Snowmen at Night – Caralyn Buehner, Mark Buehner (Illustrator)

I have to admit that I have spent a LOT of time of my own volition pouring over the pages of Snowmen at Night because there are HIDDEN PICTURES in each scene.  NOT ONLY does the book have a great story and fun rhyme scheme, but the hidden pictures make it for me. There are still a few pages where I’m not confident that I have found them all.

Love this because:

• Cute illustrations
• HIDDEN PICTURES
• Rhyming!
• Fun concept – sparks the imagination!

 

Ryder: An Ayesha Ryder Novel – by Nicholas Pengelley

Awesome female protagonist! Love love love! History! Fiction! Action!

Ayesha Ryder bears the scars of strife in the Middle East. Now her past is catching up with her as she races to unravel a mystery that spans centuries–and threatens to change the course of history.

As Israeli and Palestinian leaders prepare to make a joint announcement at the Tower of London, an influential scholar is tortured and murdered at his home in St. John’s Wood. Academic researcher Ayesha Ryder believes it is no coincidence. Sir Evelyn Montagu had unearthed shocking revelations about T. E. Lawrence, the famed Lawrence of Arabia. Could he have been targeted because of his discoveries?

Ryder’s search for answers takes her back to her old life in the Middle East and into a lion’s den of killers and traitors. As she draws the attention of agents on both sides of the conflict–including detectives from Scotland Yard and operatives from MI5–Ryder finds herself stumbling across Lawrence’s secrets, an astounding case of royal blackmail, and even the search for the Bible’s Ark of the Covenant.

Every step of the way, the endgame grows more terrifying. When an attack rocks London, the real players show their hand–and Ayesha Ryder is left holding the final piece of the puzzle. Goodreads description

Brotherband Chronicles (#1-5) – John Flanagan

 

Remember how much I LOVED the Ranger’s Apprentice books? (Here is the link to my review of the first of that series) All 12 of them?

I was so psyched when I picked up the Brotherband Chronicles and I am very happy to report that I love them just as much!

Alligator Pie by Dennis Lee

Here we go again! This week is another favourite: Alligator Pie.

I can DEFINITELY recite this one from memory.  We have this version (board book, illustrated by Sandy Nichols), but Alligator Pie has been around for ages (first published in 1974). This version JUST has the Alligator Pie poem (unlike the Alligator pie book illustrated by Frank Newfeld).

The Immortal Empire #1 -3 by Kate Locke

I read The Immortal Empire series by Kate Locke a while ago.

God Save the Queen – #1
The Queen is Dead – #2
Long Live the Queen – #3

An alternate history, where an immortal Queen Victoria still rules and the  Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires. Goblins – terrifying creatures that seem to be a mix of vampires and werewolves – live underground. There is an uneasy balance between the undead Aristocrats, those of mixed parentage (aristo + human = “havies”) and regular humans.

1-2-3 peas by Keith Baker

Another Tuesday, another board book!

This is quickly turning into a weekly feature of the books my baby boy likes best! 1-2-3 peas by Keith Baker is now solidly in that category.  It’s another one that we discovered through our local library, and we’ve gotten it out a few times now. (I guess that means it’s time to buy a copy haha).

Dearest (Woodcutter Sisters #3) – Alethea Kontis

Following Enchanted and Hero, this third installment of the Woodcutter sisters books is about Friday (the sweet, good, selfless and caring seamstress). Borrowing from fairy tales such as “The Wild Swans”, “The Goose Girl”, and “Peter Pan” this is a delightful mix of stories that allow Friday to shine.

Rhymoceros – Janik Coat

 

Happy Tuesday!

I – okay, my son – received a copy of this book for Christmas and I just love it!! SO many good things about it!

• Rhyming!  As we know, being able to identify and produce rhyming works is an important pre-literacy skill for young children.  This book is all about the rhymes!
• Cute, simple illustrations. BONUS – some of the pages are textured. I particularly like the “mossy” Rhino (Rhymo?) and the “quilted” one.
• Basic concepts!  There are some excellent vocabulary items in this book, including some basic concept words (think things like furry, bumpy, old, strong, chilly, and so on).  Lovely descriptive words!

So fun!

Another great resource for basic concepts is Hippopposites also by Janik Coat.

Only recently added to my son’s stash of awesome books, it is rapidly becoming a favourite. No surprises, it is all about opposites and thus the points above on cute illustrations and vocabulary apply here also!

I highly recommend both these books! Happy Reading!

To Catch a Pirate – Jade Parker

To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker was a book I picked up from the library while looking for something fluffy and diverting.

Annalisa Townsend and her father are off to start a new life but when their ship is attacked by pirates it seems fate has other plans. Although Annalisa attempts to hide in the hold but she is discovered by one of the pirate crew, James Sterling. She convinces him to accept a kiss rather than her mother’s necklace and disappears. 

All of Baby, Nose to Toes – Victoria Adler

All of Baby, Nose to Toes by Victoria Adler, illustrated by Hiroe Nakata, is one of our current favourites. We don’t yet own a copy but we’ve taken this one out from the library a few times now.

I like it because:

• It’s repetitive. The phrase “Me! I do.” is repeated frequently.
• A great way to learn body part vocabulary.
• Nice way to help understand questions – “Who loves baby’s ___?” is repeated again and again.
• Rhyming! (EXCEPT for the tummy page which randomly DOESN’T follow the rhyme scheme of the rest of the book.  That drives me a little bit crazy and admittedly I creatively add in an extra word so that it does rhyme).
• Cute illustrations.

We use this book as an opportunity to reinforce those boy part words by kissing or tickling them as we get to the corresponding pages. It makes reading extra fun!