Kid Konnection: Spring 2010 Duopress Releases & Giveaway

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a (hopefully) regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. Today, I are going to share with you two new releases from Duopress Books.

Summary: Curious children will count to10 using some of Philadelphia's most cherished symbols and landmarks—the Liberty Bell, the Philadelphia Zoo, City Hall, pretzels, cheese steaks, Reading Terminal Market, and the LOVE sculpture—in this board book featuring amusing illustrations, dazzling colors, and bold, clear design.

The final page includes a complete location list in both English and in Spanish to help parents locate the symbols and landmarks and plan an entertaining trip to Philadelphia. A fantastic guide to practicing essential number skills, kids will enjoy reading it again and again. -- Duopress

A few months ago, I was asking my friend at Duopress Books when they would publish a book for Pennsylvania like 1 2 3 TEXAS (my review.) I was so excited when he told me that 1 2 3 PHILADELPHIA: A COOL COUNTING BOOK by Puck and illustrated by Kevin Somers was in the works. While my son enjoyed 1 2 3 TEXAS, I knew he'd really like one with pictures that he'd recognize.

I received a copy of 1 2 3 PHILADELPHIA and I have to say that it is just precious. Not only does it teach children their numbers from 1 to 10, but it also has adorable Philly images on each pages. For example, there is one Liberty Bell, seven cheese steaks and eight soft pretzels. The book is actually a 6-inch x 6-inch board book, so it's sturdy and perfect for little ones!

This book is really for toddlers (probably up to age 3), but it is still fun for older kids to skim through and identify the Philly images. I think my little guy would love looking at the images in this book and then "finding" them during our next visit to Philadelphia. I especially appreciated the last two pages of the book where there few more details about each of the images. I like that the explanations are in both English and Spanish too!

Make sure you check out the entire collection: 1 2 3 CALIFORNIA, 1 2 3 NEW YORK, 1 2 3 CHICAGO, 1 2 3 SAN FRANCISCO, 1 2 3 TEXAS, and 1 2 3 USA. There's bound to be one that's perfect for the little ones in your life!

Summary: New York City has never been more whimsical than in this visual narrative that uses wire-art sculptures to explore the Big Apple. Everything starts with a paper clip that unfolds to create some of New York's most famous symbols, including the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Empire State Building. A lively text accompanies the striking visuals, and six pages of information chronicle everything needed to know about the included attractions and landmarks. -- Duopress

Another new Spring 2010 release is WOW! NEW YORK CITY by Puck and art by Rey David Rojas. I so wish I had this book last year before my family visited New York City because I know my son would have loved it!

Not only does this book show many of the recognizable spots in NYC like the skyline, the Empire State Building, and the Statue of Liberty, but it uses paperclip art to outline the images. It will especially appeal to little boys because it features a taxi cab, a fire truck, the ferry, and the subway. While there wasn't much text on each page, I thought the artwork was very interesting and the pages were colorful.

Since the book is geared for kids a little younger than mine, I loved that the last few pages of the book had more detailed information on each of the New York attractions that were mentioned in the book. Each description gave a little bit of the history of the landmark, but it also provided some very interesting trivia facts! I think because of these details, this book will actually appeal to some older children as well. I definitely learned a thing or two from this book!

Check out this very cool video which gives you a preview of WOW! NEW YORK CITY:



Giveaway alert: Thanks to the fine folks at Duopress Books, I have a copy of 123 PHILADELPHIA and a copy of WOW! NEW YORK CITY to share with two lucky readers. All you have to do to enter is become a fan of Duopress Books on Facebook. Once you have done that, come back here and make sure you tell me that you completed this step in a comment. Also, let me know which book you prefer to win (can be either one!), and don't forget to leave a way to contact you in case you are randomly selected to win a copy of 123 PHILADELPHIA or WOW! NEW YORK CITY. This contest is open to those of you in the United States and Canada and will run until Friday, April 9th at 11:59 p.m. ET. I will notify the winners the following day. Good luck!

If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, please leave a comment as well as a link below with your name/blog name and the title of the book! Feel free to grab the little button too!