When I was younger I loved reading books like the Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High, chapter series books with girl leads. I devoured these books over the summer holidays. Now that my daughter is older and enjoys reading more I’m always on the lookout for new books that might appeal to her. But she’s still young at age 8 so even if she can read the content in older books, the subject matter may not be something she needs to read.

We discovered Ivy and Bean, a series from Chronicle Books written by Annie Barrows and illustrated by Sophie Blackall (age 6-10). Ivy, a very quiet, proper girl, and Bean, a loud, adventurous girl, seem like to very unlikely friends but they’re more alike than they care to admit. The two eight-year-old girls live across the street from each other and attend grade two together.

In Ivy and Bean and the Ghost That Had to Go, Ivy thinks she sees a ghost, one who haunts the girls’ bathroom at school. Bean, being Ivy’s friend, starts to see the gray mist outside the bathroom door too. Pretty soon the two girls have the whole lower grades afraid to use the bathroom for fear of meeting this ghost. When Ivy and Bean get in trouble for their ghost stories, the two girls decide the only thing they can do is exercise the ghost and send it back to its grave.

My daughter loves Ivy and Bean. I think between the two characters most girls who read the Ivy and Bean books will be able to find similar traits in themselves and therefore relate to the characters more. I love that Ivy and Bean are just two girls having innocent fun, which with my own daughter in grade two, isn’t a bad thing to relate to.

There are currently 6 books in the Ivy and Bean series: Ivy and Bean, Ivy and Bean Break the Fossil Record, Ivy and Bean Take Care of the Babysitter, Ivy and Bean Bound to be Bad and Ivy and Bean Doomed to Dance. And a new book, Ivy and Bean What’s the Big Idea, is due out this fall.

I have to thank Crystal from Raincoast Books for my review copy.

Ivy and Bean and the Ghost that had to Go

written by Annie Barrow, illustrated by Sophie Blackall

published by Chronicle Books / Raincoast Books

age 6-10

Summer’s almost here and with it comes summer vacation and summer camp. This year my oldest heads off to sleep-away camp for the first time. She’ll be gone for a whole week, on her own, without me! Like any parent, I want my daughter’s first experience at camp to be the best, the creation of a happy memory, the start of a summer tradition. I think Sterling Publishing’s The Summer Camp Survival Guide (age 7-12) written by Chris Pallatto and Ron DeFazio, illustrated by Ethan Long, will make it so.     

                                                                                                                                                      
This coil-bound book is set-up like a handy reference guide with the tabs dividing the book into areas like pre-camp preparations and classic camp games and songs. There’s even a section that contains pop-out postcards so kids have no excuse for keeping in touch.    

                                                                                                                                                                              
My daughter has been absorbing the content in the book, especially the songs, games an stories. It may be her first year at camp, but she doesn’t necessarily want the other camp kids to know that. She feels great knowing some songs sing or games she can play, maybe even teach another camp newbie.    

                                                                                                  
The great thing about The Summer Camp Survival Guide is it doesn’t just end once camp is over. There’s a section to get autographs from cabin mates, draw a picture of your cabin and bunk, even record addresses for new forged friendships.

                                                                                                                                                                                    
Right now my daughter is planning to only bring two books with her to camp this summer and The Summer Camp Survival Guide is one of them.         

                                                                                                                                                                            
So if you have a kid heading to camp, The Summer Camp Survival Guide might be just the companion they need to pave a smooth road.                                                                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                                                                       
The Summer Camp Survival Guide
written by Chris Pallatto and Ron DeFazio, illustrated by Ethan Long
age 7-12
Sterling Publishing

Carrie Anne Badov, a mother of three wee ones, has a love of children’s literature that extends beyond her mothering years, back to when she would remove pages from books and insert her own stories as a child. She continues to write her own stories in the hopes of seeing one of them published but in the meantime she loves to read and review great children’s books. She’s the Managing Editor and Review Editor at EverythingMom.com and publishes more children’s book reviews every Wednesday on her blog Another day. Another thought…or two as part of her weekly Write a Review Wednesday post.

