Author: Audrey Wood
Illustrator: Don Wood
Age Range: 4 – 8 years
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: The Blue Sky Press
Release Date: August 27, 2013

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

“It’s the most exciting day of the year, and the Birthday Queen knows exactly what to do to make your party the best ever! From decorating your home with balloons and streamers to baking your favorite cake, the Birthday Queen doesn’t forget a thing. Here comes your guests! Now it’s time to Celebrate.” Celebrate you shall! The Birthday Queen is engaging, inviting and fun! Audrey and Don Wood have another hit on their talented hands!

The illustrations are bold and bright and inviting. You are pulled into the Birthday Queen’s world from the first beautiful balloons. She invites you in to help celebrate a very special occasion. My daughter loves looking at the bright pages. I know this will be a book we will read together before and during getting ready for birthday parties and any other time that we are looking for a fun book!

Author: Kenn Nesbitt
Illustrator: Rebecca Elliott
Board book: 12 pages
Publisher: Cartwheel Books
Release Date: August 27, 2013

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

A snuggle, a hug, a kiss, a nuzzle. What wonderful ways to show you love someone. “Kiss, Kiss Good Night,” is a warm, loving, cuddle-inducing book. The animals in this book are all going to bed and before they fall asleep, their mothers each give them a sweet sign of love. There is nothing better than a mother’s love, especially at night. Kenn Nesbitt captures just what it means to love and be loved.

Rebecca Elliott is an incredible illustrator. She beautifully portrays a mother’s love with her adorable animal pictures. In every furry detail, there is a bit of love. This is a wonderful bedtime book. I can’t wait to read this to my daughter every night!

Author: Robert Dennis
Illustrator: Tammie Lyon
Age Range: 3 – 5 years
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Cartwheel Books
Release Date: August 27, 2013

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Run, run, try if you dare, try and catch this Gingerbread Bear! This is a childhood classic told in a new way starring a gingerbread bear. This story takes place in Woodlands National Park and lends itself to a very cute retelling of the story of the Gingerbread Man.

The illustrations are cute, the story is cute and the ending is cute. It’s an enjoyable ride through a national park. Maybe it will be a fun read while teaching about the great outdoors or before going on a camping trip. The repetition will help younger readers stay engaged and enjoying their reading time.

Author: Walter Rollins, Steve Nelson
Illustrator: Sam Williams
Age Range: 3 – 5 years
Hardcover: 16 pages
Publisher: Cartwheel Books
Release Date: September 24, 2013

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

From his corncob pipe and button nose, Frosty the Snowman has never looked better. Sam Williams knows exactly what Frosty the Snowman should look like! The cover of this book is so inviting, so warm, so friendly and so wintery-wonderlandy! It’s wonderful.

This book is the classic song broken up into sections and beautifully illustrated part by part. If you are a fan of the song or the cartoon, you will love this book. You and your loved ones will end up singing your way through this book, and that is the making of a beautiful holiday memory.
5 stars

Author: Mark Teague
Age Range: 2 – 4 years
Board book: 32 pages
Publisher: Cartwheel Books
Release Date: August 27, 2013

Our Score: 2 out of 5 stars

“Spend a hilarious day at the firehouse,” after reading this line from the official synopsis, I was expecting a hilarious book. “Firehouse!” isn’t hilarious. To be honest, it’s not even all that fun. The book is full of facts about what firefighters do in a firehouse, during a fire drill, and during a real emergency. This is a great resource to teach children about firefighters, but as far as entertainment goes, I’m just not sure this hits the nail on the head.

The illustrations are detailed-but in a book geared toward 2-4 year olds, the illustrations are too detailed and the font is not friendly. The story is about firefighting dogs. The dogs are classically cute but not cartoon enough to be alluring to young children. Maybe use this book in a theme unit where you’re teaching children the vocabulary for the firehouse, but I’m not sure this would just be a fun read for everyday purposes.

