Michelle Marcotte - Writer, Book Reviewer, Artist

Hello Smart Book Buyers, AI Meets AI Activity Book is is available from Amazon by following this affiliate link. https://amzn.to/40BF0DI . The first book in the series is available at https://amzn.to/47LOUoF. The second book in the series is available here: https://amzn.to/49R2rwX Thank you for helping me by using these links.

Amber Ivey, the author of these three books designed to introduce your favorite kids ages 3-9 to AI is offering a book give away. The author will mail a free copy of these three books to one person  who emails me books@michellemarcotte.com. Keep listening for the simple contest rules. Ok, so here are the books:

The first is ‘AI Meets AI’. This book begins with the best dedication ever written in a book for kids. Although the author wrote it for her nieces and nephew, I suggest you just change the names to your kids’ names and read it to them. It is so positive and encouraging. It puts into words the hopes that all parents and grandparents have for their kids’ futures.

The book is about a girl named Addy Iris in Baltimore who finds a lost robot on the street. She brings the robot to her house and then eventually back to the Johns Hopkins University, where the robot was ‘born’. Along the way, Addy teaches the robot about feelings and responsibility. It’s a short book with great illustrations, kids will love the expression on the robot’s face as it learns new things. AND the pages are numbered in code, which is very cool. It is a good book for kids age 6-9.

The next book is, ‘My first robot’. Here we meet Addy’s younger brother. This book will appeal to kids age 3-6).  We meet Nolan who was excited to meet a robot at his third birthday party. Written in a rhyming cadence, Nolan is happy to learn about robots and to help the robot learn about friendship.

The third book in this series is an activity and coloring book called, “Ai Meets AI Coloring and Activity Book. It will appeal and be used by kids from 3-9, although they will use it in different ways. It sneaks STEM learning into fun activities. Younger kids will like coloring the really great illustrations of Addy, Nolan and Jaz, the robot. Older kids will find the AI and tech word games and the page that teaches number coding to be fun and challenging. And there are design challenges for them too.

Although you can buy these books on Amazon on the affiliate links I have placed in the comment section below, Amber Ivey, who is the AI author and publisher of this series will give one person all three of these books. 

Here are the simple rules. I will randomly select one person from the list of people who email me. Here is my email address: Books@michellemarcotte.com. Email me by the December 10th 2023. If you win, I will write to ask you for your street address, then Amber will mail you the book. Simple! Offer open to residents of Canada and the United States.  

Thank you for coming back to Great Books for Kids Reviewed by Michelle Marcotte. Just email me at books@michellemarcotte.com and I will enter your name into the book give away.  

Hello book lovers. Here is my affiliate link for Amazon to help you buy this book. https://amzn.to/47xRHBT

This is a unique book. It is an imaginative fantasy, that becomes a story about growing old and dying, without ever saying the word. It is book about life and memory and the words someone can leave behind that can touch a heart forever. It presents as a picture book, but it is a book that adults who are dealing with loss would also love to receive as a gift.

Here we meet Morris Lessmore, a man who loves words and books. As he reads book after book, he is also spending time writing about his own life. But, as the book says, “Every Story has its upsets.”

In this case, a huge storm that destroys all his books and his home leaving Morris searching for a new life. Eventually a young lady (or is it an angel) floats by carried along by a squadron of flying books. She leaves her favorite book for Morris, who follows her to a large building full of flying, talking and intelligent books.

Morris spends the rest of his life talking to and reading all the flying books, always in the company of the book given to him by the young woman. We spend those years with Morris, reading and writing, talking to books, fixing books and observing books as season after season passes and Morris grows old. Morris shares books with everyone who comes by, giving each person a different book because Morris believes ‘Everyone’s Story Matters’.

When Morris realizes he has written the end of his book, he knows it is his time to leave. He says goodbye to the books telling them he will carry them all in his heart. In an exquisitely touching scene, Morris leaves, flying away, and as he is carried away into the sky by the flying books, he turns back into the young man he was before.

The books are sad, until they find the book Morris has written about his life. They knew everything he wanted to tell them was right there. I think this book is suitable for kids from 7 years old to adults. If you know a child who has had a grandparent die recently, you will have to make a judgement call to know if this book is right for them, or is right at this time in their life.

The illustrations by the author, William Joyce and with Joe Bluhm, make this life allegory, both real and amusing using a color palette that makes many of the pages look like antique photos. We bounce from realism to fantasy, from a real life to the insides of books themselves.

