Kids Book Reviews ~ Library Haul #23

Welcome to our Kids Book Review Library Haul post! This is my mostly-weekly series 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 and I like to keep things positive too, so books that I thought were terrible don’t usually make it into the list… unless I just really want to rant about it for a while. That has happened too! Let us know in the comments which books were winners in YOUR library haul!

 

 

 

#1. Giggle, Giggle, Quack by Doreen Cronin

Giggle, Giggle, Quack is a story about some farm animals that get up to mischief when the farmer goes on vacation and leaves somebody else in charge. He warns his brother to ‘Watch out for the duck’, but the duck gets the better of him anyways.
Giggle, Giggle Quack is a board book with lots of funny-ridiculous quirks that most kids find hilarious. What kind of farm animals write notes and eat pizza? Farmer Brown’s animals, that’s who. It was cute enough, as farm books go, and an easy read.

We liked it: 3 out of 5 stars

 

#2. Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy

When Mabel blows a bubble that scoops up her baby brother, the entire town rushes into a panic, following his journey through the sky and brainstorming ideas to get him back safely.

This book was definitely the star of our library haul. The entire thing is written in the most lilting, perfect rhymes a la Dr. Suess, but with a VERY impressive vocabulary. There are a few made up words, but a very impressive collection of actual words that fit into the story and the rhymes. Cavil, nefarious, groveling… you get the idea. You guys, I had to look up one of the words. That NEVER happens with little kids books, but it thrills my soul. My kids loved it too, lest you think my adoration is tainted by my love of vocabulary. It was Sophia’s second choice to the (TERRIBLE) Barbie book that she chose, loved, and wanted to read at least once every. single. day.

We all loved it: 5 out of 5 stars

#3. Cold Snap by Eileen Spinelli

The town of Toby Mills is experiencing the coldest snap anybody has seen in a very long town. The icicle on the statue of General Toby is growing daily, and there’s no end in sight. The inhabitants of Toby Mills are having to get more and more creative just to stay warm, and everybody is wondering… When will the cold snap break?

Cold Snap was a particularly fun book to read since it hasn’t gotten cold here yet. The idea of snow and cold snaps is still firmly lodged in that nostalgic part of my brain, and the wondrous, magical part of my kids’ brains. I know… give us until January, y’all.

We really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars

#4. Hilda Must Be Dancing by Karma Wilson

Hilda is a hippo who loves to dance, but when she dances the ground shakes, trees lose their leaves, and the other animals clutch their heads and groan. They try to convince her to take up different hobbies, but nothing makes Hilda feel quite as good as dancing. They’re at an impasse until one day Hilda discovers something new…

This was a cute picture book story about doing what you love and solving problems. Hilda’s perseverance and creativity go a long way towards helping her find the perfect solution. Plus, it rhymes. Have I mentioned that my kids are really into rhyming books lately? To be fair, I enjoy them a great deal myself, but they really do love them.

We really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars.

Kids Book Review: Fort Applegate and The Battle of Wounded Knee

Book Review of: Fort Applegate and The Battle of Wounded Knee by Brian Wu

Genre: Children, Fiction

This book was sent to me as an advance review copy by the author for no compensation.  All opinions expressed are my own. It is available for pre-order through Amazon, and will be available early in November.

Fort Applegate and the Battle of Wounded Knee is an educational foray into the science of the immune system: specifically, what happens inside the body to fight off infection. Nolan Applegate is out for a day of exploring the woods behind his parents house and searching out the perfect spot for a fort.  Right in the middle of his exploration, he falls in a stream and cuts his leg.  He’s been learning about the immune system in school, and he knows he needs to go home and wash the abrasion to help get rid of the bacteria from the stream.  He imagines his body is a lot like a fort and the many different things that happen beneath his skin to protect and heal from the cut are like a battle–the battle of wounded knee.

Technically, this book is for kids around the age of 9. Though not quite a middle grade novel, it does have a couple of chapters and full pages of words.  Even so, I think Sophia will be able to enjoy it a little at a time. The story is engaging and presents science to younger kids with a winning combination of age-appropriate narration and scientific explanations.

