Best Children's Boats & Ships Books
With buoyant rhymes and brilliantly caricatured illustrations evoking the early nineteenth century, Chris Van Dusen presents a hugely entertaining tale about the bonds of community — and a rare hidden-pictures spread for eagle-eyed readers of all ages.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Fun, lyrical rhymes with great inventive stories and cheerful hilarious art."
"This was a favorite book of the buyer at a local children's store - and we have to agree that it was fun, had a compelling story that rolled off the tongue and wonderful illustrations."
"They were both engaged as we read and we had to look back on the illustrations several times to spot all the little details Van Dusen includes in his work."
"I have started giving this book as sort of a standard go to birthday gift for kids birthdays."
"We love this book!"
"Illustrations are terrific and one page involves the reader in finding animals hidden...always great to add some interaction."
"He's 2.5 now, and we both love it."
"My kids and I LOVE this book!"
Reissued for Spring 2012 to coincide with the anniversary of the sinking of the TITANIC in April 1912. Hugh Brewster has written several books for children and young adults.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This book is very easy to read and has dozens of accompanying photographs and/or drawings."
"this is a good reference for kids and adults alike."
"I love this book so much."
"Got this for my six year old son."
"My 8 year old granddaughter received this for Easter and has finished reading it before April was over."
"We purchased this book for our Titanic obsessed son for his 9th birthday."
"Kids can get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of background, history, and narrative in the Titanic story. I told him that, with all that riveted steel, it certainly expanded and contracted by an inch or two depending on temperature inside and outside the hull, and whether it was in dry dock or in the water."
"A fantastic find for the Titanic lover as the information within is written in a great format of interesting paragraphs rather than simple (boring) Q&A."
Skandians, as any reader of Ranger's Apprentice could tell you, are known for their size and strength. And courage - which they will need every ounce of to do battle at sea against the other bands, the Wolves and the Sharks, in the ultimate race. Full of seafaring adventures and epic battles, Book 1 of The Brotherband Chronicles is sure to thrill readers of Ranger's Apprentice while enticing a whole new generation just now discovering the books. John Flanagan grew up in Sydney, Australia, hoping to be a writer.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Flanagan is a masterful storyteller with the ability to create complex situations and have his characters think through them in a way that is extremely intelligent, rather than creating almost "magical" situations to maneuver the characters out of their problems. It also tied in to the Ranger's Apprentice series well with Flanagan's continued use of many familiar characters such as Erak and Borsa It's the right amount of familiarity mixed with enough new and interesting characters to make it a completely different series."
"Energizing and uplifting the kind of book to read over and over again."
"The first part of the book is rather slow introducing our hero Hal (good choice very close to Halt) and his back story. In the 2nd part the introduction of the other main characters takes place and how their friendship and loyalty develops. As it is set in Skandia there is a lot of Nautical terms but John Flanagan does a good job of providing some basic information at the beginning. I have read every single book from the Ranger's Apprentice (including the Lost Stories) and now this one."
"It's well written, the characters are genuine, the story is well thought-out, and it enjoyable."
"What can I say other than it was great story and I'm on the fourth book."
"I remember a time in the Ranger's Apprentice series, when a Skandian man introduced Halt and Will to a new kind of ship. Flanagan is a master of detail, giving enough to paint a beautiful picture of the story, but not so much that we drown in a sea of descriptive words that leave nothing to the imagination."
"Great book fast paced found not put it down."
Best Children's Exploration Fiction
Aspiring wizards can tune in to the age-old wisdom of Merlin with this dazzling compendium of all things magical, unveiling novelty elements throughout.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"All the ology books have been such fun."
"If someone would have given me a book like this when I was 8 or 9, I believe my imagination would have required me to improve my read skills quicker than I did (around 12-13 but was far behind by then)."
"This was purchased as a gift and it’s even better than I’d expected."
"Another attractive book for imaginative youngsters."
"I've always been a fan of Merlin from a small age and this book inspires the kids and kicks their imagination into high gear!"
"Shipped fast and as described."
Best Children's Cars & Trucks Books
With a text full of truck sounds and animal noises to read aloud, here is a rollicking homage. to the power of friendship and the rewards of helping others. The first half of the book is an enchanting, toddler-entrancing symphony of animal noises and beeps. While the message might be a little heavy-handed, this is still a fun, rollicking story that should find a place in most collections.— Rachael Vilmar, Eastern Shore Regional Library, Salisbury, MD Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I just love stories that are cute, rhyme well and offer a good message."
"This is the best book (and I have a lot of them)!"
"While reading through it, I found the rhymes catchy and it left the reader with a good message."
