February is all about Valentine’s Day, right? Well at kbc it’s the perfect month to fall in love with books! Here’s our curation for the month based on recommendations shared by our kbc members!
Is it a book? Is it a car? It’s Flash in his new hot wheels!!
Check out what the super interesting CONVERTIBLE RACE CAR (Miles Kelly) that Adu was gifted on his birthday – too cool to be true right? Check out the pictures here shared by Achira in the kbc facebook group. Quoting her:
This is not just a book but a convertible one!
Adu got this as a birthday gift from one of his closest friends. And oh what fun it is to see this book fold out and turn into a race car. Yes yes it is a lovely foldout book with a cute little story about a racing day. And what fun it was to race our cars on the track and to quickly turn it into a racing car and get inside it.
These kind of engaging books can make reading so much fun!
There is a whole series called CONVERTIBLES by Miles Kelly Others include:
FIRE ENGINE (CONVERTIBLE)
Convertible Bulldozer
Convertible Police Car
Convertible Pirate Ship
CONVERTIBE 4WD (CONVERTIBLE)
Convertable Spaceship (Convertibles)
Convertible Submarine
Convertible Dinosaur
Convertible Princess Carriage
Convertible: Pink Car
The Hundred Decker Rocket inside pages have been shared by Amardeep here in the fb group. In her words:
Are you ready to go on a trip to space, in a rocket built by you, meet aliens, and learn about the importance of keeping planets and space clean? Oh, and along the way you can have the most awesome search and find game on a hundred decker rocket!! The four page fold out of a hundred decker rocket is AMAZING- your child will spend hours looking at the details (mine keeps trying to find all the washrooms in there!)
The Hundred Decker Bus is another book in the series! Asha just ordered it!
The Perfect Hug, The Biggest Kiss Authors : Joanna Walsh and Judi Abbot. Aditi has shared inside pages in the fb group. Excerpts from her post:
In the Perfect Hug, a little panda goes about trying to find the perfect hug. He tries all kinds of hugs, big amd small, ones with arms and without arms and then finally finds the perfect one!!
In The Biggest Kiss, a little penguin is out to try the perfect kiss. After trying all kinds he finds that Mumma’s kiss is the perfect for him !!
Both the books have amazing rhyming text and beautiful fun illustrations. My toddler loves both the books. Whenever we read it, it becomes a fun cuddle session with kisses on elbows, toes, nose. Do you know how does the rain kiss or the snow ??!! He has even made me give him sticky lipstick kisses after reading the book
And how does an elephant hug with its trunk or what if a snake tries to hug you all around ??!!
Can I Have A Hug? by Rosie Greening. Sreyoshi has shared a lovely lovely read aloud in the fb group here.
All of Rosie Greening’s books are interactive with different textures and superhits with babies and young toddlers.
If Animals Kissed Good Night (34 pages)
Clean Up! (32 pages) is the sequel to Look Up! by Nathan Byron. Speak Up! is another book in this series.
I Spy Little Hearts (with foil): A Book of Picture Riddles – Khushboo has shared a read aloud by her son in the fb group here.
Missing Milo (lift the flap) for 3-5 years- Shefali and Emma have done a wonderful read aloud in the fb group. There are other Milo Books by the same author.
To Market, To Market by Anushka Ravishankar. Achu and Avi did a marvelous read aloud for WRAD this time! You can watch their video in the fb group here. Quoting her: “This is one of Avi’s current favourite books. It reminds me of the time I used to explore busy weekend markets with my mom and enjoy the colourful things around.”
Ava’s Spectacular Spectacles is a scholastic book which is perfect to encourage smallies to embrace wearing their glasses.
The Short-Sighted Giraffe (Storytime) by A. H. Benjamin (24 pages). Mahalakshmi has shared the review and inside pages here in the fb group. There are many other fascinating books by the same author.
The Something by Rebecca Cob (illustrator of THE PAPER DOLLS fame)
Don’t Worry, Little Crab by Chris Haughton
The story is about a little crab who is scared of the sea and how the elder crab helps the little crab sail through and fight the fears one step at a time and how the little crab gets through and have a super time later in the sea.
A very simple moral : fight your fears slowly and you will see the bright light
Why this book emerged as an important one for me : When we went through this book, my son and I remembered Goa! Until we read the book he had decided he won’t visit any beach but after the book he asked me if we can go to Goa again and he shall try overcoming his fears.
Miss Maple’s Seeds. Punidha has shared the enchanting inside pages here in our fb group.
