Put Me in the Story personalized books

 

Put Me in the Story 

Put Me In The Story is a new personalized children’s book site offered by Sourcebooks. What makes these personalized books so different from the others already on the market is that these are some of bestselling and award-winning books from Sourcebooks. To be honest, most of the other personalized books I've seen have been pretty blah. 

Browse the selection here to see all titles offered. I love that they included some books we already own and absolutely love, My Dad, My Hero by Ethan Long.  My Name is Not Isabella and My Name is Not Alexander, would both make ideal personalized books. We chose More Bears by Kenn Nesbitt, as he is one of our favorite authors.

Ordering is pretty painless: choose your book, supply the child's name, inscription, and three photos. The best part is that you can't move forward until all the necessary information is complete. That makes it foolproof. And believe me, this fool tested it. I didn't realize you needed three photos and tried checking out after loading just one. Best of all, you can see a preview of the entire book online complete with your information, page by page. So before you press the order button, you feel confident about how the finished product will look.

Our book arrived less than a week later and it was perfect. The photo was clear, the inscription was correct, and the personalized book made the most amazing baby gift. The entire experience was nothing but positive, and I would absolutely order again from Put Me In the Story. Actually, we'll definitely order again - because I think these personalized books would make fantastic Christmas gifts.

Review copy provided by Sourcebooks.

Winner Bakes All: The Cupcake Club

Sourcebooks

Sheryl Berk and Carrie Berk

In this third installment of The Cupcake Club series, the mother and daughter writing team of Sheryl Berk and Carrie Berk focus on fifth grader, Sadie Harris. Sadie has a lot on her plate, and not just cupcakes!

Not only is Sadie failing math and trying to take the girls basketball team to the next level, she’s also worried that her parents are headed for divorce. On top of it all, she and her friends are vying for a spot on the hit show Battle of the Bakers. As a result of the struggling economy, their cupcake business has hit a snafu and orders are dwindling. PLC (Peace, Love, and Cupcakes) needs a boost, and winning TV’s ultimate cupcake competition is just the ticket.

In this fast-paced chapter book, we follow Sadie and her friends through the many highs and lows of being business owners. As if being an adolescent girl isn’t hard enough! As they support and learn from each other, they discover that it’s not all about winning. It’s about putting forth the effort and giving it your all.

This book is a sweet treat for middle school girls. As a mom, I would highly recommend it as a wholesome and heartwarming read. My first grader was drawn in by the cover art and title, and quite jealous that I was reading the book without her.

As the book closes, we are left feeling satisfied yet wanting more… and what better way to get more than to turn the page and find three delicious PLC cupcake recipes. But now I’m torn: Snowball Coconut, Golden Caramel, or Chocolate Chili? I may just have to bake them all.

Reviewed by Leslie. Review copy provided by Sourcebooks. 

The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes

 

Sourcebooks 

Gary Rubinstein and Mark Pett

Beatrice Bottomwell is famous in her town, though most people don't have any idea of her real name. She is known simply as "the Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes." Beatrice is ultra careful and methodical and quite enjoys her error free life. Still, solid perfection must be a lot of pressure for a little girl.

When Beatrice arrives at school each morning, she is perfectly put together, with her homework ready to turn in. She has won the Graysville talent show three years in a row with her juggling act, and feels quite confident about adding a fourth year to her name. Beatrice's little brother Carl is not famous, as his typical day includes a whole raft of mistakes. He eats his crayons (non-toxic!) and draws with his green beans.

On the morning of the talent show, something very unusual happens. Beatrice almost makes a mistake. While carrying four eggs from the refrigerator to the counter, she slips on a stray piece of rhubarb and .... airborne eggs! Scrambling, reaching, and grabbing - Beatrice manages to nab all four eggs safely to retain her title of the Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes. No shells were cracked, no yolks were spilled, and yet Beatrice can't help thinking of her close call. Could she make a mistake?  

That night at the talent show, Beatrice performs her usual juggling routine. Everyone expects her usual perfection. Instead, there is a mishap that results in the Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes standing on stage, soaking wet, covered in pepper, with a hamster flat on her head. This was her first mistake and it was a big one. Beatrice is shocked, the crowd is stunned.Then Beatrice starts to laugh - a mistake is not the end of the world.

