SUMMER READING: MELLOW MARSH

In Mellow Marsh, sounds and textures come to life. Take the sensory experience home with these fun books exploring the world around us and what it has to teach us. 


Outside You Notice
Alladin, Erin and Blinick, Andrea

Time spent in the outdoors stirs a child’s imagination. Nature sparks wonder, wonder leads to curiosity, and curiosity brings about a greater knowledge of the world and one’s self. In Outside, You Notice, a meditative thread of child-like observations (How after the rain / Everything smells greener) is paired with facts about the habits and habitats of animals, insects, birds, and plants (A tree’s roots reach as wide as its branches).

Get it here!


Over And Under The Pond
Silas Neal, Christopher and Messner, Kate

In this book, readers will discover the plants and animals that make up the rich, interconnected ecosystem of a mountain pond. Over the pond, the water is a mirror, reflecting the sky. But under the water is a hidden world of minnows darting, beavers diving, and tadpoles growing. These secrets and many others are waiting to be discovered over and under the pond.

Get it here!


Who’s Looking? How Animals See The World
Matas, Carol and Li, Cornelia

How do animals see the world? It turns out very differently.

In this nonfiction picture book, a young girl and her baby sister’s outdoor adventure (hiking through the forest, picnicking in the grass and swimming in the ocean) is overseen by the local fauna. The way those animals view the girls is very different from how the girls see each other. Through clever illustrations and scientific prose, we are reminded that while we may see things differently, we all share this life together on planet Earth.

Get it here!


Our recommended reading is made possible by our partnership with McNally Robinson Booksellers. Visit your nearest McNally Robinson Bookstore in person or online to secure a copy of the titles listed above.

SUMMER READING: MILK MACHINE

Our summer reading fun continues with an animal focus tailored around our Milk Machine gallery. This week we look at stories about animals, farms, funny barnyard dancing and a chicken who has magic powers. Or does she? 


Petal The Angry Cow
Fergus, Maureen and Demidova, Olga

Meet Petal, a cow with a very bad temper. When her temper might cause her the chance to go to the water park with all the other animals, Petal turns to a swan for help on behaving. This laugh-out-loud story will tickle even the surliest reader, and Petal’s outsized tantrums will feel very familiar to parents and kids alike. But like Petal, this story also has a heart of gold and a core of pure warmth.

Get it here! 


Farm Block
Franceschelli, Christopher and  Peski Studio

It’s time to plant some crops, harvest the veggies, and make jam to take to the farmer’s market! Explore life on a farm in this addition to the bestselling Block Book series! Like the previous titles, Farm Block explores a concept–in this case, seasons. From a rooster crowing at the crack of dawn to picking pumpkins for Halloween, there is so much to do all year-round!

Get it here!


Barnyard Dance!
Boynton, Sandra

Sandra Boynton has a knack for creating baby books with bounce. Her Barnyard Dance! Is a true romp of a board book, with cartoon farm animals that are wacky enough to make you laugh out loud, and rhymes clever enough to sustain those nearly infinite re-readings: “Stand with the donkey /Slide with the sheep / Scramble with the little chicks – cheep cheep cheep!”

Get it here!


Gladys The Magic Chicken
Rubin, Adam and Rex, Adam

Gladys the chicken must be magic. After all, for everyone who encounters her, a wish is granted. The Shepherd Boy wishes to be beautiful, the Brave Swordsman wishes to join the Royal Guard, the Purple Pooh-bah wishes for his only daughter to be happy, and the Learned Princess wishes to escape the palace. And one by one, each of these wishes comes true. But . . . is Gladys really magic? Or is everyone making their own fortune? Either way, it adds up to one heck of an adventure for a chicken named Gladys.

Get it here!


Our recommended reading is made possible by our partnership with McNally Robinson Booksellers. Visit your nearest McNally Robinson Bookstore in person or online to secure a copy of the titles listed above.

SUMMER READING: LASAGNA LOOKOUT

Our Lasagna Lookout gallery is all about food and, more importantly, playing in it. If this is one of your favourite spots to visit in the museum, you’ll enjoy these books about food, how it’s produced, recipes to try, and how enjoying food with others makes the experience better.


