Children's Notes

by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 1/2/2006

A WORD OF ADVICE

The spiritual guide Deepak Chopra addresses teens with a highly accessible guide, Teens Ask Deepak: All the Right Questions, illus. by Damien Barchowsky. Taking teens' own questions as his starting point, the author puts forth some thought-provoking ideas. Beginning with a 14-year-old's question about what Deepak would change "if you could change one thing about the history of our Earth," the author says, "I wish everyone knew from birth that they had a soul." He follows up with spiritual quizzes, checklists, anecdotes and explorations of the corporal, such as the breath, as well as more abstract ideas such as inspiration and motivation. An ideal introduction to this leader's ideas. (Simon Pulse, $12.95 paper ages 12-up ISBN 0-689-86218-0; Jan.)

INTERACTIVE FUN

Preschoolers will dress to impress with Katie and Tom's Busy Day: An Amazing Interactive Play and Learn Book! by Armelle Boy. This paper-over-board flip the flap book follows Katie the mouse and Tom the Fox through some familiar activities; kids can change the calendar, chart the weather and dress Katie in clothes that match the great outdoors. A wardrobe door opens to reveal clothing that fits into slots to dress her. Kids can also help Katie learn to mix colors for painting and add numbers. (Houghton/Kingfisher, $ 16.95 12p ages 2-up ISBN 0-7534-5526-9; Nov.)

Another pull-the-tab winter wonder comes from the team behind Gaspard and Lisa, Penelope in the Winter by Anne Gutman, illus. by Georg Hallensleben. Bright red tabs with arrows point the way for children to help the sky-blue bear dress warmly, learn to ski, make a snowman and find her sled beneath a snowdrift. (Scholastic/Cartwheel, $12.95 10p ages 3-5 ISBN 0-439-67360-7; Nov.)

The Usborne 1,2,3 Jigsaw Book by Felicity Brooks and Jenny Tyler, illus. by Stephen Cartwright, will have kids counting all the animals being transported by the "counting train," from "one enormous elephant" to "two playful puppies" all the way to 10 bouncing bunnies. Each piece pops out of the page and hitches onto the car before, so youngsters can assemble their own train; the same image appears below the puzzle for easy match-ups when it's time to clean up. (Usborne, $15.95 12p ages 1-up ISBN 0-7945-11686; Dec.)

Six mini-books come inside Dinosaur World: An Introduction to Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life by Clint Twist, each categorizing a different prehistoric era. The mini-books, which fit into the case like puzzle pieces in the shape of a creature from the era they cover, begin with "Before the Dinosaurs" and end with "After the Dinosaurs," in which kids learn that the largest meat-eating mammal was the size of two polar bears and resembled a dog, but it "was actually related to the ancestors of whales!" (Barron's, $14.99 32p each ages 5-8 ISBN 0-7641-7825-3; Oct.)

I Love Gymnastics by Naia Bray-Moffatt, photos by David Handley, will appeal to budding gymnasts. Kids will follow Jessica and others through an after-school gymnastics class as they warm up, stretch, stand with good posture and learn the basics, such as splits, cartwheels, handstands and much more. Bright photos clearly demonstrate the essentials. (DK, $12.99 48p ages 5-8 ISBN 0-7566-1011-7; Nov.)

In the first of two titles for slightly older readers, Ripley's Believe It or Not! Planet Eccentric! delivers out-of-this-world, shocking and funny facts about some of history's most colorful feats, including a man who can squirt milk from his eye to a guy from the 1930s who played popular dance tunes on a Eureka vacuum as well as zany laws (e.g., in Minnesota, it's illegal to sleep naked). The front cover of this paper-over-board book is eye-catching: it's covered with hologram eyes that "watch" readers from every direction. (Ripley, $27.95 256p all ages ISBN 1-893951-10-3; Nov.)

The 10th anniversary edition of The World Almanac for Kids 2006, ed. by Kevin Seabrooke, will be welcomed by boys and girls alike. With its hip, photo-heavy design and popular topics that range from "Tube Favorites" (e.g., SpongeBob SquarePants and Tom Welling) to winners such as Tiger Woods, Annika Sorenstam and Tom Brady, and stats (sport by sport), readers can dip in and out of these high-gloss pages. Or they can read lengthier pieces on such issues as endangered species or budget-planning. Factoids about nations around the globe, a science Q&A, presidential and historical timelines plus full-spread maps round out this entertaining and educational paperback. (World Almanac, $11.95 paper 352p all ages ISBN 0-88687-960-4; Dec.)