Rated By Kids

Publisher: DK CHILDREN

Released: September 29, 2009

Reading level: Ages 6-8

Paperback: 32 pages

ISBN: 978-0756655273




From publisher:

DK Readers draw in young people and captivates their imagination while helping them develop and improve their reading skills. Indy's Adventures and Traps and Snares include full-color movie stills from the Indiana Jones movies. The charismatic hero and adventure theme will make these titles popular with reluctant readers. Lively age-appropriate text engages children throughout the book while developing their reading skills.

Jacob's thoughts:

I liked that this book had all the movies mixed up together. My favorite movie is #4 which is called Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. My favorite trick in the book is when Indy puts a sack of sand since he thinks it will weigh the same as the Golden Idol but it didn't. He made a big giant rock ball come down.


Mom's thoughts:

My son has been in love with Indy since the latest movie came out last year. This book was great for him as it covers all the exciting adventures Indy has been on throughout all the movies. Each page is filled with a picture from the movie. Basically, this whole book is action packed! My son loves to read but sometimes skips over words he doesn't know and I found this book was the perfect level for him. He needed a little help but only with a few words & some of the places/names (Egypt, Venice, Russians, Germans). I can see him re-reading this book many times.

Publisher: Dorling Kindersley (DK Children)

Released: 24 Nov 2009

Board book

28 pages

ISBN 9780756655440

Age: 1 - 3 years


From publisher:

My First Farm: Let's Get Working! helps kids develop first language skills by introducing them to the animals and machines on a farm. Each tabbed section focuses on a different category of farm life, from baby animals to tractors.

Mom's thoughts:

This is a great book that I think every toddler would enjoy. Each square you see on the cover represents one page: baby animals, cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, chickens, more farm birds, tractors, farm vehicles, crops & foods, around the farm & noisy farm. On each page you see many 'real life' pictures with their names, as well as a question. I think the question is a great addition as it adds another level of interaction when reading the book. My son's favorite page was the tractors. He loved the animal pages and making the sounds but we have many other books with animals on them. For him, the tractors were new and really grabbed his attention.

Publisher: Dorling Kindersley (DK Children)

Released: 05 May 2008

Hardcover

144 pages

ISBN 9780756635008



From publisher:

Since his debut in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, fans have followed the adventures of learned scholar and hunky professor Indiana Jones. He is the unlikely action-hero who undertakes perilous adventures involving snakes, rats, spiders, and villains, in order to stop powerful, mystical artifacts from falling into the wrong hands. With a fourth installment underway, fans can brush up on their Indy knowledge and relive the archeologist's best--and worst--moments.

Packed with a wealth of information from all four movies--about the characters, movie story lines, ancient ruins and artifacts, the history, and the mysticism - Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide provides fans with everything they need to know about the unconventional archeologist and his world.

Jacob's thoughts:

I think Indy is cool. I wish I could be like him and go on lots of adventures. I liked looking at the pictures then reading stuff about them. I liked seeing all the movies in one book.


Mom's thoughts:

I love how almost 30 years later, Indy is still popular with the kids. I think it was thanks to Indy that my son became interested in archaelogy. As always with DK, this book is filled with amazing pictures (including the beating heart & money brains dessert from Temple of Doom *shivers*). My son carried this book around for days (and even brought it to school) looking at the pictures and talking about his favorite parts in the movies. This book provides details on everything you could imagine in the movies and is a great book for any Indy fan, young and old!

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Released: March 12, 2008

20 flash cards

ISBN: 978-0811862943

Ages: infant to toddler


From publisher:

These durable flash cards from Eric Carle, best-selling author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear Brown Bear and many others, feature his beloved animal illustrations and serve as a delightful introduction to counting. The thick, sturdy cards are durable enough for play and decorative enough to hang on the wall. Includes two sets of the numbers 1-10.

Mom's thoughts:

The box contains 20 very sturdy cards, two sets of cards ranging from 1-10. The first set shows pictures/numbers, the second set shows pictures/dots & word.

I am a huge Eric Carle fan and my two year old son loves the pictures in his books so this was a perfect addition to our library. As always with Eric Carle, the pictures are vibrant and quickly grab a childs attention. The cards are very thick so this makes it easy for him to pick up himself. He likes to name the animals on the card, while I ask him to count them then show him the back of the card. Since there are two sets, later we can play a game where we match a picture with the correct number. I see these cards providing lots of learning fun for many years to come!

Hi everyone, I'd love for you to meet Shelly!



