I am posting this entry for #KBCBookBingoJr2022 on behalf of my 4.4 yrs old Hariprasath Mohanavannan.
I am really grateful to Asha ji and KBC for raising readers.
Last week, we went out and I told Hari to see how beautifully the sun was setting behind the mountain. Immediately, he said, “Amma, the sun looks like an orange ball, it plays hide and seek with us as the mountains are in the front”. I loved his response. The ability to express himself so well is all because of reading many books, and I’m happy to have raised an early reader.
1. A green colored book – You Can’t Call an Elephant in an Emergency by Patricia Cleveland-Peck and David Tazzyman
This is a fun-filled book with the animals in the rescue team and what it would be be like if animals are emergency crew members. The elephant is a fire crew member who tangles the water hose, the llama is a life guard who spits, the sloth is a traffic cop who sleeps all the day and many more. This book makes for a very funny read and my vehicle-lovers enjoy looking at the vehicles in it. The rhyming text and amazing illustrations make us want to read this book again and again.
2. A book with a Penguin character – Penguin by Polly Dunbar
This story is about Ben who received a Penguin as his present. He talks to Penguin but the penguin doesn’t talk back. He tickles but the penguin doesn’t laugh. He dances, makes fun of penguin but the penguin says nothing. He even sends it in the rocket and the penguin returned without a word. Then he meets a lion and wants to feed the penguin to it! The story is about how Ben makes the penguin talk.
3. A Tom Percival book – The Sea Saw
This story is about Sofia who loses her beloved bear at the beach. The bear was passed down from her grandfather to her mother and then to her, so it was really precious. She treats the bear as a friend, and is very attached to it. A sudden storm makes them lose the bear and go back home from the vacation without it. She searches for her bear all over the house and even goes back to the beach but the bear was nowhere. It was just the Sea looking at Sofia. The rest of the story is about how Sofia overcomes the loss of her bear. This story explains that if we love something then it wouldn’t be lost and be in our heart forever.
4. A book with siblings – Charlie and Lola: But Excuse Me That is My Book by Lauren Child
Charlie and Lola are going to the Library. Lola wants to get her favourite book, ‘Beetles, Bugs and Butterflies’ as she thinks that is the best book in the world. When she searches for it, she can’t find it and becomes upset. So Charlie helps her choose another book from a different genre and he explains that this is library so other people might have got the book you wanted. Will Lola like any other book, or keep insisting on her favourite book?
5. A book about school – Little Owl’s First Day by Debi Gliori
This is a story about Little Owl’s First Day at school. Little Owl wanted to stay with his mummy and baby owl. So mummy owl assures him that she will be coming to school to pick him up once the school gets over. In school, little Owl thinks of his mommy and baby owl but slowly he gets settled and starts enjoying his activities. This book is really great to introduce the concept of school to kids and to overcome separation anxiety.
6. A rib-tickling book – Richards Scarry’s Funniest Storybook Ever
This book contains many stories like ‘The Talking Bread’, ‘Absent-Minded Rabbit’, ‘Sergeant Murphy and the Banana Thief’ and so on. Richard Scarry’s illustrations are amazing as usual. This book definitely makes us laugh out loud each time we read it. The pictures speak a lot so the kids can understand the story just by looking at it.
7. A book by an Indian author – Thatha’s Pumpkin by Lalita Iyer
This book is about Tia’s Thatha who harvested some pumpkin, brinjal and tomatoes. The pumpkin is very big, so they decide to share it with their neighbours. Thatha wants to cook pumpkin halwa but realises that everything has been distributed and only a small piece is left. How will Thatha make the halwa now? This book conveys the message that it is nice to share and it also encourages little ones to engage in gardening.
