Kindergarten Diary
By Antoinette Portis
HarperCollins Children’s Books, $12.99, ages 4–6
So your preschooler who loved Antoinette Portis’s Not a Box and Not a Stick is now ready for kindergarten. Kindergarten Diary has a lot more text than Portis’s delightfully minimalist first two books, but it has just as much imagination and spunk. If your new kindergartner is feeling nervous about heading off to Big School, Annalina’s adventures on the monkey bars and at show-and-tell may help allay those fears.
Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten?
By Audrey Vernick
HarperCollins Children’s Books, $16.99, ages 4–6
A buffalo in kindergarten?! Well, he’s got a backpack, he’s eager for recess and snacktime, and excited to share with his new classmates that he’s the state animal of Oklahoma. Definitely ready! New kindergarteners who may be wondering if they are ready for kindergarten themselves will cheer on the buffalo, and gain a little bit of personal confidence in the process. Oh, and a few giggles.
Bedtime for Mommy
By Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Bloomsbury Children’s Books, $16.99, ages 3-5
Bedtime for Mommy is absolutely irresistible. Your own little bedtime-resister will recognize the familiar bedtime steps and struggles, but this time it’s a little girl coaxing Mommy and Daddy to put their PJs on and turn out the light. The illustrations by LeUyen Pham are full of joy and love and just as memorable as the story itself.
Liking Myself and The Mouse, the Monster, and Me
By Pat Palmer, Ed.D.
Uplift Press, ages 8 and up
First published 30 years ago and out of print since 2000, these two classics teach assertiveness in a way that children can easily grasp. Kids understand who the “mouse” and the “monster” are inside of themselves and these concepts make it easier for them to absorb lessons on saying no, accepting compliments, and asking for what they need. The books were born in the Free to Be You and Me era, when parents, teachers, and mental health experts were speaking directly for the first time about feelings and self-esteem. These messages are still out there, but they are wrapped up in stories and allegories. Palmer comes right out and tells kids, “Let go of the idea that everyone has to like you.”
Manga Doodles
By Yuriko Yano
Trafalgar Square Publishing, $12.99, ages 8 and up
Manga fans can fill this book with their own creations by answering prompts like “What is he lifting?” and “What must he fight?” to complete 128 pages of illustrations (that should last for the rest of the summer!). This isn’t a step-by-step how-to-draw book. Each page simply has the beginnings of a scene that young artists can fill any way they like.
