Rajveer has been a book enthusiast since he was born. Very little exaggeration in that statement since he took to books almost instantly. From black and white books for newborns to a mix of picture and chapter books now, we owe our journey to this wonderful community!
Books and stories are an integral part of RVs day and I can vouch for the positive impact books have had in terms of making him think, tickling his imagination, making him aware of new concepts. dealing with big emotions, increasing his vocabulary, making him laugh and of course for being the best way for him to spend time at home, cafes, airplanes, hotels…. name it!!
Books are magical, they let us explore exciting new worlds, meet amazing characters and embark on thrilling adventures. Thus, when it came to choosing the theme for this year’s bingo, books about books seemed like our way of acknowledging and celebrating the joy of reading and all that it means to us.
They say, when we celebrate reading, we’re not just enjoying a great story, we’re diving into endless possibilities. Forever thankful to Asha and this warm community for shaping so many reading pathways and touching so many lives! Kudos and gratitude.
1) Franklin’s Flying Bookshop by Jen Campbell
We love this book and read it often. It’s this sweet tale of a stories-loving dragon who becomes friends with a stories-loving girl and together they want to share their love for books with everyone.
So friendship, adventure and love for reading, whats there not to love? 😊
The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and make you want to be onboard a moonlit and fireflies lit, magical flying library! Sigh!
2) Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre by Anika Aldamuy Denise
The book has gorgeous illustrations with an inspiring story about planting seeds of love for reading and stories and seeing this legacy taking on a life of its own.
There are references to Puerto Rico and Spanish words, which RV found fun to learn. It was engaging to google the pronunciation and meaning of the words I hadn’t heard, so as always, I got to learn new stuff as well 😊 The splattering of Spanish words also renders authenticity to this story about someone from Puerto Rico
It also sparked a few conversations about different cultures as well as reperesentation of this diversity in the stories we hear and books we read to ensure a richer and more inclusive outlook to the world.
The metaphor of “planting” something is beautifully supported by lovely plants and flowers through the story of making a difference and leaving behind a legacy for something you hold important.
3) The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers
We adore Oliver Jeffers and this book is no exception. It’s funny! In an exaggerated but effective way it drives home the point that books make you smart! Well spinach and books 😊.
The print and the pages of this book are quirky which match the quirky story.
As someone who was known to devour books I can quite relate to the metaphor of “eating books”. Rajveer found the story funny. Helped talk about artistic expression and exaggeration to drive home a message and not to take everything you read, literally 😊. I especially love the last page. You have to read the book to know why 😊
4 ) The Wolf who Fell out of a Book by Thierry Robberecht
A book falls from the shelf and a wolf slips out of the pages. Now, normally the Wolf is this stereotypical big, bad wolf, but out of his comfort zone i.e. out of his own book and with a large cat chasing it, this wolf is rather worried. Desperate to find a way back to some book where he could fit in. Will he find a good and safe fit? Read this book to know.
It’s an inventive, fairytale retelling or fractured storytale of sorts. It makes for a fun read.
5) Detective Dog by Julia Donaldson
There once was a dog with a keen sense of smell.
She was known far and wide as Detective Dog Nell.
This is a book about loving books, written by Julia Donaldson and has a dog in it!! What more can one ask for? 😊
When crisis strikes at school and all the books disappear, disaster or crime?
Read this book to find out how our book loving Nell will help solve this, one sniff at a time!
(My attempt at rhyming haha)
We love this book. It’s fun and has great illustrations, JD style rhyming scheme, talks about love for books with a dog in the lead trying to solve this whodunnit!! It is very engaging and drives home the point of how precious stories are, as well as doing the right thing!
This story that celebrates books, is a must have in your bibliophile’s library!
6) A Hero Called Wolf by Lucy Rowland
This is one of our favourites as well. A book about a wolf who loves to read and begins to realize that heroes are stereotypically depicted as good looking, strong and tough protagonists which he doesn’t think he matches up to. He also realizes wolves have been typecasted as villains and never as heroes and this leaves him a little sad. He then gets some very positive advice from his librarian about changing the narrative and write his own stories which he would like to read! Which makes the wolf wonder if he could ever he a hero.
The book depicts how some experiences which unfold make the wolf realize that true heroes need to be smart and kind and that trumps superficial beauty and strength!! A message we want all our children to internalize! And how in each of the incidents where the wolf saves the day, it was with the help of books/ love for reading! As the book says, this satchel of books wearing wolf, turns things around with his library card 🙂
The book in a beautiful and simple way explains the concept of stereotyping to kids and helps them understand the impact of it if one blindly believes them. Also an equally powerful advice about being the master of your own narrative and changing it if you are not happy with it.
The illustrations are fun, it’s got a fairytalish feel and a rhyming scheme, which all seem to work well together and make this one a truly enjoyable read!