I don't think any real attempt was made to disguise the obvious lesson, which is fine. Children need to learn to deal with failure. If they cannot grasp that concept, they will become paralyzed by fear, which will keeping them from trying new activities. After Beatrice's mistake, she starts living more carefree. Taking a page from Carl's book, she acts sillier and consequently has a lot more fun. Of course that is am important lesson for kids to learn. Who better to teach it than Beatrice Bottomwell and her hamster?   

Review copy provided by Sourcebooks.

The Ultimate Top Secret Guide to Taking Over the World

Sourcebooks

Kenn Nesbitt; Illustrations by Ethan Long

While you thought Kenn Nesbitt was innocently penning more kid-friendly poetry, he was actually hunched down in his underground lair, developing a secret plan for enterprising kids to take over the world. Cue maniacal laughter. His evil plan is conveniently broken down in just ten(ish) easy steps. Earnestly follow Kenn's directions, and you will find yourself rich beyond belief, leading a band of faithful minions, overseeing the world. Or just laughing in your chair. Definitely one of those two things.

Some of the steps are easier than others. There's a reason that Making a Name for Yourself, is step 2. If you can't figure out that Baroness von Crusher will demand more respect than Princess Sparkle Pony, you have not a prayer of Defeating Secret Agents (step 9). But don't worry! Step 1 is Becoming a Genius Overnight, so even if you are not the sharpest spoon in the drawer, it takes almost no effort at all to boost up to genius level. And what does that have to do with fitting a whole pickle in your nose or how much of your brain is made from fish fat? Exactly.


I don't know of a better way to describe this book except to say it imparts super duper valuable lessons that you cannot live another minute without learning. Haven't you always wondered how to make mutant monsters? Wouldn't it be incredibly handy to learn how to stop time? This is the key to learning how to string together the perfect evil catchphrase, letting loose with the perfect diabolical laugh, and creating your very own evil theme song. If you are a person who enjoys sarcasm, wit, and odd ideas - congratulations, you just hit the jackpot. This is the book, people!

Review copy provided by Sourcebooks.

Rocket Town

Sourcebooks

Bob Logan

This is an easy board book to like. It's bright and bold, plus sturdy to boot. Obviously, board books are aimed at the toddler set, and Bob Logan seems to know just what they like. Rockets!

Even though the words are few, I think there's a really cute story being told here. The first page shows a man and his trusty dog walking from their country style farmhouse towards a vintage yellow truck. The scene seems quite pretty vintage until I mention he's wearing a space suit and there's a large sign points down the road, emblazoned with words Rocket Town 17 miles.  

The whole town is a curious mix of yesteryear and the projected future. Big, old-fashioned streetlamps mark each corner, and striped awnings adorn the brick buildings.  And a giant rocket swoops through, with passengers riding much like they would in a train. Black iron gates surround the park, but the playground equipment inside consists of dozens of rockets! The burger joint looks just as old timey, but the waitresses wear jet powered footwear instead of roller skates.

It's so much fun to see where old fashioned and the future intersect in Bob Logan's mind. The school bus is the same yellow, but hovers five feet in the air. A used rocket shop looks very much like today's used car lots. It is there the man and his dog find a yellow rocket nearly identical to his vintage truck, and they take a very different sort of ride. 


I love the thought that went into this story. It's really neat to see an imaginative version of what the future will be like, incorporating many items which will probably be obsolete. I think it is not too often that you find a board book of this caliber. Very clever!   

Review copy provided by Sourcebooks. 

15 Minutes Outside

Sourcebooks 

Rebecca P. Cohen

After realizing she was not giving her family the rich experience of enjoying the great outdoors, Rebecca Cohen made an important resolution for herself and her family: to get outside for a few minutes every single day. On the surface, that seems like a pretty easy resolution, after all, it's only fifteen minutes. Until you to get to the Every. Single. Day. part of that resolution. That's a lot of cold, wet and snowy days, not to mention lazy mom days.     

When it comes to getting outside, I'm full of good intentions, and poor follow through. Warm, summer days are easy, but in the winter I am easily sidetracked by cups of coffee and board games spread out on the rug in front of the fire. It's just too easy to stay indoors and the minimal effort it takes to remain on the couch. But this book fights back by making it fun and easy to get your bums outdoors with a minimum of fuss or thought. 

