Summertime is the best time to while away the hours with books filled with activities. This is the best time to make the most of utilizing childrens’ interests and cultivating them. The following books are geared for a variety of ages and will be listed accordingly.
Drawing with Squiggles & Wiggles: Create 100+ Cartoons with Fun Shapes!, by Christopher Hart, is the perfect traveling book to take in car, plane or train. This delightful book is filled with easy-to-draw shapes approximating a variety of animals and some people. The step-by-step layout makes success achievable for ages six through adult. The squiggles and wiggles are just the beginning of what can become a creative experience kids will love! Make sure you have a pencil and pad of paper on the ready.
Letters to Anyone and Everyone, by Toon Telligen and perfectly illustrated in the style of A. A. Milne by Jessica Ahlberg, is a most delightful and clever book of letters to and from adorable animals. After a cute little animal writes a letter, the wind sends it on to the receiver. Some of the letters include Ant and Squirrel, Tortoise and Snail and The Cricket. Here is a treasure, (which even has a ribbon for place-keeping), which will surely inspire letter or journal writing and is best for ages eight and up.
Optical Illusions (Let’s Experiment), wonderfully Illustrated by Rossella Trionfetti and contributed by Mattia Crivellini, is packed with experiments kids ages seven and up will thoroughly enjoy. These experiments all have to do with optical illusions and include how to draw them, how to create a three-sided cube and how to experiment with ambiguous figures. There’s even a mess-o-meter to help parents know how messy the experiment can be. There is much to learn while having fun. There is also an informative glossary found in the back. Be sure to check out the other new book in this series: Let’s Experiment! The Chemistry of Disgusting Things.
Where’s Waldo? The Great Speed Search, by Martin Handford, is a new inventive format where you can race to win against an opponent or yourself. The book is designed to lay flat when opened and each side of the open-page has the almost the identical picture. However, the search is different making this a great challenge for two or even yourself where you can race against time. Take this on vacation and enjoy with your entire family!
Glittery Princesses Sticker Book, brightly illustrated by Sara Ugolotti, has open-page scenes which feature palaces, gardens, and meadows. Sequined stickers, found in the back, are just waiting for the scenes to be filled and imaginary stories to be made up. This book is good for ages four and up. Here is another great book for traveling or for vacations.
Wonders of the Night: Astronomy Starts with Just Looking Up, by Professor Raman Prinja and illustrated with vibrant colors by Jan Bielecki, demonstrates to kids ages eight and up some of the general aspects of what they see in the night sky. This easy to grasp book will open up their horizons and explain in more detail what their naked eye can see. The book delves into constellations, planets, the moon and much more. This book is well laid out and kid friendly. You just might have a budding astronomer.
Paper Stories: A Snip-and-Glue Activity Book, by Aya Watanabe, is the perfect activity book for ages five and up to use when stuck inside from a hot summer or rainy day. It’s also perfect for traveling, just be sure to bring scissors and glue. Each brightly painted open-spread was done in acrylic, colored pencils, crayons and digital techniques. Each activity is fun and unique making this a fun venture to create. There’s even a pouch found in the back inside cover to place scraps. Be sure to check out Watanabe’s other fun activity book: Paper Adventures.
Classic Starts: Anne of Green Gables, a retelling from the original book written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. This retelling, by Kathleen Olmstead, simplifies the story while keeping the story’s integrity. The purpose of this newly published series is to allow a new generation of kids to enjoy these classics at their reading level. All of these retelling editions have illustrations to help keep the story moving and hold the attention of readers, ages seven through ten. They have different authors and illustrators as well. Other retelling classics include: Little Women, Heidi and Peter Pan.
Call of the Wild & White Fang, both signature classic books by Jack London, are wonderful books packaged together in one paperback book and geared for more advanced readers ages twelve through adult. (I read both when I was thirteen and they remain two of my favorite books). Other newly reissued books in paperback include: The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood and Gulliver’s Travels. Two books recently reissued in hardback are: Oliver Twist and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. All of these books are geared for more advanced readers ages twelve through adult.
