Tons of Trucks is Tons of Fun

If you are a Sue Fliess fan like I am, you will be pleased to hear her new interactive book Tons of Trucks, which is illustrated by Betsy Snyder, is coming out this week. Written in fast-paced rhyme and illustrated with surprises, this book will be a sure winner with the youngest set.

Young children absolutely love to read about trucks and construction equipment. They also love interactive books with plenty of items to explore, move and touch. This book has a wealth of scoops to swing and cargoes to reveal  (The tar truck is going to be an extra fun surprise, but I won’t spoil it by giving away the secret.) Each vehicle is driven by a cute animal to identify, which will add to the excitement.

Parents will love that the paper is high quality and the pop-ups and pull-outs are carefully engineered to make them easy to move. It will stand up to loving use by young children. Parents may also value the book because, as well as engaging children, the interactive features help develop wee ones’ motor skills.

Tons of Trucks is a special book for small children that you are sure to be reading together again and again.

Check out the cute book trailer:

Bonus activities for the youngsters:

In addition to reading the book, playing with toy cars and trucks can be a fun way to learn. Children may

  • Learn or reinforce their knowledge of colors,
  • Practice some important math and science skills such as sorting,
  • Develop vocabulary.

Pull out an assortment of small toy cars and trucks.

1. Sorting

During a break in the play encourage children to sort the cars and trucks into piles by color. Show them how by sorting all the blue cars and trucks into a pile. Then find all the green cars, etc.

Once they have mastered colors, try sorting by size, pointing out the words big and small used in the book.


2. Identifying

With a variety of toy vehicles, identify a regular car, race car, a dump truck, a fire truck. Talk about the characteristics, such as the big wheels of a monster truck or the ladder on a fire truck. Show how the vehicles are the same (they all have wheels), and how they are different (trucks have a bed for carrying things).

There’s nothing like a great book to inspire hours of fun!

Ages: Up to 3
Hardcover: 18 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books (Releases July 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0547449275
ISBN-13: 978-0547449272

Book supplied by the publisher for review purposes.

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by Booktalking to see who is hosting each week.

This week’s round-up is at Booktalking.

Home in the Cave by Janet Halfmann

Janet Halfmann has been a popular author here at Wrapped In Foil. She has a new picture book out, Home in the Cave, illustrated by Shennen Bersani, published by Sylvan Dell. It fills the niche for young readers who prefer reading fiction, yet benefit from facts and details of nonfiction. The best part is the book comes with a free teaching activity guide (51 pages!), available for download at Sylvan Dell.

The story follows main character Baby Bat, who isn’t sure he wants to learn how to fly because it will mean leaving the safety of his cave. Through an accident, he meets Pluribus Packrat. Pluribus shows him all the amazing cave creatures that depend on bats for their existence. Will Baby Bat find the courage to fly out to find food outside the cave and keep the food web going?

Included in the back of the book is a section called “For Creative Minds.” It gives a lot more information about caves and the animals that live in them. There are quizzes, such as distinguishing living things from non-living. On the following two-page spread is a hands-on activity about bat echolocation, a compare and contrast activity looking at bats, birds and humans, and an open-ended discussion of whether bats are good or bad.

For staunch fans of fiction, Home in the Cave is a way to stretch their wings into stories with an informational slant. Backed by tons of educational materials, it has benefits for fans of nonfiction as well.

Related posts about Janet Halfmann’s books:

Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Sylvan Dell Publishing (February 10, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1607185229
ISBN-13: 978-1607185222

Electronic copy of the book was provided for review purposes.

A Dress for Me!

I have a confession to make:  I live in an all male household. Yes, even the cats are boys. Sometimes I really, really need a “girly-girl” fix. The new picture book A Dress for Me! by Sue Fliess and illustrated by Mike Laughead is a perfect anecdote to all the maleness that surrounds me.

If you remember the fast-paced romp Shoes For Me! you know what to expect when Hippo goes on a shopping adventure. Told in flawless rhyme, this time Hippo is search of a new dress for school.

“Should we shop now?”

I say “Yes!”

Mom says I can choose

a dress!

Sometimes shopping is not an easy task, however. There are so many choices. Will Hippo ever find the right one?

Hearing and reading rhyming text is so important for language development, and I love the vocabulary introduced in this book. A Dress for Me! is a perfect book for the budding fashion designer or shopping diva, but also for anyone that has faced a challenge and wasn’t sure they could overcome it.

Some fun things to do to accompany the book:

1. Design a dress or other doll clothing

Gather:

  • Dolls or action figures
  • scraps of cloth
  • ribbons, colorful yarn
  • lace
  • beads
  • chenille
  • scissors
  • glue
  • small safety pins (optional)
  • sewing supplies (optional)

Drape the scraps of cloth around the dolls to get ideas. Skirts can be simply tied about the waist like a sarong. Adding a belt of ribbon, yarn or lace can cinch on dresses or tops. Cut holes in cloth to create arm holes. Most children will need little guidance once they get the idea.

No sewing is really needed, but patterns are available free online if you want to extend the activity further.

Even the leftover scraps from the dining room drapes look great on a doll.

2. Come up with your own poem about a shopping trip, or another adventure.

3. Plan a special shopping trip with your favorite little shopper.

Have fun!

Hardcover: 24 pages
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Childrens Books (March 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0761461485
ISBN-13: 978-0761461487

Review based on an arc supplied by publisher,

Isabella: Girl on the Go

Have you discovered the Isabella picture books by Jennifer Fosberry and illustrated by Mike Litwin yet? There’s a new addition to the series coming out this month, Isabella: Girl on the Go.

Isabella is a purple-haired girl with an out-of-this-world imagination and boundless energy. In the course of a single day she takes a trip around the world and tries on different roles while never leaving her own back yard. During her adventure, she visits many famous places while “the father” helps add vocabulary and transitions from the Eiffel Tower to the Great Wall of China to Chichén Itza to the Statue of Liberty.

Mike Litwin’s equally imaginative illustrations add depth and humor. See how he creates an illustration step-by-step in this video. Fascinating!

In the back matter is a lovely synopsis of each of “the places that changed the world” that she visits with a small color photograph of the real structure, as well as a description of the jobs or roles she tries out. It is a great addition for discovering more when the questions start coming.

Isabella is going on a book tour starting next week. Check the Isabella:  Girl on the Go Tour for locations of events, a downloadable activity kit and a passport. If you are going to be in Arizona, you might want to catch Jennifer Fosberry at Changing Hands Bookstore’s Story Time Thursday March 1st, 2012 from 10:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m. Let me know if you are going, and maybe I’ll see you there.

Reading level: Ages 4 and up
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (February 21, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1402266480
ISBN-13: 978-1402266485

Book was provided by publisher for review purposes.