I give Rebecca a lot of credit for sticking with her resolution and getting out there - and then writing this to give everyone else a hand! To help on harried days, she composed a list of fifty easy outdoor activities and posted it by their back door. The activities in this book are designed to be simple and low cost. You won't need fancy equipment or special clothing. I like that the book is divided into months of the year, with a weather appropriate outdoor suggestion for every single day in that month, for a total of 365 outdoor ideas. That organization makes it simple to pick up book, flip to the appropriate month and select an activity to try. Cool, huh?

But she doesn't just list thirty items in a boring column. Each one is a small paragraph explaining why the activity is worth doing or how her family had fun with it. For May, some of the suggestions are to invite birds into your garden with bird feeders, host an informal garden tea party, play kickball with the whole family, or check on your seedlings in the garden. One of my favorites was setting up a clear bag with dirt, worms and table scraps, then watching the compost break down. 

Of course, I thought some of her ideas were better than others, but that is to be expected in a book of this nature. Overall, I loved the concept, her enthusiasm and the outdoor activities she provided. We will be putting this book to good use - starting this month! 

Review copy provided by Sourcebooks. 

Dream Big Little Pig

Sourcebooks

Kristi Yamaguchi; Illustrated by Tim Bowers

Kristi Yamaguchi's personal motto is Always Dream and also serves as the name of her charitable foundation for children. She has always believed in the power of dreams. Naturally, this is the crux of her first children's book. From Kristi: I founded the Always Dream Foundation to inspire children to reach for the stars. Through Poppy, I hope to reach kids directly, helping to pass along our message of hope that you are only limited by how big you can dream! Like Poppy, I learned about adversity and the importance of perseverance. As the mother of two young girls, I’m hoping that Poppy will inspire kids to do the same. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Dream Big Little Pig will go to support the Always Dream Foundation and the early childhood literacy initiative.

Poppy is a pig with big dreams. And big pig dreams aren't what you might think - they have nothing to do with suey. Poppy wants to be a star, but she isn't quite sure how to get there. She gives ballet a shot, but she leans toward the clumsy and away from the graceful. Her voice isn't good enough to make it as a famous singer, and modeling is (literally) a flop. Despite the encouragement from her family, Poppy is feeling like she won't ever uncover her talent. 

And then our pig stumbles upon an ice rink, and immediately thinks it is the most beautiful sight she has ever seen. Although Poppy slips and slides all over the rink, she is determined to learn to skate properly. Poppy has found her passion! And every day the little pig improves until she is swirling and dipping all over the ice, just like a real skating star.

This is a cute book about learning to keep going when the going gets rough. The only negative are the three irritating catch phrases from Poppy's family that are repeated throughout the book. You can always just skip over those and hope your small listeners don't catch on. The message and cute illustrations far outweigh that little annoyance. Plus, the cover is pink and purple with tiny shimmery sparkles - a little girl's dream.

Review copy provided by Sourcebooks.

The Sea of Bath

Sourcebooks

Bob Logan

Clever and adorable, and nothing but good, clean fun. I had to say it, this being a bathtub tale and all! Might as well go all the way and also say it's a whale of a good time. Har, har. Thankfully the author doesn't give in to those cheesy tendencies and the result is a really smart and cute book. Bob Logan has worked as a story artist on feature animations such as Madagascar, Open Season, and my favorite, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Considering that impressive background, it should come as no surprise that his books would be as wonderful as this. 
 

The Captain is snoozing away on his boat, as evidenced by the snoring Z encapsulated in each soap bubble rising from his pipe. As water surrounds the S.S. Rubb A. Dubb, he snaps awake, eyes opened to perfect circles, a wary expression upon his face, as if he is familiar with this water ride. Afloat, the Captain navigates through a large group of ducks of the yellow rubber variety. He passes a deep sea diver and two brightly colored crocodiles. Experienced bathers will recognize the little hand cranks jutting off each body. 

The Captain passes by the strangest collection of sea travelers imaginable. An elephant wearing a sailor's cap floats along next to a tipsy, plum hippo, with brilliantly colored fish and sea creatures of all shapes and sizes bobbing along nearby. As raindrops pelt down and the waves start to rise, the Captain secures his cap and readies his craft for stiff weather. He encounters a several ships engaged in a battle - friendly water fire only, and considers racing a strange little boat named Soap. The Captain's voyage ends as it always does, the water mysteriously ebbs away and his ship is left on dry land.

