It has been a great year for books and definitely time for a picture book post… really hope you enjoy these ones from Jonathan Ball Publishers. There is definitely something for everyone on this book stack!!!
I Am Every Good Thing
This book is a joyous celebration of all that is good in a young child, especially a young boy child, and even more especially a young black boy child. Representation really does matter. To be honest though, this book is good for anyone, it is warm and hearty. Frankly I wish someone had told me I was as good as the centre of a cinnamon roll when I was a kid.
Lovely busy illustrations, packed with every day things that children do… skateboarding, swimming, riding on the bus… and yet all the way through the hero of our story is larger than life and marvellous!!! Enthusiasm abounds…
Through all the bounce of this book, there is a poignant feel. The punchline…
In a world that needs to be a better place for our children, when harsh reality creeps into their daily lives at a younger and younger age… and the “I am the most wonderful child in the world” feeling is taken from kids earlier and earlier… we need to do so much better. ANd more books like this one is a very good place to start.
This book is essential reading… It is not so much a story, but a triumph… an ode to confidence in every child and one that will make all our little super heroes proud to be their awesome selves.This book is packed with all the magnificence that makes you YOU.
The Cat and the Rat and the Hat
Just the title should tell you that this is going to be a funny one… and it definitely needs to be read aloud!!! I absolutely love the big spreads and the fact that you have to turn the book round to read… it just makes the whole read feel physical, it is a really dynamic read.
This is a jolly, bouncy read for kids that like to move, kids that like animals, especially bats, and kids that are starting to read. All the words in this book are short and snappy and and you can definitely point at all the _AT words as you read along: hat, cat, rat, mat, bat, splat, and even cravat!!!
There are a couple of free downloads here and even more over here. And, this book has the nice little feature of Nosy Crow Books: All you have to do is click on the QR code on the inside cover and you are good to go.
We recently did a bat study in school, if you are looking for bat activities then take a peak here.
Gigantosaurus. Dream Big, Bill.
Bill is a small and very young dinosaur, a little blue brachiosaurus. He will grow up to be huge, but in the meanwhile, all that is in the Cretaceous world seems enormous and extremely scary. His wise and enormous friend brachiosaurus takes him for a ride and everything seems so much better when you feel bigger!!! Bill decides that he needs to be bigger right now. There is a feel good story amongst all the dinosaurs, as Bill heads out on a quest, he discovers that bigger isn’t always better… and by the end of the story he has discovered that he would love to grown big in his own time, with all his friends that he has met along the way.
The illustrations are bright and fun, loads of favourite dinosaurs to recognise and couple of facts for the child that is desperate to learn more about dinosaurs. I love the sneaky little “find all 10 coconuts” one of the front pages, it is a sweet way to engage children as they wander through a picture book. And the book ends with a dinosaur joke to add to your young Palaeontologist’s repertoire.
There are some great downloads and printables for the Gigantosaurus stories over here.
If you want to read more about dinosaurs then take a look at our recent post about Mary Anning and her dinosaur discoveries.
The Wind in the Willows
We absolutely love reading the classics as picture books, they make these stories so accessible to younger readers. The Wind in the Willows is a childhood favourite for so many of us, simply because we recognise the characters in our own friends. We all know a Mr Toad and his enthusiasms, we all know Mole and his curiosity and of course Ratty, who is a wonderful river guide and full of useful information. Ratty and Mole are in search of a peaceful life, Toad is desperate for wild adventures and then there are the wicked weasels, who try to take over Toad’s Mansion, while he is out adventuring.
The story is charming, the adventure fun. It is a genuinely good story… for parents to enjoy reading to their children and for introducing youngsters to the classics. If you have never read the Wind in the Willows and imagined a wonderful picnic beside a flowing river… then now is the time to dive in and enjoy this timeless tale.
If you would like to dig deeper into The Wind in the Willows, in your homeschool, then Rag and Bone Puppet Company have a great guide.
Fun to Colour: Harry Potter
For little Harry Potter and LEGO fans everywhere, what could be better than a LEGO colouring book. There are a couple of mazes, and activities as well.
The pictures are bold and great for colouring and full of little Harry Potter-isms, so that even the child that hasn’t the read the books yet, but is a fan, would enjoy them. This is extremely giftable… for young Potter fans.
And if you are looking for more Lego colouring pages… then this is the link.
The Goods
And here is a picture book for teens, tweens and their associated adults. This is the ultimate amusement arcade of things to read, to do, to puzzle through, to think about… hours and hours of entertainment between the covers. The list of incredible contributors is awesome and endless. There is so much packed into this book that you will need zoom lenses on your spectacles… it is literally jam-packed with facts, fun and loads to explore… massive mazes, crafty cut-outs, puzzles, how to draw a pelican (!), expert questions, recipes, bookmarks, just masses and masses of things to look at and enjoy!!!
This book is for the young and young at heart… book lovers and fact lovers everywhere, would love to dip into this one and read snippets its and explore. Every page is completely different to every other page. The design of each page is incredible, there is so much to see and look at. The most amazing and intriguing collection of things to look at and the kind of book that you can pop onto your coffee table, and know that everyone will pick it up – the cover literally shouts “grab me” and whoever is paging through it will be lost for hours. I can honestly say… my gang loved this book.
Amazon Affiliate Links used in this post.
These books were given to us for review purposes by Jonathan Ball Publishers. This is not a sponsored post and opinions expressed are entirely our own.