7) Wanted! Ralfy Rabbit, Book Burglar by Emily MacKenzie
It’s a delightful and funny book which via Ralfy and Arthur demonstrate love for books but also that you can’t take what doesn’t belong to you. In a fun way it also leaves you with the message that if you really want something there’s always a right way to achieve it.
Some of the humor is for us older bookworms, with famous titles adapted to more bunny friendly verbiage on Ralfy’s lists eg The Catcher in the Vegetable Patch, Rabbit with the Dandelion Tattoo, The Hoppit, etc which made me smile for sure when I read through the book.
The book reminded me a little of Detective Dog but the style of writing and special brand of humor sets it apart and makes it enjoyable. This book will fuel your child’s imagination, make them laugh, learn a lesson and identity with Ralfy at some level if they happen to love books too!
P.S. Will be sure to get matching I Love Books Tshirts for RV and I soon!!
8) Missing Bookshop by Katie Clapham
This little girl called Milly loves attending story time with Mrs Minty at her local bookshop. Mrs Minty the store owner is an encyclopedia of books and knows the perfect story for everyone and every occasion!! (Ahem! Doesn’t this bit remind you of someone we all know? I am certain you know who I am referring to and we love her for being our encyclopedia!)
But the bookshop is getting older, just like Mrs Minty herself. And one day Milly sees her beloved store is closed with a note not mentioning when it would reopen with no explanation of why it’s shut. Minty is heartbroken and then decides to do something which has a ripple effect. Thus demonstrating the importance of expressing your feelings with even a seemingly small act when you truly love something and how that action can be contagious and encourage others to do the same!
The book has beautiful pictures and a heartwarming story. And of course it talks about the love for books, stories and storytellers who truly care about spreading the love for reading. Also about, how important books and storytellers can be to children who are readers and love stories!!
Our little bookworm really likes this one and we have already read it multiple times!!
P.S. If like us, you like Matilda, you may find a few references which will make you smile!!
9) The Bookworm by Debi Gliori
A fun book about a boy who wants a pet and his parents who are reluctant to get him one. He gets a worm who loves to read and the transformation the worm undergoes as he starts to grow!!
To my mind, it refers to as well as appeals to children’s vivid imagination. Also about being careful about what you wish for. It will also appeal to kids who love story time and especially those who want a pet!! The illustrations are great and it’s got a fun ending!
P.S. Given it’s a Debi Gliori book I’d expected a little more but all in all it’s a fun read which celebrates imagination!
10) No Buddy Like a Book by Allan Wolf
I absolutely concur with the title, there really is no Buddy like a Book!! It’s a book which celebrates the joy of reading and using your imagination to bring books to life!
“But Books are only smears of ink/ without the reader’s mind/ to give the letters meaning/ and to read between the lines.”
So time and again the book encourages kids to keep using their imagination and interpretations while reading to expand their experience and what they get out of each book!
The mixed media art and the book’s rhyming style appeals to kids. It also depicts a diverse cast of characters thus implicitly driving home diversity and inclusion as well.
“I visit any world I wish
and never leave my chair.
There is no buddy like a book
to make me feel I’m there.”
So true about books, isn’t it?
11) The Children Who Loved Books by Peter Carnavas
This is a story that touches your heart. It’s about a family that doesn’t have too many earthly possessions but they love to read. They have to give away all their books to make space and how things start to change for the worse when all their books are gone. And also how books once again bring the family back together, closer than ever before!
Love the message about books bringing people together as well as finding joy in little things and not materialistic pursuits. This resonates since I’m sure each one of us has stories of bonding over books with our children. Also how it’s so heartwarming to see them being read to by their grandparents/ teachers/ cousins, etc! And of course when booklovers meet fellow booklovers and bond over their shared love for reading! Thus books indeed bring people closer. And might I add this community where books brought all of us together! 🙂
12) Never Show A T-Rex A Book by Rashmi Sirdeshpande
This is a funny, colourfully illustrated book with a dinosaur and talks about the transformative power of reading in a unique, hilarious style!! Need I say more?
The book captures childlike imagination very well, has a cheerful feel to it and sure to make you laugh. If you are ready to go on an adventure with the cutest bespectacled, book loving dragon (love her red glasses) buy this book now!
13) Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
I am aware we were to ideally look for unique book options and I’ve most definitely raved about Library Lion in our past posts as well, but how could we make a listicle about books about books and miss mentioning one of our favorite books of all times!! That’d be blasphemy!
This one was an instant hit with RV, I remember. Maybe it’s something about following rules, or breaking them, or the magic of books and a library, or a gentle lion who melts the heart of a disciplinarian or maybe it’s all the above.
It has beautiful illustrations, text and characters and the whole book are all just so endearing. The charming, old world library depicted in the book inspired us to go on a library hunt in our city and we do that in every city we visit now!!
Rajveer still loves saying “No running” whenever someone is running in the house 🙂
The book also in a very charming way communicates sometimes it’s OK to bend/break rules if it’s for a good reason!
Library Lion is an absolute must have in your library!
[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]