Author: Caroline Jayne Church
Board book: 10 pages
Publisher: Cartwheel Books
Release Date: August 27, 2013

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

A book called, “Giggle!” has to be fun! And it is! It’s a rhyming book with a button that when pressed, plays an infectious giggle. My 16-month old daughter loves pushing the button and just laughs along with it. We laugh along with her, as our daughter laughs.

This is a great book to help teach cause and effect, a button that giggles is so very rewarding! “Giggle!” shows how much fun rhyming can be. The illustrations are absolutely adorable! Go out and buy this book and enjoy it with your little one.

Author: Andy Pritchett
Age Range: 3 – 7 years
Grade Level: Preschool – 2
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Candlewick
Release Date: August 6, 2013

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

Every since my daughter was able to form words, she knows what a doggie is and that it goes “Woof! Woof!” Dogs are such a great topic kids books and this one is no different. “Stick!” is a cute story about Puppy who loves his new stick but he needs someone to play with. The story is simple, as is the animation, yet it is a rather fun and exciting.

Official Premise: Puppy is thrilled when he discovers a stick just waiting to be tossed and chased. But Cow is more interested in grass, and Chicken is more interested in a worm. In fact, all of Puppy’s friends are busy doing something besides playing with a stick. Poor Puppy! Finally, another equally enthusiastic canine comes along, and the rousing game of fetch that ensues is enough to inspire the entire barnyard to give the stick a chance.

Andy Pritchett’s illustrations have a certain comic book feel to it, which I rather enjoyed. What I did enjoy is that just besides the dog there is an additional animal cast, which is great for kids learning who different animals.  All-in-all for a book that is only six-word long, it is still able to tell a fun story of friendship and will keep your attention throughout.

Author: Nosy Crow
Illustrator: Marion Billet
Series: Noodle
Board book: 10 pages
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Release Date: August 6, 2013

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

I absolutely LOVE the Noodle series! I was lucky enough to receive one of them over a year ago and since then they have become one of my favorite series for my daughter, who is no 16 months old. She loves reading us them to her since she was 2-3 months and now she reads them all on her own, which blows my mind. This latest book follows Noodle visiting the park and playing on the swing and watches the birds and the bees.

Official Premise: Noodle loves to go for a walk in the park to see the animals and flowers. He also loves to play at the playground! Another lovely, sturdy, interactive Noodle story that will delight the youngest of readers. These tactile tales with satisfying and simple rhymes are loved by babies, toddlers, and their parents, and boost language learning skills.

Like the past books into the series, it is a touch-and-feel board book. Marion Billet’s illustrations are impressive as always. So fresh and colorful! This series is so creative and simple yet still very entertaining. I am waiting for Nosy Crow to come out with a plush doll for Noodle because my daughter would go crazy for it….hint hint! I can’t wait to see what they have planned next for Noodle and his adventures.

Author: Chris Butterworth
Illustrator: Kate Nelms
Age Range: 5 – 9 years
Grade Level: Kindergarten – 4
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Candlewick
Release Date: August 6, 2013

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Having a 16 month old daughter, my wife and I have had no shortage of visiting aquariums and amusement parks like Sea World.  Due to this, our daughter has developed quite a love for aquatic life including seals. They are super cute and smart. When I heard about the book “See What a Seal Can Do”, I knew my daughter would love it. It is a fun and very engaging book which follows a gray seal on a journey from sand to sea. The book is an easy read and has become a frequent read for my daughter each day.

Official Premise: On the shore, a seal looks like a slow, dozy creature that spends its time lazing around or flumping along the sand. But underwater, it’s a different story. Splash! Seal dives deep, with a body just the right shape to shoot through the water and power down with his back flippers. He slips through a seaweed forest, and — sensing a predator nearby — dives even deeper to stay safe. Finally it’s time to make a sudden twist and turn to catch his fishy dinner.

