Kid Konnection: More Picture Books

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. Today, I'm going to share with you some fun picture books that Booking Son and I have discovered in the past week.

Summary: Every Halloween, Hubknuckles pays a visit to Lee and her younger sisters and baby brother. The children watch the ghostly figure from the safety of their warm kitchen, experiencing delicious little tickles of fear.

But this year, Lee has decided that Hubknuckles isn’t real. “Hubknuckles is just a sheet and a flashlight,” she tells her sisters. “Either Ma or Pa makes him dance.” And she is determined to prove it.

What Lee discovers after an eerie dance on the lawn with her silent, shadowy partner is sure to delight young readers, who will be enchanted by the softly glowing illustrations of this unusual Halloween happening. -- Crown

HUBKNUCKLES by Emily Herman and illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray is a perfect book for Halloween. Many of you might already be familiar with this book, but if you're not, it's a ghost story for young children. Both Booking Son and I found it to be very entertaining, and we especially loved the little surprise twist at the end.

My edition of HUBKNUCKLES is actually a special anniversary edition -- it was originally published 25 years ago. I guess I was a little too old for the book when it originally came out because I don't remember it; however, when I mentioned that I had read it to my son, Jenn from Jenn's Bookshelves was familiar with it. Of course, if anyone knows "ghost stories," it's Jenn....

I can totally understand why HUBKNUCKLES has become a classic. It is a wonderful storybook! Not only was the story interesting and suspenseful, but I also loved the illustrations. There were gorgeous black and white pencil drawings on every page spread, and they were so detailed. I was extremely impressed with Ms. Ray's artistic skills, and I thought her portrayals of the children's faces were especially beautiful!

HUBKNUCKLES comes highly rated by Booking Son and me! Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book.

Summary: This simple, young, and satisfying story follows a Chinese American family as they celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.

Each member of the family lends a hand as they prepare a moonlit picnic with mooncakes, pomelos, cups of tea, and colorful lanterns. And everyone sends thanks and a secret wish up to the moon.

Grace Lin’s luminous and gloriously patterned artwork is perfect for this holiday tale. Her story is simple—tailor-made for reading aloud to young children. And she includes an informative author’s note with further details on the customs and traditions of the Moon Festival for parents and teachers. The Moon Festival is one of the most important holidays of the year along with the Lunar New Year, so this book makes an excellent companion to Grace Lin’s Bringing In the New Year, which features the same family. -- Knopf
 
THANKING THE MOON: CELEBRATING THE MID-AUTUMN MOON FESTIVAL by Grace Lin is another book that's perfect for this time of year. Instead of focusing on Halloween though, THANKING THE MOON teaches children about the Chinese holiday of the Mid-Autumn Festival. To be honest, I wasn't all that familiar with this holiday, so I guess you could say that this book taught me about this holiday too!

Booking Son really liked the book and the colorful illustrations too; however, he had one slight complaint -- the book was too short. The text of the book actually is quite simple so even younger children will be able to appreciate the book. The book describes the decorations, food and traditions that are associated with the festival. The pictures are terrific and give children a great deal to look at.

Since Booking Son obviously wanted more (of course, I did read it to him at bedtime), I was thrilled to see that there was a more detailed explanation of the festival on the last two pages of the book. I read the entire supplemental text to Booking Son and he seemed to appreciate the additional information.

* Just in case you are wondering, the author of the book Grace Lin is one and the same with the Grace Lin who wrote the Newbery Honor Book WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON.

THANKING THE MOON is fun and educational book that is also perfect for the classroom. I highly recommend it to parents and teachers alike! Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book.

Summary: This fabulous, life-sized introduction to what animals eat, how they eat it, and how much they eat in a single bite is full of compelling facts and images. From the tiny sand-grain-sized bite of earth that the earthworm takes to the double-gatefold spread of a sperm whale sucking a whole giant squid down in just one bite, this book and the eleven animals in it are EXACTLY as large as life! -- Chronicle

JUST ONE BITE: 11 ANIMALS AND THEIR BITES AT LIFE SIZE! by Lola Schaefer and illustrated by Geoff Waring was a big hit with Booking Son. This adorable picture book delves into what eleven animals' can eat with just one bite. There is a pretty wide range of animals covered in the book from a worm to a Komodo dragon to a sperm whale. And obviously, a pretty wide range of bite sizes!


