Children's Bookshelf
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Pop-Pop Smells Funny: but we love him anyway
By: J. R. Buchta
Guaranteed to get some laughs, this book is both endearing and hilarious 🤣 it takes us through the silly, stinky and lovable moments shared with Pop-Pop. It introduces Pop-Pop and how much his family loves him, even though sometimes he can smell funny. It celebrates the unconditional love between grandchildren and their quirky grandfathers. It brings us through a series of funny and smelly scenarios with Pop-Pop. Despite Pop-Pop’s different smells the message is clear… love for our family remains constant, no matter how imperfect someone may be. The simple concept and silly tone make it an easy choice for reading time. I read this with the kindergarten class and they were hysterically laughing. So we decided to read it with the first grade class, and they thought it was so funny they wanted to read it a second time over. I love silly books, sometimes they’re exactly what the doctor ordered.

Zoomer
By: Ned Young
It's morning and Zoomer’s father is trying to get all the pups ready for school. The twins are ready but Zoomer is far too busy doing awesome stuff. He’s making his father crazy all morning with his outrageous antics. Finally when his father is at his wit's end and demands an explanation... Why isn’t Zoomer getting ready for school?? That is the moment Zoomer points out that it’s Saturday 👏😂 I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. The illustrations are incredible and the story has such a fun twist!

From Park To Playa
By: Nell Cross Beckerman
This book is lovely ☺️ Inspired by a real trail in Los Angeles. The story is a happy reminder that we can still have an exciting day out, meet new friends and enjoy nature, even if we live in a big city. Follow along a journey through an urban trail that stretches from the heart of a city to the beach. The book follows families as they traverse a path winding through diverse neighborhoods, city parks, open hills, vibrant street parties, food trucks, and various urban landscapes, culminating in a bonfire at the beach under a Ferris wheel. The students really enjoyed this book. We talked about our own community and our version of a “Park to Playa”. The illustrations are wonderful and certainly bring the story to life. Also the last slide in this post has some back story from the author about the events that inspired this book 👍 Keep your eyes peeled for this one!!

The Glowing Rectangle
By: Katie Friedman
I love this topic!! Smart phones have completely changed society in many different ways. As parents and teachers we need to set an example of what healthy phone use looks like. This book is all about smart phones, what they do and also why sometimes it seems like adults are more interested in playing with their phones than with their children. It provides legitimate reasons why adults might be using their phones, like work for example. But also points out that phones can be addictive and over-use is a very real problem for a lot of people. Fortunately this book offers the reader a possible solution for families to balance phone a family time. A way to remind family members, that there’s a real world out there that also needs your love and attention. The story has a very sweet ending making it especially perfect for a bedtime read. It’s a really smart idea, the writing is great and the illustrations are very professional. All around fantastic book, go check it out!

Building Courage
By: George Neeb
Inspired by true events and guaranteed to warm your heart! About a family that has a property on the lake, while out there relaxing they decide to build a cabin the following year. With no prior experience in cabin-building, Jacob and his father set out to learn and face the challenge together. They did their research and when the time came they headed back to the property. It wasn’t easy, the location was remote but eventually they got all the materials to the site and began building. Throughout the summer, they encounter various obstacles, from heavy physical labor to frustration and self doubt at times. However, with each challenge, Jacob learns the value of perseverance, the importance of teamwork, and summons the courage to complete the project. The book clearly demonstrates to the reader that they built more than just a cabin… they built memories as a family, a stronger bond, and a wonderful place they all could enjoy for years to come. The author includes a personal note at the end of the book. (I’ve included it as the last slide in this post) It explains more about the real life cabin, adding a great deal of depth and authenticity to the story. I love the illustrations, it’s a very interesting style and suits the story perfectly. The story itself demonstrates some life lessons that I think are important for kids to be exposed to. One is about planning for success, I think it’s great to see how the father learned as much as he could about the project, planned it out, presented the plan to the family and then together the were able to successfully complete the project. This process is very important in life and is a repeatable formula for success. I also like how they had the courage to try something new and together as a family they were able to encourage each other through moments of frustration and ultimately maintain a positive attitude until the end. The father in this story demonstrated excellent leadership, allowing them to experience the satisfaction of completing a project and showed them how powerful teamwork and determination can be. Highly recommend adding this one to your collection!