Every Night Is Pizza Night
Lopez-Alt, J Kenji and Ruggiero, Gianna

Pipo thinks that pizza is the best. No, Pipo knows that pizza is the best. It is scientific fact. But when she sets out on a neighborhood-spanning quest to prove it, she discovers that “best” might not mean what she thought it meant. Join Pipo as she cooks new foods with her friends Eugene, Farah, Dakota, and Ronnie and Donnie. Each eating experiment delights and stuns her taste buds.

Warm and funny, with bright, whimsical illustrations by Gianna Ruggiero, Every Night Is Pizza Night is a story about open-mindedness, community, and family. With a bonus pizza recipe for young readers to cook with their parents, Every Night Is Pizza Night will make even the pickiest eaters hungry for something new.

Get it here!


What’s Cooking in Flowerville?
Sala, Felicita and Recipes from Garden, Balcony or Window Box

Young cooks will learn about the edible gifts that each season brings in this warm and inviting collection of recipes from the author of What’s Cooking at 10 Garden Street. In lush double-page spreads featuring Sala’s gorgeous watercolor illustrations, we visit the yards, balconies, and rooftops where the citizens of Flowerville grow their vegetables. Each month features a different member of the town and a delicious recipe inspired by a fruit or vegetable.

Kids will learn not only how to incorporate fruits and vegetables into meals but also how they grow and when they ripen. The book also includes charmingly illustrated tips and tools for growing your own food. A celebration of gardening, cooking, and community, this unique and beautiful cookbook is certain to become a perennial favorite in family kitchens.

Get it here!


Dragons Love Tacos
Rubin, Adam and Salmieri, Daniel

Dragons love tacos. They love chicken tacos, beef tacos, great big tacos, and teeny tiny tacos. So if you want to lure a bunch of dragons to your party, you should definitely serve tacos. Buckets and buckets of tacos. Unfortunately, where there are tacos, there is also salsa. And if a dragon accidentally eats spicy salsa . . . oh, boy. You’re in red-hot trouble.

Get it here!


Our Little Kitchen
Tamaki, Jillian

In this lively, rousing picture book from Caldecott Honoree Jillian Tamaki, a crew of resourceful neighbours come together to prepare a meal for their community. With a garden full of produce, a joyfully chaotic kitchen and a friendly meal shared at the table, Our Little Kitchen is a celebration of full bellies and people looking out for one another.

Includes two recipes and an author’s note about the volunteering experience that inspired the book.

Get it here!


Our recommended reading is made possible by our partnership with McNally Robinson Booksellers. Visit your nearest McNally Robinson Bookstore in person or online to secure a copy of the titles listed above.

SUMMER READING: TUMBLE ZONE

Our summer reading fun continues with a Tumble Zone theme. If your little one enjoys building with blocks and operating the crane at Tumble Zone then they’ll love these stories focused on building, smashing, crashing and construction.



Build!
Red Nose Studio

Bulldozers, dump trucks, and cranes are just a few of the vehicles working together in these pages to build something incredible. The payloader makes the hole for the foundation, the semi-loader brings in the huge blocks, and the crane lifts them up. But is this a real construction site, or a boy’s backyard? And after the structure is done, what happens next? Yes, the inevitable: he makes it all tumble down and is ready to start all over again! 

Get it here!


Road Crew, Coming Through
Rinker, Sherri Duskey and Ford, AG

The construction team is taking on their biggest challenge yet–building a brand-new superhighway! With the help of new rough-and-tough road-building machines, the crew gears up for an action-packed day of rolling, building, paving, painting, and all the jobs that go into making a strong new road that will get everyone home safe in time for bed! 

Get it here!


What’s up, Construction Truck?
Reinhardt, Matthew and Leigh, Toby

Follow construction workers through a busy day on the job. Lift the flaps to open the bulldozer’s doors and peek inside; help a crew member put on his helmet; and lift up the shovel to help the driver prepare a new bike trail for paving. When the story is over, follow simple instructions to transform the pages of the book into a three-dimensional bulldozer! There’s so much to discover in this stunning interactive board book from Matthew Reinhart.

Get it here!


Our recommended reading is made possible by our partnership with McNally Robinson Booksellers. Visit your nearest McNally Robinson Bookstore in person or online to secure a copy of the titles listed above.

SUMMER READING: ILLUSION TUNNEL

Last week our books were based on our Engine House gallery. This week we dive into the world of illusions with stories based on Illusion Tunnel.



