Children's books (and not so much) to activate at Christmas

Tales that count

Recommendations for Children's and Young Adult Literature

Antònia Justícia

Barcelona

We love activity books, why deny it. We like them throughout the year, but we must admit that the hustle and bustle of everyday life during the school period does not allow us to enjoy these types of books as we would like. So we take advantage of any holiday to rack our brains with the multiple proposals that come to our newsroom. We will make our first contact with these magnificent books during this long bridge of the Immaculate Conception, but above all we are thinking about the Christmas holidays, when we will have more time ahead to experiment, find, paint, play... For children and not so children (if not, see the books for adults that we have prepared for you). Go for it.

Science experiments at home

Susan Martineau and Vicky Barker (illustrations)From 4-5 years old. Picarona

As much as the activities, we also like the experiments. And if they are at bath time, better. In this simple but successful book, some of the simplest experiments to do at home with young children are gathered together without the need for large gadgets or expense. Water, soap, steam, cardboard, the occasional plastic cup, mirrors and combs and at most yeast and vinegar. With all this we will work on the elasticity and evaporation of water, the force of gravity, the buoyancy of bodies or static electricity. It seems incredible but this book will show us that our house can become a great laboratory for experiments only with what we have on hand in our day to day.

Music and sounds of the world

From 4-5 years old. SM/ Cruïlla

This book full of stickers is a magnificent immersion into the world of music. Its protagonist has started playing the piano this year and takes the opportunity to explain everything he knows about the instruments and the families in which they are grouped, the scores and the notes, the voice and the musical genres. The book also talks about soundtracks and ballet, and offers us a final game to round off this musical experience. Also in catalan

Hidden in the woods

Mitsumasa AnnoFor those who love hiding. Kalandraka

Before going into this spectacular work, a few words about its author, who left us last December, exactly one year ago now. The work of Mitsumasa Anno, winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1984 for his important contribution to children's literature, is characterized by creating picture books with very few or no words. His best-known work in these parts are the four albums that make up El viaje de Anno, a bird's-eye tour of Northern Europe, Italy, England and the United States.

With the same patience as a miniaturist and the same sense of humor, he gives us this forest where more than a hundred animals hide. Some wild, others domestic, some from the savannah, others from the North Pole... There is even a human who has gotten lost among the branches of trees plagued by all kinds of birds. Will you know how to find them? A guide at the end gives you clues as to what to find. Difficult, for sure, but beautiful.

Room Agus & Monsters

Jaume Copons and Liliana FortunyFrom 6 years old. Combel

The couple Jaume Copons and Liliana Fortuny have a wide range of activity books and various games that revolve around their most famous characters such as Agus and the Monsters, Bitmax, Wagner or Mus, all of them published with the Combel publishing house. With the game company GDM, they have prepared a card session for Agus that has a lot to do with tidying up his room, full of food, clothes thrown on the floor and books. Of course, the monsters win.

For children from 4 years old, a game based on a puzzle with various levels of difficulty in which memory will have a lot to say. But for those who prefer a more classic version, they also have activity books based on the characters of this comic series for early readers where mazes and coloring spaces dominate.

Isadora Moon and the magical dresses

Harriet MuncasterFrom 6-7 years old. Alfaguara

The magical world of brilli brilli by Isadora Moon returns in a format that reminds us of those old doll cut-outs but adapted to the present in white, black and pink for this little girl, half fairy, half vampire. Harriet Muncaster created Isadora Moon in 2016 and in parallel to her novel adventures with her pink stuffed animal Pink, she has been giving us activity books to involve readers in Isadora's hobbies. Thus, we have enjoyed Isadora and the magical crafts, On vacation with Isadora Moon or now this Isadora Moon and the magical dresses, where we have two main cut-outs, one of Isadora and another of Mirabelle, also one of Pink, in addition to five scenarios and lots of dresses and costumes to immerse ourselves in this magical world.

We have dresses to go to school, to go to sleep, to go to the beach or to the mountains, to play dress-up or to enroll in a ballet class. We also have other cut-out characters from the series such as Isadora's mother, her father, her sister and her aunt. Also in Catalan.

Penelope Strudel in search of a birthday present

Brendan KearneyFrom 7-8 years old. Bruño/Bruíxola

Escape books are breaking into the children's scene with force with proposals that encourage children to solve riddles in order to turn the page. This one proposed by the English illustrator Brendan Kearney starts with a congratulatory letter addressed to Penelope, who is celebrating her birthday today. To do this, his uncle and his pets have organized a surprise for him at the Vanilla mansion (what a big house Tito Diego has, with a museum included) but some puffins are messing everything up. Labyrinths, differences, riddles, mathematical enigmas... Only the most astute can reach the end. Also in Catalan.

