This week’s Roundup of Mom’s Choice Award winners features tons of educational picture books for the little ones, juvenile books for ages 5-12 and some educational apps! Be sure to scroll through the entire list so you don’t miss any of our new award-winners! All the items you see below won a Mom’s Choice Award during August 12, 2018 to August 18, 2018.

Every week companies, inventors, and publishers from around the world send us their products for evaluation. Only the best earn our designation.

Stinky Owl
Written by Melanie Burgess

Stinky, a great horned owl, has a problem making friends…because his favorite food is skunk! Inspired by the birds of prey at the Rocky Gap State Park Aviary in Maryland, Melanie Burgess’ lifelike illustrations bring this story to life. Learn about Stinky and his predator friends in this fun and educational children’s tale.

Children’s Picture Books:
Values & Life Lessons

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Rainbow’s Promise: How It All Started
Written by Mary Clark Dalton; Illustrated by Stacy Moody

Being the last caterpillar in his class to receive his wings causes poor Rainbow’s classmates to tease him. He dreams of being beautiful colors and flying with his friends. But his mom tells him to be patient and look for things only a caterpillar can do. Follow Rainbow in his journeys as he Learns to Fly, Deals with Pride, and Learns the Golden Rule.

Children’s Picture Books:
Values & Life Lessons

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Rainbow Learns to Fly
Written by Mary Clark Dalton; Illustrated by Stacy Moody

Rainbow has finally received his beautiful rainbow wings. Now he can’t wait to fly! How hard can it be? he thinks to himself. He’s thrilled when his dad tells him it’s time to learn to fly. “These things take time, Son, you’ll fly soon,” his father tells him.

Children’s Picture Books:
Inspirational / Motivational

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Rainbow Learns the Golden Rule
Written by Mary Clark Dalton; Illustrated by Stacy Moody

Rainbow learns the hard way that its not too much fun to be the strongest, most beautiful butterfly if you do not have friends to share it with. After a time of showing off and a little taunting of his own, Rainbow finally learns the Golden Rule. He must treat other butterflies the way he would like to be treated

Children’s Picture Books:
Inspirational / Motivational

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Rainbow Deals with Pride
Written by Mary Clark Dalton; Illustrated by Stacy Moody

Rainbow is proud of his beautiful wings and ability to fly, but hes showing off just a little too much. He thinks its payback time for Lightning, the butterfly who used to taunt him.

Children’s Picture Books:
Inspirational / Motivational

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Please Close It!
Written by Kathleen M. Jacobs; Illustrated by Ashley Teets

When Timmy Timberjamb refuses to close his drawers and doors, his mother devises a clever plan to convince him to change his ways.

Children’s Picture Books:
Family Life

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Piccadilly and the Jolly Raindrops
Written by Lisa Anne Novelline; Illustrated by Nicola Hwang; Edited by Amy Betz

In Piccadilly and the Jolly Raindrops (ages 4-8), the third installment in the “Piccadilly and her Magical World” Picture Book Series, delight with Piccadilly as she learns to reframe her gloomy and rainy afternoon into one of the most fantastic days of her life! Piccadilly and the Jolly Raindrops is a tale of joy and wonder wrapped around what is perhaps one of the mightiest messages of all… children possess the power to choose a positive view of challenges. And when they exercise that power, the most magical of possibilities await!

Children’s Picture Books:
Imagine It!

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Over on a Desert: Somewhere in the World
Written by Mariane Berkes; Illustrated by Jill Dubin

Deserts are full of surprises! An amazing array of animals calls this driest place on Earth their home. Through rhythm and rhyme, children meet a new animal on every page. They won’t be able to resist getting in on all the action as animal parents teach their babies how to live in this unusual place – camels kneel, armadillos dig, dingoes sniff, and jerboas jump. Cut paper collages capture the subtle beauty of the desert and also “hide” more animals for young eyes to find. Additional information, a world map, and tips from the author give parents and teachers all they need to make learning fun. One part song, one part story, and one part sheer delight!

Children’s Picture Books:
Nature & Weather

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Ollie the Owllama
Written by Kim Wilson; Illustrated by Ashley Teets

A unique focus on blended families, Ollie the Owllama (owl mama – lama daddy) is misunderstood and learns to express his feelings with the love and support of his family and friends.

Juvenile Books (Level 2 – Ages 9 to 12):
Body, Mind & Spirit

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Novel Effect – Make Storytime Magic

Seattle-based Novel Effect is voice interactive entertainment that brings stories to life through their ambient voice platform. Using speech recognition, their flagship mobile app follows along synchronizing special effects, sounds, and music in real time with a storyteller’s voice. Winner of Best Integrated Mobile Experience at the 22nd Annual Webby Awards, the app bridges the physical and digital worlds through the combination of technology and physical media. Founded in 2015 by husband and wife team Matt and Melissa Hammersley, Novel Effect has patent-pending technology that was featured on Shark Tank in 2017.

Apps & Software:
Preschoolers

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Hurricane; Jamar’s Story
Written by Lynn Salsi, Joe Campbell; Illustrated by Ashley Teets

As a hurricane bears down on Jamar’s town, his family shows him how to prepare and ride out this natural disaster. Includes hurricane/disaster preparedness.

Juvenile Books (Level 2 – Ages 9 to 12):
Body, Mind & Spirit

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He’s Your Daddy: Ducklings, Joeys, Kits, and More
Written by Charline Profiri; Illustrated by Andrea Gabriel

“If you were an animal—wild or tame, would you know your daddy’s name?” Every page answers this question with a different animal. Meet a joey riding piggy-back whose daddy is a sugar glider, a calf whose daddy is a towering giraffe, and a tiny fry floating next to its seahorse daddy. Children will be delightfully surprised by the animal in the middle of the book, and dads will especially appreciate the scene on the last page. Rhyming verses describe animal characteristics, and watercolor illustrations capture the feeling of all the different habitats, making every page a teachable moment. Additional animal information and matching game in the back of the book extends the learning.

Children’s Picture Books:
Animal Kingdom

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Dark Curses, Faerie Dreams
Written by Tom Xavier

Would you risk everything to be cool?

A 2018 Book Excellence Award Finalist, Duggan’s story is more than a wondrous fantasy tale (though it’s that, too). There’s also a moving story about friendship, loyalty, taking responsibility for one’s mistakes, and loving the natural world. As a plus, both the paperback and the e-book contain the web addresses to pages full of illustrations, animations, myths, back stories, games, puzzles, and more – pages to entertain, educate, and enrich the reading experience.

Juvenile Books (Level 2 – Ages 9 to 12):
Fantasy, Myths & Legends

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ALYCAT AND THE FRIENDSHIP FRIDAY
Written by ALYSSON FOTI BOURQUE; Illustrated by CHIARA CIVATI

There’s a new student in class and Alycat feels left out.
Can she use her creativity and imagination to help everyone feel included?

Juvenile Books (Level 1 – Ages 5 to 8):
Body, Mind & Spirit

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ABCmouse Mastering Math

Developed by Age of Learning, the education technology innovator behind ABCmouse Early Learning Academy, the ABCmouse Mastering Math app is an innovative, adaptive learning app that helps preschool through kindergarten children build a strong understanding of fundamental math concepts, including counting and addition. Having that foundation is a key requirement for success in kindergarten and beyond. The app (available on iOS and Android devices) uses appealing characters and personalized learning pathways to help children achieve math mastery.

Apps & Software:
Preschoolers

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