soundprints.com

Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Smithsonian Institution American Favorites
PreSchool-Grade 2
This picture book, with a CD embedded in its cover, presents a simplified introduction to the classic baseball sing-along. As a boy and his father enjoy a game, illustrations bear out each verse of the chorus. . . Pamintuan's cartoonlike digital graphics. . . practically pop off the page.
-School Library Journal

Badger at Sandy Ridge Road
Smithsonian's Backyard Collection
K-Gr 3 -When the spring sun goes down in the desert, a badger comes out of her burrow. As she goes exploring, she encounters all sorts of other nocturnal animals, but she is too busy to dally. Very soon she will give birth, and she's on a mission to find a place big enough to dig her nesting chamber. Readers will enjoy this story and learn a great deal about badgers and the other animals that appear throughout. The floating text, in bold black lettering, is set against bright, full-page illustrations that depict the desert from dusk until dawn. The last page provides a few brief paragraphs about the North American badger. An excellent introduction to a science unit about life in the desert or nocturnal animals.
- School Library Journal

Alphabet of Space
Smithsonian Alphabet Books
K-Gr 4-In this Smithsonian Institution production, children get a chance to enjoy Alphabet of Space by Laura Gates Galvin (Soundprints, 2006), an eclectic collection of space information snippets. The CD contains a bouncy original song that briefly covers the space alphabet included in the book. Then a male narrator reads the text as young readers follow along and enjoy Higgins Bond's bright illustrations. Each letter is given a four-line poem allowing youngsters to learn a little bit about space topics ranging from astronauts to zenith. While not included on the CD, the book also contains a glossary offering additional information about each letter's topic. There's even a fold-out poster. Audio quality is excellent. This would make a nice listening center for teachers doing an astronomy unit, and students could create their own space alphabet books as a follow-up activity.
School Library Journal

Alphabet of Animals
Smithsonian Alphabet Books
PreS-Gr 2-From "A is for Ant" to "Z is for Zebra," Alphabet of Animals by Laura Gates Galvin presents a fascinating collection of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, each representing a different letter of the alphabet. This extraordinary picture book features simple computer-generated illustrations that playfully accompany each upper- and lower-case letter of the alphabet and a delightful rhyming text which carefully highlights the animal name for each corresponding letter of the alphabet. A brief description of each animal is also included at the end of the book, along with a pullout poster featuring each letter of the alphabet along with the matching illustration from the book. Narrator Lara Hirner provides an upbeat and well-articulated narration on the accompanying CD along with an abbreviated musical version that listeners are sure to enjoy. This is a wonderful set for very young children who are learning the alphabet; the information about each animal will appeal to slightly older youngsters.
School Library Journal

Grand Old Flag
Smithsonian Institution American Favorites
PreS-Gr 3-Most people are familiar with the song, "Grand Old Flag," but few know that it was originally entitled "Grand Old Rag." This is one of several interesting facts found in this book/CD that looks at the classic song written by George M. Cohan in 1906 and it's history. The book's front cover shows a group of diverse children waving American flags. Most pages of the book feature a full-color illustration of a child taking part in an activity such as riding a bicycle and building a sand castle. The book concludes with "Notes and Nostalgia" about the history of the song and the songwriter, the sheet music, and the words to the entire song. A male narrator reads the text slowly and clearly and then sings "Grand Old Flag" with a group of children. This set is a great tool to teach youngsters the words to the song and its history.
-School Library Journal

Soundprints' Read-and-Discover Books
"These books combine god science, high interest content, and clear graphics to support growth in reading skills. These titles help readers map concepts, and a large font with plenty of white space supports decoding. A glossary and correlated full-page illustrations help students improve their reading strategies. These books can support curriculum on life cycles or habitats with an integrated, thematic approach...practical and valuable additions to an elementary classroom."
-National Science Teacher's Association Recommends

Duncan A Brave Rescue
AVMA Pet Tales
Young listeners will be engaged as they follow Duncan's journey. After he unintentionally becomes a stowaway on a fire truck, he finds himself at a burning building where he rescues three puppies and reunites them with their mother. The endearing story is brought to life through realistic sound effects such as barking, fire engine sirens and the fire scene commotion. Jacoby's straightforward narration, Hynes' detailed illustrations and page turners (on track two) make it simple for children to use this book and CD set independently. Thus, it is a perfect companion for a car trip. Tips for pet health and safety are a nice addition to the story and are sure to stimulate discussions on how to provide for your family pet in the case of an emergency.
-Chicago Parent

AVMA: Pet Tales:

Hoppy Goes to School (Paperback Book, CD)

Grades PreS- Gr 2- A "sensitive story" that is "generously illustrated" that "convey[s] the message of how to relate to animals..."-National Teacher's Science Association

12th Annual Teachers Choice Award 2006:
Peep and the Big Wide World - Measuring
"I would encourage other kindergarten teachers to purchase this book."
"I used this book as an introduction to the concept of measurement."
"The children really enjoyed hearing the story as they recognized the main character from TV."
"This book had a read along CD which was a nice feature as the children could reread the book on their own afterwards."
"...the celebrity status of the character perked their interest."