No one likes a bully. As parents we hate the stories our kids may share about being mistreated or singled out or just being ignored. Our heart aches. But like it or not, not every child will get along with our child.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Carley knows all about bullying in Scholastic Canada’s You’re Mean, Lily Jean (age 3-8) written by Frieda Wishinsky and illustrated by Kady MacDonald. Carley always played with her big sister Sandy. That is,  until Lily Jean moves in next door. At first the three girls play well together but quickly Carley tires of Lily Jean bossing her around. When Lily Jean calls Carley ‘stupid’, the two sisters have enough and decide to play on their own. Lily Jean realizes her error and how much she enjoys playing with the girls so she promises to play nice from now on; she even let Carley pick the next game.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
I love how You’re Mean, Lily Jean paints a true picture of how bullying can occur; it doesn’t have to be physical. A bully can be someone who talks down to another child, calls them names or excludes them just to be mean. I also like that the three girls sort out their problems together, without any adult involvement. There are many times we won’t be there with our children so knowing they can deal with certain situations on their own is a good lesson.

You’re Mean, Lily Jean was a great book to read with my kids. Not only did it lead to discussions about behaviour, how to treat others and dealing with conflict, it was also great as an example of sibling relationships. We always tell our kids that friends will come and go but family is forever. Sandy and Carley supported each other in the story and provide a great example of sibling relationships.                                                                                                                                               
I have to thank Nicole at Scholastic Canada for my review copy.                                                                                                                
You’re Mean, Lily Jean
age 3-8
written Frieda Wishinsky, illustrated by Kady MacDonald.
ScholasticPublishing                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
Carrie Anne Badov, a mother of three wee ones, has a love of children’s literature that extends beyond her mothering years, back to when she would remove pages from books and insert her own stories as a child. She continues to write her own stories in the hopes of seeing one of them published but in the meantime she loves to read and review great children’s books. She’s the Managing Editor and Review Editor at EverythingMom.com and publishes more children’s book reviews every Wednesday on her blog Another day. Another thought…or two as part of her weekly Write a Review Wednesday post.

—————–
Traveling the obstacle course known as my life, with kids, work, writing and all.
Another day. Another thought…or two
http://cabadov.wordpress.com
http://twitter.com/cbadov
Managing Editor & Review Editor at Everythingmom.com

The end of the school year is approaching which means moving forward, new grade, new friends, new teacher. It also means saying good-bye. My eight-year-old has been very fortunate to have had a great teacher her grade 2 year but her teacher was only a maternity leave substitute and leaves not only my daughter’s class but her school this Friday.

What gift can you give to a teacher, to anyone who has made an impact on your life; a gift of thanks and gratitude that won’t wilt away or be eaten. Then we discovered Sterling Publishing’s book Reach for the Stars and Other Advice for Life’s Journey, written and illustrated by Serge Bloch.

‘You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.’ Serge Bloch takes you on a journey through the challenges and joys we all make in life. With each challenge we face like ‘fighting an up hill battle’ or feeling ‘in over your head’ Serge manages to inspire us to Reach for the Stars. The uplifting phrases are ones you are probably familiar with but combined with the wonderful illustrations of a boy mixed with photographic elements, Reach for the Stars becomes a tale of taking chances and striving to reach your goals, no matter how big or small.

Reach for the Stars is a great gift to give someone to acknowledge an accomplishment they have met or maybe to encourage someone who is having doubt that they’ll succeed. I think Reach for the Stars is a great gift for my daughter’s teacher. Both my daughter and her teacher are moving on to the next stage in their individual journeys and this book, given from one to the other, acknowledges that and encourages them to go further.

If you’re at a loss for a memorable gift for someone on a journey in your life, Reach for the Stars might just be that book.

