Early Book Review: Search for a Giant Squid by Amy Seto Forrester and Andy Chou Musser

Search for a Giant Squid, written by Amy Seto Forrester and illustrated by Andy Chou Musser, is a children's book currently scheduled for release on April 25 2023. An exciting ocean-themed choose-your-path STEM adventure for emerging readers! Take a journey to the ocean's twilight zone in Search for a Giant Squid ! An exciting mixture of action and nonfiction, this choose-your-own-adventure-style story allows readers to take on the mantle of a teuthologist looking for a giant squid in its natural habitat. Once readers pick their submersible, pilot, and dive site, the adventure begins!

Search for a Giant Squid is a combination of adventure and nonfiction. I liked the amount of information shared about the people that study and work in the ocean, and study specific aspects and creatures of the ocean. I learned a few new things, and I think most young readers will learn a great deal. I loved that the fact the scientists are still learning, still asking questions, and still looking to better understand things. Helping kids see that the adults are still looking to answer questions makes them feel a little better when they do not know the answer, even when they think they should. I thought making the story interactive was a great idea, giving young readers the ability to make the choices, and see the consequences of those choices in a book is safe and low stakes. I like that the readers are encouraged to try different paths, and see what else they can discover. I also like that they are encouraged to check the glossary if they see a word they do not understand. The inclusion of suggestions for further research, the sources used, and some additional fun facts at the end were a perfect addition.

Search for a Giant Squid is a wonderful book for curious young readers, especially for those with interest in animals or the sciences in general. 

Book Review: Grumpy Cat’s All About Miserable Me: A Doodle Journal for Everything Awful by Jimi Bonogofsky-Gronseth

Grumpy Cat’s All About Miserable Me: A Doodle Journal for Everything Awful by Jimi Bonogofsky-Gronseth is an activity  book for all ages. Grumpy Cat wants to know about you, and here's your chance to tell everything! Nobody cares about your complaints, except Grumpy Cat! This book gives everyone's favorite cranky feline the chance to make suggestions for revealing your pet peeves. Grumpy will encourage you to draw the ugliest sweater, make a list of the grossest foods, draw three people you sorta kinda like (love is a strong word), and gripe to your heart's content.

Grumpy Cat’s All About Miserable Me is a book that can entertain doodlers of all ages, and anyone that likes the guru,py but cute little face of this famous feline. While definitely taking advantage of the fame and a niche market, this book will make anyone that falls into the target audience happy. In fact, I ordered a copy that I intend to give to my almost ten year old son, because he loves to draw and enjoys activity books and things that let him be creative, however I expect to order a second copy for my daughter who is not a big fan of sitting still long enough to write or draw, but loves anything animal related. I think adults will enjoy the book too, but I think it will be more eagerly completed and enjoyed by children old enough to understand sarcasm.

Book Review: Doodletopia: Manga: Draw, Design, and Color your own Super-Cute Manga Characters and More by Christopher Hart

Doodletopia: Manga: Draw, Design, and Color your own Super-Cute Manga Characters and More by Christopher Hart is a book that combines instruction, inspiration, and interesting illustrations. The instructions are clear and concise, with activities and ideas that aspiring artists can use to expand their skill and comfort level with a variety of anime and manga style art. There is a great deal of information as well as exercises and challenges. Sections include opportunities for readers to draw a companion for an existing character, create their own emojis, and finish their own scenes. Readers can design manga bookmarks, stationery, and even get started developing their own graphic novels.

I think Doodletopia is a good buy for readers that are looking to expand on their drawing skills, particularly in this style of artwork. I would suggest photocopying a few of the challenges and activities, only so you can complete them more than once and see how you skill and style grows. 

Early Book Review: Doodle Adventure: The Pursuit of the Pesky Pizza Pirate by Mike Lowery

Doodle Adventure: The Pursuit of the Pesky Pizza Pirate by Mike Lowery is the second book in the Doodle Adventure series, which invites, no actually requires, readers to add their own artwork and ideas to the story. It is currently scheduled for release on September 6 2016. The first book is The Search for the Slimy Space Slugs, which I now own two copies of- because each of my children wanted their own. 

Doodle Adventures: The Pursuit of the Pesky Pizza Pirate! features Carl, the friendly narrator who happens to be a duck, and the reader, who is drawn right into the story—literally. Together, they embark on the very important mission of finding out who has been stealing all of the pizza in town. Could it be the Dread Pirate Slobberts, the meanest, nastiest pirate ever to sail the Seven Seas? And, more important, how are they going to get all that pizza back? The reader takes part in the adventure, filling in the blanks on each page and making the story their own, and ready to read again or share over and over again.

