Sam sorts

by Marthe Jocelyn

age range: 3 to 6 years old

Tundra Books

Sam's bedroom is a complete mess. It is time to clean it up. Sam begins to sort all his stuff to put it away, and he discovers there are so many ways of sorting things! Like in many other sorting books Sam sorts by shape, color, type and function. But what I loved about this book is that Sam dares to go beyond and he sorts his stuff in original and creative ways: things that come in pairs, things whose names rhyme, things with dots, holes, stripes or checks, soft, bumpy, fuzzy, noisy, pointy, smelly. No, that's not all. There are thing that float, and things that fly. Wait. Actually there are things that fly with wings, and things that fly without wings. Even things with wings that do not fly! The outcome is that Sam's stuff is still in a pile, but he has learned a lot of things, and had a lot of fun.

The pictures are wonderful. The complete book is a huge collage in different colors and textures. The author uses Venn diagrams in such a natural way as part of the story, no explanation is needed. But not all the objects are sorted using Venn diagrams, some times different color backgrounds, or even a rainbow or a pac-man "screen" do the trick. I was happily surprised by this book. A decided 5 stars. 

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Miles McHale, tattletale.

by Christianne Jones

Elina Ellis

age range: 4 to 8 years old

Capstone

Miles McHale is a great boy. He is funny, and smart, but he has a big problem, he is a tattletale. He tattled all day long, and even during night. At school he wasn't the only tattletale, but he was definitively the worst. So one day Mrs. Snitcher decides to start the Tattletale Battle, whith the pledge "If a friend is sick, hurt, on in harm's way, then telling someone is OK". The team with fewest number of tattles at the end of the week gets extra recess. Miles is not doing really well. He is trying hard, but sometimes it is difficult to know if he was tattling or not. By the end of the week his team is loosing, and his friends don't want to talk to him. Then is when he decides it. No more tattling. Ever.

Poor Miles had to learn the difference between tattling and telling the hard way. The story shows in funny and exaggerated examples why tattling is so annoying and also useless. At the same time, deciding to never tell anything again is wrong. Sometimes someone might need our help, and it is necessary to tell an adult what is going on. It can be difficult in some occasions to know if that would be tattling or telling, but as any other social skill, it can be learned and improved. I immediately fell in love with the colorful illustrations, that look fluffy and so expressive. I would say this is a wonderful picture book who focuses in enhance social health in kids, something important to better fit in a community, and enjoy the social experience. 

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Move it, Miss Macintosh!

by Peggy Robbins Janousky

art by Meghan Lands

age range: 4 to 6 years old

Annick Press

There are many common worries on the first day of kindergarten: what if nobody likes me? What if I can't find my classroom? What if I can't open my lunch box? Even phrases like "school is not for me" and "I'm not going" are totally normal. But what if all this thoughts are coming from Miss Macintosh, the kindergarten teacher?

This book bring the "everyone's new in kindergarten" idea a little farther making the reader laugh about all this worries. I think is a great story to share with anxious future kindergartners, and even a perfect read aloud read on the first day of school as an ice breaker. Along the way the readers also meet the principal, the school bus driver, the lunch lady and many other special teachers, who in some funny way let everyone know all the amazing things that are awaiting at school. And before Miss Macintosh could even realize it, she is already loving kindergarten!

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.