Encourage Imagination with Fall Children's Books from Pavilion {A Holiday Gift Guide Review}

**Books received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.  

Glass, concrete, windows, walls, roofs, and more—create your own metropolitan masterpiece. Build a Skyscraper (Pavilion Children's Books; September 2020; ISBN: 978-1843654742; Ages 3-5; Set $19.69; 64 pages) by Paul Farrell is the second in a new series of graphic-designed cards that turn the image of a skyscraper into a work of art.

This pack contains 64 cards (4 x 2¾ inches) in a variety of graphic designs and bold, eye-catching colors. Clever paper engineering allows you to slot the cards together, building up and out in whichever way you like! Also included is a short 8-page booklet, with descriptions of the key elements of a skyscraper and suggestions of how to build your masterpiece. You can go traditional or get abstract and construct your own crazy high-rise!

Educational, creative, mindful, and fun for the whole family. The sky’s the limit!

 <hr>

The fabulous illustrator David Roberts has joined forces with his author sister, Lynn, to produce a humorous, stylish and empowering retelling of three classic fairy tales -- Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel -- in David Roberts' Delightfully Different Fairy Tales (Pavilion Children's Books; October 2020; ISBN: 978-1843654759; Ages 3-6; Hardcover $19.95; 90 pages).

A treasury of fairy tales with a difference – feminist, spunky and set in different decades of the 20th century, with funky clothes and recognizable settings.

This special collection includes a 1950s sci-fi nerd Sleeping Beauty who pricks her finger on a record player, in a story populated entirely with women and girls (no princes needed here!), a 1970s Rapunzel who lives in a tower block and whose friend plays in a rock band, a 1920s Cinderella with flapper girls, a fashion-conscious fairy godmother, and a night in an art deco ballroom.

These are all deliciously, delightfully different takes on the fairy tales we all know in a gorgeous hardback gift book with lots of period detail—it will be treasured for years to come.

 <hr>

From the creator of The Boxtrolls comes a haunting, beautifully told, and stunningly illustrated Santa Claus origin story: The Three Wishes (Pavilion Children's Books; November 2020; ISBN: 978-1843653868; Ages 4-8; Hardcover $19.95; 48 pages) by Alan Snow.

A young boy is herding his family’s reindeer when the boy is drawn into a mysterious cave. The cave is the holder of eternal summer, looked after by three strange characters: a wooden creature, a bird, and a fish. Once entered, the cave cannot be left without time in the outside world standing still. In his sadness at not being able to leave, the boy is granted three wishes and chooses freedom, happiness, and time. He is told that they will all be granted—eventually.

After the first year of working hard in the summer cave, the boy is allowed to see his family in the outside world. Time stands still as he visits his parents, and he leaves gifts behind to show that he has visited. As the years go by, this annual visit continues, and he begins to call on not only his parents but more and more other families…and Christmas traditions, as we know them, start to be created.

A new Christmas classic to read again and again, beautifully written and illustrated by Alan Snow, author of Here be Monsters!, the novel behind the Academy-nominated 2014 film The Boxtrolls.

 <hr>

Challenge Everything: An Extinction Rebellion Youth Guide to Saving the Planet (Pavilion Children's Books; September 2020; ISBN: 978-1843654643; Ages 12-17; Paperback $9.95; 144 pages) by Blue Sandford is a timely new book from a teenage environmental activist who has been called the "British Greta Thunberg" and named one of "the UK’s most impressive young activists" by The Times.

Time is running out to prevent ecological collapse. The main concern of many young people is climate change and how to combat it, and Challenge Everything offers them a purpose–what to do, when to do it and why to do it. This manifesto is the only official handbook from Extinction Rebellion Youth -- a global movement of hundreds of thousands of passionate activists from all walks of life, including splinter groups for young people, like XR Youth, XR Families and XR Kids -- and will help you to change your life and the world for the better.

Written by Blue Sandford, the 17-year-old coordinator of Extinction Rebellion Youth London who has left school to dedicate her life to preventing climate change, this book will ask you to challenge everything–challenge government (protest and take peaceful action where necessary), challenge business (decide who you want to support, decide who you want to boycott), and above all to challenge yourself–how can you change your life to make a difference.

Filled with stories, essays, slogans and inspiring illustrations, this book will cover consuming, actioning, boycotting, campaigning, striking, questioning, rewilding and reconnecting with our planet. It will help the reader to change their mindset, become independent, question everything, and challenge themselves.




With the holiday season rapidly approaching, many of us are on the hunt for the perfect gifts for the children in our lives. This year more than ever, they need a little fun and imagination in their lives! Still, I don't know about you, but so often I find myself feeling like the toys just seem to take over the house. There are so many that it actually makes it more difficult for the children to choose which to play with. They take up a ton of space, and often fall to the side untouched just a few short weeks after the holidays. This is one of the reasons why books are always a staple on our holiday lists! 

But, what books are the best to fill those stockings? We were recently given the opportunity to check out some new books from Pavilion to share with all of you. 

First up, Build a Skyscraper. Okay, so this one is really more of an activity than a book... but it certainly does inspire creativity. It included 64 cards with bold designs that can be used to design and build your very own unique skyscrapers. Because each card has a unique design, there are truly endless possibilities so kids can just keep on building new creations. My daughter absolutely, positively loved this. It was such a great STEM activity. I loved that not only did it encourage creativity, but when all is said and done, the box of cards take up very minimal space... which this mama can always appreciate! It's learning, and it's fun... what could truly be better than that?

Next up, we couldn't wait to check out David Roberts' Delightfully Different Fairy Tales. It should come as no surprise that we enjoy fairy tales around here, right? Needless to say, we were pretty excited about this one. It very quickly became an instant favorite. This fun fairy tale story book take some of our fairy tale favorites and puts them into different moments in history. . a 1920s Cinderella, a 1950s Sleeping Beauty, a 1970s Rapunzel, etc. Fun, right? My daughter enjoyed them just because they were unique telling of some of her favorites. I must admit though, I think I enjoyed them even more than she did. You see, not only do I also love fairy tales... but I also love vintage things and the styles (home and fashion) of the years gone by. Sleeping Beauty pricking her finger on the needle of a record player? Genius! Cinderella in 1920s style? Absolutely stunning. Truly, I couldn't get enough of this. This is truly one that I felt like both parents and kids could enjoy equally!! We certainly did here anyway. 

The Three Wishes was up next. If there is anything we love more than books around here, it's Christmas, so Christmas books? We cannot get enough of them! This book offers a rather unique perspective on the origins of Santa Claus that kids are sure to enjoy. It's a really cute story that we found much different than anything else in our holiday story collection... but a very fun and welcome addition. If you're looking for a unique holiday story to add to your children's stocking, this would certainly be a fun choice. 

Finally, we come to Challenge Everything: An Extinction Rebellion Youth Guide to Saving the Planet. This one is a little bit different than the others I've featured. First and foremost, it's for an older audience group, more for teenagers than kids. I would also say that this might be one that parents will want to check out beforehand to make sure it lines up with their own ideals, and to help initiate the conversations about the topics discussed. Yes, it's good for kids to learn to think for themselves and to stand up for what they believe them, but I feel like we as parents need to be there to help guide them in doing such... reminding them that challenging everything doesn't actually mean to challenge everything, but rather to truly think for themselves and discover which issues mean the most to them, and which they truly feeling strongly enough about to take a stand for. 

Each of these books is quite different from one another, but one thing is true about all... they will all be fun additions for your kids at home book collection! 

You can learn more about these books and more from Pavilion Children's books at https://www.pavilionbooks.com/imprints/pavilion-childrens/