Category: childrens books

October 1, 2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Stickerscapes

In anticipation of the new Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, DK Canada brings children (and adults too!) a new way to have fun and put their creativity to the test with The Force Awakens Stickerscapes.

This new stickerscapes book provides you with more than 1,000 stickers and fourteen different backgrounds (some that will pull out and span four pages versus just two). The stickers are reusable and even contain new heroes, villains and vehicles (as well as your favourites too!).

The stickers range in size from small to medium to large sizes. They were easy to remove from the sheets that were in the book (our youngest had a harder time but as he is only four his fine motor skills are still coming along) and apply onto the backgrounds. We had no trouble removing them from the landscapes onto another one or back onto the white sticker sheets at the back of the book.

The landscapes are well illustrated and have an almost comic style feel to them which the kids loved. They really could create their own scenes without feeling like they had to follow a guide (sticker one goes here, sticker two here, etc..). This allowed playing with the book and stickers to be fun as well as allow for some Star Wars role-playing (who wants to be Finn!).

The Star Wars The Force Awakens comes just in time for Star Wars Reads Day on October 10th, 2015. This is a day where all things Star Wars and reading are celebrated. You can gear up for Star Wars Reads Day by visiting DK Canada and downloading their Star Wars Reads Day activity kit.

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned product in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

September 28, 2015

Little Robot by Ben Hatke

Little Robot is a heart warming tale of friendship and overcoming fears that will be cherished by all.

About Little Robot

When a young girl finds a little robot in the woods, she presses a button and accidentally activates him for the first time. Now, she finally has a friend! But the big, bad robots are coming to collect the little guy for evil purposes, and it’s all up to a five-year-old armed only with a wrench and a fierce loyalty to her mechanical friend to save the day!

My Thoughts

I love children’s books. They give me a chance to unwind with my boys, to make-believe and to talk about important subjects in a neutral and easy way.

Ben’s Little Robot is beautifully illustrated with vibrant colours and images. Presented in a comic style, there are no long sentences that children sometimes find hard to follow. Instead we have thought bubbles with a few key words. The illustrations flow together so well that you can easily put together the story as you read it aloud. In fact, after I finished ‘reading’ it to my son, my youngest read it and then our eldest. We each were able to put our own little spin on it and be silly as we read our own version.

Little Robot teaches us about true friendship that goes beyond language and is found in our hearts, through compassion and listening to non verbal cues. Both the young girl and the little robot had a lot to learn about friendships throughout the story.

Little Robot is truly a beautiful illustrated story from start to finish that can be picked up by any age group and will be cherished.

You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon and Chapters.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Ben Hatke is the author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling Zita the Spacegirl graphic novel trilogy and the picture book Julia’s House for Lost Creatures. He lives and works in the Shenandoah Valley with his wife and their daughters. His latest book mentioned above, is Little Robot.

In addition to writing and drawing comics, he also paints in the naturalist tradition and, occasionally, performs one-man fire shows. You can connect with him on his blog, so head over there and find out more about this fantastic author and illustrator (and as a bonus you can see him doing fire-breathing!).

Watch this clip to learn just a little bit more about Ben as he facilitates a discussion with his colleagues.

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

April 26, 2015

Aoléon The Martian Girl Part Four: Book Review

Aoléon is back in the fourth installment of the series, Aoléon The Martian Girl: Illegal Aliens by Brent LeVasseur.

About Aoléon The Martian Girl: Part Four

Aoléon and Gilbert have become the Luminon’s top priority in stopping the Martian resistance movement and after being chased by the Palace guard they are forced to flee the Martian metropolis.

After they escape, they crash-land deep in the Martian desert where they set out to locate Aoléon’s parents who are being held captive. After a long and hard battle they finally make their destination but come to learn that their journey is far from over.

Will they be able to save Aoléon’s parents and stop the Martian invasion of Earth before it is too late?

My Thoughts

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this series of books for young adults and tweens. It has the perfect blend of imagination, creativity, illustration with the strength of the book coming from two young friends.

Part four of Aoléon did not disappoint! I think this part is one of the best so far. It was full of exciting adventure – at times I was worried the two were not going to make it through! But as one wise, old Martian taught them it is important to have faith. Aoléon and Gilbert hang on tight to their faith, trust in each other and the friendships they form to get them through the worst of the journey to rescue Aoléon’s parents.

