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i want to be an astronaut

7/29/2017

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” This, of course, is a question anyone who has mastered childhood is familiar with. Kane Miller’s fun board book, I Want to Be an Astronaut (written by Ruby Brown and Alisa Coburn), brings a touch of imagination and creativity to this oh-so-familiar question.

Two kids, a boy and a girl, take turns daydreaming about what they might want to be when they grow up. On the first page of the book, we find them sitting in their living room with a cardboard box, scissors, and tape. On each subsequent page, one of the kids is in a new landscape – driving around a seaside bend, swinging over a crocodile-filled swamp, flying over a volcano in a hot air balloon – as they imagine a different vocation.

I’m a big fan of books that encourage (or even teach) imaginative play, so this book is a winner for me! It suggests thinking outside of the box, but it does so with that focus on dreaming about the future, not pushing to get there today. The story ends back in the living room, where the cardboard box is now adorned with paper plates and strips of tape, with cardboard cuttings strewn around the floor. The narration finishes, “I can be any of these things when I grow up. But I don’t need to decide just yet. I can just dream of having big adventures.”

It’s that book that suggests open windows for the future by encouraging creative play today.

Book benefits:

Story playfully encourages kids to imagine big futures.
Text is simple and direct, appropriate for read-alouds or for young readers to practice new words.
Sturdy board book pages will withstand re-readings from toddlers, their big siblings, and their little siblings.

Buy I Want to Be an Astronaut here! ($8.99, board book)

Want more? Order a copy of I Want to Be a Lion Tamer, too! ($8.99, board book)

Click these photos for full size - and scroll down for my 2-minute video overview!

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pandamonia

7/19/2017

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"...so don't wake the panda whatever you do." This is the recurring theme of Pandamonia, a playful picture book from Kane Miller (written by Chris Owen and Chris Nixon) about the possible implications of waking a blissfully sleeping panda. This is a book you and your kids will love to read together because of the whimsical illustrations, the goofy storyline, and the lyrical rhythm and rhyme.

The essential storyline of this book is that you need to be careful of waking a panda because of the riot that might ensue. The story itself outlines the snowball effect of this possible occurrence: the hippos will create a hullabaloo, which will make the termites tickle the toes of the elephants, which will make the zebra, giraffe, and hyenas laugh, etc. etc. - until all chaos ensues! ...so don't wake the panda whatever you do.

I have to say, I love this book not only as a parent of toddlers, but as a high school English teacher. Straightforward books with strong rhyme and rhythm are ideal for teaching poetic form to students, and a book where these aims are achieved with playful content is going to be more effective than a classic poem students may find stuffy before they even give it a chance.

And here, we have the added benefit of some excellent vocabulary! kerfuffle, shimmy, yakking, fandango, and palaver are all words that make an appearance in this book. I'll admit, I had to look up palaver! (it's a prolonged and idle discussion, btw.)

The animals themselves will spark curiosity. Your kids will recognize zebras, crocodiles, and grizzly bears... but jabirus? echidna? galahs? There are plenty of animals within the pages of this book to spark further exploration. And I love books that are worth repeated readings not only because they are fun stories, but because the details spark curiosity and questions that require investigation.

It's that book that'll get you jumping and dancing and giggling... just don't wake the panda whatever you do!

Book benefits:

Playful text that will keep kids engaged
Strong rhyme and rhythm help kids recognize poetry mechanisms
Repeated line encourages text prediction
Book is full of new vocabulary and animals

Buy Pandamonia here! ($12.99, hardcover)

Here's a quick video preview:

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