Dolphin's Rescue: The Story of a Pacific White-Sided Dolphin
Smithsonian Oceanic Collection
Gr 1-3
In this story, readers spend a day with a group of Pacific white-sided dolphins as they swim along the southern coast of California, chasing anchovies. In a mildly instructional tone, the author describes how the animals use "click" sounds to detect the location of nearby fish and circle them to form a feeding arena. When Dolphin hears the sound of a research ship, he quickly follows. He clowns around for the scientists onboard and in his excitement accidentally jumps onto the deck. They soon get him back into the water where his fellow creatures help him recover. Illustrated in an attractive, naturalistic style with atmospheric grays and blues, the spreads give a wonderful view of life under water...this attractive and informative book will find an audience among marine-life enthusiasts.
- School Library Journal

Smithsonian Oceanic Collection:

Hermit Crab's Home: Safe in a Shell

Grades PreS-Grade 2--"Hermit Crab's Home is a fascinating children's picturebook following the life cycle of an ordinary female hermit crab. From the beginning of her life as an egg, to her constant struggle to evade predators, the discovery of her first shell, the need to find larger shells as she grows bigger, to her eventual motherhood, Hermit Crab's Home stays faithful to nature in both story and illustration, eschewing the impulse to overly anthropomorphize wild creatures. The gentle, realistic color artwork adds the perfect touch to the wonderful tale highly recommended for children's library and private collections alike." ... Midwest Book Review

Make Friends Around the World:

Carolina's Gift: A Story of Peru (Make Friends Around the World)
Hardcover Book Grades 1-5-- "Good brief description of a Peruvian village market. Good map and summary of Peru at the end." Excellent story, Good Illustrations."---San Jose Unified School District

I Love My Board Books:

I Love My Mommy & I Love My Daddy (Board Books)
Grades 18 months-3 years--Soundprints offers two 'Smithsonian I Love My Board Books' for preschool children. Charmingly written by Laura Gates Galvin, they are "I Love My Mommy" featuring young animals in the wild who love their mommies dearly and depend on them for many of the same things that the young readers depend on their own mothers for. "I Love My Daddy" shows that daddy penguins, foxes, screech owls, and other animals are loved and admired by their babies just as the young readers love their own fathers. These outstanding board books are illustrated by a team of gifted artists that includes John Paul Genzo, Robert Hynes, Will Nelson, Taylor Oughton, Steve James Petruccio, Fred Smith, Joel Snyder, Daniel J. Stegos, Beth Stover, and Wendy Smith. Each of these enthusiastically recommended 7" x 7" books has 16 pages and is specifically designed to interest children ages 18 months to 3 years.---Midwest Book Review

Nemo's Birthday
Disney Puffy Hide-N-Seek Books
"This delightful, interactive audio book is bound to be a favorite..."
--Chicago Parent Magazine

Smithsonian Baby Animals:

Baby Lamb Finds a Friend

"There are not many kids I know who don't love baby animals...puppies, kittens, tigers, elephants. In fact, whenever there's a new baby animal at the zoo near us, families come in droves to visit the newest addition, so I think your child will be enchanted with Soundprints' and the Smithsonian Institution's lovable Baby Animals Series. Suitable for preschoolers, this series of board books by Laura Gates Galvin features four stories about different baby animals, including a baby dolphin, a baby koala, a baby duck, and a baby lamb.

Baby Lamb Finds a Friend tells the story of a little lamb who finds a playmate and has a day full of fun. The text is short and simple enough for a preschooler to understand, and the full-color photos of the adorable baby lambs will keep them engaged. The shots are perfectly chosen and make it seem like the little lambs are interacting with you. For example, there is one spread where Baby Lamb's friend wants to play a game and hides behind the tree. The photo on that page shows a tiny little lamb peeking around a giant tree, looking right at the camera. Other photos feature little lambs playing and sleeping, and the final page features Baby Lamb's cute little baby lamb behind as he goes home after a long day of fun. Baby Lamb Finds a Friend would make a perfect addition to your child's collection, but once you see how much your child love its, you're going to want the other three books in the Baby Animal series, and at $6.95 a book, you won't break your budget if you add a new book every now and then." ... Well-Read-Child's Blog, Jill Tullo

Princess Kindness Counts
Travel Pack
One of the best for the princess obsessed little girls!"
-Amazon.com

Red Cygnet Press Reviews:

