Quote of the Week

Emotional Explorers A Creative Approach to Managing Emotions Book Review

Emotional Explorers

A Creative Approach to Managing Emotions

Maria Mercè Conangla (Author)

Jaume Soler (Author)

Schiffer Kids

Children’s Books, Middle Grades, Self-Help

Publication Date: October 28, 2018

Emotional Explorers aims to help children between the ages of seven to “work in a responsible and decisive way to become more attuned to their emotional lives, leave a better world for those following them, and help those around them to grow.” Children will need help and guidance navigating the activities in the book which will create a great line of communication between child and adult.

Emotional Explorers is a much needed book that helps kids build deeper connections within themselves as well as the world around them. Following the activities in this book will help kids feel more anchored to their world and kids will walk away with a much fuller and richer understanding of themselves. I highly recommend it!

If you’re interested in reading Emotional Explorers, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Quote of the Week

The Cow Said Neigh! A Farm Story Book Review

The Cow Said Neigh!

A Farm Story

Rory Feek (Author)

Bruno Robert (Illustrator)

Thomas Nelson

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book

Publication Date: October 2, 2018

When a cow sees a horse running wild and free it lets out an envious “neigh.” That horse sees a duck. No one rides on a duck’s back, so the horse gives out an envious “quack.” On it goes through the farm with animals envying something about another until even the farmer gets involved.

Wonderfully illustrated and humorous and with rhythm, rhyme, and animal sounds, this book is sure to be a crowd pleaser!

If you’re interested in reading The Cow Said Neigh!, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Sleep, Sheep! Book Review

Sleep, Sheep!

Kerry Sparrow (Author)

Guillaume Perreault (Illustrator)

Kids Can Press

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book

Publication Date: October 2, 2018

Duncan loves pretty much everything about bedtime except for actually going to sleep. While he has many, many strategies to avoid the sleeping aspect of bedtime, his mom has a few tricks up her sleeve too. When Duncan can’t think of another excuse, he decides to start counting sheep. In a clever twist, Sheep #68 has a lot of reasons why just can’t jump over the bed yet, and Duncan gets a taste of his own medicine.

Humorous, and very relatable. Kids will enjoy Duncan’s predicament while parents will delight in the irony.

If you’re interested in reading Sleep, Sheep!, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Edison The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure Book Review

Edison

The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure

Torben Kuhlmann

(Author, Illustrator)

North South Books Inc.

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book

Publication Date: October 2, 2018

If you like Lindbergh or Armstrong, then you’ll appreciate Kuhlmann’s latest mouse edition: Edison. 

Pete the mouse is on a quest to find more information about a mouse ancestor and possible missing treasure. An adventurous story and Kuhlmann’s intricate illustrations are sure to please!

If you’re interested in reading Edison, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Quote of the Week

Don't Let the Penguin Drive the Batmobile Book Review

Don't Let the Penguin Drive the Batmobile

Jacob Lambert (author)

Tom Richmond (Illustrator) 

MAD

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book, Parody

Publication Date: October 16, 2018

As a huge Mo Willems fan, I really didn’t want to like this parody, but I couldn’t help myself. It’s a fantastic mash-up of classic Batman tropes paired with Willem’s style in illustration, text, and voice.

It was a great shared reading experience for my son (who loves Batman) and myself (who loves Willems).

If you’re interested in reading Don't Let the Penguin Drive the Batmobile, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Otherwood Book Review

Otherwood

Pete Hautman

Candlewick

Fiction, Middle Grades

Publication Date: September 11, 2018

Stuey and his friend Elly Rose often play in a deadfall in the middle of an overgrown golf course that stretches between their two houses. One day when they play, reality splits. Grandpa Zach’s stories of lies, hatred, and people disappearing begin to make more sense. With a massive chasm between them, Stuey and Elly Rose need to repair what’s been broken.

Otherwood is a fascinating story that ignites wonder and awe with the world and stays with you long after you’re done reading.