In terms of the illustrations, the book delivers and is quite impressive. The underwater pages look great and the colors are very warm. From the front cover in fact, the whole book is very welcoming. It screams, let’s go have some fun and that is just what the book succeeds in doing. Besides the illustration, the text is a interesting mix of narrative sprinkled with facts making it interesting for both kids and adults.

Author: Nosy Crow
Illustrator: Axel Scheffler
Age Range: 2 – 5 years
Series: Pip and Posy
Board book: 24 pages
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Release Date: August 6, 2013

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Having a young daughter, has really opened up my world to tons of great books from Nosy Crow. They release some of the best books for kids birth to pre-school. The “Pip and Posy” series is a fun series. “The Super Scooter” is my first exposure to this series and I Aam sure not the last.

My daughter really enjoyed this and kept yelling out “Hop Hop!” at the turn of every page. The official premise of this installment focuses on Pip playing happily with his scooter in the park when Posy comes along and decides that she wants to have a turn. But she doesn’t know how to ride a scooter, and Pip has to come to the rescue.

The story is sweet and has a good message. I am not sure my 16 month told would get it yet but overtime she will and be able to take away a lot from this story. The illustrations are nice, I am not 100% in love with them but they are cute, especially the bunnies. No question overall, they will be sure to entertain the kids that are reading them and keep their interests.

Author: Juan Ortiz
Hardcover: 112 pages
Publisher: Titan Books
Release Date: September 3, 2013

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

Who is Juan Ortiz? Juan Ortiz is an illustrator/designer for Disney and Warner Bros. and also a hardcore Trekkie. He had created artwork for each of the episodes from the “Star Trek: The Original Series”. The style of the work was nothing like anything fans have ever seen before and really represented a unique vision. Being a huge fan of “Star Trek” and of alternate poster art, I was immediately drawn to this book.

The first thing I honestly wanted to do with these posters was to rip them out and hang up each one on my wall, they are really that amazing. The book is comes in a large format ranking in at  14.4 x 10.3 x 0.7 inches, which is much bigger than the typical art book. The paper stock is solid and very study. The colors are gorgeous and very rish as well. I have to admit though this is expected since the amazing Titan Books is behind this release. They put so much love into there books.

Official Premise: What if every Star Trek: The Original Series episode was a movie event? What would the movie poster look like? This was the inspiration to develop a one-of-a-kind set of images for the series that launched a franchise. Artist Juan Ortiz has created unique retro-style art with the look of a 60s movie poster, comic book, pulp novel cover or advertisement, one each for all 80 episodes.

Before we get to the posters themselves there is a nice background on Juan Ortiz. The posters are each scaled to around 11×17 inches and are broken up by each of the three seasons, including the unaired pilot “The Cage”. When you reach the end of the book, the fun doesn’t end since there is a brief description of each episode and where Juan got his inspiration for each poster. If you are a hardcore fan of “Star Trek”, I cannot stress how amazing this book is and is a must have!

Author/Illustrator: Aaron Becker
Age Range: 4 – 8 years
Grade Level: Preschool – 3
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Candlewick
Release Date: August 6, 2013

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

Kids have the best imaginations. I remember when I was a kid, I used to dream up the craziest stuff and wish that it would all come true. I would give anything to be back in that world. When I saw “Journey”, I felt that connection. “Journey” is a wordless picture book about self-determination and unexpected friendship. I wasn’t blown away by the illustrations but I enjoy the encouragement for kids to follow their own adventures.

Official Premise: A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. Red marker in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon, and a flying carpet that carry her on a spectacular journey toward an uncertain destiny. When she is captured by a sinister emperor, only an act of tremendous courage and kindness can set her free. Can it also lead her home and to her heart’s desire?

I thought the line work and colors usage was interesting, I wasn’t completely in love with it but it did sort of draw me in. This book was inspired by Author/Illustrator Aaron Becker’s own traveling to various places including Kenya, Japan, Sweden, and Tahiti, which fed his imagination for “Journey”. This was his first book and I am curious to see what he is going to come up with next.

