Author: Luisa LaFleur

Dennis Shoe is a happy-go-lucky young boy with a great smile and a winning manner. He is enthusiastic so sometimes he speaks fast and when he says his name, it comes out sounding like Tennyshoe. He’s an instantly likeable character and most readers will either identify with him or want to be like him.

There have been many times when my kids have stumped me with questions about their surroundings or about how things work or about why things happen. I wish that I had seen any one of the following books at those times; they would have saved me lots stress and my kids would have gotten some answers.

Sometimes, it’s more important to engage children in the process rather than force them to act. Following are some books that pre-teens will surely enjoy because of their irreverent characters, intriguing situations or simply contradictory messages. They are sure to entice even the most reluctant pre-teens.

Teaching children to be compassionate—to understand someone else’s suffering and to try and alleviate that suffering—is not easy. Here are a few books that can help impart the message that being kind to one another is essential and that the golden rule is paramount.

September is just a few short weeks away and children going into kindergarten will enter a whole new realm that is really quite different from Pre-K or daycare settings. The following books will help explain the school setting and hopefully clear up any doubts or lingering fears in preparation for the first day of school.

In The Word Collector, Sonja Wimmer playfully weaves an intricate tale of words as objects, to be collected and saved and treasured.

Fuddles is a cat. A well-cared for cat. A cat that has all it needs—except adventure.

Princess Kim and too much truth tells the tale of little Kim and her decision to always tell the truth.

A list of very charming tales with Spanish translation.

Have a budding paleontologist, poet or linguist on your hands? Then the bilingual Dinosaur Name Poems is the book for you!