One thing I particularly loved about this book was the abundance of actual educational information.  Even though the immune system was reimagined into a more relatable context, the proper medical terms were still included and everything was thoroughly explained. Cytoplasm, Lymph Nodes, and the different kinds of cells working in the immune system are all explained briefly in the text and a little more thoroughly in the glossary.  I just think it is great to go ahead and teach kids the actual words.  Sure, they might stumble over Cytoplasm or butcher the pronunciation completely, but they’ll learn eventually and you can’t learn without trying.

Overall, I thought this was a cool blend of education and entertainment, and am looking forward to spending a little more time reading it with Sophia.

I really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars

Kids Book Review: Henry The Turtle by C. K. Sobey

Review of: Henry the Turtle by C. K. Sobey

Genre: Children’s

I was sent this book for review by the author, but all opinions expressed are my own.  Check out her website for more information, here.

Henry the Turtle is abandoned as an egg on a stretch of sandy beach near a duck pond, but when one of the mother ducks adopts the egg, the ducks welcome Henry to their midst, and he grows up perfectly happy and cared for–just a turtle in a duck pond.

Punctuated with some fun facts about nature and eggs, Henry the Turtle is a sweet story about adoption and the love of a family.  The general plot reminded me of the Dr. Seuss classic, ‘Horton Hatches the Egg’, but there was definitely a unique voice here too.

The educational facts about eggs and duck habitat were interesting, and struck a good balance of story/fact for a younger child.  I haven’t stumbled across very many children’s books about adoption during my forays to the picture-book section of the library and maybe that is only because I never particularly looked for them before, but I’m always pleased when they do turn up!

Now, I loved the story, but this has to be said. My sole complaint about this book is an issue with the grammar and typos.  I would never claim to be a model of perfection in the grammar department, but when I notice multiple typos or obvious grammar problems within a single book, it really has to be noted–if only to stop my own eyes from twitching.  Luckily, this is something that should be easy to remedy in the next edition or revision.

Overall, the story was lovely but the grammar made me wince, so I’m going to have to go with a basic ‘liked it’ rating until a revised edition comes out.

I liked it: 3 out of 5 stars

Kids Book Review: Outside Inside by Cindy Helms

Review of: Outside Inside by Cindy Helms

Genre: Children’s

Outside Inside is the story of a bird who goes looking for his friends one morning.  When he can’t find them, he wonders where on earth they could be, and what they might be doing without him.  Opposites and colorful illustrations liven up the story as the bird is happily surprised when he does find his friend.

This is a great book for bridging that precarious childhood gap between reading board books and full blown picture books with lengthy stories.  The illustrations are much more in depth that one would expect for a baby, but the story itself is simple enough that even the youngest of children could sit through it.

While there are words, the majority of the story is told in the illustrations.  Without  the illustrations, the words are just a constant reiteration of the outside vs. inside relationship.  The illustrations themselves are clever and multi-faceted, although I doubt whether a preschooler or younger would necessarily pick up on all the undertones.  Still, who complains about something that makes a children’s book more enjoyable to read as an adult?!  Not I…

My only complaint/suggestion, is that I would love to see a sturdier version so that the medium matches the between-stages vibe of the story.  I’m not saying to make it into a board book, just use some stiffer paper products that will stand up to the rougher attentions of toddlers and preschoolers.

Overall, Outside, Inside was a cute, original story about waiting for friends and surprises.

We really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars

Kids Book Reviews ~ Library Haul #20

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.

Kids Book Reviews ~ Library Haul #18

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. Go! Go! Go! Stop! by Charise Mericle Harper

Go! Go! Go! Stop! was an overnight favorite at our house. It tells the story of a little green guy who rolls into town and starts saying the only word he knows. That word happens to be “go”. At first, “Go” is a great word, but as time goes on, things become more and more chaotic. Green can’t even fix the problem. Every time he says “Go!” things just keep on going. Luckily, a new guy rolls into town, named Red, and the only word HE knows is “Stop!” Green and Red learn to work together to get things running smoothly again.

