Feature Articles: Bookworm

Bookworm

Making Friends with MaggieMooseTracks

By Emmi Kern

Maggie is a puppy with an unusual physical feature: she was born with a set of tiny moose antlers right alongside her soft puppy ears. As the smallest of her litter, Maggie never feels left out; her mom does all she can to make sure that Maggie understands how precious and special she really is. But can her mom’s reassurances sustain her when big changes happen in her life? MaggieMooseTracks: Making Friends is the endearing story of a puppy who finds herself on an unexpected adventure, meeting friends and facing challenges along the way. Like many classic adventure stories for kids, MaggieMooseTracks begins with the main character travelling away from her home and family.

Bookworm

“Spartan and the Green Egg” Makes Kids the Stars

By Kelly Lee

How do you ensure that the books you stock are winners and not wannabes? Start with tales that kids already enjoy — like the ones told by their parents or caregivers. “The stories started with trips to places I had been lucky enough to have visited,” begins Nabila Khashoggi, author of the new Spartan and the Green Egg series. The debut book in the series, A Trip to the Rainforest, weaves together a compelling story about a circle of friends and environmental concerns. Elements of pure imagination entice young readers: the Green Egg is an alien spaceship that uses power and technology to help friends Spartan (with rescued canine sidekick Grimm), Tor, Katie, and Max on their journey.

Bookworm

“The Feeling Bag” – Letting Emotions Out

By Mari Gold

What do your customers do when they feel down, confused or angry? Young kids often don’t know how to work out their feelings and, when problems get bottled up, they can become miserable. Here’s a clever solution! The Feeling Bag is a short, simple book that deals with emotions and how to release them. The original book was developed by writer Jennifer Griffin when she noticed her young daughter going through tough times brought about by a difficult period. The book comes in a choice of boy or girl versions. With each book comes a plush Feeling Bag that kids can punch and hit or hug and take to bed.

Bookworm

JJ The American Street Dog

By Stephanie Hanlon

Childhood just isn’t complete without the plaintive wails of a child begging for a pet. And that pet? Usually a dog. You may have seen books about the responsibility of getting a pet, but JJ The American Street Dog and How He Came to Live In Our House goes beyond that and teaches valuable lessons about all the amazing things that can come from adopting a rescue dog. The author, Diane Rose-Solomon, is a Certified Humane Education Specialist and has been involved with rescue for 18 years, ever since she adopted a homeless dog.

Bookworm

Put the Power of Positive Thinking to Work for Kids

By Kelly Lee

Experts agree that reading is one of the best pastimes for children. It stimulates the brain and helps children create important developmental skills. But what they read is just as important as picking up the book in the first place. Books that grab a child’s attention, like the Harry Potter series, help motivate children to to read more. Attention grabbers with positive messages are even better, which is the clear selling point of Brooks Olbrys’s children’s tale, The Adventures of Blue Ocean Bob – A Journey Begins (ages 6 to 10). Lushly illustrated by Disney Interactive veteran Kevin Keele, the book lays out positive messages for finding a goal.

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Bookworm

Night Buddies, Impostors and One Far Out Flying Machine

By Emmi Kern

Buddy stories have always been popular among children and adults alike. The idea of two (or more) friends joined together on a journey, facing challenges and learning new things, is one that will never go out of style. Night Buddies, Impostors and One Far Out Flying Machine is story of a group of friends, who although very different from one another, share a special bond that takes them on some wild adventures. Author Sands Hetherington is a North Carolina resident with a passion for telling creative and interesting stories to children. He was inspired to write the Night Buddies series by bedtime stories he used to tell to his son John. They enjoyed expanding on the themes and tossing ideas around until their stories grew and took on a life of their own.

Bookworm

Crop of New Books Explains the Fruits of the Holy Spirit

By Mari Gold

Religious families know that sharing their basic beliefs with young children helps form their faith foundation early. A new book, Stella Strawberry: the Fruit of Love aims to show little ones how to love those around them. This book, the first in a collection of nine, uses rhythm to capture a child’s interest about the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The books are written by Yira Jones, who was inspired to create the collection after a bible study course that focused on the fruits of the spirit. With vibrant, full-color illustrations on every page, Stella Strawberry draws young readers and those who read to them into Stella’s world.

Bookworm

“Primary Physics” is a Force to be Reckoned With

By Mari Gold

Physics is one of the oldest academic fields of study and deals with discovering the rules which all physical objects — little ones, big ones, light ones and heavy ones — obey. It’s a general analysis of nature conducted to understand how the universe behaves. Holding, moving, dropping and rolling all demonstrate physics. Attention-grabbing retailers might set up a demonstration of some of these actions to entice customers to ask questions. This leads into showing them Primary Physics: The Principles Behind Roman Machines, a fascinating book that teaches kids about eight different models of inventions from the time of the Roman Empire.

Bookworm

Little Snail Books Educate at a Fast Pace

By Emmi Kern

“Sound bites” are the news teasers of the airwaves. Lightening-speed information demands that we express ourselves in a snappy way much of the time. This new paradigm is what gives rise to slang, abbreviation (aka “text speak”) and sometimes, just plain poor English. While this may sound like the beginning of the end for our linguistic heritage, there is a ray of hope. Parents can teach their children the skills necessary to communicate succinctly and efficiently, in a style known as “talk less, say more”. Publishing house Little Snail Series encourages this type of heightened communication.