As a mother, I liked that the book was so educational. There were actual true-to-life images of how much a the smaller animals can eat. As the animals got bigger, the descriptions of the bites became more creative -- there was even a double-gatefold spread for the sperm whale's bite. In addition to showing how much the animal can eat, there were also examples of what the animals eat as well as how they eat it.

Since JUST ONE BITE has so much to offer children about animals and science, I think it's perfect for the classroom. There is even a teacher's guide available. There is no doubt that children will learn something new from this book, and I can pretty much guarantee that JUST ONE BITE will appeal to kids and adults alike!

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book.

Summary: It's Humpty Dumpty, Little Bo Peep, Jack Be Nimble, Miss Muffet, Little Boy Blue, and more, like you've never seen them before! Renowned artist J.otto Seibold re-nursuries and re-rhymes over the Mother Goose classics in this must-have collection. Featuring recurring characters and an ending that brings everyone back for a showstopping finale, this book is the most fun dear old Mother Goose has ever had! -- Chronicle

If you or your child are the more non-traditional types, then I suggest checking out OTHER GOOSE: RE-NURSERIED AND RE-RHYMED CHILDRENS CLASSICS by J.otto Seibold. OTHER GOOSE takes on the Mother Goose classics and mixes them up a bit. It's fun, imaginative, and best of all, silly!

I really liked this book and I thought it had such a unique premise. I thought some of the revised and updated rhymes made much more sense that the originals. Not only did OTHER GOOSE bring back some childhood memories for me about reading the original Mother Goose rhymes, but it made me laugh -- a lot. I don't know if Booking Son was smiling more at me or the book.

While I was reading this book to Booking Son, I realized something that disturbed me a bit. Evidently, my parenting skills were lacking when it came to teaching Booking Son the original Mother Goose classics. I don't know how it happened, but there were quite a few rhymes in this book that he didn't recognize. I will say that, for those rhymes that he already knew, he loved the twisted versions!

As if the new rhymes weren't entertaining enough, the pictures in this book were fantastic. The were so much fun  -- so bright and colorful and filled with wonderful details. The author and illustrator of OTHER GOOSE, J.otto Seibold, is also the author for the Olive, the Other Reindeer books; and I think fans of those books will recognize the similarities in the artwork.

OTHER GOOSE is an extremely fun book for kids of all ages! Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book.

Summary: Get to the bottom of it all with a silly celebration of our funniest body part

Tall butts, short butts, round butts, flat butts.
Butts on mummies and butts on mommies.
Butts on giraffes and elephants and dogs and… FISH?

Yes, even fish butts are celebrated in this tribute to backsides, rumps, tushies, keisters, heinies, and derrieres. Dozens of funny rhymes and pages of laugh-out-loud pictures pay homage to a body part that keeps kids and grown-ups giggling with glee.

Bottoms up! -- Bloomsbury

And last, but certainly not least, is THE BUTT BOOK by Artie Bennett and illustrated by Mike Lester. I admit that I was a little hesitant to read this one to my son since he is a huge fan of potty humor, but I have to say that THE BUTT BOOK is terrific! While the subject matter -- butts -- could have been questionable, I think this book handled it a very clean and funny way.

I can pretty much promise you that kids are going to love this book -- and it's not just because the word butt is said aloud quite a few times although that did provide a certain amount of entertainment for Booking Son. The text of the story has a catchy rhyming cadence and the illustrations are adorable. Plus, it teaches kids the importance of their back-ends! I can't say that every book does that!

Throughout the story, kids will learn that no two bottoms are alike. There are not only different types of butts, but there are also many different names. In addition, kids will discover all of the uses of behinds -- for humans and animals. THE BUTT BOOK truly is a funny look at all things having to do with our backsides.

Bottom line: if the child in your life is anything like mine, then this book will be a sure-fire hit! Thanks to the author for sending me a copy of this book.

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!