Reach for the Stars and Other Advice for Life’s Journey
Written and illustrated by Serge Bloch
Age 4+
Sterling Publishing

Carrie Anne Badov, a mother of three wee ones, has a love of children’s literature that extends beyond her mothering years, back to when she would remove pages from books and insert her own stories as a child. She continues to write her own stories in the hopes of seeing one of them published but in the meantime she loves to read and review great children’s books. She’s the Managing Editor and Review Editor at EverythingMom.com and publishes more children’s book reviews every Wednesday on her blog Another day. Another thought…or two as part of her weekly Write a Review Wednesday post.

The nicer weather seems to have arrived which means the kids will be outside and into more trouble. Sounds like the perfect time to do a little refresher on things to watch out for. You may already be familiar with the Worst-Case-Scenario Survival Handbooks but it’s not just adults that need help getting out of a jam. For example:

* You always knew your child was gifted, find out how they can enhance their ESP powers.

* Your son is studying the solar system and wants to do some hands-on research. Make sure they know how to survive landing on Mars or how to avoid being sucked into a Black Hole.

* The neighbourhood just isn’t what it use to be. Ensure your daughter knows how to outwit a zombie on her walk home from the mall

Before you would have had to wing it with your advice to your kids, but with The Worst-Case-Scenario Survival Handbook: Weird Junior Edition by Chronicle Books and Raincoast Books has all the advice you need in a handy pocket book. The book includes fun illustrations and help in a variety of topics from aliens to time travel are broken down into easy to follow steps.

My kids loved the humour in this book, though I think my three-year-old is going to try and some of the steps on befriending a fairy. Even I enjoyed reading the book. My seven-year-old has read it from front to back and still reads it. She now enjoys quote ‘helpful’ advice to her friends. The Worst-Case-Scenario Survival Handbook: Weird Junior Edition is written in the same cheeky tone as the other Worst-Case-Scenario books but with a younger audience in mind. Sending someone away for camp? These books might be a fun read.

In the junior series there’s The Worst-Case-Scenario: Junior Edition and The Worst-Case-Scenario: Middle School.

The Worst-Case-Scenario Survival Handbook: Weird Junior Edition

written by David Borgenicht and Justin Heimberg, illustrated by Chick Gonzales

Chronicle Books (distributed by Raincoast Books)

Carrie Anne Badov, a mother of three wee ones, has a love of children’s literature that extends beyond her mothering years, back to when she would remove pages from books and insert her own stories as a child. She continues to write her own stories in the hopes of seeing one of them published but in the meantime she loves to read and review great children’s books. She’s the Managing Editor and Review Editor at EverythingMom.com and publishes more children’s book reviews every Wednesday on her blog Another day. Another thought…or two as part of her weekly Write a Review Wednesday post.

It seems this time a year we are move focused on the environment and taking care of the world around us. With Earth Hour behind us and Earth Day approaching, we’ve started reading more books on how we can make a difference. Sometimes it seems that only big people can affect change. DK Canada‘s book Love Your World: How to take care of the plants, the animals and the planet (age 1-5) shows that even the younger set can help.

The book talks about simple and easy ways kids, and all of us really, can make a difference in keeping the earth healthy: grow a little garden, turn off the lights, toss litter in the trash. Photographs of young kids doing their part fill the pages to reinforce that kids can help. Cute little illustrations appear throughout the pages. A snail appears in the little garden. Cardboard cutouts of a family wearing sweaters. A garbage can with a smiley face. My 3-year-old loved finding these little surprises. She also loved seeing the photographs of people just like her in the book.

At the end of the story there’s a Super Green Star Award where you can fill-in your child’s name and sign it (and cutout if you wish). It reaffirms all the ways your child will help make the Earth a better place. There’s also a double-page-spread that outlines things your child promises to do and a star where they can checkout what they plan to do. This book has been a great way to start discussions on taking care of the world around us. My daughter now reminds her siblings when they’ve left the lights on and has even gone out and picked up trash on the street as we walk to school.

