These books will help children keep what they’ve learned fresh for the next few months.
Ann and Nan are Anagrams: A Mixed-Up Word Dilemma
By Mark Shulman and Adam McCauley; Chronicle Books; 36 pages; $16.99
An anagram is a fun way to mix up the letters of a word, resulting in a completely different meaning. “Words” becomes “sword.” “Presents” can be served to “serpents.” And anagrams are easy to “spot” but hard to “stop.”
Mark Shulman’s hilarious picture book, Ann and Nan are Anagrams: A Mixed-Up Word Dilemma, which showcases cool vintage art from Adam McCauley (of The Time Warp trio series), is the clever follow-up to Mom and Dad are Palindromes. It stars anagrammed sisters Ann and Nan, who are perpetually and understandably mixed up.
Kids who love word play (Don’t they all?) will enjoy the infectious book with a silly tone and unknowingly take in tons of fun grammar and spelling lessons. The mixed-media cartoon art is perfect for the fun.
Mesmerizing Math
By Jonathan Litton; Thomas Flintham; Templar Books/Candlewick Press; 16 pages; $18.99
Pop-up books and math are a no-brainer combination. The hands-on design of the busy book, Mesmerizing Math, makes the sometimes-dry subject of mathematics more tactile and fun. With pop-ups, spinners, booklets, flaps and even a wrecking ball that demonstrates division, Jonathan Litton’s supercool book points out how exciting math can be.
When introducing ways to measure the height of a tree, one tip is to bend over, look at the tree between your legs and know that its height is roughly “the same distance between you and the tree trunk.”
Other topics covered for ages 6 to 12 are shape-shifting, nifty numbers, the length of a piece of string and surveying the scene, to name a few.
Animal Opposites
By Petr Horacek; Candlewick Press; 20 pages; $15.99
Animal Opposites, a bold, vividly colored pop-up book by Petr Horacek, showcases animal opposites with sturdy foldout and fold-up flaps to exemplify each creature’s height, width or tactile features.
We begin with a “short dog” (dachshund) and its opposite, a tall giraffe (that seems even taller with the stand-up flap). Next, we see a quiet little rabbit and a “Loud, Loud” lion with a pop-out face and a mane that demonstrates its regal roar.
Preschoolers will love unfolding the flaps and guessing what animals are opposites. Detailed pop-ups show off a colorful peacock (opposite a white goose), a walking strong gorilla (opposite a weak mouse) and many other grand creatures.
Is It Big or Is It Little?
By Claudia Rueda; Eerdmans Books for Young Readers; 26 pages; $14
Claudia Rueda’s simple book, Is It Big or Is It Little? is an artsy wonder that introduces tots and preschoolers to differing points of view. With only the dramatic colors of orange, black and gray set upon stark white backgrounds, the book’s lessons stand out clearly.
A mouse plays with a very large ball of yarn, and the big text says, “Is it big?” On the following page, a black cat arrives to out-shadow the ball, and small text says, “Or is it little?”
Our poor, frantic mouse encounters all sorts of viewpoints in his journey to save his ball of yarn. There are all sorts of questions about dimensions, sizes and weights. In the end, while the animals pursue the mouse, the text asks, “Is it the end?” or “Is it the beginning?”
Little Red Writing
By Joan Holub; illustrated by Melissa Sweet; Chronicle Books; 36 pages; $16.99
Need help motivating your young writers-to-be? The fantastically fun picture book, Little Red Writing, will give reluctant writers the courage to defeat doubt and share their stories.
In the zesty retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood,” a brave little red pencil finds her way through the many perils of storytelling, faces a ravenous pencil sharpener known as the Wolf 3000 and eventually saves the day.
Hilarious, inspirational and lighthearted, Joan Holub’s exuberant tale will thrill and loosen up learning stress.
— Lee Littlewood writes the Kids’ Home Library column for Creators. The San Diego wife and mom’s pure love of children’s literature helps her stay interested in words and pictures meant for tots to teens. Click here to contact her, or click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are her own.