Everything Goes...Brian Biggs

In April, I did a review of Brian Biggs' Everything Goes On Land.  I likened Biggs to a modern day Richard Scarry.  And similar to Scarry, Biggs has expanded formats for his Everything Goes series.  In addition to the oversized picture books, you can now get the great images and work of Brian Biggs in a board book format for the toddler set.  There are also several I Can Read books that are based on Biggs' Everything Goes. 

If you are looking for gifts this holiday season for young readers with a penchant for books that feature vehicles and various forms of transportation, here you go.      

Everything Goes - Stop! Go!
Balzer & Bray/Harper Collins (December 26, 2012) - Ages: 2 to 4 years
Format: Board Book

Everything Goes - 1, 2, 3 Beep, Beep, Beep!
Balzer & Bray/Harper Collins (December 12, 2012) - Ages: 2 to 4 years
Format: Board Books

 

Everything Goes Henry Goes Skating
Balzer & Bray/Harper Collins (August 21, 2012)
Format: Early Reader
Author: B.B. Bourne (Based on the Everything Goes Books by Brian Biggs)
Illustrator: Simon Abbott (in the style of Brian Biggs)
Independent Reading Level: 1st & 2nd Grade
Read Aloud Level: Kinder to 2nd grade

 

Everything Goes In the Air
Balzer & Bray/Harper Collins (September 11, 2012) - Ages: 4 to 7 years old
Format: Oversized Picture Book

Official trailers of Everything Goes In the Air:


Everything Goes: In the Air (animated trailer) from Brian Biggs on Vimeo.

Look for books by Brian Biggs at your local library or bookstore.  Don't forget to shop at an Independent Bookstore when possible.

Thank you to Harper Collins for sharing these books with me.  I can't wait to share them with teachers and librarians that I work with, and I know a few beginning readers who are going to particularly enjoy the Early Reader series.

For more information about Brian Biggs:  website | blog | twitter | facebook | etsy | vimeo

Book Review: Everything Goes On Land

Author/Illustrator: Brian Biggs
Publisher:  Balzer & Bray/Harper Collins (September 13, 2011)
Source: Copy for Review
Audience: Ages 4 to 7
Fiction * Interactive Concept Book * Vehicles

Description from Publisher:
Cars and trucks and bikes and trains! Rvs and construction vehicles too! Everything goes Ride along with Henry and his dad as they visit the big city and check out all the amazing vehicles around them. Full of mini-story lines, endless seek-and-find activities, and hundreds of funny details, Everything Goes: On Land is an interactive book that provides hours of fun!

My thoughts on the book:
Some books make excellent read alouds. Other books are perfect for curling up in a chair and reading alone or with 1 or 2 friends.  Everything Goes: On Land is the later.  Even though the book is oversized and there are lots of larger illustrations, there is just so much wonderful details that children are going to want to linger over this one.  I can see an older child sitting with a younger child, heads bent over the book, finding numbers, or examining the various vehicles.

When I first sat with this book, my brain immediately thought back to the old Richard Scarry books, and when I looked at Brian Biggs' website, I noticed that he was a fan of them as well.  If you can improve on Scarry's work, then Biggs has done it.  I loved that the two page spreads with lots of detail were broken up with two page spreads on a particular mode of transportation.  For example, you will have a two page spread with lots of different kinds of bicycles followed by a two page spread with an individual bike and labels for all of the parts of the bicycle.  And there is a fun surprise towards the end. 

This will be a hit with preschool and primary grade students but I do expect to find older children pulling this one off the shelf.

Check out the book trailer:



For more information about author Brian Biggs, click here to go to his website.
Follow him on twitter: @mrbiggsdotcom
Like his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brian-Biggs-Illustration/257196412600 

Book Review: What Little Boys Are Made Of

Author/Illustrator: Robert Neubecker
Publisher: Balzer & Bray/Harper Collins (March 27, 2012)
Source:  Copy for Review
Audience:  Ages 4 to 7
Fiction * Imagination * Stories in Rhyme

Description from Publisher:

What are little boys made of? Moons and stars and rockets to Mars Wings and tails and dragons with scales Little boys are . . . as adventuresome and bold and heroic as they imagine they can be! Celebrate the exuberance of little boys in this playful spin on a classic nursery rhyme. 