Jim Curious and the Jungle Journey
Picard, Matthias

In Jim Curious and the Jungle Journey, a young boy goes on an adventure in an old-fashioned diving suit. After waking up in bed (or is he really awake?), Jim walks through a mirror and into a shallow swamp that leads to a mysterious island. There, in the jungle, he encounters snakes, monkeys, and a giant turtle, as well as some creepy-crawly creatures, before discovering an ancient abandoned temple deep in the heart of the jungle.

Get it here!


Duck! Rabbit!
Rosenthal, Amy Krouse and Lichtenheld, Tom

Is it a duck or a rabbit? Depends on how you look at it . With more than 100,000 copies sold, this classic picture book is now available in a sturdy board book that little ones will love holding in their own two hands. Smart, simple and funny, it offers a hilarious choice–and one readers of all ages will rejoice in making.

Get it here!


They all saw a cat
Wenzel, Brendan

In this glorious celebration of observation, curiosity, and imagination, Brendan Wenzel shows us the many lives of one cat, and how perspective shapes what we see. When you see a cat, what do you see?

Get it here!


Another
Robinson, Christian

What if you…
encountered another perspective?
Discovered another world?
Met another you?

What might you do?

In his eagerly anticipated debut as author-illustrator, Caldecott and Coretta Scott King honoree Christian Robinson brings young readers on a playful, imaginative journey into another world.

Get it here! 


Our recommended reading is made possible by our partnership with McNally Robinson Booksellers. Visit your nearest McNally Robinson Bookstore in person or online to secure a copy of the titles listed above.

 

SUMMER READING: ENGINE HOUSE

Let’s gear up for some fun summer reading! This week our partners at McNally Robinson Booksellers chose two books based on our beloved Engine House. 



Trucks On Trucks 
Fairbank, Sorche and Henderson, Nik 

What’s better than a truck? A truck on top of another truck! Trucks on Trucks hits the highways and the byways while exploring basic concepts such as size, shape, color, numbers, and professions. A wonderful choice for children who love vehicles and books such as Donald Crews’s Truck and Freight Train, and Alice Schertle and Jill McElmurry’s Little Blue Truck

Trucks on trucks on trucks! Large trucks, small trucks, red trucks, blue trucks . . . and don’t forget about your truck.

Get it here!



Engines Animated
Jorden, Tyler

Spin the wheels, raise and lower the pistons, and ready-set-go from steam engines to combustion engines and even electric cars in this STEM-focused interactive board book. The invention of the engine changed the world, and now kids can race into learning about the different types of engines–how they work and why they are so important.

Get it here!


Our recommended reading is made possible by our partnership with McNally Robinson Booksellers. Visit your nearest McNally Robinson Bookstore in person or online to secure a copy of the titles listed above.

CANADA DAY READING LIST

Happy Canada Day! Celebrate Canada Day by diving into the stories in these books. 



Canadian Animals ABC
Valerio, Geraldo

Between the beaver building branch by branch, the loon laughing on the lake, and the powerful, playful polar bear, Canada is home to a spectacular array of animals. This board book celebrates the country’s diverse wildlife by presenting each letter of the alphabet alongside a representative mammal, insect, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, or invertebrate. The creatures portrayed hail from coast to coast to coast, and reflect close research even in their stylized depictions.

Get it here!



Prairie ABCs
Asnong, Jocey

Children will learn the alphabet and letter recognition as Asnong’s illustrations take us on a tractor ride through our fields, follow bison as they roam through birch trees, and look for antlers in alfalfa fields. From the shores of Lake Winnipeg, through the back roads of rural Saskatchewan, to the foothills of Alberta, Asnong’s bright and colourful illustrations celebrate the heart of Canada and prairie life.

Get it here!



Carson Crosses Canada
Bailey, Linda

Feisty Annie Magruder and her dog, Carson, live in British Columbia, Canada, and they’re setting out to visit her sister, Elsie, in Newfoundland. In their little rattlebang car, packed with Carson’s favorite toy, Squeaky Chicken, and plenty of baloney sandwiches, Annie and Carson hit the road! Read along as they travel from one province to the next, basking in the surprises that this great country has to offer.

Get it here!



100 First Words For Little Canadians
Lamielle, Pierre

Introducing 100 First Words for Little Canadians, a Great White North primer for kids learning their first words! Forget apple and dog. Little Canadians are ready to move from ABC to RCMP and other Canada-specific words like bakeapple, ogopogo, and Celine. Packed with hilarious illustrations and 100 words every Canadian baby should know (before any others, of course), 100 First Words for Little Canadians is the perfect board book for families who call Canada home.

