From Story Time: The Letter "B"

Preschool Time

By Kim Smith

Boston; New York: Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020. Picture Book.

Meg goes to Maker School to hone her talent for building with boxes, but when Simone, another boxitect, arrives they become so competitive they nearly fail in the annual Maker Match. --Editor

Preschool Time

A Lot Like Batman

By Keith Negley

New York: Random House, 2023. Picture Book.

A very young Batman faces his greatest challenge ever -- going to school! Keith Negley (author and illustrator of Tough Guys Have Feelings Too and My Dad Used to Be So Cool) brings young readers his vision of a shy Caped Crusader who prefers to stick to the shadows and play alone. Even though he initially doesn't fit in with the colorful and more outgoing kids around him, he soon learns that he has plenty to offer on his own terms. Keith Negley's art and story are filled with humor and emotion that will help even the shyest child find their inner super hero while making this jacketed picture book a delight to read at bedtime and any time! --Editor

Toddler Time

Books Aren't for Eating

Written by Carlie Sorosiak

Illustrated by Manu Montoya

Somerville, MA: Walker Books, 2022. Picture Book.

Leopold the goat owns a delightful bookstore, and he has a talent for matching his customers with the ideal book--an adventure story for the girl in the rain boots, a novel about gnomes for the man who loves to laugh, and a book of birds for the woman in the feathered hat. But one day, another goat arrives and proceeds to eat every book Leopold offers. Can Leopold find just the right one to tempt this reluctant reader? --Editor

Book Babies

Sway Like an Octopus

By Nicole LaRue

Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 2022. Board Book.

This adorable board book encourages toddlers to mimic the actions of animals both familiar and exotic. Little ones are encouraged to sway like an octopus, kick like a donkey, hop like a kangaroo, and much more. These simple, engaging prompts help children focus on the movement of their own bodies, helping to relieve stress and develop a mind-body connection. --Publisher

Cuentos

Leila, la brujita perfecta

By Flavia Z. Drago

Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2022. Libro Illustrado.

Leila es una brujita. Una muy decidida. Más que nada, ella quiere aprender a hornear. -- Editor

Other Letter B Books

Comments

Funny Farm by Mark Teague 2009

There are things I liked about Mark Teague's newest book, Funny Farm , and things I didn't like. Where should I start? I'll do the "didn'ts" first. The illustrations show animals personified. Well, some of the animals are. The main characters, Edward, and his farm family relatives, all dogs, are humanized. They stand upright, do farm chores, eat at a table, wear clothes, knit (yes, with paws) and sleep in beds. Most everybody else on and around the farm, who are also animals, act like animals. They are outside, roll in mud, live in the barn, and require care from their owners. It struck me the most on the page spread where there are pigs playing in puddle in the rain and Edward, a black and white boxer, watches from inside the house. I thought "You're a dog! Go play with them!" But, alas, he can't, seeing as how he goes through his entire visit to the farm wearing a suit and red bow tie. Another picture that bothered me was the maple syrup pa...

Review: Super Boba Cafe

Super Boba Café By Nidhi Chanani New York: Amulet Books, 2023. Comics. 215 pages. 14-year-old Aria is excited to spend her summer in San Francisco getting quality time with her Nainai. She loves helping at her grandmother's Super Boba Café. But she can't help but notice that her grandmother is acting strange and secretive. She refuses to let Aria into the kitchen at all and she disappears at the same time each night without telling Aria where she goes. Meanwhile, Aria is eager to drum up more business for Super Boba Café. She gets a major windfall when the shop cat, Bao, surprises them by having kittens, and Aria realizes this is a major social media opportunity. She knows this will help Nainai's shop, but she is apprehensive to get back on social media after a terrible cyberbullying experience she had back home. As the shop starts to get busier, Nainai is more and more anxious about her secret project. This prompts Aria to investigate with help from her Nainai's neighb...

Plain Kate

Plain Kate by Erin Bow Scholastic, 2010. 314 pgs. Fiction Katerina Svetlana is named after her mother, who died giving birth. Her father, Piotr the woodcarver, calls her plain Kate and she is soon known as Plain Kate, after the butcher's witticism, because she is "plain as a stick." But her father calls her Kate, my star. Piotr teaches his daughter to carve and she is on her way to becoming a master when her father dies of a strange sleeping sickness that plagues her town and the country round about. In a magical land, Kate has no magic but her skill. Still, she is so good her neighbors think her a witch and drive her away, but not before a real witch comes along and she trades him her shadow for the promise that she won't have to travel alone. He gives her a talking cat. Kate falls in with gypsies who also find reason to hurt and abandon her and she is rescued by the witch who takes her upriver in a terrible quest to avenge his dead sister and bring her back from...

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