New Children’s Books For All Ages

Felix Stands Tall

By Rosemary Wells
Candlewick Press. $14.99

Although he isn’t sure he wants to do it, Felix agrees to dress up in a green pixie outfit and dance with his best friend, Fiona, in the talent show at the Guinea Pig Jubilee. The couple wins the first prize ribbon but that is only the beginning of Felix’s troubles.

Since some of his classmates have seen the talent show, they begin to tease Felix. They call him “twinkletoes” and make his life very unpleasant.

The bullying isn’t going to stop until Felix learns to stand tall and defend himself. And, with a little help from Fiona, that’s exactly what he learns to do as he confronts his tormentors.

An excellent book about bullies and how to deal with them, this latest story from Rosemary Wells will appeal to any child who has had to suffer harassment at school or on the playground. Felix learns a valuable lesson about dealing with other children’s taunts and so will the reader.

This is a book every school library should have a copy of and teachers will want to use it when discussing inappropriate behavior such as teasing or bullying.

I Thought This Was A Bear Book

By Tara Lazar; Illustrated by Benji Davies
Aladdin. $17.99

Author Tara Lazar revisits the Three Bears story but adds an interesting and rather odd twist to the classic tale. The bears encounter an alien creature that is apparently lost and needs to find his way back to his picture book.

The bears try a number of ways of getting the odd looking interloper back to where he belongs and eventually they are successful. Goldilocks makes a cameo appearance in the story but she’s not too helpful, as one would expect.

All in all, this is an odd adventure and one that younger children may not fully fathom. Older readers who already are familiar with the more traditional Three Bears story may find it humorous, though, since they will realize what all this silliness (the wrong characters in the story) is suppose to be about.

Bear and Bunny

By Daniel Pinkwater; Illustrated by Will Hillenbrand
Candlewick Press. $15.99

Bear and Bunny are close friends who love to hang out in the forest. They wander through the woods singing, eating and sharing ideas. Then one day bunny gets the brilliant idea that they should adopt a pet.

The problem is the pair isn’t sure what kind of pet would work well. They decide it must be an animal that they can care for and feed, plus it must love them too. They reject the idea of adopting a caterpillar and obviously a pine cone (bear’s idea!) doesn’t fit the bill at all. Then the two find the ideal pet, only they have a slight problem identifying it properly.

Although their would-be pet is actually a small frog, bear and bunny think it is a kitten, but that’s not a serious problem. The frog seems quite happy being taken care of and the misguided friends don’t see a problem with the arrangement. Of course providing their new pet with a diet of strawberries may cause problems down the road!

This cute story will have young readers giggling as they realize bear and bunny have not identified their new pet properly. An endearing tale about friendship and two not too bright buddies will be one your child will want to share with friends and family members as well as reread often.

Slipper and Flipper in The Quest for the Golden Sun

By Susan Reagan
Hyperion/Disney. $17.99

Don Pinguino, a noted explorer, left the “way-far-south in search of the Land of the Golden Sun” and now, years later, two small penguins want to emulate the legendary explorer. Slipper and Flipper are not taken seriously by their father, but they surprise him by embarking on a journey that takes them north away from their frigid homeland.

The two penguins travel to Easter Island and to South America where they visit Rio, Buenos Aires, and the Amazon River before heading farther north to Mexico. Then they venture across the border where they finally arrive in sunny California.

Combining actual photos of the places they visit with illustrations, the penguins’ odyssey is charted in an attractive manner that features fold out pages. An amusing adventure which makes the reader aware of geography and travel to foreign lands, this picture book will entertain young children while giving them the opportunity to practice their new reading skills. From start to finish it shows how much fun travel can be.

The Great Extendable Colouring Book

By Sam Hutchinson and Stu McLellan
B small publishing. $18.99

Here’s a special coloring book with pages that fold out to create panoramic scenes for the child to color. The seven special scenes unfold to include a safari, under the sea adventure, a fashion show, a jungle trek, space exploration, playing sports and an arty street party.

Recommended for children five and older, I wouldn’t give this book to a youngster until he or she is able to color within the lines. The illustrations on heavy paper are appropriate for color pencils, crayons or colored felt-tips. When the picture is finished (or before you start) it can be removed from the book for display on a wall or elsewhere.

An added bonus that accompanies each scene is questions that ask the viewer to locate objects within each picture. For example, “Can you spot the cats in this street scene?”

Quality coloring books have become very popular with adults and children. This one will appeal more to a child than an adult, but that’s not to say Mom or Dad can’t lend a hand doing some of the coloring!

The Three Musketeers

By Alexandre Dumas; Retold by Joan Cameron; Illustrated by Sean Hayden
Ladybird Classics/Penguin UK. $8.99

This retelling of the classic tale about the swashbuckling adventures of a young man who travels to Paris with hopes of becoming one of the King’s Musketeers will delight young readers age eight and older.

The abridged version of the Dumas’ adventure follows the young man on a number of risky missions and it is accompanied by a series of full-page color illustrations.

A good way to introduce a youngster to this famous action story, after mastering this adaption, which is just seventy pages in length, the child will hopefully one day want to try the full length version written by Alexander Dumas.