Innovative Kids sent us a couple of titles from a great series of science books called "Little Pirate: Science Made Simple" to review. We've been reading them to Z and they've had quite an impact. One of the things that I really like is that although the main characters and background images are illustrated, the object of the story (the trash in the bookWhy Do We Recycle? or the animals in the book Is That a Bat?) are photographs.

Each book features three main characters: Little Pirate - the curious explorer, Parrot - the bird with the answers, and Mystic - a mermaid/girl character who makes keen observations and is always ready for adventure.

The books state that they are for ages 3-6 and I think young kids could engage with this book somewhat due to the bright, interesting illustrations, but the books are really best for kids ages 4-7 or so. There is enough information in the books to last for several years of readings - the younger kids will get the superficial, surface level information and the older kids will really enjoy relating the books to real world topics.

At the end of the book Why Do We Recycle, there are a couple of pirate craft suggestions. We read the book as a bedtime story - just glossing over the crafts since it was bedtime - and were so confused when Z woke up the next morning asking to make a pirate ship out of a plastic bottle. (She finally showed us the project in the back of the book.)

We highly recommend this series! At under $10 on Amazon.com and with their buy three, get the fourth for free deal, these are a great buy. Other titles in the series include: What's in the Egg?, Is a Shark a Fish?, and Why Does the Wind Blow?.

In accordance with our Keep No Stuff policy, we'll be donating these books to charity. - Jennifer

Z has recently been interested in different things about how the human body works so we've spent some time looking at children's books about the functions of the human body. The Usborne Flap Book See Inside Your Body by Katie Daynes and Colin King, shown above, has quickly become a favorite. There are 14 different two-page spreads that each address a different function of the body - from eating and excreting to breathing air and pumping blood. Each spread is printed on thick, board book type pages and feature flaps that offer magnified views of the topic at hand or . The information is accessible even for children as young as five but the book offers enough detail for older children to use as a starting point for further investigation.

Other children's books on the human body we've enjoyed include:

• The Children's Book of the Body by Anna Sandeman: Includes more topics about a wider variety (like the genetics of hair color, how you learn, and how the senses work) but for an older audience.


• Your Skin and Mine by Paul Showers: This Let's-Read-And-Find-Out Science book focuses on the largest organ in the body - the skin - covering topics such as sweating, how the hair grows, fingerprints and melanin.


• Your Insides by Joanna Cole, Illustrated by Paul Meisel Basic body reference book but includes 4 overlay prints that layer from the skin to the muscles and bones, to the heart and lungs, stomach and intestines, and brain and nerves. (Much like the fabulous Beleduc Body Puzzle we reviewed.)


• Skeletons! Skeletons! All About Bones by Katy Hall, illustrated by Paige Billin-Frye. This book covers not just the human skeletal system but that of different animals as well.


• The Skeleton Inside You by Philip Balestrino: Another Let's-Read-And-Find-Out Science book, this one about skeletons, focusing on the human skeletal system. This book had Z and another five-year-old sprawled out on the floor of the bookstore poring over its illustrations for a good 20 minutes.

- Jeremiah

Idea: Brilliant. Execution: Brilliant.

Artist Bill Zeman invited his daughter to "commission" illustrations for him to create "on spec." The results of these are predictably wacky, but the best thing about this book is the critiques: Zeman documents in detail his daughter's occasionally approving but frequently withering and capricious assessments of his work. Tiny Art Director is a steal at about $10 on Amazon.com.

Tiny Art Director - Jeremiah

Microsoft's new gaming interface, dubbed Project Natal, takes the concept of Nintendo's Wii (much loved in our household) a step further by eliminating the controller altogether and enabling the interface to track 11 different points on the player's body. It's pretty incredible, as you can see:



Not sure about a game designed simply to have you flailing, but the potential for this interface is pretty exciting. - Jeremiah

Our first three recent-release book picks are ranked from our favorite downward, and then we have an "oldie but goodie" for you.

Fiona the Flower Girl

by Carley Roney and the editors of the knot

Eight-year-old Fiona is going to be the flower girl at her aunt Caroline's wedding. This book begins with her aunt's engagement ("Fiona thought it would be much better to have a ring that was purple, but she could tell that Aunt Caroline was very happy with her clear ring."), then goes on to dress shopping, the bridal shower, the rehearsal, the all-important walk down the aisle, and the reception.