It is a masterful, keepsake book published by Moonbot, an imprint of Athemeum Books. You will find The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore in sophisticated bookstores, through Bookshop.org that supports local bookstores and on Amazon on the affiliate link I have placed above.

Hello book buyers. Here is my affiliate link to find this book on Amazon. https://amzn.to/40JaGqZ

I think it is difficult to find great books that pre-teen boys will love. Boys age 9-13 are often quite uninterested in reading, but Dead End in Norvelt, will have them loving to read an actual novel, and learning some history along the way.

Here’s the story. Eleven-year old Jack Gantos lives in a very small, historic, dying town in Western Pennsylvania called Norvelt. The town was established by Ellenor Roosevelt, the former First Lady of the US, as way to provide homes and dignity to poor families. We learn all about the history of Norvelt, an actual town that Jack Gantos, the author of this book and a well known author of many books for boys, actually grew up in. The story might be semi-autobiographical, and probably much of it is fiction because no real eleven year old boy could have so much fun while being grounded for the entire summer.  

Jack’s dad has just returned from World War II. He has many trophies from the war, many of them contraband that Jack has to keep hidden from his mom. His mother is a strict no-nonsense kind of mom. So, the kind of nonsense and strange situations that Jack Gantos finds in this town are actually laugh out loud funny.

Jack is persuaded by his dad to mow down his mom’s corn field so his dad can build a runway for a WWII airplane he is restoring. Mom is furious and grounds our friend Jack for the summer. The only things he can do are chores (such as digging a bomb shelter in the back yard), and helping the arthritic old lady next door type up obituaries for the other old people in this dying town.

The relationship between this arthritic and very cranky old lady, Miss Volker, who was appointed by Ellenor Roosevelt to be the town nurse and medical examiner, starts off bumpy but they become friends and accomplices in all kinds of crazy stunts. The old lady has a car, but she can not drive, so she has eleven year old Jack drive her everywhere in town. They check on the other old ladies in town to see if they are dead or alive. And many of them are dead, which does not please Jack. Miss Volker sends him to do her chores, and since he is grounded and loves driving a car, he loves working for Miss Volker. She can no longer write or type so he becomes her scribe as she dictates obituaries.

Miss Volker knows the history of the town and of the world. She pours both her heart and history into crazy, but loving obituaries for Jack to type up. Along the way, Jack learns history and learns that if don’t learn the mistakes of history, you are bound to repeat them.

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos is not a new book. It was published in 2011 and is still just as perfect a book as you would ever want to buy or borrow for your pre-teen boy. You will find it at smart bookstores, in libraries with smart librarians (and aren’t they all?), at bookshop.org to support your local bookstore and on Amazon on the affiliate link I have placed below in the comment section above.     

Hello. Here is my affiliate link to order this book and anything else you might want from Amazon. https://amzn.to/3FVmVqF  

Gee-eun Lee is a Korean writer and illustrator. She both wrote and illustrated ‘My Grandmom’ about her life in Korea with her grandmother. It was translated into English by Sophie Bowman.

In My Grandmom, we meet little Gee-eun who upset when her parents go to work. But her Halmoni, her Grandmom, knows just what to do to distract Gee-eun into having a happy day. They make noodles and soup, and her grandmother tells her about when her mom was just as small as Gee-Eun.

When family sports day comes at school, Gee-Eun cries because her mother can not take her to do the sports together. But her grandmother assures her that she was once so good at sports and the family sports day will be a success.

But, Grandmom is a lot older and less able to do sports than she thought. She tries, but Grandmom falls during the race and Gee-eun is upset because they don’t win.

The patient and resourceful grandmom takes Gee-eun to the market to buy snacks and fish and then home to cook a nice dinner for the parents when they come home from work.

It is a sweet and simple story, one showing the wisdom and patience of Grandmothers, which I can relate to, and of the simple things in life that Grandparents can do that so enrich a child’s life. For children, every ordinary day can be important with the right person by their side.

I loved the illustrations! They are colorful and full of action. They are deceptively simplistic, with a flat perspective and shapes that look like shapes from the Korean alphabet. Your early elementary school child can learn a lot about how do draw people from looking at these fun illustrations.

My Grandmom by Gee-eun Lee was first published in Korean and then translated into English by Sophie Bowman, who did a great job. It is was published in English, in hardcover by Amazon Crossing. You can find it at worldly bookstores, or order it from Bookshop.org that supports local bookstores or from Amazon at the affiliate link I have placed in the comment section above.