8. An award-winning book – The Rumour by Anushka Ravishankar and Kanyika Kini (Winner of the 2013 South Asia Book Award)
In the Sahyadri mountains, there was a village called Baddbaddpur where they grew vegetables and fruits on their own. The people were happy. They had lot of time to talk so they would talk, talk and talk for a long time. It was impossible to keep a secret in the village. One day, the ill-tempered Pandurang wishes to keep a secret but he couldn’t keep it with him. He told his wife Gangubai that he coughed a feather and said “Don’t tell anyone”. Will she be able to keep the secret? Read the book to find out. This story explains how a secret is turned into rumour and spreads quickly.
9. A book with a female protagonist – The Hippopandamouse by Jools Bentley
This story is about Princess Flo who is excited to spend her pocket money to buy toys at Fluffley’s Fine Toys. Miss Fluffley, the owner and her team are busy to make the best toys for the Princess. Miss Fluffley checks each toy and sends the mistakes to the UNSTITCHER. She wanted everything to be perfect. But, a mistake does happen! What will happen next? Read the book to find out. This is a lovely book to get kids to look at things differently, and get them to understand that sometimes ‘Imperfection is perfect’!
10. A book that breaks gender stereotypes – Braving the Bullet written by Arthy Muthanna Singh & Mamta Nainy
This story is about Malala Yousafzai who was born in Pakistan where there were strict restrictions for girls. Taliban took over the valley and announced that no tv, no dancing, no music and NO SCHOOL FOR GIRLS. Malala ignored and went to school along with her friends. One day, Malala was shot three times but she didn’t die, and in fact went on to become the youngest ‘Nobel Peace Prize’ winner at the age of 17. When she was asked how she braved the bullet, she said
“We were scared, but our fear was not as strong as our courage”.
Malala sets an example for being brave, achieved what she aimed for and broke the gender stereotype of fighting against the Taliban.
11. A Scholastic book – An Acorn Book- Unicorn and Yeti #3: Friends Rock by Heather Ayris Burnell and Hazel Quintanilla
This book has three chapters – Up and Down, A Sparkly Rock and The Best. Yeti loves to play on the swings and he keeps swinging. Unicorn wants to take a turn but Yeti keeps swinging. How will they sort this out? This acorn book is easy for kids to read and it also explains the concept of sharing and friendship.
This book can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
ALL ACORN BOOKS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
12. A Zayn & Zoey book – Zayn & Zoey Visit The Chocolate Factory
Zayn and Zoey are visiting their Aunt Ana in Brazil. Their mom is a pilot and they decide to give her a chocolate cake for Mother’s Day. They start discussing how chocolate is made and how it was first discovered in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil. So all of them go to the chocolate factory to know the process of making chocolate. The fun facts at the end are extremely interesting.
ONLY KBC MEMBERS HAVE A SPECIAL COUPON CODE KBC15 which will give you 15% OFF when you order directly from the ZAYN AND ZOEY website. Simply click this link that takes you to the Zayn and Zoey shop on their website.
13. A non-fiction book/encyclopedia – Dreamland Dinosaurs WOW Children Encyclopedia in Augmented Reality
This book has information about Dinosaurs based on the period they lived in – the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. Each page has information on dinosaur food habits, facts like height, weight, length, how the skeleton looks and where they lived. The pictures are stunning and clear and at the end there is detailed information on how the dinosaurs went extinct.
14. A mystery/adventure book – Richard Scarry’s Great Big Mystery Book by Richard Scarry
This book has two long stories – The Supermarket Mystery and The Great Pie Robbery. Sam Cat and Dudley Pig are the greatest detectives in the Busytown. They both go to the spot, disguise themselves and find the thieves. Richard Scarry’s brilliant illustrations and sense of humour makes this book fun-filled and adventurous as well.
15. A book on space/solar system – The Astronaut Who Painted the Moon: The True Story of Alan Bean, written by Dean Robbins and illustrated by Sean Rubin
This story is about an astronaut Alan Bean who was a navy pilot and an artist as well. He is the fourth person to walk on the moon. Alan loved airplanes a lot since childhood so he went for navy flight training and admired how Earth looked from the cockpit, the white clouds above and the green lands below. So, he wished to paint his memories and joined an art class. He loved painting as paintings are brighter than reality. Then he went to the moon and planted the American flag there. Words weren’t enough for him to explain how moon looked, so he took so he painted the moon. The brilliant illustrations literally take us to the moon. This book encourages us to follow our passion and love what we do.
