Thanks to Prestel Junior for sending me these beautiful books! As always, all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.
Do your kids do any summer reading programs? This year I printed reading charts for them and they’ve been having so much fun reading stories and filling in their charts to earn prizes. I recently received some new, gorgeously illustrated books from Prestel Junior and I’m excited to share them with you! Plus, we’re giving away a prize pack of these books to one lucky reader.
Our daughter is super into cooking right now so this is right up her alley! Young cooks will learn about the edible gifts that each season brings in What’s Cooking in Flowerville? Recipes from Garden, Balcony or Window Box by Felicita Sala. This book features a warm and inviting collection of recipes. 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. 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.
In Fantastic Fruitsby Olaf Hajek and Annette Roeder you’ll find a beautiful exploration of everyone’s favorite fresh food. As in his previous books, Flower Power and Veggie Power, Hajek’s whimsical, imaginative paintings—inspired by a variety of artistic traditions—situate each fruit in a fascinating cultural context. Each “portrait” features delightful pictorial clues about how the fruits are grown and consumed. Opposite the illustrations, Annette Roeder’s engaging texts offer illuminating and often surprising facts from throughout history and contemporary life. As mouthwatering as a summer peach, and as surprising as a pomegranate’s seeds, this book serves up page after page of delicious, nutritious, but most of all fun portions of fruity knowledge from all over the world.
The National Menagerie of Art: Masterpieces from Vincent Van Goat to Lionhardo da Stinki by Thaïs Vanderheyden elevates serious art to the heights of pure giggle-inducing fun. This collection of cleverly reimagined masterpieces is the perfect way to introduce young readers to great art. This delightful picture book takes artistic license as it reimagines the world’s most famous paintings for a young audience. A teddy bear surfs Hokusai’s Great Wave; a charming pig changes Mona Lisa’s smile from cryptic to comic; Munch’s scream is far less angsty on a panda’s face, while Whistler’s mother–the elephant–gives new meaning to Arrangement in Grey and Black. While it covers every major artistic school in art history, from Michelangelo and Velázquez to Kahlo and Rothko, each snort and guffaw offers an opportunity to explore the paintings in ways that will help kids remember them for the rest of their lives.
The Wild Garden by Cynthia Cliff is filled with charmingly rustic illustrations of people, plants and animals. In the village of Mirren, a tidy community garden is carefully organized and tended by the townspeople. On the other side of the garden wall is a wild patch of land— a jumble of trees, a pond, and tall grassy places. While the garden is cared for in different ways throughout the seasons, Jilly and her grandfather like to visit the wild place, foraging for mushrooms, asparagus, and nuts, and watching the insects, birds and other animals. When the townspeople decide they need a bigger garden, they make plans to expand beyond the wall into the wild place. Worried about what will happen to their special piece of nature, Jilly and her grandfather come up with a plan, inviting the townspeople to discover a new kind of gardening. Their plan works and the wild place and the community garden merge harmoniously; the bees pollinate the crops, berry bushes take over a garden corner, pumpkins grow along the pond, and delicious herbs appear among the ferns. Cynthia Cliff’s lovingly detailed illustrations reveal the joys of every kind of garden, while her story offers endless opportunities to talk about healthy eating, nature, ecological gardening, and friendship.
All of these books are so beautifully illustrated and we are so excited to add them to our bookshelves for summer reading! You can enter to win a prize pack including all of these books – just use the Giveaway Tools form below. This is a US giveaway ending 6/30.
Hi there! I’m Amber, a 34 year old wife and mom of two from central Minnesota. I love to be outside with my family anywhere the weather is warm (which means I spend half the year freezing). We’re a homeschooling family that loves to travel as often as possible! When I have a spare free moment, I love to read, take photos, and scrapbook. I’m interested in anything that makes life more fun; I also love socializing and sharing about my favorite products!
My great-grandkids would love these books. I am a advocate of reading on a regular basis to children and these books are the type that I believe are fun and beneficial.
Peggy Nunn
Mia E.
JeanD
Maryann D.
Sattwa Wygmans
I loved reading books when my now adult child was younger. Books with more and better illustrations brought on more conversations.