Book Review: Sunrise Dance and Moonlight Prance

Publisher Summaries

Moonlight Prance

Young readers can make skunks scamper and possums prance with each push of a durable novelty element in this bedtime read-aloud. 

When you rest your head at night, nocturnal animals awake to dance and play! Push and pull the sturdy tabs to make foxes frolic and hedgehogs hustle in this sweet, interactive tale of nighttime fun.

Sunrise Dance

Make salmon splash and bear cubs bustle with each push of a durable novelty element in this sweet and interactive morning read-aloud. 

When you wake up in the morning, playful animals are starting their day! Push and pull the sturdy tabs to make dragonflies dance and bear cubs bustle in this sweet, interactive tale of morning-time fun.

A charming and interactive bedtime read-aloud, young children will delight in moving the durable novelty elements, making the illustrations transform through their efforts.

BONDING & LEARNING: Novelty elements create opportunities for interacting with the book, and with one another, in new and sweet ways. While promoting parent-child bonding, the interactive elements also help the youngest readers learn hand-eye coordination and cause-and-effect as they see how their actions impact the illustrations.

CUDDLY CREATURES: Teagan White's cutest of animals are irresistible.

Perfect for: parents, gift-givers, fans of interactive books

Review

What more can we say?

Wonderfully whimsical and fantastically fabulous, these books are a feast for the eyes and the ears. Marmots are mamboing, raccoons are rollicking, and we are here for it. Author and illustrator marry text and picture to create standout reading experiences. Add in the interactive elements and you have something truly unique. Both titles are on constant rotation in this bookseller’s house. They draw in the child as well as the adult: our 2yo keeps going back to these specific books and diving into their delights on his own.

The interactive elements really are sturdy, too! Months in, with heavy daily reading, and the 2yo has only Houdinied one element from the combined sixteen.

Books for Boys

Once they graduate to chapter books, many girls take to reading like a fish to water. Boys, on the other hand, not so much. Boys often have a harder time diving into the literary world after picture books. Here are a few recommendations for your boys who just haven't found that book that hooks them into the reading life.

For the detective

Nate the Great Series for Beginning Readers

Nate the Great has a new case! His friend Annie has lost a picture. She wants Nate to help her find it. Nate the Great must get all the facts, ask the right questions, and narrow the list of suspects so he can solve the mystery.

The Hardy Boys Series for Middle Readers

The Hardy Boys are two brothers, Frank and Joe Hardy. They are average teenagers with a strong combination of inquisitiveness and curiosity. With such a potent combination, they operate as part time detectives and solve a great many mysteries

For the athletically inclined

Tim Green's Books for Middle Readers

Bestselling author and former NFL player Tim Green scores a touchdown with this exhilarating books. Green's books are action-packed adventures with gripping suspense, heroes you can really root for, and an insider’s look at the worlds of professional football and baseball.

For the graphically inclined

Don't be dismayed by the thickness of these books, they're full of pictures!

Timeless Series for Middle Readers

The world did not end. At least not permanently. The Time Collision came from beyond the stars, a cosmic event that fractured time and space, tearing apart the earth and reshaping it into something entirely new. This is the world Diego Ribera was born into. The past, present, and future coexisting together. In New Chicago, Diego’s middle school hallways buzz with kids from all eras of history and from cultures all over the world. The pieces do not always fit together neatly, but this is the world he loves. There are those, however, who do not share his affection.

With more than 150 full-color illustrations.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret for Middle Readers

Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

For those who "just want to read about real life"

Henry Huggins Series for Beginning-Middle Readers

Just as Henry Huggins is complaining that nothing exciting ever happens, a friendly dog sits down beside him and looks pleadingly at his ice-cream cone. From that moment on, the two are inseparable. But when Ribsy's original owner appears, trying to reclaim his dog, Henry's faced with the possibility of losing his new best friend. Has Klickitat Street seen the last of rambunctious Ribsy?

The Wednesday Wars for Middle Readers

Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn’t like Holling—he’s sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation—the Big M—in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.