The Earth Machine
Red Cygnet Press
In a remote house at the base of a mountain, a young boy learns that his father is an engineer to the world. Father reveals his secret job by taking Alex in a hidden elevator, first to a mountain top, where Alex views machines that make the world's wind, and then down into the depths of the Earth, which holds the planet's control system-a computer that "makes the day become night . . . the rain fall, the trees grow."... Like other titles published by Red Cygnet, this is created by an art-school student (Tong has recently graduated). The story's strength is the mixed-media artwork, which combine boldly outlined, comics-style figures with textured backgrounds and ornate borders. Too few picture books present a science fiction premise, and the wild notion of a world run by computers will attract kids who love machines. See the News and Views column on p.?? for more information about the publisher's unique mission to support student artists. -Gillian Engberg

Booklist

Elephant on My Roof
Red Cygnet Press
"Imagine finding an elephant on the roof of your home. Lani did! He tries to devise a plan to get the elephant down by enlisting the help of the villagers. The people refuse to give assistance because of the possible problems they foresee involving an elephant in their community. Through Lani's persistence, the people of the village grudgingly agree to assist and collect the supplies that are needed to bring the elephant down to the ground from the roof. With some muscle and ingenuity, as seen in Erin Harris' illustration, the elephant is brought down safely. The following day, Lani and his elephant go to thank the villagers for their help. The people now have their own set of problems. In a twist of fate, Lani and the elephant are able to assist the villagers in resolving their difficulties. At the end of the story, even Lani explores seeing things from a different perspective. The illustrations have a gentle tone of colors with softly drawn lines that reflect the heartfelt kindness revealed in the story."
-Children's Literature

Lost in the Roses
Red Cygnet Press,
"A chick lies in the tall grass, but is attracted by the stars in the night sky. Following them, she becomes lost and when the sun comes out, finds herself in a field of giant roses. When night falls again she makes her bed in a flower. Morning brings fright, but once the chick decides to relax and simply admire everything around her, an idea forms. Using a rose petal as a boat, she floats her way home....Valentina's artwork, as inventive as it is lovely, gives children, just like the chick in the rose, a safe place to land. Playing with shapes, colors, and patterns, she shows her chick from many perspectives; the most dazzling spread, however, is the brilliant field of roses in all their glory...."
Booklist

Gwango's Lonesome Trail
Red Cygnet Press,
"Author Justin Parpan takes readers on a wonderful journey as Gwango, a dinosaur, seeks a friend. This story is told by Slim, the guitar-playing storyteller who appears on many of the pages. Gwango does not succeed until he wanders into a deserted drive-in-movie theater and meets Sam. They instantly become friends, which causes Gwango to light up and become a bright light in the desert. The full-page illustrations complement the text. The character drawings are enchanting and the earth-tone colors enhance the story. The colors, use of Spanish words, and objects portrayed create a Southwestern feel and tone. This is a delightful book for children to enjoy and would make a wonderful read-aloud. Recommended."
Library Media Connection
Moonbeam Children's Book Awards:

Gwango's Lonesome Trail just won a'silver' Moonbeam Book Award -- placing second in the Children's books ages 4-7 category! All the information about it is below.

Interview with Ashley Andersen Zantop, CEO & Publisher Trudy Corporation by Susan Raab, Uconn's Northeast Children's Literature Collection: http://www.tne.uconn.edu/RECESSInterviews.htm#zantop

Parent Review:

"On a more personal note, my 6 year-old has also been very close to his mother. Unfortnately my wife had to go out of town for work when he was about 4 and it required her to stay overnight, and as luck would have it I was also traveling for work. Knowing it was going to be his first night away from home and his first night at Grandma's house, we were perplexed as we didn't know how to break the news to him. It was then that my mother-in-law purchased one of your books that described how Elmo, from Sesame Street, was going to spend the night at Grandma's house. Our son loved it (he's always been an Elmo fan). Between than book and his favorite Elmo doll he made it through the night. That was two years ago and he really hasn't looked back since. As a matter of fact, just this past Monday he spent the night at Grandma's house. Thanks again for your support, as my wife and I will continue to support your company as well."--Parent of an El Paso, Texas elementary student.

Disney Princess Write-with-me-Alphabet
Learn-on-the-Go Series
“Designed for children over the age of three (the writing utensils and stickers are a choking hazard for younger toddlers) Disney Princess Write-With-Me Alphabet is a combination board book, read-along CD, and writing utensils designed to give little ones some hands-on practice writing letters of the alphabet! Colorful characters from young girls' favorite Disney movies illustrate words beginning with each letter of the alphabet, and there is a space below where the child is guided to write the capital letter. The stiff, laminated pages are easily wiped clean for repeated practice! Two pages of stickers of beloved Disney characters round out this entertaining and educational tool, which is bound with a handle and a zippered cover for convenience. Highly recommended.”—Midwest Book Review