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Author/Illustrator: David Ezra Stein
Age Range: 2 – 5 years
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Candlewick
Release Date: August 6, 2013

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

When I was a kid, I was in love with anything dinosaurs. I couldn’t get enough. It was also around the time when “Jurassic Park” was released which made my addiction even easier to feed. “Dinosaur Kisses” follows an energetic young dinosaur figures out her own way to give a kiss in the latest from the creator of the Caldecott Honor–winning Interrupting Chicken.

Official Premise: For newly hatched dinosaur Dinah, the world is an exciting place. There is so much to see and do. She tries this — STOMP! And she tries that — CHOMP! Then she sees a kiss and knows just what she wants to try next. Who can she kiss? And after a few disastrous attempts, can she figure out how to give someone a kiss without whomping, chomping, or stomping them first?

I think the audience for this book is a little older than my 16 month old daughter but I am sure that this funny new picture book from David Ezra Stein would entertain kids with no issue at all. The animation is fun and the colors are very warm and welcoming. Personally, you really can’t go wrong with a good picture book if you have great animation. I think that also both boys and girls will enjoy this despite the fan that Dinah is a female dinosaur.

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Author/Illustrator: Petr Horacek
Age Range: 3 – 7 years
Grade Level: Preschool – 2
Hardcover: 20 pages
Publisher: Candlewick
Release Date: August 6, 2013

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

What kid doesn’t love animals? My daughter is only 16 months yet she can name at least two dozen animals and on top of that give the sound that each of them makes. This book contrasts 20 different animals with the use of flaps, pop-ups, and turn the page design. Kids can find out the opposite side of these animals all shapes and sizes.

Ranging from a slow snail to fast cheetah, a heavy hippo to light butterfly, a smooth frog to prickly porcupine, those are just some of the examples given to teach contrast to kids. Author Petr Horácek also did the illustration to this brightly colored pop-up book and it makes this book a real visual treat. It also makes it very interactive as well with the flaps, pop-ups etc. I recommend this for not only fun but also learning value.

Author/Illutrator: Tim Burton
Age Range: 6 – 8 years
Grade Level: 1 – 3
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Disney Press; 20 Anv edition
Release Date: August 6, 2013

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is one of my favorite films of all-time. I watch it over and over and never get tired.  Whenever August/September rolls around, I get the major itch to start watching it to get ready for the holiday seasons, including Halloween and Christmas.  I love the fact that it crosses over the holidays since just creates this new genre for itself. This book was released for the film’s 20th anniversary last month, yes I can’t believe either its been 20 years. I remember the first time I saw this film and was simply blown away. Tim Burton has such a unique perspective in this film and really set the scale for future stop-motion animated films. A must have for any fan of the film.

Official Premise: In this beloved picture book that could only come from the visionary mind of author and illustrator Tim Burton, we meet Jack Skellington– a well-intentioned inhabitant of Halloweenland. Jack is bored of “the scaring, the terror, the fright….tired of being something that goes bump in the night”. And so, in an effort to bring to joy to his town, Jack kidnaps Santa and takes his place as the jolly old elf. But instead of bringing joy to the world Jack, who is a little more than a grinning skeleton, brings fear by delivering creepy toys and riding a sleigh carried by skeletal reindeer. Only through a number of things going horribly wrong does Jack learn the true meaning of Christmas.

This 20th Anniversary Edition isn’t just a cash-in from Disney. It contains some updated illustrations from Tim Burton himself, including a new intro. you can tell that this project was such a labor of love for him and still is since he comments that he loved revisiting it. Now when it comes to the artwork in the book, which I loved but I am also a 31 year old man. For kids, it might be a little creepy but then again so is the film. I do not think that I will be sharing this with my 15 month old daughter…just yet but I look forward to introducing to her down the line. The words just rhyme so well and I really have a blast revisiting this timeless classic. Even though it is has been 20 years, I see myself revisiting this book and film, like Burton, for many many years to come!