SUPER HAPPY MAGIC FOREST
Super Frozen Magic Forest (Super Happy Magic Forest)
SUPER HAPPY MAGIC FOREST:SLUG OF DOOM
There are other books in the Super Happy Magic Forest Series by Matty Long
The Green Giant by Katie Cottle. Achira highly recommends this. Excerpts from her review in the fb group where she has shared inside pages as well:
This book talks about how the green is becoming rare in cities these days giving its place to grey!
Little Bea goes to visit the country to spend her summer holidays with granddad. She loves it there because there is peace and she likes the quietness of the country. She chances upon a greenhouse where she makes many green friends and meets this green giant. He tells her how he had to run from the city to save his life. The illustrations are breath taking and the message is loud and clear! Urbanisation in cities have led to trees getting cut for modern amenities but what we are giving away are way more than we realise. Greens around us are so important for fresh air, for maintaining the air quality and are home to many birds and animals! And we can do our bit by planting more and more trees. It’s a simple book with less text but is so relevant in today’s times.
ROCK BY ROCK by Jennifer Bradbury (Author), Sam Boughton (Illustrator) for 4-8 years (48 pages). Amardeep has this book which is about Nek Chand’s Rock Garden in Chandigarh.
DK – How to Be an Engineer 144 pages. Amardeep has this one.
Dino Detective and the Awesome Possum Private Eyes series – little chapter books of 80 pages for 5-7 years
Amardeep has shared an inside picture here in the fb group!
SUPERHEROES
Spider-man books for 4yos
Avengers books for 4yos
Batman books for 4yos
DC Super Friends books
Captain America We are Avengers
Squish #1: Super Amoeba (96 pages) – SQUISH graphic novel series by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm.
Diary of a Pug (branches series) for 6-8 years. This series can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
SEARCH AND FIND BOOKS by Fermin Solis. Anubhuti has shared a video of the giant fold out scenes inside here. In her words: “The book has huge foldout pages with cute illustrations, rhyming text to describe the pages. Scenes range from volcano, river, mountains, etc. The hints on one side of page would be revealed after opening the other side of foldout page.”
A pair of twins (Karadi Tales) – 32 pages
I Wonder by K.A. Holt (40 pages). Quoting Arul: “This intriguing book simply consists of children asking questions about things from their perspective. Questions like “Do tires get tired”, “If the books which we read, read us too”, will make the reader and listener laugh and make them wonder.”
NRITYA KATHA – INDIAN DANCE STORIES FOR CHILDREN published by NBT (80 pages)
National Book Trust English Story Books ( 7 Story Books Set) for 3-7 years
Monsters Go Green (Billy and the Mini Monsters) for 6-9 years (80 pages) – Amardeep has this one. There is a series called Billy and the Mini Monsters which have many fun books for early chapter readers.
Hazy Bloom books for 7-9 years come highly recommended by Sharadhi whose 7yo loves them. She has shared inside pages in the fb group. In her words:
My 7 year old dd Stavya, got this chapter book called Hazy bloom by Jennifer Hamburg and didn’t keep it down until she finished it…
Jennifer Hamburg is a popular television writer of series like Daniel tiger’s neighborhood and super why.. She’s the author of several picture books and this chapter book Hazy bloom..
Hazy bloom is about a girl named Hazel who begins to have a vision which comes true in the near future. With this mysterious power she sometimes makes things worse.Her visions start with one of flying peas, and the very next day, a food fight erupts in the school cafeteria. This quickly paced tale features a well-developed main character and lots of funny scenes.. Hazel’s witty nature and quirky personality is showcased in every page with catchphrases and obsession with spelling words…
This humourous narration and silly circumstances makes this book enjoyable to 7-9 year old kids.
FLY AWAY by the award winning author Patricia MacLachlan for 7 years+ (128 pages). The author writes on difficult topics for tweens like “being brave and saving the family from losing everything”, finding yourself, love and loss. Mona has shared a review in the fb group. In her words:
“It was a book suggestion for my daughter, over a #kbcQuery. I wanted to encourage her to speak up at home.
This is a gripping story featuring a girl who ‘can’ but isn’t brave enough.
Aunt Frankie has arrived to help the family prepare well and stay safe in flooding season. Lucy’s toddler brother, Teddy, walks in sleep. These siblings have a sweet secret bedtime routine and this is one of many other things that Lucy is hiding from her family. One rainy night when Teddy sleepwalks towards an old dam, Lucy has to find courage to SING.
I am sure, many of us can relate to the feeling of choking and croaking. The possibility of audience poking fun of our imperfections starts haunting us and we give up even before trying. The irony is, Lucy can’t even sing in front of her family members.
It is a must read for anyone struggling with public speaking.”
