Teaching kids to appreciate books and enjoy reading starts at a very early age. For some kids, reading is a laborious chore perhaps because they have difficulty with comprehension and/or connection with the words. One way to help improve your child’s ability to read is to read with them. Or get your kids involved in activities that include reading. Of course, another way to encourage your kids to open a book is to have a variety of titles in your home library. Very often the cover image or the title will spark some interest and nudge kids to crack open the book. Variety is the spice of life and that includes books. Here are two new titles that you may want to add to your repertoire of books.

The Flower Garden

Anna is an environmentally conscious kid. She heard her mom talk about bees being in trouble, so she decides to do something about it. She phoned her best friend Tess and invited her over to their garden shed. When Tess arrives, Anna shares her concern about the bees and wants to plant more flowers for them. Tess is afraid of bees, but went along anyway. Anna’s cat Tiger went along as well. They planted some seeds and watered them. Watching their freshly planted seeds, they fall asleep and wake up to flowers and other plants that are as tall as buildings.

Whoa, Tess and Anna are bewildered at how fast the seeds grew. Or did they shrink? Tess is thinking, this can’t be right, something is wrong here. But, little did they know that a fairy sprinkles her magic dust on the seeds to make them grow quickly! They walk through the immensely large garden, see huge bees and birds and run into May. May is short to Maple and she’s a gnome. She invites them to see her underground home, but Tess is not having any of it. Anna goes with May and Tess waits outside. She met a lot of May’s friends and enjoys herself, but she thinks she better check on Tess. That is where things go wrong. Can she find her way out? Where did Tess go?

The book has a positive message that will encourage kids to consider the planet and the critters that live on it. All the pages are full of vibrant colors and the text is written in a comic-book-like style. It’s a great story that kids will enjoy reading. Recommended to kids aged 6 – 9.

Spring Parade

Spring Parade is a story about a little bunny waking up after a long cold winter. Spring is coming and life is beginning to sprout all over. Bunny sees his first flower, a crocus. The bears are waking up and newborn birds, honeybees, bugs and butterflies are making their appearance. Oh and the grass, the rich, green, thick lush grass with oodles of flowers growing everywhere. There are baby lambs, fawns, and ducklings. The trees have green leaves and beautiful blossoms. Everyone is so happy that spring is here!

The graphics are whimsical, colorful, and captivating. Kids will enjoy connecting with nature as it wakes to a beautiful spring. Recommended for kids aged 4 – 8.

Disclaimer: I received complimentary products to facilitate a review. All opinions are my own, yours may differ.