If you’re interested in reading Otherwood, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week

If You Give the Puffin a Muffin Book Review

If You Give the Puffin a Muffin

Timothy Young

(Author & Illustrator)

Schiffer Kids

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book

Publication Date: September 28, 2018

In a follow-up to The Angry Little Puffin the Puffin is back and he still isn’t happy. When the narrator offers the Puffin a muffin, he kindly says, “No thank you,” and explains that puffins do not eat muffins. However, the narrator keeps pressing and Puffin’s responses go from polite to annoyed. And when Puffin realizes he is in another book without his permission just because puffin and muffin rhyme, he gets angry! He schemes and calls upon friends to get him out of the book. When those attempts don’t work, he confronts the author directly to let him know what he thinks of this story he is in.

With it’s fantastic illustrations and a main character full of personality and opinions, kids will love If You Give the Puffin a Muffin. It is sure to be a new favorite!

If you’re interested in reading If You Give the Puffin a Muffin, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Do Frogs Drink Hot Chocolate? How Animals Keep Warm Book Review

Do Frogs Drink Hot Chocolate? 

How Animals Keep Warm

 

Etta Kaner (Author)

John Martz (Illustrator)

Owlkids

Children’s Nonfiction, Picture Book

Publication Date: September 14, 2018

Animals that live in cold environments need to stay warm, but how? Author Etta Kaner poses humorous (and sometimes true) questions about how animals stay warm like “Do penguins snuggle with a friend,” and then reveals interesting tidbits how these animals actually survive during winter.

Great illustrations paired with amusing yet informative text makes Do Frogs Drink Hot Chocolate? a fun, fact-filled read kids will love!

If you’re interested in reading Do Frogs Drink Hot Chocolate? How Animals Keep Warm, you can purchase a copy here onAmazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Me And My Fear Book Review

Me And My Fear

 

Francesca Sanna

(Author & Illustrator)

Flying Eye Books

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book

Publication Date: September 11, 2018

When a girl moves to a new country where she goes to a new school and doesn’t speak the native language, her normal amount of fear starts growing out of control and keeps her from doing things she’d like to do like explore her new neighborhood and play with other students at recess. When another student befriends her and they start playing, a dog barks at them and the boy hides behind something – his fear! The girl quickly realizes that everyone has secret fears. As she continues to play and try new things at school, her fear begins to grow smaller and smaller.

Though normally an abstract concept, fear becomes a concrete creature giving kids a tangible look at how a small amount of fear can be good and keep you from dangerous situations while large, growing fears can hold you back from the fun of everyday things.

If you’re interested in reading Me And My Fear, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Big Words Small Stories: The Missing Donut Book Review

Big Words Small Stories: The Missing Donut

Judith Henderson (Author)

T.L. McBeth (Illustrator)

Kids Can Press

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book

Publication Date: September 4, 2018

Five short stories about a boy named Cris and his cat named Crat come together. Each story also features the Sprinkle Fairy and her helpers the Sprinklers who insert BIG WORDS into the story - words like purloined and bamboozled. Each of the big words is then used in the last story.

To be honest, I was a little worried I wouldn’t like this book when I first read about the Sprinkle Fairy and her Sprinklers, but the easy to read stories are humorous, the illustrations are fun, and I know many kids who would love reading this book and learning some of these “big words.” Big Words Small Stories: The Missing Donut is a cleaver approach to developing a larger vocabulary for children.

If you’re interested in reading Big Words Small Stories: The Missing Donut, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Anna at the Art Museum Book Review

Anna at the Art Museum

 

Hazel Hutchins, Gail Herbert (Authors)

Lil Crump (Illustrator)

Annick Press

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book

Publication Date: September 11, 2018

Going to the art museum has A LOT of rules, and all of those rules make the museum boring. When Anna roars at a lion, she’s told to be quiet. When Anna starts to climb on something that looks like it’s for children, she’s shown the “do not touch” sign. Even when she tries to have a snack, Anna’s told “no eating.”

When a half-open door piques Anna’s interest, she’s surprised when she’s allowed to go in. Inside the “secret workshop” Anna finds a painting of a grumpy girl – a grumpy girl just like her! Anna quickly discovers that art often mirrors and imitates life.