Go! Go! Go! Stop! is an innovative and fun way to reiterate the function of traffic lights to your children. Sophia already knew the basic traffic light signals (Green means go, red means stop) but she adored this book and we couldn’t read it to her enough. There are lots of ways to experiment with dynamics within the book, which I think is definitely part of the appeal for youngsters. I mean, what kid is going to turn down the chance to bellow “STOP!” at the top of their lungs?! Not mine…

We loved it: 5 out of 5 stars

#2. Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk

Sam is a library mouse who has a pretty sweet life. During the day he lives in his cozy hole at the library, and at night when the library is empty he comes out and reads everything… at least until the night he decides he needs to write his own story. Sam begins writing stories and leaving them around the library, much to the fascination and curiosity of the library staff and children. Eventually, they leave a note asking him to let them meet the author. Though Sam puzzles over what to do about this particular predicament (he’s a mouse after all, and mice don’t generally interact well with humans) his solution is both touching and inspiring.

This was an adorable little story, all about inspiring you to do things you never thought of doing before–just because you can. I was surprised at how sweet the ending was. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but it was completely charming. Definitely go search this book out! Well worth it!

We loved it: 5 out of 5 stars

#3. Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson

Yet another twist on the classic Cinderella tale, in this rendition, Cinderella is rather whiny and boring. She has a hard life, and she basks in it. Cinder Edna, her next door neighbor, on the other hand, has exactly the same trials, but she hasn’t let her troubles keep her down. She works hard to better herself, and doesn’t rely on fairy godmother’s to bail her out of difficult situations. Cinder Edna proves that your personal outlook and ambition is worth everything, and far more powerful than a magic wand.

This was such a great book to read, especially in today’s age of entitlement and whine-culture. You’re only a victim if you choose to see yourself as a victim. Otherwise, get up out of that fireplace and make a tuna casserole! Delightful. This is one I want to get on my home shelf, eventually.

We loved it: 5 out of 5 stars

#4. My Family Tree and Me by Dusan Petricic

My Family Tree and Me is a simple book with great illustrations, all about how one’s ancestors led to one’s existence. Great-great grandparents down to “me” and back again, this book is meant to be read backwards and forwards–something that I didn’t realize the first time I read it. Not gonna lie, it was a little confusing that first round. It makes much more sense reading from the front (Father’s side) to the middle, and then from the back (Mother’s side) also to the middle. Confusion aside, it was still a great book to reiterate the different relationships in families. Sophia has been very curious lately about the different titles for people in our family. Sisters, brothers, cousins, daughters, grand parents, grand daughters, and the like have all proven to be fairly confusing for her, especially as she realized that people can hold much more than one title. It’s been interesting, to say the least, but this book was definitely in perfect time.

We really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars

#5. Sophia the First by Catherine Hapka

If you have a youngster who is into princesses, you’re probably already well aware of the Sofia the First franchise. Sofia the first is a princess TV show, centering around (for the first time ever, at least to my knowledge) a child princess. Needless to say, my Sophia loves her, and this book was another instant favorite. The story is pretty cute–all about family learning to get along, and a little girl learning how to be a princess.

My proudest moment though, was when, after reading the book several hundred times, Sophia was watching an episode of the TV show and turned to me to say brightly, “I read a book about this, Mommy!” Yes, Sophia, always, ALWAYS read the book first! ❤

We loved it: 5 out of 5 stars

Kid’s Book Reviews ~ Library Haul #16

 

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!

 

 

 

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#1. Flying Solo: How Ruth Elder Soared Into America’s Heart by Julie Cummins
This is by far my favorite book out of the library haul this week, and Sophia is obsessed with airplanes, so I think it’s safe to say that it wasn’t wasted on her either. It is the true story of Ruth Elder, one of America’s first female pilots. In 1927 most people believed that women were supposed to stay in kitchen’s and houses. Working outside the home was frowned on, and flying a plane was completely out of the question. Ruth Elder didn’t agree. She had a passion to fly planes, and she wanted to be the first woman to fly a plane across the Atlantic. On October 11, 1927, she attempted it and failed. She didn’t let failure stop her though. She kept on flying, eventually completing a race across the continental United States. She never achieved some specific goals. Amelia Earhart beat her to being the first female pilot to fly across the Atlantic. She didn’t win the continental race. But she never gave up, and she had a hope that one day women would fly fighter jets… and now they do.