The humour in this book had both my son and I cracking up (D.U.M.B. for a secret location!) – and helps to offset some of the more dangerous parts of the novel (being chased by Martians, crashing in a desert,etc..). Gilbert starts to come into his own strength and this novel and I loved that!

Aoléon will be the perfect addition to your child’s library!

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

Here is a trailer of Aoléon Part Four:

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

March 22, 2015

Gift the Gift of Reading This Easter with #SpringBookBasket

Reading is a gift that we can give our children that will create lasting memories. Books not only tell a story but they teach us a lesson, guide us, take us on adventures and give us the courage to try something new.

Raincoast Books wants to celebrate the coming of Spring with a #SpringBookBasket giveaway featuring some of their greatest titles for your child. We were extremely lucky to receive I Wish You More, The Littlest Bunny and Enchanted Forest.

I Wish You More is written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld. This story is about all the endless good wishes we grant on our children. Wishes of curiosity, friendship and strength. A beautiful story of love between a guardian and their child with wonderful accompanying illustrations – this will be a much-loved book. It also makes the perfect baby shower gift!

“I wish you more give than take”

“I wish you more we than me”

The Littlest Bunny in Canada features just as it names suggests the littlest bunny in Canada with a very important secret – he is the Easter Bunny! Throughout this book we follow him as he completes his most important mission of the year – hiding the Easter eggs! As a bonus, your child and yourself should be on the look out for twenty very special eggs hidden throughout the book!

The Enchanted Forest by Johanna Basford is a very special book – not only do you go through a quest in an enchanted forest you get to colour along the way! This book was so beautiful that I didn’t want to give it up at first! It is perfect for the older child through to adulthood not only as a book but as a colouring book. Not only do you colour in the pictures along the way you must look for special hidden animals and magical objects including nine symbols that will unlock the castle door.

The remaining four books in the #SpringBookBasket include:

A Nest is Noisy by Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long features nests from around the world. From tiny hummingbird nests to orangutan nests in the sky a variety of nests are featured in this story. This book introduces children to the world of nests and helps to spark their imagination.

Farewell Floppy by Benjamin Chaud is the story of a young child that feels the need to grow up. In order to do so he feels he must get rid of his best friend, his rabbit, in order to gain more human friends. But why does getting rid of his rabbit friend feel so wrong? This book will remind children that friendships can be found in the most unexpected places!

From rain to rainbows is a wonderful story that reminds us that after the worst rain always comes the prettiest rainbow. This story reminds us to appreciate the dark with the light and that the best of situations comes out of the worst moments.

As winter leaves us and spring returns the soil is ready to plant and early flowers emerge. Follow Grandma and her grandchildren as they learn about twenty-four different flowers and how to plant their own flowers.

Raincoast Books wants one of my readers to win their own #SpringBookBasket Collection as pictured below.

Canadian residents can enter the #SpringBookBasket giveaway below – GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received three of the above books free of charge in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

March 20, 2015

March Break Fun with Mommy and Me Bake #DKCanada

Mommy and Me Bake #DKCanada March Boutique

What better way to spend the March Break (or any time really) than baking with your child! DK Canada introduces Mommy and Me Bake, a book full of fun recipes and ingredients for your child and you to make together.

About Mommy and Me Bake

Mommy and Me Bake introduces children to the fun and exciting world of baking. This book is full of easy to read and follow classic recipes to help children bake along with their parents.

My Thoughts

Talk about the perfect first recipe book for children of all ages! Mommy and Me Bake contains large, bright photos that are perfect for children. The steps are easy to follow (even for the baking impaired adult!) and are in large, bold font.

The recipes take on new names that will entice your children: Crunchy Cookie Cutouts, Fruit Boats and Cookie Blossoms. The names got our children excited to try out the recipes especially with the animated introduction picture for each recipe.

We had an incredible time baking with these recipes. Mommy and Me Bake makes it easy to follow, understand and explains the science behind baking making it a fun experience for all. The hard cover and thick pages make it easy to keep in the kitchen while baking without ruining the book.

What is your favourite recipe to bake?

Make sure to check out the March Break Boutique over at DK Canada!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.