Kid Konnection: Ammo 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 fantastic products from a new-to-me publisher Ammo Books. Ammo (or American Modern) Books is a Los Angeles-based publishing house which focuses on the world of arts and culture.

Summary: ABC IS FOR CIRCUS celebrates the colorful and festive world of the circus through each letter of the alphabet. Young children will enjoy memorizing letters and words like A is for Acrobats, B is for Big Top, and C is for Calliope in this imaginative chunky board book. ABC IS FOR CIRCUS is an awesome addition to our artist-centric line of ABC books and is sure to delight an audience of children and adults alike. -- Ammo

I am a big fan of books that help teach kids the alphabet, so it's natural that I fell in love with ABC IS FOR CIRCUS by Patrick Hruby. This adorable board book is filled with colorful illustrations and is just perfect for toddler's little hands. It's a win/win for parents and kids!

Obviously, ABC IS FOR CIRCUS is an alphabet board book which features circus-themed objects. Each page layout covers one letter, so the book is relatively thick. However, there are only a few words on each page (i.e. A is for Acrobats, B is for Big Top, etc.) I enjoyed seeing how creative the author got with all 26 of the circus-themed items, and I'm pretty sure that young children will learn a few new words like "ventriloquist."

Probably my favorite part of the book were the beautiful pictures. Each page is just filled with gorgeous pictures, and the colors are extremely vibrant. The pictures are rather whimsical and the perfect complement to the text.

Trust me -- this book is fun and educational!

Summary: All ages will enjoy this timeless game featuring a selection of Patrick Hruby’s bold and imaginative illustrations.

How to play: For younger children, play with nine pairs or fewer. For a more challenging game, geared toward older children and adults, play with all 36 pairs. Mix and spread cards face down. Players take turns flipping any two cards up. If cards match, player continues. If cards do not match, player’s turn ends and cards remain in the same position. When all cards are matched, player with the most pairs wins. -- Ammo

After thoroughly enjoying the ABC IS FOR CIRCUS book, I was extremely excited to learn that there is also a PATRICK HRUBY MEMORY GAME which features many of the bold illustrations from the book. The images are fun and sure to capture youngsters' attention -- there is a monkey, giraffe and fireworks to name just a few. And children can even expand on this memory game by referencing the ABC IS FOR CIRCUS book and the pertinent letters.

I have always loved playing memory games with my children, although I admit that they beat me more times than not! I truly believe that educational games, like memory ones, really teach children a great deal; and I'm of the opinion that every family should have at least one version. PATRICK HRUBY MEMORY GAME is especially delightful because kids and parents alike will be drawn to the gorgeous images.


Summary: Charley Harper’s whimsical and well-loved illustrations are featured here on this classic set of nesting blocks. The alphabet and numbers 1 through 10 are expressed with Charley’s colorful animal illustrations that wrap around the surface of each of the 10 nesting blocks. When completely stacked, the blocks stand almost 3 feet tall, and when they nest, they become a compact 6 x 6 x 6 inches square. These CHARLEY HARPER NESTING BLOCKS are interactive, decorative, and a great addition to the existing line of Charley Harper books and toys for kids. Perfect for brightening any nursery room! -- Ammo

My kids are a little past playing with blocks, but I fell in love with the CHARLEY HARPER NESTING BLOCKS. These blocks are both stackable and nesting and are covered with Charley Harper's vivid artwork. In addition, they have the ABC's and 123's printed on them so they are beautiful and educational.

For those of you not familiar with Charley Harper, he "painted beautiful, colorful, and graphic paintings of nature, animals and the word around him." I'm not an art connoisseur, but I find his artwork to be so unique. Since the images on each block are so bright, they are sure to capture even the youngest one's attention.

These blocks are the perfect educational gift for babies and toddlers! Plus they also work as wonderful decorations in your nursery... or even your family room!


Summary: This new Charley Harper Coloring Book focuses exclusively on his delightful and plentiful illustrations of birds. Charley's beloved birds are gracefully translated here into 32 black-and-white line drawings for young, budding artists to interpret in their own color palettes. As a reference, the back cover shows every one of the 32 images featured in their full-color original versions.

Each drawing is printed on white paper on one side only to help keep markers from bleeding through to another image. Each page is also perforated at the top, for easy removal to place your young artist’s drawing on the wall or refrigerator! -- Ammo

CHARLEY HARPER COLORING BOOK OF BIRDS is a beautiful and highly unique coloring book. I wasn't familiar with Charley Harper's artwork prior to receiving these products, but I definitely consider myself a fan now. I love his vivid graphic paintings and I can only imagine how much fun youngsters would have coloring these pages.

The images in this coloring book are clearly birds; however, they aren't your typical birds. These birds are more graphically represented. The perspectives are often times different and many of the angles are more clearly defined.

As a mother, I love that this coloring book is chock full of big pictures to color. The actual color versions of the paintings are included on the back cover of the coloring book. I can see children of all ages having fun with this book. The younger set will appreciate the large images to color, while the older kids can create birds with their own color ideas or imitate Mr. Harper's versions.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me these fantastic books and games.