Skip to main content

If You Like... Bones

By

My little boy is obsessed with skeletons. He's not that interested in dinosaurs, but he loves their bones. He thinks pirates are pretty cool, as long as they are pirate skeletons. We spend a lot of time seeking out any and all depictions of skeletons, whether they be unseasonably Halloween-ish, medical, or just a loose femur rattling around somewhere. If you too have a budding osteopathologist in your household, check out these books about bones! 

Written by Cary Fagan
Illustrated by Dasha Tolstikova
Toronto; Berkeley: Groundwood Books : House of Anansi Press, 2022. Picture Book.

A thoughtful little girl finds a bone in the forest and takes it home with her. She cleans it, cares for it, and plays with it until she has a sudden sense of melancholy about the unknown creature who died and left a piece of itself behind. She buries the bone in the earth again. Boney explores nature, stewardship, interconnectedness, and mortality. I was surprised that my young son seemed to grasp these ideas through this simple, open-ended story. 

By Chihiro Takeuchi
Somerville, MA: Candlewick Studio. 2022. Picture Book.

This interesting picture book doubles as a guessing game. One page shows the bones of an animal, delicately cut out of white paper and scattered on a boldly colored background. When you turn the page you find the bones configured into a skeleton, and then a complete image of the creature in question. The stylized anatomy is a fun way to look at this scientific topic. 

Written by Kim Norman
Illustrated by Bob Kolar
Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2019. Picture Book. 

I don't always like rhyming picture books, but this one really works for me. The skeleton of an old sea captain, scattered underwater and accompanied by sea creatures, pieces himself back together. Part pirate, part anatomical, it's funny, smart, morbid, and jaunty. 

Written by Jan Paul Schutten
Photography by Arie van't Riet
Translated by Laurie Watkinson
Vancouver, BC: Greyston Kids, 2021. Informational. 127 pages. 

Amazing x-ray photography of animals, insects, and plants shows what's hidden beneath the surface. And luckily for my kid, that means skeletons galore. This is an exquisite informational book that would easily scale to children of all ages. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

By
KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dog Man Read Alikes

By
Dog Man  is a popular graphic novel for middle graders all about the adventures of a half-man, half-dog police officer. With 14 books in the series, many readers can't get enough of these hilarious stories! If your child is looking for more books like Dog Man, here are some great options to try out.  Dex Dingo: World's Best Greatest Ever... Inventor By Greg Foley Los Angeles: Disney-Hyperion, 2024. Comic. 157 pages.  Dex Dingo doesn't know what he wants to do when he grows up. His classmates all seem to know, but he just doesn't feel like he is the BEST at anything. When a class assignment challenges him to figure out what he wants to be, he decides he wants to become the world's best ever inventor! Filled with beautifully drawn spreads and kid-approved humor, this book is sure to please any Dog Man fan.  Troubling Tonsils Written by Aaron Reynolds Illustrated by Peter Brown  New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025. Fiction. 71 pages.  ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Faker

By
Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit...
Post a Comment
Read more