"I think he likes it better when I read it to him rather than my husband because I get into it with acting out the animal noises and the beeps and the honks."
"I love that the story flows and the words are sing-songy as you read."
"We bought this book for our almost 2 year old niece!"
"My kids have loved this book for years."
"We had checked it out originally at our local homeschool library and my son fell in love with it."
Best Children's Trains Books
1986 Caldecott Medal Winner A young boy, lying awake one Christmas Eve, is welcomed aboard a magical trip to the North Pole . “Allsburg's mix of meticulousness and mysticism is his own, and his quiet Christmas bell, now run, will not stop ringing.”—Adam Gopnik, author of The King in the Window.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This nice larger book is great for a coffee table as decoration during Christmas and for easy access to read."
"The book. originally purchased for my grandson included a bell."
"It is filled with music from the movie and combinations that mix the scores together especially with the songs a) The Polar Express sung by Tom Hanks and b) Suite from the Polar Express."
"We were all pleased with this lovely book and the extras, including my own kids---who read the book before the 'grands' read it."
"This is probably a book for the older kids- 7-10, but it's definitely a fun book to read to the little ones for the holidays."
"I bought this book for my 5 year old son this year because I bought tickets for the GSMR train ride."
"The story is so magical, you can really feel the spirt of Christmas in this book."
"First edition."
Best Children's Motorcycles Books
Draw 50 Cars, Trucks, and Motorcycles shows artists of all levels how to draw with ease by following simple step-by-step examples. An avid worker, Ames directed his own advertising agency, illustrated for several magazines, and illustrated approximately 150 books that range from picture books to postgraduate texts.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Great book to teach you how to draw cars, trucks and motorcycles."
"Think I will be able to draw and teach my greandson to draw from these books."
"We bought a few for him (monsters, cars and animals) and some are a little more complicating for him but he loves it and started on them right away."
"My grandson loves this art series."
"This is a great book for kids learning to draw!"
"Bought several of this series of drawing books, All were well received as Christmas gifts."
"Much harder to understand than it says, bought for a 10 year old, and he can't figure it out."
Best Children's Planes & Aviation Books
When her great-great-aunt Rose (Rosie the Riveter) comes for a visit and mentions her one unfinished goal--to fly--Rosie sets to work building a contraption to make her aunt's dream come true. But when Great-Great Aunt Rose shows up for an extended stay sporting a red polka-dotted scarf à la Rosie the Riveter, she regales her niece with stories of her experiences building airplanes during World War II. She wistfully declares, “The only thrill left on my list is to fly!/But time never lingers as long as it seems./I'll chalk that one up to an old lady's dreams.” This is an itch that Rosie has to scratch, so she sets about designing a unique contraption to help her aunt take to the skies.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"With an engaging story that kept her attention and illustrations you could look at over and over again, I found myself reading with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes as Rosie battled her fear of failure to do great great things."
"She had fears, had setbacks, lost confidence for awhile, until someone showed her that even her so called “failures” are just opportunities to learn and do things better the next time."
"Rosie the Riveter, the original female who can get the job done and smash gender stereotype is re-introduced in a younger version of a science savvy girl who is equipped to deliver what is needed in today's world."
"And it was worth the wait- she loves this book and the others by Andrea Beaty."
"I bought this for my three year old girls and at first they weren't super interested, but they recently really took notice of all of the neat little details in the book illustrations."
"My little girl loves that the little blond looks like her and we talk about the message of the book each time we read it."
"Such a good lesson for all kids, but especially young girls, and I love that it encourages interest in science and math."
"Illustrations are great, but more importantly, I love the story/message."
Best Children's Construction Vehicles Books
For fans of all things that go this noisy alphabet book explores construction equipment from A to Z. A backhoe, cement mixer, dump truck, jackhammer, and wrecking ball will be more familiar to children than a horizontal borer, knuckleboom loader, mobile rock crusher, quad-axle lowbed, and vactor.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It has nice pictures and words were easy to read for him."
"My 3 yr old grandson LOVES construction equipment so this book was a big hit."
"The alphabet starts over again with ABC and then drops off without description of the C. This doesn’t affect my review, but I would strongly suggest ending at Z and editing out the last part!"
"3-year old grandson loves this book."
"I love this!"
"My son, 2 yrs 4 months and obsessed with construction vehicles and equipment, loves this book, which teaches both capital and lowercase letters."
"My son loves construction."
"This books shows construction vehicles A-Z, but the vehicles are fairly obscure and the pages are thin for a younger kid to flip."
Best Children's Busses Transportation Books
Over ninety buses from luxury coach to buses that ply the streets, from classic buses to the newest ones, different brands, and more are presented in this book.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Very nice colorful pictures!"