I love finding little tidbits of history that I didn’t know before, and this book was a treasure trove of little historical details. Yes, in a children’s book! Isn’t that wonderful?! Ruth Elder is exactly the sort of girl that little girls should read about. She was strong minded, and she didn’t let popular opinion get her down. Furthermore, she accomplished something really remarkable by becoming a female pilot in a time when it was generally discouraged.
Beyond the obvious lessons about tenacity and perseverance, this book is great because it is perfect for younger children. Too often, the picture books that cover historical events or people are still a level or two above preschool age. This book has it all. It has a great vocabulary, but the amount of text per page is definitely still manageable for my preschooler, and the pictures are these fantastic, colorful, full page spreads.
Definitely check this one out! Whether you have girls or boys or both, it is a great read for all ages!

We loved it: 5 out of 5 stars

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#2. Airplanes by Caroline Stamps

Are you sensing a theme yet? This week, our nonfiction mini-study was airplanes, by Sophia’s choice. This nonfiction book was also one of her picks. It never fails to amaze me the attention span she can have. When she is legitimately interested in something, particularly if she picks it out herself, she will sit for hours, listening to and poring over books that I would consider significantly above her reading level–a fact that thrills me, I might add. Mama has a little bookworm on her hands 😀
Anyways, this was a nonfiction book about airplanes. It covered the history of planes, first models, gliders, helicopters, military planes, passenger planes… if it has to do with planes it was probably mentioned (briefly) in this book. There’s nothing particularly special about the writing style. It’s very straightforward, but does have lots of pictures. Sophia loved it.

We loved it: 5 out of 5 stars

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#3. Over in the Ocean In A Coral Reef by Marianne Berkes

This is a rhyming romp through the ocean with lots of opportunities for counting, as various species of sea life are introduced. The illustrations are very unique and whimsical. As far as educational value, beyond teaching kids the names and general appearance of the sea creatures, there really isn’t much except for what you personally infuse it with. There is plenty of opportunity for counting and identifying colors, but there aren’t really true facts about the sea creatures themselves. I would love to see a rhyming, fun book like this that incorporated more facts. Sophia really liked it though. She loves counting every single sea creature on the page.
Overall, a good book for general introduction to some sea creatures and counting.

We really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars

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#4. Beautiful Birds by J. Roussen and E. Walker
This alphabet book goes through a world of birds. From Albatross to Macaw to Quetzel and Zosteropidae, this book manages to find a bird for every letter. To be completely honest, I’m still not entirely sure what a Zosteropidae is, but I’m going to be googling it. Xanthocephalus would have been equally confusing, except that they conveniently included the definition right below it. This book does rhyme as well, but the most impressive thing to me is the illustrations. They are beautiful, crisp, and very colorful. I’m not sure which of us enjoyed the illustrations more in this case.
This is a great book for birds, and challenging your youngsters vocabulary and identification skills.

We really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars

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#5. Sunday Shopping by Sally Derby
This is an adorable story about a Grandma and little girl who go pretend shopping together on Sunday nights. They go through the Sunday paper, picking through the advertisements and “buying” anything they take a fancy too–as long as they have the money. When they’ve spent all their money, they go to bed, but there will be more money next week and they’ll go shopping again. This is definitely a sweet story that shares some of the special relationship between grandmothers and granddaughters. Honestly, it’s a fun idea for anybody. Sophia is always running around with a little pad of paper, telling me that she’s making her “grocery list”, especially on the days when I do my grocery list/menu plan/sales scouting for the week.
If you’re looking for a sweet, family story, this one definitely fits the bill. I think it would make a perfect bedtime story, or an entire day of activities, if you find a bunch of magazines and scissors and do the same thing. We’ll probably include both activities in our next couple days of summer entertainment.