This is an excellent book for flower girls-to-be. It explains wedding lingo and a flower girl's role simply, while still functioning more as a fun story than as an instructional manual. There is, however, a guide for parents at the end that reads more like a good magazine article, suggesting flower girl etiquette and traditions. The illustrations are charming, with girly patterned backgrounds and accents. The book includes a little purple flower necklace on a ribbon to match the one Fiona receives from her aunt.

Holy cow, it's on sale on Amazon, down from $16 to about $6.50!

Little Chick

by Amy Hest, illustrated by Anita Jeram

Little Chick is a sweet book made up of three similar mini-stories. In the first, Little Chick is waiting for a carrot to grow - but "Old-Auntie" says that sometimes a small carrot is just what you need, so the chick pulls it. In the second, she's waiting for her kite to fly. Old-Auntie comes along and walks with her, and eventually, the kite catches the wind. In the third, she wants to pluck a star from the sky, but Old-Auntie says the star makes the sky sparkle, so she leaves it there.

I was waiting for more with each of the stories. Little Chick is a cute character, and appropriately preschooler-ish in personality (a little impatient, exuberant, adventurous), but the stories lacked punch. I twice wondered if I had accidentally skipped a page, or if they really did just end like that. The storylines are very simple, and to me, a little boring. I was also put off by the name "Old-Auntie." I imagined my aunt getting indignant if Sarina were to nickname her that.

The illustrations are watercolor and pencil, with large gray text.

My daughter asked me to read the story to her twice, and then never again. I think she was a little bored by its repetitiveness, too. But if you have a particularly gentle child, this might be just right.

On sale in hardback, down from about $17 to just over $12.

Dinosaurs Roar, Butterflies Soar!

by Bob Barner

The illustrations in Dinosaurs Roar, Butterflies Soar! are superb; made with cut paper and pastels, they're simple and bright and friendly. That's where my nice review ends.

The text is dry and tries to cover too much. The top half of each layout is supposed to be the simple storyline, while the bottom gives more in-depth facts and bits of trivia. This in itself was confusing, because if I read both, it broke up the storyline and I’d forget where we were by the next page. It didn't matter much, though, because the storyline felt like a school lecture. What a wasted opportunity to give the (worthwhile) lessons some real life by making it a personal story that kids can relate to.

While the recommended audience here is from 4-8, I'd suggest it's for ages 6 and up... if you happen to have a kid who's really into not just the "fun" aspect of dinosaurs, but the historical aspect.

$13-$14 on Amazon.com.

Oldie But Goodie: Honey Bunny Funnybunny

by Marilyn Sadler

Honey Bunny Funnybunny is one of the Cat in the Hat Beginner Books for early readers, and it's a good pick for kids who are dealing with sibling squabbles. In this book, Honey Bunny has an older brother, P.J., who loves to drive her crazy. He pulls the covers off her bed, ties knots in her sleeves, switches the colors her paint jars, and even switches the heads on her dolls.

Finally, their dad yells at P.J., and he stops teasing his sister. For a while, she's happy - "but after a while, she began to feel that something was missing." P.J. is out playing with his friends now, and he's ignoring her entirely. She realizes she actually misses his teasing, and is afraid that he doesn't love her anymore. But when she wakes up one morning and discovers that he's painted her face with polka dots while she slept, she's elated. "P.J. loves me!" she cries. A cute take on quirky sibling relationships.

A mere $9 on Amazon.com, and if you like that, there's a whole series of these books.

Jenna Glatzer (www.jennaglatzer.com) is the author of 19 books. Her most recent collaboration is Unthinkable with Scott Rigsby, the first double-amputee to finish the world-famous Hawaiian Ironman triathlon. Jenna lives with her two-year-old daughter in New York. - Jeremiah

Toon Books - the series that redefines "comics" for young children and makes them an invaluable early reading tool - introduced us to some surprisingly versatile online comic panel creation software that your kids will enjoy playing with.

After fooling around with it, I wrote:

In fact, it works so well, they should take it further. Add the ability to sequence multiple panels on a page and to draw your own characters with a rudimentarly drawing tool, and they could either sell this software on a standalone basis or provide exclusive access to purchasers of their books through an access code.

Then I started browsing some more and realized that Comics Lab Extreme, a companion product to the Comics Lab that Toon Books had brought me to, does just that. Multipage comic books, artwork upload, and more. Great stuff for tech-savvy kids with an interest in comics. And it's all free.

Anyone out there have kids who love a particular comics software, online or off? - Jeremiah