This book can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
16. A book on any festival – Festivals of India by Om Publications
This book is a collection of the festivals celebrated by the different religions in different regions of India. Each festival is explained with the story behind it including how it originated and where it is celebrated. The illustrations are very beautiful and the text is detailed.
17. A book about a place in India – Topi Rockets from Thumba: The Story behind India’s First Ever Rocket Launch, written by Menaka Raman
This book is about a place called Thumba in Kerala where nothing exciting happens except fishing until Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and the scientists came and said that India’s first-ever rocket launch is going to happen here. Mary, who is 9 yrs old, keeps questioning why Thumba is chosen for launching the rocket. If you too want to know why it was chosen, and also much more about rockets, do read the book. After reading this book, Hari asked, “When can we go to see the rocket launch?” This book is perfect for the young minds who love to explore the outside world.
18. A book that talks about food – Healthy Eating with Zayn & Zoey
This book is about Zayn and Zoey’s canteen day menu plan. Zayn and Zoey’s class comes up with a menu but Miss Tina says that it’s junk food so she tells them to prepare a different menu. The Chef helps the class understand the concepts of nutrition and balanced meals by showing them a food chart along with the nutrients in it. Will the class be able to come up with a healthy meal plan? Read the book to find out.
ONLY KBC MEMBERS HAVE A SPECIAL COUPON CODE KBC15 which will give you 15% OFF when you order directly from the ZAYN AND ZOEY website. Simply click this link that takes you to the Zayn and Zoey shop on their website.
19. A bilingual book – Let’s Do Yoga, Aao Karein Yoga by Coonoor Kripalani and Layla Mohamed
This book introduces yoga to the kids starting from Sun Salutation. There are different poses like lotus pose, tree pose, lion pose, cat pose, camel pose and so on. The pictures are illustrated based on the characters Seema and Karan who do all the poses. This makes it easy for the kids to understand the poses and follow it. This book is bilingual, explaining everything in English and Hindi.
This book can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
20. An inspiring book – It’s An Amazing Universe: A Story Inspired by Stephen Hawking (Little Leaders) , written by Mamta Nainy and Arthy Muthanna Singh
This book is about Stephen Hawking who was not like other children. He looked at things differently and was always wondering about the universe. He achieved his dreams despite suffering from a serious illness. This book is really inspiring and it conveys the fact that having a strong will power is important to succeed. Hari wants to read the ‘Stephen’ book many times!
21. A book by your favorite illustrator – Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins
This book is about Rosie, the Hen, who goes for a walk and is followed by a fox who keeps getting delayed due to many hurdles. The illustrations are fabulous and hilarious, so Hari keeps giggling throughout the book. The book has minimal text with mostly easy words like “over, under, through” and so on which encourages him to read on his own.
22. A book by your favorite author – You Choose by Nick Sharratt
This book is full of pictures with minimal words so through pictures many new words can be learnt. This makes the kids think and choose what they need, where they wish to go, what they wish to eat and who’s going to be the friend, where do they want to sleep. Whenever Hari reads, he comes and asks us, “Where do you want to go? What food do you want to eat? ” and so on.
23. A new author you were introduced to – The Cloudspotter by Tom McLaughlin
This book is about Franklin, The Cloudspotter who does not have many friends. His friends are actually clouds. He spends most of his time spotting clouds and adventures in the sky. He imagines and relates himself to the clouds. One day, The Scruffy Dog came and followed Franklin wherever he went. She even went in Cloudspotter’s imagination as well. What will happen next? Read the book to find out. This book conveys the importance of friendship and to think beyond the obvious.
