Kit Lit News: Released This Week
Stories from Bug Garden
By Lisa Moser and Gwen Millward
What may appear to be an abandoned garden is actually home to an unusual array of insects. Meet a ladybug who prefers making mud angels to acting like a lady, a roly-poly bug who loves to roll ("wa-hoo!"), a cricket who dreams of grand adventures, and a whole neighborhood of bugs gazing up at a fireworks show of flowers bursting into bloom. These inviting vignettes are sure to have readers seeing bugs in a whole new light.
Let's Go to the Hardware Store
By Anne Rockwell and Melissa Iwai
When the new house needs fixing up, it's off to the hardware store to find the tools and materials needed to get the job done—a hammer, a screwdriver, a shiny tape measure, and even a stepladder. This family outing explores a familiar errand that fascinates plenty of young children: the hardware store. Anne Rockwell's perfectly pitched story and Melissa Iwai's child-friendly illustrations make this book ideal for the preschool audience.
My New Mom & Me
By Renota Galindo
When the puppy comes to live with his new mom, he is nervous. After all, his mom has stripes and he doesn’t. But his mom says she likes that they look different, and soon the puppy likes it, too. (And who cares what anyone else thinks!) The puppy’s new mom does all the things other parents do. She plays with him, takes care of him, and sometimes even makes him mad! But that’s okay, because when he’s feeling sad, she knows just what to say.
Summer Walk
By Virginia Brimhall Snow
Ramble through the woods, as you join Grammy and her favorite grandkids on a summer walk. Beautiful illustrations and clever rhymes will guide readers as they learn to identify twenty-six different bugs, from grasshoppers to moths, snails to katydids. At day’s end, discover how to create a caterpillar habitat; observe over time as your caterpillar turns into a beautiful butterfly you can then release on your next summer walk.
Raybot
By Adam F. Watkins
When an inquisitive robot named Raybot begins to explore Earth, he knows he is supposed to find the thing that goes "bark." But try as he might, all he can find are things that go "roar" and "oink" and "moo." Still, Raybot keeps searching, and on the way, he discovers that Earth is full of interesting, friendly creatures. Children will relate to Raybot's wonder as he discovers new sounds and animals in the world, and adults will appreciate the detail and beauty in the hand-painted illustrations.
Maggie and Wendel: Imagine Everything
By Cori Doerrfeld
When it comes to playtime, Maggie and Wendel’s imaginations are limitless. Whether the elephant siblings are pretending to rescue a pal from a burning building, buying a pet dragon at the pet store, or going on a wild jungle safari, no adventure is too far-fetched.
Little Honey Bee
By Jane Ormes
In a spring garden, the flowers are slowly blooming as the weather warms up. And as the flowers come out, so too do other forms of life, especially those all-important pollinators — bees! This companion title to Little Pear Tree is a simple counting book with a difference: as readers count emerging spring flowers from one to ten, by peeking under petals and leaves, they will also discover the same number of bees humming and buzzing about. Among the many delightful flaps, readers will be able to open the petals of a sunflower and turn a vine of rosebuds into an archway of fully bloomed flowers.
Isaac and his Amazing Asperger Superpowers
By Melanie Wash
Isaac may look like everyone else, but he actually has superpowers that make him different from his brother and his classmates. Some kids don’t understand that and call him names. But Isaac’s superhero brain remembers loads of things, he has energy enough to bounce on his trampoline for hours, and his ears are so sharp he can even hear the buzzing some lights make in school (ouch!). He tends to say whatever comes into his head and doesn’t realize that he might hurt someone’s feelings — by telling them they have big teeth, for example! Even though he’s not really a superhero — he has Asperger syndrome, which means his brain works a little differently — he does love to play superheroes with his brother, who understands him. Straightforward and engaging, Isaac’s first-person narrative will help kids see the world through the eyes of a child with the high-cognitive type of autism spectrum disorder commonly known as Asperger syndrome.
Otters Love to Play
By Jonathan London and Meilo So
It’s spring, and a litter of baby river otters emerges from a den . . . to play! Follow the otters through the seasons as they chase one another, slide down a mudbank, jump in a pile of leaves, and learn to swim. Even while catching fish for their dinner or grooming themselves in the snow, otters love to play — and Jonathan London’s lively text and Meilo So’s fluid watercolors invite you to share in the joy.
The Hide-and-Scare Bear
By Ivan Bates
A naughty bear learns an important lesson! There once lived a naughty / and mischievous bear / who liked playing a game / he called hide-and-scare. Then along came Rabbit, who offered advice / a short rabbit lesson on how to be nice. But can a little rabbit show a big bear that there is a kinder way to play?
Itchy Pig
By Nicole Bruno Cox and Jessie Judge
Itchy Pig is an adorable, mischievous piglet who loves to play outside. But when he ignores his mother s warnings about allergies and goes on a fun outdoor adventure, he suffers some itchy consequences. Itchy Pig learns to manage his allergies and still have fun. Most important he learns to listen to his mother!
Quackers
Liz Wong
A cat who thinks he’s a duck? He must be Quackers!! Quackers is a duck. Sure, he may have paws and whiskers. And his quacks might sound more like…well, meows, but he lives among ducks, everyone he knows is a duck, and he’s happy. Then Quackers meets another duck who looks like him (& talks like him, too!)—but he calls himself a cat. So silly! Quackers loves being among his new friends the cats, but he also misses his duck friends, and so he finds a way to combine the best of both worlds. Part cat, part duck, all Quackers!
Will's Words
By Jane Sutcliffe and John Shelley
When Jane Sutcliffe sets out to write a book about William Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre, in her own words, she runs into a problem: Will's words keep popping up all over the place! What's an author to do? After all, Will is responsible for such familiar phrases as "what's done is done" and "too much of a good thing." He even helped turn "household words" into household words. But, Jane embraces her dilemma, writing about Shakespeare, his plays, and his famous phrases with glee. After all, what better words are there to use to write about the greatest writer in the English language than his very own? As readers will discover, "the long and the short of it" is this: Will changed the English language forever.
The Inn Between
By Marina Cohen
Eleven-year-old Quinn has had some bad experiences lately. She was caught cheating in school, and then one day, her little sister Emma disappeared while walking home from school. She never returned. When Quinn's best friend Kara has to move away, she goes on one last trip with Kara and her family. They stop over at the first hotel they see, a Victorian inn that instantly gives Quinn the creeps, and she begins to notice strange things happening around them. When Kara's parents and then brother disappear without a trace, the girls are stranded in a hotel full of strange guests, hallways that twist back in on themselves, and a particularly nasty surprise lurking beneath the floorboards. Will the girls be able to solve the mystery of what happened to Kara's family before it's too late?
This is Where the World Ends
By Amy Zhang
Janie and Micah, Micah and Janie. That’s how it’s been ever since elementary school, when Janie Vivien moved next door. Janie says Micah is everything she is not. Where Micah is shy, Janie is outgoing. Where Micah loves music, Janie loves art. It’s the perfect friendship—as long as no one finds out about it. But then Janie goes missing and everything Micah thought he knew about his best friend is colored with doubt.