We really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars.

Author Spotlight: Carole P. Roman Geography Series

This is the first of what will be a couple posts highlighting some of Carole Roman’s books for children. I was sent these books for review by the author, but all opinions expressed are my own.

First off, we’re going to be discussing Roman’s geography series ‘If you were me and lived in ____’. When I was contacted by the author initially about these children’s books, I was anticipating a series of 4 or 5 at most. Roman’s series far exceeded my expectations. This is a series of at 15 books, each highlighting a different country. I was particularly excited by the diversity of the countries. Turkey to Mexico to France to Peru to South Korea, India, Australia and more, these books are a great first introduction to concept of geography and the differences that make our world unique.

Each book follows a similar pattern, introducing kids to a few common themes: the foods you would eat, the places you would go, what you would call your parents, games you might play, and holidays you would celebrate.

These books are definitely predictable, but I think that is what makes them really great in their genre. I think these would actually be great as a curriculum tool for preschool/kindergarten. They’re simple enough to not bog younger children down in the details, but they have enough detail to make some really fun projects out of them. After our summer settles down a little, I plan to read one per week with Sophia, and then spend the rest of the week doing little projects that coincide with the book details.

 

 

We really enjoy cooking here, so I’m thinking we’ll focus on the foods and probably find some youtube videos or pictures of the famous places. I’m hoping to share those projects on my personal blog as we complete them, and here if they’re particularly relevant or successful. Sophia is only three, so we certainly won’t be taking it too seriously, but I think this will be a fun way to add a little structured fun to our days.

If you’re following us you’ll definitely be hearing more about these books over the next few months as we really explore all their educational potential.

 

I highly recommend checking these out if you’re looking for some new, fun ways to introduce different educational topics to your preschooler-in-residence.

We really liked them: 4 out of 5 stars

Kids Book Reviews ~ Father’s Day Edition

Hi Everybody! Welcome to my Library Haul Post. This is where I do a short and sweet rating of the best children’s books we scored from our library trip last week. We tend to read a lot of kids books and I haven’t quite worked up to giving them all their own post, but this is my compromise. This week, in honor of Father’s Day, we’re going to highlight some of the books we’ve read most recently that celebrate Dads! What are your favorite books about Dads? Let us know in the comments! If you’re looking for a Father’s Day present, one of these books might be perfect… just saying!

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#1. Because Your Daddy Loves You by Andrew Clements

This one of my favorite dad books. It’s about a family’s trip to the beach and all the little things that daddy wouldn’t necessarily have to do… but he does… because he loves you. It’s a great look at celebrating all the sweet, little things daddies do.
We loved it: 5 out of 5 stars

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#2. Saturday is Dadurday by Robin Pulver

Mimi and Dad have the best day ever every Saturday–They call it Dadurday. Dad makes pancakes and they decide what fun things the agenda for the day should include, but the best part is that they get to spend it together. When Dad finds out that he has to start working on Saturday’s will Dadurday stop or can Mimi find a way to salvage it.
This was a really great one, because Mimi eventually steps outside of her own hurt feelings. The most important part of Dadurday is Dad, after all, and she wants to show him how important he is to her… and works really hard all afternoon to make it happen. It is just SUCH a sweet book.
We loved it: 5 out of 5 stars.

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#3. Oh Daddy! by Bob Shea

Daddies can be really silly, but luckily, kids know what’s up. The funny thing about this book to me is not that particularly that the kid is doing the right thing in all of these situations (because we all know how realistic that is) but that the dad’s silliness is inspiring the kid to get things done the right way, under the guise of “showing him how to do it.” Such a novel idea. I’m not even kidding when I tell you that I think I’m going to be adopting that strategy to try to get my daughter doing things like getting dressed, putting shoes on, etc, in a more timely manner. Clever, clever daddy…

We really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars

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#4. Monday is One Day
This book is about the days of the week, and how parents in general hate having to leave their kids to go to work. To be honest, it’s a little bit of a stretch putting it into a Father’s day post–Mothers are pretty equally represented–but I feel like the sentiment is pretty appropriate, and most of the illustrations include a father. It’s at least appropriate for us, since my superman goes off to work every day and misses his babies.
Bonus: It might help your toddler get a better idea for how the passage of time breaks up into days and weeks.

