Charlie and Lola Look After Your Planet

Title:Charlie and Lola Look After Your Planet
Author: Lauren Child

• Reading level: 3-5 and Beyond
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dial (March 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803733356

Price: $16.99

Classification: Picture Book

Notable Features: Encourages Recycling, Includes Recycling Poster, Printed on Eco-Friendly Paper

Annotation: Favorite siblings Charlie and Lola are book and ready to clean out their room. But what should they do with a the stuff? Learn all about recycling and start your own project with an included poster to keep track!

Evaluation: Charlie and Lola always delight the entire family. A great read aloud that has a fun relatable story with a great message, savvy parents can appreciate.

Author Website: http://www.milkmonitor.com/

Alice and Greta

Title: Alice and Greta

Author: Steven J. Simmons and Cyd Moore

Pages: 32

Price: $7.95 (Paperback)

Publisher: Charlesbridge+ Publishing

Publisher Date: July 1999

ISBN: 0881069760

Classification: Picture Books

Annotation: Whatever you do comes back to you?

While good witch Alice uses her powers for good, Greta, bad witch and sister to Alice, uses her powers for quite the opposite. In this colorful and cool fairy tale of good witch bad witch, Greta must learn "the brewmerang principle": that whatever you "brew" comes back to you.

Evaluation: I absolutely love this book. It is one of my all time favorites. I love to read it aloud (it's best for 3, 4, or above in age). A wonderful tale about doing good in a classic good witch bad witch genre. Kids are mesmerized by the vidiv colors and root for the witches and their antics. This book and it's series of titles are all ripe to be re-found as a special title in children's literature. The illustrations are phenomenal.

Illustrator Website: http://www.cydmoore.com/books_colormagic.html

Dora the Explorer - Big Sister Dora - DVD

• Title: Dora the Explorer - Big Sister Dora
• Format: Animated, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Nickelodeon
• DVD Release Date: March 22, 2005
• Run Time: 30 minutes
• ASIN: B0007989HU
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• Annotation: Dora can't wait to share her excitement and all that goes along with the new baby (she'll be a big sister!!) in her house!
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• Evaluation: A great way to add support and deal with the new baby on the way! Especially helpful with such a beloved and fun favrite character such as dora. Dora is alway fun to read and watch! This could be the biggest adventure yet!
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• Dora Webpage: http://www.nickjr.com/dora-the-explorer/

Olivia + CD Audio Book

Title: Olivia + CD Audio Book

Author: Ian Falconer

Price: $12.99

Pages: 40 pages

• Publisher: Atheneum; Rei/Cdr edition
• Publisher Date: October 27, 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416980342

Classification: Picture Book & Audio Book

Annotation: Olivia is a spunky piggy who dreams, plays, visits museums, tries on hundreds of outfits, and all this is backdropped with Falconer's amazing artwork!

Evaluation: Miss energy the pig, otherwise known as Olivia, is introduced here in the first Oliva book! Whether viewing fine art, making art on her own walls, dreaming of being a famous dancer, or just trying to get dressed, Olivia is one of the finest characters in modern children's literature. She is drawn in a wonderfully developmentally appropriately bold way with reds, blacks, and whites, and juxtaposed with actual photography and artwork! And in this particular collection, you get a read aloud audio book included with the hard copy. And the Audiobook is a great way to support early literacy skills! Furthermore, I highly recommend the board book version for the younger kids. Every time I read this book in read alouds it seems to be high interest hit with all children, both girls and boys!

Oliva's Website: http://www.oliviathepiglet.com/