Hi everybody! Welcome to our Kids Book Review Library Haul post! This is where I give you quick and snappy reviews of our favorites from our weekly library haul. We read a LOT of children’s books from the library, so I don’t bother reviewing all the ones that were just mediocre. I like to keep things positive too, so books that I thought were terrible don’t usually make it into the list either… unless I just really want to rant about it for a while. Let us know in the comments which books were winners in YOUR library haul!
#1. Llama Llama Hoppity Hop by Anna Dewdney
We haven’t had many board books on the list lately, or even in our library haul at all for one reason or another, so it seems pretty fair to start off today with this awesome rhyming board book by Anna Dewdney. Llama Llama Hoppity Hop is just as short and snappy as you expect a board book to be, but with great get-up-and-move suggestions for your toddler and/or preschooler. Stretches, jumps, and big hugs are all on the agenda, making this a fantastic book to read to a squirmy kiddo.
We loved it: 5 out of 5 stars
#2. Special Delivery by Philip C. Stead
Special Delivery is the story of a little girl’s quest to get a present to her aunt (who lives alone and must be very lonely)–a present that just happens to be a real, live elephant. Elephants, however, are somewhat difficult to move, and require a great deal too many postage stamps, so Sadie is forced to resort to other, less mainstream transportation ideas. After an ill-fated ride in a hot air balloon, a lucky ride on the back of an alligator, and an ice cream truck ride, along with a few other adventures, Sadie finally makes it to her aunt’s house, where we discover that she lives ‘alone’ but has a veritable circus of animals in her backyard.
This was a light-hearted, fanciful book, that called to mind some children’s books from the 1950’s. The illustrations seemed very retro to me, and the story itself was just the sort of imaginative, wholesome stuff I like to read to my kiddos.
We really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars
#3. Princess Penelope
Penelope is convinced she is a princess. When she thinks about it, she does everything princesses do. Somebody makes her meals, drives her in the car, helps her dress and bathe… the list goes on, and the more she thinks about it, the more assured she becomes that she is exactly a princess.
This book highlighted all the amazing things that children have done for them, while appealing to Sophia’s princess obsession. I thought it was pretty sweet and amusing. Who knows? It might even help kids to appreciate the good ol’ days of prince/princess-ness before they’re gone… Yeah, I know that’s a stretch, but one can hope!
We really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars
#4. The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend
Beekle was born on an island, far away from here, and he has spent his whole life living with other imaginaries, waiting for His Friend to imagine him into the real world. After a long time, Beekle decides to set out and try to find His Friend on his own. Adventures await him as he makes his way to the real world, but he’s rewarded when he finally finds his friend and gets his name: Beekle.
I probably should have put this book higher up the list–I usually don’t consider things like the list priority, but this book was just so grand, I’d hate to think anybody stopped reading the post before getting to this particular book. The story was uniquely delightful on all levels. The storytelling was superb, but perfect for the younger reader, and the illustrations were as whimsical as the story itself.
We loved it: 5 out of 5 stars
#5. And Away We Go by Migy
Mr. Fox has finally gotten his hot air balloon ready for a voyage, and he is planning to go to the moon. As he is leaving, however, he keeps bumping into his friends. He can’t bear the thought of turning any of his friends away, and anyways, they’ll all make the trip more fun. Eventually, the hot air balloon is loaded far beyond capacity and sinks back to earth, along with Mr. Fox and his bevy of friends. Ever the optimist, Mr. Fox is just glad that he gets to be with his friends–dancing in the park with them is better than being alone on the moon any day.
I’m still not one hundred percent sure what to think about this book. On the one hand, it seems like a perfectly innocent, sweet little story about friends. I’m sure that was the intention, and I’m sure that’s what Sophia gets out of it, but it seems to have a darker side to me too. I mean, Mr. Fox said he always wanted to go to the moon, and when he finally has his balloon set up to go, his friends literally drag him back down to earth. Isn’t that a little depressing? No? Just me? Am I reading too much into a kids story? Let me know what you think! Anyways, besides that, and at the most obvious level, it was a cute book, and we did enjoy reading it.
We liked it: 3 out of 5 stars.
We Peas Read 