I love how Logan took a mundane activity, put a spin on it and made it come alive. A large part of that I attribute to his charming illustrations. While it is an accurate portrayal of tub time for young kids, it just seems a heck of a lot more interesting from the Captain's point of view. I particularly like that it's just a mess of all kinds of toys, basically anything that will float, that gets chucked into the tub - just like at our house.

Bob Logan has a second book, titled Rocket Town, being released very soon! 

Review copy provided by Sourcebooks.

More Bears!

Sourcebooks

Kenn Nesbitt; Illustrations by Troy Cummings

When More Bears! showed up in our mailbox, I was a titch reluctant to open it because of how highly I rate Kenn Nesbitt's poetry books. What if his first crack at a picture book didn't measure up? Yeah, that was a complete waste of a good worry. Kenn is brilliant about knowing what children will like and being able to insert just the right amount of wackiness. It follows that his picture book is hilarious.

This is actually a story about an author who is in the process of writing a story. It's a lovely story and very specific about the fact that it does not contain a single bear; there are no bears and there will not be any bears. The author is working away on his bearless story, when he hears "More bears!!" called out several times. He is compelled to add one bear just so he can continue working, but that one bear will not stop the demands. More and more bears are added until the story is so full that bears are falling off the pages.   
 
So yes, the concept is funny.  Obviously the title of the book is also the catchphrase - repeated page after page. It's perfect, as kids catch on quickly and really get into it.  I can only imagine how popular this would be read aloud to a large group. But it is the bears themselves that had us laughing. Bears named Captain Picklehead, Bobcat Sam, and Excellent Steve. We cracked up every time a new bear entered the scene. Our personal favorite was the bear named Elbow, who wore his underpants on the outside of his pants.

Not to give away the ending, but my six year old asked "Will there be a sequel, called More Chickens!!?" I would love nothing more than to see Kenn and Troy collaborate again and give us more hilarious picture books!

Review copy provided by Sourcebooks.

Baby Baby Baby!

 

Sourcebooks 

Marilyn Janovitz

It's true that all a board book really needs to fulfill its purpose is durability. Be the book that can stand up to the rigors of a toddler and everyone loves you.  Every once in awhile, a board book will come along that catches my attention by going over and above my expectations. I particularly like this one because of the flowing rhyme. Reading this is as close to singing without actually singing. It's catchy and fun!

Like most great board books, this has a simple set up.  Everyone in the family, from Mommy all the way down to the family cat, has an activity they love to do with baby. Daddy's baby likes to dance, Grandma's baby likes to splash in the bath, and Puppy's little baby likes to crawl. The book has a nice little wind down where the baby does some hugging and snuggling and settles down for sleep. The verb is printed in triplicate, like in this excerpt:

Bitsy bouncy baby
On a bumpity lap
Mommy’s little baby likes to
CLAP
CLAP
CLAP!

The bright colors  (mom's red hair - wow!) are stimulating and the illustrations are pleasing - we particularly liked the perfectly round heads.  Clearly, this is a book for younger children, but my six year old has been reading it aloud for several days. He's hooked on the the rhymes and enjoys acting out the motions.  If an older kid has taken this much of a shine to it, I imagine younger children would be bowled over. The downside to this book - it's so freaking catchy that I can't get it out of my head! Daddy's little baby likes to dance, dance, dance!

Review copy provided by Sourcebooks. 

My Name is Not Isabella

Sourcebooks

Jennifer Fosberry; Illustrations by Mike Litwin

A fairy princess. A ballerina. Those are the answers I most often hear when little girls are asked what they want to be when they grow up.  Umm ... not too many openings for princesses in the real world, unless you want to work for Walt Disney.  Leave it to a physics major and retired engineer turned author to give us some much better options.

When this little girl wakes up one morning, she insists her mother is not to call her Isabella.  She is Sally Ride, the first woman astronaut in the United States to travel in outer space. After that, Isabella wants to try out becoming all sorts of different and yet equally amazing women.  She eats breakfast as brave Annie Oakley, rides the bus as the great activist Rosa Parks, and completes her homework as the brilliant scientist Marie Curie. This girl has a fine imagination, doesn't she?      