Kids will easily relate to the constant stream of “no’s” that Anna encounters through her time at the museum. Kids will also delight in re-reading the book to study the pictures. Once Anna realizes that art often imitates life, kids also notice that Anna’s life often imitates the art around her. The subtle and clever illustrations blend Anna’s life and famous works of art together, mirroring each other – something that children and adults will appreciate as they read.

If you’re interested in reading Anna at the Art Museum, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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The Third Mushroom Book Review

The Third Mushroom

Jennifer L. Holm (Author)

Random House Books for Young Readers

Middle Grades, Upper Elementary, Children’s Fiction

Publication Date: September 4, 2018

Ellie’s grandpa Melvin just moved back in with her family. But the strange thing about grandpa Melvin, who is a world-renowned scientist, is that he discovered a way to reverse-age himself. While grandpa Melvin is incredibly smart and has two PhDs, he’s in the body of a smelly-footed 14 year old boy who now attends the same middle school as his granddaughter Ellie.

Ellie decides to team up with her grandpa for the science fair and their project is nothing short of stunning – a possible formula for the fountain of youth. When Ellie’s beloved cat gets sick, Ellie becomes even more desperate to see how far their experiment can go.

Though The Third Mushroom is the sequel to The Fourteenth Goldish (another great read!) this book still stands on its own. With interesting characters and a touch of middle school romance middle grade readers will devour it!

If you’re interested in reading The Third Mushroom, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Meet Yasmin! Book Review

Meet Yasmin!

Saadia Faruqi (Author)

Hatem Aly (illustrator)

Capstone

Children’s Fiction, Chapter Book, Diversity

Publication Date: August 1, 2018

Yasmin is an energetic and lively second grader. While she gets into problems occasionally, she’s quick to find ways to solve them. It is refreshing to see a diverse, female protagonist like Yasmin who faces easily relatable problems for young readers. Meet Yasmin! is a great beginning chapter book for elementary-aged readers!

If you’re interested in reading Meet Yasmin!, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Good Egg and Bad Apple Book Review

Good Egg and Bad Apple

 

Henry Herz (Author)

Luke Graber (Illsutrator)

Schiffer Kids

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book

Publication Date: September 28, 2018

Bad Apple and Second Banana terrorize the other food items in the fridge. After a streak of bullying, Good Egg finally confronts the pair and is picked on himself. Taking a different approach, Good Egg decides to invite Bad Apple to play a game of capture the flag with the other produce. Bad Apple is taken by surprise and is very excited to be included by everyone else. In the end, everyone has a good time and the bullying ends.

Good Egg and Bad Apple offers a positive (though not always effective) way to deal with bullies. It also has A LOT of idioms, puns, and other word play. While this word play is fun, the sheer amount of it is a bit overwhelming especially for younger readers where much of it might go over their heads. Upper elementary students or students who are learning English may be a better audience for diving in to the idioms and understanding the fun of the text.

If you’re interested in reading Good Egg and BadApple, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Dino-Christmas Book Review

Dino-Christmas

Lisa Wheeler (Author)

Barry Gott (Illustrator)

Carolrhoda Books

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book, Christmas

Publication Date: September 1, 2018

From the author and illustrator who brought the Dino-Sports series (my son LOVES these books) comes a new Dino-Holidays series starting with Dino-Christmas!

Santa Claws is coming, so Dinos of all sizes play in the snow, decorate the town, have snowball fights, eat cookies, and have a parade as they eagerly await the big day!

Written in rhyming verse and paired with fun, bright illustrations, dinosaur lovers will want to join in the fun as they see Raptor, Stegosaurus, T-Rex, Triceratops, Diplodocus, and many more dinosaurs prepare for Christmas!

If you’re interested in reading Dino-Christmas, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Quote of the Week

Am I Yours? Book Review

Am I Yours?

Alix Latimer

(Author, Illustrator)

Peachtree Publishers

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book

Publication Date: September 1, 2018

A lost egg is looking for its parents. As dinosaurs gather, it asks, “Am I yours?” In rhythm and rhyme, the friendly dinosaurs inquire about what the egg looks like inside its shell since they can’t see in. After multiple attempts, the egg’s parents still can’t be found. But the group of dinosaurs is determined to help the egg find its home.

