What My Kids Are Reading 4/21/17
The 8-Year-Old
From the publisher: “Humor, magic, and adventure abound in the third—and final—book of Caroline Carlson’s middle grade fantasy series, the Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates. Hilary Westfield is now a freelance pirate. After trying to prove herself to the VNHLP, she realized many members of the league weren’t all that honorable—not even very nearly. With Captain Blacktooth in cahoots with the Mutineers, the kingdom of Augusta—and all of its magic—is at risk. What the League needs is a very honorable pirate to be their new president. So Hilary—with the help of her friends, including the always-spirited gargoyle—challenges Blacktooth to a High Seas battle. Winner takes all. Loser, at best, will be exiled.”
My son is listening to this as an audiobook and loving it! He hasn’t read any others in the series but, unlike me, he doesn’t mind reading books out of order, and he’s on the waitlist for the first in Connie Carlson’s series about a girl pirate, Magic Marks the Spot (Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates)
The 6-Year-Old
From the publisher: “FACT: Robots are awesome. They have lasers for eyes, rockets for feet, and supercomputers for brains! Plus, robots never have to eat steamed beans or take baths, or go to bed. If only there were some sort of magical “Robo-Sauce” that turned squishy little humans into giant awesome robots… Well, now there is. Giggle at the irreverent humor, gasp at the ingenious fold-out surprise ending, and gather the whole family to enjoy a unique story about the power of imagination. It’s picture book technology the likes of which humanity has never seen!”
Another one from Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri! This book is so much fun, even after the 200th reading of it to your kid! It’s funny, creative, and the book even turns into a robot book at the end. (You’ll have to check it out to see what I mean!) This is always a favorite.
What We’re Reading Together
From the publisher: “Nicholas wants to be as brave as his dad, but he needs help. That’s why he needs a dinosaur. After all, dinosaurs like the dark, bugs are nothing to them, and they eat manhole covers for lunch (and everything under them for dinner). With his toy dinosaur, Nicholas can scale tall walls, swim in deep water, even score a goal against the huge goalie everyone calls Gorilla. But when the dinosaur goes missing, everything is scary again. Luckily, his dad knows that even the bravest people can get scared, and it’s okay to ask for help facing your fears. It’s just guy stuff.”
This is such a lovely book that even my 8-year-old, who initially didn’t want to listen because he thought it was just a little kid’s picture book, ran over when he heard me reading it, and then read it to himself after. I was drawn to this book by its cover (Contrary to popular belief, it’s totally ok to love a book for its cover!), which is no surprise since the illustrator, Dan Santat, also wrote and illustrated The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, one of my favorite children’s books. A boy is scared of lots of things and wants to be brave like his dad. When he loses his bravery talisman, a small dinosaur, his dad jumps in to save the day, and to let him know that it’s ok for guys to be afraid. In a day where kids are often told to hurry up and grow up, and to toughen up, it’s wonderful to have a book that reinforces the fact that it is ok to be afraid, and that dads and boys can be afraid too.