Three Books for Helping Children Understand Big Emotions

Magination Press is new to me, but it’s been around since 1987 publishing books that help children learn about the stresses and challenges in the world around them.  I was looking for more books that had children with learning disabilities as main characters to put on the shelves at the Library when I came across the listings for these three titles.  Of course, I was instantly intrigued and was very excited to read them. One big bonus for these particular titles is the Reader’s Note found at the end of each. The Note contains tips for parents on how to extend the reading experience and start a discussion with their child about the topic.  

My Whirling Twirling Motor by Merriam Sarcia Saunders focuses on Charlie, a young boy who feels like he is controlled by a spinning motor inside of him.  That whirling, twirling motor causes him play when he should be learning at school, accidentally hurt his friends, and run around the table instead of doing his homework.  But even with all of his wiggling and buzzing, Charlie’s parents are patient and understanding of his behavior and point all of the good things that Charlie did that day instead of just focusing on his faults.

With simple language and beautiful illustrations, My Whirling Twirling Motor would make a great addition to any library collection.  

Mindful Bea and the Worry Tree introduces us to Bea, a young girl who is very anxious about her birthday party.  What if there isn’t cake? What if her friends don’t like her? What if everything goes wrong?  When Bea becomes overwhelmed by her anxiety, she runs outside to her favorite tree and focuses on her breath to calm her thinking down.  

Beautiful, lyrical language paired with lovely illustrations make for a wonderful way to read about and discuss anxiety in children.

Goodbye School by Tonya Lippert, PhD.

There are plenty of books out there that show children that starting a new school can be an exciting and fun experience, but I’ve yet to come across one that discusses how it can feel to leave a school.  On Franny’s last day of school, she is trying to say goodbye to her classroom but is overcome with memories. Franny’s love for her classroom and friends allow her to remember the good memories and give her the ability to say goodbye to her old school.  The Reader’s Note at the end of the book provided important and concrete ways to discuss the topic of transition with your child after reading the story.

Clear and simple language paired with beautiful illustrations make for a wonderful reading experience.  

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review these titles.  All opinions are my own.

You can get your copy, and help support the site, here:

Bruno’s Hat by Canizales

Many of the books for children about bullying tend to focus on the bully or the victim and very rarely come from the viewpoint of the bystander.  As teachers and parents, we teach kids how to stand up for themselves, how to ask for help, and hopefully, how to be a kind person. But do we spend enough time teaching kids how to stand up for their friends?  If you’re looking for just that type of resource, let me introduce you to Peter and his best friend Bruno.

Peter and Bruno play together everyday and are very best friends.  But one day, Sergio makes of Bruno’s weird hat and Peter doesn’t know what to do.  Should he help Bruno? Should he try to be cool like Sergio and not a weirdo like Bruno?  Instead of helping Bruno, Peter makes the choice to do nothing which really hurts Bruno’s feelings.  Luckily mom always knows best and with a quick phone call for a playdate, Peter and Bruno are back on track to being best friends. Thanks to Bruno’s mom, both boys have a weird hat and that makes them cool.

With simple language and engaging illustrations, Bruno’s Hat is a wonderful story to help children learn how to be a good friend.  If you are interested in furthering the discussion with your child, you can check out www.flyawaybooks.com for a downloadable guide.  

If you would like a copy, you can get one, and help support the site, here:

Full disclosure time:  Thank you to Flyaway Books for the advanced copy of this book.  All opinions are my own.

Lyric McKerrigan, Secret Librarian by Jacob Sager Weinstein

Happy 2019 everyone! While I’ve been away I’ve had the opportunity to read some amazing new books and started to dive into my backlist titles and I can’t wait to share them all with you. I’m very lucky to work in a Library that takes vacations seriously-we were closed for almost two weeks over the winter holiday so today has been a little crazy being back at work.

The best part of today has been going through the deliveries that came in while we were gone and one book in particular really caught my eye-Lyric McKerrigan, Secret Librarian. Full disclosure: this is from my Junior Library Guild subscription for the Library and was not purchased by me. I just got really excited and wanted to share how cute this book is!

Lyric is here to save the day!

Isn’t that the most delightful title? I love it! It’s also illustrated by Vera Brosgol who wrote Be Prepared, one of my favorites graphic novels from last year. Lyric McKerrigan, Secret Librarian is a very bright and colorful picture book that tells the story of the evil Doctor Glockenspiel and his devious plan to get one billion, trillion dollars or else he’ll set loose an army of moths to eat all the world’s books! When the world’s best superheroes are defeated by Doctor Glockenspiel there’s only person who can save the day-Lyric McKerrigan! She has just the right book at just the right time to distract guards, help the superheroes escape, and defeat the evil moths.

It’s so stinking cute friends. Books are definitely powerful weapons against evil and I love how well this book shows this. Locked behind bars? A book on picking locks can save the day! A picture book with a strong, intelligent female lead character? Yes, please!

Need a copy for someone in your life? Want to donate one to your local Library? You can get a copy, and help support this site, here:

Also, here’s a link for Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol.

I could have sworn I did post on this but I must have missed it. It’s absolutely delightful and I highly recommend it. The Kid devoured it in one sitting.

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone has a safe and fun-filled day of tricks, treats, and spooky stories!

Need a last minute spooky story for a kid’s party or bedtime? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

This is a wonderful book for your shyest little ones who may need a little reassurance. From the Publisher: When Tomás and his family moved to a new house on a new street, he took it into his head that the new people might not like him. 
"Of course they'd like you," his mamá said. "Why wouldn't they? ¿Por qué no? "
But Tomás didn't answer.