Am I Yours? is a cute story with great illustrations. Kids will enjoy the wonder and suspense of finding out just who is in that egg.

If you’re interested in reading Am I Yours?, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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The Steves Book Review

The Steves

Morag Hood

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book

Publication Date: September 4, 2018

When a puffin named Steve meets another puffin who is also named Steve, the competition is on! One of them hast to be the best, most Stevest Steve, right? This competition quickly escalates and turns into name calling and hurt feelings. Can the Steves work out their differences (or similarities)?

With bold pictures and mounting tension, The Steves will make a great read aloud. Teachers (and parents) will want to read the book before presenting it to kids to make sure the name calling isn’t too much for their kiddos or that it can be thoroughly discussed as a bad choice with kids. Overall, the book is funny and will make kids laugh while realizing somethings are just silly to argue over.

If you’re interested in reading The Steves, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Sloth at the Zoom Book Review

Sloth at the Zoom

Helaine Becker (Author)

Orbie (Illustrator)

Owlkids

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book

Publication Date: August 15, 2018

Sloth arrives at her new home the Zoom where everyone goes so fast they don’t have time to stop and chat or relax. She thought she was going to the Zzzzzoo where animals live at a slower pace, but she finds her way (slowly) around the Zoom and tries to make friends. When she finally meets a friend whose more her speed, they’re able to enjoy a snack together, and the other animals who are normally too busy take notice and decide to relax a bit too.

In a fast-paced world, it’s easy to get caught up in the day to day hustle, but Sloth at the Zoom is a cute and clever reminder that we all need to stop and enjoy the life around us. Sometimes a slower pace is necessary and rewarding.

If you’re interested in reading Sloth at the Zoom, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Poppy and Sam and the Leaf Thief

Poppy and Sam and the Leaf Thief

Cathon

(Author & Illustrator)

Owlkids

Children’s Fiction, Comic-Book Style

Publication Date: August 15, 2018

Poppy and her panda bear friend Sam hear crying in their garden. Someone has taken a bite of one of Basil’s leaves! Poppy and Sam are on the case. They ask different insects where they were that night, they hideout to watch the next night, a honeybee helps make a sticky honey barrier around Basil so the thief is caught, but nothing works. Finally, Poppy comes up with an ingenious solution. Basil helps teach the thief that everything tastes better when offered freely rather than being taken.

Poppy and Sam and the Leaf Thief is composed in a comic-book style that kids will really like. Its illustrations are great and the garden makes for an interesting setting filled with talking plants and insects.

If you’re interested in reading Poppy and Sam and the Leaf Thief, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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Quote of the Week

Harrison P. Spader, Personal Space Invader Book Review

Harrison P. Spader, Personal Space Invader

Christianne C. Jones (Author)

Cale Atkinson (Illustrator)

Capstone

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book, Social Story

Publication Date: August 1, 2018

From the author of Lacy Walker, Nonstop Talker comes Harrison P. Spader, Space Invader. Harrison is a hippo who wants to share his love of life with everyone. But he wants to share it a little too much and a little too closely. Harrison doesn’t realize how other people feel when he gets into their space. So when he crowds his friends again and again, his dad gets a few calls from concerned parents, teachers, and coaches.

Harrison’s dad shows him a neat trick called the Space Saver, and they practice it together. Harrison is so good at the Space Saver he even starts using it when he doesn’t need to, which brings up a new set of frustrations from his friends and teachers. With a little more help, Harrison is able to (mostly) leave an appropriate amount of personal space with his friends.

If you have a child or students who need constructive and concrete ways to remember to give other people personal space, then Harrison P. Spader, Space Invader is a good place to start! Kids can easily practice and incorporate the “Space Saver” move into their lives. I also like that Harrison’s family all loves crowding together on the couch, so it shows that you can use less space at home (if that’s your family’s norm) and still use more space for others at school.

If you’re interested in reading Harrison P. Spader, Personal Space Invader, you can purchase a copy here on Amazon. 

*A copy of this book was provided free of charge for an honest review.

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