It’s already the last Wednesday of the month. This week I’m going to be looking at the latest children’s books. A bunch of interesting ones have come out this week, I”m especially intrigued by the 4th and 5th cover. I can’t really make out the first and the second one strikes me as weird. What’s going on with the monkey’s tail? (update: not his tail, he is holding a magnifying glass) Anyway, below is a list of the top 5 newest releases of February 2018 in the children’s books genre. Other new releases of February 2018 can be found by genre right here on Goodreads.
- The Problim Children by Natalie Lloyd & Júlia Sardà (Problim Children #1)
Publication date: February 6th, 2018
When the Problim children’s ramshackle bungalow in the Swampy Woods goes kaboom, the seven siblings and their pet pig have no choice but to move into their Grandpa’s abandoned old mansion in Lost Cove. No problem! For the Problim children, every problem is a gift. Wendell and Thea—twins born two minutes apart on a Wednesday and a Thursday—see the move as a chance to make new friends in time for their birthday cake smash. But the neighbours find the Problims’ return problematic—what with Sal’s foggy garden full of Wrangling Ivy, toddler Toot’s 365 stanktastic fart varieties, and Mona’s human catapult. Truth be told, rumours are flying about the Problims! Rumours of a bitter feud, a treasure, and a certain kind of magic lingering in the halls of #7 Main Street. And the neighbours will do anything to get their hands on those secrets—including sending the Problim children to seven different homes on seven different continents! - Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick & David Serlin
Publication date: February 27th, 2018
Who is Baby Monkey? He is a baby. He is a monkey. He has a job. He is Baby Monkey, Private Eye! Lost jewels? Missing pizza? Stolen spaceship? Baby Monkey can help… if he can put on his pants! Baby Monkey’s adventures come to life in a blend of picture book, beginning reader, and graphic novel. - The Art of the Swap by Kristine Carlson Asselin & Jen Malone
Publication date: February 13th, 2018
Two girls trade places in time to solve a legendary art heist across two centuries! As the daughter of a caretaker for a mansion-turned-museum, twelve-year-old Hannah Jordan has spent nearly all her life steeped in the history of the Gilded Age of Newport, Rhode Island. The Elms, the mansion where her dad works (and they both live), is one of the most esteemed historical properties on famed Bellevue Avenue. Mysterious legends and priceless artefacts clutter every inch of the marble floors and golden walls, but Hannah is most drawn to the reproduction portrait of Maggie Dunlap, the twelve year-old subject of a famous painting stolen in a legendary art heist on the day of its scheduled unveiling in 1905. Hannah dreams of how glamorous life must have been for the young oil-heiress, Maggie, at the turn of the century, but she never expects she’ll have a chance to experience it herself… until the day a mysterious mirror allows the two girls to change places in time! In 1905, Hannah races to stop the art heist from happening—something she is convinced will allow the girls to trade back to their own eras—while in current times, Maggie gets a hilarious introduction to the modern digital age and a new perspective on women’s roles in society while revelling in the best invention of all: sweatpants. So long corsets! As the hours tick off to the recorded moment of the legendary art heist, something’s not adding up. Can the girls work together against time—and across it—to set things right… or will their temporary swap become a permanent trade? - Marabel and the Book of Fate by Tracy Barrett (Marabel of Magikos #1)
Publication date: February 6th, 2018
In Magikos, life is dictated by the Book of Fate’s ancient predictions, including the birth of a royal Chosen One who will save the realm. Princess Marabel has grown up in the shadow of her twin brother, Marco, who everyone assumes is the true Chosen One. While Marco is adored and given every opportunity, Marabel is overlooked and has to practice her sword fighting in secret. But on the night of their thirteenth birthday, Marco is kidnapped by an evil queen, and Marabel runs to his rescue. Outside the castle walls for the first time, accompanied by her best friend and a very smug unicorn, Marabel embarks on a daring mission that brings her face-to-face with fairies, trolls, giants–and the possibility that all is not as it seems in Magikos. - Florette by Anna Walker
Publication date: February 20th, 2018When Mae’s family moves to a new home, she wishes she could bring her garden with her. She’ll miss the apple trees, the daffodils, and chasing butterflies in the wavy grass. But there’s no room for a garden in the city. Or is there?
The first book sounds suspiciously like Lemony Snicket‘s Series of Unfortunate Events, don’t you think? The second book sounds quite good, but whether or not I’ll like it probably depends on the quality of the illustrations. I’m sure they’re good, but I don’t like all styles of illustration for children’s books. I’d have to thumb through it to know if I would want to read it. The third book is definitely something I’d read! The fourth is something I’d have loved as a child as well, I’ve always read a lot of fantasy. The fifth one doesn’t really sound like my style – good for kids that love nature, I’d imagine.
Happy reading,
Loes M.