We really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars

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#5. Grizzly Dad by Joanna Harrison

Someday’s Dad just wakes up grumpy, and when he does, sometimes he turns into a grizzly bear. When that happens, a boy and his dad… ahem, grizzly… spend the day just hanging out and doing fun bear things.

This is a cute story in and of itself, but the illustrations cracked me up. The story is about how sometimes dad’s can be grumpy–which kids can relate too–and the pictures tell the story of WHY the dad might be grumpy–which parents in general will find hilarious. For example, on the page where it talks about how Dad just woke up grumpy one day, the illustrations show you that he woke up with a cat on his head, a baby’s finger up his knows, two kids fighting over a doll on top of him, and a dog chewing on his glasses. Why is dad grumpy? The kid might not be sure, but all the rest of us have been there, done that. The rest of the book is a story about redeeming the day and the things parents do to make a day better when it has started badly.

We loved it: 5 out of 5 stars

Kids Book Reviews ~ Library Haul #13

 

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. Louise the Big Cheese and the Ooh La La Charm School by Elise Primavera

This was a kids book in the style of Fancy Nancy and Pinkalicious, pretty much right down to the language.  Louise wants to be very ooh lala and live in Paris, France, so when she meets a girl named Claire who says she has not only been to Paris but attended charm school, she becomes obsessed with getting into charm school herself.  Luckily, her new friend has promised to help her.  Unfortunately, Louise’s obsession with the idea of charm school leads her to be rather un-charming to her best friends and family.  Claire’s charm school isn’t very much fun either, and by the end of the book, Louise realizes that sometimes being charming to the people who are most important to us is the most ooh la la thing you can do.

This was pretty cutesy, but the message was good.  I didn’t particularly care for the fact that it seemed to similar to Fancy Nancy and Pinkalicious, but I guess you have to write what sells.

It was okay: 2 out of 5 stars

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#2.  Wild About Us by Karen Beaumont

Wild About Us is a short and sweet trip through the zoo, highlighting the differences between the animals and reiterating throughout the book that differences are what makes the zoo interesting.  The parallel that our own differences can be what makes us interesting is definitely easily drawn.  I thought this book was a good blend of message and just fun rhyming, and great for the younger age group. Bonus: Hearing a three year old pronounce ‘flamingo’.

I really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars

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#3. 5 Little Monkeys Wash The Car by Eileen Christelow

This was a clever embellishment of the traditional “Five little monkeys jumping on the bed” rhyme.  The Five little monkeys are on a mission to sell their car and get a nice new car, so they clean it up, paint it, and take it for a test drive.  Of course, chaos ensues and lives are in danger, but everybody wins in the end.  Bonus: It’s a board book, so Kman got in on the page-turning action.

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#4. The Man From the Land of Fandango by Margaret Mahy

The Man From the Land of Fandango is a rhyming, lyrical book that is simply fun to read.  He only comes round once every 500 years, but when he does, he pulls out all the stops, putting on a show for all ages.  This one is another great read for the younger ages with few enough words that even the youngest toddlers will sit through it, but enough of a lilt and a story line, and intricate pictures for an older child as well.

I really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars

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#5. Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett

A girl and her monkey rollick through the pages of this book, pretending to be different animals of all shapes and sizes.  This was a particularly fun one, as it encouraged animal charades, which has since become a big “thing” to do in our house.  Everything from bear crawling, to eating apples a particular way that may or may not be reminiscent of a rabbit.  This is another book that easily bridges the gap between baby-toddler and preschool-toddler.  Definitely one to check out.

I really liked it: 4 out of 5 stars