Shelly Faith Nicholson is the author of "Jake the Snake and the Stupid Time-Out Chair" and the soon to be released second book in the early chapter book series, "A Stinky Surprise for Jake the Snake." Shelly is also published in several children's magazines and is working on a picture book, a middle school novel, and her third Jake the Snake book. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and the Ligonier Valley Writer's Group. Besides writing, Shelly enjoys running, skiing, cooking, reading, and spending time with her four children. Shelly's youngest son, Jacob, was inspiration for her Jake the Snake series of books.


SYNOPSIS: Jake the Snake is a rambunctious kindergartner who is always getting into mischief! And when that happens, he is sent to the "stupid time-out chair." Jake the Snake is scared Santa Claus is watching and will bring a stupid lump of coal for Christmas 'cause Christmas isn't far away! When Jake the Snake drowns his brother's pet lizard in chocolate sauce, he is really afraid. But things only get worse when Jake the Snake goes to the mall to visit Santa and barfs in the mall elf's hat! Will Jake the Snake get a stupid lump of coal for Christmas? Or will Santa forgive him for all the naughty things he's done all year?

To learn more about Shelly, you can visit her website www.booksbyshelly.com

Published by: Visible Ink Press

ISBN: 9781578592197

Published October 2009

352 pages in color

100 photos and illustrations

6.8 x 9.7 paperback


Recommended for: everyone!

My rating: 5/5

My thoughts:

Whether you are a parent or not, this book is a great reference book to have handy. Answers to almost 800 different questions are provided in a very simple manner. The book itself is beautiful, almost every other page contains a colourful picture on thick, glossy paper. I'm still in awe as I flip through the book.

The book is broken down into 10 sections:

• Outer Space
• Planet Earth & Our Moon
• Creatures Big & Small
• Plant Life
• People Around the World
• Politics & Government
• How Things Work
• Math, Measurement & Time
• All About My Body
• Daily Life

As soon as the book arrived, both my husband and 7 yr old son grabbed it & started flipping through it. It was really fun watching them point to the different topics & learning new things together. For instance, many of us know that you can tell the age of a tree by counting the rings BUT did you know that the thickness of the rings also tell scientists what the climate was like that year (ie. thick rings means there was plenty of rainfall)? It seems common sense to me now that I know, but this was not something I had thought of before!

Here are a few examples of questions in the book that I've been asked or expect to be asked one day:

• Why is the sky blue?
• What is a fossil?
• Why do flies like cow plop?
• How did my life begin?

I know my son will start asking me tougher questions & I am so happy to have a quick guide (other than Google) to help me! Some answers I already know (i.e why do zebras have stripes? camouflage) but thankfully the books adds more details then just my one word answer. I recommend this book for everyone as I think it's such a fun, fact filled book covering basic topics everyone should know.

Part 1
Author: Dav Pilkey
Format:Trade Paperback, 176 Pages
Ages 7 - 10
Published: October 1, 2003
Publisher: SCHOLASTIC INC

Strangely enough Part Two picks up right where Part One left off. Coincidence? Don't think so, after all it is the second part of the cliffhanger and that's where they usually start up again. So the second part of our story begins with robo-boogers and ends with…Ha! We're not telling you that, no spoilers here…just know that this book is a monster-mashin', robo-wranglin', time-travelin', brain-switchin', nose-pickin' good time.


Part 2
Format:Trade Paperback, 175 Pages
Ages 7 - 10
Published: reissued September 1, 2003
Publisher: SCHOLASTIC INC

George and Harold's latest prank has snotty school brainiac Melvin Sneedly seeing red, and he has a plan to get them back. But when Melvin tries to transform himself into a bionic-powered super boy, things go from bad to worse and the Bionic Booger Boy is born! Will Captain Underpants beat this blobby behemoth of blech, or is the entire world doomed to drown in disgusting nose dribble?


Jacob's thoughts:
Melvin makes a machine called the Combine-O-Tron 2000 that switches up things but Melvin sneezed at the wrong time and the machine also made monster boogers. Now Captain Underpants thinks he can fly because they switched up Melvin & Captain Underpants' brains! They make a time machine to go back and fix things but end up seeing dinosaurs. This book is about them fighting boogers. I really like when they change the letters on the boards so that they say silly things. My favorite part was when a guy got squished by a tank. I liked these books and give them two thumbs up.

Mom's thoughts:
I know some people may shy away from a book about potty humor and boogers but if it gets my kid reading, I'm all for it! Jacob is at the Grade 2 reading level but I am sure he did not read everything on each page instead he used the pictures to follow the story. After his first Captain Underpants book, Jacob starting writing his own comics just like George and Harold from the series. I love that these book have got his creative juices flowing and he is now making up his own stories.