Isabella's mother doesn't bat an eye at the appearance of all these famous women, but just rolls with the punches.  She serves cookies to Marie Curie and asks Elizabeth Blackwell to help her set the table.  I would guess she is used to Isabella's grand imagination and likes to encourage her daughter to dream big.  It must be making a big impression on her daughter, because the last person Isabella takes on at the end of a long day is "Mommy, the greatest, sweetest mother who ever was."


What a wonderful book to showcase some important ladies of history.  Jennifer Fosberry was moved to create this story when she thought about the kinds of women she believed her daughter could be.  The last two pages provide more information about each woman, so readers can learn about their achievements. I love that this book is a departure from the typical pink and princess girl books.  Isabella sports a purple hair and wears wild-patterned eclectic ensembles.  More importantly, she also dreams big and believes in herself!

This is a cool trailer because instead of a page by page view of the book, this shows the progression of just one page of illustrations for the book: concept sketch, tweaking, addition of color, scan into photoshop, more additions and adjustments, etc.  Really neat!   



Review copy provided by Sourcebooks. 

Hailey Twitch is Not a Snitch

 

Sourcebooks 

Lauren Barnholdt;Illustrations by Suzanne Beaky

Hailey Twitch is a pretty average second grader. She enjoys school, except on the occasions when she is forced to interact with her arch enemy, Addie Jokobeck. She struggles a little with good behavior (what kid doesn't?) and argues occasionally with her older sister, Kaitlyn. There is one thing that isn't the least bit normal about Hailey - one tiny thing with sparkly yellow hair, light purple wings and big blue eyes.

While pouting in her room, Hailey discovers a miniature sprite named Ms. Maybelle Sinclair. She had been locked away in Hailey's dollhouse for being overly concerned with rules, otherwise known as a rule monger, which definitely is not sprite-like behavior. Sprites are supposed to be all about sparkles and fun - good times at all times. In order to have her magic restored, Maybelle will have to prove to the Department of Magic that she's capable of ignoring the rules and creating fun.

Hailey has just been assigned to partner with the despised Addie Jokobeck on a class project. Could Maybelle be the key to helping Hailey get away from Addie and assigned to a new partner? It turns out that Hailey is the only who can actually see or hear her little spritely friend, which results in a few sticky (and comical) situations. Unfortunately, Maybelle is so intent on proving that she can be fun that she's getting Hailey into trouble instead of helping her out! Along the way, Hailey starts to discover that maybe Addie isn't so bad after all ... and maybe having a sprite around isn't as great as she had imagined.  

I don't know that Lauren Barnholdt would appreciate the comparison, but I think her writing style here is similar to the Junie B. Jones series from Barbara Park. The sentence structure is short and a bit choppy, which is exactly how second graders tend to speak.  The big difference for me is the Junie books tend to use non-words, like "I runned right over there." which has always driven me crazy.

So, we have an interesting storyline with the addition of fun illustrations from Suzanne Beaky dotting the pages. There is a mythical flying creature, with sparkly hair and fairy wings, a little cattiness with girls being girls and best of all, the promise of magic! Overall, a very fun read. The book ends with a bit of uncertainty as to Maybelle's future - I hope that means there is a sequel in Hailey's future. Read an excerpt here from Lauren's site to see what you think.  She also has a funny blog that is worth checking out. 

Review copy provided by Sourcebooks. 

The Tighty Whitey Spider

 

Sourcebooks 

Kenn Nesbitt; Illustrated by Ethan Long

We are big fans of Kenn Nesbitt and his side-splitting poetry.  He's funny, ingenious, original and best of all, makes up his own darn rules.  Do you find poetry boring, maybe a little stuffy?  Do you hesitate to introduce poetry to your children because you aren't sure if they will embrace it? You really should give this poetry a try.

 Kenn's poetry doesn't focus on flowers or rainbows or running breathlessly through the rain.  He doesn't wax on about his feelings, nor do you have to study his poems to figure out the deeper meaning.  This book is full of poems about animals like ferrets, weasels and purple porpoises doing wacky things.  Sometimes you can just tell by reading the title that it's going to be good. For instance, you can't go wrong with Toby the Snowboarding Doberman.  It's inconceivable.

