can't snore in space? It’s because there's no gravity, You sleep without snoring.

Vibrant, full-color illustrations will delight the eye. Brilliant cover design  makes this book jump off the shelf. Lowery has a new bestseller  on his list. Bravo Mike Lowery  for making space science attainable and understandable for everyone.

Highly, highly recommended  grades 3 to adult. This is a must have for every science aficionado and every science classroom  and  collection. 

Picture Book Pick: There's a Ghost in this House

 

by Oliver Jeffers

Illustrations by Oliver Jeffers

Philomel Books

Penguin Random House LLC

2021

80 pages

ISBN:9780593466186

Using photos from an 18th century mansion, Oliver Jeffers magically turns a scary haunted house into a pleasant story about a young girl searching for ghosts in her family's home. It's supposed to be haunted but she doesn't see any ghosts. She looks high and low, in each nook and cranny, but no ghosts. 

Readers will be thrilled with this book's design. Young readers will squeal with glee when they spot the ghosts. This is a picture book quite like no other. 

Highly, highly recommended for everyone and a lovely gift for any artist. 

Picture Book Pick: A Walk in the Words

 

A Walk in the words

By Dustin Talbott

Illustrations by Dustin Talbott

Nancy Paulsen Books

Penguin Random House LLC

2021

32 pages

ISBN: 978 0 399 54871 0

Not every child learns to read the same way. For Hudson Talbott it was difficult. He wanted to know what happened in stories but the words got away from him. He was always better with pictures than with words. Hudson liked words one at a time. Long sentences were confusing for Hudson. He was a slowest reader in his class. He felt like the books were coming for him.

Pretty soon the pictures got smaller and happened less often and more words appeared.  Hudson felt like he could take one word at a time and break it in two several words. He took a word like overwhelm and broke it into over and whelmed. When he faced the words in the Scarywood he saw each word as a stepping stone for reading. He began to think of the stories in pictures his favorite way.

The author's note is very helpful for teachers,parents and children who have trouble learning to read. Talbott shares his story to help others understand how some readers picture words. Lovingly Illustrated as only the author can do A Walk in the Words is a picture book triumph.

Highly highly recommended ages 4-8. This book is a likely Award winner. A must have for every classroom and every library.

Easy Reader Pick: J.D. and the Great Barber Battle

J.D. and the Great Barber Battle

by J. Dillard

Illustrations by Akeem S. Roberts

Kokila

2021

128 pages 

ISBN: 9870513111529

Editorial reviews: 

“Dillard has a sharp ear for dialogue, and J.D.’s conversational narration paired with the story’s gentle humor and perfectly placed pop culture references will ensure a wide appeal. Akeem S. Roberts’ cartoon-style illustrations of J.D. and his friends are packed with personality and make this a great choice for readers transitioning into chapter books. The first book in a planned series, J.D. and the Great Barber Battle feels like a winner.” 
—BookPage
 
"The African American cultural references and community values will resonate with readers of all ages, while the joyful, wholesome story will give them something to look forward to in subsequent entries."
—The Horn Book

Editor's pick on Amazon Best Book for children 5-8.

J.D. begins the first day of third grade in the morning, so his mother cuts his hair. J.D.'s is horrified by the outcome. His hair is a hot mess! When he goes to school, everyone teases him, even his best friend. 

J.D. takes things into his own hands. Literally. He grabs the clippers and gives himself a haircut. The results are amazing. The next day, J.D.'s haircut is a hit. Now all the boys want to hire J.D. to cut their hair. The word gets out that a kid entrepreneur is stealing the local barber's kid clients, and the great barber battle begins. 

This series features a tight-knit extended family, siblings who get along, a funny kid with a great friend and a cute story. Great for reluctant readers. Chapters are short and illustrations will lure them in. 

This book is likely to be heavily awarded this season. 

Highly recommended for elementary libraries and reluctant readers.