Get it here!



I Am Canada
Patterson, Heather; Klassen, Jon; and Reid, Barbara

What is being a Canadian kid all about?

I Am Canada describes the ample space available to our children in this country, and the freedom they have to grow and dream and share. With artwork from 13 of Canada’s finest illustrators, each page is a celebration and a reminder of the infinite variety of our home and native land.
Get it here!


Our recommended reading is made possible by our partnership with McNally Robinson Booksellers. Visit your nearest McNally Robinson Bookstore in person or online to secure a copy of the titles listed above.

SUMMER READING RESOURCES

(Source: tdsummerreadingclub.ca)

It’s not always an easy task keeping your little one reading throughout the summer – but these resources are here to help!

Check out #StayHomeSummer with Usborne Children’s Books for six weeks of adventurous learning! Sign up for the Usborne Newsletter and receive various activities, ideas, and adventures straight to your inbox. All adventures tie into books and stories so you can be sure your little ones are getting their summer reading in.

Starfall offers educational games and resources to help children from pre-kindergarten to grade 3 with their reading and writing skills, mathematics, and so much more. Get ready for endless learning with songs, activities, and games!

Join the TD Summer Reading Club for book recommendations, comics, jokes, activity sheets, and more!  This FREE club celebrates Canadian authors and inspires kids to build a lifelong love of reading. Join today and get started with this summer reading fun that’s perfect for little ones and their families.

Stay tuned for more resources to help spark kids’ creative learning!

THURSDAY SCHOLASTIC LITERACY RESOURCES

(Source: scholastic.com)

Scholastic is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and they believe that all children should have access to resources and materials to promote early reading and education.  

The Scholastic blog is full of tips and book recommendations. Get your kiddos ready for a summer full of reading with these tips & tricks for creating a summer reading space and Scholastic’s list of top book sets for this summer! Do you have a little one that is in the early stages of becoming a young reader? Check out this list of expert-approved books for beginner readers.

Scholastic Magazines are a wonderful way to promote at-home reading. With playful text and bright photos, your little ones are sure to become young readers with these magazines. Check out the Scholastic Store for a variety of magazines, books, and games to encourage literacy education at home.

There is even a list of FREE activities and crafts available on the Scholastic website that includes things like making your own puppy bookmark, magazine collage stories, and ideas for taking a reading field trip. Head over to the printables section and print out at-home lessons for cursive writing, creating comic strips, and more!

Stay tuned for more resources to help spark kids’ creative learning!


Donate Today

Your support of the Children’s Museum is more important than ever during these difficult times. If you are able, please consider making a donation today.

explore more:

Kids Playing

FEATURE FRIDAY: VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS FOR KIDS (PART 2)

Many attractions may still be closed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still give them a tour (virtually, that is)! View the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York through these six short 360° view videos. Once you’ve taken the tour, head over to the MetKids section and hop into the Time Machine to learn…
Jun 19, 2020 • Fort Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Mammoth Hot Spring, MetKids, Metropolitan Museum of Art, San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Kids, The Great Wall of China, Virtual Field Trips, Yellowstone National Park
Kids Playing

LOVE LOCAL: SPARK CREATIVE LEARNING WITH THESE MANITOBA PARTNERS

Are you looking for ways to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day and/or Father’s Day tomorrow? Join the WAG, in partnership with Indigenous Music, on Sunday, June 21 on the WAG Facebook page for their live Virtual Powwow Celebration from 1:00PM – 2:30PM. Sing and dance along to the live stream and don’t forget to tag…
Jun 20, 2020 • Father's Day, Festival of Fathers, Indigenous Music, National Indigenous Peoples Day, Oak Hammock Marsh, Outdoor Waterbug Derby, Powwow Celebration, WAG, Winnipeg Art Gallery
Kids Playing

SHOP FEATURE 5

(For The Week Of June 21, 2020) Check out this week’s Feature 5 – a list of top-selling products from Shop, the Children’s Museum’s gift store, now with FREE shipping in Winnipeg on orders over $25! Read More… Engino Discovering STEM Solar Power Model Kit Price: $86.00 Sale Price: $42.99 each In our ever-changing world,…
Jun 21, 2020 • feature 5, Games & Puzzles, science, shop, Toys