Hello Book Lovers. Here is my affiliate link to help you find this book on Amazon.com https://amzn.to/47pDwOT

Here is a sweet little book for your toddler or pre-schooler. The Hidden World of Gnomes by Lauren Soloy, takes us into the woods and ponds and into the lives of the tiny little Gnomes who live there. And these Gnomes are so much fun, they describe the changes each season brings, and celebrating with fun chores and parties and songs. They find joy in every little thing in their woods. They help take care of the plants and animals and they do it all as a family or as a team.

Each story or vignette is one of two pages, usually with just a few lines. When reading this book with your child it will be the illustrations that tell so much of the story. You would just want to sit and ask your child what they see. Let them find the Gnome in the illustration, and let them enjoy telling you what the Gnome is doing that day. In this book the Gnomes are busy gathering mushrooms, combing the tails of squirrels to make them fluffy, observing butterfly chrysalis just waiting for the butterfly to emerge, babysitting little birds while their mothers are gathering food and making themselves costumes out of flowers. Your child will find lots to talk about with you.

Lauren Soloy is both author and illustrator of this very darling book. She spends a lot of time in nature, walking in the woods of Nova Scotia on Canada’s East Coast.

And what an observer she must be. She describes aspects of each season and what grows in the woods. Her thoughts meander like a nice stroll should. On one page she might introduce us to a work team of Gnomes, on another page we can do exercises with a Gnome or wonder at the joy of planting seeds and watching them grow. The Gnomes are friends of birds, butterflies and other insects, rabbits (who like them to scratch in between their ears), squirrels, foxes, wild geese and wild pigs. Humans don’t enter into their thoughts at all, which is probably just a well!

The Gnomes of Lauren Soloy’s Nova Scotia are chubby, tiny little creatures, very friendly looking, with diverse skin colors, really fun names and charming idiosyncrasies. They are not much like the traditional Gnomes you might have read about and don’t look like garden Gnome statues. Her Gnomes don’t grow whiskers until they bed down in winters to help them keep warm.

The colors in The Hidden World of Gnomes are calm, almost antique looking and won’t cause bouncy dreams or nightmares. It is very sweet, unique and a wonderful invitation to keep your eyes open to enjoy the world we live in.

The Hidden World of Gnomes was published by Tundra books and Penguin Random House. It will be found in gentle bookstores. You can order it through Bookshop.org to support your local bookstore or from Amazon at the affiliate link I have included in the comment section.

Hello book friends, Here is my affiliate link to help you find this book on Amazon. When you use this link to shop at Amazon I make a few cents to help me buy more books. https://amzn.to/47aQsZx

Around three years old, shy children may start to decide the world is just too big and scary or may decide there are just too many people and they would rather stay home. You can try to encourage or push your child to want to be with other kids or go places, but that might not work.

Sometimes kids just need one special friend before they can branch out.

In Lawrence & Sophia, by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Brian Cronin, we meet Lawrence, a little boy who finds the world outside his fence to be very big, very loud and very crowded. He is happy staying inside his own yard. We also meet Sophia, a strange little bird, who views the world outside her tree as dark, bumpy and dangerous. So she stays in her tree.

One day Sophia ventured out to a branch that was outside Lawrence’s window, and a friendship began. They had fun together flying kites, playing soccer and putting on plays, while they both stayed in their preferred own space.  Lawrence made a tent in the yard to be closer to Sophia, and she moved her nest to be closer to Lawrence.

All was good until a huge storm came that was big, loud, dark, bumpy and dangerous. The friends were so worried about each other that they left their own spaces to look for their friend.

And that is how they learned that yes, the world might be cold and bumpy but if you have a friend, and you take care of each other, it will be all right.  And with your friend at your side, you might just want to explore the world a bit.

The illustrations are cute and funny. Lawrence and Sophia both have big eyes and the feathers on the top of Sophia’s head match the color of Lawrence’s knit cap. Little kids age 3-5 will find the things that Lawrence builds in his back yard to be amusing, and they will understand Lawrence’s and Sophia’s feelings because they might be similar to their own at times. This book can help you get your pre-school child to talk about their feelings, and if they are just about to go to pre-school or kindergarten you may find they’ll tell you they are scared too, giving you the opportunity to talk that through before it becomes a problem.