There's a paragraph on the rear cover (that's what we're calling it, right?) that explains how Kenn came up with his material. I can offer it to you to give you a real sense of what his humor is like, and not feel guilty about posting some poems that you should really buy the book to read. We are rule-followers here, after all.

"As a child, Kenn Nesbitt got lost during a field trip to the zoo and was raised by animals who taught him their secret ways.  He used that knowledge to create this book, every word of which is true. Really. Okay, not really. He just wanted to see if you would read the back cover." If that doesn't convince you of Kenn's hilarity, then take a peek at Kenn's site to read three poems, reprinted with his permission: My Kitten Won't Stop Talking, My Kiwi is the Captain, and I Have to Write a Poem. 

There are really only so many ways I can say that I think this guy is the key to get your kids interested in poetry. It worked at our house and it can work at yours. Oh! I totally forgot to mention that the book is peppered with illustrations from Ethan Long. Yeah, Ethan Long from Tickle the Duck - that Ethan Long. This book has it all: good writing, good pictures, talking kittens and flying pigs.    

Review copy provided by Sourcebooks. 

Kenn Nesbitt - Free Download!!

Here in Michigan, rapidly approaching April means we face the possibility of ditching our scarves in favor of umbrellas. I'm not saying it's a certainty, but at least we can start dreaming of naked necks. For warmer states, April means National Poetry Month!  The purpose of NPM is to introduce more readers to poetry by increasing awareness in the media. We have a few books up our sleeve to participate poetically, but this nugget is too good to sit on until then!

Kenn Nesbitt is one of our all-time favorite children's poets. He writes clever, side-splitting poems that kids  instantly relate to. Doing their part to generate interest for National Poetry Month, Sourcebooks is now offering My Hippo Has the Hiccups free online to all readers. Seriously, this is a fantastic offer that I strongly urge you to take advantage of.  Just click the link and the entire book is there for you to view online page by page, or to download for later.      
  

After being thoroughly wooed by his first book, we are delighted that Kenn has written a second book of poetry, The Tighty Whitey Spider, which will be released in April. Rumor has it that Kenn will be covering compelling subjects like Acrobatic Cats, Kung Fu Pets, and Chickens on Computers.  You know this one will be good! If you don't like poems about Acrobatic Cats, just move along.     

While we (not so patiently) wait for his new work, please check out the free version of My Hippo Has the Hiccups.  It's only available until the end of April, so get over there. Heck, email it to your friends and your kids' teachers and you'll get the credit for being an internet wizard who finds the good stuff.  Thanks, Sourcebooks!

The 13 Days of Halloween

Sourcebooks, Inc.
Carol Greene; Illustrated by Tim Raglin

Here's an easy way to get your kids in the mood for some tricks and treats - teach them this fun new Halloween song! Based on the Twelve Days of Christmas, with creepy new lyrics, this song is actually a combination of old and new.

I think having a good collection of holiday books is a great way to preserve memories with very little effort. We find great books and pack them away for most of the year. When the time rolls around to haul them out, the great times from years past come flooding back with the turn of each page. It's a great way to create your very own family traditions.

Just like the traditional Christmas song, this one features the excellent gifts received for the thirteen (because that number is always reserved for this holiday) days of Halloween. Of course, the very first gift is a vulture in a dead tree. If you think that's creepy, think of the alternative - a dead vulture in a tree. The illustrations on each page shows the building of the gifts, with the twelfth page stuffed full of spooky presents. We see giggling ghosts, fat toads, creeping spiders and oodles of goblins and wizards. The thirteen page has surprise in store for the readers, making them exercise their imaginations a bit.

Yup, the book is meant to be creepy and crawly, but it's also a great deal of fun. The illustrations are brightly colored and definitely not the terribly scary sort. I was glad to discover the overall silly nature translated to this being an entirely appropriate book for young children. We loved it this year and we'll keep on loving it for years to come!

My Hippo Has the Hiccups

Sourcebooks
Kenn Nesbitt; Illustrations by Ethan Long

That fact that this book comes packaged with a CD means it comes pre-packaged with instant appeal. Never has a poetry book been so wildly popular at our house. We have listened to this well over a dozen times, and there is no sign of waning interest. Author Ken Nesbitt makes his incredibly funny poems that much more enjoyable by personally reciting them in funny voices.