Tomás's Mom encourages him to go out and meet the kids in his neighborhood, but Tomas is too shy. Instead, he sits on his stoop, watching the world go by. But on the night of Halloween, opportunity arrives in the form of a tiger costume, complete with a mask that hides his identity. He can go trick-or-treating without anyone knowing it's him. But Tomás will soon discover his costume doesn't hide him quite as well as he thinks...

This book is so cute! From the Publisher: Bonaparte is having a tough time. It’s hard for this young skeleton to just hang loose when he can’t keep hold of himself. 
 
When he plays catch, his throwing arm literally takes a flyer. Eating lunch can be a real jaw-dropping occasion. How can he start school when he has so many screws loose?

Luckily, Bonaparte hit the bone-anza when it came to his friends. Franky Stein, Black Widow, and Mummicula all have some boneheaded ideas to help pull him together. But will it be enough to boost his confidence and get him ready for the first day of school?

Not technically a Halloween book, but it’s wonderfully silly and creepy! From the Publisher: Jasper Rabbit is NOT a little bunny anymore. He’s not afraid of the dark, and he’s definitely not afraid of something as silly as underwear. But when the lights go out, suddenly his new big rabbit underwear glows in the dark. A ghoulish, greenish glow. If Jasper didn’t know any better he’d say his undies were a little, well, creepy. Jasper’s not scared obviously, he’s just done with creepy underwear. But after trying everything to get rid of them, they keep coming back!

Middle grade novel full of spooky ghosts and adventure. Best part-it takes place in Scotland. From the Publisher: Ever since Cass almost drowned (okay, she did drown, but she doesn't like to think about it), she can pull back the Veil that separates the living from the dead . . . and enter the world of spirits. Her best friend is even a ghost.

So things are already pretty strange. But they're about to get much stranger.

When Cass's parents start hosting a TV show about the world's most haunted places, the family heads off to Edinburgh, Scotland. Here, graveyards, castles, and secret passageways teem with restless phantoms. And when Cass meets a girl who shares her "gift," she realizes how much she still has to learn about the Veil -- and herself.

And she'll have to learn fast. The city of ghosts is more dangerous than she ever imagined.

It’s Neil Gaiman. Enough said.

Ok. Nobody Owens, or Bod, is a normal human boy. But his life started off in tragedy and he’s now being raised by the ghosts of the graveyard.

Beautifully drawn and masterfully told-it’s a classic.

Gabi's If/Then Garden by Caroline Karanja

Gabi’s If/Then Garden by Caroline Karanja is available from Capstone on September 1, 2018.

If you combine great characters and illustrations with child-friendly computer language, then you’ll have a great beginning coder book! Caroline Karanja has created an accessible and fun way for children to learn the basics of coding.  

Gabi and Adi spend an afternoon in the garden learning about if/then statements.  “If it doesn’t rain, then they water the plants.”  

The girls use those statements to change “Simon Says” to Computer and Programmer.  “If the Programmer does a jumping jack, then the Computer does a cartwheel.”

Using child-friendly language and experiences, the girls discover that coding concepts are all around them.  

Beautifully done book!

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Saturday is Swimming Day by Hyewon Yum

I'm a sucker for beautiful illustrations and I fell in love with Saturday is Swimming Day for that very reason.  But this book is more than some pretty drawings.  It's also a very sweet story about some things in life can be very scary, but with the right people and encouragement, we can do anything we set our minds to.  

A little girl has swimming lessons on Saturday but her stomach hurts so she really shouldn't go.  Her mom checks her over and doesn't find anything wrong so she gets her swimming suit packed and off to lessons they go.  Luckily, our little girl has a very understanding teacher and lets her sit by the pool while she waits for her stomach to feel better.  But it never feels better so she never gets in the pool.  

When the next Saturday comes around, our little girl has another stomach ache.  This time, her teacher offers to hold her so she can practice some swimming like the other kids.  With help and guidance, our little girl gains the confidence she needs to not be scared of the pool.  

With beautiful illustrations and simple text, this story will be very helpful to little ones who need some extra help feeling confident.  

Saturday is Swimming Day is available now from Candlewick Press.  You can get your copy, and help support the site, here: 

This is a taco! by Andrew Cangelose

This is a taco! is available May 1. 2018.  

Poor Taco, he only agreed to be in this book because he thought there would be tacos!  Instead, he has to deal with an author who wants him to fill his cheeks with food (but not tacos), show how he can rotate his ankles backwards, and climb really high trees.  When the author goes on to tell us how hawks hunt squirrels, Taco has had enough.  He's going to use his own words to write the story his way and his way includes tacos. Lots of tacos.  

The story is silly and fun and the illustrations are wonderful.  Especially where Taco crosses out the author's words and includes his own.  This would make for a run read-aloud or story time book.  Really enjoyed this one.  

You can get your copy here:

This Is a Taco!

By Andrew Cangelose

Buy on Amazon

Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin

Look at that shiny cover!

This book is one of the cutest books that I have ever ordered for my Library.  Baby Monkey is one smart monkey!  He finds clues!  He has snacks! But pants, oh pants are hard! The pencil drawings are so soft and beautiful.  I love the shades of black and white with the pop of red on the final page of each chapter.  

I used this book during a storytime and the kids really enjoyed it.  At first, they thought I was crazy to read them such a long book.  It clocks in at over 190 pages but there are very few words on even fewer pages.  The repetitive lines had the kids reading along with me after the second chapter.  

Not going to lie, I enjoyed it just as much as they did. 

Baby Monkey, Private Eye is available now from Scholastic Press. 

You can get your copy here:

Baby Monkey, Private Eye

By Brian Selznick, David Serlin

Buy on Amazon