Playful, edge-to-edge illustrations and cheerily worded nuggets of history, mystery, physics, and biology paint a thrilling picture of a brilliantly curious and creative man that will tickle the scientist in all of us.

Right now, you can test out over 60 of Leonardo da Vinci’s prototypes at Leonardo da Vinci: Man Inventor Genius.

Mentioned in this chat:

• Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin
• Wind Engineering Pioneer, Alan Davenport (palm tree observations)

More intriguing lives on JOMB:

• One Beetle Too Many — The Extraordinary Adventures of Charles Darwin
• The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau
• Marco Polo
• Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum
• Buffalo Music
• Priscilla and the Hollyhocks
• The Value of Believing in Yourself: The Story of Louis Pasteur

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487, so we can include your audio in our show.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Outrageously bright and pointy, stylized illustrations and catchy how-to rhyme deliver digestible tips for canine encounters of the friendly, yappy, growly, wary, jumpy, licky, snappy kind.

More dogs on JOMB:

• May I Pet Your Dog?
• How Smudge Came
• Rosie: A Visiting Dog’s Story
• Dr. White
• Heroes of Isle aux Morts
• Doggie in the Window
• Owney the Mail-Pouch Pooch
• Night Running: How James Escaped with the Help of His Faithful Dog
• Stella, Unleashed!
• Little Lions, Bull Baiters & Hunting Hounds: A History of Dog Breeds
• Biscuits in the Cupboard
• Good Dog
• “Let’s Get a Pup!” said Kate
• My Pup
• The Pound from the Hound
• Poodlena
• The Trouble with Tilly Trumble
• The Outside Dog
• Lady Lupin’s Book of Etiquette
• Dogs’ Night
• I Want A Dog
• Safe and Sound
• Dirty Dog Boogie

And if you’re a fan of dogs, kids and literacy, you may be interested in the Reading with Rover and D.R.E.A.M. (dogs for reading, education, assistance and more) programs.

Pop over to Becky’s Book Reviews for today’s full menu of poetry offerings. Poetry Fridays are brought to us by Kelly Herold of Big A, Little A.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Sweet and spunky with a tingling hint of backyard camp-out scariness, this irresistibly upbeat rhyming adventure breathes a long-awaited summer breeze.

Pop over to The Drift Record for today’s full menu of poetry offerings. Poetry Fridays are brought to us by Kelly Herold of Big A, Little A.

HOTLINE VOICES: Anita Newburt registers her vote for us to continue recording our reviews in our favourite coffee shop.  Thanks so much for your kind words and thoughtful feedback, Anita.  We’re officially convinced!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

This delicately illustrated tale of integrity and patience invites us to examine the perplexing pervasiveness of professed perfection.

Other books mentioned:

• Marco Polo

More honesty on JOMB:

• Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big
• Too Many Tamales
• Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers
• When-I-was-a-little-girl
• Do Unto Otters

HOTLINE VOICES: Gabbi tells us about her son’s favourite part of I Love You Stinky Face (by Lisa McCourt and Cyd Moore).

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave us a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

Chapters.ca Amazon

Fabulously friendly, humorous illustrations and silly tongue twisting text aside, who would have guessed that a book highlighting use, meanings and spellings of identically sounding words could be so fascinating to a seven year old reader? We didn’t, but it is.

Other books mentioned:

• Mom and Dad are Palindromes

HOTLINE VOICES: PJ Rooks tells us about The Day they Parachuted Cats Into Borneo: A Drama of Ecology (play by Charlotte Pomerantz scenery by Jose Aruego) which is, sadly, out of print.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Cluttered with comedy, melodrama and earthy, Looney-Toonesque artwork, this brilliant guide to social success is as hilarious as it is helpful.

(…er…actually….maybe more hilarious than helpful, as we now hear our girls screaming at each other “DO UNTO OTTERS, REMEMBER, DO UNTO OTTERS!!!!!”)

Other books mentioned:

• Lady Lupin’s Book of Etiquette

HOTLINE VOICES: Michelle Mitchell from Scribbit: Motherhood in Alaska shares her thoughts about The Little Golden Book Anthologies.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Gaffes, guffaws and gargantuan grins explode from page after page of frantic action as fifty fervent American states peel themselves from cartographical slumber and paint the town.

As a Canadian, I’m not embarrassed to admit that I learned more about U.S. geography and statehood history from these forty pages of tumult, tables and talent than I ever learned in school.

Other books mentioned:

• John, Paul, George and Ben
• Scrambled States of America

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Funky paint and collage artwork and breezy first person narrative provide an eye-opening peek at a young girl’s experience with amblyopia and strabismus in this upbeat tale of personality, patches, perspective and pride.

You can read more about eye patching treatments here and here.

Other books mentioned:

• Carmine: A Little More Red

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Nineteen upbeat poems and a generous cast of wacky-looking monsters serve up a blend of scariness and humour that provides a perfectly harmless Hallowe’en thrill.