The great thing about Love Your World is that content in the book isn’t just about helping the environment, the book itself is environmentally friendly, through the paper, the printer and ink. It’s great to have a book about the environment that reinforces its message in the way it’s printed.

Love Your World

age 1-5

DK Publishing

Carrie Anne Badov, a mother of three wee ones, has a love of children’s literature that extends beyond her mothering years, back to when she would remove pages from books and insert her own stories as a child. She continues to write her own stories in the hopes of seeing one of them published but in the meantime she loves to read and review great children’s books. She’s the Managing Editor and Review Editor at EverythingMom.com and publishes more children’s book reviews every Wednesday on her blog Another day. Another thought…or two as part of her weekly Write a Review Wednesday post.

Sometimes I think with three kids I should have the whole parenting thing down to a science, but I’ve quickly discovered that each child is different. What works for one child causes chaos for the next. It’s almost like going through the learning process all over again, except maybe I’m not so anxious with each decisions I make (or don’t make).

The latest relearning we’ve been going through in our house has been toilet training. My two oldest were late to learn but quick. A few charts, the occassional reward and the pull-ups were history. My youngest has proven to be a challenge. I have a feeling my youngest will be a challenge in general going forward, but first to conquer the bathroom.

Books about using the bathroom are great for my daughter since she loves books but I don’t like most of them which makes it difficult for me to get into reading them enthusiastically. I must not be the only parent feeling that way because Sterling Publishing has just released the book Potty Animals. What to Know When You’ve Gotta Go (age 4+), written by Hope Vestergaard and illustrated by Valeria Petrone.

This isn’t really a potty training book, but it is a book about going to the bathroom, or rather bathroom etiquette, like washing your hands with soap, not barging into the bathroom without knocking first, remembering to do up your zipper. This makes it idea for both my bathroom trainee as well as her older siblings.

Potty Animals follows a group of characterized animals in preschool. Each page focuses on one animal and the bathroom issue they have: Wilma waits to long, Freddie has a fear of flushing, Helga likes to lollygag. The rhyming text keeps the story fun and light versus becoming to preachy. Kids will be able to relate to some of the scenarios either with themselves or ‘a friend’. My son was quick to point one what characters he was most like. The story allows for an nice transition into talking about bathroom ettiquet in your own home or at school. It helps that kids are already obsessed with the bathroom and what you do in it. I knew the book has reached my son when I overheard him talking to his younger sister, ‘Don’t be a Wilma. Go to the bathroom now. We can play when you get back.’

Although Potty Animals is a book about bathroom etiquette, the fun rhyme and colourful images make this book a fun read; a book my kids ask to read again. And maybe if we read it enough, some of the ideas will stick.

If you visit Sterling Publishing can read some questions and answers with author Hope Vestergaard on potty training, plus you can download a FREE copy of the Potty Animals Bathroom Poster

Potty Animals
written by Hope Vestergaard, illustrated by Valeria Petrone
age 4+
Sterling Publishing

Carrie Anne Badov, a mother of three wee ones, has a love of children’s literature that extends beyond her mothering years, back to when she would remove pages from books and insert her own stories as a child. She continues to write her own stories in the hopes of seeing one of them published but in the meantime she loves to read and review great children’s books. She’s the Managing Editor and Review Editor at EverythingMom.com and publishes more children’s book reviews every Wednesday on her blog Another Day. Another though…or two as part of her weekly Write a Review Wednesday post.

When two out of three of your kids are girls, you know you can’t escape the whole fascination with princesses. My three-year-old’s day revolves around princesses. She likes to dress like one, play princess games and of course read princess stories. My seven-year-old would like you to think she’s outgrown the whole princess phase but she is still fascinated by them. One of the many princess books we’ve read in our house lately is Barefoot Books The Real Princess, A Mathemagical Tale (age 4-9). The book is written by Brenda Williams and illustrated by Sophie Fatus and as this books also comes with a story time CD, Juliet Stevenson narrates the audio portion.

