Books

Owlkids Books 2015 Fall Catalogue Sneak Peek

Owlkids Books has been publishing children’s magazines and a complete line of children’s books for over 35 years now. Their new fall catalogue was just released, and our friends at Owlkids kindly sent us a handful of these new releases to share with you. Take this opportunity to check out this season’s newest children’s books aimed at ages 3-7 and scroll all the way down to enter to win this same collection!

The Little Book of Big Fears by Monica Arnaldo

The Little Book of Big Fears

Everyone is afraid of something, big or small, and that’s what this little volume is about. At first glance, The Little Book of Fears is an illustrated ABC book, where each letter stands for a child’s name and the page describes his or her fear.

C is for Claire, who recoiled from legumes.
D is for Drew, who hid from raccoons.

But sharp-eyed children will notice that some letters are missing! Get to the end of this book and discover that the missing letters spell out GUTSY and BRAVE, good advice for frightened children. This was a fun way to start a discussion with my girls about facing their fears.

 
Once Upon a Rainy Day by Édouard Manceau

Once Upon a Rainy Day cover

This is the fourth book from Édouard Manceau that we’ve reviewed (see our reviews for My First Color Dominoes, Presto Change-o!, and Look!). Manceau has a way of turning stories on their heads (sometimes literally, as in Presto Change-o!) that make you think. Once Upon a Rainy Day is no exception.

This is the story of a story. The actual story was rained out, so this book requires kids to imagine what would have happened had it been sunny out. Once I explained that they would need to imagine the characters and events described in the text, my girls got right into it. Tee described what she thought Oscar the bookish bicycle-riding pig, Amadeus the clever hare, Niles the flying squirrel (in a hot air balloon, thank you very much), and Popof the big-mouthed bear all looked like. The kids even made sound effects to match the text!

Once Upon a Rainy Day interior spread

 
Dojo Daytrip by Chris Tougas

Dojo Daytrip

In this fun sequel to Dojo Daycare, the ninja boys and girls go on a field trip to the farm. Chaos ensues, and the little ninjas are right in the middle of it. But when their Master gets in real trouble with a runaway horse, the ninjas remember their creed, “Always help someone in need,” and they rush in to rescue him and the rest of the day. Told in rhyming couplets with lots of rhythm and repetition, this is a fun book to read aloud with the kids. They especially like shouting out, “YIKES! YEE-OW!”

 
Turn Off That Light! by John Crossingham

Turn Off That Light!

Turn Out That Light! is a fun, comic book style story about a sleepy hedgehog who wakes up because you, the reader, keeps turning the lights on and off by flipping each page. Tee loves reading this out loud. She gets a kick out of all the silly onomatopoeic sound effects and slapstick comedy, and she gets far too much joy from loudly proclaiming “Bumwaggle!”

Turn Off That Light spread

Turns out we were only turning the light on to bring the hedgehog a glass of water. Silly hedgehog!

 
Kyle Goes Alone by Jan Thornhill

Kyle Goes Alone

Kyle the young three-toed sloth has to go potty, and he has to make his way down to the ground to do it. But he can’t help but feel nervous about going that far all on his own.

We are in the midst of potty training here, so this was very timely for us. Kay will be starting preschool in a couple of weeks, and just like Kyle, she will have to “go” alone. This large, colourful book is beautifully illustrated with cut-paper collages featuring a host of rainforest animals who encourage Kyle along his way down to the ground.

We like searching the pictures to find the camouflaged animals, but when I have a three-year-old sitting on my lap, it’s a bit annoying to have to keep turning the book when the orientation changes from horizontal to vertical and back again.

 
An Inuksuk Means Welcome by Mary Wallace

An Inuksuk Means Welcome

As a parent, it’s important to me to teach my kids about other cultures, especially those indigenous to Canada. This lovely introduction to the Inuit language and culture is structured as an acrostic, where kids learn seven Inuktitut words about life in the Arctic, and the first letters of those words spell out INUKSUK. Each word is shown in English and in Inuktitut characters with a pronunciation guide.

I is for inuksuk, the stone messenger that stands at the top of the world.
N is for nanuq, the powerful polar bear of the North.

N is for nanuq page

 

Win this Fall Catalogue Book Package!

One lucky This West Coast Mommy reader will win all six of the books in this post, courtesy of Owlkids Books. What a great collection for fall!

Win this collection of 6 children's books from Owlkids Books (US/CAN, 9/14)

Enter to win in the giveaway widget below. This giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada, 18+. All entries will be verified.

While you’re here, check out my other open giveaways on my Giveaway Page!

Disclosure: I received sample items for review. All opinions expressed are completely honest and my own, based on my personal experience. Your experience may differ. This post contains affiliate links. This West Coast Mommy is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

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