Coppernickel: The Invention

Enchanted Lion

Wouter van Reek

A friend sent me this book when I was having trouble coming up with gift ideas for my five year old.  He really enjoys arts and crafts, but gets frustrated while trying to come up with things to make.  I mentioned he needed a boost in the creative department and she said she knew just the right book to jump start his imagination.  Boy, was she right!

Coppernickel is delighted to discover his very favorite great big book of inventions has a blank page at the  back of the book.  Although his dog Tungsten wants to go outside and play, Coppernickel insists they must fill that last page with an invention of their own - something useful that has never been thought of before. Inspired by the other terrific inventions, he immediately starts doodling. He draws levers and pulleys, hooks and gears that will form the most amazing machine for picking high hanging elderberries.

Coppernickel's creation is so massive that it encroaches onto Tungsten's page,. Nudging it off, his faithful companion accidentally sets the machine in motion.  With a crunching and hissing of gears, Coppernickel is swiftly swept up into his own creation. This machine doesn't seem to realize that he's not a high hanging elderberry!  After he extricates himself, Coppernickel decides maybe a simpler approach would be better - which is exactly what Tungsten has drawn on his half of the paper.      

As soon as we finished this book, we went straight to the bin of markers and colored pencils to come up with a few inventions of our own.  My conclusion: if you are looking for some creative inspiration for your own children, seek the help of Coppernickel and Tungsten.  And most definitely watch the video below; the creator in our house liked it so much, we watched in three times.

Black Bear: North America's Bear

  

Boyds Mills Press

Steven R. Swinburne

Put very simply - bears are cool.  Bears in a zoo, however, are very boring.  I've never seen a bear in captivity do anything but roll up and sleep, so we're basically left staring at a big ball of fur.  Steven Swinburne takes a much more interesting approach, venturing out to locate active bears to photograph and study.  We'll have to content with living vicariously through his travels because I like to keep a safe distance between myself and animals this large and toothy.

I like that the four chapters in the book all offer different types of information on black bears.  Contrary to other non-fiction animal books, this one includes some first hand accounts of the author's adventures, instead of just giving us the straight facts to memorize. Of course, all the chapters include some terrific bear photographs.  Combine those with Stephen's interesting stories and you have a terrific book about bears.   

The first chapter is a personal recounting of the his first chance to cuddle with some live bear cubs.  Chapter two gives us a bit of a history lesson on how bears graduated from wild animals to tourist attraction in Yellowstone National Park. In the third chapter, the author visits Ben Kilham, a man who has been helping to raise abandoned bear cubs since 1993.  The final chapter finishes up the book with some great tips on the signs to look for to know if bears have been around.

If you have an interest in these fascinating animals, definitely give this one a shot. This book pulls double duty by being informative and interesting.  You learn the bare facts and get some great personal stories from the author - the best of both worlds. 
  
Review copy provided by Boyds Mills Press. 

Big Scary Monster

 

Candlewick Press

Thomas Docherty

I very much like the cover of this book. The title is in direct contradiction to the expression on the monster's face - with his plastered on enormous smile , he looks like the friendliest guy around. But then you wonder - what's with all the scared looking smaller animals clustered around by his feet? Is this a big scary blue monster or is he just misunderstood?

We find out rather quickly that this monster is deserving of the title ... at least according to all the small animals who live near him.  He gets his kicks by hiding quietly and then leaping out when they least expect it, yelling "Boo!" in his loudest voice. While this might be hilarious to him, the others do not share his sentiments.  Their solution is to start hiding - if he can't find them, no awful scaring.  

The animals become quite adept at hiding from the monster and he, in turn, becomes quite bored. Not only is there not anyone to scare, but there also isn't anyone to talk to. It is a lonely existence. Do you think the monster learns his lesson and ceases his scare tactics?  Nope. He looks down from the big mountain where he resides and notices many other small animals at the bottom. Fresh meat to scare! He heads down with a big smile on his face. 

As he tromps down the hill, those small things appear much larger as he approaches.  The plants and rocks are towering over him and the creatures aren't the least bit small! The monster is the tiniest thing around and never felt so small and scared in his entire life. His heart pounding, the monster crouches behind a large rock to catch his breath.  Suddenly, the "large rock" turns around and says "Boo!" Terrified, he beats a hasty retreat back to his corner of the world, 

Now that the monster knows what it feels like to be the hunted, will he make an effort to be nicer to the other animals?  A resounding YES! He has learned his lesson the hard way and he works diligently to become the big friendly monster instead.  This book is a fun way to teach your children how to put yourself in someone else's place to understand the havoc you are wreaking. Thanks, big blue monster! 