Based on the Princess and the Pea story, the Queen wants to help her three sons, Primo, Secundo, and Terzo, find wives, REAL Princesses. The King has his counting house, with three bags of gold, one for each Prince when he marries. The Queen has her own counting house too, where she kept nine golden peas with a magical power only she knows about. A Princess arrives one stormy night but fails the Queens golden pea test. Another stormy night a second princess arrives but also fails the Queen’s test. Disappointed, the Queen worries her oldest son will never find a real Princess, until Princess Geometria arrives.

The Real Princess, A Mathemagical Tale is a wonderful retelling of the Princess and the Pea story with a delightful twist. The story incorporates seamlessly number recognition and counting. Kids will love counting along with the stories: 1 butler, 2 footmen, 3 maids and so on. The numbers are written in numeric form making it easy for kids to recognize them in the story. The back of the book also includes some additional story questions to encourage kids to look and count or remember from the story. The illustrations fill the pages will the familiar hand painted style seen in many of Barefoot Books.

The story on it’s own is wonderful to read but as an added benefit, you receive a CD with the story narrated by British Actress Juliet Stevenson. I love her voice; it seems so fitting for this royal story. And she does a great job with funny voices making it wonderful to listen too. There are two options on the CD: You can just listen to the story or you can listen and follow along in the book. The second audio track has chimes to indicate when to turn the page.

Of course any story with Princesses is going to be a hit with my kids. My oldest daughter who loves math enjoyed the number aspect and the questions at the end of the story. My youngest loved counting along. The Real Princess, A Mathemagical Tale is both a pleasure to read and listen to.

The Real Princess, A Mathemagical Tale

written by Brenda Williams/illustrated by Sophie Fatus

CD narration by Juliet Stevenson

age 4-9

soft cover

Barefoot Books

Carrie Anne Badov, a mother of three wee ones, has a love of children’s literature that extends beyond her mothering years, back to when she would remove pages from books and insert her own stories as a child. She continues to write her own stories in the hopes of seeing one of them published but in the meantime she loves to read and review great children’s books. She’s the Managing Editor and Review Editor at EverythingMom.com and publishes more children’s book reviews every Wednesday on her blog Another Day. Another though…or two as part of her weekly Write a Review Wednesday post.

As soon as my kids learned to talk the questions started: who’s that? what’s this? why is that over there? when will be be over there? Now that they’re bigger, though not much bigger, the questions haven’t stopped but now they’re harder ones for me to answer. I love that my kids ask questions, it shows they’re curious and that’s something I want to encourage. But sometimes I don’t have the time or knowledge to answer all their questions.

Well Hammond, those folks who have produced many a world atlas and other reference books, have produced a new series called A Cool Kid’s Field Guide (age 9-12). Kristel from Hammond sent along a copy of A Cool Kid’s Field Guide to Weather as well as A Cool Kid’s Field Guide to Space for my cool kids to try out.

The guides have hard covers and are coil bound at the top, similar to that of a note pad. The actual pages are a heavy card stock versus standard paper you find in books. This ensures the pages don’t rip as kids turn them. Each guide contains a table of contents up front as well as an index in the back, making it easy for you inquisitive kids to find the answers they’re looking for easily.

A Cool Kid’s Field Guide To Weather covers general things about weather (why it’s important, where it happens, how are forecasts made), plus it talks about specific weather conditions like thunderstorms, wind, and global warming to name a few. My kids love that the pages fold out to provide more information on an area they’re interested in. For example, when talking about wind, little flaps fold out, each talking about the different degrees of force wind blows (based on how it’s measured). Each image talks about the wind speed and then uses examples kids can relate to: Force 6 (25-31 mph/40-50 km/hr, large branches move). Based on this new knowledge, my kids now try to guess the wind’s force when we’re out walking.