Double Game to learn English

Víctor EscandellFrom 8-9 years old. Zahorí Books

In the image and likeness of the book Double game of questions and answers, Víctor Escandell proposes the same game system (a book that is divided in half and each team keeps a part) but this time The goal is to learn some English concepts in an original and fun way. It's raining cats and dogs (it rains heavily), the differences between many and much, how to know someone's opinion with the formula how do you feel about... Like its counterpart in Spanish, the books are divided into even questions and answers and odd and each player or group of players will keep one. And don't worry, there are many clues, some in Spanish.

Can you escape the museum? (Escape room)

Gareth Moore and Beatriz CastroFrom 9 years old. Lunwerg

This escape room has a mysterious museum as an adventure setting. In it we find the room dedicated to the Ancient Egyptian, that of the Viking culture, the animal world, the Middle Ages, dinosaurs and space and in all of them things happen that require a lot of attention to succeed. In Egypt, for example, a heavy breath coming from behind the sarcophagus keeps us on edge all the time while we solve some hieroglyphics. But in the Viking room we have also chosen to put a chair under the doorknob just in case.

Unlike other escape room books, this one has a folder at the end with material that we will need and that make this experience more tangible and three-dimensional, such as pyramids, sarcophagi, swords, shields and an endless number of utensils that will make us the most bearable museum getaway, but not easier.

Where is the Flycatcher?

Jairo Rodríguez NietoFrom 5-6 years old. Debolsillo

Visiting a historical monument is not always easy with children, who soon tire of paying attention. Let's not just do it in a book. Hence this proposal that we bring you today and that immerses us fully in the cathedral of Burgos, a World Heritage Site, but in a fun way, which is by finding its Flycatcher, the clock automaton that since the 16th century has welcomed to the visitor. The authors, Jairo Rodríguez Nieto, Juan Durán Barriga and Diego Quintanilla López-Tafall, are three friends who were looking for a fun way as an informative adventure to make the Burgos Cathedral and its curiosities more widely known.

The Flycatcher isn't the only one playing hide-and-seek in this photo book. The dog from the Constables chapel also walks around these magnificent architectural structures doing his thing.

Activity notebook for traveling minds

Raquel Piñeiro and Bea Lozano (illustrations)For travel lovers. Lonely Planet

The popular travel guide has just published its first activity booklet, which is a tribute to each and every one of the trips that have been made through its guides, and a commitment to those who will come . A very ecological notebook that integrates more than 100 illustrated activities ranging from mazes to sudokus, through word searches and logic and visual acuity games. All the hobbies that are associated with long hours of waiting in airports, train stations and ports, but with the attraction that all the activities are related to those parts of the world that at some point in life we ​​have visited from the sofa through the guide, either in person, with the guide in hand. New York, Rome, London, Venice, Marrakech, Tokyo... Trips dotted with curiosities that now test what we know about the world. Very, very entertaining.

By the way, Lonely Planet has released its first trivia game to test the skills of travelers. Are you a great traveler? Do you know where you can climb the Grandes Slopes du Piton de la Fournaise? or how valid is the Spanish passport when the holder has reached the age of 30? A fun way to know how much attention you've paid to your travels or if you should repack your bags.

Winter Notebook

Daniel López Valle and Cristóbal Fortúnez (illustrations)Only adults. Blackie Books

Rocío Carrasco poop of the year? Is there any relationship between C. Tangana and Almeida dressed as a chulapo? Well, help Angela Merkel pack her suitcase? Are you able to recognize a Bluethroat? Do you even know what a bird is? Or is it a Britney Spears record? The millennials, X, boomers and Z of the house already have entertainment this holiday. And if you don't have them, the holidays, you can always save the Blackie Books Winter Notebook for a break between telecommuting and telecommuting. Any time is good to challenge our knowledge... and lose the bet.

Blond, vertical writing

For nostalgics. Rubio

When the little ones accuse you of having a lot of 'nose' for not having homework, you can take out this secret weapon that will also make all those who went to EGB remember old times. The Rubio publishing house has turned 65 and to celebrate it has made a limited edition of 3,000 units of one of its first copies. It is his vintage Escritura 2 notebook, from 1959 (the range of nostalgic ones can be very wide) with the original contents of what was one of the first copies of the publisher. Even the paper has the same feel.

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