I’m excited about…

Two things:

I’ll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

I’m telling you, this book is really something. It’s kind of woken me up from a string of “meh, this is pretty good” books I’ve read lately. The number of times I’ve stopped reading for a second and noticed that I had goosebumps is clearly proof that this story is special. I cannot wait to finish it and I don’t want to ever finish it. It will be a tough act to follow.

 

and

The book trailer and behind the scenes video for Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. My friend Vikki showed them to me the other day and wow. Wow. That is all.

Let’s Count to 100!

Fact: the world contains many counting books. Fact: not many of these counting books are as adorable and distinctive and clever and funny as Masayuki Sebe’s Let’s Count to 100! The title has an exclamation point, and as soon as you take a look inside, it’s clear why. This book is FUN! It makes counting to 100 about as entertaining as it could possibly be. I read every page because I was actually having a good time doing it.

Here’s what’s delightful about this colourful and expressive book. Each page opens to a double-page spread packed with detail in all sorts of vibrant colours. The reader is invited to count the tiny mice, cats, moles, sheep and more, and the text asks questions that guide young readers to do more than count to 100. For example, on the page full of kids, young readers are asked to search the pictures to find out how many children are doing handstands, who has candy, and who likes to play soccer. There are search-and-find games on each page, which adds to the fun. On top of this, the illustrations have plenty of sass and character, lots of cute little dramas are unfolding all over the place, which I think kids and parents will have fun spotting together. It’s a counting book that will likely become a favourite to read again and again because of the level of detail, the silliness, and the bright personality-filled cartoon illustrations.

Let’s Count to 100! is published in Canada by Kids Can Press.