A Cool Kid’s Field Guide to Space covers general things about space (what is it, what can we see, what’s in space), plus it talks about specific things like people going into space and living there and the solar system to name a few. My kids enjoyed the list of space words at the back. My son also loved the pages that talked about astronauts and space travel. He now wants to be an astronaut (along with a race car designer and knight).

The Cool Kid’s Field Guides are compact and great to take out on walks. The illustrations used keep the pages fun to read. The content is also written with kids in mind; they will learn something new and won’t be bogged down by high-tech or scientific words that will be lost on them. Although the books are aimed at kids 9-12, my 7-year-old enjoyed reading them and my 5-year-old enjoyed the facts learned from them.

The Cool Kid’s Field Guides series also includes titles covering Dinosaurs and Global Warming.

The Cool Kid’s Field Guide to Weather

written by Lisa Regan/illustrated by Tim Hutchinson

age 9-12

26 pages

spiral bound

Hammond

The Cool Kid’s Field Guide to Space

written by Lisa Regan/illustrated by Peter Bull

age 9-12

26 pages

spiral bound

Hammond

Traveling the obstacle course known as my life, with kids, work, writing and all.

Another day. Another thought…or two

http://cabadov.wordpress.com/

http://twitter.com/cbadov

Managing Editor & Review Editor at Everythingmom.com

To most people my seven-year old daughter is all pink and dresses and crafty pictures, but there’s a dark scientist lurking in her. She loves to imagine creating concoctions and potions, whether in the tub or in the kitchen. Maybe that’s why Jim Benton‘s Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist series (age 7-10) appeals to her so much. The most recent Fanny books she’s read is The Fran with Four Brains, books 6.

Everything about the pretty pink house at the end of Daffodil Street was fine, with the exception of the upstairs bedroom with the tiny round window. That was Franny’s bedroom, one of the busiest mad scientists on earth.

Franny was busy. Along with school work she had her lab projects to monitor, like shaving her bearded slug colony or milking her new breed of soy plant. She also had extra activities like gourmet cooking classes and bagpipe lessons. Franny loved everything but somedays it felt like it was all too much.

Franny came up with a plan; a plan that only a mad scientist could think up. She made Franbots, robots that looked like Franny and had the brains of Franny. Franny gave the Franbots their orders: Franbot One will handle the music lessons, Franbot Two will go to soccer, Franbot Three will attend the gourmet cooking classes. Things were going well until the Franbots wanted more. And since Franny wasn’t giving them what they wanted, she would have to be neutralized!

Franny and her dog and lab assistant, Igor, had to devise a plan to stop the Franbots before they destroyed the whole world.

My daughter loves the bizarre plans Franny concocts. Her lad assistant and dog, Igor is great fun too. Jim Benton does a great job of drawing kids in and keeping them there; there’s never a lull in the book and it’s full of fun, silly humour. My kids especially love Franny’s extra activity chart included in the book (kids randomly choose an item from each column to get a strange class, like blindfolded one-handed sofa juggling). The kids end up howling on the floor. My daughter has read this book many, many, MANY times and never tires of it. Even though the main character is a girl, the mad scientist aspect would appeal to boys as well. It certainly did to my son.

I love that Franny is so smart and uses her brain to come up with plans, even if they are a little crazy and mad. Perhaps you have a mad scientist lurking in one of your children. Maybe a Franny story will bring them out or at least entertain them.

Franny K. Stein, A Mad Scientist

The Fran with Four Brains, Bk 6

Written by Jim Benton

age 7-10

104 pages

Simon & Schuster Children

Carrie Anne Badov, a mother of three wee ones, has a love of children’s literature that extends beyond her mothering years, back to when she would remove pages from books and insert her own stories as a child. She continues to write her own stories in the hopes of seeing one of them published but in the meantime she loves to read and review great children’s books. She’s the Managing Editor and Review Editor at EverythingMom.com and publishes more children’s book reviews every Wednesday on her blog Another day. Another thought…or two as part of her weekly Write a Review Wednesday post.