Lawrence and Sophia by Doreen Cronin and Illustrated by Brian Cronin was published by Rocky Pond Books from Penguin Random House. It is sold by understanding bookstores, or order it online from Bookshop.org which supports local bookstores, or from Amazon by following the link I have placed in the comment section above.

Hi book buyers: Here is an affiliate link to Amazon.com to help you find this and all the Narwal and Jelly books. https://amzn.to/3s7QP7T

If you know a kid who is just learning to read, or maybe does not really want to learn to read, the Narwal series of graphic novels is just what you need. Here I have Super Narwal and Jelly Jolt, one of many Narwal graphic novels written and illustrated by Ben Clanton and published by Tundra.

If you aren’t sure you want your kid reading graphic novels, maybe you are picturing comic books of the sort written for older kids – the kind with scantily dressed gals.

By big contrast, the Narwal and Jelly series of graphic novels are really fun and sneakily informative books for early readers or reluctant readers ages 5-8.  

The characters in this book are Narwal, who is sure he is Super Narwal. Narwall loves waffles and all his ocean friends. Narwal’s superpower is to bring out the Super in everyone. He helps his friends Jelly and Crab find, and rejoice in, their own superpowers.

This book is a series of short vignettes, little stories that feature his friends, their problems or concerns and how Narwal helps them. The length of these little stories is perfect for learning to read age kids.

Let me show you how this fun version of a graphic novel works.

In the first story, Narwal is planning a great day, a Super Day, perhaps beginning with waffles. Then he plans to become a Superhero. His friend Jelly is skeptical and says Narwal does not have what it takes to be a Superhero, for example, a costume, a secret identity and a side kick. Narwal invents everything he needs and declares that Jelly, the timid skeptic, his superhero sidekick. So, Jelly becomes the Superhero Jelly Jolt and on it goes.

The two Superheroes go about their day, meeting friends in the ocean, teaching us about their lives, solving problems and creating superheros of everyone they meet.

It’s upbeat, positive and informative all rolled into one funny, very easy to read, book. Your early elementary school kid or grandkid will love them. AND there are many Narwal and Jelly books making future gift giving problems easy to solve.

Super Narwal and Jelly Jolt, in the Narwall and Jelly book series was published by Tundra, is available in bookstores with a sense of humor, or ordered from Bookshop.org which supports your local bookstore, or at Amazon on the link I have placed below in the comments section.

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Hi book buyers. Here’s an affiliate link to Amazon to help you find and buy this book: https://amzn.to/40pZ63v

Today I read this rare book, The One Thing You’d Save. It is rare in the sense that it has broken every one of the rules that people tell you about writing for kids. And it is breathtakingly excellent. Newberry award winning writer and poet Linda Sue Park has published many books, historical fiction, picture books and this book that readers from ages 7 to adult would enjoy. This is the book you could circulate before your Thanksgiving or holiday meal with family. It would spur an interesting discussion, much more interesting and much less fraught than talking about politics.  

It starts with a homework assignment by a gentle, thoughtful teacher. She tells her scholars to imagine their home is on fire, their family and pets are safe. She asks, what is the one thing, the only one thing, they would save as the ran out of their home?

What follows is the musings and answers and discussions by many of her scholars, revealing their interests, loves, concerns and hopes. It is funny, heartbreaking, happy, sad and so thought-provoking. If you read it to your kids, or your whole family this book will make everyone think.

About the rule-breaking: it is 80 pages, too short to be a novel; too long to be a picture book. It is fully illustrated like a picture book with*, calm, detailed city views that do not include scenes of fire. The cover is in color, but, all of the other incredible illustrations by Robert Sae-Heng are completely in black, grey and white, the color of ash.

The paragraph and page structure is unusual. Linda Sue Park explained the structure she uses is based on a ancient Korean poetry called sijo (SHEE-zho). A sijo is three lines of thirteen to seventeen syllables in short or long lines. The lines do not rhyme, but even to people not familiar with this poetic form, there is an inherent beauty in the spareness of the language, in the way the kids’ thoughts and resulting decisions are concisely reported, in just three lines.

And yet, the language is true to how kids actually speak, with slang, with incorrect verbs sometimes. It simply rings so true.

The One Thing You’d Save was published by Clarion Books of Harper-Collins. You can buy it in the most intelligently curated bookstores, through bookshop.org that supports your local bookstores, or from Amazon on the link I have placed below in the comments. And check your library. I borrowed this copy from the beautiful new Archer Florida public library in Alachua County.

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