Doodle Adventures: The Pursuit of the Pesky Pizza Pirate! is a fun interactive story that appeals to readers that have big imaginations and enjoy more interactive stories. Each page offers a prompt for the reader to draw on object or finish a picture to help the story along. While the adventure of looking for a pizza thief would be enough to capture my son’s attention (since pizza only comes second to cake on the favorite food list) the interactive and adventure aspects of the story keep him interested and actively reading than most books. This is true for newly independent readers that are still getting comfortable with exploring chapter books, but more advanced readers as well. The creativity and fun factors will make this a hit for many. I am off to preorder my two copies now. 

Early Book Review: Doodle Adventures: The Search for the Slimy Space Slugs! by Mike Lowery

Doodle Adventures: The Search for the Slimy Space Slugs! by Mike Lowery was an interactive read for middle grade readers. It is currently scheduled for release on May 17 2016.This is the first book in a lighthearted fantasy stories where the reader first draws him- or herself into the story, and then continues by following prompts and adding more illustrations and doodles. Set in space, the book invites the reader to join Carl, a duck and member of a super-secret international group of explorers, on a journey in search of a very important grail-like object; a jar with an artifact that's gone missing.

Doodle Adventures is a fun book that I think my middle grade reader will absolutely love. The book often prompts readers to draw something that is absolutely necessary to the story, but leaves the exact content of the artwork up to the reader. There is some silly humor, plenty of action, and lots of fun. The illustrations that are already in the book, of Carl the Duck and the action, are fun and well done so that they catch the eye and ad to the story. However, they are also simple enough not to discourage the reader from adding their own ideas and artwork to the story. Readers that enjoy illustrated chapterbooks, graphic novels, and drawing will all enjoy this book. The only issue I can see is with readers that might not remember that library books and other books are not fill in the blank or for addition additional artwork too. However, I have faith that most parents that have children with that inclination will already know and handle the issue appropriately.

Doodle Adventures is on pre-order for my son, and I think any reader that needs to feel fully involved in the story, or really loves to doodle, will adore this book. I think this will appeal to readers that like interaction with the story, silly humor, and fast paced stories. I think this would be a good pick for less confident or reluctant readers, as long as they know not to write in their other books. 

Book Review: Please Open This Book by Adam Lehrhaupt and Matthew Forsythe

Please Open This Book is a picturebook written by Adam Lehrhaupt and illustrated by Matthew Forsythe. This interactive book is one that breaks down the wall between the reader and the characters on the page. All books are made to be opened. But, guess what? Someone closed this book and the critters inside it need your help. All you need to do is open it. You can do that. Can't you?

Please Open This Book isa fun picturebook that features wonderful illustrations of animals that have been trapped inside the book when someone closed it. The closing caused damage, and left the creatures in the dark. They spend the pages explaining this and urging readers to keep the book open, even offering rewards for doing so. The illustrations are simply wonderful, and really make this book. The concept has been done before, many times before, and sometimes better. However, this is still a fun read and will entertain and delight many young readers.

Please Open This Book is a good book for storytime sharing and with children that need interactive books to hold their attention. It is not the best book of its type available, but it is well illustrated and will entertain the target audience.

Early Book Review: Build!: A Knight’s Castle Paper Toy Archaeology by Annalie Seaman, , Charlie Simpson

Build!: A Knight’s Castle Paper Toy Archaeology by Annalie Seaman is an interactive children's book that is currently scheduled for release on October 20 2015.  This puzzle-in-a-book invites kids ages 7 and older to pop out and assemble a stand-up castle complete with knights and battle equipment. Like real archaeologists, kids will interpret clues from medieval documents, paintings, maps, and ground surveys, and then apply their knowledge to excavate the site of a besieged castle and reconstruct both the castle and the battle scene, figuring out how the pieces of wall fit together, what's located inside the courtyard, how a trebuchet works, and much more. With the final setup of warring knights on horseback, the battle comes to life! This book offers hours of imaginative play so fascinating that kids won't even notice how much they're learning along the way.  

Build!: A Knight’s Castle Paper Toy Archaeology is a great way to make history and archaeology come alive for interested students. The book allows children to act as detective, builder, and archaeologists to build their own castle. They can read about castle life and battles while learning about how archaeologists work. The hands on action of popping out the pieces and building with engage readers and make the information become even more real for them. The reader must use their new-found knowledge of how the castle was laid out, and what siege engines looked like to figure out how to piece the paper scene together. This is a great way to get mildly interested kids much more involved in reading and learning about medieval times and/or the science of archaeology. 

Build!: A Knight’s Castle Paper Toy Archaeology is fantastic. Readers are given information about how archaeologists uncover remains, and use secondary sources.

Annalie Seaman, author of Build! A Knight’s Castle, is an archaeologist and educator. Passionate about sharing the extraordinary history of humanity with the next generation, she provides educational and experimental courses for both children and adults at the Sussex School of Archaeology. Seaman lives in Sussex, England.