For those who love adventure

Pax for Middle Readers

ax was only a kit when his family was killed, and “his boy” Peter rescued him from abandonment and certain death. Now the war front approaches, and when Peter’s father enlists, Peter has to move in with his grandpa. Far worse than being forced to leave home is the fact that Pax can’t go. Peter listens to his stern father—as he usually does—and throws Pax’s favorite toy soldier into the woods. When the fox runs to retrieve it, Peter and his dad get back in the car and leave him there—alone. But before Peter makes it through even one night under his grandfather’s roof, regret and duty spur him to action; he packs for a trek to get his best friend back and sneaks into the night. This is the story of Peter, Pax, and their independent struggles to return to one another against all odds.

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library for Middle Readers

Kyle Keeley is the class clown, popular with most kids, (if not the teachers), and an ardent fan of all games: board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the building of the new town library.

Lucky Kyle wins a coveted spot to be one of the first 12 kids in the library for an overnight of fun, food, and lots and lots of games. But when morning comes, the doors remain locked. Kyle and the other winners must solve every clue and every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route. And the stakes are very high.

The Hero Series for Middle Readers

Hero, a retired search-and-rescue dog, is not prepared for a stray puppy to come into his life. But when he and twelve-year-old Ben find Scout injured and afraid, the new addition leads them down an unexpected and dangerous path.

When Scout goes missing, it's up to Hero to use his search-and-rescue skills to find Scout and bring him home.

For the history buff

For those with big imaginations

The Fly Guy Series for Beginning Readers

When Buzz captures a fly to enter in The Amazing Pet Show, his parents and the judges tell him that a fly cannot be a pet, but Fly Guy proves them wrong.

The Magic Tree House Series for Beginning Readers

Jack and Annie wonder: Where did the tree house come from?

Before they can find out, the mysterious tree house whisks them to the past. Now they have to figure out how to get home.

The Chronicles of Narnia Series for Middle Readers

Journeys to the end of the world, fantastic creatures, and epic battles between good and evil—what more could any reader ask for in one book? The book that has it all is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, written in 1949 by Clive Staples Lewis. But Lewis did not stop there. Six more books followed, and together they became known as The Chronicles of Narnia.

Want more options of great books for your boys? The Read-Aloud Revival just posted their list of recommendations!

The Joys of Rereading

There are all sorts of readers in the world. Escapists, discoverers, arm-chair travelers, and so on. Readers may find themselves in one, or several, of these groups.

There is one small subgroup of readers, however, that you either belong to or you don't: rereaders.

Those who are not rereaders may be baffled that some spend precious minutes that could be used to read something new perusing a book for a second, or even fifteenth, time. Rereaders may feel just as baffled that others wouldn't want to immerse themselves in a beloved or remarkable story multiple times.

But with all of the books out there, who has the time to reread?!?

Rereading usually happens around the holidays (oh, the nostalgia of the holidays) or when a reader is in a certain mood. Rereading also helps readers out of reading slumps.

But still, why reread? There are other ways to cure reading slumps, other ways for a new book to satisfy a mood.

There is nothing like the joy of reading a book for the first time; however, first-read thrills can't always compete with the joys found in a well-loved story. There is joy in the comfort of revisiting a story, joy in better understanding a book, and joy in deep familiarity with a world found between the pages.

Those who reread for comfort simply feel at home in a certain book's world. These are the books we return to when we're stressed out, overwhelmed (or underwhelmed), or just need a lift. They help us grapple with disappointed hopes or difficult times. They remind us that the world contains both sorrow and beauty, pain and joy.

Those who reread for understanding reread in order to grasp the nuance or details of a book. These books usually hold a significant place in the life of the reader. They've caused paradigm shifts or made the reader look at the world in a wholly new way. These kinds of revelations, of course, require deeper thought and a careful understanding of the journey on which these books take the reader.

Those who reread for familiarity can quote from these beloved books, they know them so well. People who are fans of a book can recite the most famous parts, but those with true familiarity can call up lines or whole passages for fitting situations or as a way to connect with others who share the same love for that text. 

What do you reread and why?