24. A book that helped address an issue – Fright Night: I’m Not Afraid of the Dark by Helena Harastova and Jakub Cenkl
This book is about Tommy who is scared of the dark. Once the light is turned on, he sees the things around clearly and is not afraid. This book has a pull the tab feature along with the scenes in the garage, garden, street, grandma’s house, the woods and camping, where Tommy is assuming that there is a ghost! What does he see when the lights are turned on? This book is really helpful for Hari to overcome fear of the dark. Whenever he says it’s dark, he reminds himself ‘Fright Night’ and goes without fear.
This book can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
25. A book on potty humor – Pigeon Poop by Seema Chari and Aparajitha Vaasudev
This book is about two pigeons names Percy and Parvati. One winter morning, Percy and Parvati planned to go to a green window sill and have fun. Aunty S stood at the door and shooed them away so they both rushed to go out but Percy and Parvati pooped as they panicked! Then what happens….?
This book can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
26. An interactive book with an unconventional format – The Jolly Postman Or Other Peoples Letters by Janet & Allen Ahlberg
This book is about the Jolly Postman who delivers letters to the characters based on the stories like ‘Three Little Bears’ from Goldilocks who wrote a letter to apologise for eating baby’s porridge. Similarly, the book has other letters which looks like a real one having stamp, delivery date, address and the letter enclosed in an envelope. Hari loves to take out the letters and read them. The letters are written based on the stories, ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’, ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’, ‘Cinderella’, ‘The Little Red Riding Hood’ and ‘The Wicked Witch’. The address and the stamps are also based on the famous rhymes and characters. This book is really engaging as it relates so many stories.
27. A picture book with more than 40 pages – Take Away the A by Michaël Escoffier and Kris Di Giacomo
This book introduces the concept of how a word changes if we remove one letter from it. Each alphabet is illustrated beautifully with the story behind it. Few lines from the book,
Without the A, the BEAST is the BEST. Without the H, THREE climb a TREE.
The bold letters of each alphabet is easy for kids to read and see the difference and the illustrations are mind-blowing.
28. A hook book (by Duckbill) – My Daddy and the Well, written by Jerry Pinto and illustrated by Lavanya Naidu
This book is about a boy who narrates the story of his dad who lived in Goa. Daddy used to jump in the well daily to water the Moira bananas as those bananas are thirsty. Daddy and the boy went back to Goa. They had yummy mangoes. The boy helped to prepare ‘Jaggery and Red Rice Todal’. This brings back old memories of his dad. Now, the well is there, the pump is there but where had the bananas gone?
29. A book on being eco-friendly – The Magic School Bus Gets Recycled
This was our first Magic School Bus book and after this, we have bought many MSB books and we love this series. This story is about Ms. Frizzle and her students going to the recycling plant. Phoebe, one of the students, loses her necklace while sorting out the trash during the recycling drive held on the school. So Ms. Frizzle takes the students in the magic school bus and they follow the recycle truck to find the necklace.
This book can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
30. A book that was gifted to you – Mutthasi’s Missing Teeth, written by Mamta Nainy and illustrated by Debasish Sarma
This book is about Mutthasi who is very strong and can ride a bicycle fast, even climb on the ladder but her teeth are not strong. So she has false teeth! At night she takes them out and brushes them and keeps them in a bowl. One day, Mutthasi loses her teeth! Bela helps Mutthasi to find them everywhere! Will Mutthasi be able to get her false teeth back? It is a hilarious story, my kids giggle when we read
“Nof the real ones. I’ve lof my falf teef”.
[Note from Team Kids Book Café: For your convenience, affiliate links (MARKED IN PINK) to some of the book titles & images have been added to enable you to buy the books from AMAZON, should you wish to! A very small amount of money comes to kidsbookcafe.com when you purchase a book via the amazon affiliate link provided (at absolutely no extra cost to you!). Do let us know if you need information about other children’s books by writing to asha@kidsbookcafe.com.]