Poetry4kids.com is the most visited children's poetry website in the world for good reason. Ken Nesbitt is the master of hilarious poetry that children and adults alike will fall in love with. I think the key to the success of this poetry is how intentionally appealing he makes it to children. No, it's not flowery or mystical. It's good old fashioned kid style humor about burping, stinky sisters, annoying parents and making stuff up. Even better, he writes poems on ridiculous subjects with titles like Meat Loaf, I Taught My Cat to Clean My Room, I Bought a Pet Banana and My Elephant Thinks I'm Wonderful.

The book of poems is wonderfully entertaining to read, but they truly come to life when Kenn lends his voice. Listeners will enjoy thirty-nine poems on the CD that accompanies the book., which is ideal for children who are not yet able to read. But Ken doesn't just read the poems - he talks directly to his audience, cracking jokes and explaining how the poems came about. He also offers advice on how anyone can take the steps to become a poet.

This is a great book of poetry that will have kids giggling and hopefully finding out that poetry can be a lot of fun. The goal is to show children that writing poetry isn't as daunting of a task as they might think. Kenn shows us that poetry can be about absolutely anything and encourages everyone to give it a try.

For a limited time, order directly from Poetry4kids and get free shipping!

Mrs. Claus Explains It All

Elsbeth Claus (aka Christi Love)
Illustrations by David Wenzel
Sourcebooks, Inc.

Finally! A book that gives us the lowdown on Santa, the North Pole, his elves and reindeer. This tell-all comes directly from the big guy's number one assistant, Mrs. Claus, so you know it's the real deal! She's got the inside scoop on the layout of the North Pole Complex - including Command Central, the Underground Annex and Elf Village. She even lets us in on Santa's favorite cookie and his exercise rountine!

Mrs. Claus answers the most frequently asked questions received in letters from children each year. How can Santa get in if I don't have a chimney? Where do elves come from? What do reindeer eat? Readers learn all about the more interesting details about life at the North Pole - some of which have never been revealed before. As you page through, it is immediately obvious how much thought was put into each answer. The explanations are realistic, yet still very magical. They are also quite lengthy, which means the book would be equally interesting for older children as well as younger ones. Mrs. Claus does a wonderful job of giving just the right amount of information.

The illustrations are a perfect match for the writing. Beautiful, full color drawings show what the North Pole really looks like: a peek at Elsbeth baking in her kitchen, Santa's workshops, the elves' quarters and the reindeer stables. Each question is posted on a colored scrap of paper printed in a child's handwriting, followed by a thorough response and an inside look at the area in question. This combination of clever presentation, great explanation and beautiful illustrations make for an absolutely fabulous Christmas book.

The Adventurous Book of Outdoor Games

Scott Strother
Sourcebooks, Inc.

This is a great resource to get the kids outside and get them moving! Chapters are rated by activity level, which is pretty helpful. You can decide how much you feel like moving before you start selecting what to play. For each game, the following information is listed: Number of players, Age, Time Allotted, and Playing Field. At a glance, you can determine which games would be appropriate for your particular group.

Instructions are provided on over 130 games. For some of these, our group just needed a refresher course to remember how to play, many others we had never heard of. Several games seem too simplistic to have been included - such as Monkey in the Middle, Tug-of-War, and Follow the Leader. A few require the purchase of equipment that would typically include the necessary instruction - Bocce, Lawn Darts, and Jacks. However, the majority of the games were new to us or seemed as though they would be worthwhile to learn.

The set-up is very thorough for each game, detailing equipment, object, and how to play. The instructions are well written and nicely detailed, including comments on how to vary the games for more fun. We had no trouble understanding games we had no prior experience with. Overall, this would be a terrific tool for kids of any age group. This book obviously encourages outdoor play, but also promotes creative thinking and plain old exercise!

For a great gift, pair with . . .

Jump Rocket by Geospace. Simply jump on the air pump for maximum thrust and watch the soft foam rocket blast off, flying up to 150 feet in the air! Kids won't get tired of launching these high-flying rockets. The new patented Thrust Booster means better launches. Each flight seems more exciting and extreme than the one before. Includes Air Pump & Launch Pad, plus three Rockets. $11.50.