LOSER by Jerry Spinelli for 8-12 years recommended by Mandira Shah and her daughter.
Paati Goes Viral by Prabhu Viswanathan (Karadi Tales)
WHEN THE SEA TURNED TO SILVER for 8-12 years (400 pages)
GREAT LIVES: SACHIN TENDULKAR THE LITTLE MASTER for 8-12 years
There is a series called GREAT LIVES which features interesting biographies of extraordinary people from various fields. Most of these books are good for middle readers (8-12 years).
Football Stars (Pegasus) for 8 years+
Winning Like Virat: Think and Succeed like Kohli for 12 years+
The Dhoni Touch for 12 years+
ACCLAIMED BOOKS THAT ASHA HAS WISHLISTED/RECENTLY ORDERED:
I Talk Like a River (hardcover) by Jordan Scott for 3-7 years. Amardeep gifted this incredible book to Asha.
It’s a book for kids who stutter. It’s a book for kids who don’t stutter.
It has the most beautiful illustrations (please don’t judge the book by the cover!) that add magic to the story.
This book is about a little boy’s struggles – every day at school. He stutters, so getting words out of his mouth is a challenge when the teacher asks something in class. The author has described what the boy goes through in the most heartwarming way. His dad calls it a “bad speech day” and explains that he talks like a river.
Minimal text – a surprise foldout in the middle of the book and illustrations that take your breath away, yet capture your heart. A must have even if no one stutters in the family, for we need to sensitise our children about differently abled people. Also available in Paperback.
Those Shoes for 5-8 years (40 pages)
Tiger Boy by Mitali Perkins (148 pages) for middle graders
Rain Must Fall by Nandita Basu (128 pages) published by Duckbill.
Amrita Sher-Gil: Rebel with a Paintbrush (Timeless Biographies, 01) for tweens, YA, adults who enjoy biographies on artists.
NON FICTION/ACADEMIC RESOURCES/SELF HELP:
Etiquette for Children by Dreamland (for 5-12 years according to the publisher) – there are 4 books in this series that cover different aspects of life. They are also available as a combo of 4 titles. Achira has kindly shared inside pages in the fb group here.
Spelling Success (from Scholastic). These books can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
ACHIRA has shared a list of must have Activity Workbooks for kids for 6-7 years. She has kindly shared inside pages in the fb group here.
We have been doing a lot of maths and activities. Adu doesn’t like the traditional way of studying. So I get a lot of books which have these lovely activities and make learning fun.
Hidden Pictures Puzzles Volume 4– This one is pure gem to keep the kids engaged for hours. You have to find the things hidden in the big picture and colour them. Increases concentration and can be fun when done together. (other volumes are available in the series as well).
Nick and Nack See the Stars (Highlights Puzzle Readers) for 4-7 years (32 pages)
Mental Mathematics by S. Chand’s for Class 1– This book is indeed very cool for making kids practice their math skills. I found it very relevant to what Adu has been learning in school and the mental fun drills surely make maths fun. Being a fan of maths I always want to make it a fun subject for the kids so that they never find it hard and stressful. Am very happy with this buy. (There are other books for different classes as well.)
Mental Maths by Andrew Brodie – Ages 6-7 years – Again a perfect book to practice maths in a fun way. Lots of practice sheets for addition and subtraction. Also a couple on time which they have been doing in class. (this series is available for other age groups as well)
English Grammar by Om Books – Workbook 1– A very simple book with lots of engaging worksheets. Jumbled words, opposites, word search and perfect introduction to grammar. (There are other workbooks for different ages in this series)
Science workbook by Moonstone Publishers Level 1 -I got it because I loved the content but we are yet to start this. We are hooked to our maths books. (Again, this series comes in different Levels for different age groups)
Jumbo Maths Made Merry Workbook by Om Kidz– Superb one with such varied activities. Shapes, missing numbers, arranging them in ascending or descending order, addition? Subtraction, number names- it has everything! MATHS MADE MERRY WORKBOOK (SET OF 4 Math activity BOOKS) is also available.
SCIENCE COMICS – Sharadhi’s 7yo has become a huge fan! She has shared inside pages in the fb group here.
These science comics have complete introduction to detail about a topic, written in the most interesting comic style. They are so entertaining with science facts that even as adult I’m hooked to this ..
We had one and now we are collecting the set… Definitely a good one for science and facts interested kids…
Wicked World Tour (Horrible Geography)
LOGICAL REASONING BOOKS FOR KIDS
Kumon Logical Reasoning books
Olympiad Logical Reasoning books
Star Wars Workbooks (for different grades and subjects)
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