Review copy provided by Candlewick Press. 

Magic Scratchers

Chronicle Books

Danny Orleans; Illustrated by Yancey Labat

Need a little wow factor?  Introducing the perfect activity book for the car, a rainy day, or just to show your kids you can be a cool parent. This is a small book with a huge effect. The front covers boasts "You won't believe your eyes!" and it doesn't disappoint.  Grab yourself a coin and get ready to perform some single handed magic.

Each page supplies specific step by step directions. If you carefully follow these, you will be amazed to discover how accurately the book can predict your answers.  Are you thinking what the Great Scratchini is thinking?  See if he can predict which color crayon you will land on in Rainbow Vision.  Try your hand at unveiling which card is hiding under his sleeve in He's Got Your Number. Or give Scratch and Match a try to see if the Great Scratchini will reveal the number you are thinking of. 

Obviously, there is solid mathematical and scientific reasoning for these "tricks" to work. But instead of figuring out the why behind the magic, I'm just going to enjoy the book and believe in the power of the Great Scratchini. I'm amazed by his knowledge!  I'm thinking more kids will love this book as much as I do.  They will like the interactive aspect of scratching off (why is it that we all like to do that?) the silver bits to get to see if the correct answer will be revealed.  Plus, it's shiny and has cool illustrations. It's the perfect car trip accessory: fun for kids, quiet for parents. 




Review copy provided by Chronicle Books.

Windows With Birds

Boyds Mills Press

Karen Ritz

I was taken aback by just how much I loved this book. The only negative is that I think the front cover is a bit misleading, at isn't as great as the inside material and story. People who judge a book by the cover might very well miss out on a really great book, like I very nearly did.  But that's what they get for being book cover judgemental, right?  Nah, I always want to share the great books with as many people as possible.    
  

This is a very simple, lovely story about a cat who lived with a wonderful family in the perfect house. Their house had twenty-six stairs, twenty-nine hiding places, a mouse to bat around, and of course ... birds right outside the windows.  He also had a small boy who took very good care of him. For all these reasons, the cat was extremely happy in his home. 

One day the boy zipped the cat into his jacket and took him away from his stairs and clever hiding places and taunting birds.  They moved to a new home - this one was very high up inside a tall building, surrounded by many other similar buildings. The cat moped and shrunk behind the couch, refusing to come out to explore his new home. They boy tried everything he knew to get the cat to play, but the cat refused to be lured out from his lair. Cats are funny that way, aren't they?  I'll show you - I'd rather sit in this musty closet!

When night falls, the cat finally slips out and curls up into a ball on the bed next to the boy.  The next morning, he is surprised to discover there are birds outside these windows too! After some lively bird chasing through the rooms, he hunts down his dishes and starts to seek out new hiding places.  This house is different from the old one, but there are new and wonderful things to discover here, making this his new perfect home. 

The cat may think his home is perfect, but the real perfection here is the illustrations! Realistic, gorgeous - I may go as far as saying they are heartwarming. Along with a great story, they totally make this a completely wonderful book. Again, don't be put off by the cover.  Honestly, everything inside blows it away by a mile. 

Review copy provided by Boyds Mills Press.

Flanimals Pop-Up

Candlewick Press

Ricky Gervais

This is the fifth book in the Flanimals series created by Ricky Gervais in 2004.  I must really be out of the imaginary creature loop because I hadn't ever heard of them before. I'm certainly glad to have been made aware of their existence, as this is one  excellent pop up book!

The introduction to Flanimals from the author's own website:
"Flanimals were first sighted by Ricky Gervais a long time ago. He drew some rough sketches and made notes about their behavior. Then, Ricky asked his friend Rob Steen to draw them properly, anatomically correct and exactly as they appear in their natural habitat."

Still not sure? Flanimals are a collection of really strange creatures complete with crazy names, weird body structures and odd vulgarities. Translation: exactly the kind of thing that kids live for. They range from a bit icky, like the puddle of pink gooey Splunge, to the downright disgusting sweat glanded Mung Ungler.  The pop-ups are fabulous - six really large ones in the center of each page, with pull tabs and smaller paged booklets tucked neatly at the corners of each page. Outstanding!  

Both children and grown-ups alike will laugh themselves silly at the comic genius here.  And since it's nearly impossible to present photos from a pop up book, enjoy this delightful video from the author himself.  




Review copy provided by Candlewick Press.