My thoughts on the book:
Take one classic nursery rhyme, add some new verses, and stir in bright, imaginative illustrations and you have Neubecker's version of What Little Boys Are Made Of.

Though the text begins like the original version, Neubecker has added his own twist.

"What are little boys made of?
Moons and stars and rockets to Mars,
Blast and boom and uppity zoom!
That's what little boys are made of."

Accompanying Neubecker's words are two - two page spreads. The first spread shows a little boy playing in his room with a toy rocket and toy figurines.  Flip over the page and the reader sees what the child is imagining - in this case a ride into outer space in a spaceship.  The book follows in the manner showing first the playful antics of a child acting out his dress-up fun and then the scene from his imagination.  Neubecker ties it all together with the young boy in his mother's lap reading a dinosaur book.

This is one of those books that can be used as a read aloud, but will likely find a special audience between parent and child.  

For more information about author/illustrator, Robert Neubecker, click here to check out his blog. 

Book Review: Peepsqueak

Author/Illustrator:  Leslie Ann Clark
Publisher:  Harper Collins (January 24, 2012)
Source:  Copy for Review
Audience:  Preschool
Farm Animals * Fiction 

Description from  the Publisher:

As soon as little Peepsqueak bursts out of his shell, he is on the move!
He is determined to fly--high, High, High But is he too little to reach the sky?
Young children will love this debut from author-illustrator Leslie Ann Clark about Peepsqueak, a lively little chick who doesn't give up, no matter what.

My thoughts on the book:
When I read this book, it made me smile.  My favorite line was the repetitive line "He was on the move!"  And Peepsqueak was certainly on the move.  As someone who has worked with young children, this was one chick that reminded me of so many of the small children I knew.  They are up and down and all around just like this little chick.

Peepsqueak wants to fly and he isn't listening to the other farm animals.  He is determined and all attempts just make him try harder.  Finally, thanks to the help of an old gray goose, Peepsqueak just might find a way.  Of course, Peepsqueak doesn't stop there.

Peepsqueak works well as a read aloud.  The repetitive language and colorful illustrations will engage the younger audiences.  Before the end of the first read through, young children will be joining in with words like "up, up, up" and "down, down, down".

For primary classrooms that do units on chicks and hatching chicks, this would make for a fun tie-in.

Check out the book trailer:



For more information about Leslie Ann Clark, click here to go to her website.

Thank you Katherine Applegate

Last Wednesday, we had a special visitor in our Literacy Café, author Katherine Applegate.

 Five special readers were lucky enough to have lunch with Katherine where she shared with them about her first rejection letter, what kinds of notes her editor writes on her manuscripts, and all the books that she has written.  She also brought them each a stuffed silverback Gorilla with a special T-shirt that said "The One and Only Ivan".

After lunch, about 18 students from grades 1 to 5 had the opportunity to come into the Literacy Café for a special writer's workshop.

Katherine shared about her research for The One and Only Ivan.  And she told them all about how she creates her characters, and figures out the setting and the plot.  I loved that she referred to the plot as a "what if..." as in "What if your principal turned into a cat?"

Students had an opportunity to create some of their own characters, and figure out where their story would take place, and decide on their "what if's".  While they were doing this, Katherine came around and chatted with them.

I know that if I had been 10 years old and having lunch with Katherine Applegate or having her give me feedback on my story idea that I would be in some kind of book heaven.  Hey, I am way older than 10 and I was in some kind of book heaven as I watched the students enjoying their time with our very special visitor.

Katherine is truly wonderful and we love Ivan over at my school.  We are also thankful to Kris and Maureen from Once Upon a Time for helping to arrange for the visit and for providing volunteer help and ordering all of the books.  You ladies rock!

Check out the animoto of Katherine's visit and don't forget to order of copy of The One and Only Ivan from your local Independent Bookstore.